— How long will Thornton be suspended for slew-footing, punching and hospitalizing Brooks Orpik? His in-person hearing is on Friday.

— How many games will Orpik miss? He's dealt with headaches, a sore neck and an, uh, lack of memory post-national anthem.

— How will the Penguins cope without Neal, who was on pace to lead them in goals and will miss their next four games for a fly-by knee to Brad Marchand's head that came seconds before Thornton's "play?"

— And is it possible, as a sporting culture, to agree that if you pop someone in their head while it's pressed against a sheet of ice, or knee someone in the helmet, that on some level, the goal is to injure them? Is that possible?

For Thornton and Neal, apparently not.

This was Thornton on Saturday night: "I feel awful … It wasn’t my intention for that outcome. I know Brooksie, I’ve gotten to know him over the past several years. I got to skate with him during the lockout. I texted him a couple of times. I feel awful. It was definitely not what I wanted to see or what anyone wanted to see."

This was Neal on Tuesday, after his own postgame remarks crashed and burned: "(I) had no intent to injure (Marchand) … You need to control yourself, and I can’t be doing what I did. … I'm glad he's OK. Going forward here, I need to learn from it. It's something I can't do, and I know that."

Now, did Thornton try to send Orpik to Mass General? Was Neal disappointed that he didn't put Marchand in the bed next door? Almost certainly not. But these weren't run-of-the-mill collisions. They weren't hockey plays gone wrong. There was some degree of intent — heat-of-the-moment and revenge-based or not — to inflict punishment. Maybe it's subconscious, maybe it's not. Maybe it's something players can't face — or don't want to face. They're playing a game of violence, as Justin Bourne wrote earlier today, and some compartmentalization has to take place.

But the intent, by definition, is there, and to hear it denied in the face of reason is endlessly aggravating. 	Another way to look at it: What outcome, other than some sort of injury, could those two have been shooting for? They wanted to get even, and they went to extreme measures to do it. In the process, they lost regard for the well-being of the other guy, and that took them down a path that had two destinations: injury, and wow-I-can't-believe-he-wasn't-injured. Only there is where the paths diverged.

It's understandable, to an extent, that they lost control. It happens. It's good that both eventually apologized, though Neal whiffed on his first attempt. It's good that they say they'll try to be better in the future.

It'd just be better if they stopped short of insulting people's intelligence when it comes to intent — because trying to knock someone out, or even just hit them super-hard in the head, is still trying to injure them.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, for his right, was realistic about what happened.

"I don't think there's any question that James continued on his path and runs into Marchand," Bylsma said on Monday night. By Tuesday, he was talking about the "learning aspect to the situation James was in and has to play in." Neal now been suspended three times. There aren't a lot of 26-year-old 40-goal scorers who can say that.

"It’s something that needs to be taken out of the game," Neal said. "We talk about it all the time. It’s not a fun situation to be part of."

No, it isn't.


LEAFS CAPTAIN SUSPENDED


Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf has been suspended two games for his hit from behind on Kevan Miller of the Boston Bruins.

Phaneuf will not play against Los Angeles on Wednesday and at St. Louis on Thursday. He loses more than $66,000 in salary.

During Toronto's loss to Boston on Sunday night at Air Canada Centre, Miller's back was turned at the time. No boarding penalty was called. Miller left the game but coach Claude Julien said he wasn't worried about the defenseman's condition.

Phaneuf had a phone hearing Tuesday with NHL vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan.

The suspension is the Leafs' fourth this season. The others were to David Clarkson, Nazem Kadri and Carter Ashton.


YZERMAN BACK ... SORT OF


It's trite to say that the Winter Classic alumni game has eclipsed the actual event. It's also, in a lot of ways, quite true. And now, there's another reason to pay attention on Dec. 31: Steve Yzerman is playing.

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Tuesday that Yzerman, a franchise icon and one of the greatest captains in the history of the sport, will skate at Comerica Park against the Toronto Maple Leafs alumni.

It wasn't expected for a lot of reasons. Two big ones: it's not Yzerman's style, and his knees are bad enough that he hasn't played much at all since retiring in 2006. He's now the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning (and Team Canada).

Awesomely, the press release didn't feature a quote from him — only general manager Ken Holland.

"Steve is one of the greatest Red Wings players ever,” Holland said. “His presence at the Alumni Showdown makes a great day even better."

He'll join Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Federov, Brendan Shanahan and a bunch of other all-timers on the home side. It'll be a pretty cool day for Red Wings fans, and a lot of other people.


RANGERS' CALLAHAN OUT 


Ryan Callahan, all told, would probably rather not be dealing with a knee sprain.

The New York Rangers captain has an Olympic team to make, and a new contract to play for, and a key homestand to deal with. All of that, at least for the moment, is in doubt; Callahan left New York's Tuesday game against the Nashville Predators in the first period and did not return.

UPDATE: Not good for him or the Rangers.

"#NYR Callahan has Grade 2 MCL sprain. Will be out 4-6 weeks" — Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN)

The Rangers started the night 15-15-1 and on the outside of the playoff picture. They'd lost the first two games of season-high nine straight at Madison Square Garden before the Olympics break, butting their home record at 5-7-1.

“We have to respond,” Callahan said. “It’s not good enough at home. This is a long homestand and now it takes the guys in here to respond and be better. It starts Tuesday night and that’s how we are looking at this. We have a challenge in front of us and now we have to answer it.”

At the start of the season, it seemed a lock that Callahan would head to Sochi with the U.S. national team, but that has to be at least somewhat in doubt at the moment—Team USA is strong on the wings, and Callahan's best asset, when he's on his game, is combining skill with physicality.

He's got seven points and six assists in 22 games so far, and injuries could be taking their toll; he dealt with a broken thumb on October. Somtimes, it's not your year; if that's the case with Callahan in 2013, it'd be a particularly crummy stroke of luck.

Contributors: Sean Gentille, The Associated Press