GLENDALE, Ariz. – In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Phoenix Coyotes lost their home-ice advantage to the Los Angeles Kings. In Game 2, they lost their composure as well.
Before the 4-0 loss to the Kings at Jobing.com Arena was complete Tuesday night, captain Shane Doan and alternate captain Martin Hanzal were given game misconducts for major boarding penalties – Doan against Trevor Lewis in the Phoenix the second period and Hanzal on Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown in the third.
With the Coyotes -- already without suspended forward Raffi Torres -- down 2-0 in the second period and after a several good chances were denied by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, Phoenix took four penalties in the final 5:03 of the period, starting when Keith Yandle was the only player sent to the box following a roughing match with Brad Richardson of the Kings.
Then while trying to kill the penalty – and with a another delayed call on Daymond Langkow already coming – Doan hit Lewis from behind while chasing a puck to the corner. Lewis' face hit the boards and Doan was called for the major.
Outside the Phoenix dressing room after the game, Doan said that Lewis didn't have his back turned until the last second.
"(Lewis) turns ... he looks right at me," Doan said. "I didn't even look at him again. I was looking at the puck. It was trying to poke the puck free, and he turns away as I'm coming in."
Doan, who waited 16 years for his first chance to play in a conference final series, was asked if he expected further discipline for the play.
"I have no idea," he said.
"It's a dangerous place, but (Lewis) can't put himself in that position, either," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "I'm not saying it was a good hit, but any player in that position and a guy is beside you and then he turns his back to you … you can't stop. That's the way I saw that one."
The Kings turned that 5-on-3 power play in the second of three Jeff Carter goals to take a 3-0 lead after two periods. And at 11:01 of the third, it happened again when Brown – who had draw the Coyotes' ire for his physical play in the first two games, was hit from behind by Hanzal while chasing down his own chip into the Phoenix zone.
"I know there are guys behind me, (but) I didn't think (Hanzal) was going to hit me. He probably saw my numbers from the top of the circle," Brown said. "I mean, he was behind me the whole way. It wasn't like I turned or anything. I was going to get the puck and I saw Yandle on my right side. I thought we were going to have a puck battle. Hanzal is a big boy, so…"
Phoenix's Derek Morris took a kneeing penalty 1:42 later, and Carter cashed in again on the 5-on-3 at 12:56 to complete his hat trick and the Kings' third straight road sweep to begin a playoff series in this postseason – leaving the Coyotes looking frustrated.
"If that's the case, we have to keep going," Brown said. "We have to keep finishing our checks. We have to keep being over the top. When you have everyone, whether it's your best players or your role players, finishing checks, doing everything they can to get in the way, it can get frustrating.
"The intensity is high and at this stage of the playoffs, it's important to understand that if they are frustrated, we have to keep doing what we're doing."
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment