Doan, Hanzal may miss Game 3 after big hits
The Coyotes are down two games after being swept on home ice by the Los Angeles Kings, who have now opened three consecutive playoff series with a pair of road wins and appear to be a runaway train with a 10-1 record in the postseason.
The question is whether the Coyotes will be down two of their three captains when the series resumes in Los Angeles with Game 3 on Thursday. Both Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal were assessed major boarding penalties and handed game misconducts for sending a pair of Kings head-first into the boards during Game 2, and those acts of frustration could make them the third and fourth Coyotes to be suspended in this postseason.
Raffi Torres is gone for the year after his first-round hit on Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks, and Rusty Klesla got a game for a hit against Nashville.
Doan might have a legitimate argument since Trevor Lewis of the Kings turned toward the boards just before Doan rolled into to finish his check.
"(Lewis) turns ... he looks right at me," Doan said. "I didn't even look at him again. I was looking at the puck. I was trying to poke the puck free and he turns away as I'm coming in."
Hanzal, who didn't speak to the media after the game, has a much tougher case to explain. He chased down Kings captain Dustin Brown who was chasing after his own chip-in and never changed course before delivering his hit.
"I know there are guys behind me (but) ... (Hanzal) 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 (Keith) Yandle on my right side. I thought we were going to have a puck battle. Hanzal is a big boy, so. ..."
