KID GETS LESSON ON A NIGHT OF BAD BLOOD
In the end, Jarome Iginla got the goodbye salute he deserved, Drew Doughty got revenge, the kid got what was coming to him and the fans were treated to a night of bad blood and brilliant theatre.
Then, to top it all off, Iginla delivered a subtle message to the youngster responsible for stirring up so much emotion.
“I don’t know if I agree with all of it — I’ll just leave it at that,” said Iginla, 39, of Matthew Tkachuk’s pre-game potshot at Doughty.
“He’s had a good rookie season and he’s playing well. He’s an important part and it looks like he’s going to be a good player, but it would be nice just to see the battle on the ice as opposed to the other stuff.”
Setting up their first meeting since a blatant Tkachuk elbow on Doughty drew a suspension and a declaration by the King the kid is a dirty player, the Flames winger poked back Tuesday, saying how disappointed he was with Doughty’s whining.
The Kings didn’t appreciate it one bit and wasted no time making that clear.
Tkachuk followed up his posturing by positioning himself on one-knee, stretching two feet from centre ice during the pre-game warm-up in an obvious attempt to further antagonize Doughty’s Kings.
It took no time for Kyle Clifford to bite, stepping across the centre line for a calm discussion with the 19-year-old about respecting elders, or something like that.
Tkachuk stood his ground for a lengthy chat before Deryk Engelland intervened, followed by Micheal Ferland and Troy Brouwer.
Andy Andreoff and Jeff Carter countered for the Kings before Iginla waded in to dispense some advice to Tkachuk.
Well aware he’d have to answer the bell early, on his first shift Tkachuk was suckered into dropping his mitts by Jake Muzzin at the drop of the puck. Muzzin skated away, giving Tkachuk the lone penalty. Rookie mistake. Showed he was game, but showed his age.
Within minutes, the joint was jumping as Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring, which was followed on the next puck drop by a fight between Tkachuk and Brayden McNabb.
McNabb got the better of the youngster, which didn’t stop Tkachuk from bouncing up after the fight to jaw Doughty as he skated to the penalty box.
Six minutes later Iginla and Engelland fought, sending the decibel level even higher in a building previously focused on booing Doughty every time he touched the puck.
What followed the rest of the night was a steady stream of crowds gathering around Tkachuk, who bumped Doughty every chance he got.
What also followed was likely the last in a career full of great moments at the Dome for Iginla, whose first career goal at the Dome as a visitor proved to be the game-winner in a 4-1 Kings win — the 100th of his career.
Finishing with a Gordie Howe hat trick, Iginla was named first star, giving the fans who stayed a chance to send him off with a standing ovation as the longtime Flames captain skated back onto the ice with a grin and a wave. Back to the rough stuff. The biggest kerfuffle came midway through when Tkachuk had Doughty lined up for a massive collision at centre ice that was thwarted at the last second when Doughty bailed by dropping to the ice, leaving the Flame on the short end. Andreoff immediately pursued Tkachuk, to no avail, earning a game misconduct.
His destiny of being the most-hated player in the league is being realized quicker than anyone thought possible.
“Obviously, our fans aren’t going to like him for a long time, or ever and vice versa, but that’s part of the fun of sports,” said Iginla, who posed with Tkachuk as a youngster for a picture that hung in Tkachuk’s room for years.
“Hopefully, that stuff is done. I’m sure there will be battle for years but hopefully it will just be on the ice.” Anze Kopitar agreed. “He elbowed Drew right in the face, so you can’t expect us to not do anything about it,” he smirked.
“I think that happens pretty much all the time if someone on your team gets hit like that. I guess that’s his game, so, we should expect it from now on.”
Just as the Kings expect such class and brilliance from Iginla.
“I’m sure he’s had a few games like that before in this building,” smiled the Kings captain, who has seen Iginla score five goals in 12 outings as a King — three being game-winners.
“He comes to the rink every day and gives it his all and I think for the majority, if not all of us, we’re privileged to be able to be in this presence and same locker-room and to see him being professional and how he prepares and how he brings his emotions during the game.
“Obviously, that’s a future hall of famer that everyone in here can learn a lot from.”
Everyone including Tkachuk.