Friday practice news, notes
-- The team had an abbreviated skate before its flight to San Jose for tomorrow's season opener. Nothing too intense and it ended with a fun shootout drill.
-- Patrick O'Sullivan will not play tomorrow, but it seems almost certain that he will play Sunday. O'Sullivan agreed with Terry Murray that it would be wise to not push the issue and risk getting hurt while playing in back-to-back situations.
-- No changes in the lines today in practice, as O'Sullivan and Boyle were wearing the green jerseys indicating a ``spare'' forward. It seems likely, then, that a fourth line of Armstrong-Richardson-Ivanans is in store, at least tomorrow.
-- The Kings play three games in four days to start the season, but Terry Murray gave no indication that Jason LaBarbera will sit. Murray said he likes to play his No. 1 goalie a lot and that he feels LaBarbera thrives under a heavy work load. So we'll see how it goes.
More notes and quotes to come throughout the afternoon, but this is the short of it...
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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.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
I'm wondering if anyone who watched the Sharks handle the Ducks last night was impressed as I was with them. It'll really be interesting to see if the Kings can do any better than the Ducks. The Sharks look live a very tough team this year.
After reading the Brown interviews I'm reminded of something Magic Johnson said many years ago in an interview. When asked about what makes a championship team he paused and said that when he was still in school choosing sides for pick-up games on blacktop he did not put a premium on the best players, he would choose the guys who wanted to win the most. For Magic, character and desire was the most important quality in a team mate. The chemistry and character this team is developing might be truly special.
I get the feeling that the Kings may do a little better this year than we all think.
The Ducks defense looked slow and inept. Montador, Klee and Huskins shouldn't have anyone skaking in their bauers this year. I bet the Ducks have a tough time on the road this year when teams can get their top lines out against these guys.
Sharks looked good.
In my opinion, yes the Sharks looked good, but I think the Ducks are also a mess. They have Getzlaff and Perry as there offense. Selanne can chip in a few, but his best days are behind him. Personally, I think Burke is a poor manager of the salary cap. He inherited a team on the verge of winning it all, and his true colors of how good of a GM he really is are starting to show.
The Ducks don't make the playoffs this year.
I'm with Petey for the most part. SJ looked decent last night, but it seemed to me more that the Ducks were just not with it. Slow, behind the play most of the time, botched passes, over-skating the puck- it was like watching a pee-wee vs pro game at times.
Don't read too much into it- last year the Kings handled the Ducks, controlling most of the game just like SJ did, in the season opener and also won 4-1. It's a long season.
has Boyle looked that unimpressive this preseason that he is a spare. I thought for sure he would have been the second line center
Petey - I agree with you when it comes to Burke and what he's done with a Ducks team that appeared on the verge of dynasty. I thought he bungled the whole thing the year they won, however, because he made some questionable moves like trading Lupul and Fedoryk. Last years moves were horrible, though, as he sent away McDonald, lost Penner, and now O'Donnell. That said, I think their squad is still very strong with Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, both Neidermeyers, Pahlsson, Beachemin, and Pronger. Apparently Bobby Ryan is ready to go, but there is no spot for him on the top 2 lines, so they keep him down in the A. I didn't see the game last night, but we'll see.
Where is Quisp lately????