In the Islanders' most recent two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Zenon Konopka has racked up 25 penalty minutes. He knows as well as anyone what was going on during the melee that took place at Nassau Colliseum on Friday night, and he thinks Mario Lemieux's criticisms show the 45-year-old Penguins owner is out of touch.
"I can't believe he's that far removed from the game that he doesn't realize in the heat of the moment what happens," Konopka told TSN.ca.
Konopka said the Islanders try to protect their stars, like John Tavares, which is a concept the former superstar should be familiar with.
Nevertheless, Lemieux can count Konopka as a former fan.
"As soon as I get home," Konopka said, "I'm going to take the poster off my bedroom door of Mario."
