To say Dustin Penner made an impact in Game 4 of the Kings-Blackhawks series is to make a gross understatement. Stacking up highlights like, oh, say, pancakes on a breakfast plate, the big, bad forward was hands-down the most noticeable player on an L.A. Kings team that lost 3-2 at home.
Crashing the crease, Penner scored a massive go-ahead goal in the second period and issued five punishing hits, including a monstrous ass-over-teak-kettle job on Brent Seabrook (give a schoolyard-style assist to Niklas Hjalmarsson).
He also shadowed ‘Hawks goaltender Corey Crawford during the powerplay, coming very close to breaking the Sean Avery rule as he took his hand off his stick and mimicked Crawford’s glove hand for a few seconds. (Watch the full Penner montage above.)
But the play that raised the most eyebrows occurred during the third period, when Penner nailed Chicago’s Dave Bolland with a nasty-looking elbow. Though no penalty was called, surely Brendan Shanahan had a few looks at the replay:
Those following the Western Conference final will recall that it was Bolland who hammered Kings forward Mike Richards with a thunderous hit behind the net late in Game 1. Richards suffered a concussion o the play and has yet to return to the series.
But in every way possible, Penner tried to make up for his teammate’s absence in Game 4.