czwartek, 30 listopada 2006

Garon's groin injury

There is no news yet as to how he reacts to treatment of the pulled groin muscle suffered at the end of the yesterday's practice.

The only thing that keeps me reasonably cool-headed about it, is that I'm quite sure Crawford would have started Dan Cloutier against the Coyotes regardless. Having said that, I make my mental preparations NOT to see Garon until the second of the two weekend games against Anaheim Ducks.

If he comes back earlier, things might get interesting again. With Dan in the net, I only hope for two points, if that in the next two.

Don't be such a cloutier, Dan and prove me wrong! :)

One d-man injury away...

...from a disaster. No, it's not 2005/06 and yes, Aaron Miller is still reasonably healthy.

With the news of Oleg Tverdovsky finally making it to the IR (even though he has been out of action for over two weeks now) and Brent Sopel still nursing a broken leg bone as well as a broken hand, the Kings might as well start looking around for a inexpensive defenseman.

They currently have the veterans Blake, Visnovsky, Norstrom and Miller in the top two pairings, with Dallman and Harrold making up the final pair and Mike Weaver providing (invaluable?) backup. Should any of the four vets go south, half of the defensive corps would be made up of players who make me woozy (though for various reasons: Dallman is inconsistent, Weaver is a AHL-type of guy, and Harrold is simply too inexperienced).

I wonder why the Kings management missed out on the opportunity of picking up Jay Harrison from the waivers. The Toronto Maple Leaf/Marlie is a minimum salary player (.450 mln USD for this season) with a little bit of NHL experience. What's more his overall skills are quite sound as he impressed a number of people in Ontario last year during the dreadful period where majority of NHL and borderline Leafs d-men were out. While his role might have been limited on this years Kings to an injury sub, he'd prove of great value to the depleted Monarchs blueline and possibly fight to make it in LA next year. Harrison is only 26.

Since Dean Lombardi chose not to snatch another defensman, he must be a man of unwavering faith. Mind you, I will gladly pray for the well-being of our blueliners - I just hope there are other measures we ought to take before we all kneel down collectively to save a d-man for a rainy day.

("Now, Aaron Miller, would you leave your motorbike alone?! Or else, I'm calling the 911!")

środa, 29 listopada 2006

Enters Peter Harrold


Peter Harrold as a member of the Boston College Eagles
(photo courtesy of www.uscho.com)

Please meet the
newest addition to the Kings blueline, Peter Harrold. The whole of the Inside Hockey article is worht reading, but if you only have a couple of minutes, here are the best chunks:

Q: Does the team here run any differently than in Manchester, say in terms of practices?

A: No, things are the same. Obviously the difference in skill of the players you’re playing with is noticeable, but the Kings have tried to make the club in the NHL and the AHL run the same system. They run the same ideas through the whole organization so they can make it easier, so they can groom their own players, and have guys come up through the system and understand and be ready to play.

Q: Is the budget unlimited for sticks here?

A: It’s pretty much unlimited in both places. Up here it’s really unlimited, and you have a wider selection, but the AHL is not much different. You get pretty much whatever you need. It’s first-class organization.

And the finale:

"Maybe you’re hearing what we are: a young man (Harrold is twenty-three) who is well-spoken, as might befit a former Boston College student and hockey player. And a guy who can analyze things from the micro-level to the macro-level. That is what makes a good hockey player, and that’s what predicts success for Peter Harrold.

Size-wise, he’s listed at 5’11” and 195 pounds. In person, he impresses as lanky but cut. Give him a couple of years, and he might fill out fifteen or twenty pounds. Naturally, along the way, he may go up and down from NHL to AHL, and he’ll probably make his share of mistakes. But you can’t help pulling for a guy as decent as this youngster. And hearing what he says about the way the organization works should spark fan hopes as the Kings continue their rebuilding process."

Amen to that, brothers and sisters. Peter has certainly been on the impressive side in his short stint with LA. Keep it up, man!

The Kopitarian sect grows larger


... they took over the city walls already. What's next? (stay tuned for more information as it becomes available).

Games 25-26: Kings vs Calgary Flames 3:1, Kings vs New Jersey Devils 3:2 OT Sh

Dustin Brown charges Kiprusoff's goal
(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

Kings rule in a best game this season

LA goals from: Anze Kopitar, Alex Frolov, Mike Cammalleri

CGY goal from: Tanguay


Pros: Three goals from out top "Sesame Street" boys (phrase coined by LA Times' Chris Foster), including the very first in Staples by Kopitar. Overal
l best balanced effort, almost every facet of the game seemed to click (2-for-5 on PP, 0-for-5 PK, good goaltending by Mathieu Garon). Feeding it to the defensive-minded Flames (and their Mikka Kiprusoff) was a no small feat.

Cons: Hardly any, perhaps the only one that stood up was Rob Blake's four giveaways - lucky none of them lit the red light.



Second solid effort in a row has Kings on a winning streak

LA goals from: Lubo Visnovsky, Mike Cammalleri
NJD goal from: Gionta, Zajac


Pros: Coming back twice from a goal down always counts. Winning the overtime shootout (which for some reason Kings have a tendency of losing) to start the winning
streak was an icing on the cake. Luck plays its part as Gionta hits the post just after scoring the first goal of the game. Cammy scores his 100th point in the NHL - all as a King :).

Cons: Seems like when they put more effort into fore- and backchecking, the Kings do not outscore the other team any more. The number of shots per game is going down (about 22-23 per night last two games), and when you don't have a superstar scorer who can convert even a single opportunity, you have to try peppering the opponents with the shots.

The other two cons were Garon going down with the injury during practise before the upcoming game at the Coyotes, as well as Kings moving Oleg Tverdovsky to IR with his groin injury.

poniedziałek, 27 listopada 2006

Craw has spoken...

...but I still don't like what I'm hearing:
"I'm looking for our goalies to play better than they have been playing," Coach Marc Crawford said. "They have worked their tails off. I can vouch wholeheartedly for the character of both these guys."
and
"I don't know if either have deserved to get more time," Crawford said. "I still believe in both these guys.
as well as:
"We don't want to point fingers, we all want to stick together to work through any problems," Crawford said.
Doesn't he really have a clue or is it just shadow-fighting for the media?

Crawford abstains from goalie controversy



Read this first.

You will find quotes from several key Kings regarding the current (season-long?) goaltending controversy in LA.

There are quotes from the man directly involved in the whole thing - goalie Mathieu Garon, team captain Mattias Norstrom as well as key playmakers Michael Cammalleri and veteran Craig Conroy.


A notable exception in the Chris Foster article is the team coach: Marc Crawford.
I believe his not speaking out on the issue hurts the team.

Well, not only is he not speaking OUT, I don't believe the Kings, in the trenches of their dressing room, do hear what's on Craw's mind in regards to starting goaltending. Even if they do, the message, as relayed by the players, is quite fuzzy:


"I don't know about that," Garon said when asked if his play warranted being the top goaltender. "As I said at the start of the season, we have two good goalies here and whoever is playing the best is going to play. That's always the case."
The better and hotter goaltender does not know whether his number is up for the next game, especially in the light of his counterpart Dan Cloutier sucking up big time for the league-worst GAA and SV% among goalies who played 10 or more games?!

58 DAN CLOUTIER LAK 15 378 50 3.67 4 8
2 328 .868 0 0 1 0 817:08


What sort of communication between the coach and his players is this supposed to be?


"Right now, we need our goaltenders to give us games like this," Conroy said. "We have two guys who can do that."
I'm sorry, Craig, but you're wrong. Cloutier cannot give you, at least at the moment, a game like this (one goal or less per 60 mins). In fact, here's a roundup of all his games so far:

Game Dec GA SA SV SV% SO PIM TOI EV GA PP GA SH GA
Nov 22, 2006 vs. SJS L 5 12 7 .583 0 0 28:51 3 2 0
Nov 18, 2006 vs. PHX W 3 39 36 .923 0 0 59:41 3 0 0
Nov 16, 2006 vs. PHI L 4 30 26 .867 0 0 58:50 4 0 0
Nov 13, 2006 vs. SJS W 2 18 16 .889 0 0 59:55 2 0 0
Nov 7, 2006 vs. COL W 5 34 29 .853 0 0 60:00 3 2 0
Nov 4, 2006 vs. PHX
1 7 6 .857 0 0 33:11 1 0 0
Nov 1, 2006 vs. PIT O 4 23 19 .826 0 0 62:45 3 1 0
Oct 27, 2006 vs. CBJ L 2 14 12 .857 0 0 58:16 2 0 0
Oct 25, 2006 vs. MIN L 3 29 26 .897 0 0 57:30 2 1 0
Oct 23, 2006 vs. COL L 6 32 26 .813 0 0 40:00 3 3 0
Oct 18, 2006 vs. MIN O 2 27 25 .926 0 0 60:25 2 0 0
Oct 16, 2006 vs. DET L 3 27 24 .889 0 0 58:32 1 1 1
Oct 12, 2006 vs. DAL L 4 29 25 .862 0 0 60:00 3 1 0
Oct 10, 2006 vs. NYI W 2 25 23 .920 0 0 59:53 2 0 0
Oct 6, 2006 vs. ANA L 4 32 28 .875 0 0 59:19 3 1 0

Do you see the same pattern?

Dan is yet to start a game and NOT give up two or more goals! Regardless of the W/L outcome (which is poor, again), Cloutier does not warrant, heck, or even stand a chance of turning out numbers and co-players confidence that Garon has established recently.


I'm no Cloutier or Crawford basher, mind you (even though I do vent anytime someone brings to mind the extension given to Dan BEFORE he played a single game in a King uniform). In my opinion though, it is perfectly within the confines of proper big-level coaching skills to name a starter based on being hot, having better numbers and being physically and mentally ready to take the challenge of the next game. And to communicate it to himself, the goalies in question and the team itself. Heck, perhaps to us, the blogosphere and the media, for a change...


All in all, at the moment, the Kings , have one NHL-quality goaltender (MG) and will be better off sticking to him while he provides the goods. It might (and probably will) not be forever, but for now - Garon gives the team a better chance to win.

Game 24: Kings @ Dallas Stars 3:5

Kings found themselves with their backs on the ice too many times in Dallas.
This has been an overall trend playing the Stars this season so far.

(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)


A hole in Dallas too deep for the Kings to crawl out of

LA goals from: Dustin Brown (2), Alex Frolov

DAL goals from:
Boucher (3), Zubov, Lehtinen (en)

Pros: 3-0f-7 power play
opportunities converted on the road against top Western Conference team should net a closer game, if anything. While Frolov continued his scoring binge, it was very refreshing to see Brown work the PP in the crease back again. Regardless of the obvious cons, the game might have a totally different result if LA converted with the pulled Mathieu Garon a minute before the end of the third period. In summary - close, but no cigar.

Cons: Bad habits continue as the Kings keep on losing goals in streaks (getting out of the 0-3 hole on the road against the top defensive team? Naaah...). Six Kings penalties in the first period laid groundwork for amazing Brian Boucher scoring night on the point.

niedziela, 26 listopada 2006

Game 23: Kings @ San Jose Sharks 3:6

Kings get tatooed by a former Lombardi team

LA goals from: Scott Thornton, Dustin Brown, Lubo Visnovsky

SJS goals from:
Vlasic, Bernier, Thornton, Marleu, Goc, Pavelski

Pros: First career game of young defensman Peter Harrold. He head an assist on the Brown goal and ended the night +1 with
almost 14 mins of TOI. Not bad, eh? It was yet another game where the Kings score three or more goals away from Staples, yet the goaltending can't keep them in a game.

Cons: Getting scored upon six times when the home team misses two of their major rifles (Cheechoo and Michalek)? Not me, I just wanna wash and go (home and bury my head in a pillow wailing...). Dan Cloutier goes 7-of-12 and is closing in on a worst starting goalie W-L and GAA and %SV numbers in the league... The second period [0-4] kills the Kings again, especially the three SJS goals in a span of three-odd minutes hurt the royal self-confidence. Things aren't looking good if your team allows first-ever NHL goals to rookies Vlasic and Pavelski.

piątek, 24 listopada 2006

Hitchcock's a poor match for struggling Blue Jackets

I find it strange and somewhat disturbing that a coach of the reputation of Ken Hitchcock decided to take the first bait thrown at him and swapped his Flyers scouting consultant pass for a Blue Jackets head coach position so soon.

I really do.

Well, the Blue Jackets are so miserable these days that 'Hitch' has probably nothing to lose. If it turns out, as his opponents claim, that "he can't coach in the new NHL", all the blame for his coaching failure in Ohio can be shed onto players' inexperience, strong division rivals or lack of owner/management commitment. On the other hand, if he does succeed, well, hockey community of Columbus - meet your saviour.

Having said that, though, I think Hitchcock and Blue Jackets are not a good match. Why? The former Stars and Flyers head coach has shown propensity to overuse game-worn veterans of which there are few and far between in Columbus. I'm also not sure how the most offensively-gifted young guns on the team [Nash, Zherdev, Vyborny] will take Hitchcock's defense-oriented schemes and patterns.

Says Damien Cox of the Toronto Star:

"In Dallas and Philly, he was viewed primarily as a hard-driving, defence-first coach, and that may be what he turns out to be in Ohio, as well. There were suggestions in his final days with the Flyers, however, that he lacked the hockey philosophies necessary to succeed in the "new," faster NHL."
If the Flyers example should hold, the young players did not exactly thrive under Ken's idealogy, to say the least.

While the coach has been known around the league as a paragon of ambition and drive, I doubt he has enough soft skills to get the message across to his guys. The age difference does not help either, as evidence by the rants Hitch has had in Philadelphia with the former Phantoms, (probably with the noble exception of RJ Umberger).


Is there an ounce of doubt deep down in Hitchcock's heart as well?:

"I wasn't sure I wanted this job when I went for the interview. I thought I'd go through the interview process but after it was over, I knew I wanted it. This is a really good gig," said Hitchcock, who has a three-year contract but has no player-personnel title as well.
Well, one thing is for sure. In order to clear the obstacles Hitchcock and Blue Jackets have to face a first, and odd, test as early as today. Columbus meets Philly at Wachovia Center this afternoon. I don't care how Hitch is reacted to by the orange-and-blacks, what I'm going to look forward to is the level of energy the team in white brings to the ice.

This might be as good sign as any of things to come in Columbus under Hitchcock's mighty hand. After all, the coach has a lot to prove to a lot of people. Including the undersigned.


(photo courtesy of www.courierpostonline.com)

środa, 22 listopada 2006

Kings come out shooting and find the net

Don't look now but the gloomy days of Kings scoring a goal per game (or less) seem to have been over. At least for now.

The Kings went through a stretch of ten games from October 12 (loss vs Stars) through October 28 (loss at Stars, again) where they only had three games where they scored more than a goal per game.

Things have changed since the winning tally against the Rangers at home on October 30. In the next nine games, Los Angeles put together a scoring binge, averaging almost 3.8 goals per game, and most importantly getting 10 points out of the nine games.

The important thing is to this trend to continue through the next stretch through December 3. It will be no easy feat, as the Kings are away against their season foe Stars, Sharks and cross-town Ducks, all with winning records and rifles ready to shoot. At home Los Angeles is going to play stingy defensive-minded teams as Flames and Devils. About the only "easier" spot in the schedule in the turn of November and December is the November 30 game at Phoenix.

How do the Kings keep up the scoring?

1. Get Lubo Visnovsky more involved in taking shots, especially on the power play. While we're at it Aaron Miller and Dustin Brown should take more shots, too.

2. Put Brian Willsie with Anze Kopitar (and perhaps Brown for protection) on the same line. Willsie has proven that with a gifted play-maker (Ovechkin last year in Washington), he's capable of putting up good numbers.

3. Keep making Frolov go to the net as he has been most productive NOT lingering behind the goal and/or the top of the circle.

My predictions for the Sharks/Stars games?

One hard-earned point, unless we can win the overtime shootout session (first time this season?).

Game 22: Kings vs Phoenix Coyotes 5:3


Frolov - Alexander the Great?
(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

LA gets second wind to clinch the sudden nail-biter

LA goals from: Alex Frolov (2), Rob Blake, Craig Conroy, Scott Thornton (en)

PHO goals from: Laraque, Perreault, Saprykin


Pros: Third straight two-goal game from Frolov brings back memories of Luuuc Robitaille (last Kings player to achieve the feat). Alex goes to the net much more often and apparently with good results. While it was frustrating to see the Kings lose three straight goals (including two in 42 seconds at the end of the second period), the good thing is they rebounded to scoop to points off the ice. The power play did the damage to the Coyotes going 3-for-8. Derek Armstrong and Jeff Cowan are back from the IR.


Cons: How can you let a weak team on the road like Phoenix back into a game at home? Blake left in the second with a groin injury and his status for the game at the Sharks later today is
still questionable:

"It's not that bad," Blake said Sunday. "I took today off, and tomorrow we don't practice. We'll see how it is after that. But I don't think this is too serious."
The Kings have recalled Peter Harrold to Los Angeles to to the uncertainty regarding Blake and readiness to play by Oleg Tverdovski.

wtorek, 21 listopada 2006

Friends now

Much to the disbelief of the hockey world, the two most unlikely Toronto Maple Leafs have made their peace with each other. Michael Peca and the 'bad guy' who almost ended his career - Darcy Tucker, claim they have made up for bad blood and all and made up for the lost time between them:

"Sometimes, if you go through something like that, our friendship now seems to be stronger than most friendships I've had because we've had that past and we were able to kind of make up from that," Peca said yesterday. "It was never an issue, and if anything, not just Darcy and I, but our boys, our wives and our families have become very close."
The net profit of this change in the Leafs dressing room and on the ice is clearly visible. Peca has brought a huge boost to the slumping Toronto penalty kill and is indispensable in the face-off circle, while Tucker leads the team in goals scored with 12 in 21 games. They have also played on one line together and shown good understanding and discipline.

What makes a turnaround like this happen?
Is there still place for f-o-r-g-i-v-e-n-e-s-s in the new NHL? What else could it be?

niedziela, 19 listopada 2006

Dressing room quotes after the Philly loss

Basically, just what we wanted and expected to hear, but it's good the team and coach admit they thought the one against Philly was in the bag. Prematurily, it turned out:

"All of sudden we have a two-goal lead and then we sat back,"
goaltender Dan Cloutier said. "We're not the type of team
that can sit back and just hope."


and coach Marc Crawford:

"This was a tough one, there is no doubt about it. There is nothing you can say to make it easier on our fans, or in the room. We just have to make sure we learn the lesson quickly."

The question is: how quickly?

Game 21: Kings vs Philadelphia Flyers 3:4

Kings pay for careless coasting in the third


Coach Marc Crawford needs to get on top of his players
to help them remain focused

(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Alex Frolov (2), Brian Willsie
PHI goals from: Umberger (2), Sanderson, Gagne.

Pros: Apart from Dustin Brown and more Americanized in his approach to game Frolov, pretty much everyone looked average in this strange game, which for the most part was rather slow-going and to be honest - dull.

Cons: The Kings losing focus for a three-minutes span in the third when the Flyers erased the deficit and went in front. The referee mistake on the Weaver goal ("On the delayed penalty the penalized team needs to possess and control the puck for the referee to stop the play", as read from the rulebook by Bob Miller. "The Flyers had... neither" - Jim Fox) basically change the outlook of the third period, but there is no excuse for a coasting exercise the LA team put on since the zebras blunder. Not to put it on his shoulders, but Anze Kopitar has shown early signs of fatigue in this game.

sobota, 18 listopada 2006

Kings Awards are here! (for games 11-20)

The thing we all need to bear in mind is that the Kings did relatively poorly in that span [3W-5L-2OTL], while certainly some individual measures could be taken,

*** Winner ***

Alexander FROLOV, LW - he was virtually everywhere, to be honest. Frolov plays a lot of minutes in all three on-ice situations, which is especially strange given his rather fragile body-frame. He picked his scoring pace up very much in the latter part of the period in question, scoring seven goals (twice two per night) and getting five assists since the 4-1 win over the Rangers. About the only place the Russian LW needs a boost is the PP scoring.

** Runner-up **
Dustin BROWN, LW/RW - the wild beast has awoken. Dustin took a longer time to unwind for his physical presence to be felt, but boy was it good to wait! I don't know if the NHL keeps a stat for the number of hits, but Brown might as well lead this category hands down. Fearless fighter with a bit of scoring touch as well [two goals, three assists in the period].


*Third place*
Anze KOPITAR, C - mainly for his finess, even though his linemates not always caught up with him. A creative centerman who keeps scoring points to keep him in the rookie scoring chase [currently first, in front of Malkin, Carle, Stastny and Penner].


Honorable mentions:
I should mention Lubo Visnovsky for overall puck movement and getting the play out of the defensive zone. Another mention for Rob Blake only to point him in the right direction [more production from non-PP situations].

Game 20: Kings vs San Jose Sharks 4:2

Stuffing it back to the Sharks shows royal composure


Dustin Brown checks the Sharks into the losing ways
(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Alex Frolov (2), Lubo Visnovsky, Dustin Brown
SJS goals from: Michalek, Thornton

The pros: Great offensive game by Frolov (added an assist), which practically seizes the Three Star award for games 11 through 20 for the Russian forward. The powerplay seemed to click to on the rare Shark infractions, going 2-for-3. Season debut for Marty Murray on the line with Anze Kopitar and Brown brought one takeaway and 5FW at 16:27 of TOI. Brown applied a huge hit on Joe Thornton, which left the San Jose player with his ears ringing. The Kings' PK goes 4-for-4 against the NHL leading PP unit. And one more: outshooting the Sharks 38-15? WoooW!

The cons: Goals let in by Dan Cloutier could again be categorized as 'softish' to 'stoppable'. I know the guy is a notorious slow starter, but heck, we're almost into December now!

Interview with Anze Kopitar

I love it when I can recommend a good interview - especially when it's one of the first our budding star has given since his ascencion to SoCal reverence. Here's a key excerpt on Anze Kopitar's co-operation with the coach, even though I would read the whole thing if I were you:

Q: Obviously you're high in coach Crawford's plans. Is his style much different than what you were accustomed to?

A: No. Actually, his character is very similar to that of my dad (Matjaz Kopitar is now a head coach of Acroni Jesenice, who are participating in Austrian national league EBEL with some success). He demands order and discipline and each player to give his maximum. I'm used to having a coach like that.
Kopitar for Kalder Trophy? ;)

czwartek, 16 listopada 2006

An opportunity to be seized

(photo courtesy of: www.allposters.com)

The Los Angeles Kings head into an extended weekend with a two-game series at home against two of the current NHL cellar-dwellers: Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes. It would be commendable if they went to sleep on Saturday night with four solid points on the heels of two victories, where exciting on-ice action is balanced with satisfatory end-results.


I am perfectly aware that the Flyers [4-12-2 for 10 points] have shown some signs of life recently, averaging almost four goals per game in their last three contests (including a 7-4 win last night at Anaheim). At the same time, Philly still remains Philly with their motionless d-men, easy to solve offensive patterns and frequently injured key personnel (though Peter Forsberg is back at least for now).

All in all, the tonight's game seems like a perfect opportunity for our bangers (Dustin Brown and Tom Kostopoulous) to squash some life out of the pillar-like Flyer veterans only for quick, finesse scorers like Alex Frolov and Mike Cammalleri to put some numbers on the board. It might not be very pretty, but constant pressure applied also by our defensive corps, especially on the power play, just might get the job done.


Same thing applies to the Saturday night meeting against the howling Coyotes [5-12-0 for 10 points]. A couple of quick goals in the first period should send the game into the right direction, especially given the fact that Phoenix does not seem to have an answer to the dynamics of Anze Kopitar in their defensive zone. It's a good time to take advantage of the injuries of Shane Doan and Mike Comrie, so that two points can be secured. I would not rule out a relatively high-scoring affair, here.

All in all, it would be very difficult to comprehend the current strength of this franchise if we do not end up with at least three points from these two games.

środa, 15 listopada 2006

Forbes values LA Kings

The Kings almost doubled their value since 1995 when Mr Anschutz and Mr Roski bought the franchise. And that in hockey desert - Southern California. Impressive!

Conroy's East Coast location

Finally, after weeks of speculation Craig Conroy and his chef's knife have been traded to the East Coast team!! The new location is in Potsdam, NY just across the border from Ottawa, Ont. where Craig and his father-in-law will partner in modernization and management of the "Pete's" restaurant:

"He wanted to come into the restaurant business with me, so he's my partner now," Tommy Costanzo (CC's father-in-law) said.

The place needs a huge overhaul, granted, but it's a start, isn't it? Cosy little place where you could drop by after another disheartening loss with the Senators, should it come to it.

By the way, apart from the shark-serving Owen Nolan's place and Wayne Gretzky's one, are there any more NHL players that own a restaurant?

wtorek, 14 listopada 2006

Robitaille rises to the top

If you missed it, Luc Robitaille has a new day job. He's been promoted to the position of alternate governor on the Kings and:
"will focus primarily on the Kings business operations and community relations"
Which is what, to be exact? Anyone in the know regarding what it is that Luc will be responsible for?

poniedziałek, 13 listopada 2006

Games 18-19 Kings vs San Jose Sharks 3:7, Kings vs Minnesota Wild 2:3 OT

Sharks bring their A-game to Staples

Patrick Marleau was unstoppable that night at Staples
(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

LA goals: Brian Willsie, Alex Frolov, Sean Avery
SJ goals: Marleau (3), Cheechoo (2), Bernier, Erkhoff


The pros: Being able to see what a Lombardi-created team looks like on ice. And there was a lot to be seen.


The cons: Basically, giving up four first-period goals in five minutes, which set the tone for the game. Porous defence in front of shaky Mathieu Garon who was hung out to dry... The Kings were outclassed, though not outhustled, especially in the first part of the game.


Kings fall just an inch short as Wild win in OT shootout

Todd White scores the shootout winner for Minny
(photo courtesy of: www.yahoo.com)

LA goals: Matthias Norstrom, Mike Cammalleri
MIN goals: Rolston, Foster

The pros: Nice effort from Cammy who almost handed the Kings two point with his shot in the OT. The Kings did play tougher against the physical Minnesota team, only later did it turn out it was spurred in part by a Tom Kostopolous 100 dollar bet :).

The cons: When will we see a Staples OT win by LA?

sobota, 11 listopada 2006

Monarchs update (part four, AFAIK)

As of now the Manchester Monarchs have been doing pretty well this season: the LA Kings affiliate has won four games, losing six, including one in OT. They do not have a top-40 AHL scorer nor a top-20 goalie, but this will change, hopefully soon.

The key scorers are defensmen Eric Werner (10 points, all assists) and Peter Harold 9 pts for 2 goals and 7 assists. Lauri Tukonen and recently called up Noah Clarke have each scored five goals. The negative on the offensive front has been Konstantin Pushkarev who is yet to find the back of the net in eleven games he has played.

The Monarchs fire-power got the boost when AHL leading scorer last season, Patrick O'Sullivan was moved across the continent to regain his Midas scoring touch. I'm fully confident that in the next two weeks, paired with Tukonen at his right, Sully will score early and often. In fact he already has a goal and three assists in the first four games he played in.

In goal, it has been mostly Jason LaBarbera, who has played a good majority of games, with Barry Brust only subbing on a couple of ocassions.

Defensman T.J. Kemp has been a pleasant surprise on the blueline:
"Always being the new guy on the team, it was tough, but it's a learning experience," said the second-year pro Kemp. "Last year, I was always the new guy. Because Reading (ECHL) is affiliated with Manchester, I played with a lot of the guys here last year. So I came in here and I was a lot more comfortable and confident. (Morris) gave me a chance played me on the PK and gave me a regular shift."
He's made so much progress that Joey Mormina, deemed to be a stallwart, was benched as a healthy scratch for one game.

Luck (and the zebras) has not really been a part of the Manchester season - see the Rochester American game recap. Well, we've seen some questionable games being called in the big league, no wonder the AHL has to have its share. I just hope what goes around, comes around.

The real Predator in da house

Paul Kariya has been known mostly for his elegance and brittle skills around the ice-rink. Not many of us have known that the real Predator in the house is the 27-year old Noriko, Paul's sister. In the ring, with the "g" at the end, not "k".

And it looks like, she's got her sights set pretty well at making it big:
“I want the sport to get to the point where you can’t see a difference between men and women, stylistically,” said Kariya, who is 5 feet 1 and 118 pounds. “Till people follow women’s boxing, not because you’re someone’s daughter or sister, but because you’re talented.”
And she's a tough act to follow, too:

"Last month, when the Predators played the Devils at Continental Arena, Noriko sat 11 rows up from the visitors’ bench. Paul did not know she was there; she did not tell him. He had not given her a ticket; she had not asked. After the Predators defeated the Devils in a shootout, there were no words or greetings. That’s the way she likes it.

“I’m not very close with any of my brothers,” she said."

Well well well, first Laila Ali, then Mia St. John - is it me, or are the female boxing challengers getting more and more atractive? ;). Just don't tell them that, I wouldn't like to get punched in the nose next time I'm rink-side. Beg your pardon - RING-side.

(photo courtesy of www.nytimes.com)

piątek, 10 listopada 2006

Inside Hockey perspective on the Kings

Really, a good collection of quotes, player info with a little insight that we might have wanted to get
from the LA Times before they decided to virtually next to abandon the coverage of the team. Have a good read.

Missing in action: Rick Nash


Nash is out looking for his scoring touch
(photo courtesy of: www.cnn.net)

Ok, I admit I got the guy as my first-line left-winger in the fantasy pool, and Rick is nowhere to be seen production-wise this season. This is his line as of today:

13 GP 4 G (including one last night) 6 A 3 PPG and he's not even trying to get a decent number of shots on goal in at least half of his outings (only five games with 5 or more SoG)!

Where has he gone? He should be a brute force in the Columbus Blue Jackets attack and he's clearly dogging it. Anyone could offer a good enough reason for me not to go ahead and trade him outright to some-LW-starved-fantasy-team?


He's been healthy, hasn't he?

Fewer bodies on defence...

It's quickly turning into a shortage of bodies in the Kings' defensive corps: I have just learned that we have lost Brent Sopel, the most point-producing D-man LA has had this season.

The reason? :
"[...] because of a broken right ankle, an injury suffered in a game Oct. 25 against the Minnesota Wild."
He's got a broken bone in his left hand to go along with it. Bad bad news.

To add insult to inury:
"The Kings will also be without center Alyn McCauley longer, as he suffered what he called a hiccup in his rehabilitation from two surgeries on his left knee. McCauley, who was practicing with the team until Monday, said his knee was "a little more sore than I would like it to be. We decided the best thing was to shut it down and not push back.""
The healthy defensmen are: Visnovsky, Blake, Miller, Norstrom, Dallman, Weaver and Tverdovsky. Not a particularly fear-striking group at this stage.

If only we could still deal Craig Conroy to Ottawa for a Volchenkov...

Q&A with Sean Avery

In case you missed it ESPN's David Amber ran an interview with our own golden boy Sean Avery yesterday. Here are the hottest chunks:

"Q: How does an undrafted, average-sized guy like you find himself playing in his fifth NHL season, already with a Stanley Cup ring, and making more than a million dollars a season?

A: Man, I don't know, I guess probably a little luck. Maybe I shouldn't say luck, I just worked hard. I just took my opportunity and ran with it. I found a role of maybe pissing a lot of people off, and it just escalated from there, I guess. [...]

Q: How difficult is that, playing a big-guy role without the size?

A: It's funny, I don't realize I'm not 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3; I think I am delusional and feel as big as those guys. [...]

Q: When you're done with hockey, what are we going to see Sean Avery doing?

A: Not sure, I haven't decided between sitcoms and movies yet".

Classic Sean, eh? Great :). Do you think he's such a pest in private life as well? Or is it just his "business face"?

Photo: Elisha Cuthbert and Sean Avery (courtesy of www.elishacuthbert.dk)

Game 17: Kings @ Colorado Avalanche 6:5

Converted scoring chances work for LA



"Look, how I scored!" says Scott Thornton
(photo courtesy of: www.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Sean Avery (2), Craig Conroy, Lubo Visnovsky, Scott Thornton, Anze Kopitar
COL goals from: Svatos, Wolski, McLean, Sakic, Arnason.

The pros: Another entertaining offensive game with much better result (a second win away from Staples this year). The major difference was not the number of scoring chances, but very good execution thereof. First SHG of the season scored by Avery and first of the season (unbelievable, huh?) for Conroy and Thornton. Several key stops by Dan Cloutier, which can only be partially blamed for not more than two of the Avs goals. Season-opening 'bout for the newly called-up Tim Jackman (vs Lappy).

The cons: The Kings still get dominated quite easily for long stretches of time when they have the lead. Getting scored upon five times in an away game and still coming out with a "W" won't cut it every night - our defense needs to be tighter.

Highly gouted man

Ok, I've got gout. My right foot is swollen to the degree where I need to use a crotch to barely move around the house. My blood tests are coming out early next week and from what I've heard already a change in lifestyle as well as eating and drinking habits (one decaf, please!) are coming up.

Luckily, as part of my diet I do NOT need to ditch hockey :). There's some more game reports and bits and pieces from around the league coming up in the next 12 hours or so.

Speaking of gout, though. Do you happen to know any home-made methods for pain relief? I'd be grateful :).

wtorek, 7 listopada 2006

Game 16: Kings @ Phoenix Coyotes 4:6

Defense coughs up an early two goal lead amid flurry of goals


Shane Doan leads Coyotes to an LA upset
(photo courtesy of: www.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Anze Kopitar, Tom Kostopoulos, Derek Armstrong, Alex Frolov
PHO goals from: Doan (2) , Lisin, Laraque, Jovanovski, Seidenberg.

The pros: Huge game offensively by Kopitar - at times it almost seems as if he tries to do too much to create scroing chances for his partners while they are sometimes not on the same page with him.

The cons: Letting the worst NHL offense score five (5) unanswered goals is not exactly something to write home about. Numerous blunders and miscommunications by Brent Sopel and Oleg Tverdovsky (mainly, though not only). Another con is inability to get game torrents from games played in Phoenix. I have watched great majority of Kings matches this season, albeit none from the desert. Weird.

Trading Craig Conroy

As it turns out veteran center Craig Conroy is the most sought-after commodity in the NHL open market. There's more evidence than simple word on the street that Conroy is targeted by the Ottawa Senators, looking to bolster their second-line center position. Even though #22 has mainly played a defensive role on the Kings this year (due to the absence of Alyn McCauley), he has the resume and the skills in his 34-year old body to feed the tape-to-tape passes to RW Daniel Alfredsson.

Even though the main reason for the GM get-together in Toronto is straightening out the scheduling irregularities, I can't believe Dean Lombardi and John Muckler won't find enough time to talk. Here's a shortlist of when to pull the trigger and when to hold his fire for Mr. Lombardi.

1. Conroy for Brian Lee, D
Lee is #9 overall from 2005 draft and has been nothing but praised all the way. Dominating as he is, imagine him paired with Jack Johnson and/or Brian Boyle on the Kings blue line. By this time the Anaheim Ducks d-men combo of Niedermayer and Pronger will have hung their stakes.

Hartman says: Pull the trigger, Deano!


2. Conroy for Anton Volchenkov, D

Volch has 3+ NHL seasons under his belt and due to this experience might fit into the more imminent Lombardi plans even better. Steady defensive d-man (to be paired with Oleg Tverdovsky?) and a positive impact on Alex Frolov with whom he used to play on the Russian national team. No brainer.

Hartman says: Pull the trigger, Deano!


3. Conroy for Christoph Schubert, D

The 24-year old German blueliner has not turned out to be anything special to date (apart from being a PIM monster), so unless the Senators are willing to throw in a relatively high draft pick (say not lower than third round)...

Hartman says: Hold your fire, Deano!


4. Conroy and Aaron Miller for Anton Volchenkov,D and Antoine Vermette, F

Flexible forward Vermette has been rumored to be shopped on a number of previous ocassions, apparently with no takers. If this was a deadline deal, I'd probably recommend pulling the trigger, as both Conroy and Miller are not expected to be back with the Kings anyway. However, at the beginning of November (unless Senators substitute Vermette with Mike Fischer)...


Hartman says: Hold your fire, Deano!


5. Craig Conroy for draft pick(s)?
Hmm, if we could get back the second round pick we seem to have wasted prematurely on
Dan Cloutier, I'd get on the table and do the tummy-dance. Will the Sens be tempted to succumb as much though?

One way or another, it seems Conroy (and his beatiful unseen wife ;)) are a thing of the past very soon. It will be the perceived value of CC as the prototypical second-line two-way center in the eyes of John Muckler that the return the Kings get will be set.


If I had my way, I'd go for options 1) or 2).

poniedziałek, 6 listopada 2006

One thousand of them for Rob Blake!


Rob Blake re-enters the Kingdom
(photo courtesy of www.slam.canoe.ca)

The weekend game against the Phoenix Coyotes (recap to follow soon) was number 1000th (one thousandth) in an NHL regular season for defensman Rob Blake. He played 678 of them in the Kings uniform.

"It's just another game," Blake said. "That's what we do. We're hockey players. Only 500 to go. I'm three-quarters of the way there.

That's your goal as a player. You want to be around this long. I guess you recognize it and move on."

Congratulations, Rob on this notable achivement! I'm hoping that you will also be able to play more than 49 career play-off games in the Kings uniform (which you have to date) as well!

Game 15: Kings vs Pittsburgh Penguins 3:4 OT

Entertaining offensive game brings one point only


The puck watches goalie Cloutier's back way to often this season...
(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Michael Cammalleri, Dustin Brown, Rob Blake.

PIT goals from: Malkin (2) , Staal, Welsch,

The pros: Very entertaining game with quite a lot of scoring chances for the Kings (games like those have not come about very often lately). Great work in the offensive zone by the likes of Alex Frolov (also on PK) and terrific forechecking and finishing checks by omnipresent Brown. Good focus on the part of the Kings to open frames one and two with quick goals.

The cons: Shaky play in the corners by Aaron Miller - his "flatfootedness" lead directly to losing the puck in the corner and successive goal for the Penguins. Veterans Brian Willsie, Craig Conroy and Scott Thornton combined for 0 (zero) shots on goal. Dan Cloutier is yet to steal the game for LA: all of the four goals could be decribed as stoppable in a kiprusoffian vocabulary. I'm still waiting for a string of purely spectacular saves in a game from either King goaltender.

A good game overall, just a tad unlucky for the home team, as they watched Evgeni Malkin make history with his sixth goal in the first six career games in the NHL.

piątek, 3 listopada 2006

There's more of us, Kings bloggers

I would like to take this opportunity and point you in the general direction of what Matt Murray has been doing in his Life in Hockeywood blog. He's very down-to-earth and amusing at the same time as he spreads the word about ice-hockey in SoCal.

Way to go, Matt!

środa, 1 listopada 2006

Monarchs season to date / O'Sullivan sent down

One of the Manchester, NH locals and frequent poster at LetsGoKings.com Dano has this to say about the Monarchs so far (as of 31/10/206). Rather than paraphrase what he wrote, I decided to quote his post in its entirety.

The only addition to the below is the Monarchs will get a boost from last season's AHL star Patrick O'Sullivan who was sent down as the Kings wanted to create a roster spot for Alyn McCauley coming back from a knee injury. Placing Sully with Lauri Tukonen at wing on the first scorin line will not only boost the team production, but also help regain some of the offensive confidence for the Irish lad.

And now onto the Monarchs wrap-up - e
njoy the first hand observations:

"[Monarchs] - They're doing ok. Theyr'e a young team again this year. Morris does a radio interview every Tuesday morning. This morning he talked about how they came together very quickly as a team and there's great chemistry early...

They're currently ranked #1 the AHL on the PP (0.32) and last (27th) on the PK (0.698). Of the 24-goals they've scored this season, 16 have come on the PP. Morris talked about this today and that obviously they're hoping to see more scoring during ES situations. Also, more of the scoring in bunches like coming back and scoring an ES goal shortly after scoring a PP goal the other night. Momentum. They'll be spending "a little" time working on the PK again this week...

Tukonen has been moved back out onto the wing and Gabe Gauthier is centering a line with Tukonen on the RW and Pushkarev on the LW.

Other lines this past weekend:

Roussin - Clarke - Zeiler
Moulson - Murphy - Jackman
Kanko - Clarke - Hoffman

PP1: Pushkarev - Jackman - Tukonen with Kemp & Harrold on the points...

PP2: Zeiler - Clarke - Roussin with Murphy and Werner on the points...

A few mix and match lines during all situations...

Hoffman is actually a decent skater and hockey player, plus he's big and intimidating yet no show-boat tactics.

Harrold is a real good offense minded d-man and a decent defensive d-man. He had a rough go of it on Sunday. He was on the ice for 4 of the 5 goals against.

The OT 4-on-4
2 PPGs against
1 ES

His partner was T.J Kemp for all the goals against. I doubt they'll have two smaller, offense minded d-men, partnered on the PK much more...

Pusharev is a nice kid, great sense of humor. He'll bust your balls if you get him going. Needs to play more of a team game...

Tukonen is playing very well. Showing no signs of favoring the shoulder at all. He's initiating contact and playing a physical game...

Clarke is playing very well. Should be one of the first, if not the first guy called-up...

Giuliano was scratched on Sunday with an upper body injury...