Rick Nash (backhand deke) and Ryan Callahan (forehand deke) were the heroes. At least it looks like John Tortorella has a pair of aces up his sleeve if it comes down to the skill competition. He needed it in large part due to a loss of discipline. Nash took two penalties and even Dan Girardi was in the box during overtime- donating a five-on-three to the Sabres. Good thing Thomas Vanek didn’t play.

The effort wasn’t good enough. They only woke up after Patrick Kaleta shoved Brad Richards into the boards. Another cheap shot from a player who doesn’t get it. He crossed the line. Richards was defenseless and in a lot of pain lying on the ice. Remarkably, he returned. The question is how will he feel tomorrow. Hopefully, he won’t miss any time because as much as we bash him, he’s still an important player for this team. He’s looked better the last two since Nash came back. Hopefully, that’ll jump start Richards.

As for Kaleta, I guess running around and challenging Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac wasn’t enough. Time and again, the Buffalo agitator tries to injure players. He’s become the new NHL version of Jarkko Ruutu. The only difference was Ruutu was a little more skilled. Under interim coach Ron Rolston, Kaleta’s seen an increased role. He played over 15 minutes yesterday, getting underneath Kovalchuk’s skin. Before his foolish action which hurt his team, he was over 11 minutes. In 18 games, he has no points. In six years, Kaleta’s totaled 50 points (26-24-50) and 465 penalty minutes in 285 games.  He is what he is. A cheap player who annoys everyone except his own team.

I have no love for the guy. Even close Buffalo buddy Brian Sanborn texted me about the dirty play, indicating Kaleta deserves to be suspended. I don’t think there’s a more clear cut case than this. Considering that Brendan Shanahan just hit Flyer Harry Zolnierczyk with a four-game suspension for a leaping charge on Ottawa’s Mike Lundin, it should be open and shut. He also fined Stars captain Jamie Benn $10,000 for crosschecking Edmonton’s Ryan Jones. Like Benn, Kaleta was given the gate.

Unlike Benn and Zolnierczyk who prior had clean records, Kaleta’s been suspended twice and fined once. He served a two-game ban in ’09 and a four-game ban in ’11. He didn’t learn his lesson. Last season, the league fined him $2,500. If he doesn’t get a significant penalty, there’s something wrong. Shanahan must follow through here. As I stated on Chris Wassel’s show The Hockey Writers, there’s no place in the game for it. It was gutless and cowardly.

Whether Richards is hurt should have no influence. Kaleta is a repeat offender. It’s up to Shanahan to play the tough cop. He’s proven he can. Time to do it again.