We just don’t get tired of saying this: Hockey is back! The official NHL season is still less than two weeks away, but teams have returned to action with some pre-season games, and there’s just something about them this year.
Usually, the exhibition games lack the thrill and excitement we get during the regular season. Teams play more carefully, and players often try to take it easy. Nobody wants to see players injured before the season begins, and fighting is often considered a no-no.
But this pre-season has already brought us some great and heated moments. When the Rangers played the Islanders on Tuesday, we saw a lengthy tilt between a Rangers rookie and an Islanders veteran. Last night, another incident had fans off their seats in the matchup between the Knights and the Kings.
During the game, LA Kings player Hayden Hodgson went for a huge hit on Knights’ captain Mark Stone. Vegas didn’t like it at all, and three players immediately jumped Hodgson for the hit on their captain. A huge brawl broke out, but officials deemed the hit legal as Hodgson was only assessed a two-minute minor for roughing and not for the hit.
Mark Stone has had injury problems in the last seasons, but he didn’t miss a shift despite absorbing the huge hit. Stone went after everyone wearing a white jersey after the hit and was sent to the penalty box.
Before entering, he had some words for the Kings’ bench, and post-game, he delivered some devastating chirps to Hayden Hodgson, the 27-year-old forward who’s played seven NHL games during his career.
“That’s probably the last time I’ll ever play against that guy,” said Stone. ”He’s not much of a player.”
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