from Emily Sadler of Sportsnet,

After being left out of the Los Angeles Kings‘ lineup for the second time in three games, Ilya Kovalchuk has spoken — and he didn’t mince words.

The veteran forward, listed as a healthy scratch under interim head coach Willie Desjardins last Saturday against the Florida Panthers and again Thursday versus the San Jose Sharks, openly questioned his coach’s strategy and wasn’t afraid to voice his displeasure about sitting out.

“It’s horrible,” Kovalchuk told The Athletic‘s Lisa Dillman on Friday (subscription required). “That’s the worst. But [Desjardins] didn’t play young guys. He plays seven D. That’s his new strategy.”

Desjardins’ decision to ice an extra defenceman in place of Kovalchuk was a bit of a head-scratcher, considering the usual motivation for scratching veterans at the end of a lost season typically centres around wanting to get a closer look at some AHL call-ups.

“What you can do? That’s his decision and he’s the head coach – 10 more games. What else we can do. Just practice hard and show the young kids that that thing can happen to anybody. You just have to keep going,” said Kovalchuk.

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