John Stevens fired up the computer in his office yesterday morning and searched for an update concerning a possible suspension of Penguins bruiser Georges Laraque for his controversial hit on pugnacious Flyers rookie Steve Downie.

"Nothing," Stevens reported.

The Flyers coach wasn't angry, but he wasn't satisfied, either.

His players have been hit with five suspensions this season, including a 20-gamer served by Downie for a preseason hit he delivered.

Now, on a play at the Wachovia Center last Thursday that might have put Downie out of commission for a long time, the Penguins apparently will not be similarly inconvenienced.

"I think it was a dangerous play. I'm a little concerned Laraque had a lack of remorse," said Stevens, whose team beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, in overtime last night. "That was the thing that concerned me. He's a big, tough guy. Nobody's going to question that. He put that kid in a very vulnerable position. The risk of getting injured was severe."

Laraque crosschecked Downie into the boards near the end of the second period and received a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. Laraque laughed about the play afterward, disputed that it was worthy of a major and a misconduct and accused Downie of taking a dive.

All of which, of course, the Flyers dismiss. They hoped the league would take steps to send a message that such actions would not be allowed in the charged rivalry - in which the Flyers have a 4-0 season record.

It did not.

"You know, we've kind of taken the stance that the league - it's not as if they're going to have a knee-jerk reaction," Stevens said.

The league's thoughtful reaction has gone against the Flyers several times this season. Is there a double standard?

"I don't know about that," Stevens said. "Obviously, we've been really hit hard with some suspensions. We want to play physical and aggressive hockey, but we want to do it within the rules."

Laraque didn't do that, but, according to the league, he didn't cross the line enough to warrant further discipline.

"He's known as a big, tough, honest hockey player. It was a physical, emotional game," Stevens said in measured tones. "It's just - that's a dangerous play."

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