Notes and quotes from the locker room
Not a bad way to go into the break, winners of five of seven and with a big victory over your rivals.
``Any time you beat a team like that and a rival, it’s huge,’’ Jason LaBarbera said. ``It’s a great way to go into the break. We can enjoy ourselves for the next couple of days.’’
Kopitar had his 19th goal of the season, one short of the 20 he had as a rookie.
``We’re playing much better and I think everyone sees that,’’ Kopitar said. ``We aren’t giving up a lot of goals. We are limiting the chances we give up and we’re creating offense better than we did before.’’
Teddy Purcell got his first NHL point on a sweet, backhanded pass from the left boards to Derek Armstrong in front of the net for the second goal.
``Yeah, that was pretty nice,'' Purcell said. ``It was a great pass from Modry on the breakout. We had a 2-on-1 and it was a good job by Army letting me know I had some time there and he was going to net. I just made a pass and he made a nice goal.''
Matt Moulson also had a point, helping to set up Alexander Frolov for the third goal of the game -- the one that knocked out Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
``We really like the contributions of these young guys that have come in,’’ Marc Crawford said. ``I think our players are getting more excited to have youth in our group.’’
Crawford said Purcell and Moulson are likely to stay with the team for the eight-game road trip that follows the break.
``Right now we have so many injuries that I don’t think it's a question,'' Crawford said. ``It doesn’t look like Cammalleri will be back immediately. It doesn’t look like Nagy will even go on the trip. Willsie is probably the closest but I think he still may be a little bit away. So I suspect those guys will continue on with us. I don’t know if they will go back and play some games for the Monarchs here now during the break. They have played well. I thought their contribution ton was good on the scoreboard but particularly good just overall.''
I caught Nagy coming out of the locker room and asked him about the injury. He said it occurred during the game at Calgary and he felt a twinge immediately then woke up the next day with it extremely sore.
``I thought it would be better the last four or five days but it's not getting better so I'm staying here,'' Nagy said. ``Hopefully the next couple of days it will be much better because it's getting frustrating. It's like a detachment of a nerve. There's a burning that goes all the way to my left side. I've never felt anything like it before. I had knee surgery and that didn't bother me like this one.''
Click the continuation to read Crawford's full post-game quotes.
``We were strong on loose pucks and it looked like we wanted the puck tonight. We got a contribution from throughout the lineup. When you get that type of contribution and everybody digs in, you end up having a good game -- and that was a good game for us.
``I thought the two young guys in our lineup really contributed well. I thought on both plays by Moulson and Armstrong on the one pass to Frolov there was great puck movement, great cycling, tremendous awareness of ice and who was open. It was a great display of passing. And that was a big-time pass Teddy Purcell made on the pass across the ice on his backhand flat on his stick to land flat so Armstrong could put it into the cage. When you get contributions like that from young guys coming up and showing they want be part of future of the Kings, then that’s really exciting.
``I thought the penalty kill was exceptional tonight. All our defensemen pitched in tonight. LaBarbera made some saves. I thought we got a lot of blocks from peop tonight. The upfront penalty kill, particularly Giuliano, Handzus, Preissing, Brown, Kopitar and O'Sullivan were very big for us tonight. We limited the chances for the Getzlaf line. Especially for as hot as they have been recently, to shut them down is really gratifying for our team. And also to shut down the good Anaheim power play was something.
``We did all the things we set out to do. We wanted to win the special teams battle and we scored the power play goal. They didn’t get any. O-for night on the penatly kill and I thought we did a good job of playing physical, being confrontational and not retaliating to the Anaheim penalties.''
On the defense: ``It was a very good effort. Blake and Johnson both did a great job. They had the matchup of Getzlaf and Perry. Perry had some good chances in the second period but they really did keep them in check and at bay. I thought, on other side, the contributions of the Armstrong line tonight with Moulson and Frolov was extremely good. Everyone else dug in and did what they had to do and made some timely plays to score the goals.
``I've said we played a lot better from Christmas on. I think we're 8-5 or 8-6 since that time and we probably should be better than that because we had some losses we had no business losing. That happens. Hopefully we have lots of confidence going out on the road.
``We really like the contributions of these young guys that have come in. I think our players are getting more excited to have youth in our group. They’re playing hard. Tonight was a gutsy effort from everybody. We're going to need that type of effort on the road. We can enjoy the break now for a couple days. Even though we're in last place our guys need a break as well, if nothing more than just to stop hearing the voices of coaches – especially me.
``Right now we have so many injuries that I don’t think it's a question,'' Crawford said. ``It doesn’t look like Cammalleri will be back immediately. It doesn’t look like Nagy will even go on the trip. Willsie is probably the closest but I think he still may be a little bit away. So I suspect those guys will continue on with us. I don’t know if they will go back and play some games for the Monarchs here now during the break. They have played well. I thought their contribution ton was good on the scoreboard but particularly good just overall.''
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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.
Thanks, Matt. I'm leaving for work in less than 4 hours. It is worth it for me to stay up to read these notes and quotes before I go to sleep tonight. WTG Kings!
Nice win by the Kings. They need to hire Tommy Lasorda as a consultant or assistant coach or something. After he told them to play like they belong in the NHL, they go out and play one of their best games of the year. :D
Are we missing Camy or Nagy right now? It doesn't seem like it to me.
oh no please, no more Tommy. I was falling asleep listening to him on TV.
Ducks Suck!!
:)
I Loved Tommy :) .. he got some of the hockey terms wrong (play for the name on the back not the front??) but he got everybody fired up. IF he can do that for a full season hire him as a motivational coach next year. This year we have gone through to much pain to start winning now and lose out on a Stamkos, Schenn or Doughty.
Lasorda for coach
Are we missing Cammy - Yes
Are we missing Nagy - maybe
Are we missing Willsie - NO
Tommy Lasorda has gone the Leonard Tose route.
TITO, GO FIND MICHAEL AND LEAVE SPORTS TALK TO THE REAL MEN, TOMMY RULES
FIRE CRAWFORD HIRE LASORDA
Just joking listening to the assclown for a period
was like getting teeth pulled. How bad is Crawfish as a coach that a
nimpcompoop like Lasorda can actually get the team more fired up than he can.
Next move bring in Vic the
Brick from 570AM for some
more inspiration but first his lips will have to be surgically removed from Kobe Bryant's ass. Does
Tommy now bleed King purple?
i sure think it would be a nice touch for Teddy Purcell to go back for the AHL All Star Game this weekend...
Strange how Crawford is the coach all year and can't get these guys to gel; Lasorda comes in for one game and we beat the Stanley Cup champions (AND LOOK GOOD DOING IT). Shows you how much the players respect their coach. **hint** They don't.
Real men talk about sports in all caps? I see.
Sorry, he spent way to much time in the box while the game was going on. If the game was a snorefest, perhaps it would have been interesting to learn about the Dodgers 50th anniversary but it was an exciting game being rained on by trivia best left inbetween periods.
Yeah it was great hearing Lasorda talk over all the goals, repeat the same stupid stories from pregame about Toe Blake and how the trainer Ernie said he's the only baseball player that could make it in hockey and otherwise jibber-jabber like floyd the barber. He needs to be reeled in, he's making Dick Clark look spry and on topic.
I love Lasorda and enjoyed him last night.
He knows what it takes to be a winner. Something this organization can use more of.
Does anyone really thing that the kings won solely based on lasorda, and the fact that the players wont play for Crawford? Correct me if im wrong, but i believe even the Anaheim Ducks are beatable.
I think everyone here gives WAY too much credit to the coaching staff. I dont know if any of you ever played a sport, but was it the coach that made you go?
Great win by the Kings! TL can talk over goals anytime as far as I am concerned. Just keep scoring! Bob and Jim showed a lot of class, letting him ramble on. Hey, it's freakin' Tommy Lasorda! BBHOF etc... The guy is an icon in LA sports. I can see Vinny giving Bob and Jim the same resepct. I am so glad that I live in LA and get to hear these guys each year. God bless Tommy Lasorda!