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Friday, April 6, 2012

Yahoo! Contributor Network - Yahoo! Sports

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Yahoo! Contributor Network - Yahoo! Sports
Apr 6th 2012, 21:27

By Derek Ciapala, Yahoo! Contributor Network

It was an exciting night for the Los Angeles Kings. On Thursday, April 5, they took the ice knowing that the Dallas Stars had lost, which gave them another Stanley Cup playoff berth. With a victory over the San Jose Sharks, the Kings would have been one step close to earning its first division title in two decades. In short, it was a great night to be a hockey fan in Los Angeles.

Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings during a game against the Edmonton Oilers on January 15, 2011. By Bridget Samuels
Wikimedia Commons

However, the rival Sharks entered the game with a chance to earn another divisional title. They weren't about to lie down and hand the Kings the Pacific Division crown . The two clubs went at it for three periods, with each side performing well on the power play and pressuring opposing blue lines. With the score 5-5 late in the third period, I was waiting for one team to take the game into its own hands and win this thriller. But I didn't expect to see anything illegal.

There was close to 2:40 remaining in the game when everything changed. The Kings appeared to be on an odd-man rush when Sharks' left wing Ryane Clowe extended his stick out from the bench and poke checked the puck away from Los Angeles' Jarrett Stoll. Nearly everyone in the arena saw it, except for the referees. The illegal move cost the Kings a chance to score on the play and changed the flow of the game. The Sharks eventually won 6-5 in a shootout.

Following the game, I noticed many Sharks fans online defending Clowe, which shouldn't surprise anyone. But that doesn't mean that Clowe was in the right. If the Sharks go one to beat the Kings on Saturday night, many fans will point at this game and remember what happened. The Sharks' victory is tainted.

I'm not saying that the Kings would have won the game if Clowe had not interfered. Who knows what would have happened in those final few minutes in regulation? But Clowe set a dangerous precedent on Thursday night. He got away with cheating, and since the rule book is cloudy on an incident like this, someone else might try and get away with it as well. Clowe's illegal poke check compromised the game, and that's something the NHL needs to address quickly.

The Kings still have a chance to win the division title, but they will need some help. They have to beat San Jose on Saturday night and hope the Phoenix Coyotes lose one of their final two games. Hopefully, the Kings can do their part and beat the Sharks on the road. It's just a shame that Clowe's actions have now marred what was an outstanding playoff chase.

Derek Ciapala has been a Kings fan since the late 1980s. His favorite Kings moment is when they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games to qualify for the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

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