Category Archives: Open forum

Looking forward to the Kings’ game Thursday against the Sharks

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The Kings complete their two-game trip with their first game of the lockout-shortened season against the Sharks on Thursday night in San Jose. The Kings (14-9-2) are fifth in the Western Conference standings and the Sharks (11-8-6) are 10th. They are separated by only two points, however. Jeff Carter leads the Kings with 17 goals and Anze Kopitar has a team-leading 15 assists. Patrick Marleau has 13 goals for the Sharks and Joe Thornton had a club-high 20 assists. The teams play again Saturday at Staples Center. The Kings are 9-2-1 at home, but only 5-7-1 on the road. They began their trip with a 5-2 loss Tuesday to the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz.

 

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Kings captain Dustin Brown talks about improvement of young defensemen

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Came across this gem of a quote on the audio recorder from Kings captain Dustin Brown, who credited the play of young defensemen, including Slava Voynov, for the team’s recent surge in scoring. They are passing the puck more efficiently to the forwards and also contributing scoring, where everyone was coming up (almost) empty to start the season.

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It’s official: realignment is approved

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Here’s a look at what’s in store now that the NHL’s has approved realignment and finally sifted Columbus and Detroit to the Eastern Conference and moved Winnipeg to the Western Conference where it belongs:

NEW ALIGNMENT

Western Conference

Division A: Kings, Ducks, Calgary, Edmonton, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver.

Division B: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Nashville, Minnesota, St. Louis, Winnipeg.

Eastern Conference

Division C: Boston. Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto.

Division D: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington.

OLD ALIGNMENT

Western Conference

Pacific: Kings, Ducks, Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose.

Central: Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Nashville, St. Louis.

Northwest: Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Minnesota, Vancouver.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic: New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh.

Northeast: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto.

Southeast: Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington, Winnipeg.

 

 

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Eight in Eight is Enough

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My eight games in eight nights Southern California hockey odyssey ended with the Kings’ 3-1 victory Monday night over the Calgary Flames. A couple of fellow scribes have asked what I plan to do Tuesday. “Take the day off!” I said. In the end, this was an adventure of my own making. I could have begged off a game or two, but I wanted to see if the Kings could continue to play as well as they’ve been and I was really curious to see what’s happening with the Ducks. It’s a treat to see both teams playing so well at the same time, a rarity since the Ducks joined the NHL in 1993-94.

The final totals were:

Eight games, seven victories by the home teams. (Kings 4-1-0, Ducks 3-0-0).

Five trips to Staples Center (210 miles driven).

Three trips to Honda Center (195 miles).

Best game: Kings rally from 4-1 down to beat St. Louis 6-4.

Worst game: Ducks played only so-so and beat Calgary 4-0 on Friday.

Best goal: Jarret Stoll hitting nothing but water bottle with a perfect shot from the slot in the first period of the Kings’ 3-1 victory Monday over.Calgary.

Strangest moment: Waking up Sunday and not knowing what day it was.

Laugh out loud moment: Fellow hockey scribes couldn’t find their cars in the Honda Center parking lot, only to later see they parked next to each other Friday.

Best pregame press room meal: None.

Worst pregame press room meal: All of them.

Best drive: The 22 Freeway to Honda Center on Sunday.

Worst drive: The 110 Freeway at every hour of every day.

 

 

 

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Second period: Kings 2, Flames 0

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The Kings could move into fourth place in the Western Conference standings with a victory Monday over the Calgary Flames at Staples Center. Actually, they could have the third-most points but they could be no higher than fourth because the top teams in each division automatically get the three top spots for playoff seeding purposes. As for the Flames, well, their season was up for grabs but they didn’t play with much sense of desperation. There was no scoring in the second period, but Dustin Penner had two glorious chances to extend the Kings’ advantage. He failed to click after Mike Richards sent a cross-ice pass to him on the rush. He also missed an open net after Jeff Carter set him up a little later in the middle period.

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First period: Kings 2, Flames 0

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Nothing to see here. Move along. The Calgary Flames three-game trip to Southern California turned nightmarish long before they played the Kings for the second time in three nights Monday at Staples Center. After all, the Kings hammered them 6-2 on Saturday and the Ducks thumped them 4-0 on Friday at the Honda Center. So, when the Kings jumped to a 2-0 lead Monday, it hardly seemed unexpected. Dustin Brown (power play) and Jarret Stoll scored in the game’s first 10 minutes and the Kings appeared to be rolling toward their second straight win over the Flames.

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Eight Games in Eight Nights: Update on a Southern California hockey odyssey

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Kings coach Darryl Sutter gave the team the day off from practice Sunday. Good thing. I was in no shape to head to El Segundo in the morning before tackling the drive to Anaheim in the afternoon for the Ducks’ game against the St. Louis Blues. Suddenly, this Eight Games in Eight Nights thing was getting worrisome after Six Games in Six Nights. I woke up and didn’t know what day it was. That’s a bad sign. That’s a sure indicator of mental fatigue. In a moment or two things came flooding back. Oh yeah, no practice. Feed the cats. Feed the dog. Go back to sleep.

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