Mike RIchards was relieved to see teammate Anze Kopitar up and around and relatively OK after his big hit from Dallas’ Brenden Morrow last night, but Richards was not pleased with the aftermath of the it. Richards immediately jumped on Morrow and the two fought. Richards received an extra penalty for instigating the fight, and then automatically received extra penalties — an unsportsmanlike-conduct minor and a 10-minute misconduct — for wearing a visor. Richards was upset, both with the on-ice call and the rule that led to his extra penalties.
RICHARDS: “I didn’t think it was an instigator. I thought we dropped our gloves at the exact same time. I asked him to fight, he said yes and we dropped our gloves. I’ve never been called for an instigator before, and especially not an instigator for fighting with a visor. I think the most frustrating thing is, if the NHL is trying to get us to wear visors, and then we get penalized for fighting with them, I think it kind of defeats the purpose.’’
Question: Because you just do it in the heat of the moment, right?
RICHARDS: “Yeah, exactly. You hear all the speculation about having set [staged] fights and fighting in the moment, things like that. Then when you do fight in the moment, you get penalized for it because you had a visor on. I don’t really understand the whole (thing) about visors, and if they want people to wear them or not. It just seems like everyday is something new.’’
Question: Given your situation, this year, with the hit to the head and all, you must have been concerned to see the hit that Kopitar took…
RICHARDS: “I was obviously scared for Kopi. You never like to see a player like that. Even thought it was a shoulder-to-shoulder hit, those are dangerous plays. It’s good to see that he’s healthy and doing well. Like I said, it’s just one of those in-the-moment things. If you’re going to get penalized for sticking up for your teammates, that’s a tough message to send around the league.’’
Question: You hear the talk about taking the instigator penalty out of the game totally…
RICHARDS: “I think Brian Burke said in, in an article last week, about how the smaller — I don’t know the exact words he used — I think he said `rats,’ but how the smaller guys are starting to take over the league. You make a hit like that — not that Morrow didn’t defend himself, because he’s a tough guy and probably got the better side of me on that — and then we’re down four minutes at a key part of the game. If I get four minutes after that, and put the team down, you’re probably going to think twice about it (next time). It’s a touchy subject. It’s something that I don’t think us, as players, totally understand what they want. If you’re going to give a guy a four-minute penalty for sticking up for teammates, I think that’s the wrong way.’’
Question: Have you ever had a penalty like that before?
RICHARDS: “I can’t remember ever getting an instigator. On plays like that, it’s usually a two-minute roughing or something like that. But the refs are there to call what they see. They made the right calls. You can’t argue with that. I just think it’s a dumb rule in place.’’
Darryl Sutter also weighed in on the visor rule that Richards disputed…
SUTTER: “That is sort of a funny rule. The one penalty that you still deem as a good penalty is protecting your teammates. With that heavyweight (enforcer) thing going away in the league, guys with heart and character have always been guys that have protected their teammates. Without saying it is grandfathered in, there aren’t too many kids coming up who don’t wear visors, right? So it may be a rule that has gone past its time. It’s probably something that they should look at, when you look at it.’’
Question: If you were commissioner, would you try to eliminate the instigator rule completely?
SUTTER: “I’ve been all over with it, in the few years of it. The way the fighting part has changed, the intimidation has changed in the game, really I don’t even know where I stand on it anymore. It’s more a case-to-case thing with me.’’
I have a couple of issues that are sort of contradictory, but what the hell:
First, Doughty and Kopitar both need to get some old school coaching about keeping their heads up. It makes me sick on several different levels that we lost that game, but one thing is for sure, if Kopi keeps his head up that hit doesn’t happen there are no penalties, and we likely win the game. He might have even scored a goal!
Second, the instigator penalty is ruining hockey and getting people hurt and anybody around the league that sees that play last night knows it encourages that type of hit and worse. I don’t even know that it was a dirty hit, but it required a response. To penalize Richards the extra time really sends the wrong message. Dallas turned the game in their favor by hurting someone, plain and simple and the league will uphold it. If an enforcer (not necessarily Richards, but he did what he had to) can’t go out on the ice and hold someone accountable without costing his team the game, the league is handing the game over to the Raffi Torres’s and the Dan Carcillo’s in the league. Absolutely pathetic.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
@40YearKingsFan, Yup, it reminded me of the infamous playoff game against the Blues where Russ Courtnall won them the game by running the goaltender (Storr?) then turtling to take the response. Sadly, the goaltender did apparently play with a concussion and let in something like three goals in the ensuing penalties.
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blueliner Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Sadly, I was at that game.
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quisp Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
@blueliner,
me too.
and yes, it was storr. who then played concussed.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Sadly, so was I. It was the only time I ever threw anything (my radio) on the ice, I was so PO’d.
Sam Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 9:12 am
@blueliner, I too was at the game. It was one of the worst officiated games, for that play alone.
LVKINGS88 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Please don’t bring that up, that and the goal bell that rings when they score a goal are the two reasons I can’t stand the Blue’s.
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themahi Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
@LVKINGS88,
I had forgotten all about that…and yes, that’s what birthed my disdain for the Blues as well.
BringBackMarcel Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
Check out this quote on that sad game from the LA Times:
“With defenseman Sean O’Donnell serving a five-minute fighting major for pummeling Courtnall, Storr gave up four power-play goals in a span of 3:07 as St. Louis rallied to win, 4-3.
I’ve hurt for my Kings before, but THAT was ridiculous. My uncle and I had amazing seats because we bought two singles and sat one in front of the other at center ice. (Remember the days of waiting in line at the Forum to buy tickets?) I nearly cried.
Here’s the whole article. Fun to look back on…
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/30/sports/sp-44660
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raunq12 Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 12:08 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
I remember fat boy Koharsky blowing that call.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:06 am
@raunq12, God, I hated that guy! People complain about other, individual refs, but nobody ever had anything on Koharsky, except maybe Nick McGeough. Frazier comes up from time to time, but I sorta liked him. I thought he was at least fair, even if he blew calls. Both those other two guys seemed to have it in for the Kings. I’m so glad they’re both off the ice.
BigMikeonD Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
@40YearKingsFan, Keeping your head up is one thing. He was shielded by the defenseman and Kopi was coming around the back of the net. Tough to keep puck control and head up 100% in that situation. Easy to say keep your head up. I am just glad #11 lives to play again. Anytime someone lays on the ice like that it’s scary. The visor rule is redonkulous. The goal at the end of reg should have counted. There was no whistle or wave off.
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Seems A Good Fellow Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
@BigMikeonD, the reason for the goal not being allowed is because Doughty got called for charging. Everything happened so fast I’m sure the ref didn’t have timek to blow the whistle but I thought I saw him wave it off as soon as it went in. But that non goal is beside the point. This instigator rule is a crock! It’s in place now so its the right call against Richards but the NHL needs to take a serious look at that rule! It hasn’t helped solve any issues the NHL is trying to eliminate or minimize. On the other hand, Richards knows the rule book. Wouldn’t he have been better served to wrap Morrow up, give him a face wash and tell him that the next time we play, you and I are going and I’m going to beat the living crap out of you! Especially with a game that has so.much importance? Am I the only one thinking that way?
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5holer Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
@BigMikeonD, Could not have said it better all around! Kopi is a nice kid indeed, but I pray one day he wakes up and gets mad for about 10-15 years! I cannot call that hit clean at all by Morrow on Kopi!! First of all lets state the givens here…Morrow is an “on the edge player at all times”, a fancy use of words to describe a jack ass IMHO! Second of all there is NO RESPECT left in this league from opponent to opponent, period! Third and most obvious to me is that today’s hockey gear is made of armor, hard shelled armor strength weaponry..this gear goes right with the No Respect Attitudes prevailing in this league!! If you abide with me so far, then it is not surprising that this situation developed the way it did…especially considering it was Morrow (or could easily have been Ott as well on that team!). You can hit the man and take him off the puck of course, but Morrow did not try to take Kopi off the puck at all…he tried to remove Kopi from the game and succeeded…maybe more then just the game!
As far as the goal not being reviewed? I am located at the glass right at the goal line in 117; I am looking right at that buffoon Denis LaRue; I saw him point at something, but it was a vague motion with no certainty to his intentions recognized! No whistle was blown (he did not have the whistle to his mouth at all!)? Yes Dewey ran the Goalie in the crease where the puck was already in the net at the time. LaRue gave no indication about the puck in the net at all..Justin was yelling at LaRue about it for sure. My impression is that LaRue was pointing at the players in the crease for penalties(Dewey, Benn, and I believe it was Souray in there also with Justin Williams, plus Lehtonen as well). No review of the play was indicated? Why not? The game was out of hand because of the way LaRue & O’Halloran called it from the outset! They let aloty of crap go on both sides and it boiled over of course! I have watched LaRue call alot of games in my days, but this was one of his all time worst officiating efforts to date. I have never seen him referee a solid game in all his career! His ranking is at the bottom of the league every year. No question the visor rule in fighting is counter intuitive. Not surprisingly, the rule was put out by the rules committee consisting of many “non-player GMs”, with zero perspective. This stuff keeps the NHL as the #4 Major Sport in North America, along with the inconsistent officiating! It sucks, they suck and the Kings gave it up last night, because they lost their discipline in retaliations throughout the game. Mike Richards slashing call was living proof of that dam Philly Flyer brutal mentality and No Respect action! Kopi has to get mad and bull his way around with some edge!! Or else he will be a casualty for sure!!
Take it or leave it!
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XRScheck2 Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 1:11 am
@BigMikeonD, Completely agree …….. The goal the Kings had disallowed should have totally counted. The whistle did blow, but not until the puck was sliding over the goal line. I recall Coach Sutter commenting about a week and a half ago… Right after the Avs game that any puck entering the net should always be considered a goal initially, and that the honus should be on forcing video review to determine otherwise. In my opinion he is spot on in that mindset.
On the penalties Richards took…. I only hope he would respond the same was again under the same or similar circumstances. Cannot fault the officials for calling it the way they did… It is just a lame rule that is compromising the games past and present; as well as player safety.
Lastly…. I have to say that I with each game grow happier with the coaching choice DL made. Coach Sutter I believe is the spark this team needs to avoid complacency and resting on their laurels (sp) . He seems to have changed with the game, but maintained just enough old school thinking to be a truely effective coach in todays NHL.
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Royal Throne Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
@40YearKingsFan, You’re absolutely right, but while everyone’s talking about the visor,including Richatds, why is no one, including Richards, refrring to the obvious–Richards’ helemt, including the visor of course, was KNOCKED OFF HIS HEAD IMMEDIATELY at the very start of their fairly weak little scrum. Why can’t the refs accept reality? Richards didn’t have a visor on, he didn’t even have a helmet on. Why doesn’t that matter? There he is, getting punched by a guy wearing a helmet. And does the rule mean that a guy not wearing a visor can foul anyone he wants without being retaliated against? What if everyone around him is wearing a visor? He can kill someone and it’s okay.
And I still want to know why Fraser’s winning goal was disallowed when Doughty crashed into Lehtinen AFTER the goal and after the refereee signaled a goal? A good goal is a good goal, doesn’t matter what happens after it. That’s a penalty after the goal, not before.
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blueliner Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
@40YearKingsFan, It’s no coincidence the number of concussions has drastically increased in the NHL since the instigator rule was implemented. I would agree there are also other factors to the increased in head injuries such as the players being bigger and faster. However I do believe the instigator is the biggest reason. This sport, the greatest of them all, is in serious jeopardy with all the head injuries. Something has to be done, and please don’t give me the “take the fighting out of hockey speech”. Players are losing respect for each other on the ice and its because there’s no longer a consequence for cheap hit or even a clean hit on a unsuspecting player. More rules ruin the game, let the players police their actions. It worked beautifully in the NHL prior to the instigator rule. Fighting has always been and always will be a part of a good NHL game. If you don’t like it, watch baseball.
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Kings x Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
@blueliner, Comcussions are on the rise because of the instigator rule and because of the removal of the two line pass. Things thought to have made the game better and safer are seeing the demise of our beloved sport
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g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
@Kings x, I like taking the blue line out…it keeps the game flowing a bit more…but, the linesmen aren’t even sure what determines iceing anymore and that has affected the game league wide, because they were given a more liberal approach to make that distinction…now it seems the players are being caught in between and are hesitant…just areas of the game that need to be discussed and cleaned up rules wise…let’s not leave any doubt or on the spot interpreting for the refs and linesmen…this game is the fastest sport on earth…interpreting on the fly isn’t easy…
as for the visor rule…it’s a bad rule and it is obvious to anyone now that it should be removed from the rule book…40yearkingsfan had it right…the rule allowed Morrow to hurt the other teams’ best player and get rewarded for it. Ultimately, the Kings lose because of a poor rule that had no bearing on the events taking place on the ice…Horrible, horrible rule
Hackwoods Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
@blueliner, Do not know if this was cleared up yet, but the original poster of this mini thread said Russ Courtnall, but it was actuall Geoff Courtnall who ran Storr and then turtled as OD pummelled him. I too, was at that game and it was one of the loudest games I had ever been too, and it was a shame we lost because Geoff Courtnall was too big of a wussy to stand up and fight. Russ is a good guy, but I always disliked creepy looking Geoff Courtnall.
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Craig Swanson Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
@Hackwoods, Yes he was creepy!
I posted this before but I do it again cause this seems more proper subject.
Come to think of it, it’s really funny if the visor is the reason he was penalized. Does the league expect the player take the visor off before fighting? I mean, taking off the helmet is not an option, isn’t it? What if two players tangled up and fall then hit their back of the head? One of hockey players died (not NHLer) in that exact situation. So that means you can’t fight if you wear the visor? Someone help me out please. I’m so confused.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
@goldielocks, It appears as if Mikey and Sutter are confused too. It’s just a bad rule and it was a bad call. Richards (visor and all) asked for the fight and Morrow obliged. It was a fair and rather uneventful scrap neither team should have been penalized for. Our best two players were taken off the ice AND we were left shorthanded. Regardless the rule, it’s a call that should not have been made without also calling the boarding and evening it up.
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EmptyTank Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
@40YearKingsFan,
It wasn’t boarding! It was a clean hit where Morrow essentially set up a brick wall approx. 7-8 feet from the end wall for Kopi to run in to. Having made contact (legally) shoulder to shoulder, Kopi’s momentum carried him onward in a spinning motion where his face hits at the very bottom of the boards. If Kopi is skating with his head up he would have seen it coming but he didn’t.
Yes, it sucked! But everyone needs to be honest and realistic about the hit.
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quisp Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
@EmptyTank,
you need to read rule 41.1. A check that throws a player violently into the boards is boarding. the rule doesn’t specify that the “bottom” of the boards is okay. nor does it say that the boarded player’s momentum is a factor. Obviously, in probably 99% of all boarding penalties the boarded player is skating toward the boards, so if momentum were an issue there would essentially be no boarding penalties at all.
EmptyTank Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
@EmptyTank,
Indeed the rule doesn’t specify the “bottom” of the boards. I made that clarification to attempt to show how “far down the road” Kopi had traveled before he even contacted the boards. The “direction” of the check, so to speak, was not INTO the boards. Morrow even comes to a dead stop at the point of contact.
Believe me, I hate to have to “stand up” for an opposing player, but I hate it when people try to see something that just isn’t there. I’d bet you could show that you could show this to every single ref from ECHL all the way up and they’re not going to see a rule 41.1 violation here. You may be able to construe the wording of the rule to make yourself think it’s Boarding, but no Situation Manual is going to agree that this is boarding.
EmptyTank Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
@EmptyTank,
One more thing @quisp, Rule 41.1 specifically uses the wording “defenseless opponent”. Uh, straight-on from the front, shoulder-to-shoulder contact means Kopi was NOT defenseless.
PS. I’m really starting to hate myself for so vehemently defending Morrow here. I just want us all to be realistic and not blinded by passion.
40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
@EmptyTank, My point is that whether or not it’s boarding depends on the referee that day. It’s a subjective rule at best and given the whole situation and how it went down the referee should have at the very least left the teams at even strength. I’m not sure it was boarding because again, “defenseless” is a completely subjective and relative word, and there’s nowhere in the book you can find their definition of defenseless. I don’t think it was a dirty hit or there was intent to injure, but the call could have easily went either way and the refs should not decide the game, the hockey should.
g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
@EmptyTank, the NHL rules committee spends a lot of time spitting out terms like ‘intent to injure’ and ‘owness on the p[layers’…What was Morrows’ intent there? He saw an opportunity to lay a big hit on a defenseless player…that might have been the most viscious hit I have seen in a long time…and as far as Kopi keeping his head up…well sorry, he is a world class hockey player who knows how to play at this level…he couldn’t see Morrow (i think) and that is why he fished for the puck as he was losing control of it behind the net…If you were to ask him he would probably say he should of known the train was a comin, but never the less, i think even if he sees Morrow at the last second, something bad still happens…If you are a Dallas fan, you love the hit and are giddy with the outcome…for us Kings fans we are left bitter and wanting
EmptyTank Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
@40YearKingsFan,
But… I will agree with you that they’re both bad rules (the visor rule and the instigator rule itself). I think there is a place for some type of “Coach sending a player (goon) out to start a fight” rule, but a heat of the moment immediate reaction shouldn’t be an instigator.
And finally, it was a horrible call to be made since as MR states and the video agrees, they came together and hugged then both players dropped gloves at the same time. When they first put the instigator in place years ago, I recall that was what the refs were supposed to “key” on: Did one player drop the gloves before the other?
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Deke'r Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
@goldielocks, …usually if the fighters are the enforcers they both remove their helmets out of respect….but that may be old school as these days the boys are much softer…
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Dominick Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
@goldielocks,
The rule is to stop hands from being broken by players who swing away and catch nothing but visor. It also is supposed to discourage players who play with a false sense of security because they know the visor only gives the guy swinging at him a small amount of face to connect with.
It shouldn’t be called with 2 players who decide to fight in a mutual combat situation, but when that rule is applied, it is applied with the refs determinination on wether it is mutual or not.
The rule doesn’t take into account wether the player with the visor is fighting in the heat of the momment, or just fighting because he has the advantage against a player who isn’t protected. The rule is an automatic call, and defeats the players wearing them for protection, than saying they are better protected in fights, and shouldn’t be.
That”s like saying anybody wearing visors shouldn’t stick up for his teammates.
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Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
@Dominick, I think the broken hands come from direct contact with helmets, I’ve never not once seen a hand broken from hitting a shield (which usually has a lot of give inandofitself, but also more so because the helmet usually slides down too). But with your second line I totally agree and believe to be the main reason for the rule.
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Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
@Dominick, for some reason all this visor and “rats” talk has me thinking about Patty Verbeek… gawd I hated that guy.
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quisp Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
@Stuart,
The little ball of hate!
“It’s something that I don’t think us, as players, totally understand what they want.”
That sums up the entire situation. The system’s screwed up all the way around, and people don’t know when their behavior is inline with what it’s supposed to be.
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This certainly clears things up.
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” Dallas turned the game in their favor by hurting someone, plain and simple and the league will uphold it. If an enforcer (not necessarily Richards, but he did what he had to) can’t go out on the ice and hold someone accountable without costing his team the game, the league is handing the game over to the Raffi Torres’s and the Dan Carcillo’s in the league. Absolutely pathetic.”
I really agree with what you’re saying. How does the one team get REWARDED for injuring a guy. He took a run at a vulnerable guy (Kopitar was already covered by another guy and was on a wrap around). How are you going to let a guy get plowed over like that into the boards. It was an obvious roughing and a charge. Yeah he did not have the “strides” but the spirit of a charge was there. He went out of his way to level a guy.
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jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
@jonsey, Rule 42 – Charging
42.1 Charging – A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates or jumps into, or charges an opponent in any manner.
Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A “charge” may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice.
42.2 Minor Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a minor penalty, based on the degree of violence of the check, to a player guilty of charging an opponent.
42.3 Major Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the degree of violence of the check, to a player guilty of charging an opponent (see42.5).
42.4 Match Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by charging.
42.5 Game Misconduct Penalty – When a major penalty is imposed under this rule for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or head of an opponent, a game misconduct shall be imposed.
42.6 Fines and Suspensions – When a major penalty and a game misconduct is assessed for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or head of an opponent, an automatic fine of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be imposed.
If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule28).
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jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
@jonsey, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0iq_3fF1I8
Watch this and tell me this isn’t a deliberate run at a guy. He sees it unfolding. He lines him up. The other guy is already covered. Morrow barely slows down at all. This is a charge with all the force of the length of the entire rink behind it.
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number 6 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
@jonsey,
I agree with whoever said your turning the game over to ‘disrespectful’ plays and players if you will.
Try your best to injure a guy, hope the refs deem it a ‘hockey play’ and then when someone rightly responds to a play where there is no respect the team who initiated the whole thing get a power play…. or with unclear antiquated rules maybe they get two pp’s.
Every single player in the nhl should know by now that that area about three feet from the boards is a serious danger area for those type of hits. Maybe it was shoulder on shoulder. There is though no consistency in the way these things are dealt with.
EmptyTank Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
@jonsey,
This is NOT Charging! (And see my comments above about it not being Boarding either!). Morrow is gliding at *maybe* half-speed from the time he comes into the frame at the top of the face-off circle.
Come on, be REAL, people. Stop trying to see things that just aren’t there!!! Morrow took an angle to meet the player head-on. He glided into the check and didn’t leave his feet. This is NOT CHARGING!
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
@EmptyTank, Now this may not be your definition of Charging, but this is, in fact, the rule (Thanks Jonsey). I only make the point because it’s not as clear cut as your making it sound and there’s a case to be made on either side of the argument. Your OPINION is that it was neither boarding or charging and you’re certainly entitled to it. There was a hit that sent our guy into the boeards and left him sprawled out on the ice, correct? There was a fair fight afterward. The fact that Dallas ended up with the man advantage and won the game after that is BS.
42.1 Charging – A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates or jumps into, or charges an opponent in any manner.
Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A “charge” may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
@jonsey, I can’t see it any other way. It was where Kopi was and the direction he was facing that mattered more than anything. Ten times out of ten the player in that situation flies awkwardly into the boards. How many of those times does he get injured? Too many. This is the sort of stuff Shanny is supposed to be doing something about.
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jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, I think when a guy is not facing you and is in a dangerous area and all ready covered you can’t come at him like that. Stoll has been guilty of this (except he doesn’t hit guys who are all ready pursued). This is a blindside hit. If Kopitar were closer to the boards then it is okay -a good check. But he’s less than a body-length away meaning he’s going to meet the boards with his head and neck.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:07 am
@jonsey, I think the distance from the boards did have a lot to do with it. Against the boards, or open ice, then it’s a lot more forgivable, but that was obviously a danger zone.
Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
@jonsey, the “spirit”??? good grief… I’ll need to look again, but I think it was a pass to the front, not a wrap, that led to Kopi making himself vulnerable. The hit was clean and Kopi was off balance which led to the helicopter legs and subsequent crash landing into the boards…
And Morrow was already headed in that direction, I don’t think he changed his angle whatsoever to make the hit…but like I said, I’ll try to catch the hit again when I get out of work. I must be misremembering…
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CheezyPoofs Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
@Stuart, Morrow had all that speed built up and was going to hit Kopi regardless of how he was oriented to the boards/goal. There just isn’t any way that Morrow could build up speed like that without seeking him out to hit him. Isn’t that charging?
It just so happend that Kopi was facing the net with the puck on his stick and (from what I could tell) about a foot or so past the redline. Morrow crushes him shoulder to neck and sends him “helicoptering” towards the boards where he smacks his head on the boards as well. Think about this, if Morrow would have hit Kopi a split second sooner or later the result would have been just as devestating. If hit before, Kopi gets leveled with a hit to the chest and goes flying back first to the boards, and and smacks the back of his head on the boards. He’s hit after, he goes flying face first into the boards with a check to the back and smacks his head there too. So regardless of when he was hit, Morrow had the intention of leveling Kopi and sending him into the boards, because there is no way any of these hits would not have done this (I know… a lot of double/tripple negatives in that sentence… get over it).
Now, everyone says that Kopi’s just got a bloody nose, but he was REALLY slow to get up. It looked to me like he was knocked out for a bit. Can you say concussion?
So at the end of this, Morrow won’t get any penalties added or anything like that, Richards, Sutter and all of us will be baffled by Shanny’s enforcement of the rules (or lack there of) and Kopitar will still have a concussion.
Great job refs!
Oh! And the part where Williams is getting pounded by two guys with their gloves on didn’t warrant a penalty? I thought that one was an automatic penalty as well. It makes no sense to me.
[Reply]
EmptyTank Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
@Stuart,
No Stuart, you’re remembering right. It was a clean hit.
[Reply]
Deke'r Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
@jonsey, …legal hitting is part of the game….personally that’s part of the reason why I watch….I also enjoy football games…..contact baby!!
[Reply]
jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
@Deke’r, i love hitting too. Maybe I’m a homer for the Kings, but there was something wrong there. I get uncomfortable with some Stoll hits too. I understand that this is a controversial hit. Had he have done this in open ice I would have thought pretty good hit. I didn’t like that another man had Kopi already nor did I like that no one expects a hit like that near the opposition’s net. I didn’t like that he hit him at that speed too far from the boards
[Reply]
Rich: Whatever happened to Jack Johnson being in the shoutout line-up? isn’t he the man one-on-one?
[Reply]
micwoo Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
@dcaps55, I agree Jack should be in the shootouts and again I ask why do
home teams like to shoot first when the stats show the edge is to the team
that shoots second.
[Reply]
Pumpernicholl Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@micwoo, I would agree with you on going second. Quick is an excellent shootout goaltender. Let him stop the first opponent shot and then the Kings would have a big advantage throughout the rest of the shootout.
[Reply]
jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
@micwoo, Quick is the reason the Kings win shootouts. They never win by their overwhelming scoring. Go with Quick 1st then go with Jack.
[Reply]
Tm thought it was a heavy hit……
[Reply]
16,005 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
@neil,
and Kopi was stron on the puck up to the point he was separated from it
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Was at the game in section 115 so all the strange stuff happened right in front of us. I think Richards should have drawn the extra minor, but a double minor in that situation was way too much.
I haven’t been this upset about the reffing since Kerry Frasier retired. Doughty getting tripped led directly to a goal. It looked like there were a few interference penalties that were let go as well.
Worst was Doughty being headlocked into the goalie in OT and then watching TWO Stars try to pound the back of Williams head while he was defenseless.
IF Kopi is okay though I think this will turn out to be a positive. IF he’s okay I think we’ll become a much tougher team from here on out. If he’s NOT okay I fear the season is lost.
[Reply]
johnpaulsly Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
@Weasel,
Doughty being tripped led.to a goal, brown being hooked/interfered with while backchecking led to a 2 on 1 goal. And right before Morrow rocked kopitar, dd’s stick was on the ice in front of quick, and when he went to grab it, the official saw Morrow push it away, which is interference. Rkchards got 2 min for that a couple weeks ago. The ref let morrow go, and on the same shift, instead of a kings PP, Morrow rocks kopi, fights richards, and the are short handed for 4 minutes and lose the game.
[Reply]
40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
@Weasel, Oh yeah!!!! Kerry Frazier!! I was trying to remember that guy’s name after Fox mentioned Denny LaRue before trhe game started. I was telling my sons that Denny LaRue seemed to always make bad calls against the Kings but there used to be a guy that was worse, but I couldn’t remember his name! Kerry Frazier was a real piece of work. That guy hated the Kings and it was so obvious every time he called the game. He was a real sleaze. And LaRue is right there with him.
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
@40YearKingsFan, but he had cool hair
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
@Stuart, Yeah! He looked like one of the “Hair Club for Men” dudes. That thing had to be a rug.
Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
@40Year, for awhile, in the 90s and 2000s, I thought Foxy used to go to Frazier’s barber/stylist… LOL
I’m glad Foxy has backed away from the aquanet!
Deke'r Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
@Weasel, ….wow…Kerry Frasier….don’t get me started….
[Reply]
40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:31 pm
@Deke’r, No kidding. Some bad memories there, huh?
[Reply]
g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
@Weasel, Yea KF did suck, but Don Koharsky is still the worst Kings hating ref I can think of…the Blues and Kings playoff that has been mentioned where the Kings lost 4 – 3 after Courtnall ran Storr…guess who was the ref?
[Reply]
IMO if your going to allow players to fight it shouldnt matter whether they have a visor or not(at least as far as the refs and penalties are concerned). Either make it a non issue or make a rule that everyone has to take their helmet off if they want to scrap regardless of weather they have a visor or not. That kind of gets me scratching my head. What if Morrow had a visor? would he get the same penalty as Richards even though he wasnt the one who “instigated” it? should he have to say…”wait mr richards… I have a visor let me take my helmet off so i dont take an additional penalty”….makes no sense to me.
[Reply]
40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
What is key to me, and the refs on the ice are aware of this, is that Richards with his visor and gloves on, asked Morrow for the fight. Morrow, knowing Richards had the visor on, said yes and they dropped the gloves and went. No harm no foul. Morrow could have easily said “No, I don’t want to fight because you have that visor on and that would give you an unfair advantage” and I’m sure Mikey would have taken it right off. Its just a BS call that determined the outcome of a game and that should NOT happen. Hockey should decide the game, not the refs.
[Reply]
Deke'r Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
@40YearKingsFan, …but if it is a rule hockey did decide…
[Reply]
40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
@Deke’r, True.
Kings x Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, It’s a dumb an in international play the player having to go back for the helmet if it gets knocked off. Completely disrupts the flow and rule of play. When was the last time Patrick swayze got youngblooded?
[Reply]
I actually get the visor rule. It hurts you to punch a guy with a visor. It is a dumb rule, but I get it. I don’t like the non calls on Stars cheapshotters and the calls on our team. Why is Doughty guilty for hiting their goalie and yet they are not guilty of roughing (at least) which is defined by punching a guy in the head.
[Reply]
@40YearKingsFan, agreed. The penalties on Richards were assanine.
[Reply]
Revenge is the only one word I can think of now. On our next meeting, the Kings players should go after everyone that moves, hitting hard, throwing them to the board and say ‘How’s that feel, huh?’ I want them to dictate and dominate the Stars like sucker punch girls! They shouldn’t get away from this!
[Reply]
You da man rich! Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
How many times did ott and various other stars throw punches to the back of kings players heads when they crashed the net? I counted 13 but I missed the 1st period. Why doesn’t the shamahan do anything bout that. Next meeting best be a bloodbath.
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
@goldielocks, it would be something else if Westy was on the ice for the initial puck-drop
[Reply]
goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
@Stuart,
I declare the war against Dallas!
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deadcatbounce Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
@goldielocks, And if you really think that, you’re just as big an idiot as Todd Bertuzzi!
[Reply]
goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
@deadcatbounce,
I’d rather be an idiot than a smart a$$ when someone hurts my family or friends.
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deadcatbounce Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
@goldielocks, I don’t like the idea of vigilante justice in hockey or anywhere. That’s why we have a justice system. Even if it’s not perfect, it works more often than not and I don’t want to see anybody take justice into their own hands and cripple someone just to make a point.
goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
@deadcatbounce,
Yea, I know. I was half joking but want to see some fighting spirits. That’s all.
goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
@deadcatbounce,
But I like your remark about Bertuzzi!
[Reply]
g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
@goldielocks, Isn’t it great that we have sports where players can hurt each other all night and never go to jail for it…Morrows hit on Kopi?…Definitely assault…and that was just one of a thousand crimes and malfeasons that go on every night in the NHL…Next time you at work…take a running start and plow into your assistant when he/she is not looking…that would be so fun! But, us normal people would probably go to jail or get our butts sued off…I want to be a hockey player when I grow up
It’s ok rich can do whatever he wants he’s a beast !
[Reply]
I’d still like the details about the waived off gial at 21.1 left in OT!!!
[Reply]
Maury Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
@Maury, GOAL
See I’m so upset I am making spelling errors…
[Reply]
goldielocks Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
@Maury,
Trust me. I’m still furious after 15 hours.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
@goldielocks, You beat me too that comment by 10 minutes.
Sebastian Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
@Maury, in the replay, you could see the ref taking the whistle up to his mouth to blow it as soon as Lehtonen covered the puck with his glove. he lost sight of the puck and was in the act of blowing the whistle before Fraser came in and poked it out of the glove and past the line. was a good call, i didnt like it, but it was a good call.
[Reply]
CheezyPoofs Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
@Sebastian, Ya, ^This. If the ref is in the act of blowing the whistle and the puck goes in its no good. Even if the goal crosses the line and the whistle blows right after, its no good. The ref can even say that he was in the process of blowing the whistle, even if he’s not lifting the whistle yet and call it no goal.
I just wish the refs had to watch their handy work and see how horribly bad they performed.
Maybe the Kings should watch game film of the refs instead of the other team, so they know what hits they can get away with.
[Reply]
Anyone got an xtra TV Latin around? My screen was shattered by a TV remote being hurled at it by a2 drunken fan from up in the couch section after the hit and the officials handed Dallas 2 points. No word on any arrests as of yet. More on this situation as it developed. Back to u in the studio….
[Reply]
FiG17 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
@You da man rich!,
No, but I might no where to find a TV German…
[Reply]
You da man rich! Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Stupid autocorrect! But touche
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FiG17 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
@You da man rich!,
It’s okay… I used “no” instead of “know” and can’t even blame autocorrect for it, so who’s the real winner here? haha
LittleRhody Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
@FiG17, I thought you were more likely to find a TV in Thailand?
[Reply]
they shouldnt call high sticks on people without visors then
[Reply]
Well, I think I’m going to disagree with Richards (and apparently every King’s fan) on this one.
First, the instigation penalty is fine. A player should not be allowed to skate over and start a fight with someone that doesn’t want to fight. If you start punching someone who doesn’t want to fight, you should receive an extra penalty. If anything, I think an automatic game suspension should accompany this rule. As a fan, I think this penalty should be called more often – as I am tired of seeing a fight after every clean hockey check on the ice. Checking is supposed to create fast, disjointed hockey – not slow the game down by creating a bunch of whistles.
(Now to be fair, I’m not talking about this specific instance with Richards, but just the instigation penalty in general)
Second, there is no penalty for fighting with a visor on – so everything Richards is saying there doesn’t make sense. The unsportmanlike penalty is for INSTIGATING a fight with a visor on. The league should probably change the rule to say, “if you instigate a fight you receive a two minute penalty; if you instigate a fight while wearing a visor, you receive a four minute penalty”. Which again, in my mind – makes perfect sense.
It’s bad enough if a player decides to just start pounding on someone (2 minute instigation penalty), but is a bit worse if a player wearing a full cage decides to start pounding on someone (4 minute instigation penalty).
[Reply]
g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
@CabbabagesAndKings, so then you think Richards was not telling the truth when he stated that Morrow abliged the fight right away? The Visor rule, as stupid as it may be, is the rule and I am sure it was mentioned or explained to the players when it was implemented, but this was a spurr of the moment decision by Richards and the visor didn’t even come into play here…I agree with you that there are too many fights going on in the NHL for players sticking up for thier own on good clean hits…don’t like it either, but this one is a little different and Richards saw it happen…That was a violent collision and I commend Richards for what he did…that rule had to go
[Reply]
You know what im displeased with? The main page of nhl.com and the Zetterberg move that is what they call ” his inner forsberg” But im sure Kopi has done this move more then once!!
[Reply]
CabbabagesAndKings Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@pr0cess,
But Foresberg made the move popular — as most people call it the “Foresberg Move”. If I guy sets up behind the net, we say he is channelling his inner Gretzky, even though Gretzky isn’t the only player to ever go behind the net.
[Reply]
DEH Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
@pr0cess, I wonder why he doesn’t try it again.
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CabbagesAndKings Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
@pr0cess, Foresberg made the move popular — as most people call it the “Foresberg Move”. When a player sets up behind the net, we might say he is channeling his inner Gretzky, even though Gretzky isn’t the only player ever to go behind the net.
You may be better off placing your displeasure elsewhere.
[Reply]
pr0cess Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
@CabbagesAndKings, just more east coast bias
[Reply]
off topic, but there’s a potential trade between Toronto and Philly, Luke Schenn for James Van Riemsdyk.. following the Calgary/Montreal trade are big trades beginning?
[Reply]
jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
@DEH, Yeah then PHI is going to trade for all other brothers in the NHL.
[Reply]
Well, I think I’m going to disagree with Richards (and apparently every King’s fan) on this one.
First, the instigation penalty is fine. A player should not be allowed to skate over and start a fight with someone that doesn’t want to fight. If you start punching someone who doesn’t want to fight, you should receive an extra penalty. If anything, I think an automatic game suspension should accompany this rule. As a fan, I think this penalty should be called more often – as I am tired of seeing a fight after every clean hockey check on the ice. Checking is supposed to create fast, disjointed hockey – not slow the game down by creating a bunch of whistles.
(Now to be fair, I’m not talking about this specific instance with Richards, but just the instigation penalty in general)
Second, there is no penalty for fighting with a visor on – so everything Richards is saying there doesn’t make sense. The unsportmanlike penalty is for INSTIGATING a fight with a visor on. The league should probably change the rule to say, “if you instigate a fight you receive a two minute penalty; if you instigate a fight while wearing a visor, you receive a four minute penalty”. Which again, in my mind – makes perfect sense.
It’s bad enough if a player decides to just start pounding on someone (2 minute instigation penalty), but is a bit worse if a player wearing a full cage decides to start pounding on someone (4 minute instigation penalty).
[Reply]
jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
@CabbagesAndKings, I disagree mostly because it matters who that player is. You can’t run on a team’s best player. Can you imagine if CLifford blindsided Crosby how mad everyone would be. You don’t do it.
[Reply]
Kenny44 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
@jonsey, Right. This is how Gretzky survived. I remember a game at the Forum where he got hit by some ignorant Nukk D-man. Marty jumped off the bench as the play continued, went straight at the offending Nuk, dropped his gloves, grabbed the guy and punched him 7 or 8 times in the face almost totally without resistance. Both guys got 5 for fighting. Was that fair? No. Was it niiice? Of course not. The penalty calls were absurd. But that’s the trade off – because of that unequivocal and immediate consequence and protection, we got to see Gretzky do his magic for 20 years. It’s not there anymore, and the stars of the league are targeted like never before.
[Reply]
40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:38 am
@Kenny44, Good point, and the important part is that I would bet the ignorant Nuk never ran a skill player again. That’s the desired effect. Let’s face the facts, we have almost lost Kopi twice and have lost Richards for 10 games and Gagne probably for the season,,,,,, all to questionable hits. And Shanahan has done nothing. There’s no reason to think this won’t continue and if we make the playoffs we will likely be without at least one of our top players, maybe more. Shanahan is impotent and I would ask if today’s rules are achieving the desired effect. Crosby and countless other players are out and hockey is suffering. And to me, it’s all so the part time Nanny hockey fans can feel better about seeing less fighting.
deadcatbounce Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
@CabbagesAndKings, So not only would you have to drop the gloves, but you’d have to drop the helmet to do so!
[Reply]
CabbagesAndKings Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
@deadcatbounce,
In my opinion, all hockey fights should take place between two players who are both willing and prepared for the altercation. In that situation, there would be no instigation penalty.
So in response, No. Players would not have to drop their helmets.
[Reply]
Kings x Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
@CabbagesAndKings, He didn’t leave his position and skate over to him. He asked morrow to fight morrow said yes. They both dropped the gloves at the same time. Could have easily been called be other refs 5 mins each for fighting. Bottom line no matter how you look at it is the refs caused the outcome of the game
[Reply]
CabbagesAndKings Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:54 pm
@Kings x,
Yeah. I don’t agree that this particular incident should have been called for an instigation penalty. (which is why I qualified my statment above)
In general, it’s a good rule. But yeah, this game was reffed horribly all the way around.
[Reply]
The visor rule is ridiculous.. what is the NHL trying to do? make players think twice about wearing one? stupid stupid stupid
[Reply]
It’s a shame that no one discusses the possible correlation of “more concussions” with the 25% decrease in fighting this year. Admittedly, I’m on the side that sees value in the enforcer’s role….and I’m OK with people disagreeing with that position…..but to see absolutely Zero discussion on that possible correlation is stunning. Particularly when those arguing to keep fighting in the league have consistently suggested predicted that injuries to the leagues stars could increase if fighting was ever removed from the game.
And btw….just because it’s a “perceived mixed message” doesn’t mean it’s not an accurate perception.
Shame on the league if the path to lessen fighting isn’t analyzed with integrity. It too often seems to me that there is simply just a movement to do away with it…under the guise of doing something out of ultimate consideration for safety.
[Reply]
jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
@MeanMrMustard,
You’re 100% right.
I know Kopitar’s role is not to fight or anything, but he might be too soft for his size. You need enforcers cause skill guys are Cammalleri sized. Now that enforcers are being phased out, everyone is Kopitar sized. Why is his head down? And why isn’t he checking guys?
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Kingsfanone Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
@MeanMrMustard,
I think you did it in the Study, with the candleabra.
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
@Kingsfanone, that’s his uncle Colonel Mustard. This one is the one that gets taken out to see the queen, “only place that he’s ever beeeen, always shouts out something obscene, such a dirty old man…” And his sister Pam works in a shop, she never stops, she’s a go-getter…
[Reply]
Kingsfanone Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@Stuart,
Hahaha!
Kings x Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
@MeanMrMustard, Increased concussions is due to the instigator rule and some players having no respect for other players for the lack of retaliation by other players. The rule is causing more concussions despite the decrease in fighting. The other factor is he removal of the two line pass and increased speed.
[Reply]
I am not one on here to defend the Kings and the way the team has been playing so far this season but, I will have to say that last nights game was one for the on ice officials. The Kings were playing probably one of their BEST GAMES last night vs. Dallas. The refs took that out of the players. The NON CALL when Doughty got tripped, which lead to a goal, the non calls all night, and the calls that were made and I am still scratching my head from the clearity of the game last night. Was it me or was that a BAD game, and not caused by the players in Kings uniforms.
[Reply]
jonsey Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
@mcdangles, Worst non call is punching Doughty in the head while he is down after he DIDN’T charge the goalie. Doughty goes to the box and their guy walks. Doughty tripped was open to interpretation. He stayed down too long trying to draw that call.
[Reply]
PCloadletter Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
I am not going to talk about the officiating that went on outside of the non tripping call with Doughty (mostly because the rest of the officiating is still pissing me off just thinking about it) but as for the doughty trip, when I initially saw it on TV I thought it was a penalty. When I saw the reply I thought it was a little grey as to how easy he went down. Which reminded me of the diving call he took a couple games back. I don’t know this for sure, but I wonder if referees go in to games knowing which guys are prone to do certain things, like embellishing. Doughty might have garnered himself that reputation, whether fairly or not, and that led the referee to not call the penalty.
[Reply]
So the visor rule is there cause if you have one and start a fight, “you” are going in with the intent to “injury” the other player? Cause if they punch you they could cut there hands or ect>? This seems odd when there is no one making you punch the person in the head?
[Reply]
Deke'r Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
@pr0cess, ….could be the intent is to protect the player wearing the visor….if a fractured piece should jab the eye etc…
[Reply]
How about the non-call on the Morrow high stick on Doughty at the other end of the ice, precisely preceeding Morrow’s subsequent hit on Kopitar? Call that and Morrow never has the chance to, IMO, make a clean, but hit-with-intent-to-injure on Kopi due to his vulnerable position.
What’s with this “keep your head up” arguments? The hit was milliseconds after he’s finished guiding the puck on his backhand towards goal and is looking to perhaps get a rebound?
Must be coming from the same crowd that unknowingly tell other golfers: “keep your head down”!
[Reply]
g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
@FdoFmFull, yeah exactly,…telling Kopi to keep his head down is like telling Tiger Woods to not….nevermind
[Reply]
Really like Richards’ willingness to go to battle for a teammate, especially with his own concussion history! He’s a keeper.
On the other hand, MR needs to get back to doing what he did earlier in the year.
Except for a few okay plays, he didn’t really have his head in the game last night, and he’s slumping. I know I’ll get flamed for tis, but some of the decisions he made last night brought his “hockey IQ quotient” down a few points. IMO.
Just calling it like I see it… I know he’ll be back to being the GREAT hockey player that he is soon…
PS: Erikkson, Benn, Riveiro – they need to “hear” from the Kings’ thumping brigade next game – often and throughout the game on Feb. 12th.
GkG!
[Reply]
Sebastian Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
@FdoFmFull, the Kings dont have a thumping brigade…the forward who could actully make a hit was Moreau, but thats about all he could do. brown can do it, but he doesnt. nobody else knows how to throw a devastating check.
[Reply]
FdoFmFull Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
@Sebastian, One can fantasize that KFC, Greene, Brown, and Fraser wake up to the reality that their best player got punked and just to rub it in, they beat them in their own barn.
No need to intentionally injure, just good solid clean hits time and again.
There’s a need to deliver a message.
This is a likely playoff opponent to boot.
GkG!
[Reply]
Kings x Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
@FdoFmFull, He may still be suffering from his concussion
[Reply]
FdoFmFull Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
@Kings x, Wow! You’re probably right!
[Reply]
g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
@FdoFmFull, I agree with you…MR has not really been a force out there like early on…Maybe his head still isn’t right, but he definitely has gone unnoticed of late
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The main thing is that Kopi is alright. Yes I agree if he would of kept his head up, we most likely walk away with a comeback win. It seemed that the Ref’s wanted the game to go to a shoot out. One thing that stood out for me was… It felt like a playoff game. It’s only going to get hard folks. We are coming up on the meat and potatoes part of the season. If we sit around and continue to cry over games that are beyond our control, we will be looking at the playoffs from the outside. We can only control what is in front of us. Bad calls, Big hits, visors or no visors,we must skate another day. Look we are in a dog fight for a playoff spot. 8 teams get in. We will be fighting the rest of the year. The league wants parity. They want to see the games stay close. NHL needs more viewers. This is how it’s going to be. Get used to it. We are not going to run away with any kind of title. If we win anything at all it must be our next game. The Flames are going to be ready for Mr Sutter. If we keep our heads in the injustices of yesterday, tomorrow we will fail. Keep skating and keep moving forward. We are starting to get some goals. This is a good thing. Hockey is the best of all 4 major sports. I could careless about who makes the Super Bowl. Beating the Flames tomorrow now that’s something to get excited for.
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I King Sachmo Stallion Maximus The Great Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, hell yeah!
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I agree w Richards. Rule is stupid
Maybe to b consistent, the NHL should start adding 2 min for roughing with a visor.
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yes doughty got tripped and there was no call , and they scored ……….. then refs made up for it with makeup calls as usual , allowing us to tie the game with a 5 on 3 and then go ahead in the game on the 3rd penalty in a row on dallas to give us a 4 – 3 ……. the refs then felt “wait a minute – the kings are ahead now – i think we made up too much to them ” and then there fore were now looking to call something against us – hense the 4 minutes ………
if uve ever watched hockey u could have all seen this coming a mile away since doughty was tripped in the second period …. thats just the way this stupid game is officiated ……….. also in winnipeg after 2 periods it was scoreless , but i was like we have no chance to win because the refs have given us 3 or 4 powerplays including a 5on 3 , and not given winnipeg a single powerplay after 2 periods ….. im like ” it may be 0 – 0 after 2 periods , but we have no chance because the refs are gonna give the jets at least 2 or 3 powerplays , and probably a 5 on 3 as well ” …… im like ……. “our best chance is to take the penalties early so that if they do score we will have 15 minutes to tie the game” and lol thats exacctly what happened ….. we got into early penalty trouble and a 5 on 3 and i was happy ….. i was like ….. ” good , lets get this out of the way so we can play the last 14 minutes even steven ” … and then we killed them off , so i was like – good weve gotten this 5 on 3 crap makeup baloney out of the way now we can play the last 14 minutes even steven 0 – 0 …………………. anyways , ive seen this play out with the refs at infinidum ………… is anyone really surprised ….. this is how the game is officiated ………………
refs blew the doughty trip in second , leading to a goal , putting us down by 2 ….. then they proceeded to make it up to us by calling all penalties against dallas and giving us 5 on 3 …….. then realized – maybe we gave the kings back too much because they were down 2 and now they are leading because of these powerplays – so maybe we should give dallas back a powerplay or 2 so they have a legitimate opportunity to tie the game up and send it to overtime where everybody will be happy …………… ive seen this play out only about a billion times …………………… and also lets not forget about the clear offside in toronto that wasnt called which gave us a goal and ultimately 2 points we probably dont get because the linesmen blew it …………………. blaming the refs is for whining teams who arent good enough ……………. this kind of officiating has been going on forever in the nhl ……. get used to it , and deal with it people …………… yea , it sucks , but thats just the way it is ……………….. i get mad at it too ……………. but just get used to makeup calls and how they work during the course of every game …………….. its just the way it is , and u have to learn to deal with it
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g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
@phil sykes, the five on three was due to a stick slash, (which broke the stick) which is pretty much automatic these days, and then on that PP Dallas throw a puck into the seats for an automatic penalty…I get what your syaing about the ebb and flow of penalties throughout a game, but in this case, these were NOT make up calls
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Curse those Zebras!
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g smith86 Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
@I King Sachmo Stallion Maximus The Great, you’ve got quite the name there, sir IKSSMTG
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Refs have too much control. I found Gary Bettman’s email online and wrote him a long letter about how brass is doing too much to control the game. Let guys fight, let them police the ice like the past and refs will step in and stop any unfair match-ups. The penalties against Richards made me sick and were so uncalled for. I hope the Kings continue to stick up for their guys. P.S. I know my email to Bettman is probably in the inbox of some 15 year old kid in Canada who set up an account to dupe guys like me, but it sure did feel good writing it.
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Lost in all this is the fact that the Kings actually scored on the PP! They were like 3 for 7 or something…If they get that going and continue to improve 5 on 5 they are going to be scary strong come playoff time…
PS…unfortunately, the PK streak ended on that Morrow hit and subsequent 4 minute PP…but Kings are still number 2 in the league and are very impressive…kind of hard to kill 4 minutes towards the end of a game with your two best penalty killers out of the game
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