Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said he was informed that Carolina’s Erik Cole would not face any discipline for his hit on Drew Doughty last night…
LOMBARDI: “They viewed it as incidental contact, that these were two guys turning up ice and that he [Cole] wasn’t necessarily trying to finish his check, he was just more braced for it. This wasn’t a guy, in their interpretation, finishing a check. It was two guys turning back up ice when the puck was turned over. If they apply that standard, it’s not a suspension. In fairness, if you think about the Calgary game, with Westgarth, it’s very similar. They view this as the same type of situation, and if that’s the way they see if then, quite frankly, they’re right.”
The Westgarth hit referenced by Lombardi took place during the second game of the season, when Calgary’s Rene Bourque was knocked out of the game after a collision with Westgarth, who was not disciplined by the league.
only if Cole were headed for the bench could that be called incidental contact….he wasn’t, it wasn’t….
was it intent to injure?….only he knows, but it looked like it..
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Rich, Will they ever officially let us know the extent or maybe any more in depth explanation of the injury to Drew? Understandable if , or if not. Thanks!
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Rich Hammond Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Probably not. Standard operating procedure for NHL teams in most cases.
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Difference between Doan hit and Cole hit: Cole and Doughty were both cutting back towards the puck/play.
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NeXT game against CAR Cole will Get his fair treatment for the hit!! Westgarth
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I’m more surprised that no interference was called than I am there’s no suspension. Look at the video, doughty is at least 10 feet and 2-3 strides from the puck and Cole keeps heading straight towards him and doesn’t turn up ice until right before the impact. Bettman and Campbell are god damned jokes when it comes to discipline. They both should be dragged by their ovechkin browned noses by an American made pickup.
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Helene Elliott reported in today’s issue of the LA Times that Drew Doughty sustained a concussion, but I can’t find any other source to confirm. Rich, can you confirm whether or not Doughty’s injury has been ruled a concussion, or if it is still just an undisclosed “upper body injury”
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Rich Hammond Reply:
October 22nd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
As a reporter, I’m very sensitive to wording, and the way “reports” are relayed second-hand by readers. To be accurate, the story says “apparent concussion,” which is a completely fair way to word it. The Kings know exactly what happened to Doughty, but they are not announcing anything publicly except “upper-body injury,” nor are they likely to. I can only speak for myself, and I am not privy to any medical information at all.
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