It didn’t take long for things to get ugly between the Canucks and Kings.
Midway through the second period of LA’s 4-2 win on Wednesday night, Vancouver forward Byron Bitz -- who’d only recently broke back into the lineup after an extended stay in AHL Chicago -- caught Kings forward Kyle Clifford with this nasty hit:
Bitz was given a five minute boarding major on the play and a game misconduct. Clifford left the contest and didn’t return, with the Kings announcing he’d suffered an upper body injury. (Early speculation was a possible concussion -- Clifford looked woozy trying to leave the ice.)
This could be just one of the plays NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan reviews tomorrow. Late in Nashville’s 3-2 victory over Detroit, Predators defenseman Shea Weber slammed Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the end-boards glass.