Kevin Westgarth was still smiling this morning. Breathing? That too, although it might have been a little more difficult. Westgarth said he likely suffered a broken nose during last night’s fight with the city of Chicago’s only known mountain, John Scott. Scott measures in at 6-foot-8 and north of 250 pounds, so Westgarth knew what he was getting into when he dropped the gloves. After the game, Westgarth had a bandage on his nose, and he skated in practice today with a visor but said he would be ready to play tomorrow if Terry Murray put him in the lineup.
“I’m good for about one a year,” Westgarth joked of his bloodied nose.
There is a sense of honor among enforcers, so given the chance to gloat after the game, Scott instead praised Westgarth’s effort, telling Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune, “He’s a good fighter. He’s been around the block. I just got the better of him on this day. I’m sure we’ll fight again and see how it goes.”
Westgarth also earned hearty praise for Murray for his effort…
MURRAY: “That’s a big man, that Scott. He must be about a 6-7, 6-8 guy there. He looked like a huge man compared to Westie, and Westie is a pretty big man. But I’ll tell you what, I give him marks for standing in there and battling and going bare knuckles with the guy. He’s trying to get something (going) with us, fired up, and give him all the credit in the world. That’s a lesson for all of us to take, to just go out and compete and battle hard and pay the price in order to get things turned around. He did his job in that area last night.”
Thata boy westy. I cringed a couple times last night during that fight.
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John Scott looks like a friggin wookie on skates. Man that guy was huge.
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SplattDaddy Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
@Whodawat, Wookie on skates…LMAO….true but hilarious
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well… Scott doesn’t hit as hard as McIntyre, so… buyer beware
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Kevin’s so used to having superior reach, he’s not sure what to do when he has the shorter end of the stick. He needs to learn to pull Scott closer to him; get inside of Scottie’s reach advantage so he’s not eating fists at the peak of their energy curve. Meh, if Marty’s still working with him, he’ll get instructed. Scottie’s a monster, though. Once he gets his holding arm locked out there, breaking the elbow in will be problematic, especially with those fists coming at your nose. I expect he’ll get it figured out, but letting Scottie hold him in the sweet spot definitely did not turn out well.
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Crown Royal Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
@mcsorleyfan,
Good point. If you fight somebody with a longer reach you had better get inside.
Do you remember Steve McKenna? He was also about Scott’s height but not as strong. The Kings brought him in when Robinson was the coach. He did O.K. as a fighter with that reach but nothing special.
I always liked Jay Miller, who was tough as hell, but not sure how he would do against some of the taller, and heavier fighters of this era.
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MARTY Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
@Crown Royal, WHERE’S RANDY HOLT?
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yabs Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
@MARTY, Randy Holt! When I was a kid, I was a ball boy for a tennis match at the Forum. During a weekday match, I was walking around the empty arena (unattended) checking out all the unlocked doors I could find (Kings / Lakers Locker rooms) and came across a room filled with all these never before seen machines… the machines ended up being Nautilus equipment and the guy working out on them was Randy Holt. He was the nicest guy – ever! For one full hour I was in there talking to this guy, asking him all about hockey, how he liked playing for the Kings, talking about teams he hated (the Flyers) and other stuff. He was there (w/o the Kings) due to a 3 game suspension (of course) and after our chat he gave me his autograph and told me to take any stick from the bin… so I naturally took Marcel Dionne’s (hey… nobody remembers Randy Holt – and, his stick was not there any way – so take it easy).
Randy Holt!
Rich or anybody that knows,
I heard on Kings Talk that Schenn and Zeiler would be brought up on Monday. I understand Schenn being called up, no clue on Zeiler, but my question is a muli-year deal is how many years?? The Kings resigned Zeiler in 07.20.2007 it’s on the Kings website, yet he must clear waivers and I have no clue how much longer this ‘Multi year contract’ will last. Clune and Zeiler play the same game hoping one will be gone after this offseson please ANYBODY???!!??? Really Rich I wont post this a million times, but I think if none of the fans answer it’s a question you can answer. PLEASE REPLY!!!
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Rich Hammond Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
This is the final year of Zeiler’s three-year contract.
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ducksuck Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
@Rich Hammond,
Thank you so so so much for the reply and very FAST reply and you are the best at helping the fans really love having you apart of the team! YOU ARE THE BEST HAMMER!!
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Matt Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
@Rich Hammond, Rich, I think you are one of the best additions the Kings have made recently. Getting this kind of inside scoop and letting the fans chat it up is so good for the spirit of the club. Thanks man.
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Rich Hammond Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Thanks…very kind of you (and others who express similar thoughts). Much appreciated…
KC23 Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
@Matt, One of the best? No, no, no … the very best.
Quisp Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
@Rich Hammond,
Hammond/Kopitar/Brown?
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SplattDaddy Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
@Quisp, c’mon Hammer, lace em up….
Cynic Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
@Quisp,
Hammond would score before Kopi could make it up the ice.
brymaster Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
@ducksuck, they play similar style game, Zeiler hits a lot but dosnt fight very often like an Avery or Kaleta(not as much offensive skill)Clune fights a lot more. plus they play different positions.
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holly Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
@ducksuck, Schenn isn’t being called up so much as his conditioning stint is over. The Monarchs don’t have a weekday game this week so today was the last game he was eligible for.
As I’ve posted before, Zeiler’s game has almost done a 180 in the offseason, so I’m interested to see what happens.
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puck73 Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
@holly, Agreed. Zeiler is older, and has more experience in our system so he should be fine.
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Westgarth can take a beating! I remeber the ice crew haiving trouble cleaning the blood off the ice. Real true enforcer love that he can give and TAKE a beating. Once again TRUE ENFORCER!
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Just saw the video. That was brutal. Looks like he can take a punch as well as Ivanas and win em just as well. LOL.
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JayMiller Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
@ike, LOL! Good one!
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literally looked like a monster last night but it was a fun night even though we lost
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was at the game and it looked bad …at practice today and hes out there having fun smile on his face and he didnt look bad at all saw him afterwards and just a little black under one eye …he has that dont quit attitude gotta love it way to go westie …get him next time ..
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if nothing else DL has pretty much put NJ out of
business.too bad for such a smart move as that. can
any of us imagine such an idiocy for our team? we’ve
got enough trouble as it is.
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puck73 Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
@8ball, Never gets old when someone like you who has some common sense reminds us of the stupidity of Mr. Vanderboob, the owner of the Devils who has absolutely destroyed what Lou Lamoureillo built. Can you imagine if Leiweike forced Lombardi’s hand with Kovalspank? It would have wrecked our team both on and off the ice..NEVER FORGET!
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No shame in losing to that monster. I give him points for giving it a shot.
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If it was me, I’d have to slink off seeing how my parents taught me never try and fight a building……
…..you can’t beat a building.
I give Westie full props, tho. He went to a good college so you know he’s not stupid, so that means he’s got guts!
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Man,, thats a tough break.. I think Westies is having a ruff year..wish him the best in the ahl..
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Early on I criticises Westy for his ineffectiveness. But, I’ve seen a marked improvement.
Plus, the team DID play significantly better after his fight.
No complaints now. I just hope Westy finds a way to handle Scott’s size better. Maybe knock the elbow to get that arm bent?
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@Cristobal, knock the inner elbow and pull and twist the collar… bring his face close to your own.
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puck73 Reply:
November 28th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
@Cristobal, You mean..He needed to get his ass kicked for people on this site to respect him? I wont speak for you, or others, but I am glad he is here trying to make sure our players get some space out there. For me, I feel he is an upgrade from Raitis.
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Westy could stand up to a guy like Scott, but could never beat him strait up. The guys to big and experienced. It would be like Simmers going up against Grimson, or Brashier. Westy could fight, but Scott has reach, size, and strength to his advantage.
The fact that Westy knows that and still went toe to toe with him is a testament to his determination to contribute, in anyway he can. That and don’t hurt the team defensively is about all you can ask, and last night he did both.
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I just want to say that I really appreciate what Westgarth does for the Kings, as I play in a Sunday league, and I’m more of a finesse player myself. As a result, I have REALLY come to appreciate the protection that players like Westgarth offer.
Anyway, no shame, Kevin; the fans love you, and we know you’ll back soon. Much respect!
Peace,
A Kings fan for life!
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Westgarth is intelligent, funny, and understands his role completely. It’s hard not to love this guy.
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Ike Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 9:00 am
@Katy Perry, It is hard to love the guy. He does nothing well except taking punches.
I don’t hate him. Its hard to hate a guy willing to take a punch for his teammates.
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Hahaha! Love that mountain piece Rich!
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Can’t remember that last time I saw a beat down so bad. I was at the game, it was brutal….good effort by Westie, but he was way outmatched on that one.
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