Another Day, Another Dirty Play

If you haven’t seen this gem from last night’s Washington-Colorado tilt, take a gander. That’s Avs’ enforcer/goon/Neanderthal extraordinaire David Koci taking a run at Caps’ d-man Mike Green.

Koci charged Green, hit him from behind and drove his head into the glass – the trifecta. For the record, he got 5 minutes for boarding for the hit itself. Green, who remained on the ice for a while and didn’t return to the game, received some stitches and a swollen face. He hopes to play in Washington’s next game.

In case you don’t recall, Koci was the man responsible for injuring Pens’ defenseman Sergei Gonchar in a preseason game last year, knocking him out for the majority of the season with a dislocated shoulder. Koci, who was once Pittsburgh property and racked up 311 penalty minutes in Wilkes-Barre in 04-05, has 3 career points in 97 games.

As you might guess, Washington wasn’t happy, and coach Bruce Boudreau went so far as to question Koci’s skills, saying “he couldn’t play in the American League.” Bravo, Bruce. This was – without a doubt – a cheap shot to a star player by a thug who does absolutely nothing but fight.

You know you’d be irate if this happened to one of the Pens’ superstars (I know I would). Here’s hoping Koci gets a lengthy suspension.