Penner’s perspective – what really happened in the handshake line

It’s finally here.

Eight months in the making.

Kings versus Coyotes, the re-match.

When last we saw these two division rivals on the ice together they created enough story-lines and sub-plots to keep people engaged for weeks after it was over. However, there was only one problem, the Stanley Cup Final started a few days later and many hockey fans quickly turned the page.

Not so fast though said the majority of puckheads in the Arizona desert. Although it’s taken about twice as long as anybody ever expected for the clubs to faceoff again, it will happen later tonight.

Before we get to the handshake line from the 2012 Western Conference Final, let’s first look back at what happened moments prior – as Dustin Penner scores one of the biggest goals in LA Kings history…

Then came what was supposed to be one of the greatest traditions in all of sports – the handshake line following the completion of a hockey playoff series. Watch closely as Coyotes’ center Antoine Vermette tries to engage Penner in an extended conversation during the festivities…

Penner and the Kings then flew back to Los Angeles and were greeted by a sea of Kings fans…

About 14 hours after scoring that deciding goal in Game 5 of the series, and sending the Kings to the Stanley Cup Final for only the second time in franchise history, Penner took a few minutes to speak with the media via a conference call…

The conversation about what happened in the desert continued the next day at practice (and this one is a two-parter). Here’s the opening monologue….

Then, came the really good stuff…comments about Dustin Brown, coach Darryl Sutter and eventually Penner gets to the chirping he received from Vermette…

This whole thing is far from over.

Don’t kid yourself.

Next, we’ll take a deeper look at the contributions Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Shane Doan have made to the growing hatred between the Kings and Coyotes.

In the meantime, to see what Kings’ veteran Willie Mitchell had to say about the whole dust-up in the handshake line, click here.

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