Sharks surprised NHL will hold hearing on Raffi Torres hit

The San Jose Sharks expressed surprise on Wednesday when NHL officials summoned their rugged left winger Raffi Torres to a hearing in New York to discuss a hit on Kings forward Jarret Stoll.

Torres checked Stoll near the end of the second period in Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. There has been disagreement over whether contact was shoulder to shoulder or shoulder to head.

Torres was called for charging and an injured Stoll did not return.

“We kind of questioned the call of the charging penalty, to be honest,” Sharks center Joe Thornton said. “Kind of shocked today that he has to fly to New York for the hearing because we didn’t see anything wrong with the play.”

The Kings announced Wednesday that Stoll is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Torres has a history with the league. The repeat offender was given a substantial suspension for his hit on Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks during the playoffs last season.

Reaction to the hit on Stoll was not immediate. Concern seemed to build with comments in the Kings’ locker room after the game and later scrutiny on highlight shows.

San Jose Coach Todd McLellan did not rule out the possibility of Torres attending a Thursday hearing on the East Coast and returning to play in Game 2 the same night at Staples Center.

“If Raffi can’t play, we’ve got other people that we can put in,” the Sharks coach said. “We’ll look at our lines. We’ll look at how we can best use those people.”

Thornton said he thought Stoll might have ducked his head on the play.

“It almost seems like the player getting hit has no responsibility at all right now,” Thornton said. “The way I was brought up was to keep your head up. When I was 6 years old I was taught that.”

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