Los Angeles Kings left winger Kyle Clifford has been slapped with a $2,756.41 fine, the NHL’s maximum allowable, for an incident that occurred during Sunday’s 2-1 shootout victory for the Kings over the Edmonton Oilers.
Clifford’s knee on Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will cost him one half of one day’s pay.
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Although hit by Clifford’s knee early in the game’s first period and knocked down for about 30 seconds, Nugent-Hopkins played more than 20 minutes in the loss and participated in the shootout. After the hit, Nugent-Hopkins was favouring his right knee and the game temporarily to get examined.
“He stuck out his knee. We all hold our breaths when that happens,” Oilers coach Dallas Eakins told reporters of the Clifford play. In response, Oilers tough guy Ryan Jones fought Clifford in the second period.
“[Nugent-Hopkins] was able to return, but we’ll have to reassess him. These things sometimes get worse overnight,” Eakins said. “Right now, we’re hopeful he dodged a bullet on a bad hit.”
