What could have been?
In the 12 games since Sean Burke arrived, the Kings have a goals-against average of just more than 2.3 in regulation. That's all games, not just games that Burke has started and/or completed. Now look at November, when the Kings lost eight of 13 games and really started to see things slip away. They lost games by scores of 4-3 (in overtime), 6-4, 7-3, 3-2 (shootout), 4-3, 6-3, 5-3 and 7-4. All of those games were winnable with good goaltending.
Of course, that's just one month. In October, when the Kings lost 10 of 14, they scored a total of 13 goals in their 10 losses. So it would have been a bad start, regardless of the goalie, but decent play in net could have at least kept the Kings from sinking to the bottom of the conference.
Mattias Norstrom missed today's game with the sprained knee he suffered on Saturday. I talked to Norstrom briefly as he walked out of the dressing room Saturday night and he had a bit of a limp but thought he'd be able to play today. For Norstrom to miss a game, that's really something. He had been 60-for-60 this season and since 1999-2000 he's missed 17 regular-season games out of a possible 553.
It's the Marc Crawford Reunion Tour this week, with Vancouver and Colorado coming to town.
About Rich Hammond
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
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