Given the time of day — beyond 4:30 p.m. in the East — it’s highly unlikely that Carolina’s Erik Cole will receive any supplemental discipline for his hit on Drew Doughty last night. Looking at the video clip, it seems clear that the hit was late. The question would be whether it falls into any of the other categories that would qualify it for discipline. Apparently, the league has decided it does not. This morning, I asked Terry Murray whether he had gotten a further look at the hit and what he thought of it.
MURRAY: “Going back through the game (video), it’s there. Doughty had moved the puck a considerable time before the hit, that’s for sure. He was four or five feet on his own side of the red line. I don’t have the TV look, that real close look, to see exactly how it all shakes out. It’s unfortunate. It’s a hit that, I guess, happens in a game.”
I don’t see how the hit’s any different than the one that got Doane suspended.
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Lewes Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 1:36 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Neither do I
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Michael_DD8 Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 1:53 pm
@Lewes,
Its different.. Drew Doughty is my absolute favorite player ever, so i want to give it all to Doughty, but i really feel like, the hit WAS late, but it doesn’t seem like there was any intent to injure, Doughty DID however, turn into it, and there was no hit to the head, its def different.
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Danielle Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:07 pm
@Michael_DD8,
I have gone back and watched the hit a few times now and, to me, it definitely seems like Cole intentionally went after Doughty. He turned right into him. Was there intent to injure, probably not. But there was a clear intent to send a late message with a hit that was clearly late.
quisp Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:12 pm
@Michael_DD8,
intent to injure is not the standard. he tracked him, he turned intentionally into him, DD didn’t have the puck, didn’t see him coming, the hit was high (shoulder/neck/head?) and cole left his feet (see 0:26 of the video, watch feet only) and followed through.
Carolina doesn’t play until Saturday. The league doesn’t have to rush to make a decision. Probably busy with Rypien.
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Section 103 Fan Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 1:52 pm
@Purple Ghost, Agreed… NHL has shown that they will act accordingly, but no rush on this one due to the days off before the next game. If, and I say if, the NHL acts, he will get 3 games. The first suspension was 1 game, the last suspension was 2 games, this one 3 games, the next 4 games, and so on…
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I think the intent was to hit Dewie. The replay shows it was very late. Why is there even a question about disciplinary action? Oh, that’s right, it happened to an L.A. Kings player so who cares.
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PRMan Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:02 pm
@1stmanback, This.
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It was a late hit, no questions but I don’t think its a punishable offense given the criteria of the new rule. I’m no expert but I read that the head must be targeted or the main point of contact. It looks like Cole and Doughty collided shoulder to shoulder (?) We’ll see what the league says.
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quisp Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@smoKING gun,
blindside high hit. if doughty is out with a shoulder injury, then the case for “head shot” is weak. if it’s a concussion, the case is open and shut.
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Cole should have been penalized for interference.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:08 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED,
I’d say at least that.
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Dbargaehr Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:15 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED,
Unfortunately, that’s done. The question now is the suspension, and it looks unlikely. I imagine that since there’s only one video angle available (at least publicly), it would be unfair of the NHL to make a decision as weighty as a suspension off of that one angle. The intention of Cole is hard to judge, IMO, and I’m a huge homer of a Kings fan. I play hockey recreationally, and I’ve suffered a similar hit (albeit at a much slower speed) when I turned left out of a full-speed puck pursuit and the other fella turned right. His reaction time was faster than mine, he got his arms up (probably out of pure instinct), and I got hammered. No penalty on the play because it was incidental. While the single angle on the Doughty-Cole hit makes it impossible to tell whether it WAS incidental, I think the NHL will play it safe based on that limited perspective – they can’t tell whether it was incidental or not.
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quisp Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:19 pm
@Dbargaehr,
No. Watch the video and watch only Cole. He is tracking Doughty. He turns into him. He leaves his feet. DOughty doesn’t have the puck. It’s a high hit.
By definition, it’s not incidental.
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“It’s unfortunate. It’s a hit that, I guess, happens in a game.”
This quote, combined with the absence of any retaliation by Doughty’s teammates, is nearly as distressing as the injury itself.
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fsd1 Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:35 pm
@Kings of Pedro, come on, u couldn’t hear the sarcasm? And would it have been wise to get perhaps an instigator and a misconduct? Perhaps it was the right thing to do to not take a penalty at that moment
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Kings of Pedro Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:12 pm
@fsd1, I don’t believe that Murph is capable of sarcasm, and while I don’t necessarily want to see the Kings shorthanded, I’d still like to see teammates stand up for each other – an element that has been missing from the TM-coached teams since he got here.
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I have to admit that I don’t give a hoot whether or not Cole gets disciplined. All I care about is for Doughty to get back ASAP.
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It’s because WE don’t have Brad Howard doing OUR color commentary lobbying the League!
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Shrugs. Don’t really care about the disapline. Looking forward to DD coming back. Looked marginal to me.
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Team should hand out the punishment not the league on this one. Simmonds or Clifford should of dropped the gloves.
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For anyone who has played the game, you know that sometimes there are unintentional collisions. You either don’t see someone, or you both expect the other guy to go the other way, but then he doesn’t. From the video, can you be sure that Cole, once the puck headed back toward the King end of the ice, didn’t turn to go to the bench for a line change, and in doing so, ran right into Doughty? Yes, it “appears” that he was looking to hit him, but he was also headed directly to his bench, so as far as intent and supplemental discipline, I have to say “inconclusive”.
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EJ Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:30 pm
@EJ, it would help if we could see what Cole did in the immediate aftermath. Did he go to the bench? If not, that shoots the hell out of my theory.
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To me, it looks like the play reversed direction and both players went to turn and head the other way.
Cole saw Doughty, Doughty didn’t see Cole.
Cole was able to brace himself for the impact.
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To me, it looks like the play reversed direction and both players went to turn and head the other way.
Cole saw Doughty and was able to brace himself for impact.
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ElementT Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:46 pm
@deelo,
100% right….First time I watched it I thought that Cole went after Drew But then I watched it again and followed the puck and it appears that’s why Cole changed direction.
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And who was the head ref last night phil Mcreary(sp) when was the last time he called a game evenly when the Kings are involved just saying it seems like that guy has always looked the other way when it comes to the Kings players getting run.
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jet Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 2:58 pm
@hockeyfanb4Gretzky, agreed that there were a couple of trips of Kings in the third that could have been caleed that were worse than Brown’s first penalty, but the point here is that “No punishment likely” is getting to be the Kings mantra when other teams take a run at DD. Soneone step up before we are talking about what a bright career DD could have had.
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I think a lot of people are making too big a deal about this because Doughty got injured. If you have two identical plays, and one player gets injured and the other doesn’t, you don’t suspend the one who caused the injury just because of that.
Fact of the matter is if Doughty hadn’t been injured, this would’ve just been another open-ice body check that nobody would’ve paid any attention to. And you all KNOW that’s true.
I didn’t even realize it myself until somebody in the SECOND intermission asked me if I knew what happened to Doughty. There was nothing about the play that seemed absolutely egregious, malicious, or violent. Just an open-ice hit that led to some bad results.
With the Hjalmarsson and Doan suspensions, the NHL already made their stance on these dangerous plays. I wouldn’t put Cole in the same group as those guys because it didn’t appear as violent.
Not saying this is the majority, but I’m sure a lot of you guys are asking for a suspension, or are saying it was a bad hit, because Doughty got injured. If he didn’t get hurt, not a single one of you would’ve cared.
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jet Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:04 pm
@Kevin Y, I had a beer, read a text, and relaced my boots in the time between DD’s last touch on the puck and when he got hit.
DD has been targeted by 29 teams and the Kings need to decide if it is worth saving his career. If no one steps up, DD will not make it another 100 games.
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Kevin Y Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:10 pm
@jet,
I think the fact that nobody stepped up says that nobody felt it was a huge deal, either. Clifford was out on the ice when the hit happened, and was basically looking right at Doughty when the hit happened.
If he felt it warranted a response, there would’ve been one. If he didn’t think there should’ve, somebody on the bench would’ve said to him “hey, go after Cole, he injured Doughty”.
The fact that there was NO response by the Kings makes me think that they didn’t feel it was a big deal, not that they just didn’t step up for him.
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jet Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 4:30 pm
@Kevin Y, I am more inclined to believe noone saw it. DD gave up the puck before he hit teh red line and then was hit aften he passed the blue line. I believe this is too long a time period. TM needs to be a little clearer on the need to protect our stars.
Deke'r Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:28 pm
@jet, Of course he’s “targeted” that’s what happens when you’re a teams premier player, you get “tergeted”. Hopefully you’re not one of the posters who repeatedly deny the need for enforcers or that would truly be ironic! GO KINGS!
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Deke'r Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:19 pm
@Kevin Y, True that….just hockey. No worries DD will be back soon with a vengance! GO KINGS!
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neil Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 3:59 pm
@Kevin Y, no one even noticed at the game..if they did they wouldve booed Cole the rest of the game..its hockey …it happens …to me it wasnt a dirty hit at all
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Kevin Y Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 6:10 pm
@neil,
Right. As I was saying, I didn’t even realize until later. I was sitting up in 301, perfect view of the whole ice. Didn’t even realize he wasn’t out there for the second period.
At intermission, I went to the elevator to head on down to meet up with some buddies of mine, and somebody at the elevator asked if I knew what happened to Doughty. That completely caught me off guard.
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I assume the league knows how concussion occurs. Brain is kind of floating inside the skull and there is a slight space between brain and the skull. When sudden impact shakes up the head violently, brain hits the inner skull and causes damage. So it doesn’t matter whether head is directly targeted or not, unexpected impact around the head can be dangerous.
In Doan’s case, he was already in front of Sexton so Sexton might have expected the impact was coming and maybe that is why he wasn’t injured.
I’m not sure whether Doughty knew the hit was coming or not, or it was a shoulder to shoulder contact but it was definitely the late hit. If Doan’s case is punishable so is DD’s case. Justice must be served.
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I don’t care whether Cole’s hit was intentional or not. The Kings should have been after him the first chance they got with Simmonds or Clifford. The Kings are sending a message, too, by not going after him. Don’t think this stuff doesn’t go un-noticed by any team in the NHL. An invitation for teams to go after our best players without any retaliation whatsoever will invite more injuries to come. Yes, enforcers are needed! It’s not an issue to debate.
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Doughty has had a target on his back since last year, so we all knew this day was comming. I agree with Mike C about no one going after Cole. We sent the wrong message by sending no message. As long as there are no consequences, teams will continue to run our players.
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