Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin received a match penalty for the hit to Coyotes center Boyd Gordon’s head on Saturday night’s game. Gordon did not return to the game and Arizona was able to add two power play goals on the five minute major to tie the score and earn the point in Glendale.
Kings Update
Per John Shannon of HockeyCentral on Sportsnet, the match penalty for Jake Muzzin will be rescinded. Therefore he will receive no discipline and will not have the incident on his record in case of future events.
Hearing that Jake Muzzin's match penalty Saturday has been rescinded. NHL will rescind the hit to head penalty. Won't be on his record.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) December 28, 2015
More good news for the Kings as center Jeff Carter, who only played two short shifts in Saturday’s game is “day-to-day” according to Head Coach Dean Lombardi. Carter returned home before meeting the team in Vancouver prior to Monday’s game. Per General Manager Dean Lombardi the return home was personal is separate of the “upper body” injury. Carter missed the game, but the Kings did not need him as they won easily 5-0.
Coyotes Update
Boyd Gordon missed the game Sunday vs the Avs, and he didn’t travel to Denver with the “upper body” injury. The club was hopeful to have him back for Tuesday night’s game against the Blackhawks, but on Monday Sarah McLellan of AZ Central indicated he was ruled out. No signal has been made that Gordon is in the concussion protocol or awaiting any testing from the hit that was directly to his head.
Martin Hanzal will miss his third straight game with a “lower body” injury. He missed four games prior to the 12/19 contest with the Islanders, then missing the following three games. Multiple outlets have reported Hanzal has been moved to Injured Reserve (IR) via the NHL Media website.
Gordon is still resting. He won't play tomorrow and is still considered day-to-day. Hanzal also won't play against the #Blackhawks.
— Sarah McLellan (@sarah__mclellan) December 28, 2015
Zbynek Michalek is listed as “day-to-day” with a “lower body injury.” Michalek played in Saturday’s game with Los Angeles, but sat out the back-to-back with Colorado on Sunday. He has not been ruled out to play the Blackhawks at home in Glendale on Tuesday as of yet. The team has not announced any injury call ups for any of these players.
