Crawford on Blake injury and Boyle callup
First, some news. Brian Boyle has been called up as well because of a neck injury to Scott Thornton.
Here is Crawford on Blake: ``It's probably very similar to Brad Stuart. Stuart was kind of the same way though his wasn't broken, it was a deep bruise. We kept doing the same thing with Brad in getting it re-X-rayed. We got Rob re-X-rayed a couple times and nothing showed up. It's not uncommon that a couple weeks later something shows up. He told me after the Islanders game that it wasn't getting better, so we got him another MRI and then it showed up. On the positive side, these things are very treatable and usually take two weeks. He should be back when we come up to L.A. hopefully.''
On Thornton injury: ``Thornton is out tonight with a bad neck. He didn't think it was that serious but today he's really sore. He'll probably miss just tonight's game. Give him three days off and he'll probably be ready for the Rangers game. The injuries are starting to mount up but everyone's dealing with these type of situations. The positive side is it gives us a chance to look at a couple people.''
On Boyle: ``Coming in the fourth line for Thorty for a game will be good. It's nice to see him. He's scored over 20 goals in the minor leagues this year. He had an experiment on defense, and I think that helped him on overall awareness. It's good for him to see what the defense has to deal with. As a big centerman, you have to play well in those low positions down in the zone. When you're a good player, you've got to show NHL coaches and even AHL coaches that you're not going to hurt them before you show them how much you can help them. You've got to show us your defense before you get the chance to show us your offense. It was good for him. Now he'll get the opportunity to show us.''
Boyle led the Monarchs with 21 goals. He was the Kings' first-round pick, No. 26 overall, in 2003. He's the second-to-last player from that first round to make it to the NHL.
``Well, hopefully he'll be here the longest,'' Crawford said.
Boyle's actually the second last player - can't forget future superstar Hugh Jessiman!
Thanks as always for the update Matt..
Hurry up and get better Blake, so we can trade you...
Boyle's up, this should be cool to see.
Get better Blake. We need you in Detroit as our 4th Defenseman. For four months anyway, you're not worth the full Six Mill to Detroit for a full year.
I hope this stupid experiment of MC & DL to play him on defense is put to rest.
Play him at his natural position only. He's a gifted goal scorer. Don't _uck with the players head.
Exactly how much can Boyle show skating on the fourth line with the offensively-challenged Ivanans and Giuliano?
He can show that he can play defense, something much more important than offense.
Well, Boyle just got his first NHL goal in his first game, good start :)
(followed the game so far on Yahoo, hooray for near-live updates)
2 points on Boyle.
mrk
Mr. Fabulous, I totally agreed with your assessment of the Boyle thing today prior to the game. But, he showed some nards scoring two points on that line. I am excited about all these young kids and I hope they just let them play out the season on the big club. Moulson is obviously able to score at the NHL level consistently. Purcell, it's just a matter of time until he blossoms into a star. You can feel it from some of these guys that we have a very exciting future. I'm for letting it start right now. We should learn from the Blackhawks this year. Maybe they won't win the cup, but it's really exciting hockey to watch and their young kids have grown immensely this year to NHL star players. These injuries are blessings in disquise. Ethman, thanks for LOL comment re Blake.