It’s a big sports week in New York. Several reports indicate that former Laker Derek Fisher will be the new coach of the New York Knicks. The Knicks announced a press conference is scheduled for Tuesday and then Fisher will be doing an unofficial tour. One of his first stops will be Madison Square Garden on Wednesday to take in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Marian Gaborik, the former King, on what the atmosphere will be like since he played in New York for four years.
“Their fans obviously will push them forward. It’s their first Final in 20 years,” Gaborik said. “They’re going to have a lot of push from their fans. We’re just going to try to take the crowd out of it and hopefully get a lead.”
That might be difficult, given that the Kings have fallen behind 2-0 in the first two games, never led in regulation then won Games 1 and 2 in overtime and double overtime, respectively.
It wasn’t live but the Kings showed the Belmont Stakes on the JumboTron before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Here’s a portion of the race and fans’ reaction as California Chrome tried to win the Triple Crown.
Though Kings coach Darryl Sutter said Friday Robyn Regehr would probably play in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, the defenseman was held out of his 15th consecutive game Saturday.
Regehr suffered an unspecified knee injury in Game 1 of the second-round series against the Ducks thanks to a hit from Teemu Selanne, but declared himself fit to play prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday.
“I feel ready,” Regehr said at the Kings’ morning skate on Wednesday. “It just comes down to a coach’s decision. I feel good. I’ve had a chance to practice a little bit and get a little bit of contact.”
Sutter explained that his reasoning for holding Regehr out of Game 1 was in part due to the odd Stanley Cup Final schedule allowing him two off-days to heal before Saturday’s Game 2. Turns out Regehr’s knee may be injured worse than originally thought given that he was scratched again for a game of such importance.
Live updates from Los Angeles News Group writers and photographers, and the L.A. Kings and N.Y. Rangers.
Here’s what Kings general manager Dean Lombardi had to say about the play of defenseman Brayden McNabb, acquired Wednesday from the Buffalo Sabres:
“He fills a huge hole for us down the road. He’s already paid his dues in the minors and had a couple of cups of coffee in the NHL. He’s closer to being ready than if I had to do a deal with a junior kid. He’s got size, he can move the puck and he has a long reach. He’s over-aggressive, which I like, but we can tame the lion.”
As expected, with the Olympic break over, the Kings recalled rookie goaltender Martin Jones from their American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, N.H., and sent goalie J.F. Berube back to the minors. Jones, who is 8-4-0 with a 1.71 goals-against average, is expected to serve as Jonathan Quick’s backup for the rest of the season. The Kings return to the ice Wednesday to face the Colorado Avalanche. Berube has appeared in 34 games this season, all with Manchester.
Jonathan Quick was the first goalie off the ice at the Kings’ morning skate at Toyota Sports Center. No surprise that he will start and Martin Jones will be the backup. That’s been the case in six of the Kings’ last seven games.
Speaking of backup goalies, there will be another mini-reunion at Staples Center tonight. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi got plenty of ink yesterday (including here), and rightfully so after playing an integral role in the Kings’ Stanley Cup run in 2012.
Pens goaltender Jeff Zatkoff never appeared a game in a Kings uniform, but he has plenty of friends in the home dressing room. Zatkoff, who’s expected to back up Marc-Andre Fleury tonight, was at one time a teammate with Trevor Lewis, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, Dwight King, Jordan Nolan, Tyler Toffoli and Jones at AHL Manchester. The 26-year-old was a third-round draft pick out of Miami of Ohio in 2006 by the Kings. He was buried on the depth chart behind Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier. In hindsight, he might have had to wait until this year to play an NHL game in Los Angeles.
1 p.m. update: Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma told reporters that Zatkoff is starting tonight.
Continue reading “A couple notes from the morning skate.” »