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Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar left Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals in the first minute of the third period after he was hit in the face with a puck.
Kopitar was struck on the left side of his face 42 seconds into the period on a shot by Dustin Brown that deflected off the stick of San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle. Kopitar was down on the ice before being helped to the dressing room using a towel to control the blood flow.
NEW YORK -- San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres has been suspended for the remainder of the Western Conference Semifinals for an illegal hit to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll during Game 1 of the series in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 14, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 19:02 of the second period. Torres was assessed a minor penalty for charging. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Torres is considered a repeat offender.
For a full explanation of the decision, complete with video, please click on the following link: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=60&id=249243.
PITTSBURGH -- At the time, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009 was the crowning achievement of Pascal Dupuis' hockey career.
At 30 years old, though, Dupuis felt there was more to accomplish on the ice.
He was not a driving force in Pittsburgh's championship run. He had zero points in 16 postseason games after putting together a respectable regular season that saw him total 12 goals and 28 points. So even as he lived it up that championship summer, gorging on the spoils befitting a winner, a hunger gnawed at him just under the surface.
Dupuis wanted to be more of the story the next time he made a postseason run.
"The [Stanley] Cup showed up at my door that summer in '09 and I told everyone around, including my wife, that the next time I win it, I'll be a big part of it," he said.
LOS ANGELES -- Darryl Sutter still had his skates on when he walked into his press conference following the morning skate Thursday, as if he was ready to jump over the boards.
It only seems like the Los Angeles Kings would insert their coach into the lineup because this is the first real test of their depth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. L.A. will not have center Jarret Stoll for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinal series against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (10 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS) after Stoll was knocked out of Game 1 by an illegal hit from Raffi Torres.
Stoll is a significant all-round player for the Kings, specifically in the faceoff circle and on the penalty-killing unit. Without him in the third period of Game 1, the Kings lost 14 of 21 faceoffs.
Can San Jose exploit that through a full game?
"I hope so," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "Jarret is a hell of a faceoff guy. He takes a lot of the important ones. But as I said earlier, [Anze] Kopitar and [Mike] Richards have done a very good job (for the Kings) in the series, as well. We have relied over the years on being a strong faceoff team and being able to have puck possession off of that. We hope that can work in our favor. But it's about getting it done. It's about executing it."
CHICAGO -- Marian Hossa scored on a one-timer from the slot on the power play in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals for the Chicago Blackhawks. Henrik Zetterberg had a similar look from a similar place on the ice for the Detroit Red Wings on the man-advantage, but Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford was able to deflect the shot into the corner.
Those two sequences were far from the only reason the Blackhawks lead this series 1-0 after a convincing 4-1 victory Wednesday at United Center. They were two key plays in the first period before the Blackhawks asserted control, indicative of the way the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs have progressed for Crawford and his fellow penalty killers.
"It would've been [different] if we'd gotten one in on the power play there," Zetterberg said after the game. "We had a few chances, but couldn't really find a way to score a goal."
CHICAGO -- Patrick Sharp's name isn't the first to roll off the tongue whenever people talk about the stars of the Chicago Blackhawks.
It's always included, of course, but further down the list. First, usually, is captain Jonathan Toews, followed by forwards Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. Then will come defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
By the time they get to Sharp, his name often is attached to a catch-all phrase like, "Oh yeah, they've also got Sharp," followed by something about Chicago's incredible depth of talent.
Six games into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, however, the player wearing No. 10 on his back is proving himself to be a lot more important to the Blackhawks than just an "also" guy, leading the team with nine points and tying for the NHL lead with six goals.
BOSTON -- The longer Henrik Lundqvist went in describing how a typical game between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins is determined, the more difficult it became to ascertain if either team has an advantage heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
"Every time we play them it's around the nets, around the blue lines," Lundqvist said. "That's a lot of times where it is decided.
"I see some similarities."
He's not the only one.
The Rangers and Bruins will open the series Thursday at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS) as mirror images of one another.
BOSTON -- As the Boston Bruins struggled offensively and game by game let the Toronto Maple Leafs even their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, one of the thoughts on everyone's mind was whether Tyler Seguin ever would score a goal.
For a while, Seguin was thinking a lot about his slump too.
Although he assisted on Patrice Bergeron's overtime goal in Game 7, Seguin never found the back of the net against the Maple Leafs. With the Bruins' Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the New York Rangers starting Thursday at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS), Seguin's going to try to continue his newest approach, which is to stop thinking about results and just let them come from hard work.
"I really try not to think about it," Seguin said of his 11-game goal drought, which includes the final four games of the regular season.
TORONTO -- A few days later, the shock is starting to wear off.
No, it was not just a really bad dream. In fact, the Toronto Maple Leafs did blow a three-goal lead in the third period and a trip to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Boston Bruins, on the verge of blowing a 3-1 series lead of their own, scored two goals in the final two minutes of Game 7 with goalie Tuukka Rask on the bench in favor of an extra skater, then secured their comeback with an overtime goal.
It was a collapse for the ages. The Maple Leafs successfully and shockingly had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, sending a disbelieving fan base into instant mourning.
The city, which had come alive and was partying in the name of their beloved hockey team, took a collective punch to the gut. The Maple Leafs had the Bruins on the ropes and could not deliver the knockout.
Was it a successful season? Of course it was. Any time you make the playoffs after a nine-year absence, how can it be viewed as anything other than successful?
Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been named the finalists for the 2013 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."
Kane, 24, had just eight penalty minutes this season despite averaging 20:03 of ice time per game. By spending so much more time on the ice this season, it allowed him to score 23 goals in 47 games, the same number he scored in 82 games last season. Kane was whistled for a hooking penalty Jan. 26 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and then didn't take another for 25 games -- a boarding penalty against the Los Angeles Kings on March 25.
Watch some of the sights and sounds from Round 1 of the 2013 Playoffs. WATCH NOW ›
ROUND 1 SOUNDS OF THE GAME
