Both sides criticize Anisimov goal celebration

NEW YORK -- It's not too often in the NHL when a player crosses a line during a game or breaks an unwritten rule and both teams chastise the action. Usually, one team will defend its player, the other will tell you how wrong he was.

On Thursday, everyone was in agreement that a celebration by Rangers forward Artem Anisimov went too far.

Following his shorthanded goal at 13:23 of the second period that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the 23-year-old Anisimov skated back toward the blue line, spun around toward the Lightning net, held his stick as if it was a rifle, and pretended to fire shots toward the Lightning players.

It set off a brawl as Lightning players angrily chased Anisimov, who received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct. There were 38 minutes in penalties assessed to both sides, but Anisimov's antics left the Rangers down two men for 34 seconds.

After the Lightning's 3-2 shootout victory, Rangers coach John Tortorella said he didn't want to make his player available to speak about the incident -- but made sure he was clear that he thought there was no place in the game for that type of celebration.

"He apologized to the team right away," Tortorella said. "These are lessons. I don't want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. We need to move right by it. It was wrong. He knows that. I know the leadership of the club will take over to work him through this. He's a pretty innocent guy."

One of the first Lightning players to respond on the ice was captain Vinny Lecavalier. Rangers alternate captain Brad Richards said he completely understood why Lecavalier, a former teammate, reacted the way he did.

"He wasn't trying to embarrass anybody; he was celebrating a nice goal," Richards said. "But that's what happens in hockey."

Rangers' forward Artem Anisimov's celebration after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lighting ruffled plenty of feathers. (Photo: Getty Images)