In praise of the Red Wings
It's no surprise to see the Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champions, back near the top of the Western Conference standings. The Kings have faced the Red Wings twice this season, losing 4-3 in a shootout at home on Oct. 27 and losing 6-4 at Detroit on Dec. 20. Terry Murray was asked about the Red Wings, specifically which part of their game he would like to see the Kings duplicate...
MURRAY: ``Well, they do everything so well. The area of their game that is really tremendous, I think, is their transition game. They come at you with speed. As a group, they have the composure to be able to handle the pressure that comes at them on the neutral zone, forecheck side of things. They get the forwards back into position so they can generate that speed with the puck. They do it against every team. Every time I watch that team play, they are incredibly fast through the middle of the ice, to offensive-zone possession and generating a quality scoring chance at the net. That's a pretty general answer, but they are better than any other team in the league at it, in my mind. They get the puck into the hands of their best players at the right time, so that they have to speed to come at you, and that's a real skill, to be able to do that. That's a compliment to their defensemen. They're waiting for the forward to get back and get position, to get himself turned up ice. Then that little five-foot, four-foot handoff pass is there and they're gone, and you get Datsyuk and Zetterberg in the middle of the ice, and those are world-class players who can generate a lot off the attack. They're fun to watch in that area.''
13 Comments
Leave a comment
About the bloggers
J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.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.
Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
@dailynews.com.
Copyright Notice |
Privacy Policy |
Information |
Subscriber Services |
Site Map |
RSS 
MNG Corporate Site Map | Newspaper Media Kit
MNG Corporate Site Map | Newspaper Media Kit
| For more local Southern California News: | Copyright ©2011 |
| Los Angeles Newspaper Group |
Geez don't hold back Terry tell us if you like them or not...
Could have been said in two words, Ter: Work ethic.
Hey Rich,
Do you know how tonight's line up Might/Will look like?
My guess...
Kopi-Westgarth-Bailey
Brown-Dancing Boy-Ivanas
Sully-Fro-One of the pee-wee players
Ivanans & Westgarth will both be healthy scratches today. The lines are:
Sully, Kopi, Brown
Calder, Stoll, Purcel,
Fro, Zoos, Simmer
Army, Boyle, Zeiler
Quick in goal
Speaking of how much TM likes the Wings, Zetterberg is going to be a UFA at the end of the season. I think the Kings should make a serious run at signing him. Any thoughts?
chris,
i can't imagine the wings letting him go. i would not be surprised if he isn't locked up for 3-5 years before july 1.
Keep in mind Jedi, they have to contend with Hossa and Franzen as UFA's too. I don't think they can keep both Hossa and Zetterberg. So, if they keep Zetterberg, we can always go after Hossa...
Why would DM waste his time making a run a Zetterberg? Put yourself in Zetterberg's place, would YOU want to sign with the Kings, a perpetual cellar-dweller, or re-sign with a perpetual Cup contender? Stay the course, develop the young core.
chris,
i think hossa is (a more likely option) than zetterberg. who know's. the fact is, l.a. is still not the premier destination for ufa's who are coveted by more than one team. hossa will be wanted by many.
The main thing that impresses me about the wings is that they play hard every shift. You can see that in Quincey's game as well. That's something I hope all the kings players emulate.
CupRun2010 - The Wings may not have the money to resign him. If they choose to keep him, of course he'll stay. If they choose to keep Hossa though, he'll have to find another place to play. Granted the Kings have been bad the last several years, but they are trending in the right direction and can outbid just about any other team in the field if they want to.
Hossa is a great player, but he hasn't exactly helped some decent teams win any cups.
Zetterberg would be a fool to take his career to LA.
It's never going to happen.
And, even if it does (with Hossa), its just to sell tickets.
If anything, those players end up in NY, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, or even NJ.