Roy makes news in Ottawa

OTTAWA -- Left wing Andre Roy opened the newspaper Saturday and saw a story that said he threatened to "beat the (expletive) out of" Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson.

Roy said the story misrepresented what he meant, and it was no surprise it became huge. Roy played three seasons for the Senators before last season's trade. "The media here is so big," he said. "They take something and make it even bigger and make a big story out of it. I just have fun with it."

Roy said he was answering a question about if Ottawa's Chris Neil went after Tampa Bay's Vinny Prospal, who was suspended for two games after unsuccessfully cross-checking Neil on Jan. 20.

"The real version was if Neil was going to fight Prospal, we could do the same," Roy said. "If Neil is going to do something bad, I might not respond right away, depending on the situation ... because we want to win the game first.

"All I said was that later in the game, I could go grab Alfredsson and start beating him up. I said Alfredsson because he's the first guy who came to my mind."

Then there was Vaclav Varada, who with Buffalo on Feb. 23 sucker-punched and fought Lightning goalie John Grahame.

"We have to stand up as a team," Roy said. "If they're going to run over our goalie, we can do the same. We've got to stick up for each other no matter what happens. That's what my point was."

NO GOAL: An apparent Lightning goal that would have made it 3-1 early in the third was disallowed after it went in off Ben Clymer's arm. A goal is allowed if it deflects off a body, but it can't be deliberate. Clymer did not dispute skating into the puck but said he did not swat at it. "I knew it was going to hit me, but I don't have to get out of the way of the puck," he said. "That's not the rule."

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL: Varada said he is misunderstood.

"They can say what they want. I just do my thing," he said. "I know I'm on a thin line sometimes with penalties and my physical play, but I don't want to be known as a cheap-shot player. I want to help my team win, and I'll do anything I can."

KUBINA REMEMBERS: The headaches are gone. The neck is no longer sore. The same can't be said for Pavel Kubina's feelings. He said he still is upset at the hit by Washington's Peter Bondra that caused the injuries Feb. 17.

"He knows it was a dirty hit from behind," said Kubina, who missed three games. "I'm not going to go crazy ... but when I have a chance, I'll do something. If I can get a good hit on him, I will."

Kubina, who had an assist and was plus-3 in his first two games after his return, said he will not do anything dirty.

"I'll do something with it, but I have to do it the right way," he said.

The teams don't play again this regular season.

SCRATCHES: Defenseman Darren Rumble (healthy) and Ruslan Fedotenko (broken finger) were scratched.