Freeway Series Game 2: Ontario Reign 2, San Diego Gulls 1 (OT)

Here’s the recap from Jim Alexander, our man on the scene Saturday in San Diego: http://www.pe.com/articles/pay-802307-persistence-reign.html

Here’s the San Diego Union-Tribune story: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/07/despite-hacketts-heroics-gulls-fall-2-1-to-reign/

Game 3 is Sunday in Ontario.

 

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi says offer is on the table for Darryl Sutter to return as coach

Kins coach Darryl Sutter talks to players during practice at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The New York Rangers will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter.

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said Friday he made a “very fair” offer to Darryl Sutter to return as the team’s coach for next season and beyond, but no agreement has been reached. Lombardi said money is not the issue, but the direction of the team is.

“Darryl has an offer on the table,” Lombardi said during a conference call. “I think there’s an offer that’s certainly respectable. I don’t think this is about money. It’s, are we ready to do this? That issue of where we’re going and where we are is always out there. It’s a different challenge. You want to hear what our game plan is. It’s not different than when I first hired him.”

Freeway Series Game 1: Ontario Reign 5, San Diego Gulls 3

Here’s a look at the Freeway Series opener from our man Jim Alexander of the Press-Enterprise: http://www.pe.com/articles/first-802102-ontario-reign.html

Here’s the report from the San Diego Union-Tribune, which also is covering the series: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/05/gulls-start-too-cautious-fall-5-3-to-reign/

Game 2 is Saturday in San Diego.

Freeway Series Game 1 preview: San Diego Gulls at Ontario Reign

Southern California News Group colleague Jim Alexander is covering the series between the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate and the Ducks’ minor-league team. Read his preview of the second-round series here: http://www.pe.com/articles/reign-801979-save-socal.html

Freeway Series: Ontario Reign take on San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League playoffs

The Ontario Reign eliminated the San Jose Barracuda on Friday in the first round of the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs. The San Diego Gulls knocked out the Texas Stars in their first-round series Friday. So, the Kings’ AHL affiliate will face the Ducks’ team in a Freeway Series matching beginning next Thursday.

Here’s the schedule, which is a little different from what we’re used to in the NHL:

Game 1: Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m, May 5, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Game 2: Reign at Gulls, 7:05 p.m., May 7, Valley View Casino Center.

Game 3: Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m., May 8, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Game 4: Reign at Gulls, 7:05 p.m., May 13, Valley View Casino Center.

Game 5 (if necessary): Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m., May 14, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Game 6 (if necessary): Reign at Gulls, 7:05 p.m., May 16, Valley View Casino Center.

Game 7 (if necessary): Gulls at Reign, 7 p.m., May 18, Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Ontario Reign, San Diego Gulls on track for second-round collision in the AHL playoffs

The Kings and Ducks were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there can still be a Freeway Series showdown this spring between their American Hockey League teams. The Kings’ affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and the Ducks club, the San Diego Gulls, are each one victory away from advancing to the Pacific Division final in the Calder Cup playoffs.

The Reign took a 2-1 lead in their best-of-5 series with a 3-1 victory Thursday over the San Jose Barracuda in Game 3. Adrian Kempe scored two goals for the Reign, who can eliminate the Barracuda with a victory in Game 4 on Friday in Ontario.

The Gulls defeated the Texas Stars 6-1 in Game 3 on Thursday to take a 2-1 lead in their series. Chris Wagner scored a goal and had two assists and Shea Theodore had three assists for the Gulls, who face Texas in Game 4 on Friday in San Diego.

 

Kings exit interviews: Jhonas Enroth

Kings goaltender Jhonas Enroth appeared in only 16 games this season while serving as Jonathan Quick’s infrequent backup. Enroth said Sunday it wasn’t the workload he envisioned when he signed with the Kings last summer as a free agent. He didn’t rule out re-signing with the Kings for next season, but you can read between the lines here, with more of Enroth’s conversation with reporters Sunday:

“I wish I had played more games. I didn’t really feel like they gave me a lot of opportunities to play. That’s the way they like to do it here, so I kind of knew what I was signing up for. … Just be a bigger part of a team, trying to play more games. Just being a bigger part of a team is what I’d like to do (as a free agent) over the summer.

“I really thought they were going to play me more. If you sign a guy for $1.2 million, you’re not going to play him 13 games, in my opinion. You should play him, 20-25. I thought I earned more games. Played pretty solid in the games I got, but there were a lot of breaks between games, too. It was hard to get a groove going. I think I had a pretty solid season.”

Kings exit interviews: Drew Doughty

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty didn’t wish to talk Sunday about some post-Game 5 gloating San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture did late Friday night. Doughty said he really isn’t as friendly with Couture as he is with Corey Perry of the Ducks, seeking to correct the record. Doughty and Perry live on the same street during the off-season in London, Ontario.

Here’s what Couture said Friday:

“Throughout the last couple of years, things have been said on that team that to me, personally, I take it as disrespectful. So it was nice to stick it back to them and beat them in this series. Even this series, someone was saying on their team that they had us right where they wanted us. I wonder if they’ve got us right where they want us right now? So it was nice to beat them.”

Kings exit interviews: Milan Lucic

Kings left wing Milan Lucic talked Sunday about contract talks and how much he’d like to get them done before free agency begins July 1. Here’s more from him about re-signing and remaining with the Kings:

“There have been some talks before the playoffs started. There’s two months until July, so hopefully something can get done here, so I can remain a King moving forward into the future. That’s something I’ve expressed that I really want to have happen. I really enjoy being an LA King and everything it has to offer. Hopefully, it can get done here in the near, near future. Just a little bit more work to do to bridge a gap here.

“It’s definitely something I want moving forward. I think it’s something they want too. Hopefully, we can make it work out. The sooner the better. To be honest, I don’t have much interest in hitting the open market or even hearing what’s out there because, in my mind, this is where I want to be. Why flirt with something when you know what you want? That’s the case for me moving forward.”

Kings exit interviews: Anze Kopitar

Here’s some of what Kings center Anze Kopitar said Sunday during his meeting with reporters: “It’s definitely disappointing. We definitely had other plans in mind. It didn’t happen, obviously. We got eliminated. We’ve got to live with this now. It’s going to be a longer summer again. Now is the time to exhale and look back and see what everybody can do better and come back next year ready to go again.

“Teams in this league are pretty good. You can’t just think you’re going to come in and just roll over everybody. I think San Jose was a good example. They just flat-out played better hockey than we did. They got timely goals on their power play. We weren’t as sharp as we wanted to be on the penalty kill and on the power play. That’s what usually makes a difference.”