NHL looking into Coyotes’ Game 5 comments
May 25, 2012, 2:29 PM | Updated: 3:30 pm
There’s no denying that the Phoenix Coyotes were beaten
soundly in the Western Conference Finals by the Los
Angeles Kings.
There’s also no denying that following Tuesday night’s
Game 5 overtime loss which ended their season, the
Coyotes, to a man, were steamed about what they perceived
to be horrible officiating.
Dustin Brown’s knee-on-knee hit of Coyotes’ defenseman
Michal Rozsival in overtime that failed to draw a penalty
was Phoenix’s ultimate undoing. Twelve seconds later,
L.A.’s Dustin Penner lit the lamp, ending the series and
sending the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first
time since 1993.
Frustrated, Phoenix players didn’t hold their tongues in
postgame interviews.
“I bit my tongue the whole playoffs, I bit my tongue the
whole time this series,” captain Shane Doan said. “I look
back in the last two games and I still haven’t found where
I got my three penalties. I have absolutely no idea where
they came from and what they were calling.”
Doan wasn’t the only one who talked about the officials.
Keith Yandle commented that the officials and the Kings
both wear the same colors.
The NHL announced Wednesday there would be no hearing
looking further into Brown’s hit on Rozsival, but on
Friday, word trickled out the the league could look
further into the conduct and comments of Phoenix players
following their ouster.
“Their actions were unprofessional and unacceptable,” NHL executive vice
president Colin Campbell told ESPN.com’s Pierre
LeBrun.
According to LeBrun, Coyotes’ players could face fines of
up to $2,500 apiece.
Upon further review, if you’ve got the financial means,
maybe venting some pent up frustration toward the
officials and only getting slapped with a $2,500 fine is
well worth it.
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