NEW YORK -- Islanders forward Radek Martinek accused Rangers
enforcer Ryan Hollweg of trying to rip the stitches out of a fresh
gash on the left side of his face Thursday night.
Martinek, a non-threatening defenseman, received 15 stitches
Wednesday night after being cut by a skate blade during the
Islanders' 3-2 shootout win over Ottawa.
"Give Martinek credit, playing after an injury like that,"
Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "In this game, you have to have
some respect. When a guy like Hollweg tries to scratch an open cut
on someone's face, that's not professional. It's not a classy thing
to do."
Hollweg denied threatening Martinek or trying to grab the
stitches during the Rangers' 4-2 victory over the Islanders.
Martinek was back in the lineup Thursday and joined a
first-period scrum near the benches that featured the hardest
hitters on both teams -- Brendan Witt and Chris Simon of the
Islanders, who were scuffling with Colton Orr of the Rangers.
As players from both teams entered the fray, Martinek said
Hollweg threatened him and then reached for his face.
"He said he is going to take my stitches out. I think that was
stupid," said Martinek, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound defenseman.
Martinek added that no damage was done, but said he had never
seen a player act in such a way.
"No, no. Never, never," he said. "I think he could show a
little bit of respect, but he didn't. I cannot respect him."
Hollweg contended that he was merely defending Orr, a 6-3,
222-pound forward, who has five career points and 239 penalty
minutes in 114 NHL games. Simon and Witt had already double-teamed
Orr before Martinek got near.
"There's three guys all over Orrsie and he goes in there,"
Hollweg said. "I was just clearly protecting my teammate. I might
have face-washed him, but I wasn't attempting to pull his stitches
out by any means.
"I was just trying to clear guys out. I am not going to let
them have a fourth guy go in there."
Orr was given a four-minute penalty for roughing with 2:41 left
in the first period, and Witt took a single minor. Simon and
Hollweg weren't penalized.
Last season, Simon received a 25-game suspension for a
two-handed stick-swinging attack to the face of Hollweg, who wasn't
seriously injured.