Posts Tagged ‘phoenix coyotes’

Back to Back Days, Back to Back Division Wins, 1 Point Out

Friday, December 11th, 2009

In what has been a tough week, the Kings have now beaten conference opponent Calgary back on Monday, and division opponents San Jose and Phoenix on consecutive nights.

Wednesday saw scoring droughts for Anze Kopitar, Teddy Purcell and Dustin Brown end in a Kings victory over the Sharks in San Jose. The Kings had a 2 goal lead in that game but allowed San Jose to come back to tie the game at 4 in the third period before Dustin Browns OT winner finished the job. Erik Ersberg in goal had an interesting night – it would  be fair to say that Ersberg allowed two soft goals, but he also made his share of tough stops. While I dislike the fact that the Kings gave San Jose a point, the bottom line is, Ersberg was good enough to win, which is all you can ask for.

Thursday’s game against Phoenix saw the Kings come out firing hard, taking a two goal lead in the first period. The Kings then seemed to get tired from about the 5 minute point in the second period on, allowing Phoenix to finally break though and tie the game at 2 on a 3rd period power play. Both Jon Quick and his Phoenix counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov were outstanding. Quick made the save sequence of the game in the 3rd period, stopping 3 Coyotes’ shots in succession including split pad saves on Shane Doan and Jim Vandermeer in opposite directions. Phoenix seemed to control most of the third period, and I felt like the Kings were lucky to get out of regulation alive.

In overtime the Kings found a bit of a second wind and had a handful of chances, but were unable to beat Bryzgalov. Quick again held Phoenix at bay.

The shootout turned out to be the longest in Kings’ history, going 8 rounds. Jack Johnson was once again automatic in the shootout beating Bryzgalov with a perfectly placed high backhand. Quick continues to own opposing shooters who attempt to go glove side on him. Johnson, Handzus, Doughty and Williams scored for the Kings; Mueller, Lang and Prucha for the Coyotes. After Williams scored in the 8th round against Bryzgalov, Quick made a controlled save on Scottie Upshall to seal the Kings’ win.

Of significance: The win Thursday makes the season series with Phoenix 3-1-0 for the Kings, assuring them of at worst a split head to head with the Coyotes, who have given the Kings their share of problems in recent seasons. The win also puts the Kings 1 point back of division leading San Jose, also one point out of the top spot in the Western Conference. Remember that the Kings’ win over San Jose was another 3 point game? If the Kings close the deal in regulation, they’re tied for first place in the Pacific (and the conference) right now. San Jose plays Dallas Friday night and Phoenix Saturday night. If the Stars and Coyotes manage to hold San Jose to a point (or less) and the Kings beat Dallas on Saturday night, the Kings will be in first place in the Pacific when the week ends. It would certainly require some luck for San Jose to lose both of the next two, but it’s not impossible.

Up next for the Kings is Dallas, whom the Kings have beaten twice this season so far. Dallas has only one win at Staples in their last 6 visits, that was their last meeting of last season. The Kings have owned Dallas the past couple of seasons, however it is another important divisional game, and will be important for the Kings to play another solid game to get two points.

Jon Quick is one victory behind some guy named Martin Brodeur for the league lead in victories. Maybe you’ve heard of him?

Kings also become the first team in the Western Conference to 20 wins this season.

Kings and Stars at Staples Saturday night.

GO KINGS!

-JS

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Getting Ready for the Champs

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Monday night’s clutch win over Phoenix, coming from two goals down to win 5-3 to me signified two things: 1. Jason LaBarbera is still a terrible NHL goaltender, and 2. There really is something different about this year’s Kings team. The Kings found themselves down 3-1 after Phoenix capitalized on some strange bounces, and every time they were in Phoenix’s end, moving the puck around trying to be cute, I found myself yelling at my TV: “DUDE, it’s f*cking Jason LaBarbera in net! Just shoot!”. Just seconds later Ryan Smyth put the puck through good ol’ Barbs from behind the net, skated around the same net unmolested, and buried the puck into an open net to bring the Kings within one before the second period ended. Justin Williams’ tying goal in the third was a nice welcome back for him, and a beautiful goal at that. Drew Doughty’s point blast gave the Kings the lead and Smyth put the nail in the coffin with his second of the night into an empty net.

I can’t remember the last time the Kings beat Phoenix twice in a row in their barn. The Coyotes always seem to give the Kings trouble, and after this season’s opener, it looked as if that trend would continue. Yet more proof that this year’s Kings team is different. Anze Kopitar regained the scoring lead in the NHL with a goal and two assists, and the Smyth-Kopitar-Williams line accounted for 8 points. Good stuff.

Now, the Kings will face a stiff test from the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins at Staples Thursday night. The last time these two teams met, in Pittsburgh last March, the Pens won easily and Evgeni Malkin delivered a cheapshot elbow to the head of Wayne Simmonds late in the game that went unpunished by the league (the double standard between superstars like Malkin and average players). Malkin is nursing a sore shoulder, so revenge won’t be had against him (and I was kind of looking forward to that, to be frank), but it’s a chance for the Kings to see what they’re made of against a quality opponent. Pittsburgh had to rally late to beat the Ducks Tuesday night at the puddle, which doesn’t bode well for them. The Ducks are playing awful hockey this season. They’re taking dumber penalties than ever before (I didn’t think that was possible!), Hiller is suffering without Francois Allaire, and their secondary scoring has been non-existent. But enough about our struggling neighbors to the South…

Thursday night will be a statement game for the Kings. We’re 2-0 against Dallas, 2-1 against Phoenix and 1-0-1 against San Jose so far – pretty damn good in our own division – but a win against the defending champs, even without Malkin, would put the Kings on everybody’s radar. No doubt Crosby’s line will see a lot of Frolov, Handzus and Simmonds, reunited at practice Wednesday by coach Terry Murray, former Penguin Rob Scuderi will want to show his ex-mates why he left the Steel City for LA, and Brooks Orpik and Jay McKee will have their hands full trying to shut down the Kings’ top line – who has a combined 53 points heading into Thursday’s action. It should be entertaining, and it gives the Kings, who are still flying under the radar in many places despite their great start, a chance to put themselves on the map.

-JS

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Kings Lead the Pacific, Kopitar Leads the NHL in Points

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

Don’t look now, but the Los Angeles Kings lead the Pacific Division on this day, October 25th, 2009. It may be a mere 11 games in and the division may be separated top to bottom by a mere 7 points, but we’ll take small victories. Last night’s 5-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale gave the Kings’ sole possession of first place, as well as their third win in a row.

Anze Kopitar, who was tied the the league scoring lead headed into Saturday’s game, tallied 3 assists to give him sole possession of the NHL’s point lead as well.

While it might not be realistic to expect a Pacific Division title, or to expect Kopitar to win the league’s scoring race, there’s a lot to be happy about. Secondary scoring? Dustin Brown and Jaret Stoll each had 2 goals in Glendale. Scott Parse made his NHL debut and had one hell of a game, setting up Stoll’s second goal of the night. The Kings made Ilya Bryzgalov look rather pedestrian, and Jon Quick was very sharp (really was a couple of strange bounces away from only allowing one).Wayne Simmonds continues to look great on the top line.

The Kings played a perfect road game, and while there were definitely some nervous moments, they protected their lead well and hung on for victory.

The time to celebrate is short as it won’t get any easier from here. The Kings host Columbus at Staples tonight, a team that has beaten the Kings 3 straight times after being shut out the previous two. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Columbus is playing their second of back to backs tonight as well, and their 4th game in 6 days. The Kings will probably see old friend Matieu Garon in net for Columbus too, while Terry Murray is expected to stick with Jon Quick.

For the record, the Blue Jackets beat last place Anaheim 5-4 last night (How bad is Anaheim? That’s a whole other story I guess).

Kings and Jackets at 6PM tonight.

-JS

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Reaching for the Reset Button

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Much it seems, has been said about the Kings’ opening night loss to Phoenix. It was, quite frankly, the kind of thing that makes the die hard fan sick to their stomach. I know this from personal experience, as I endured my long drive back to San Diego feeling nauseous all the while.

Defensive turnovers, lack of 5 on 5 intensity, sub average goaltending. None of these things added together usually leads to wins in the NHL. Aside from the power play, which was 3 of 4 on the night, there was little for the fans at Staples to cheer about once the opening night festivities ended and the puck dropped. The Kings were in control of the game for about the first 3 or 4 minutes, generating a couple of chances right off the bat, and after that seemed to lose interest in the game. The Kings played a very sloppy game. Drew Doughty committed two turnovers that led directly to goals, Wayne Simmonds committed another, it was an off night, to say the very least. Simply put: The Kings played awful enough to make one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, if not the entire NHL, look like world-beaters. I’ll spare the speech about how this team has to beat the Phoenix’s, Colorados and Nashvilles of the world if they expect to get into the postseason – those of you who have been reading my blog here have heard it enough times. Hopefully I won’t have reason to rehash it later on this season. The people whom I feel worst for in the entire equation, are the people who watched that game and think Phoenix might be a good team based on that. They’re not, but that again is fodder for another column.

So now that I’ve broken a couple of coffee mugs rehashing Saturday’s debacle, here’s why I think it might turn out to be a good thing in the long run: Wake up call. These guys played a pretty good preseason, and they’re been undoubtedly reading and hearing some media types’ talk about how much better the team is. Never mind that a lot of people are still picking the Kings to come up just short. It looked to me like the Kings expected to step on the ice and dominate that game. Home crowd’s pumped, team’s better, weak opponent…you can see where I’m going with this. I would’ve hated to be any member of the team at practice Sunday. All the sophomores got a realistic look into the kind of prep it takes to be GOOD NHL players game in and game out. The rest of the team knows that the fans’ expectation is higher than it’s been in a long time, and they’re all pros.

I expect to see a different Kings’ team Tuesday night against San Jose. I expect to see the defensive game simplified. I expect to see a drastic cutdown in mistakes. I expect some 5 on 5 magic, at least from the top line. I expect better goaltending.

The Kings have started off the 2009-10 season the worst way imaginable. Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to play like they’re capable of.

Kings and Sharks at Staples tomorrow night. Enjoy it whether you’re at Staples or watching in the comfort of your own home.

-JS

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Dissapointing Loss In The Desert

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Kings lost to the Pheonix Coyotes tonight at the Jobing.com arena in Glendale, Arizona 5-2. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar had the Kings’ goals, while Phoenix got 2 from Steve Reinprecht and one each from Kevin Porter, Viktor Tikhonov and Shane Doan.

Jonathan Quick had a less than stellar performance tonight, allowing 4 goals on 24 shots. Erik Ersberg played the third period for the Kings stopping 9 of 10. Quick had been the most impressive Kings goalie coming into tonight’s action but might have stamped his ticket to Manchester with this game’s performance. Ilya Bryzgalov and Mikael Tellqvist shared the win for Pheonix.

The game was the Kings’ most dissapointing performance under Terry Murray thus far, who seemed to have the team ready to show up and compete on a nightly basis. The Kings were invisible most of the first two periods, with both of their goals coming in the third period after some line combinations and defensive pairings were juggled. Always a downer to see the Kings get manhandled by a team like Phoenix who is largely an also-ran in the Western Conference.

Kings conclude preseason play tomorrow night in Salt Lake City against the San Jose Sharks.

-JS

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