Posts Tagged ‘los angeles kings’

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Thoughts on Penner, Richardson, Doughty

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

The Kings have addressed perhaps their most glaring weaknesses via trade and free agency this off season, and while they’re considered favorites in the Pacific Division and among the favorites in the Western Conference, there are still questions to be answered.

Last season’s marquee trade deadline acquisition, Dustin Penner, was, to put it mildly a bit of a disappointment. GM Dean Lombardi criticized Penner’s conditioning and work ethic – even going so far as to say it was up to Penner to decide if he wanted to play in the NHL or for a beer league softball team (I’m paraphrasing the quote he gave to Rich Hammond). Kings’ fans got to see first hand why Penner’s relationship with the fans in Edmonton was one of love/hate proportions. No doubt the man has skill, but at times his effort seems to be lacking.

The buzz out of El Segundo this week from names well known among Kings’ fans on twitter – Mayor’s Manor, Frozen Royalty and Dennis Bernstein of The 4th Period – was that Penner has been training hard in Los Angeles and has slimmed down by at least ten pounds. The Mayor tweeted earlier today that Penner says he wasn’t offended by Lombardi’s softball comments and instead used it as kindling for his fire. It’s encouraging news to be sure, and the hope is that it translates to big on-ice results for him. A productive Penner alongside Anze Kopitar makes the Kings’ top line as dangerous as any in the West, especially when you factor in how good the second line will be with Gagne, Richards and likely Dustin Brown.

Speaking of Kopitar, Mayor’s Manor also stated via twitter today that Anze Kopitar has been cleared medically and will begin skating before the end of July.

Now, to contracts for a moment. The good news – Kings have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with forward brad Richardson. Richie has been a key role player on the Kings’ roster the past two seasons, and the Kings avoid arbitration by locking him up now.

The bad news – although it’s safe to say not disconcerting at this point, is that Drew Doughty and the Kings have yet to agree to terms. Dean Lombardi told Rich Hammond today that both sides are still discussing money as well as contract length. I agree with what Bobby at Surly & Scribe has to say about it – Dean Lombardi will get it done. Drew Doughty is the cornerstone of the Kings’ franchise right now, and figures to be in any conversation about the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the next decade. Doughty wants to be an LA King, and he will be. Contract negotiations are a smorgasbord of speculation for media, both mainstream and bloggers alike. I’ve already seen Dean Lombardi called “stingy”, Drew and his agents called “greedy”, and seen speculation in the mainstream media that Doughty wants to be the highest paid King – all without any citation or shred of evidence. Articles get more reads and websites get more clicks based on speculation and fabricated drama, the “OH NOEZ WE CAN’T SIGN DREW NOW!” makes for more readers than it does to simply acknowledge the fact that there’s no pressure to get a deal done yesterday, as much as we fans would love it, and that negotiations will continue until the two sides reach an agreement.

Rest assured, Drew Doughty will be a Los Angeles King when camp opens in September, and for many more after that. He’s a key piece of the puzzle that Kings’ fans, coaches, players and management alike hope will get LA hockey’s ultimate prize – the Stanley Cup

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Standin’ On Top of the World

Sunday, November 7th, 2010

Kings celebrate Ryan Smyth's 2nd period goal in last night's 4-1 win over Nashville. It was Smyth's 1,000th NHL game.

Yeah, I know, it’s a Van Hagar reference. The goal is to be able to use a Queen reference sometime in June, and the way things have gone through 13 games, that would be a plausible prediction to make.

The haters can hate, and those who haven’t been paying attention will look at the NHL’s standing and claim it as some sort of mistake, some sort of farce. Let them. The simple fact of the matter is this: Right here, right now, the Los Angeles Kings are the best team in the National Hockey League. Believe it, Kings’ fans. We’ve been waiting a long time for this. Two weeks from now, the Kings’ may merely be leading the Pacific and holding a #2 or #3 seed in the West, but at the present moment, there is no team better.

So what’s contributing to the Kings success? Maybe the more pertinent question would be “what isn’t?”.

First and foremost has been the defense. I will admit to being a little biased, but I can’t remember seeing a more dominant, suffocating defensive unit in the post-lockout NHL. Opposing offensive juggernauts are kept the permimeter, their scoring chances limited. The backcheck has helped to eliminate opponents’ speed entering the zone. And when they find their chances, they’re left to face yet another formidable challenge: The Kings’ goaltenders.

If you had to name 3 goalies who have been dominant thus far this season, the obvious answers would be Tim Thomas of Boston, Jaro Halak of St. Louis, and the Kings’ Jon Quick. Quick is 8-1 with a 1.62 goals against average and a save percentage of .942 (94.2% for those following at home). He has been first star of the game 5 times in 9 starts this season, including a home shutout of Tampa this past Thursday. When it’s Quick’s night off, the bad guys have to face Jonathan Bernier – considered by many to be the best goalie playing outside the NHL prior to this season. Bernier has recovered nicely from an early case of the jitters and has looked solid. Like I said prior to the season starting, the Kings’ have one of the most formidable goaltending tandems in the entire league right now.

Then there’s the balanced scoring. Heading into this season, most cited the Kings’ primary concern as secondary scoring. Those concerns have been answered – loudly. The Kings’ second line has, not even arguably been their best all season – with Jaret Stoll, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams accounting for 35 points (15G, 20A) thus far. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar on the top line have 6 and 4 goals respectively. The third “shutdown” line has contributed as well with Ponikarovsky, Handzus and Simmonds potting 2,2, and 3 goals respectively. 5 on 5 goal scoring has not been the issue – the Kings have both improved in 5 on 5 goals for AND against. All this without a goal from Drew Doughty or Jack Johnson yet.

While the Kings’ penalty kill has been nothing short of awesome (defense and goaltending will do that – they’re PERFECT at home through 6 games), the power play is still a bit behind the curve. Based on what we saw last season, they will get going sooner than later.

Then there’s the stuff not on paper. This is a TEAM, a tight knit group that cares about one another’s well being. They want to win for one another, they fight for one another, and they look to be enjoying every moment of it. The last two games have been case in point:

Thursday against Tampa, one of their notorious goons, Steve Downie, attempted a charge on Drew Doughty during the last half of the 3rd period (it was retaliation for a clean hit by Doughty a shift earlier). Downie, who had run away from Kyle Clifford 3 times prior in the game is the worst kind of gutless player there is – has a propensity for dives and cheap shots, but isn’t man enough to answer the bell when called on the carpet for it. He is alongside Matt Cooke in this category leaguewide, just a gutless, cheap shot, no talent bitch (of course, the Tampa fans are the only ones who don’t see it that way – no surprise). Thursday night, Willie Mitchell made him answer, rushing to the aid of his star defense partner- fresh off recovery from a concussion. Downie, in predictable fashion, didn’t throw a punch until Mitchell was restrained and then cried a river to the officials when Mitchell returned the favor. The message had been sent: If you f**k with one of us, you f**k with all of us.

Saturday the team wore mullet wigs to the morning skate and in the pre-game warmup to honor teammate Ryan Smyth’s 1,000th NHL game. Perhaps a small gesture, but it shows the tight-knit nature of this team. During the game itself, the Kings looked to be trying to get Smyth a goal on his milestone night early on, and it paid off when Smyth tallied to make it 3-0 Kings in the second period.

We’ve had some pretty good Kings’ teams in the past, but I can’t ever recall a group that played more cohesive than this one does. When Mitchell left the game in the second period, the defensive corps rallied and didn’t miss a beat. Drew Doughty and Davis Drewiske morphed themselves into masters of the shot block. I don’t know if I’ve EVER seen Drewiske play a game like that before – he was carrying the puck up ice like Drew and Jack, shooting the puck and effortlessly breaking up attempted passes. Kid is really coming into his own.

As a result of all of the above and more, the Kings are 6-0 at home. Their last two wins have come against teams that have historically owned the Kings at home. That this is changing shows that these are not your mother’s LA Kings. Not by a long shit. These are the 2010-11 Los Angeles Kings – and right now – the NHL’s best.

It might be early to start planning the Cup parade in downtown LA, but let there be no doubt: This team is for REAL.

GO KINGS!

-JS

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Kings (and fans) to Kovalchuk: “Suck It!”

Sunday, October 31st, 2010

Kings' Jack Johnson muscles Ilya Kovalchuk off the puck. Kovalchuk was a non-factor in the Kings' 3-1 win in LA tonight. (Getty)

If you paid any attention to the Kings during this past offseason, Ilya Kovalchuk’s name should be very familiar to you by now. Kovalchuk, who was considered the most dymanic player available via free agency during the Summer of 2010, was courted by the Kings, flown to Los Angeles and offered a 13 year, 80 million dollar contract. In the end it turned out he used the Kings as leverage to get more money to remain in New Jersey. The move may have been strictly business (even if one pretentious, self-important East Coast hockey blogger decided to take it upon herself to make it personal by insulting Southern California residents), but it made Kovalchuk public enemy #1 for Kings’ fans. Many of us circled the night of October 30th on our calendars and looked at it as a chance for a little vindication.

Turns out we didn’t have to wait until Saturday night. Our vindication began when the puck dropped on the 2010-2011 NHL season as the Kovalchuk contract, along with some other contract blunders executed by New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello have left the Devils in bad shape. They were unable to roster more than 15 players for a game at one point because of cap issues. Martin Brodeur has been mediocre (or he’s just being exposed without a solid defense in front of him), and team has had little cohesion. Kovalchuk’s “me first” attitude, from an outsider’s perspective anyway, seems to be rotting a once solid organizational fabric from it’s core.

So, the Kings’ mission tonight, was to make sure that they contributed to the Devils’ mounting misery, and maybe, just maybe to let Kovalchuk know he is stuck in New Jersey for the rest of his career with an aging team that looks far past it’s prime.

Both parts of that mission tonight were a resounding success. The Kings’ got on the board early and never looked back. Justin Williams took a drop pass from Jaret Stoll after a well executed breakout, made an adjustment and slipped a no-look shot past Brodeur low stick side. It was a soft goal at best, and the Kings’ would never look back with that lead. Before the first period ended, New Jersey winger Zach parise – and Olympic teammate of Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jon Quick – took a run at Anze Kopitar well away from the puck that went unnoticed and unpunished. If I believed in karma, it’d be fair to say it’s a bitch, as it was Parise who later left the game with a lower body injury.

The second period saw the Kings extend their lead to 2-0 with a power play goal by Michal Handzus, who swatted the rebound of a Jaret Stoll one-timer past Brodeur. The Devils’ got on the board with a bit of luck later in the period on what was undoubtedly a shift Davis Drewiske would like to have back. Drewiske got muscled off the puck twice with an opportunity to clear the puck, then Matt Taormina’s point shot deflected off Drewiske past Quick. Just as fast as New Jersey climbed back in the game though, the Kings’ took them back out. Rob Scuderi shot wide from the point and Stoll pounced on the rebound off the end boards. Brodeur looked to be in position but the puck trickled through him to make it 3-1 Kings.

In the third period, Jon Quick stopped all 20 shots the Devils threw at him. Quick stopped 39 of 40 for the game, and curiously wasn’t named one of the game’s 3 stars. My personal opinion, and most of the fans I spoke with leaving Staples Center – Quick was the game’s first star. He outplayed Brodeur tonight by a wide margin and looked under control doing it.

I have always been of the opinion, having seen Brodeur since his rookie season, that he is a great goalie but nowhere near the all-time great that the hockey media portrays him as. He has spent his entire career until now on a team predicated on air tight defense, where he faced less than 20 shots a game on many nights. That’s not to discredit him, but to put things in proper perspective. I always thought Patrick Roy was better – he carried two average at best Montreal teams to Cups (one at the Kings’ expense), won two more cups in Colorado and is the only player in history – much less goalie, to win the Conn Smythe trophy three times. Roy was at his best when the game was on the line – in the playoffs. Meanwhile Brodeur post-lockout has been a perennial playoff disappointment. Also shouldn’t go without mention that Brodeur wasn’t able to break Roy’s all-time wins record until the no-tie era and is still well behind Roy in all-time playoff wins. In a nutshell, Roy in my opinion was always better. His personality is somewhat polarizing so it’s easy for people to attempt to discredit his on ice achievements because they viewed him as arrogant or abrasive. I always looked at it as he had a winning attitude, and he was good enough to warrant a little cockiness.

Brodeur tonight was average at best. Three seasons or so ago, two of the Kings’ goals probably don’t go in. Watching him play is definitely entertaining – his style is one of a kind in the modern era – but it also looks as if the current skill level of players in the NHL may soon make it obsolete. If I’d walked in off the street and not known who he was, nothing I saw tonight would’ve convinced me I was watching a guy who’d won more games than any other NHL goalie in history.

I’ve digressed a little bit, sorry. The biggest story of the night was the Kings making Kovalchuk a non factor. His time and space was taken away, and without looking at the stat sheet, I only remember seeing him get three shots off, none of them dangerous. The Kings defense, and in particular the Kings’ shutdown line of Ponikarovsky, Handzus and Simmonds were relentless tonight. Even without Doughty in the lineup they managed to make Kovalchuk essentially a zero-sum on the ice.

Kings, at 8-3-0 sit atop the National Hockey League with 16 points. With the team off until Thursday night’s game with Tampa, that will no doubt not be the case next time they take the ice, but it’s ground they’ll soon be able to make up.

Fans, believe it: The Kings are the best team in the National Hockey League right now – and they’re doing it without their star defenseman and without much production from their top line (the second line has been outstanding however). They’re scoring by committee and getting superb goaltending from Quick. The team is far from hitting it’s peak too. If you’re starting to think there could be a parade in downtown LA come June, you’re not alone. Lots of hockey remains to be played though, before we can realistically start planning the parade route.

Kings face the new look Lightning at Staples Thursday night. That #8 guy might just be in the lineup too.

I for one, am grateful the guy wearing #17 for the Kings is Wayne Simmonds of Scarborough, Ontario and not Ilya Kovalchuk of Russia.

GO KINGS!

-JS

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Quick Backstops Kings to Win In Dallas

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Jon Quick played so hot in Dallas, he had to cool himself off! (Roland Martinez/Getty)

The Kings looked like a team playing it’s second game in as many nights for long stretches of the game in Dallas tonight, all except for one guy: Jon Quick. Kings’ coach Terry Murray’s plan to play Jonathan Bernier once a week and keep Quick well rested has thus far paid dividends – Quick has played very solid this season and is sitting at 6-1. Perhaps the most telling stat: Quick has been the first star in 4 of those games. Tonight was no exception – a good number of Quick’s saves were of the breathtaking, acrobatic variety. When he didn’t need to be acrobatic, he was positionally solid and focused. Oh, while I’m at it on those 6 wins, they’re also currently best in the NHL. In a season where many expected Quick to concede the starting job to Jonathan Bernier, he is instead establishing himself as one of the league’s elite goalies.

The Kings’ most dominant effort up front tonight came from the third line, the so-called “shutdown” line of Alexei Ponikarovsky, Wayne Simmonds and Michal Handzus. Ponikarovsky broke a 1-1 tie in the second period on a putback of a Simmonds shot from a steep angle. Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen made the initial save but the rebound was ripe for the picking and Ponikarovsky shoveled it in on the backhand. 9 seconds later, Simmonds would score after Handzus cleanly won the center ice faceoff back to Jack Johnson, who fed a breaking Simmonds. Simmonds went hard to the net with the puck and beat Lehtonen before running the net off it’s pegs. After a brief review it was determined that the puck entered the net before it came off it’s moorings, and it was 3-1 Kings, just like that.

It was at this point in the game that Quick did his best work to keep Dallas off the scoreboard, as he had a 14 save 2nd period. In the third period the Kings would get a shorthanded goal from Willie Mitchell of all people, who banked it off the skate of Dallas defender Phillip Larsen. The Stars would pull Lehtonen in favor of Andrew Raycroft. Dallas would make it 4-2 on a perfectly placed wraparound shot – upstairs over Quick – from former King Brandon Segal to make it 4-2. The Stars would pull Raycroft for the extra skater, but Justin Williams scored an empty netter – his second goal in as many nights – to seal the deal. Not that Dallas was going to beat Quick anyway.

The win puts the Kings first overall in the Pacific Division, first overall in the Western Conference, and first overall in the National Hockey League. I realize it’s only late October, but it’s nice to see this team coming together and winning. The good news is, they’re doing it without arguably the league’s best young defenseman, AND not all cylinders are firing yet. Kopitar hasn’t turned on the “score at will” switch yet. None of the puck-movers on the blue line have a goal yet, and aside from 5 on 3 situations, the power play hasn’t gotten near the level we know they’re capable of. The rest of the NHL should be on notice – this is one hell of a Kings’ team.

The bad news: Wayne Simmonds left the game with a lower body injury in the third period after just a shift. The extent of the injury isn’t known yet. One would expect he’d be evaluated in LA tomorrow and more info sh0uld then be available.

The Kings have a home game against New Jersey on Saturday, then don’t play again until the following Thursday – that time should allow Drew Doughty – and hopefully Simmonds and Scott Parse as well – to get healthy and return to the lineup.

Anyone else looking forward to booing Ilya Kovalchuk on Saturday. I guess that all depends on whether or not he’s a healthy scratch again. New Jersey is a mess right now, and I guarantee you everyone in that Kings’ locker room, everyone in the front office, and even the janitor who cleans the toilets at Staples Center would love to see the Kings absolutely hammer the Devils as a “Hey Ilya, how’s New Jersey again?” sort of message. He’s stuck there for 15 years, and an interview with former teammate Bobby Holik on Hockey Night in Canada Radio this week revealed that Kovalchuk might not be the best teammate and may be a big part of the team’s troubles. One thing is for sure, the entire Kings’ organization and at least the majority of the fans are glad Dean Lombardi didn’t risk blowing up the core to give Kovalchuk the money he wanted.

Saturday night at Staples should be interesting indeed. As well as the Kovalcircus coming to town, it’s Mattias Norstrom night, and the Kings’ will honor the former captain with a ceremony before the game. On hand will be former Kings including Ian Lapperiere, Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake. Should’ve told Blake to stay home and suck a nugget pouch. Matty is one of the class guys and one of THE warriors in Kings’ history, and it’s awesome to see the organization honoring him like this.

Kings and Devils – Norstrom Night – Saturday at Staples. See you there.

GO KINGS!

-JS

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Kings Come From Behind to Win In Minny

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Kings Celebrate

The Kings' congratulate Jon Quick after he stopped Minnesota's Antti Miettinen to preserve a 3-2 shootout win. (Photo - AP)

The Comeback Kids. 8 games into the 2010-11 season, it’s already an appropriate nickname for this Kings’ team – and tonight, as much as ever. The Kings dug themselves a hole early as Minnesota scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the game. But the Kings battled back, remained composed, and got a power play goal late in the period, to cut the Wild’s lead in half.

The second period contained some controversy as well. Dustin Brown made a hit in open ice on the Wild’s Antti Miettinen that the on ice officials ruled a dangerous hit to the head. Brown was assessed a five minute major and an automatic game misconduct. Having seen the hit on replay, Brown appeared to make shoulder to shoulder contact with Miettinen. It was stated by Versus’ TV analysts Keith Jones and Eddie Olczyk and reiterated by Brown in his postgame interview with Rich Hammond – Brown is a tenacious hitter and had he hit Miettinen in the head, he probably would’ve left the ice on a stretcher. The play will be reviewed automatically by the league, and Brown should be safe from suspension, although as inconsistent as the league has been this year (i.e. not reviewing the Erik Cole hit on Doughty), you never know.

Already without Drew Doughty – who was placed on IR retroactive to 10/21 earlier today (more on that later), and without Captain Brown the rest of the game, the Kings dictated much of the remaining tempo of the game. They kept the Wild’s league leading power play off the board tonight, and scored 2 power play goals of their own, including an Anze Kopitar 5 on 3 goal that knotted the game with under a minute remaining in the second period.

The third period and OT went scoreless. The shootout round offered up what we’ve come to expect from Anze Kopitar. Kopi is just plain slick when it comes to the shootout, and tonight was no exception – he coasted in and went forehand-backhand and beat Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom between the pads. As usual, he made it look effortless. Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu evened the shootout at one with a hard backhand that went off the cuff of Quick’s glove and in. Jack Johnson was stopped by Backstrom and Minnesota’s Matt Cullen beat Quick low stick side to give the Wild a 2-1 edge after two rounds. The Kings’ Jaret Stoll responded with a bullet that beat Backstrom, followed by a glove stop by Quick on Marek Zidlicky to take the shootout into sudden death frames. Justin Williams was stopped by Backstrom and Brent Burns shot wide to bring on a 5th round. Michal Handzus caught Backstrom committed to the pokecheck and buried it past him to give the Kings’ the lead, then Jon Quick made a great left pad save on Miettinen to clinch the win. Comeback complete.

The victory put the Kings alone atop the Pacific Division and sent Quick’s record in road shootout games to 8-1 all time.

So, the Kings head to Chicago for a Wednesday game between two of the West’s premiere teams. Kings had hoped to get Doughty back, but with his being placed on IR today, the earliest he might be available is Thursday in Dallas if he can be cleared in time. My suspicion is that Doughty will return Saturday at home against New Jersey.

In the meantime, Jake Muzzin has been recalled and will join the Kings in Chicago.

Expect to see Quick in Chicago and Bernier in Dallas this week, unless Murray decides Dallas is more important as a division foe.

6-2 and alone in the first looks good, even if it’s early.

Go Kings!

JS

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Kings Win – On and Off the Ice

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

What a wacky hockey game. Neither team was great defensively, weird bounces were commonplace (if I had to guess, the ice in Denver wasn’t so good). Kings broke their streak of Power Plays without a goal by scoring not one but two power play goals. Alexei Ponikarovsky scored his first goal as a King. The Kings’ hero of the night was Brad Richardson, who scored his first career hat trick against his former team tonight  - including the shorthanded game-winner. Great game for Richardson tonight. The guy is pure effort, brings it every night.

In the third period, Wayne Simmonds was assessed a five minute major and game misconduct for butt-ending Colorado’s T.J. Galiardi. None of the replays shown on TV conclusively showed a butt-end (looked like a love tap with the elbow) and there’s speculation amongst Kings’ fans that it might have been a sell job by Galiardi. Without a good camera angle, the jury’s still out. If Simmer actually did butt-end Galiardi in the nether regions, shame on him as it was unnecessary. If he didn’t, someone should give Galiardi an Oscar as he even had all 4 on ice officials – none of whom had good line of sight on the play – buying into it. We’ll see what happens. The league I’m sure will take a look at it, since butt-ending is some pretty dangerous stuff. Hopefully some better video angles will pop up on the web so we fans have a better idea of what actually transpired there.

The best news of the night though, came from off the ice. The Kings held a hashtag battle on Twitter tonight with the Avs’ fans. For every #GoKings or #GoAvs hastag that was tweeted during the game, the teams would donate $1 to their respective charities. The Kings had chosen Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as their recipient. According to the Kings’ official release:

Hashtag Battle:

Final score:
#GoKings: 29,374
#GoAvs: 13,876

The Kings were also the #1 trending topic WORLD WIDE for the majority of tonight’s game. That bested UFC, which had two fights tonight/all their fighters, and bigger than Kanye West and his short film “Runaway,” which debuted worldwide at 6 p.m., the same start time as our game.

The Kings added close to 1,000 Twitter followers during the battle

Currently, I’m waiting for Kanye West to bust into my screen with an “I’ma let you finish, but #runaway is one of the best hashtags of ALL time!”

I know I was tweeting a TON during the game, as were most of my King fan buddies. It went for a great cause and goes to show what an amazing group we Kings fans are. I’m extremely proud of Kings’ fans as a whole tonight.

More good news came today in the return of Matt Greene to the lineup. His activation meant Jake Muzzin getting sent to Manchester. I’m not sure I’m on board with this decision. Peter Harrold has always been questionable defensively, and tonight was no exception. I’d have kept Muzzin up.

Sending Muzzin down means, in turn that the Kings did NOT put Drew Doughty on Injured Reserve, which would keep him out of the lineup until minimum Thursday. There’s speculation that Dewey could return to the lineup Wednesday in Chicago. Can’t happen soon enough as Jack Johnson hasn’t responded to the pressure of being THE guy on the Kings’ blueline very well so far. I like Jack a lot, but he looks nothing like the guy we saw post-Olympics last season, although he IS a +2 right now, so perhaps I’m being too critical.

Next up for the Kings will be the Minnesota Wild on Monday. The game is on national TV (Versus), good exposure for the Kings. Minnesota is in rebuild mode but they’re not to be taken lightly as  a 6-2 drubbing of Vancouver last week shows. Would be great to see the offense work like it did tonight, but the team as a whole perform better defensively.

Kings win, Ducks and Stars lose. Money was raised for charity. All in all, a good night.

GO KINGS!

-JS

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Kings Lose In Calgary (Again)

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Poor performance, really only 20 minutes of good hockey in this game. Critical mistakes led to both goals. Bernier was pretty good except on the game winner, but both he, Terry Murray and Davis Drewiske – who screened him on the play, say that it was tipped so who knows.

It’s just 2 games in, but Kings’ nation is already starting to panic about 5 on 5 scoring. I sense line changes coming.

The big question is, if it doesn’t improve (and realistically there’s reason to think it will), how long does Dean wait to make a deal?

Kings have now lost 10 straight in Calgary.

Up next is the home opener vs. Atlanta. Hopefully the Kings bounce back as tonight’s game was an extremely disappointing performance against a team that on paper is far inferior.

Go Kings

JS

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Kings Open Season With Shootout Victory vs. Canucks

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

During the second period of Saturday night’s season opening contest between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, Kings star centerman Anze Kopitar was on the ice on all fours, blood gushing from his mouth, searching for his teeth. He had been hit by Canucks’ center Manny Malhotra on a follow through of a clearing attempt – and bloodied badly. Umpteen stitches and a missing (albeit already false) tooth later, Kopitar helped get the last laugh.

It was billed as the game of the night, and it didn’t disappoint. The Kings and Canucks battled for 60 minutes are were unable to decide a victor in that span. It took overtime, and two rounds of a shootout to accomplish that.

Vancouver got on the board first with a power play goal from Christian Ehrhoff that was a bit of a lucky bounce. Willie Mitchell went down to try to block Daniel Sedin’s pass, and in doing so directed it right to Ehrhoff, who was able to chip the puck past a helpless Jon Quick. That would be the only goal Quick would surrender all night, and a lucky one at that.

The Kings got even with 4:05 remaining in regulation time on the power play when Dustin Brown fired a shot at the net. Michal Handzus redirected the shot into the pads of Roberto Luongo and Justin Williams collected the rebound and buried it.

Kings controlled the play for the majority of overtime, including a power play in which they were in the Vancouver zone for the entire two minutes. Luongo came up with some big saves, but Jaret Stoll needs to work on his accuracy big time. Memo to Terry Murray – at the end of the next practice, lock Stolli on the ice with about 300 pucks and don’t let him leave until he can hit the net with 4 out of every 5. Stoll has perhaps the teams’ hardest shot, but if you can’t hit the net, what good does it do?

The Kings put Vancouver out of their misery quickly in the shootout. After Quick robbed Mason Raymond with a stretch of the right pad, Kopitar came in and froze Luongo with a fake shot before going backhand and burying it high. Luongo didn’t know what hit him. The Canucks’ Ryan Kesler was stopped by Quick, setting up Jack Johnson – Mr. Automatic in shootouts, with a chance to win the game. Johnson skated in and beat Luongo low to the stick side – game over, Kings win.

Gary Bettman in the NHL’s offices will look at the score and with his feeble “more scoring is better” mind, probably assume – quite incorrectly – that the game must’ve been boring. How wrong he would be. Both teams played well defensively, but there were long stretched of end to end action, and throughout the game, goaltending was spectacular at both ends.

The two best King forwards on the ice tonight were Justin Williams and Brayden Schenn. Williams is skating like a man possessed right now, and if he is able to maintain and stay healthy, he may get close to 30 goals this season. Schenn played a great game – in my opinion he did not look like a rookie center. He filled in nicely on the top line while Kopitar was being stitched up in the locker room. If I’m Terry Murray, I’m already thinking about flip flopping Schenn for Stoll on the second line.

Drew Doughty had a good game for any other defenseman in the league, but he still looks to be a bit short of what we know he’s capable of. Jack Johnson was awesome. Has anyone on the team’s stock risen more since the Olympics? Mitchell looked great and other than his seemingly standing around on the Vancouver PP goal, Scuderi was his usual solid self. Jack Muzzin didn’t stand out for bad reasons, and was I thought considerably better than Drewiske – who seemed to be turning the puck over a lot tonight.

Quick was outstanding in goal. His retro brown pads and Rogie Vachon tribute mask look very sharp. From a distance on TV, it almost looked like he was wearing the real thing. Of all the vintage tribute masks I’ve seen, Quick’s may be the best. Definitely a good start to the season for Quicker.

So, on to Calgary tomorrow night. Jonathan Bernier will start in goal for the Kings per Terry Murray, as it’s a back to back situation. The Flames are a much different team than they were last time the Kings saw them. Here’s to hoping the improved Kings, and the arguably regressed Flames, will play to a different result than most in recent memory, as King victories over them, especially in Calgary have been rare.

Game starts at 5PM Pacific.

Go Kings!

-JS

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What to Expect From the 2010-11 Los Angeles Kings

Friday, October 8th, 2010

As I sit here writing this, it’s t-minus 48 hours and counting until the Kings’ 2010-11 season. Clifford, Loktionov, Lewis, Schenn and Westgarth have made the team up to this point. Expectations are high in Los Angeles. With that, it’s time for me to make my predictions for the Kings’ upcoming season.

FORWARDS

Gone is the enigmatic Alexander Frolov, who heads to the NY Rangers as a free agent. Gone are Fredrik Modin and Jeff Halpern. Only notable loss of that group might be Frolov, who was enigmatic at best in LA in 7 seasons. At times Frolov sparkled and looked as if he were ready to take over the entire league. Many nights his effort seemed lackluster. In the end, you knew last season was likely to be his final one in LA. Replacing him is former Maple Leaf and Penguin Alexei Ponikarovsky, a perennial 20 goal scorer who is an upgrade in his own end of the ice from Frolov. Poni will be a perfect fit on the third line with Handzus and Simmonds.

There’s been an infusion of new blood into the Kings’ lineup up front. 2009 first round pick Brayden Schenn is in the opening night lineup, as is 2009 second round pick Kyle Clifford. Fellow rookie Kevin Westgarth joins them on the 4th line. All of the aforementioned players had great camps – and my guy feeling is, if Schenn performs well and Jaret Stoll fails to be effective on the second line, Schenn may find himself sandwiched between Justin Williams and whomever the second line LW is sooner than you think.

The Kings retain all three players from last season’s top line, who was the best line in hockey for the first third of the 2009-10 season. Coach Terry Murray decided to swap Justin Williams for Captain Dustin Brown, and the trio looked great together during preseason. Terry Murray is implementing a new breakout style, designed to eliminate the dumping and chasing that the Kings have done under Murray the past two seasons. It should increase the creativity level. I expect to see Kopitar break the 40 goal barrier, and for Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth to increase their point totals by crashing the net. Brown will get close to the 30 goal mark and Smyth will net 20-25.

The second line is a probably the teams’ biggest question mark. Jaret Stoll has been an effective role player for the Kings, but he is better suited to the 3rd or 4th lines. Since the Kings at present lack a true #2 center, Stoll starts with the job by default. Stoll has potential to net 20 goals. Justin Williams looks better than he ever has as a King and if he stays healthy, should score 20-25 goals. Left Wing is the big question here. Scott Parse is expected to be poised for a breakout year, but an injury in camp has him on IR to begin the season. Brad Richardson will be the team’s second line LW to begin the season. Richardson I love as a player. He is all heart, all hustle. Defensively responsible. He scored a ton of goals in junior hockey, but he has yet to show that kind of skill consistently at the NHL level. It is not a stretch to say that Dean Lombardi has to be looking for an available scoring wing. Ryan Malone is the name that’s been thrown about, and he’d be the perfect addition to this Kings’ team. If neither Richardson nor Parse steps up, expect to see a similar deal made.

The Kings’ third line is quite possibly the NHL’s best. Ponikarovsky along with Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds make a formidable checking unit, but each of those players is a potential 20+ goal scorer. Simmonds is incredibly dynamic, and I believe is poised for a season somewhere around 25 goals. Terry Murray is notorious at this point for playing musical lines – and with his work ethic and two-way skill, Simmonds will get at least a handful of games on the top line at some point this season.

You can lament the fact that the Kings didn’t land a big time scoring winger, but you can also argue as I will, that they didn’t need one. I think a complimentary left wing that can put up 25+ goals, like the aforementioned Ryan Malone, would be a perfect fit. The intriguing thing will be watching Schenn and Clifford – do they stay with the big club all season, or will they be returned to junior before they hit the 10 game mark? Where do Loktionov and Lewis fit in?

The Kings will be fine up front provided either 1. Parse/Richardson prove effective or 2. a LW is acquired via trade for the second line. The top line will be one of the league’s best. The third line may be the league’s best “checking” unit, with a side of skill. The 4th line will be young but it’s a good way to teach the kids the defensive play required for this system. Clifford has decent hands and we know Schenn and Loktionov in particular have skill.

DEFENSE

This is not even arguably the team’s strong point. With a top 5 of Drew Doughty, Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, Jack Johnson and Matt Greene the Kings have the Pacific Division’s best defensive corps by a country mile. Doughty is already the league’s premier defenseman entering only his 3rd season in the NHL. Johnson, since the Olympic break last season, has played like a man possessed. And both Drew and Jack are only going to get better. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the league. Scuderi and Mitchell are two of the league’s elite shut down guys, and Matt Greene is a good a third pair D-man as you will see on any team.

The X-factor will be the #6 spot. Davis Drewiske seems to have it sewn up for the moment, but Drewiske is a shadow of the player he was before last season’s shoulder injury. He looks to lack confidence and hasn’t played the same game. He can be a solid NHL regular if he can get back to the level of play he showed early last season. If not, runs the risk of being a healthy scratch often.

Paired with Drewiske on opening night will be rookie Jake Muzzin. The 21 year old had a solid camp and impressed the Kings’ staff. He deserved to make the team based on what the saw, and he had to outperform 2007 first round pick Thomas Hickey to get there. Muzzin has a chance to jump Drewiske (and by default Peter Harrold) as the Kings’ #6 guy while Matt Greene is out injured for the first 3-4 weeks of the season. If he doesn’t impress, he will spend the rest of the season in Manchester. I don’t know what to expect of Muzzin in all honesty, but the kid works hard and looked good in two preseason games I saw him in.

Waiting in the wings too, are Hickey and the currently injured Viatcheslav Voynov.

GOALTENDERS

This season’s goaltending outlook may be the best it’s EVER been for the Kings’ franchise. Certainly the best since the days of Rogie Vachon. The two headed monster of Jon Quick and Jonathan Bernier make for the best tandem in the division. You could argue that Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov is a better number one than Quicker is, and you might be right, but his backup is Jason LaBarbera. The Sharks have a couple guys who haven’t really ever established themselves as #1 goalies anywhere in Niemi and Nittymaki. Hiller isn’t going to save the Ducks behind that defense and Kari Lehtonen will be on IR by December. The Kings’, simply put, have the best goaltending tandem in the division, and it’s not even close.

Quick is number one for now – and Terry Murray said he expects him to play somewhere in the 55-60 game range. If that holds true, we’ll see Bernier 22-27 games, a nice sample size. If Quick hits a rut, Bernier is capable of spelling him – possibly even outperforming him. Who the guy is heading into this years playoffs will depend a lot on how each responds to the circumstances they’ve been given. In Manchester 3 seasons ago, Bernier pushed Quick to get better, and Quick ended up the Kings’ surprise #1 by that season’s end. Now, Bernier has graduated to the NHL full time, and both are under contract for the next 3 seasons. At some point, the Kings’ brass will have to decide which of these two talented young keepers is in it for the long haul. For now it’s slight advantage Quick, but I think the two headed monster will be more balanced than people think. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bernier get 30 games or more if he’s giving the team the best chance to win for a stretch – Murray has shown a propensity in the past for riding the hot hand. Either way, if healthy competition gets the best out of both guys, it’s a win-win situation in LA. Don’t forget too, Jeff Zatkoff and Martin Jones in the minors. While Ersberg’s assignment to Manchester has relegated Jones to Ontario of the ECHL, if Ersberg finds a suitor in Europe, Jones will be sharing the load with Zatkoff in Manchester. The Kings have never been so deep in goal. It’s a quality problem to have.

PREDICTION TIME

Last season the Kings finished with 102 points, 3rd in the Pacific division behind San Jose and Phoenix. This season, the Kings’ young stars are a year more experienced, and the veteran additions of Mitchell and Ponikarovsky will help to give the club some battle tested experience. I still believe Dean Lombardi will pull the trigger on another left wing before the 20 game mark as well.

The Kings of 2010-11 will improve their 5 on 5 scoring while being dominant in 5 on 5 goals-against. The power play, with Doughty and Johnson on the point, will be deadly. Schenn and Clifford, in particular, will be key contributors. Kopitar scores 40+ and gets close to the 100 point mark. Brown gets close to 30 goals, as does Justin Williams. Simmonds and Smyth hit 25. Jack Johnson finishes with a plus rating (finally). Quick and Bernier could both win more than 20 games for the only the second time in Kings’ history (Hrudey and Berthiaume, 1990-91).

By comparison with the rest of the division, the Kings only look slightly short in the firepower department with their current roster to San Jose. Even if Lombardi doesn’t acquire another wing, this Kings’ team will put plenty of pucks in the opposing nets. Defensively, the Kings are superior to every other team in the division – San Jose is their closest competition there and it’s still not even close. Phoenix lost their best defenseman – their top 2 are Jovanovski and Derek Morris. Really? Yes, really. Dallas is in flux defensively. Anaheim might be the worst defensive team in the entire NHL. The Kings goaltending duo, as previously mentioned trumps every other in the division. What am I getting at?

The Kings have the Pacific Division for the taking this season. Dean Lombardi has drafted smart, and has brought in key free agents and trade acquisitions -even if they aren’t superstars – to bolster the developing young core. I believe at least one more move gets made this season as well. I believe this team has what it takes to make a deep playoff run. And this is just the beginning of the window, too.

My predicted order of finish for the division:

1. Kings

2. San jose

3. Phoenix

4. Dallas

5. Anaheim

Dallas is really a grab bag, they will battle Anaheim for the division cellar all year. If the Stars are a complete disaster, you might be able to flip flop 4/5 here, but I refuse to give Anaheim much credit.

Division win puts the Kings at #3 headed into the playoffs. Conference Finals anyone? I see it happening.

Of course, it’s all speculation until the puck drops, isn’t it.

44 hours and counting. Hockey’s back, folks.

GO KINGS!

-JS

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Kings Extend Bernier, Waive Two

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Today was light on news in the Kings’ world with no team practice, but we did all get a reason to smile with the news that the Kings have signed Jonathan Bernier to a 2 year contract extension, cap hit of $1.25 million. Bernier would’ve become a Restricted Free Agent. Now he and fellow goalie Jon Quick are both not due for Restricted Free Agency for three seasons (Quick signed a 3 year extension last season that’s effective starting this year). Gives the Kings’ time to figure out whose job it will be for the long haul. I’ve said it before – the two headed monster of Quick and Bernier will turn heads this year – and give the Kings perhaps the conference’s best goaltending tandem.

Speaking of goalies, as expected Erik Ersberg was placed on waivers today. There were rumors circulating on twitter earlier than Nashville had put in a claim but Preds’ coach Barry Trots later said there was no truth to that. We’ll see if anyone claims Eazy-E by 9AM tomorrow. He would be a good fit for a lot of teams, but sadly there isn’t a lot of need. Best of luck to Erik wherever he ends up.

The other waiver move, that came as kind of a surprise, was Rich Clune. Clune was expected by many to make the team this season, and expected to play a big role on the Kings’ 4th line as an energy player and agitator. Interesting decision, but it likely points to Kyle Clifford earning a roster spot at least for 9 games. Clune will be missed here should he be claimed, but in reality he is a replaceable commodity.

The surprise for me was Trevor Lewis not being waived. Though he has had two strong games this preseason, he’s a former first round pick who is essentially at his age vying for a 4th line spot. I don’t see Lewis ever cracking the top 9 in LA, and he’s not really a tradeable asset. Obviously Dean, Hex, Terry and company see something there that I don’t. That’s why they make the big bucks and I just blog!

Hopefully we will have some news regarding the fate of Schenn, Loktionov, Clifford, etc as early as Tuesday.

Go Kings!

JS

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