Notes and quotes from the locker room
Believe it or not, these are the first back-to-back wins at home for the Kings since Oct. 27.
``You can look at it any way you want but the bottom line is we got a win today and we got a win our last game, so we're going in the right direction,'' Patrick O'Sullivan said. ``It’s a process with our team. We're trying to learn, trying to experience everything it takes for a team to get better.''
Despite all the struggles this season, the Kings have split six games against Dallas and won three of five against San Jose -- the two top teams in the Pacific Division.
``I think when we know we have to be at our best, we’ve got the ability to raise our game to that level,'' Crawford said. ``It’s a sign of immaturity when you’re not there. We’re going to concentrate on singular challenges here in making sure the group stays entirely focused the way we have against good teams.''
The Kings survived an early 2-0 deficit and three 5-on-3 situations.
``Most of the year, being two goals down, right away a lot of us were being negative and feeling sorry for ourselves,'' LaBarbera said. ``Unfortunately you're not going to get very far feeling like that. We did a good job responding, being positive and being confident in ourselves. Confidence is a big thing in athletics. Sometimes you get down two goals and lose confidence. We just have to build off that mindset and hopefully keep it up.''
It was looking a little like the Nashville game early when the Stars scored twice in 16 seconds in the first period, but the Kings didn't give up this time.
``I've got to give the guys credit,'' Crawford said. ``They're the ones who dug their heels in and said, `Hey, this not what we're going to be.' We've talked lately about not letting our work ethic be questioned ever. We make mistakes and we'll continue striving to limit our mistakes, but we’ll never accept not having a strong work ethic. I thought the guys dug in their heels and worked hard to a man today.''
LaBarbera made a great, diving save with 8:34 remaining to keep the game tied. That could have been a dagger. It reminded me of the Calgary game when the Kings came back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead but the Flames tied the game back up again with 6:55 remaining and then grabbed the lead 1:50 later. This time, LaBarbera came up big to get the game into overtime.
It caught my attention when Frolov and not O'Sullivan was in the shootout. Nothing wrong to go with Frolov. They're both solid options. Crawford said after the game that he probably should have gone with O'Sullivan but that he thought Frolov was playing a good game. The point is moot, because O'Sullivan ended up getting his chance anyway and took advantage.
``I don’t mind batting cleanup,'' O'Sullivan said. ``Turco is an unpredictable goalie so I kind of had a plan of what I was going to do out there. That is one of the moves I've been doing my whole life on breakaways, so it worked out for me.''
Here's what LaBarbera had to say about O'Sullivan's goal: I see him in practice everyday and know what his moves are like. That move he has is tough. I know he's doing it in practice and I still can't stop him.''
The Kings have tomorrow off. They practice at 11 a.m. Monday before heading out to Edmonton.
Was good to see the team win, but i was nervous the whole damn time, im sorry but labs give up rebounds alot i just wish he could work on that. Did anyone else notice that dallas knew that on the PP, cause they where WAY out for the long shot, infact bob miller said they where way out next to the blue line and thought it was strange
It's about time MC said something about work ethic. When he came here, it seemed like he was trying to establish his SYSTEM first rather than trying to establish work ethic. I'm hoping the kings continue to play solid 60mins of hockey from here on.
O'Sullivan is growing in leaps and bounds, and it is fun to watch.
If he keeps his head on straight (as it is now),
how good can this kid be
in 2 years?
The development of his ALL-AROUND game (added
to his established offensive gifts) is what will truly
make him, in time,
an NHL star.
If his defensive game, forechecking and overall on-ice presence keeps improving the way it has been this year, Patrick
is gonna' erase any last
fan-romance/nostalgia over Demitra, that's for sure.
Oh, and by the way, the other guy in the deal, Trevor Lewis, scored the final shootout goal for Manchester tonight in their
3-2 win over Binghamtom.
Sully for Captain. The team, with Sully and Brown out there are reducing the importance of Cammy.
Correction to my prev. post. I meant Brown for Captain!!
I can't follow the Kings when they're losing. It's too boring. But I was wondering about Jack Johnson. How is he developing? I ask to get a feel for next season.
mike
Im glad to see Osullivan finally getting the opportunities he was brought here to succeed in and looking even better than Demitra if I do say so myself, this kid hustles plays defense and is insanely gifted offensively, lock him up with anze pleaseeeee.
Did anyone notice the freakin BEAR HUG Turco gave Frolov in the last minute of OT? Grabbed him with BOTH arms in his crease and threw him to the ground. NO PENALTY CALL!!!!
They had (3) 5 on 3's and we couldn't even get an obvious call on a tackle/takedown??? I would have taken a PP for the last minute of OT. Might have avoided the shootout.
Sad.
Nice win though. FSW sucks for not showing the Canadian swing. Who's the programming geinus who thought this up? Don't show a team who's only been here twice in 10 years or so (Toronto), and don't show the Canadian road swing where hockey tends to be its best.
AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!STUPID!!!!!
i'll buy you a beer. thanks for what you've done so far. GO kings/ go FUTURE. go lombardi.
I HOPE I DON'T REGRET THAT.
(DRUNK)
Well, besides the early deficit, I couldn't find much to complain about that game.
As down as many of us, including me, have been on Crawford and the Kings, games like this show the potential the Kings have. The fact that they came storming back from that 2-0 deficit shows a lot of hard work and determination.
It was also one of the few games when I could actually see a system that Crawford was playing. The Kings can take a good lesson from this game. IF you listen to your coach and play the way he wants, you can be a pretty good hockey team. Too bad they didn't realize this in October.
I still say we have to get a better goalie then LaBarbara. This game alone showed both sides of his game. The 2 early goals were probably ones that a better goalie would stop. Then the diving glove save on the 2-1 later in the game shows how athletic he is.
The trade deadline is coming soon. I would expect some current Kings to be packing their bags.
What a win
What a gifted player(Sully)
What a future
Cloutiierrrr
I totally missed the game! I thought it was @ night and blew it. I went to record the game and it wasn't on?!?! Then I checked NHL.com and saw the score! LOL. It is RARE that I blow one like that!
GO KINGS!
Great game for the Kings. They were down early and fought back. The refs sure weren't making things easy. I thought our PK was very good. That has a lot to do with getting good goaltending. Barbs played outstanding. Blake was a physical presence all game long. His work on the PK, especially the first 5 on 3 was excellent.
Too bad they screwed up so bad for so long. This team can compete with the better teams in the league. Unfortunately, they don't do it each night.
Mike T,
Johnson is coming along nicely and he seems to be benefiting from his defensive pairing along side Rob Blake. I just wish we would see Jack start hitting and throw his weight around like he is fully capable of.
Of course, Jack Johnson will never acheive the level of elite athleticism that Kwame Brown has...
Lombardi took phone calls from fans after yesterdays game on Kings Talk. Here is that episode. http://kings.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=PodcastPlayer&pid=59&iid=3254
Kwameeee
Thanks LA Kings 2010-2011 Stanley Cup for the linko to Kings Talk, I forget to listen to that after games. The first caller's question to Deano summarizes I think everyone's feelings here.
I've gotta say, Deano's answers make a lot of sense, and as for the performance of the free agents I don't think anyone expects that all of them would start out soo slowly. Between unfortunate free agent performance and epic injuries the last 10years have been painful....but there ain't nothing better than hearing a home Kings crowd during the playoffs...
Thanks for the link to the Kings Talk podcast.
One issue that got me thinking. Dean even stated that we need to get bigger on the blue line. I know he's a first year pro, but why not give Brian Boyle a shot? He'd be one of the biggest players in the league.
The only problem with Boyle is the fact that he's a forward who's learning to play defense. Is he better off learning in Manchester, or in LA?
Yeah, i loved the Podcast on Kings talk with DL, he really makes good sense when he's talking, but i wanna know if this is b.s. or if he knows what he's talking about.
GO KINGS GO!
Please visit my website, and sign in my guestbook on your thoughts, Thank you Very much kings men.
Paul- I believe Boyle's back at center in Manchester & the D experiment is over.
Regarding my comment about Boyle, I hadn't had a chance to hear the whole recording yet. So it sounds like they do intend to bring him up soon, but it also sounds like they may be leaning towards putting him back at center.
Interesting, DL'S interview he, out of his own mouth, stated that the goalie position is the most important position. That it must be filled before any other position.
Followed by:
-defense
-center
-wings
Too bad that his solution to this #1 position is:
-Cloutier
-Aubin
-Labs (whose been ok of late)
He's basically conceeding 2-4 losing seasons before Bernier is ready. That's taking a big chance on a 1st round pick, who may or may not be a success.
So much for filling that #1 need.
This G.M. is a bag full of contradiction.
when is anthony going to realize that this team isn't yet built to win now.