Laperriere, McCabe Have a Rematch

The idea of NHL justice is, when you are hit in a manner you consider untoward, you take a number and settle the score later, when a penalty won’t be costly to your team.

So it was Saturday night, when a four-year-old disagreement was resurrected by the Kings’ Ian Laperriere and Chicago’s Bryan McCabe, who found themselves, gloves off, swinging away on the United Center ice in the second period.

“He had taken a run at Ziggy [Palffy], and he’s our best player and you have to protect him,� Laperriere said of the motive.

Laperriere added the historical note.

“We had fought four years before,� he said.

The reason for that first fight?

“He had taken a run at Ziggy,� McCabe said, laughing at the irony. McCabe had been Palffy’s teammate with the New York Islanders when he and Laperriere first dropped gloves.

In both cases, “he’s just doing his job,� McCabe said. “And I was doing mine.�

McCabe got five minutes for fighting, but Laperriere spent 17 minutes in jail, earning a two-minute instigator penalty to go with his five minutes for fighting and 10-minute misconduct assessment.

Without Laperriere, the Kings moved Brad Chartrand to center and double-shifted Donald Audette and Ziggy Palffy at various times at Chartrand’s wing.

And it wasn’t over.

Upon finishing his sentence, Laperriere headed to the ice and again found McCabe. Again, gloves went down. That cost each five minutes.

“That was him just being a man and I appreciate it,� McCabe said. “He knew he had hit me the first time when I wasn’t looking, so he gave me a chance to get even.�

Palffy later went off the ice when he was slashed behind the Chicago goal. He sat for a few minutes, then came back in after suffering a bruised knee.