Did The New York Media Bias Mislead The Rangers Fanbase?

Last night's game between the New York Rangers and the Philadephia Flyers started off tame and a bit boring, but ultimately turned into not just a battle on the ice, but a war of words in the locker room once the game was over. Since the Dallas Stars were playing at the same time, my exposure to the events of the night were limited to what I was reading on Twitter and some of the commentary coming out of New York (I live in Connecticut).

I was under the impression that all of the bad blood started when Daniel Carcillo, known around the NHL as big hitter and a big fighter, took on and took down the normally calm Marian Gaborik. The Rangers would later get their payback when Sean Avery pounded Carcillo into the ice.

Turns out that may not be how it all went down.

Travis Hughes, from SB Nation's Flyers blog Broad Street Hockey, is tired of the media's bias painting the Flyers as "talentless goons" and has set out to set the truth straight. He starts with the Rangers broadcast of the game:

Most people watching this game were subject to the New York broadcast on MSG Network, thanks to its distribution on NHL Center Ice and NHL Gamecenter Live. The remarks by MSG's on-air talent, Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti, were just as misleading. While Carcillo was busy knocking Gaborik to the ice, the duo was just absolutely floored that he would -- you know -- stand up for himself when an opponent drops the gloves.

Let's go to the transcript.

MICHELETTI: Now we've got a fight down the other end. Carcillo...

ROSEN: Woah!

BOTH (in unison): And Gaborik!

ROSEN: What is that all about?!

MICHELETTI: Well, things are going to get nasty now.

ROSEN: Wow, that is...

MICHELETTI: Things are going to get nasty now. Things are going to get nasty now. I mean, we see Gaborik always fight back. He doesn't take a lot of (??) from anybody. But for Carcillo to go after Gaborik. I mean, Gaborik doesn't fight anybody. And Gaborik's right in the middle, and there's some pushing and shoving, and then Carcillo goes right after Gaborik. He goes right after him. Gaborik pushes back and then Carcillo, there's some pushing and shoving and Carcillo just drops his gloves...

ROSEN: Aw, that's just...

MICHELETTI: I mean, come on. I mean, come on.

Again, it bears repeating. Neutral sources -- all of them! -- say that Gaborik dropped his gloves first. There's visual evidence of it as well, yet the NY media is caught in a lie yet again. This time, however; instead of distributing the lie to thousands of Twitter followers, potentially millions of television viewers were deceived.

He goes on to chronicle how seemingly random comments made by Carcillo post-game were distorted by the New York media to get a rise out of Rangers coach John Tortorella.

It's an excellent examination of how one group of people can perceive events different, yet how in this case the New York media crossed the line and spread lies about the Flyers and Carcillo in order to get some big news and reaction from the Rangers camp.