Morning-skate report
Here's the notes and quotes from this morning's (very brief) skate, courtesy of Don:
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Notes:
Head coach Marc Crawford confirmed that Erik Ersberg will get the start in goal tonight against the Ducks. Ersberg is coming off of back-to-back wins and has won three of his last four.
Scott Thornton will miss his 10th straight game tonight with an upper body injury. Crawford hinted that Thornton, who is 16 points shy of 300 career points, might be ready to play tomorrow against Phoenix.
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Quick stats:
Tonight is the 83rd meeting between the Kings and Ducks, with the Kings holding a slight edge in the overall series, 36-31-11-4. (Remember when there used to be tie games?) The Kings are 14-18-4-2 all time playing on the road in Anaheim (including the "road" game in London).
The Ducks are currently 43-26-8 (94 points) and have five of their last seven games (including an overtime loss to Phoenix). With only five games left in the regular season, the Ducks has a slim chance to catch San Jose (100 points) for the Pacific Division title. The Ducks have the second best goals against average (2.21) behind the duo of Jean-Sebastian Giguere and back-up Jonas Hiller. Giguere is listed as day-to-day with back spasms so the Kings are likely to face Hiller (5-0-1 in six home starts) or old friend Jean-Sebastian Aubin.
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Quotables:
From Marc Crawford:
On the rivalry and importance of games against the Ducks: "The game is obviously very meaningful to Anaheim because they are trying to secure home ice advantage and even make a push to catch San Jose. We can be a part of that process and we have to continue to play well."
On the Kings' improved play of late: "We've been playing with a little bit of confidence after the two wins in a row on the road, and hopefully we can keep that going tonight. At this time of the year I think it is a great measuring stick for us to play against the teams that are playoff-bound and are playing with their playoff demeanor."
On Michal Handzus' scoring two goals in the Dallas game, his first goals since before Christmas: "His game in Dallas was very good. He hasn't had a lot of offensive outbursts for us, but who knows - maybe he'll get kind of a hot hand here down the stretch."
On players playing for roster spots for next season: Some of the guys are playing for roster spots, and others are trying to gain the experience of playing in hotly-contested games. It's obviously not what we want this time of the year, but it is what we have and you have to make the best of it. You want to do things the right way so that when we're in their (the Ducks') position - hopefully next year - they have the ability to know how intense the games are."
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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.
this guys a machine! thanks don!!
Glad to see Ersberg srarting in goal tonight.
That way I can watch the Kings win at the Pond tonight.
That's right. I'll be at the pond tonight rooting for my beloved Kings.
Lower Level, Section 221, Row Q, seat 11 & 12. Not as comfortable as the suite I'm used to at the Staples Center.
Will be wearing my Robitaille Sweater, with my purple & black flag. Hopefully I won't be assualted by a quack fan. If any of you have been to the pond before, those fans make the place look like a lunatic assylum.
Fellow KingS fans, think about the sacrifice I'm making today, before ripping up my threads the next chance you get.
GO KINGS!!!
Who is this Scott Thornton I occasionally hear mentioned?
I showed up at practice at about 10:40 and by the time i took out my camera they were started to walk off the ice. Did it start earlier or was just a 15 min practice?
Thought this was an interesting quote, taken from the downtown newspaper (which, by the way, did NOT have a 'Kings Report', just a 'Ducks Report'):
"Aubin says he already has noticed a distinct difference between the two locker rooms. 'It's a veteran locker room, and they know what they're doing,' Aubin said of the Ducks. 'They're a really hard, grinding team.
'In L.A. it was a bit different, more of a skill team, trying to play a grinding style.'"
This is interesting if true. This would indicate that Marc Crawford is trying to force his game on players wo do not fit his game. Seems like a problem. No?
nice job holding the stick by Niedermayer on the Kings 1st goal (PP O'Sullivan). Armstrong got his stick free long enough to tap it to Sully. gotta say, Army's been one of the best players early.
"This is interesting if true. This would indicate that Marc Crawford is trying to force his game on players wo do not fit his game. Seems like a problem. No?"
yeah, but what else is new...
I had tickets for tonight too! Had to go to Toronto at the last minute. Be safe Anthony! I'd have been in my buddies Ducks season seats in my Kings jersey too!
Next year I guess.
Don is the man!! Can you post his e-mail so that we can send the thanks directly to him? He's ON FIRE!!