Pregame reading: L.A. Kings coach Darryl Sutter talks about the team’s play

Here’s Kings coach Darryl Sutter’s assessment of the team’s inconsistent play:

“I think that’s what everybody’s said. That’s been a frequently-used word this year, but if you look at the last little bit … our issue would be goals-against, no question. We’re scoring right around three and we’re giving up right around three the last 10 games. That’s not going to get you very far in this league.

“That’s fun to talk about. If you score three, that’s great. But a lot of times it’s still that number, giving up three. If you look at it just since the first of the month, if you’re an analytic guy, we’ve dominated games, quite honest. We’ve dominated games … not just puck possession, which is what you guys use. That’s what anybody goes back to because they don’t understand the game.

“So, it’s probably the bad goal or the odd-man rush or the turnover.”

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Team captain Dustin Brown talks about the L.A. Kings play

Here’s what Kings captain Dustin Brown had to say about the team’s play as it nears the midpoint of its Stanley Cup title defense:

“If you look at our game, there’s a lot of peaks and valleys. It’s kind of a catch-22. If we knew exactly why it was happening, it wouldn’t be happening. A lot of it is probably just preparation on an individual level.

“We pay attention to the standings all year. It’s about keeping pace with the herd. We’re right there. We just need to find ways to win games. It’s about our consistency, really. I think if we’re more consistent in our game, the standings, we won’t have to worry about too much.

“Division games are always … look at the game we played (against the Calgary Flames last Monday). People say, ‘Well, you got a point out of it.” But we gave two points away. That’s a four-point game and they got two and we got one.”

The Kings face the Flames on Monday in a rematch in Calgary.

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L.A. Kings coach Darryl Sutter’s nutty quote of the night

Kings coach Darryl Sutter. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter is often way more talkative after a loss than a victory. That was the case again after a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, when the Kings played the sort of no-frills but well-executed game that should have brought joy to the heart of any of the 30 coaches in the NHL. Any, of course, but not all of them apparently. Here’s Sutter talking, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, about the Kings’ tight-checking defensive game that enabled them to win:

“Well, you’ve got to give the Kings some credit once in a while. I know we’re way behind everybody, but you’ve got to give them some credit, don’t you?”

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One thing about the L.A. Kings victory over the Sharks

Sometimes special teams really are special. The Kings’ 3-1 victory Saturday over the San Jose Sharks was only the latest case in point. The Kings scored twice on their power play and blanked the Sharks on two chances on theirs. Each team scored once while skating at even strength, so …

The Kings ran their streak of scoring two or more man-advantage goals to four consecutive games, the first time that’s happened since March 1993, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau. The Kings have at least one power-play goal in five consecutive games, which isn’t bad for a team with a notoriously wonky power-play unit. The Kings’ power play is now clicking at a brisk 20.6 percent.

“I think finally pucks are going in for us,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “I don’t think we weren’t generating chances in the past. I think we were always generating. We have so much firepower on our power-play unit. It’s got to score more goals obviously, and the last three games or so we’ve gotten one in every game. So, it’s coming together. It’s just getting pucks in the net. We’re going to create opportunities. We know that. We just need to bear down and put them in.”

 

 

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Kings recall defenseman Jeff Schultz from Manchester of the AHL

The Kings on Saturday recalled defenseman Jeff Schultz from Manchester of the American Hockey League after re-assigning him there earlier in the week. The Kings are shorthanded in their defense corps because of the NHL’s indefinite suspension of Slava Voynov because of a domestic violence charge and also because of a hand injury to Robyn Regehr that’s expected to sideline him for up to three weeks.

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L.A. Kings defenseman Slava Voynov neither out of sight nor out of mind

Kings defenseman Slava Voynov will stand trial in domestic violence charges.  (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Kings defenseman Slava Voynov will stand trial in domestic violence charges. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

 

Kings defenseman Slava Voynov is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday in Torrance on charges of domestic violence stemming from an Oct. 19 incident at his Redondo Beach home. Voynov was suspended indefinitely with pay by the NHL on Oct. 20. He is free to skate on his own and use the Kings’ training facility in El Segundo. He is able to speak with teammates and the coaching staff as they pass in the hallway and the locker room.

It’s safe to say the Kings miss the 24-year-old Russian on the ice. He is certainly not out of sight or out of mind, as far as the KIngs are concerned.

“I don’t see how we couldn’t miss Slava,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said after the team’s morning skate Saturday. “Slava is ne of the best defensemen on our team and in our conference. He’s a great player. Obviously, we miss him a little bit, but I think other guys have done a great job of stepping up and not trying to replace him but playing in his spot for right now. Guys have done good job.

“I think our ‘D’ corps has played pretty solid this year. We’ve had our ups and downs, but so has our whole team.”

 

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L.A. Kings center Anze Kopitar named NHL first star for last week

Anze Kopitar, 11, had nine points (and eight assists) to lead the Kings to two victories in three games last week. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Anze Kopitar, 11, had nine points (and eight assists) to lead the Kings to two victories in three games last week. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

 

Anze Kopitar had nine points, including eight assists, during a three-game scoring spree in which he led the Kings to victories in two of three games last week. The NHL apparently stayed up late to watch and on Monday named Kopitar its first start of the week. Kopitar had a career-high five points, including four assists, in the Kings’ 6-4 come-from-behind victory Thursday over the St. Louis Blues. He also had three assists in their win Saturday over the Arizona Coyotes.

Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers was named the NHL’s second star and Marc-Andre Fluery of the Pittsburgh Penguins was the third star.

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L.A. Kings recall forward Andy Andreoff from Manchester of the AHL

The Kings on Saturday recalled forward Andy Andreoff, who completed his conditioning assignment at their American Hockey League team in Manchester, N.H. Andreoff played in seven games with the Monarchs and had five goals and five assists with a plus-8 defensive rating and 11 penalty minutes. He played in eight games for the Kings earlier this season, but did not record a point. He made his NHL debut Oct. 14 against the Edmonton Oilers.

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Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr out for up to three weeks because of a hand injury

The Kings’ defense corps took another hit Friday morning, when general manager Dean Lombardi said veteran Robyn Regehr would be sidelined for between two and three weeks because of a hand injury suffered during a 6-4 victory Thursday over the St. Louis Blues.

The Kings placed Regehr on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Jeff Schultz from their American Hockey League team in Manchester, N.H. The 34-year-old Regehr was injured while blocking a shot midway through the game against the Blues.

“That’s the way she goes sometimes,” defenseman Jake Muzzin said of the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings’ lack of good fortune to start their title defense. “When one guy goes down, other guys need to step up. That’s what we’re going to have to do to keep winning.”

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