October 2007 Archives
On his performance: ``It was solid. Obviously, it wasn't enough to get the win, but what are you going to do? They got two bounces their way in the second, pucks just ended up on their sticks and they scored. It was one of those nights where the bounces didn't go our way. We just got to rebound from it.''
On LeClaire: ``He played well. He's obviously having a good year. He's got four shutouts already. He's improved his game a lot the last couple of years. He did a good job of hitting his spots early and we just couldn't score on him.''
On Columbus: ``They did a good job of making us do things we didn't want to do. We might have turned the puck over more times than we have the last couple weeks. They did a good job of getting pucks in on our forecheck and creating turnovers, and we didn't do a good job of responding to it.''
On the streak ending: ``Any kind of winning streak, you want to keep it going but we just got to keep plugging along. We can't dwell on it too much. We have to get ready for San Jose. They are a division team and we have back-to-back with them. I'm not really worried about this game. We just have to learn from it and prepare for San Jose.''
On the attendance: ``It was pretty quiet out there, definitely more so than the last couple games. It's Halloween and a weekday game against Columbus, so not a lot of people want to watch that. But our true fans were out tonight and that's the most important thing.''
``I thought the difference in the game tonight was their third line was great and ours wasn’t. It wasn’t Nash or Vyborny or Fedorov or any of their highly skilled players that was the difference tonight. Their grinding line of Malhotra, Chimera and Fritsche was better than the lines we had playinig against them, and that quite simply was the difference in the game.''
``They got a great goaltending performance tonight. We know what that's about. Jason's played some games where he's given us some outstanding performances and their guy gave them one tonight. We had six chances on the 5-on-3 and he was just a big guy in the net. Every once in a while you get a performance like that against you and all you can do is tip your hat.''
``We had lots of great opportunities. We scored the powerplay goal and the 5-on-3 we had a number of chances, then another flurry of chances in third period, and their goaltender stood tall. I'm not disappointed with our performance tonight. We looked at this as an opportunity. We didn’t pass with flying colors by any stretch of the imagination but we worked and it wasn’t to be tonight. We know we can be better, especially in the neutral zone, and we need to be better from our peop who have the responsibility of grinding it out as well.''
``Well, I think the point was we got to come out together and make sure we take care of our own zone. If you take care of your own zone, you're going to have the puck in neutral zone and the ability to come up together. It's always better when you can attack in numbers. You show your maturity when you recongize that’s the way it’s got to be. You're not going to score on every shift. You got to realize some shifts you got to play well on your own end, some shifts you got to dump it in and some shifts it will open up and the ice will be there for you. We're still in the facet of our team where our guys are learning that. I Thought we were better in third period when we didn’t turn the puck over.''
``I thought from the midway point of the game on we actually started getting a lot more forechecking pressure and had a lot more continuity in our play, but we spotted them three goals and in this league sometimes that’s too much to overcome. It certainly was tonight.''
On LaBarbera: ``I thought he was fine tonight. It was a situation where their goalie ended up being the best guy in the game, but Jason has been best guy in game for, what, four or five games for us. He didn’t play poorly tonight. He played actually I thought quite well. They have some very good offensive players that tax your team. That grinding line was a taxing handful all night.''
``I know our guys are frustrated with the game tonight because they lost their streak, but now we got the opportunity to start a new one again on Friday and that’s where we need focus our energies. We'll take the good things from tonight and start anew.''
The Blue Jackets showed the Kings what a really good team plays like tonight. They were strong. That said, the Kings played well the second half of the game. LeClaire was just too good to let them back in.
Crawford said the difference was the third line of Malhotra, Chimera and Fritsche outplaying Calder, Handzus and Willsie, or any other combination he tried.
The Kings remain tied for second place in the division with Dallas, two points behind San Jose, with back-to-back games against the Sharks coming Friday in San Jose and Saturday in Los Angeles.
Ladislav Nagy, who assisted on Calder's goal, has six points in the last five games since returning from his benching.
The last home game with worse attendance for the Kings was 9,686 on March 4, 1999, at the Forum.
The announced crowd of 11,491 was the smallest since the Kings began playing in Staples Center in 1999. Notes and quotes from the locker room to come ...
Calder got a goal. Kings had a prime opportunity to get back in the game with a 5-on-3 but couldn't get one through.
Barbs attempt to clear went right to Jason Chimera, who passed it out to Rick Nash for the slap shot. Barbs scrambled back in position to block that shot but Chimera got the rebound and put it in for his second goal of the game. It's getting gory.
We'll see what the Kings bring tonight against Columbus. Game is on. It looks like the fans have pulled a trick by not showing up. This place is empty. I'm disappointed in the lack of costumes in the crowd as well. I do see a Santa Clause with a big Kings crown. Bailey is in the spirit. He's dressed as a pumpkin. I'm going as Kubrick Face. I bow my head a bit but look upward with a crazy expression like the guy in Full Metal Jacket and other Stanley Kubrick movies. OK, I doubt many people get that.
Thornton and Dallman are again scratches.
Lines look like ...
Cammalleri-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-O'Sullivan-Nagy
Calder-Handzus-Willsie
Ivanans-Armstrong-Zeiler
Blake-Visnovsky
Johnson-Modry
Preissing-Stuart
at the game for Halloween? That mask is finally going to come in handy for Sully!
The Kings' streak of winning five of six games began when coach Marc Crawford dusted off forward Brian Willsie from the bench and started playing him regularly. Coincidence? Probably, for the most part. But it's worth mention. Willsie only got off the bench for one of the first six games as the Kings opened the season 1-5.
``It was definitely frustrating,'' Willsie said. ``It caught me a little off guard. I felt like I had a good camp and I was excited about this year. It was tough sitting, especially losing the way we were.''
Willsie started to wonder if he was going to be part of the team's plans this year.
``That kind of creeps in your mind. But I was confident that I'd get my opportunity, and once I got the opportunity the ball was in my court. I knew I had to take it upon myself to stay in the lineup.''
Willsie got his shot Oct. 16 with an assist in the upset of previously undefeated Minnesota and hasn't left the lineup since. He played a direct role in one of the team's biggest wins of the season, a 2-1 victory over Dallas last week, flying through the air and reaching around the goalie to score the first goal in spectacular fashion.
``I've never had a goal like that,'' Willsie said. ``I saw a couple pictures of it that turned out cool. It was nice to contribute like that in a close game, and hopefully there's more coming.''
that players are tiring of Crawford. I ran it by Cammalleri and this is what he had to say ...
``I haven't heard anything about that. That's news to me. Crow and his staff have worked hard to get their message across to this team and I think we're definitely buying in.''
Here's that update I promised, courtesy of the Kings ...
FSN West and Jack Johnson’s team won for lowest score.
Kings Alumni of Rogie Vachon, Nelson Emerson, Ken Belanger, Ian Turnbull, and Strength and Conditioning coach Chad Smith came in 3rd.
Kings forward John Zeiler’s team from Pechanga Resort & Casino won Most Honest.
FSN West’s Patick O’Neal won the putting contest
Live Auction item – dinner with Luc Robitaille at the STAPLES Center Arena Club went for $1000
A fairly standard day at practice, with no ripples being made. The forwards practiced the same way they played the other night, and afterward Crawford said LaBarbera will get the start tomorrow. That's no shock. The question becomes, what about the back-to-back games after that? It's natural to assume that LaBarbera and Aubin will split those games, but the Kings have an entire week off following the second San Jose game. So it's not completely unreasonable to think that LaBarbera could start all three. Not likely, but not out of the question either.
More notes and quotes later, assuming I can get to them before the basketball game. Matt has stuff also.
Here's one thing...Crawford was asked about particulars in the last game, things that he was pleased and displeased with. He was pleased with...confidence, the players' on-ice connection (vision, passing, etc.) and the puck movement of the defensemen, both in the D zone in the neutral zone. What was he displeased with? The number of quality scoring chances. I think all of those, good and bad, have been themes of late, and the good has far outweighed the bad. I think goaltending is also a major positive.
Jonathan Bernier has allowed eight goals in two games for Lewiston. Maybe a little residual effect from his time with the Kings. It can also be tough to stay motivated and focused heading down to juniors when you hoped to stay in the NHL. It's a long season so nothing to be worried about right now, but something to keep an eye on.
Looking at some of the players from training camp in Manchester, Dan Cloutier is 1-3 with 11 goals allowed in four games. Brady Murray has a goal and an assist in four games, both coming in the last two. Gabe Gauthier leads the team in points with 12 in eight games. Matt Moulson leads in goals with five.
The team had an early morning skate today before heading out to the L.A. Kings Bud Light Golf Invitational at Industry Hills Golf Club. I'll try to let you know who did best in the the golf event later in the day. I hear that Michael Cammalleri is a scratch golfer and the best on the team. Jean-Sebastien Aubin told me in training camp that he has a six handicap and played golf his first day arriving in Los Angeles.
Jason LaBarbera has been named as the NHL's ``First Star of the Week,'' for the week ending Oct. 28. Brind`Amour and Ovechkin were the other two. Here's what the NHL release had to say about LaBarbera's week:
FIRST STAR -- JASON LABARBERA, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS
LaBarbera posted a 3-0-0 record, 0.67 goals-against average, .976
save percentage and one shutout as the Kings won three consecutive home
games. On Oct. 23, LaBarbera recorded his second career NHL shutout by
making 17 saves as Los Angeles defeated the Nashville Predators 6-0. Two
nights later, he recorded 29 saves as the Kings defeated the Dallas Stars
2-1. LaBarbera finished the week by making 34 saves in a 4-1 victory over
the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 27. For the season, LaBarbera has posted a
record of 4-2-0 with a 2.06 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and
one shutout.
You guys are starting to feel bad for all of those immensely clever but seemingly premature slogans from two weeks ago!
Kings get a well-earned day off today.
The last time the Kings won four in a row was in March of 2006.
This was the first two-goal game in Patrick O'Sullivan's young career.
Jason LaBarbera made a season-high 34 saves and has now stopped 123 of his last 127 shots against (.969 save percentage). He stopped all 15 shots in the third period. He was named the No. 1 star for the third consecutive game.
Ladislav Nagy has five points in the past four games, Anze Kopitar eight points in the past eight games and Lubomir Visnovsky six points in the last five.
The Kings were outshot 35-31. Michael Cammalleri led the Kings with five shots.
John Zeiler led the Kings with seven hits in just over seven minutes on the ice.
Jack Johnson spent 23:36 on the ice, most on the team.
Patrick O'Sullivan
``After that tough start, we knew that's not what our team was about. To come back here with these wins, we're really showing that this organization is going in the right direction.''
``Barbs is playing unbelievable right now for us. That's who he is. He really is a good goalie. I played with him last year and know what he's capable of doing.''
``It's nice to see we didn't pout about being in the situation we were in. We battled back, got back to .500 here and we're just going to keep building on this.''
Jason LaBarbera
``Right now, I'm just calm, I'm relaxed, I'm not worrying about things and the puck is hitting me.''
On stopping the wrap around in the third period: ``It was a mad scramble. They got about three shots on the left side of the net. I knew I was stuck and he was going to wrap it so I scrambled over and threw my stick over. Luckily, he didn't take a step and get it up high. He tried to stuff it and my stick got there, and that was a big save.''
``We knew we had the players here. It was just a matter of coming together as a team and trusting each other. At the beginning of the year, we didn't trust each other and I think we learned from that.''
``We worked hard in practice, the coaches did a good job of preparing us and, for whatever reason, it wasn't clicking. We didn't really know what we were doing as a group. Once we got that win against Minnesota in the shootout, you could kind of see in our faces a little more confidence and it just carried on from there.''
``We had a great goaltending performance from Jason. He deserves as much credit as anybody on the team. We got some strong performances from some other people but he was at a different level than our team was tonight and we definitely needed that in the third period.''
``The key to our victory tonight was no doubt Jason LaBarbera. He was very cool, very calm, very collected. That's nice to see. It's something our team has been waiting for a long time.''
``We struggled early this season I think with a number of new people we had here. I thought we had a good preseason. I felt good about our team coming out of Europe, and we just didn't put it together coming back. We gave up so many chances in some games that we didn't give ourselves a chance to win. Now I think we're doing a few more good things that maybe subtly go unnoticed. A lot of it is how we support the puck out of the zone, the limited number of turnovers that we're giving up and I think some smart play we're having offensively. It is something we can build on and need to continue to build on. If we continue getting goaltending like Jason is giving us, it gives us an opportunity every night. Tonight he was the difference maker and we had moments when we were pretty good.''
On O'Sullivan: ``Any time we can get another offensive catalyst for our team, it takes so much pressure off Cammalleri, Kopitar and Brown.''
On first line: They had a good game tonight. I thought they were maybe trying to put on a little too much of a show. It almost looked like they were trying to make perfect plays. They are young guys and the game tonight was one they wanted to perform well. They know they had a little bit of a spotlight on them. The more they get used to having a spotlight on them, I think the better they are going to perform with it. Let's face it, we haven't had much of a spotlight on this team, not since I've been here. And now we're putting a streak together and people are starting to take notice.''
On Nagy: ``That was a huge goal for us tonight. I thought he had a couple of opportunites to make plays like that earlier in the game and looked to pass. That one, he was selfish for the reasons and took it to the net. I thought that just did wonders for us because you could see our team get a huge boost when he scored that goal, and it was such a strong individual play. Hopefully we can get more of those plays from Ladislav.''
this period. He's stopped 29 of 30 shots in the game already with 11 minutes left.
Kopitar shot an angled backhand that somehow squirted through Roloson. Kopi's fifth of the season. First place is in sight. Looks like it will have to be a tie, though. Dallas up 4-2.
Nagy wins the puck against the boards and powers across the middle for an unassisted goal on the backhand, his second of the season and second in three games. 2-1 Kings.
O'Sullivan failed to clear the puck on the penalty kill, leading to an Edmonton goal from Jarret Stoll. But O'Sullivan made up for it by taking the puck off the boards in his own zone and racing in to beat Dwayne Roloson in the final minutes. In other news, Dallas leads Phoenix 2-1 at the end of a period.
Cammalleri, Kopitar, Brown, Blake and Visnovsky on the ice first for the Kings. Odd combination for Crawford.
Could be. With San Jose already losing, a win and Dallas loss would put the Kings alone atop the Pacific. Game against Edmonton about to start ...
There were a couple questions the other day about the Kings' donation-drive effort, which starts tomorrow night and continues at every home game through Nov. 10.
1) For those who wish to donate with checks instead of cash, checks can be made out to the Salvation Army, with ``The Salvation Army's disaster relief efforts'' written in the memo section.
2) Jerseys worn by players during the Nov. 10 game -- which will include a special patch honoring Southern California firefighters -- will be auctioned off at Staples Center after that game.
his fourth consecutive game tomorrow, according to Crawford. LaBarbera said he's nowhere near fatigued. He started 20 consecutive games for Manchester last season, including three in three days and four in five.
Crawford gave most of the big-minute players the option of taking today off from practice. Brown, Cammalleri and Visnovsky were among the players who took him up on the offer. Blake opted to skate anyway. Crawford said he wants everyone to be totally energized tomorrow night.
``He knows where he's going to be for the foreseeable future. He’s going to be a big part of the Kings, part of our core. You look at the type of player he is, he plays sizeable minutes because he plays in the power play, kills penalties and plays a prominent role on one of our top llines. He also plays a power game. We don’t have a lot of guys who play a power game. I understand why Dean felt so strong about getting him tied up, because he does do so many good things for us. He won't change his game because he got a long-term contract. He only knows one way to play and that’s pretty straight forward and pretty robust.''
``I think he’s still got some improvement to do. The improvement you see from players like Dustin is that they start to analyze the game a little more and analyze it a little quicker. You see Cammalleri, Kopitar and Fro, they’ll sit on bench now and they’ll dissect what the opposition is doing and try to make mini adjustments with each other. For me, that ends up being a huge step for a player. When they start to get to the point where they dissect while the game is going on, it means they have great deal of confidence and they're looking at game at a different level.''
On signing Brown to a six-year contract at such a young age: ``That's just kind of the climate of this system with young players now, as you've seen with (Rick) Nash and (Ales) Hemsky and those type of guys, that in the past you were able to let things play out a little longer with free agency at 31. This is just a function of the way the system is. When you have a good, young player, you try to lock him up at a fair price that keeps with your game plan cap-wise now and for the future. In the past, as a general manager, you were able to let things play out a little more. That was a function of the old system I liked. A player had to learn to play in the league and then win in the league, and when he was 31 certainly he had matured in terms of his upside. But this is the way you've got to do things now.''
On the danger of a player not working as hard after getting a big contract: ``Part of this is he has to continue to get better. He has to continue to improve for this to work for everybody. One thing you can say about Brownie, I think he's matured a lot in the past six months as a person and a player. He's not a guy that's going to cheat you on effort or desire. I think he cares. If you're going to go long-term, those qualities are as important as his ability as a player. If you're going to give somebody that type of security, you better have a player who cares and is able to critique himself, and I think he does that.''
``It's not only the player, you also have to know the character of the guy. Because it's too easy for guys to just get comfortable. I think that's one of the biggest things with Dustin. That won't happen with him. I really believe that.''
On if Brown's play so far this year made the Kings want to lock him up: ``This is one of those things where the amount of time that can go into a contract, this (process) started as much as 2-3 months ago. It's not an easy deal to make for both sides when you're talking six years. This stuff doesn't just happen like that.''
On the possibility of the signing disrupting chemistry: ``These are the things that go through my head because, if you're trying to get chemistry, you could have an older player say why is he getting that. I think a lot of the older players are wondering when they see kids start getting this. I was thinking about it. But I don't think it's a problem with this team.''
His wife is due to give birth to their first child, a boy, in February.
On signing contract extension: ``Obviously, I'm pretty excited about it. The important thing is that six years provides me some security, knowing I'm going to be a King for a while, and that's what I really wanted.''
On risk of signing such a long contract: ``Obviously, there's a risk of the marketplace changing but I like living in L.A. and playing in L.A., so I'm willing to take that risk to be comfortable and be in the place I want to play with the team I want to play for.''
On having the negotiations over: ``Any time you're in contract negotiations, you try not to think about it. But it's nice to get it done with. Now I won't have to worry about it and can focus on playing.''
On how close he is to reaching his potential: ``I'm only 22 right now so I definitely can improve and get better. I don't think it's my full potential I'm playing at right now, but I feel like I'm playing pretty well and taking steps in that direction, and you can say the same thing about the team as a whole.''
It's a six-year, $19.05-million extension. That's $3.175 million per season.
Money-wise, a good deal for the Kings. Length-wise, a good deal for Brown. He has a new wife and a child on the way, so I'm sure that stability is a big issue for Brown these days.
Word out of practice today is that Dustin Brown has received a six-year contract extension. Figures should be available shortly and Matt will have quotes and notes in a little while...
The Kings and Stars each had 30 shots. Cammalleri and O'Sullivan led the Kings with four shots each.
Visnovsky spent the 23:27 on the ice, most for the Kings.
Cammalleri has scored a goal in seven of 10 games this year. He is scoreless in the two games against Dallas.
Frolov now has a goal in three consecutive games and a point in seven in a row. His longest point streak is eight games in 2005.
LaBarbera has stopped 89 of the last 92 shots against him (.967 save percentage).
The Kings were 0-for-3 on the power play, ending a streak of six consecutive games with a power-play goal.
Alexander Frolov
``I had some problems with my groin in the beginning and pretty much missed all of training camp. It makes a difference. I feel much better right now and feel much more comfortable playing with my linemates. I think we made a lot of scoring chances and played good offensively.''
``Our team is playing much better right now. We're playing good as a team, as one unit. We've won three games in a row, something we didn't do last season.''
On Dallas: ``It's a good team but it's not the greatest team ever. We were ready for them and felt good about ourselves, and I think we deserved this win.''
``I think it's a big step up for us as a team. There's been a lot of changes since last year, a lot of new people, and now we're proving that we're a good team and we can beat any team in this league. We showed it tonight.''
Jason LaBarbera
``I had a lot more action tonight, a lot more traffic around the net and tougher saves to make. But the team played well in front of me and that makes my job so much easier.''
``We're coming together as a team, and that's the big thing. You can see it on everyone's faces. We didn't have that confidence and swagger earlier in the year, and now all of a sudden we have it.''
``It was a game that you love to win and a good character builder for this club. Jason (LaBarbera) made a couple of great saves in the third period and the penalty kills we had late in the game were just so huge.''
``Guys like Armstrong, Zeiler, Ivanans and Nagy were all really strong with the puck tonight. And I certainly want to mention Frolov because I think that was his best game of the year.''
``We did some nastier things, some greasier things that you need to do in order to be a successful team. We got in the kitchen on Turco. We were right in the crease a lot and put a lot more pressure on the net, and got some payoffs because of it. They had some terrific saves from Turco to keep the game close.''
On Frolov: ``He looks as though he's getting his legs. He missed those two weeks (in training camp with a groin injury) and that probably set him back a little bit. He does look like the Fro we saw last year where he gets those chances and he outskates people. He's such a big man that when he controls the puck he's a handful to get it off of.''
On LaBarbera: ``According to everyone, he's a guy who thrives on work. He's getting lots of work right now and feeling more and more comfortable. We'll continue to give him a lot of opportunities, for sure.''
``I thought Army had something tonight and I could see Frolov did, so I wanted to match those guys up together. Everyone contributed tonight. That was a big goal by Willsie coming off the penalty kill, and Cammalleri did a good job creating the chance.''
On Willsie: ``His was just opportunity because he had a great preseason and really we just chose to go with some of the younger players in the start. He's been a very good citizen. It's the same situation with Thornton and Dallman. Sometimes you have to wait your turn. We can't play more than 20. Right now Willsie is getting an opportunity and taking advantage of it. It's a long season. Everyone will get their opportunity.''
``The main thing is we're getting contributions from 18 skaters and a goalie right now. It hasn't been one line that's carried us the last few nights. It's been a total team effort. Sure, we've gotten some great individual performances. Tonight, it was Frolov's turn. Other nights it's been Cammalleri and Kopitar. We want a team that has quality overall performances and that's what we're trying to build here.''
Killed back-to-back penalties in the final six minutes. Notes and quotes from the locker room to come ...
He beats Turco off a pass from Armstrong 1:40 into the period. Third game in a row with a goal by Frolov, and seven consecutive games with a point. He's really come along since that apology letter to Lombardi (haha). 2-1 Kings.
The Kings outshot Dallas 19-6 in the second period after being outshot 11-6 in the opening period.
Well, the Kings had their chances on the power play but nothing doing. Heat-check time for the Kings. Can they end their nine-game losing streak to Dallas?
It only took nearly 38 minutes, but the Kings have their first power play of the game to end the second period ...
Brian Willsie scores his first of the season exactly midway through the game. Willsie dove around the goalie to poke in a rebound off a shot from Cammalleri. Yes, Cammalleri was playing with Willsie and Calder.