If they don’t want to run afoul of CRTC regulations, the CBC and RDS may have to run one of those warnings prior to Saturday’s telecast of the Canadiens-Washington game.

You know the one that says: The following program contains scenes of violence and coarse language, viewer discretion is advised.

The warning may be necessary because the Capitals are expected to dress Joel Rechlicz, who is throwback to a bygone era in the National Hockey League. Rechlicz is a pure goon, whose only talent is the ability to create mayhem. He proved he couldn’t hockey in two stints with the Islanders. In 25 NHL games, he has been on the ice for 103 minutes and has spent 95 minutes in the penalty box. But the Washington Capitals recently signed him as a free agent because Capitals coach Dale Hunter felt his team had to get tougher if they hoped to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The decision to recall Rechlicz raised the possibility that Rene Bourque would again be a target when the teams meet at the Bell Centre. You might recall that the Capitals weren’t happy when Bourque, who was playing for the Calgary Flames, elbowed Nicklas Backstrom in a game on Jan. 3. Backstrom is still on the sidelines with a concussion and it was a given that Washington would exact a measure of revenge after Bourque was traded to Montreal and the teams met at the Bell Centre.

But it didn’t quite work out the way the Capitals planned. On Bourque’s first shift, he took the matter into his own hands and started trading punches with Matt Hendricks. Quite simply, Bourque won the fight.

Enter Rechlicz, who leads the American Hockey League in penalty minutes and has 41 fights between the AHL and NHL over the past three seasons, was asked earlier this week if he was aware of Bourque’s elbow and the damage it did.

“Yeah, I heard it was a cheap shot,” he replied. “Hopefully I’m in the lineup for that game.”

Rechlicz played a total of 4:26 in two games since Florida since he was recalled. He wasn’t involved in any fights but he did try to get something going with Florida’s Krys Barch. It was one of those silly cases where his team had fallen behind and Rechlicz was trying to salvage some pride but Barch wouldn’t accommodate him.

Rechlicz, who played junior hockey in Gatineau and Chicoutimi, defended the role of an enforcer.

“Being there on the bench, guys will notice you, guys will play a little more quiet and stuff,” Rechlicz said. “Guys aren’t going to be doing anything stupid out there and if they do, I’ll get out there and I’ll answer the bell.”

When someone pointed out that it takes two to tangle, Rechlicz said he isn’t worried about players, i.e. Bourque, trying to walk away from a fight.

“No, not at all,” Rechlicz said. “Then I’m just going to go get my checks and if I’ve got to run a guy through the glass, force him to fight, that’s what you’ve got to do.”

phickey@montrealgazette.com