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‘Look at the person who is doing it': Tortorella takes aim at Konopka following Stanton hit

John Tortorella, Steve Kozari, Vaughan Rody

Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella, top, argues with referee Steve Kozari (40) and linesman Vaughan Rody (73) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday Nov. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

AP

John Tortorella was none too pleased about the hit that knocked Vancouver defenseman Ryan Stanton out of Tuesday’s game versus Minnesota.

And he was equally displeased with the guy that threw the hit -- Wild forward Zenon Konopka.

“It shouldn’t have been a minor,” Tortorella said of Konopka’s two-minute tripping penalty, as per the Vancouver Sun. “That’s what I thought. We are trying to get that play out of the game and look at the person who is doing it.

“I just thought it should have been more than a minor.”

Konopka, 32, has a reputation as a tough, hard-nosed checking forward that’s not afraid to fight -- and he has had brushes with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. He was fined $2,500 for verbally abusing Brian Boyle during pregame warmups in the Rangers-Senators playoff series of ’12 but, it must be noted, has never been suspended during his eight-year, 320-game NHL career.

As for Stanton, he returned briefly after crashing hard into the boards feet-first on the Konopka hit (his ankle looked to have turned awkwardly.) Stanton played just one more shift before shutting it down for the night, re-emerging postgame in a walking boot.

“I don’t know what it is,” Tortorella said of Stanton’s injury. “He is going to get evaluated.”

UPDATE: If you want to see the trip, click here and FF to the :35 mark. Thanks to PHT commenter kgod30 for finding the link.

UPDATE 2: Stanton has been sent back to Vancouver for evaluation, meaning he’s out for the remainder of the trip (at Dallas on Thursday, at Chicago on Friday.) It’s likely that Andrew Alberts will draw back into the lineup.