Monthly Archives: November 2014

Three things about the L.A. Kings lackluster loss to the Dallas Stars

Posted on by
Reply

Here are the top few paragraphs from my game story:

How low can you go? For the Kings, a letdown Thursday against the Dallas Stars in the cavernous confines of Staples Center was probably inevitable after Wednesday’s 65-minute test of skills and wills against the Ducks at the raucous Honda Center.

The answer, at least at the start of the Kings’ 2-0 loss to the Stars, was subterranean. The Kings played a game so dull and devoid of efficiency and execution that it could have put a pot of coffee to sleep. It appeared the Kings left their skates in Orange County.

“It simply wasn’t good enough,” Kings right wing Justin Williams said. “We chased the game tonight. We were a step behind, a second slow. All that stuff. When you’re a second slow, they’re able to break out of the zone. We had no sustained pressure.”

Here are three things about the Kings’ second straight defeat:

First, Williams was right on all counts. The Kings weren’t good enough. Blame it on the weather, with the rain putting a damper on the evening. Blame it on the Ducks, who extended the Kings the night before. Blame it on the Kings’ injuries and a suspension to defenseman Slava Voynov. Blame it on the Stars, too. The Kings haven’t played very well to start the season. It’s that simple.

Second, the Kings are a sub-.500 team at the moment. They are 8-5-4, which looks good only until you realize they are actually 8-9. That’s not a good sign as they head toward the 20-game mark, which is usually when we find out what teams are truly made of. Big trades can happen and players can suddenly find an extra gear later in the season. But, for the most part, we know what kind of team you’re going to be after roughly 20 games of the season. This means you, Kings.

Third, Kings coach Darryl Sutter benched budding young stars Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli for most of the final two periods of Wednesday’s loss to the Ducks. They played a more familiar role in Thursday’s loss to the Stars, but neither was especially effective. That’s another cause for concern for the Kings, who relied so heavily on them and Jeff Carter for offense to start the season. Where are the goals going to come from if That 70s Line doesn’t score? Well, that’s the big question.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

L.A. Kings forwards Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli benched vs. Ducks

Posted on by
Reply

There were, oh, about 1.5 million things that got overlooked during the Kings’ 6-5 shootout loss to the Ducks on Wednesday. One was the scant playing time given to young forwards Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli, two-thirds of That 70s Line, the Kings’ leading offensive trio. Pearson played only eight minutes Wednesday against the Ducks, and Toffoli was on the ice for only 10:43. Jeff Carter, who centers the line, played his customary minutes, skating 21:33. More minutes than usual, in fact. Toffoli has scored a Kings-leading 17 points, including seven goals, while averaging 14:16 of ice time per game. Carter has 15 points, including six goals, and averages 18:11. Pearson has 10 points, including seven goals, and averages 12:56.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Kings coach Darryl Sutter’s nutty quote for a Thursday morning

Posted on by
Reply
Kings coach Darryl Sutter talks to players during practice at the Staples Center last June. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter talks to players during practice at the Staples Center last June. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Was he serious? Was he joking? No one knows for sure. Actually, no one is ever sure what’s running around in the mind of Kings coach Darryl Sutter. Anyone who claims to know is a liar. Here’s what he said after the Kings dropped a 6-5 shootout decision Wednesday to the Ducks: “They’re a much better team than we are. They proved it last year, proved it again tonight.”

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Three things about the L.A. Kings wild and crazy shootout loss to the Ducks

Posted on by
Reply

Here are the first few paragraphs of my recap:

It was fast and frantic and full of unpredictable twists and turns. The Ducks and Kings rocketed around the Honda Center ice Wednesday in their first Freeway Series game of the season. No play could be taken for granted, and certainly no lead was safe.

When it was done, the Ducks took a 6-5 shootout victory from the Kings in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 17,245 in a game that felt more like it should have been played in the glare of the playoffs rather than in the uncertain weeks of the fall.

Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler scored in the shootout for the NHL-leading Ducks (11-3-3) and backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera stopped Anze Kopitar after Marian Gaborik scored and Jeff Carter misfired for the Kings (8-4-4).

Here are three more things about the Kings’ loss:

First, two-goal leads are usually money in the bank for Jonathan Quick and the Kings. Not Wednesday. The Kings led by scores of 3-1 and 5-3, but couldn’t prevent the Ducks from rallying to force the game to overtime and then a shootout. Said defenseman Drew Doughty: “We always feel good with the lead. We have ‘Quickie’ back there. We have, I think, one of the best defense corps in the whole league and all of our forwards play pretty good ‘D’ as well. Whenever we have that two goal lead we definitely feel secure.”

Second, Quick was superb in goal for the Kings. That’s never a surprise anymore, but he was under siege for most of the night, facing 49 shots from the Ducks. Quick needed to make several jaw-dropping saves just to keep the Kings in front in the early going, and then again in the middle of the game. The Ducks poured on the pressure late and there was no chance Quick could work miracles. He needed more help than he got from his teammates.

Third, the Ducks beat the Kings at their own (winning) game. The Ducks possessed the puck for extended stretches and controlled the play. They never led during regulation play or overtime, but they played the right way. You know, the way the Kings play. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The Ducks spent the offseason remaking their roster in order to be more like the Kings, who won Stanley Cup championships in two of the last three seasons. The question is how do the Kings counter the Ducks’ moves? Saturday’s rematch at Staples Center should be fun. Again.

 

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

L.A. Kings coach Darryl Sutter’s funny quote of the day (part 2)

Posted on by
Reply

Kings coach Darryl Sutter had this to say about free agent defenseman Jamie McBain, who signed a one-season, $550,000 contract with the club Tuesday: “There’s a lot to go over with him. It’s way different coming to this conference. The pace of play is way different. He hasn’t played on a good team. Big difference. Good kid. Good skill set. The next part is the game.”

 

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Kings make it official by announcing the signing of defenseman Jamie McBain

Posted on by
Reply

The Kings made it official and announced they signed defenseman Jamie McBain to a one-season contract Tuesday, which means they won’t have to play with only five healthy bodies on the blue line when they face the Ducks on Wednesday at the Honda Center. The Kings were forced to designate suspended defenseman Slava Voynov as a non-roster player in order to sign McBain and slip him under the NHL salary cap. Voynov is suspended by the league indefinitely after he was arrested on domestic violence charges last month in Redondo Beach.

McBain will be paid the NHL minimum of $550,000 while he’s with the Kings.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

L.A. Kings coach Darryl Sutter’s funny quote of the day

Posted on by
Reply
Jake Muzzin and the Kings face the Ducks on Wednesday for the first time since the playoffs last spring.

Jake Muzzin and the Kings face the Ducks on Wednesday for the first time since the playoffs last spring.

The Kings and Ducks renew their mutual dislike for each other Wednesday at the Honda Center, which actually means fans of the teams renew their mutual dislike for each other. Some of the players, gasp, are actually friends off the ice. Others are teammates on Canadian or United States Olympic teams. As rivals, the Kings and Ducks are more like cousins who bicker occasionally during get-togethers at the holidays. At least that was the opinion of Kings coach Darryl Sutter, who said Tuesday: “What was in the dictionary for rivalry 15 years ago is not rivalry now.”

 

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Three things about the L.A. Kings rout of the Vancouver Canucks

Posted on by
Reply

Here are the first few paragraphs of Saturday night’s recap:

Marian Gaborik scored his long-awaited, much-anticipated first goal of the season a little less than 10 minutes into the Kings’ 5-1 victory Saturday over the Vancouver Canucks. Then Jake Muzzin scored his first about five minutes later. Then Anze Kopitar scored his third about four minutes later.

In the end, the lifeless Canucks were a cure for what ailed the shorthanded Kings.

Robyn Regehr couldn’t play because of an injury suffered in Friday’s practice. Slava Voynov was banned for the ninth consecutive game, serving an indefinite suspension imposed by the NHL after his arrest on domestic violence charges last month in Redondo Beach.

Since salary-cap issues made it impossible for the Kings to seek replacements for Regehr and Voynov from their American Hockey League team in Manchester, N.H., they were forced to dress only five defensemen for Saturday’s Pacific Division showdown with the Canucks.

Here are three additional things that stood out:

First, Gaborik’s goal was the first hint of his presence this season. Is that too harsh? Well, he was the Kings’ leading goal-scorer with 14 during their charge to the Stanley Cup championship last spring. He was the key piece to their postseason offensive surge, too. He has been injured for all but seven of their 15 games after signing a mammoth seven-year, $34-million contract to stay in Los Angeles. All things to consider when assessing his lack of production to start this season.

Second, Drew Doughty’s minutes have increased because of the Kings’ lack of healthy and eligible bodies in their defense corps. He played 29:46 Saturday against the Canucks. That’s a ton, especially this early in the season.

Third, the Canucks were surprising pushovers in their first visit to Staples Center this season. They didn’t score only Chris Higgins ended Jonathan Quick’s shutout bid with a goal at 12:07 of the final period. The Kings built a five-goal lead before Higgins struck on a centering pass from former L.A. forward Linden Vey. In the end, it was a disappointing showing by the surprising Canucks (10-5-0).

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Three things about the L.A. Kings shootout loss to the Islanders

Posted on by
Reply
Kings forward Dwight King, left, scored the only goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Kings forward Dwight King, left, scored the only goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

 

Dwight King scored the KIngs’ only goal during a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday at Staples Center. Brock Nelson countered for the Islanders, who also got shootout goals from Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. Jonathan Quick robbed former Kings defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky from point-blank range after an excellent cross-ice pass from another ex-King, Thomas Hickey, in overtime.

Here are three things that stood out about Thursday’s defeat:

First, the Kings sorely missed winger Justin Williams, who couldn’t play after suffering an eye injury during their victory Tuesday over the Dallas Stars. Williams’ place on the Kings’ top line with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik was taken by Jordan Nolan, a grinder who works his tail off but doesn’t have the scoring touch. The Kings couldn’t say when Williams might be back in the lineup. They hoped they would have to play without him for only one game. With goals at a premium, the Kings need all the offensive help they can get at this point in the season.

Second, Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin said it best when asked how the Kings can generate more scoring chances and more goals. “Instead of trying to look for cute plays on the outside, putting it (the puck) on net and driving it,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting pucks to the net.” The Kings played far too often on the perimeter. When they did drive to the net, King scored on a pinball deflection off a centering pass from teammate Mike Richards only 3:49 into the game.

Third, it’s obvious by now that the Kings are skating with targets on their backs. It comes with the territory as defending Stanley Cup champions. You could see from the opening minutes that the Islanders were not content with a split of their games in Southern California. They got two points in Anaheim on Wednesday and were determined to secure two more Thursday in Los Angeles. The Kings should know by now the rest of the league wants to knock them off their lofty perch. Thursday’s game was simply more evidence of it.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Kings coach Darryl Sutter talks about the play of team captain Dustin Brown

Posted on by
Reply

Kings captain Dustin Brown scored only his second goal and recorded just his second point in 13 games to start the season when he tallied during Tuesday’s victory over the Dallas Stars. The Kings expect more from him, although coach Darryl Sutter said Thursday he seen some improvement in Brown’s game recently.

“I think the last two or three games we’ve seen a little bit more of Dustin Brown,” Sutter said after the Kings’ morning skate Thursday in El Segundo. “Not because he’s scored, but more of that forceful game that we need out of him. The question gets asked often about Brownie, but Brownie has had success by playing a very certain way. That’s the way he has to play. When he gets away from playing that straight-line game, then he struggles. When he’s on that straight-line game and being a forecheck guy and a penalty-killer for us, then he’s really effective.”

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email