Laviolette calls out ‘vicious’ hits after Rangers’ loss
-
Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette called two hits by New York Islanders players “vicious” after an intense 4-2 loss at UBS Arena on Tuesday night.
With 11:09 left in the third period, Rangers center Mika Zibanejad skated into the shoulder of Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech at center ice while both were watching play down in the Rangers’ zone.
Zibanejad fell flat to the ice and Rangers training staff tended to him. Zibanejad left for the dressing room and didn’t return to the ice for the rest of the period, although he did return to the Rangers’ bench near the end of the game, according to Laviolette.
“He came back at the end from that vicious hit. He came back. That vicious shoulder, elbow to the head. Watch it,” the coach said.
When asked if he felt it was less an accidental collision with Pelech and more an intentional hit, Laviolette said, “I do.”
Islanders coach Patrick Roy said, emphatically, that the collision was accidental. “No, it was accidental. The referee was in a really good position to see it. I was more afraid that Pelly might get hurt on that one. (Zibanejad) was the one that hit Pelly. It was totally accidental. There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said.
“I don’t know why we’re talking about this, quite honestly. I’m a little surprised. It’s clear in my mind that it was accidental. We could talk about it for an hour if you want to, but I think we’re wasting our time. It was accidental, added Roy.
Regarding Laviolette’s comments, Roy said, “sometimes, frustration makes you say things.”
Later in the third period, with the Rangers’ net empty, forward Vincent Trocheck was crushed from behind into the end boards on a hit from Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson.
After the Islanders’ Anders Lee clinched the game with an empty net goal, an incensed Trocheck got in the face of referee Kelly Sutherland.
“Vicious, from behind,” said Laviolette of the Dobson hit. “It was hard out there tonight having to get through all of that. It was hard, but our guys kept fighting and battling until the end.”
Roy said that the puck was in the air during the hit and that Trocheck should “expect that we were going to go after this one.” The coach said Dobson tried to lay off on the hit and make contact from the side.
In the game, the Rangers had three power plays, scoring twice, while the Islanders had two and did not score.
The win gave the Islanders 87 points in 78 games, remaining two points ahead of the Washington Capitals in third place in the Metro Division.
ST. LOUIS — Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies a day after he was hit in the foot by a pitch and broke his bat in frustration.
Contreras, listed as day-to-day with a right foot contusion, was hit by Rockies starter Kyle Freeland‘s sweeper in the fourth inning. He then slammed his bat into the dirt and snapped it over his knee.
As he walked toward first base, the 33-year-old threw the two pieces of the broken bat toward the Cardinals’ dugout.
He remained in the game until the sixth inning, when he was replaced by Nolan Gorman.
The Cardinals said X-rays did not reveal any structural damage in Contreras’ foot.
Contreras has been hit by a National League-leading 18 pitches this season, trailing only Randy Arozarena and Ty France.
Contreras leads the Cardinals with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put struggling slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle and activated outfielder Evan Carter.
Texas, which is chasing an American League wild-card berth, made the moves their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness, but manager Bruce Bochy said he could be available to pinch-hit.
García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 116 games. He hit .176 (6 for 34) during the nine-game homestand that ended with Wednesday’s game.
Carter, who turns 23 later this month, missed 10 games because of back spasms. He was in a 4-for-34 slump when he was placed on the IL on Aug. 2. He hit .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 55 games before then.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike