In the 1995 finals with Detroit, Stevens KO'd Slava Kozlov in Game 1 in Detroit. It was the kind of clean hit that took down Lindros, but it had the Red Wings bench up in arms. Stevens didn't blink, actually skating over to the bench and telling scoring star Dino Ciccarelli that he was next. No one would go so far as to say that was the reason the Devils swept the heavily favored Wings that spring. Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake said he saw that particular hit on television and knew right then the complexion of the series had been altered.
Big hits do that.
Players see a teammate go down and not get up. In the macho posturing that follows, words are often exchanged, but in the unspoken moments every player knows that the downed player could have just as easily been him. It has an impact, both ways. You go along and everyone is playing and everyone looks the same and everyone is doing the same thing. It just kind of gives you a shock to your system.