Laperriere's Grit A Hit With Kings
(from the Daily News)
By Matt McHale
Staff Writer
October 31, 1999 - You can't measure Ian Laperriere's heart on a stat sheet, but you can understand the Kings' success by the gash over his right eye.
Laperriere didn't get a goal in Saturday night's 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in front of 14,694 at the United Center. Never got close. But when he twice took on Blackhawks strongman Bryan McCabe for slashing Ziggy Palffy, Laperriere scored big points with his teammates.
"He showed that stuff like that isn't going to happen to his team," said Luc Robitaille, the Kings' leading scorer. "On winning teams, everyone pitches in, covers the other guys. We are so happy to have Lappy around. This is the first year he has had a chance to play regularly. He has shown all season that he belongs."
The Kings' (8-3-2) improbable rise to the top of the Western Conference is due as much to efforts like Laperriere's as it is to Robitaille's league-tying 10 goals. The team obviously brought its grit back on the road Saturday, where it opened the season with a surprising 4-2-1 record.
The Kings turned around a couple of poor games to open the Staples Center and the victory over Chicago was their fourth straight. And as his teammates slapped Laperriere on the back as they dressed for their flight to Pittsburgh, it was clear why his game was so important.
The Kings were outshot 36-22, but they kept the Blackhawks, who were coming off an impressive victory in Detroit, scoreless on six power-play opportunities.
Frustrated, McCabe went after Palffy behind the Chicago net midway through the third period, slashing him on the left forearm then taking out his legs. Palffy went down hard and crashed into the boards. He stayed down for more than a minute then limped off the ice but did return.
Laperriere went after McCabe with several shots to the head. At 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, Laperriere is hardly a goon, but he certainly looked like he knew what he was doing.
"Ziggy is our best player and I couldn't let them do that," Laperriere said. "That is why I am out there. I saw what he did and I just snapped. To keep playing the way we have, we have to show teams like Chicago, which always plays rough, that we won't be intimidated."
Laperriere has never scored more than eight goals in his first four seasons with the Kings. He was shuttled between the third and fourth lines and didn't become part of the club's regular rotation. He scored his only goal this season during the team's worst game, a timid 6-3 loss to Phoenix 10 days ago.
"I know the coach (Andy Murray) rewards hard work," said Laperriere, who has had several run-ins with Chicago in the past. "We have regrouped since the Phoenix game and the main thing is we are showing the effort."
Saturday, the Kings already led 1-0 on a goal by Glen Murray when Laperriere first left his mark midway through the second. McCabe cross checked Palffy in the back and Laperriere started a brawl that resulted in a two-minute minor for instigating, a five-minute major for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct penalty.
It left the Kings at a physical disadvantage, but emotionally they were intact. With Chicago on the power play, Brad Chartrand scored a short-handed goal on a long, floating pass from Kings goalie Stephane Fiset.
Three minutes later, they made it 3-0 on Rob Blake's sixth goal of the season, a blast from the point that beat Chicago goalie Jocelyn Thibault. But this game was not won by goals alone.
"You have to stand up for your teammates, especially on the road," said Fiset, who allowed only a late goal by Alexei Zhaminov to raise his personal record to 7-3-2. "Lappy? He had some night."