There was a collective sigh of relief around the Kings’ training facility today, as Anze Kopitar seemed no worse for wear after last night’s big hit from Dallas’ Brenden Morrow. The Kings didn’t skate this morning, but Kopitar was walking and talking just fine and met with assembled reporters.
KOPITAR: “Feeling good. Nothing special to say, really. It was just precautionary reasons last night. I’m sure you guys know, even better than I do, what it takes after you get hit like that, what you’ve got to do (with) the quiet room and stuff. But I’m feeling good this morning, and that’s about it.’’
Question: So, if there had been practice today, you would have been able to go?
KOPITAR: “That I don’t know, because I didn’t talk to Kinger [trainer Chris Kingsley] about it yet, but like I said, I feel good so I don’t see a reason why not. The bottom line is, I feel good, I don’t have any issues, and that’s good.’’
Question: Relieved, in that it could have been worse?
KOPITAR: “It could have been worse, for sure. Right now, it’s something I have to put behind me here and just play hockey again.’’
Question: Did you get to see a replay of the hit?
KOPITAR: “Yeah, I saw it, but quick. No breaking down if it was dirty or whatever. It was just a hockey hit. I kind of put myself in a tough position, and he came down and hit me. It is what it is.’’
Question: Were you glad to see Mike Richards step up for you, even if it cost the team a little bit with the penalties?
KOPITAR: “Yeah, it definitely cost us a little bit, getting the two centermen out of the game, especially with the impact Richie has on our team and especially in clutch situations. But it was definitely nice to see him jump in, and I’m sure if it was somebody else, somebody else would jump in. Obviously I’d do the same for every other guy.’’
Later, Darryl Sutter had a wry grin as he gave his diagnosis of Kopitar…
SUTTER: “He will live. He’s going to pull through. He was fine last night. … It was a good hit, hard hit. Nothing wrong with it.’’
Question: So, as far as you know, he will be able to play tomorrow?
SUTTER: “I’m assuming, if we had practiced today, he would have practiced. That’s kind of the way we look at it.’’
Phew!!!
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Dave Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:34 am
@Kinger, I second that. Damn, I love Kopi.
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RobSD Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:59 am
@Kinger,
Couldn’t have said it better… PHEW. That was a vicious hit. I thought it was clean at the time even though I was livid and wanted Star blood.
Tough not winning that one but WOW, was that an exciting game.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
@Kinger, Thank GOD!!!
But just because the head WAS NOT hit doesn’t mean it is NOT an illegal hit. It was a BLIND-SIDED hit!!
The Board of Governors, General Managers and the Competition Committee unanimously agreed that “a lateral or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted.”
Following is the verbage for Rule 48 as it relates to the regular season
48.1 Illegal Check to the Head—A lateral or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted.
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AZ King Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
@rogiesbackup,
How was it a blind sided hit. Morrow hit him right in the chest/shoulder area. There was no hit to the head, it wasn’t even close to that. Kopi got caught with his head down. It was a perfectly legal body check.
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lobinho56 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@AZ King,
yeah… I watched over and over looking for even an elbow or something. Nothing. Just a good clean hit – like Brownie used to deliver on a regular basis. Only reason it was ‘blind side’ was cause Kopi had his head down. And sadly, the refs had to make those calls on Mike. Maybe Mike should have kept his gloves on and just taken 2 for roughing. Oh well, I don’t blame him at all. In fact kudos to him for stepping up on Kopi’s behalf. Just an unlucky messed up situation for the Kings. Glad Kopi’s OK. Keep your head up from now on buddy – we need you!
Weasel Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
@AZ King,
Agreed, but the Doughty trip in the first persiod and Souray’s headlock on Doughty into Lehtonen in OT are still a little upsetting.
rogiesbackup Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
@AZ King, Then what’s the best way to cut-down on concussions???
NHL is gonna have to decide on a very fundamental question. Save ONE of many aspect of the sexiness of hockey[upper body collisions]or save future concussion to its athletes. Plane and Simple….nothing in between.
Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
@rogies, I say slow the game down, put back the offside pass, let the clutching and grabbing find it’s spot… obviously all the built up speed is causing violent collosions more than ever… maybe I don’t have the answers, but I’m just saying…bettman wanted faster pace and higher scoring but he has neither at this point and due to tight nuetral zone play and shot block mentality… time to change back to what worked for 60+ years…
jofa6000 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
@AZ King, correct. that was a good, hard and clean hit. hope brown take morrow out w an open ice hit next game.
Duckhunter Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
@rogiesbackup,
One no that wasn’t a blind side hit (shoulder in chest and at no time was Kopi’s back toward him…even before contact) and two according to the rule you quoted…the contact needed to be around the head or target the head and it was to the chest…
Was I pissed about Kopi being injuried…just like you “Yes”…but you can’t legislate that hit out of hockey…it was a fluke that Kopi went out of control like that…If Morrow doesn’t come in hard Kopi spins off or threads through for a goal.
Lastly I look at it this way…If Brownie hit Morrow that way we’d all went OOOOHHH and AAAAHHH at it and say it was legal.
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jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
@Duckhunter, He hit him in the head. He hit him with his shoulder (no elbow). But he hit him in the head. Watch the tape.
LGK Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
@rogiesbackup, THANK YOU, why is everyone accepting as a good hit? I don’t know. That “LOOSER MORROW” targetted him because he saw the kings were going to win.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Yeah, I have a problem with this “good hard hockey hit” stuff, because we’ve seen similar plays where the Kings player made the hit, and the boards may or may not have been involved, and the player was disciplined, AND got a penalty in some cases. For example, when Doughty was suspended. It doesn’t really matter whether Kopi happened to be injured, and I’m glad he wasn’t. The fact is, that play happens ten times, and ten times, a player flies helplessly into the boards. One of those times, a player gets injured. Maybe one of those times it ends a player’s career. Kopi’s case looked like it could have been one of those times.
A big problem I have with Shanahan’s justice system is that it seems to be altogether too much based on whether the player was injured. It’s the potential for injury that needs to be taken into account. If you’re going to say the player who makes the hit is responsible–and that’s the standard now–then it has to be consistent. I don’t have all the answers, but the players deserve consistency, so they know how to behave, and what we saw last night is NOT how to behave.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Take it from someone with a neck injury that is frequently debilitating.
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dot972005 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, I disagree. I think hits in hockey have been taken out entirely too much. I think players are putting themselves in positions to getting blasted because the NHL is taking the fear outta the players cause they think it wont happen due to the fact Shanny is suspending guys like it’s going out of style. Unfortunately there is no perfect way to do this. But Kopi never thought someone would run him like that so he decided to just put himself in that position thinking he wouldn’t get blasted because players are scared of suspensions. well morrow ran him legally and kopi paid for it unfortunately.
I’m pissed off at the williams getting double teamed and like Foxy said, should get suspended for hitting a defenseless player AND while already tangled with another player. NOT to mention the NON-Call on the stars player that tripped/slashed whatever on doughty that immediately resulted in a stars goal. that was totally blown.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 9:58 am
So let’s have a league where everyone who retires does so because of injury. That helps!
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:00 am
I think it’s funny that you claim to know what Kopi was thinking.
WRT the non-call on the Doughty trip, the refs are tired if Doughty’s trash talk. Frankly, it looked like a dive anyway…a trip and a dive, which is how it should have been called. Diving happens way to much and needs to get called just as much as when a guy gets a slash or whatever it was, and skates about ten feet then decides to fall.
zulov Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Love all your posts about this – couldn’t agree more. Until the department of player safety starts to actually care about player safety its a frigin joke.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:01 am
@zulov, Thanks! Hadn’t seen Quisp comment on this here, but it was gratifying to see pretty much the same take on his blog.
MM Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
@Kinger, Flashes of his ankle injury popped into my head when I saw this play last night. I am glad he’s OK now but I hope there is no long term affect from hitting the boards the way he did.
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Marty's Fists Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
@Kinger, Luv ya Kopi nice to see you got your mojo back.
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WARRIOR MODE!
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Dominick Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:52 am
@KOHO, 1rst thought that came to mind.
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gotta love DS… you know in his head he was saying “rub some dirt on it and get back out there!!”
“Obviously I’d do the same for every other guy” I cant wait to see Kopi mix it up…but with patty kane or st louis, of course
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Ike Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:56 am
@Stuart, Hahah, thats what I was thinking too.
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KOHO Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
@Stuart,
Yeah, Kopitar actually saying he’d go if that happened to anyone else intrigued me..I’ve been waiting to see him scrap once..heck even Crosby has dropped the gloves.
DING DING!
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Blurker Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
@Stuart, Kopi won’t be getting his Lady Byng if he drops the gloves. He’s got what? 4 PIM this year? Maybe 6.
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Thats the way Kopi to stand up for all, and just relax, I was at game last night, and saw those guys keep on you almost all night, trying to take you down othter times, too, but you stood tall.
Go Kings Go!
Thanks so much for all you guys do for us, your the best in this sport, We Love LA Kings!
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Swell!
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“It was a good hit, hard hit. Nothing wrong with it.”
“It was just a hockey hit.”
Nuff said?
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vplaza Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:38 am
@wavesinair,
It was. And to Morrow’s credit, it turned the game in their favor.
Liked the fact that MR jumped to Kopi’s defense, but didn’t like the fact that we were without our top 2 players for the rest of the game.
The Kings got a point (when they should have had 2), so on to the next game.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:39 am
@wavesinair, No……..Nuff said!
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:55 am
@wavesinair,
I’ll quote Quisp here:
“I won’t believe Kopitar isn’t concussed until at least a week from now.
And it might be a good idea to keep Sidney Crosby in mind. It wasn’t the first hit that ruined two years of his career; it was the second one, a week later. You know, when Crosby was “fine.”"
http://www.jewelsfromthecrown.com/2012/1/13/2705262/rule-41-1-boarding
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RobSD Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy,
Way to be a downer. Club any baby seals today???
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
@RobSD,
I’m a Doc…
It’s my job…
–Blame Quisp.
BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
@RobSD,
No.
Look at it this way:
Give Kopi time.
Don’t expect everything, right away.
Pray he’ll be skating through the road trip.
The guy is like War Horse…
JWR Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy,
In Crosby’s case I really think he “hid” the seriousness of the 1st one just so he could play in the Winter Classic where he got hit again and made it much worse.
I remember earlier this year another player attemped to hide that he was concussed but could not due the symptoms coming on too hard.
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
@JWR,
Wrong timeline.
First hit was late in the second period of the Classic…
wavesinair Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy,
But Crosby wasn’t evaluated via the new procedures. I don’t think the new protocol allows for ‘a week later’ symptoms to show up. Either you’re presenting symptoms or you’re not. I don’t know of a single concussion that didn’t present symptoms right away. Maybe it could lead to a stroke or aneurysm later there’s no way to predict that. Crosby was obviously hiding his fog. The new protocol is designed to unmask any attempt to fake being ‘fine’ if I’m not mistaken. Don’t you concur?
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Chip Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
@wavesinair, Crosby was obviously out of it after that Winter Classic hit from Steckel. Either he or the team or both put Crosby back out for the following game. One good thing the new protocol does is stop a player like from bulldozing his way right back onto the ice for the next game. Or get pressured from the team to get back onto the ice.
BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
@wavesinair, @Chip,
Agree with both of you.
Kopitar will obviously be evaluated before and after each of the next few games…
I think we will all know right away if Kopitar is right.
Just think of the energy coming at us in Calgary, with the return of Cammi & a hot Flames team…
JWR Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy,
Bako I’m goning by this quote from the Pen’s 2010-11 Wiki.
“Crosby suffered a concussion in an open ice hit in the Winter Classic but remained in the game and took part in the following contest vs the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the game vs Tampa Bay however, he was hit again this time behind the net against the boards and further aggravated his concussion. Crosby was held out games from January 7 through the end of the regular season.”
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JWR Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
@JWR,
Yes I did get the games backward.
LGK Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@wavesinair, Star fans are not allowed to post here. I think you guys think this is stars blog.
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Kopi thought he was dazed when he commented that the kings had scored 4 goals …..then he realized he was right and felt good.
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:45 am
@neil,
I thought I was dazed when it happened…and Morrow certainly didn’t hit me.
They’ve scored NINE goals in two games. NINE..including 4 PP goals. in the nine games prior, they’d only scored 15…
[Reply]
kinginprague Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
@FKA PakiFro,
not only we scored 4 goals, but what a goals – god, they were pretty!!! and each of them different: breakaway with quick move (Lewis), almost tic-tac-toe with demolishing one-timer (DD to Jackson), awesome shot-pass with tip-in (Jackson to Kopi) and speedy combination with cool accurate pass in the crease and great positional play (Kopi to Brown)
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Lucky Luc Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
@kinginprague,
Agreed, great goals! Hope Kopi keeps up this momentum! And MR gets going too. They seem to be opening things up, which may leave them open to counters like last night, but if it gets their offense going….
MindGeyser Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
@kinginprague, I don’t like being ‘that guy’, but, Jackson?
kinginprague Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
@kinginprague, very sorry guys and JJ. sometimes I feel like an idiot!
for sure a clean hit but scared the hell out of me! I felt like crying like a little girl at the thought of losing Kopi for any amount of time. Very glad he is ok and for some reason I like the whole it was a good hit so lets suck it up and move on attitiude both AK and DS are taking on it. I would have loved to get two points last night but in leiu of the situation i dont mind only getting one due to sticking up fo teammates! Great team attitude and i love it
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Dominick Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:57 am
@BrokeKingsFan, Scared the hell out of me too. When he was laying there I was like “no, no, no, no”. Not knowing what was wrong, as soon as kopi started moving, I started counting limbs to see if anything might be broken.
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jeff Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, nice words you said it perfect go kings go
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So the next Star’s / King’s game, is Brenden Morrow a marked man? Who do you think will deliver the message?
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:41 am
@John Roy Morgan, I think enough of a message was already sent. It was clean hit and unfortunatly it didnt go too well for ol Kopi. IMO there shouldnt be any other retaliation or head hunting for it. I think if roles were reversed we would have hit him just the same. Move on…..nothing more to see here
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kingsfaninsb Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:45 am
@John Roy Morgan, I don’t think morrow will be marked since it was a clean hit. Souray on the other hand, I would not be surprised to see something happen with him
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:50 am
@kingsfaninsb, Yeah…..F that guy! first he punches and almost literaly tries to choke out Dewey and then mobs J-dub while he’s pinned by another player. If i could really express my thoughts on it i would be moderated. I hope the league looks into discipline for him one way or another. Ive wiped better things off the bottom of my shoe than this guy
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RobSD Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
@John Roy Morgan,
Marked or not that will be a war of a game.
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Rabidhockeyfan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
@RobSD, The other Dallas player that needs to watch his back is Ott. Someone needs to really clean his clock.
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zulov Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
@John Roy Morgan, Westy better be sharpening his axe. He needs to earn his paycheck. Period 1 beat the snot out of morron, and spend the rest of the game clubbing sore-loser. Next Dallas game that is.
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Forum Gold Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@John Roy Morgan, Scoreboard. Take the 2 points from them and head on home. GO KINGS GO!!!
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Kenny44 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@John Roy Morgan, Morrow didn’t go after Brown or Clifford, he went after our top scorer. So why should we focus retrbution on Morrow or Ott? Run hard at their scorers – Ryder Ericson Ribeiro. If we get them, we’ll take two of their guys off the ice – the scorer plus Morrow, Ott, or Benn etc. who will have to jump in. That’s the more direct and effective attack, as the Stars showed last night.
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Sancho Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
@John Roy Morgan, I doubt that the Kings will do anything. I’d like them to but, I don’t think so?!?!
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Great news!
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I suggest REST Kopi for a game to prevent injuries. Also, jWilliams should rest a game or two in next few weeks. Kings should rest players alternately in a course of a season to prevent injuries to players also lets alternates to get ice time.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:42 am
Maybe do this around December and March. Just a game or two.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Keeps them hungry as well.
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It is what it is.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:45 am
@BobKnob, I am what I am and thats all that I am
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PakiFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:46 am
@BobKnob,
Kopitar and Brown use that same quote every single day for every single interview….kind of tired of it….
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IceGuy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:50 am
@PakiFan,
Well, boring, maybe, but, it is what it is.
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goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:54 am
@PakiFan,
Hehehe … Bryzgalov said that too when he was asked about not selected for the winter classic game. It’s a useful phrase.
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LVKINGS88 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
@PakiFan, That’s a saying I used to hear all the time while working in Vegas or “es lo que es” for the Spanish speakers.Shanny needs to discipline Souray though for that crap at the end, and I believe the puck just crossed the goal line before the whistle, but the refs stunk last night and they need discipline also.Good that Kopi is cool, somebody needs to smack Ott, I was hoping that Cliffy was going to do it earlier, he was jawing back and forth with him after Ott pulled his crap with Brown. We need to stop Iginla and the newly acquired one legged flamingo Cammelerie tomarrow night.
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Kings x Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
@PakiFan, At least the guy speaks very good english. We could be dealing with broken english and a heavy eastern European accent. Oh wait, is that DS?
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Sebastian Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
@BobKnob, “It is what it is” – Transtalion – “your question is stupid and has and obvious answer that i dont care to give you and i would like to move on with my life”
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Legal or not the NHL SHOULD impose rules to prevent injuries to the head/NHL star players!!!
Look, if stick get into ones face whether intentional or not ITS A PENALTY! Same should be for a blind sided hit around the shoulder and up.
Nobody really intends to cause a penalty but the NHL is TRYING to cut down on concussions. Best way to cut it down would be a rule against hitting shoulder and up-PERIOD!!!!
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Ike Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
@rogiesbackup, You are saying to outlaw shoulder hits?
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zulov Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
@Ike, NO he is saying outlaw blind siding a guy! What the heck is so hard to understand about that?
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King4life Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
@rogiesbackup, What? It’s hockey not powder puff
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AZ King Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
@rogiesbackup,
Are you really suggesting the league penalizes shoulder checks? I’m sorry but that’s ridiculous. Not only that, but they are supposed to give out more penalties when star players get injured? So does that mean the Red Wings will get more power plays because they have more star players. This is getting beyond silly.
Maybe take up figure skating, it’s much safer sport.
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Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
@zulov, but he didn’t “drill kopi into the boards” he just drilled kopi who then proceeded to fly into the night and land into the boards…
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The more I think about it, it’s such a ridiculously stupid rule. Getting penalized for wearing a visor? Come on NHL. Seriously?
I know it is automatic penalty now. But the officiating at the end of the game was awful
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I’m doing a live show on stickam M-F at 12:45 PM PST. If anybody wants to debate me on my opinion that Richards lost the game taking those stupid penalties in defense of Kopi, I welcome the discussion. http://www.Stickam.com/PoormansNation This is what my career has come to Rich! BTW, It would be an honor having you there anytime dude!
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39scars Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
@Poorman, We sacrificed a pt to build a team. It much more instinctive to sacrifice for the team when ur teammates are doing the same. This is why we gave up so much to get this guy. A defining moment in the season
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
@Poorman, 1 point is a small price to pay for ultimate respect from your teamates and fans. Ill give up that point again any day if the situation comes up again and im sure every player on the team feels the same way.
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Spanky Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
@Poorman,
There’s no real debate, just alot of speculation. Everybody would be all kinds of butt hurt if Richards had not fought, saying the team has no core and they don’t stand up for one another (but that’s also speculation). The PK has been so stellar, it was an acceptable risk. Just unfortunate that the puck was deflected in by WM. At the end of the day, risking the 1 pt isn’t a big deal in the microcosm of yesterday’s game if the team’s unity is solidified and intensity magnified. Spanky 1 Poorman 0.
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lobinho56 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
@Spanky, Amen brother.
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AZ King Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
@Poorman,
I would rather see the Kings do what they did last night 100 times, than see them skate away just once.
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zulov Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
@AZ King, On that we totally agree. IMO Kings actually should have done much more as a team to send a message to those goons.
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Poorman Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
@zulov, Is there anybody in hockey who’d agree with me? Suppose the Kings miss the playoffs by 1 point? All I’m saying, and we don’t know for sure, is it seems like the Kings had the game won until Richards retaliated even with the Kopi injury. as he was fighting, I thought there goes the game, because you stood up. I knew they’d lose at that point. I don’t accept it, but then I Can hardly skate.
Wait…coach sutter smiled?????
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Thank You.
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I think the league needs another definition of boarding. It was a clean hit. Nevertheless, Kopi was thrown to the board violently and hit his head. If it was me, I would have ended up on the hospital bed, paralyzed from broken neck or something. Morrow could have expected the outcome with that kind of impact near the board. It’s difficult to say. But sometimes freaky accident happens even though no one’s at fault. Still someone has to take responsibility when someone gets hurt or possibly hurt.
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zulov Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
@goldielocks, If I am going to continue drinking the “we are working very hard to reduce concussions” cool aid from Betman and gang, they better review that play and single Morrow out for dangerous play.
Whether he meant it or not, he had absolutely no regard to whether Kopi gets totally wrecked by the hit.
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goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
@zulov,
Exactly!
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I hate when the season teeters like that. Bear down boyz, don’t forget the D.
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I think Westy needs to be on the bench every time we play the Canucks or the Stars! I don’t think he should be in every game but he nedds to be for those two teams. For some reason they always run our star players and I wish someone would SMACK the crap out of Ott!! He has that “Sean Avery” kinda feel to his game. I just wish Westy could have the fight of his life against that puke Ott and end his b.s.!!!
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Forum Gold Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
@illegalstick33, +1000%. GO KINGS GO!!!
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colo king fan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
@illegalstick33,
it doesnt take westy to fight a canuck.. pretty much anyone on the kings could handle those pollyannas.
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Sure looked worse than it turned out. It was a clean hit as far as I could see and Morrow is a class act and caught Kopi napping or just tunneled in on the puck.
Glad it was not as bad as it looked, the secondary hit of his head into the boards had me worried.
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I’ve really had it with all the head up bull! Yes, when on open ice, skating with the puck, you should be responsible for your own safety. When near the boards, battling for a loose puck, you are prone. Kopi was not out on open ice skating with clear possession. He was coming from behind the net, having just gotten the puck on his stick and trying to guide it.
The only reason the hit was shoulder to chet was because Kopi turned into it – otherwise Morron hits him on the other side or in the back.
It was clear that after the goal Kopi scored on the PP, completely untouched and open in front of the net, the message to the stars from their coaching staff was “do not let this guy near the net – hit him.” IOW, if you are a goon like Morron, that means take Kopi out.
Thats why the Stars won the game – a vicious, dangerous, blind siding, boarding hit.
Way to go NHL. Way to go Department of player safety. Way to go Refs.
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Legal or not, intent to injure or not, should have let up because the player was in a vulnerable position or not? This will rage on…
The fact is, Morrow had no business being on the ice. If you go back and review what occurred prior to this hit, at the other end of the ice, right in front of Quick, you’ll see that at 8:28 (remaining) of the 3rd, a shot was taken from the blue line by a Star and Morrow and Doughty were down low. After the shot was stopped and the puck flew out of the crease, Morrow high-sticks Doughty and the ref didn’t call it.
Morrow should have been in the penalty box instead of having a chance to put the Kings’ best player on the shelf…
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Call me crazy but I have a feeling that the hit could be the best thing to happen to the Kings. Kopi seems alright and I think it will bring the team together, especially after Richards gets booted from the game for sticking up for Kopi. Watch for the Kings to turn it on even more now, and have that Us against the world mentality, also they are starting to score more goals more often. GKG!
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Some of you guys need to go to Lenscrafters along with the refs. The hit on Kopi was clean, I also thought at first that he had been blindsided but after I watched 4 or 5 more times, he wasn’t, what happened was he just got caught in no man’s land and there was nothing he could do about it befor the truck ran him over. He was looking right at Morrow when he got hit but that’s all he could do.
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THANK GOD! that was a vicious two way hit, Kopi is a frickin WARRIOR!! on to Calgary to work on the PP, generally get alot of PP chances up there! GO KINGSA GO!!!!!
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Kopi a.k.a Jesus on Skates
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