Aftermath of Kopitar hit, penalties

The Kings are scheduled to be on the ice for practice at 10 a.m. in El Segundo, so that’s when we’ll know a bit more about Anze Kopitar’s status. [Update: At 10 a.m., the lights are out and it’s clear there will be no prcactice. Still awaiting word on access to players and Darryl Sutter this morning.] Kopitar left last night’s game with less than nine minutes remaining in the third period, after a huge hit from Dallas’ Brenden Morrow. Morrow did not get penalized for the hit, and after the game, nobody in the Kings’ locker room voiced any objection to the legality of Morrow’s hit. Morrow appeared, on video, to deliver a shoulder check to Kopitar’s upper chest and/or shoulder.

After the game, Morrow told Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News, “It didn’t feel bad, and I don’t think it looked bad, but you just don’t know anymore. I just hope he’s OK.’’ A full note on the hit, from the Stars’ side of things, can be read by clicking here.

In the aftermath of the hit, Mike Richards jumped on Morrow. Both players got five-minute fighting majors, but Richards also got a minor for instigating, a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct, the latter two penalties because he instigated the fight while wearing a visor. That’s a mandatory penalty. After the game though, through his Twitter account, Richards wrote, “So the NHL thinks we should all wear visors so [sic] why do we get penalized if we fight with them on?’’ Within 40 minutes, Richards had deleted the entry.

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