‘Blakie’ is such a great leader, a great veteran,” Laperriere said. “He knew exactly where I was coming from. It doesn’t matter if (the check) was clean or it’s not clean. It’s a big hit on one of our big players and he got injured and somebody had to do something and I felt like it was me. ‘Blakie’ felt he had to defend his young future, I guess. He told me, ‘I won’t let you fight him.’ ”
Blake, who scored at 9:13 of the third period, said he understood where Laperriere was coming from.
“I think we need to step in in situations like that,” Blake said. “ ‘Lappy’ and I are good friends, and I know he was doing his job. I just said that I didn’t want him to fight Jack. He’s a young guy and he’s learning this league. I didn’t think he did anything terribly wrong. The result was just unfortunate.”
Avs beat Kings; Smyth, Svatos hurt : Avalanche : The Rocky Mountain News
Avs beat Kings; Smyth, Svatos hurt (Rocky Mountain News 
