I may be piling on here, but as long as the NHL's system of discipline continues to be a joke, we're going to continue to rip commissioner Gary Bettman and his useless toady Brendan Shanahan for their remarkable stupidity.

Somehow, some way, this merits only a one-game suspension:

That is a video of Matt Carkner hitting a defenseless Brian Boyle not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, not five times, not six times, but SEVEN TIMES, while an on-ice official looks on and does nothing.

This is not hockey. This is criminal violence. Fortunately, Boyle was not hurt. He scored a goal later in this game, then scored the only goal of the game Monday night in New York's 1-0 win over Ottawa. Apparently, because Boyle was not injured, Carkner was given the leniency of only being suspended one game.

That, of course, is ridiculous on its face. In the real world, attempted murder is still attempted murder, regardless of the extent of the injuries the victim may have suffered. You adjudicate based upon the act, not the outcome. I don't know why it should be different in professional sports. Apparently, that's not what Shanahan believes.

If you are Shanahan, you somehow find reason to suspend Blackhawks winger Andrew Shaw three games for this:

Shaw's stick and elbows are down. The puck is right there. There's no intent to injure. This is incidental contact, something that happens routinely in hockey. In my world, this is two minutes for goaltender interference. In Shanahan's world, it's a three-game suspension.

"The contact Shaw makes with (Mike) Smith is not incidental," Shanahan said. "Rather, it is a forceful blow delivered by Shaw's shoulder to Smith's chin. Also, in our opinion, Shaw does not make a reasonable effort to avoid such contact."

OK, fine. Guess what? Carkner WILLFULLY delivered SEVEN FORCEFUL BLOWS to the head of Brian Boyle. Carkner got one game, Shanny. How come Shaw got three?

Just askin'.

And the NHL expects us to take them seriously when they say they are looking to eliminate blows to the head. From where I'm sitting, they are only serious when they feel like it.