Monthly Archives: April 2014

Kings react to Anze Kopitar being named as one of the Selke Trophy finalists

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Here’s the post-morning skate reaction …

Kings center Anze Kopitar didn’t want to talk Thursday morning about his nomination for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, one of three forwards picked as finalists for the award that goes “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.”

“It’s really nice to be nominated, obviously, but right now is not the time to think about that,” said Kopitar, referring to the Kings’ three-games-to-none deficit in their first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks. “I’ll think about that when it’s all said and done.”

Kopitar’s teammates and his coach had plenty to say, however.

“I see him every day and it’s pretty evident he’s the best 200-foot player we have by a long shot,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “I’m happy for him to finally get some attention from a league-wide standpoint. It’s been deserved for a couple of years now.”

Said left wing Justin Williams: “It’s long overdue. Enough people have made a stink around here that he’s not gotten enough respect. He finally got some. Selke finalists play in every situation and excel in every situation. There’s not one thing that he doesn’t excel at, and that’s why he is who he is.”

Added Trevor Lewis: “It’s great to see him finally get recognized for it. He does most of his leading on the ice. We get to see him every day, but sometimes on the bench your jaw drops because of some of the things he does. He’s really great.”

Kopitar, 26, led the Kings in goals with 29, assists with 41 and plus/minus defensive rating with a plus-34. He also delivered 10 power-play goals and 23 points while the Kings were on the man-advantage. What’s more, he scored nine game-winning goals and played all 82 regular-season games.

Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks were the other finalists in voting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The winner will be announced in a ceremony June 24 at the Encore Theater at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas.

“I think it was justified for this year,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said of Kopitar. “I think he’s come a long way as a player. Think about it: best goals-against in the Western Conference (Kopitar), best-goals-against in the Eastern Conference (Bergeron) and the defending Stanley Cup champion (Toews).”

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Kings center Anze Kopitar named one of three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy

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Anze Kopitar was named Thursday as one of three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, a fitting honor for the Kings’ best two-way player during the regular season. Kopitar led the Kings in goals with 29, assists with 41 and plus/minus defensive rating with a plus-34. He also delivered 10 power-play goals and 23 points while the Kings were on the man-advantage. What’s more, he had nine game-winning goals while playing all 82 regular-season games.

I’ll have reaction after the Kings morning skate at Staples Center.

The other finalists were Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Selke Trophy is awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote on the award. Here is my ballot for the Selke:

1. Anze Kopitar, LAK

2. Patrice Bergeron, BOS

3. David Backes, STL

4. Jonathan Toews, CHI

5. Andrew Cogliano, ANA

 

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Kings go from best to worst in three playoff games

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The Kings finished with the NHL’s best defense during the regular season. Their goaltenders, Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones (with an assist from the now traded Ben Scrivens) won the William M. Jennings Trophy after giving up a league-low 174 goals. After three playoff games, the Kings have the league’s worst defense, with Quick posting a 5.78 goals-against average going into Game 4 on Thursday. Quick’s save percentage is an atrocious .852. It was .915 in the regular season.

 

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Kings coach Darryl Sutter talks about Drew Doughty, but not about his injury

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Kings coach Darryl Sutter smiled when asked Wednesday about defenseman Drew Doughty’s plea for more ice time before Game 3 on Tuesday. Doughty leads the Kings in ice time in the playoffs, averaging 25 minutes, 51 seconds. He said he’d play 40 minutes per game if the Sutter would let him.

Sutter wouldn’t address the shoulder injury that forced Doughty to sit out the final four regular-season games and sent him to the dressing room for an examination during the Kings’ loss to the Sharks on Tuesday at Staples Center. Sutter would talk about Doughty’s toughness.

“He wants to play and that’s a good thing,” Sutter said. “I like those guys who try to stay out there and are not trying to get off because of who’s on the ice. He’s a guy who wants to go back out and not come off the ice. That’s a good trait to have.”

Sutter also said of Doughty: “He’s done a lot at a young age. He’s got to do for us what (Marc-Edouard) Vlasic does for them (the Sharks). That’s kind of how you match it up. … That’s what those guys who win championships, or are big parts of a team’s success, that’s why they are like that. We can all sit there and watch and say, ‘Oh, he can really skate or he can really shoot or whatever.’ But there’s something else special about top players. That’s why they’re all top players because there’s something else there.”

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Jeff Carter, Mike Richards recall rallying from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series

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Kings forwards Jeff Carter and Mike Richards have been here before, down and counted out four years ago. Carter, Richards and the Philadelphia Flyers did the unthinkable during the spring of 2010, however. They rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat the Boston Bruins four games to three.

The Flyers joined the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only teams in Stanley Cup playoff history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series. Carter, Richards and their Kings teammates hope to become the fourth team to pull it off.

The San Jose Sharks lead their first-round series against the Kings 3-0, with Game 4 set for Thursday night at Staples Center. The Sharks won the first two games in San Jose by scores of 6-3 and 7-2 and then pulled out a 4-3 overtime win in Game 3 on Tuesday at Staples Center.

“There’s not much you can say or show or do to inspire a team,” Richards said Wednesday. “I think you should be inspired enough with the opportunity we have in front of us. It’s easy to say, but I think as a group you just have to know, one, it’s not going to be easy and, two, it is possible.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for us to show everybody who’s kind of writing us off right now and to show how resilient we are as a group. We’ve done good things in the past. This is just another thing we have to be excited to accomplish.”

Said Carter: “It’s just one game at a time. That’s what it has to be. Three-oh is a big hole, but it’s been done before. You win that one game and you start to get some momentum going. We have to go into their building and win two games. You have to approach it as one game. You win that one game and you put a little doubt in their mind and they know we’re coming. That’s the way it has to be.”

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Kings recall veteran forward Colin Fraser from Manchester of the AHL

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Seeking to bolster their play on their third and fourth lines, the Kings recalled Colin Fraser from their American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday. The Kings lost the battle of the third and four lines with the Sharks in Games 1 and 2 and hoped for a better push-back in Game 3.

Fraser was on the ice practicing Monday with Manchester when he got the word he would be heading to Staples Center for Game 3 against the Sharks. He played 10 games for the Monarchs after breaking his hand. He also played 33 games for the Kings, recording only two assists.

“Just looking for the same old stuff, grit and energy,” Fraser said when asked what the Kings told him they needed from him. “Their third and fourth lines have been key to their success so far. I’ve been here long enough. You guys know what I can bring. Just going to try to be physical and strong defensively.”

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Drew Doughty unhappy with fewer minutes in Game 2, hopes for more in Game 3

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Defenseman Drew Doughty played 23 minutes, 29 seconds during the Kings’ 7-2 loss Sunday to the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. It wasn’t enough, as far as Doughty was concerned, and he said so before Game 3 on Tuesday at Staples Center. Doughty averaged 25:42 in the regular season.

Part of the reason for Doughty’s diminished playing time was the fact that Kings coach Darryl Sutter played seven defensemen instead of the usual six and spread the minutes among Doughty, Matt Greene, Jake Muzzin, Slava Voynov, Alec Martinez, Willie Mitchell and Robyn Regehr.

“I think everyone gets out of a rhythm when you dress seven ‘D’, for sure,” Doughty said after the Kings’ morning skate. “I only played 23 minutes and I think that’s like the lowest I’ve played in who knows how long. I want to be playing 28 or 30 minutes, so I didn’t like it too much, but it’s not my decision.

“Whatever the decide as a team I just have to go along with it and accept it. If they dress seven again tonight I’m totally fine with it. I just have to play my game and make a difference out there. I’ve always wanted to play more.

“Sometimes they think they play me too much I’m tired in certain situations. I know I’m not tired. I can play 40 minutes if they really want me to and I’ll be fine. I want to play every single second out there. I know it’s not possible, so we just need everybody to step up a little bit more.”

 

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Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in no mood to rehash what’s gone wrong in series

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The Kings had too many defensive mistakes and errors of judgment to blame their 2-0 series deficit to the San Jose Sharks only on goaltender Jonathan Quick. The Sharks scored 13 goals on 73 shots in two games, so there’s plenty of blame to go around. Here’s a sampling of what Quick told reporters Monday:

Question: What did you say to your team?

Quick: “Nothing different than I say every other game.”

Question: This is a team you handled well last year, what are they doing different?

Quick: “Scoring goals.”

Question: How much will being at home help you?

 Quick: “I don’t know. We’ll see. It shouldn’t matter where you play.”

Question: Is their speed an issue for your team?

Quick: “I don’t think that’s the issue. I think there’s some issues on our end we need to clean up before we start saying what they’re doing.”

Question: What are the issues?

Quick: “There’s a lot of things. I got things to do this afternoon. I don’t want to get into all of them.”

 

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Darryl Sutter says Kings third and fourth lines aren’t matching up with the Sharks

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Kings coach Darryl Sutter stated the obvious Monday, less than 24 hours after the San Jose Sharks took a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 7-2 rout. Sutter said the difference in the series is the difference between the Kings’ lackluster third and fourth lines, plus their third defense pair, and the Sharks’ effective second set of six forwards and final defense tandem.

“Our role players and D need to show the tenacity their role players are showing when given a chance,” Sutter said. “We tried every matchup on earth last night possible. Kopi (Anze Kopitar) played against everybody. Jeff (Carter) played against everybody. That was not an issue.

“Any of those matchups haven’t been a problem in this series. The problem is when they put guys who work hard and try to prove something going forward out there. We haven’t matched up well. That’s clear. It was a problem for us last year, too. We didn’t have a fourth line last year. It’s been a moving target this year and it’s been a moving target the first two games.”

 

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