Gotta See It: Doughty helmet-pops Datsyuk

Gotta See It: Pavel Datsyuk was simply doing what Pavel Datsyuk does Sunday afternoon when he nearly had his head taken off by Drew Doughty.

Dangling effortlessly around 6’1”, 206-pound Los Angeles Kings defenceman Alec Martinez (read: a pawn on Datsyuk’s chessboard of life), Datsyuk’s hands had put him in the slot with prime position to score the game’s first goal.

Then came Doughty. Backchecking like a man possessed, Doughty pops Datsyuk cleanly with his left shoulder just as the Red Wing star had pylonized Martinez. The Russian hits the deck and his helmet goes flying:

But watch Datsyuk’s response. Instead of retaliating or embellishing, he gathers himself and immediately hustles the length of the ice to catch his check as the Kings rush the other way – hair in the breeze.

His discipline pays immediate dividends.

The Kings commit a penalty, and on his very next shift, all Datsyuk does is split the D and put himself in the Goal of the Year conversation.

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