September 2007 Archives
Most the print stories obviously centered around the Ducks and contained their postgame comments, but here are the transcripts of online interviews that Jim Fox did with Brady Murray and Dustin Brown...
Unlike yesterday, today's effort looked much like the one the 2006-07 Kings would have given. That's not a good sign for a team that needs to establish a new identity. The Ducks came out with fire, which the Kings should have expected, but except in brief spurts they didn't do anything to match the Ducks' intensity. The Kings looked better in the third period, but that was against a Ducks team defending a 4-1 lead.
Jason LaBarbera will take some heat today, and he deserves some of it. He stopped 21 of 25 shots. But at times he was also a major victim of the play in front of him. From a pure goaltending standpoint, Bernier looked better yesterday, but certainly Bernier would have struggled some if he had started today's game.
The Kings had two shots on goal during five power plays. That's an easy way to lose a game. Give the Ducks credit for staying out of the box and for their strong, aggressive penalty killing. And, to be fair, credit the Kings for taking only one minor penalty after that dreadful first period.
The second-period line changes seemed to work a little, but the Ducks were still getting the better of the Kings. As the game went on, Frolov appeared to get more comfortable with Handzus and Nagy. Maybe the Kings have finally found a couple guys Frolov can work well with.
Patrick O'Sullivan and Brady Murray impressed again today. Michael Cammalleri and Anze Kopitar were solid again.
Jack Johnson played 22 minutes, 17 seconds, more than Rob Blake. Brad Stuart played 23:25 and Lubomir Visnovsky played 22:00.
The Ducks outshot the Kings 25-23 and won 30 of 57 faceoffs. Cammalleri and Kopitar each had four shots on goal for the Kings. Dustin Brown was credited with six hits and Scott Thornton with five hits. Visnovsky had four of the Kings' 16 giveaways.
I'll post postgame quotes as I run across them...
The aggregate score for the two-game series in England was 5-5. What's next, penalty kicks? Or is everyone already asleep after that third period?
Ducks 4, Kings 1
Similar to the first period, the Kings finally started skating late in the period, but it's not nearly enough. The Ducks are still faster and stronger to every loose puck and the Kings still look tentative, even in the offensive zone.
The Kings have yet to record a shot on goal on the power play. They're 0 for 3.
The line changes made for a slight improvement. The line of O'Sullivan, Armstrong and Calder seemed to have the most jump out of the three lines that were shuffled.
Jason LaBarbera is facing much more pressure than Jonathan Bernier faced yesterday, but even so, he's not holding up as well as the rookie did.
The Kings did manage to stay out of the penalty box, with the exception of Thornton's fighting major.
The Ducks are outshooting the Kings 19-15 and have won 22 of 38 faceoffs. Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz each have four shots for the Ducks. Cammalleri has four shots for the Kings. The Kings made strides in the hits and giveaways columns but still trail in both.
Brown-Kopitar-Cammalleri
Nagy-Handzus-Frolov
O'Sullivan-Armstrong-Calder
Thornton-Murray-Zeiler
That makes more sense, although Thornton is now off for five minutes for a fight with Parros. Lots of throws, little contact, although the Brits loved it. Just about midway through the period.
Cammalleri puts the Kings on the board. Just a simple wrist to the short side from the side of the net. The goal came 8:57 into the period. Assists to Armstrong and O'Sullivan.
The Kings finally started to put some pressure on the net during the previous shift.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how it looks...
Brown-Kopitar-Cammalleri
Nagy-Armstrong-O'Sullivan
Murray-Handzus-Zeiler
Frolov-Thornton-Calder
(Actually, now it's Nagy-Handzus-Frolov out there, so I think Crawford is just trying anything and everything.)
LaBarbera pushed the puck into the corner but Modry, with two Ducks on him, didn't get help couldn't work it out. The puck got flipped to Travis Moen in the slot and Moen beat LaBarbera with a simple high wrist shot. The goal came 4:10 into the period. Niedermayer and Marchant with the assists.
It's barely a game at this point. The Ducks are dominating all facets.
More of the same for the Kings...Corey Perry with the goal on a puck that came off the boards. LaBarbera was looking the other way. Brady Murray was stuck on the ice without a stick and the Ducks controlled the puck in the Kings' zone for a good 90 seconds, probably. The goal came 2:53 into the period.
There look to be some line changes.
Ducks 2, Kings 0
Are these the same teams from yesterday? The Ducks are playing like a team that's desperate to avoid getting on a transcontinental flight with two losses, and the Kings look like they would rather be somewhere else.
The Ducks are skating strong and smart and the Kings couldn't generate anything in the offensive zone. They finally showed some interest in getting to the net in the final four minutes, but by that point they trailed 2-0. The Ducks' goalie, Jonas Hiller, is making his NHL debut, yet the Kings were able to do very little to make him uncomfortable.
The bad penalties didn't hurt the Kings yesterday, but they did in the first period today because the Ducks have some jump and they're active around the net. Both goals came from close range. LaBarbera overplayed the puck on the first goal and the second-goal was just a scrum in front and the Kings couldn't clear the zone.
Lots of positives if you're the Ducks, almost none if you're the Kings. The 2006-07 penalty kill returned in that period.
The Ducks outshot the Kings 9-6. Chris Kunitz had three shots. The Ducks were credited with 16 hits to the Kings' seven, and that should tell you a lot...
Another power-play goal for the Ducks, with Brady Murray in the box for holding the stick. Chris Kunitz joined a scrum in front of the net and knocked it past LaBarbera. McDonald and Perry get the assists.
Less than five minutes left in the first period. The Kings are flat and the Ducks are flying.
The poorly taken penalties by the Kings finally hurt them. Andy McDonald whipped a pass into the slot to Corey Perry, who put a quick deke on LaBarbera and tucked the puck past him. It's a power-play goal with 9:11 left in the first period. Pronger also gets an assist.
It's starting again. The Kings have taken two penalties to the Ducks' one. The Ducks had a brief 5-on-3 and now are on the power play because of a Nagy high-sticking penalty.
Oddly, David Courtney is doing the PA again today, but he's following the script usually used by the Ducks' PA guy. Sounds odd to the ear.
Same as yesterday, just flip Thornton for Ivanans. Good energy early on both sides. LaBarbera has been tested a bit early and the Ducks are getting more pressure down low than they did for the first 2 1/2 periods yesterday.
Brown-Kopitar-Cammalleri
Nagy-Handzus-Zeiler
Frolov-Armstrong-Calder
O'Sullivan-Murray-Thornton
Blake-Visnovsky
Stuart-Preissing
Johnson-Modry
This will be Jason LaBarbera's first NHL start since April 17, 2006, when he shutout San Jose.
J.S. Aubin, Kevin Dallman, Raitis Ivanans and Brian Willsie appear to be the scratches for the Kings today. Not surprisingly, Scott Thornton is in the lineup in place of Ivanans.
Here's more praise for Jonathan Bernier, from assistant captain Michael Cammalleri. Cammalleri was asked about Bernier's performance and how he could relate it to his own first NHL game.
``I think we're all really excited about the way he played. As a team, to get goaltending like that... Just with talking with a couple of the guys after the game, you kind of recap the game and you discuss what went well, and Armstrong says to me, `How about the goalie?' That's the difference. He made saves that could have easily gone in the net. So, a good game by him.
``As far as when you come in, in your first year... I was 20. He's 19. It was surreal for me. I barely remember those first few games. It was so exciting. It's a dream come true and I'm sure he's going through a little bit of the same. After the game, I went over to congratulate him on playing so well and he kind of looked at me like he didn't know where he was, but he looked pretty comfortable when the game was on, that's for sure.''
...from wire-service stories:
Crawford, on Bernier:
``I don't think you could've expected a better game from a 19-year-old goaltender. There was a lot of pressure tonight, and he looked like a really solid, solid goaltender. Not very many pucks bounced off of him, and he made a couple of great saves.''
Bernier, on his game and the delay at the start:
``I wasn't nervous. I just kept my focus. It was a long time I had to wait. ... It's always good to get the start of the season, especially at my age. I'm pretty happy with what I did tonight.''
Rob Blake, on Bernier:
``It's pretty amazing. I think it's a calming effect he has on all of us. The way he plays is very calm, he doesn't really move too much. The puck just seems to hit him. And that carries over to all of us. If you watch his demeanor around the room, he's a guy who's ready to play in the NHL. He's not a junior kid anymore. ... He has been our best goalie, and he showed it tonight.''
Crawford, on tomorrow's goalie choice:
``With the youth of our team, and the back-to-back settings, we're going to want to make sure we keep as fresh a lineup as we possibly can and try to get everybody to contribute.''
Cammalleri, on the game:
``I love London. It was good to us tonight. ... It felt like a North American hockey crowd. There wasn't much difference -- a couple of waves, like soccer, which was fun to watch''
Blake, on the uniqueness of playing in London:
``I don't remember taking a boat up a river to get to the game very often. But that was our format tonight.''
Crawford, on the delayed start:
``I think we had a lot of time to look around right at the start when they were trying to get the lights back on. I tried to soak it all in, all the different jerseys in the crowd.''
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, unlike Tim Leiweke, not so happy about playing in London, it seems:
``We made a decision last November, December to participate in this. The players voted and the managers had their chance to say yea or nay and we're living by that decision.''
Here's what Jonathan Bernier had to say during a quick postgame TV interview...
``I see the puck well, but I have to give credit to the guys. They played hard and they never gave up and we wanted to have a great start to this season and we did, so it's great.''
(You didn't seem to get too rattled by the lighting problem early...)
It's one of those things that happens, so you just have to keep your focus and that's what I tried to do.
(What's the biggest thing, making the adjustment to the NHL?)
For sure, the timing. It took a couple weeks but our defense (does) such a great job so it makes the job easier.
Jonathan Bernier...it's impossible to overstate what this guy just did. NHL debut...age 19...first game of the season...foreign environment...early 5-on-3 power play...late pressure, and he never wilted. Now, there's a big difference between late September and late March, but Bernier stopped 26 of 27 shots and looked nearly flawless.
Patrick O'Sullivan was huge in the third period after he looked a little lost early. Who would have guessed that he would end up being such a valuable penalty killer? Given how awful the Kings were in that area last season, O'Sullivan's play on the PK would be a huge bonus.
Another player making his debut, Brady Murray, looked very solid as well. Very good puck protection and energy.
Kopitar clearly is making an effort to be better in the defensive zone, but he has to do so without taking bad penalties.
That was the one negative area for the Kings today, bad penalties. They got away with it, even though the Ducks had an outstanding power play last season, but the Kings can't afford to consistently take bad penalties.
The Ducks really got their legs in the third period, controlled the last 10 minutes and got a lot of traffic in front of the Kings' net. Bernier held up perfectly, but we'll see if the Ducks come out tomorrow with that great effort again.
As previously mentioned, guys such as Cammalleri, Kopitar and Visnovsky came to play. Those are the guys who are going to have to be good every night if the Kings hope to improve this season.
The Ducks outshot the Kings 27-21. The Kings won 31 of 59 faceoffs. The Kings went 3 for 8 on the power play and the Ducks went 1 for 8. Cammalleri, Kopitar and Preissing each had three shots on goal for the Kings. Getzlaf had four shots for the Ducks. The Kings were credited with 32 hits, to the Ducks' 20.
If you're the Kings, you can't ask for a much better first game than that. Interesting that there wasn't a single 5-on-5 goal scored in the game. The Kings got three power-play goals, the Ducks got one and the Kings got a goal in a 4-on-6 situation.
The three stars, in order, were Cammalleri, Bernier and Kopitar.
An empty-net goal for Michal Handzus with 25 seconds left, after some great work in the corner by Patrick O'Sullivan on the penalty kill. O'Sullivan fought hard and worked the puck out of the corner to Handzus, who tapped it in. It was a 6-on-4 power play for the Ducks.
The goal came after a brilliant point-blank save by Bernier on Corey Perry, in which Bernier slid across and made a pad save.
Jonathan Bernier missed a chance to become the second goalie in Kings history to record a shutout in his NHL debut. Mario Lessard did it in 1978. The last NHL goalie to do it was Dallas' Mike Smith, on Oct. 22 of last year.
The Ducks score on a rebound in front of the net. Blake covered the front of the net on defense and Bobby Ryan snuck in behind him to score his first NHL goal with 6:51left in the third period. It was a power-play goal, the Ducks' first power-play goal in seven chances.
Michael Cammalleri is now being credited with the Kings' third goal, with assists to Preissing and Kopitar. Cammalleri waved at Preissing's shot and they're saying that he made slight contact with the puck in front of the net.
Ducks on the power play with 7:44 remaining. Frolov off for tripping.
The Kings score their third power-play goal of the game. The Ducks got a little confused during a change and Preissing just kind of sent a knuckleball toward the net that fluttered over the glove of Bryzgalov. The goalie seemed to see the shot just fine. Kopitar gets the assist, 1:10 into the third period.
Yes, he does have an assist, but more to the point, I don't like the line he's on. It struck my eye weird during training camp when I saw him playing with Armstrong and Calder, and I'm still not sure it's going to work. I know Crawford is looking for scoring balance, but if I'm coaching that team I think I try Frolov with Handzus and Nagy.
Kings 2, Ducks 0
That period ended at a good time for the Kings, because the Kings' legs started to look a little heavy and the Ducks spent quite a bit of time in the Kings' zone over the last five or six minutes.
Bernier...again, what can you say? He has made 17 saves through two periods.
Jack Johnson had a much better period, particularly with the defensive aspects of his game. He threw his body around against George Parros a couple times and got in the middle of the scrum that led to the 4-on-4.
Kyle Calder did some good dirty work in front of the net early in the period.
Raitis Ivanans, as previously mentioned, doesn't look ready to play.
Rumor is, Alexander Frolov is playing tonight.
Visnovsky is the hardest skater on the ice and appears to be in tremendous physical condition to start the season.
The Ducks are outshooting the Kings 17-14 and the Kings have won 21 of 36 faceoffs. Kopitar and Preissing each have three shots on goal for the Kings.
Get ready, Scott Thornton. Ivanans' contribution to the game so far has been two dreadful penalties. Looks as though Crawford is already skating Armstrong with O'Sullivan and Murray on some shifts.
4-on-4 coming up after a scrum in front of the Kings' net. Five minutes left in the second period.
Moments after Bryzgalov made a brilliant save on Kopitar, the Kings scored a power-play goal. Kopitar took the shot and Bryzgalov made the stop but lost track of the rebound. It ended up behind his skate and Rob Blake, playing down low on the power play, knocked it into the net. They announced the goal as Cammalleri's, but that will be changed.
Ducks are going back on the power play after another poor Kings penalty. Nine minutes left in the second period.
As I thought about the absence of Thornton and Willsie from the lineup, I remembered something that Crawford said during training camp about the fourth line. He talked about how they could use it differently depending on which team they're playing. If they're expecting a more physical game, they could go with one group, and a different group if they're expected a more ``skilled'' game. So this could be something we see for a while.
Then again, there's always the possibility of a trade. Lombardi has talked about it before, in general. His theory is that if a young player comes in and beats out a veteran, it gives him the opportunity to trade the veteran for a draft pick or another young player. I'm not saying that will happen with Thornton and/or Willsie, but it's never out of the question.
Kings 1, Ducks 0
Other than a couple unwise penalties, there wasn't much to criticize about the Kings' game in that period.
A great first period for Bernier, who had to deal with the snafu with the lights and then faced some power-play pressure early in the game. He made six early saves, then pretty much could have taken a nap for the rest of the period. The Kings did a good job of preventing a lot of pressure from getting to him.
That was particularly the case on the penalty kill. It seemed more aggressive and there were a good number of blocked/deflected shots, so we'll see if that holds up and if the penalty kill is truly improved.
The Kings' top players seem to be in good form, particularly Visnovsky, Cammalleri and Kopitar. Handzus and Nagy have a definite chemistry together and Handzus isn't afraid to whip the puck across the ice if he knows his countryman is somewhere in the area.
Each team had seven shots in the period. Ryan Getzlaf had three for the Ducks. The Kings won 11 of 18 faceoffs.
The lines that I just posted appear accurate. On defense it's Blake with Visnovsky, Johnson with Stuart and Preissing with Modry.
It's been a while since the Ducks have had a shot, thanks to the Kings' multiple power plays. Five minutes left in the first period.
Here's how it looks to me. Hard to tell because there's so much power-play time
Brown-Kopitar-Cammalleri
Calder-Armstrong-Frolov
Nagy-Handzus-Zeiler
O'Sullivan-Murray-Ivanans
First PP unit: Blake-Visnovsky-Cammalleri-Kopitar-Frolov
O'Sullivan and Zeiler might be flipped there, I'm not certain.
During a 5-on-3, Cammalleri whipped a quick one-timer with Calder running traffic in front. Calder might have gotten a piece of it but Cammalleri got credit, from Visnovsky and Frolov.
Bernier has already helped kill a 5-on-3 and made six saves, including a couple from close range. He dropped one fairly juicy rebound but otherwise has looked very composed.
We're about six minutes into the scoreless game.
Todd Bertuzzi took a penalty, but Anze Kopitar took one of his own less than a minute later. Jonathan Bernier got tested early, when Getzlaf went around O'Sullivan and put a backhand on net, but Bernier easily pushed it aside.
The ice is three feet shorter in this arena, and they took it out of the neutral zone.
The teams are now back in the dressing rooms during the delay. Bang-up job there, AEG...
The lights won't come on, apparently. Perhaps a test run would have been in order...
Here's the first big shakeup of the season...according to the NHL's web site, the Kings' healthy scratches are Brian Willsie, Scott Thornton, Kevin Dallman and J.S. Aubin.
Good morning to everyone, even if this does seem to be an odd way to start a hockey season...
I'll do some game blogging today, although it seems that most people have figured out a way to watch the game. We can track important things, such as how Jonathan Bernier looks in goal and, more importantly, what hairstyle Jim Fox has chosen for the 2007-08 season. To gel, or not to gel? That is the question.
Just over a half-hour until the opening faceoff...
The Kings and Ducks currently have a big graphic for their London matchup as the lead story on espn.com. ESPN ranks the Kings 13th in the conference. The writer is not too fond of the team's offseason moves. He especially doesn't like Nagy.
Saturday's game will be on Center Ice. If you have DirecTV, it's channel 764. It's also on HDNet, for those who get that. For those who have blackout issues with Prime Ticket, I don't know how this will impact you. I would recommend calling your cable/satellite people. Sunday's game is on Versus only.
The news is fast and furious this morning...
Jon Klemm cleared waivers this morning and will be headed to Manchester. So this is good news for Kevin Dallman, most immediately.
I'll attach the release below, but it's Rob Blake as captain, and Scott Thornton, Lubomir Visnovsky and Michael Cammalleri as assistant captains.
No Derek Armstrong. Fascinating...
The punchline is at the end, about Bernier...
''His play is going to dictate what happens,'' said Crawford. ''We know we've got gold there . . . we're also all very conscious of the fact we know he's going to be a great goaltender and we want to do the right thing for him.
''You want young kids to come in to your training camp and make it very difficult for you to anything but keep you. And he's done that.''
So who starts in net Saturday?
''I'm leaning right towards rewarding the guy that really deserves it,'' Crawford said with a smile.