LOS ANGELES -- Sharks forward Raffi Torres was suspended for the rest of San Joses second-round playoff series against Los Angeles on Thursday for an illegal check to the head of Kings forward Jarret Stoll during the opener. The NHL announced the suspension a few hours before the Kings hosted the Sharks in Game 2. Stoll wasnt expected to play for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Stoll didnt return to Game 1 after Torres hit him late in the second period of the Kings 2-0 victory. Torres got only a minor penalty for charging on the hit, and coach Todd McLellan and captain Joe Thornton echoed Torres belief that the hit was completely legal. The NHLs Department of Player Safety sharply disagreed while handing down a fourth suspension for Torres, considered a repeat offender in dangerous hits under the leagues collective bargaining agreement. Torres flew to New York for an in-person hearing Thursday. While playing for Phoenix last season, Torres received a 21-game suspension -- initially 25 games -- for a high hit on Chicago star Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs. Torres was suspended for two games in January 2012 for charging Minnesota defenceman Nate Prosser, and he sat out four games in April 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmontons Jordan Eberle while playing for Vancouver. Stoll was bent forward while trying to play a bouncing puck when Torres approached him from the side for a violent hit. Stolls head snapped back violently before he fell forward onto the ice. In an explanatory video released by Brendan Shanahan, the NHLs senior vice-president of player safety, he said Stolls head was "the principal point of contact" in the hit, creating grounds for suspension. Although Torres initially made contact with Stolls right shoulder, Shanahan ruled that the shoulder hit was only a glancing blow, as evidenced by the direction both players travelled after the contact. Torres claimed he had changed his ways during a largely incident-free season with Phoenix and San Jose, his sixth team in six seasons. He has been a dependable depth forward this season for the Sharks and Coyotes, scoring 18 points with just 17 penalty minutes in 39 games. The Kings lose much more in the absence of Stoll, their veteran third-line centre. Stoll is a faceoff specialist and a top penalty-killer with a strong two-way game. Brad Richardson, who played 13 playoff games during the Kings championship run last year, is expected to take Stolls spot in the lineup. Los Angeles hasnt disclosed the nature of Stolls injury or a timetable for his recovery. Torres, Thornton and McLellan all claimed the hit was completely legal, while Kings coach Darryl Sutter called it "careless." Torres and Stoll are friends after three seasons as teammates in Edmonton from 2005-08. "We were kind of shocked to hear he has to fly to New York for the hearing, because we didnt see anything wrong on the play," Thornton said Wednesday. "Its unfortunate that Raffi has to go through this again." McLellan prepared for Torres likely absence by moving Joe Pavelski onto the Sharks second line on the left wing with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Scott Gomez moved into Pavelskis spot on the third line, and Tim Kennedy is likely to suit up on the fourth line. Cheap Air Jordan 1 China Wholesale . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Wholesale Authentic Jordans . 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With the regular season in the books, we turn to our SEC insiders to detail the biggest topics facing the conference heading into bowl season and the offseason.As usual, things revolve around the behemoth in Tuscaloosa. Can anyone close the gap on the Crimson Tide? How could that be done? And will a talented young crop of quarterbacks change the trajectory of the leagues play under center?How can teams close the gap on Alabama?Edward Aschoff: Well, I talked to an SEC head coach this week who said the best way to close the gap on Alabama is to stop trying to be Alabama. No SEC team can be like Alabama, not as long as Nick Saban is in Tuscaloosa. The coach literallly laughed at the idea of coaches trying to recruit like Alabama instead of devising their own recruiting plans and development methods.dddddddddddd. Trying to build like Alabama is a losing model. 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