Game 48: Canadiens 4, Kings 3

It's been a long weekend. My work has been switching buildings, and the wireless was not hooked up to watch this game. Apparently I missed a humdinger.

• AP: Koivu’s late PP goal ends Habs’ skid

Doughty was surprised Higgins wasn’t penalized on the play.
“I thought it was pretty obvious that he kind of stuck out his arm and just threw me back there, but they didn’t give us the call, obviously, so we’ve just got to forget about it and come back hard next game,” Doughty said.

• Daily News: Kings overpowered late by Montreal

Kings defenseman Denis Gauthier was given a game misconduct 3:50 into the second period after he was assessed a major for charging.
"I haven't seen the replay yet, so I don't want to say anything," Gauthier said. "I want to wait until I see the replay, but I didn't come in there with any intention of doing anything bad - it was just a hit."

• The Canadien Press: Canadiens rally late to knock off Kings

Kings coach Terry Murray felt Higgins should have gotten a penalty for hauling Doughty down in the battle for the puck. "It was a wrestling move," Murray said.

• Yahoo: Team report

The Kings couldn’t have been in a better position Saturday afternoon. They led by one goal late in the third period at the start of a crucial road trip against a strong team. Then disaster struck. Montreal tied the game 3-3 with 1:53 remaining, the Kings’ Kyle Calder took a cross-checking penalty and the Canadiens scored the game-winner on the power play with 23 seconds remaining.

They said it

“With this team here, we know we can score goals when the time comes. We just have to play simple and smart road games and get some points out of it. It all comes from being smart and playing our system to a tee.”—Kings center Jarret Stoll.

Looking through purple-hued goggles.

• A Queen Among Kings: Oh, The Pain

Let's get the whole Denis Gauthier incident out of the way. I'm not going to go into whether I think he needs to get suspended for his hit on Josh Georges or not. The fact that I don't think he's a great player overrides his action yesterday. I was irritated that he was in the lineup to begin with, and watching him leave his feet to land an elbow on Gorges' head proved my point.

• Frozen Royalty: Kings: Still In The Playoff Hunt

“We need to win these next three games, that’s the bottom line,” said left wing Patrick O’Sullivan. “Otherwise, it starts to slip further and further away and it gets to the point where it’s impossible to recover. It’s really important to win these three games and come back with some momentum after the All-Star break.”

• The Throne Room: Dear NHL...

It’s a damn shame that an outstanding road effort that should’ve resulted in a big victory against one of the better teams in the East turned into a bitter loss.  These officials need to be accountable for their poor performance. You or I would get fired from our jobs for doing so poorly.

From the other side of the ice, the Montreal view

• Eyes On The Prize: Henry Called Up After Gauthier Hit On Gorges - Where Were Team Mates?

What is surprising, is that the Canadiens player with the best view of the trainwreck, was Guillaume Latendresse, and he did nothing as well, which is despicable. Latendresse, a player of size to measure well against Gauthier should have taken him on heartily. His explanation for not doing so should be known. It better be a good one.

Kings-related news

• LA Times: Kings' Denis Gauthier has hearing Monday

Kings defenseman Denis Gauthier will have a hearing today with NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell to determine if supplementary discipline will be imposed for Gauthier's elbow to the head of Montreal's Josh Gorges during the second period of the Kings' game at the Bell Centre on Saturday.

• TSN: Kings' Gauthier summoned to disciplinary hearing by NHL

"Obviously it was filthy and the guy has a history of it so let's hope the league does something about it," Canadiens forward Christopher Higgins told reporters following the game. "You saw his face after the hit and he wasn't on earth, he was someplace else."

• Puck Daddy: Gauthier's head-shot and Higgins tosses Doughty aside

Gauthier, who is the nephew of former World Wrestling Federation character, The Mountie, was given a game misconduct for doing his best “Macho Man” Randy Savage impersonation. He’s now suspended indefinitely until the National Hockey League’s hockey operations department reviews the play and hands down a ruling. After his sucker-punch on Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta went unpunished, there is no way that Gauthier gets off this time scot-free.

Peeping the dailies