In some ways, the plays look all too similar. One player lifting their skate blade to step on the leg of another player. In both cases, the victim was not seriously injured and in neither instance was the attack provoked. Yet the first time this happened, Chris Simon, then with the New York Islanders, received an NHL-record 30-game suspension. The second time it happened, Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks received no suspension at all.

The NHL cannot maintain this double standard. While there are some differences between the two cases, there are too many similarities to permit a 30-game suspension in one case and none at all in the other.

Both players have lengthy histories of going beyond the rules and receiving suspensions for rough play. Simon had been suspended at least a half a dozen times before he stomped on Jarkko Ruutu of Pittsburgh earlier this season. The most infamous was his attack on Ryan Hollweg of the Rangers with his stick last March that caused a 25-game suspension. Pronger was suspended by the league twice in last year's playoffs for one game each time. Rest assured, had these incidents taken place in the regular season and not late in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the suspensions would have been much longer.

Pronger may be an All-Star and Simon a fourth line enforcer at this point in his career, but if you look at their histories, neither is a first-time offender, something NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell takes into consideration when determining fines and suspensions. Granted, nothing Pronger has done comes close to the Hollweg incident, but he's not going to be nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy anytime soon, either.

Now there were differences in the two plays that are worth noting. For one, in Pronger's case, he and Kesler got a bit tangled up against the boards. The initial contact was legal and the stomp may have started at least as an attempt to untangle. It certainly didn't finish that way. With Simon's incident with Ruutu, there was no doubt whatsoever about intent. Simon lost his cool and stomped directly on the Penguin player's leg.

The second difference was the quality of the video evidence presented to the league. In Simon's case, the tape of his incident was shown a few seconds after it took place. Everything was crystal clear. In Pronger's case, the league was only able to review the case initially from a distance on a bad angle. Only yesterday did a better camera angle show up which showed the play clearly and made Pronger's play look worse than the initial video did. The league made its judgment after only viewing the first angle. Pronger was not suspended.

Now that the new evidence has appeared, however, the league should review the incident again. Because of the differences between the two incidents, Pronger does not deserve a 30-game suspension like Simon received. But because of the similarities, he definitely deserves to sit for at least three games, and probably closer to five.

The NHL cannot even appear to have a double standard of conduct between All-Stars and fourth-line players who commit similar offenses. If you commit the crime, you should do the time, whether you're Chris Pronger or Chris Simon.

Only One Game for Peters?

Speaking of suspensions, I can't believe that Buffalo's Andrew Peters received only one game for his actions against the Rangers on Monday. At the end of regulation time, Peters punched the Rangers' Colton Orr while Peters was sitting on the bench but Orr was on the ice. Amazingly, both players received 10 minute misconducts for their actions and the Rangers received no power play. A two- or three-game suspension would have been more appropriate, to discourage similar actions in the future.

Nash Named Blue Jackets' Captain

Congratulations to Rick Nash on being named captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The decision is a smart one as Nash is the young face of the Jackets, a team that has made solid progress this year. Nash should hold on to the captain's "C" for a long time and is another young star named captain in the NHL just like Sidney Crosby was in Pittsburgh.

Wings Waking Up

Isn't it interesting how the Detroit Red Wings are "waking up" just in time for the playoff run. After going an embarrassing 1-8-2 from February 7-29, the Wings got back on track, and have won five straight since. The Wings became the first team to clinch a playoff berth and topped the 100-point mark for an NHL record-tying eighth straight season (Montreal did it from 1975-82). In this era of salary caps and free agency, that kind of consistency is very impressive.

Northwest Up For Grabs

Does anybody want to win the Northwest Division? Right now, four points separate the top four teams (Colorado, Minnesota, Calgary and Vancouver). Colorado is the hottest of the teams and the recent additions of Foote and Forsberg certainly improves their chances. Expect this race to go down to the final game of the season.