Chicago’s Matt Walker added injury to a thoroughly insulting 6-0 defeat of Phoenix Tuesday night, his brutal K.O. of the Coyotes’ Ed Jovanovsk coming so swiftly, The Great One was too flummoxed after the game to use the phrase “sucker punch” to describe the decisive blow. Not so for the Arizona Republic’s Jim Gintino, however.
Coach Wayne Gretzky was perplexed with the Jovanovski-Walker situation.
œI’ve never seen a guy get punched in the face, go down with his gloves still on, the stick still in hands “ to me, that’s a five-minute major, he said. œThe referee didn’t see it that way, but as far as I’m concerned it should have been a five-minute major, but that’s the call he made, and that’s what he saw.
œHe clearly thought they squared off ¦. But when a guy still has his gloves down, his gloves on, and the stick still in his gloves ¦ and he just goes straight down to the ice, to me that’s a punch.