The Los Angeles Kings were already upset with Drew Doughty’s one-game suspension that saw him sit during their Game 2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The hits kept on coming in Sunday’s Game 3 defeat when Erik Haula and Anze Kopitar tangled in front of the LA net and ended with Haula hitting Kopitar in the face with the butt end of his stick as he was getting up off the ice.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]
Haula wasn’t penalized on the play and that led to Kings head coach John Stevens giving ref Dan O’Halloran an earful. After LA dropped Game 3 by a 3-2 score, Stevens vented his frustration with the non-call.
“We get a guy suspended for making a hockey play, and he butt ends one of the best players in the world in the face with the butt end of his stick,” he said. “So, if I was confused before, I’m bewildered now. That’s an intent-to-injure play. I don’t like hard hockey – I love hard hockey. Good, honest, hard hockey, I love it. Kopitar’s about as tough of a guy as you can find. You guys make the judgement, because it’s a bunch of B.S., to be honest with you.”
Even though he stayed out of the box, Haula could be the subject of punishment from the Department of Player Safety, which, given history, would likely result in a fine rather than a suspension, if anything.
[Golden Knights stun Kings, eye first playoff sweep]
But of bigger concern for the Kings is being down 3-0 in the series and facing elimination on home ice on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN). LA has three goals in three games and have been unsuccessful at figuring out Marc-Andre Fleury.
“We’re down, but we’re not out,” Kopitar said. “There’s at least one game left to be played. We’ve got to start with winning one and we’ll go from there”
UPDATE:
Checked with NHL this morning and no disciplinary hearing scheduled for Haula re: butt end incident with Kopitar last night.
— Steve Carp (@stevecarp56) April 16, 2018
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.