Michael Latta vs. Marcel Goc. November 2nd. 16:21 into the first period. Score tied 0-0.
Michael Latta is a scrappy guy. He’s a tough grinder, a in your face style player. He wanted to show Caps fans that when we traded away Filip Forsberg, we didn’t do it to acquire Martin Erat, we did it to acquire Michael Latta.
While Forberg’s ceiling is a little bit higher than Latta’s, Latta did prove day in and day out that the Caps did gain a pretty solid 4th liner. Will he score the game winning goal in overtime one day? Probably not. Do we want him on the ice in the final minute of the game when the Caps are protecting a one goal lead? Maybe. Can he generate some buzz with his fists?
Yes.
So that’s what he decided to do in the first period against the Florida Panthers. First, Latta decided to lower the boom on former Capital Tomas Fleischmann. Latta may not even realize he’s a former Cap. But, Latta don’t care. He sees an enemy on the ice.
Marcel Goc nobly stood up for his teammate, but he had no idea that he made a really bad decision.
I’m not sure Goc landed one solid punch on Latta’s noggin. But Latta was just teeing off, getting Goc on his heels with a series of blows. It was so lopsided, that Joe Beninati chose to just count the punches to Goc’s head. Latta got the first. Then second and third. Then it was the fourth. And then the fifth. Beninati gave up after the fifth hit. But you could easily go up to the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth and tenth. These weren’t love taps either. They were opposite of love taps. Hate taps? I don’t know. But the point is, Latta lit up a player with a hit. He was run at. Latta then defended himself adequately by going on the offensive. And Latta took care of business.
Latta then went on to get an assist in the game, and the Caps went on to win the game in a shootout. Obviously, this win was the result of Latta’s TKO.
