End of the Road for Kings Point Streak (w/ video)

Prior to the game Kings Coach Terry Murray said the team needed a win over the Islanders to make a good road trip a great one.

So, 3-1-2 is going to have to be good enough.

Clearly, his players weren't ready to go when the puck first dropped. However, the same cant be said for the home team, who perhaps hadn't forgotten the 5-1 beat down they received in LA back in November.

That lone goal at Staples Center came from Rob Schremp, who played on the same line with Kings captain Dustin Brown back in his bantam hockey days (as explained here by his agent). Unfortunately, Brown couldn't match the marker on Saturday night.

Instead, another player with ties to the Kings scored twice for the Islanders. Matt Moulson, once a prospect in the LA system and the brother-in law of Jonathan Quick, posted tallies in the second and third periods.

Here it is in a nutshell though - Quick didn't look sharp at all, while the guy at the other end of the ice (Al Montoya, he of only four previous NHL starts - half of which were against the Kings) stopped all of LA's 35 shots.

So, after being shutout 3-0 the team is on their way back to Los Angeles. Sunday is an off day and practice will resume Monday at TSC in El Segundo.

Video highlights from the New York feed (after the jump)...

Ponikarovsky's Points and Westgarth's Fists

One of my favorite quotes from a Kings player as they wrapped up practice last week in El Segundo (before heading out on this six game road trip through the Easter Conference) was Alexei Ponikarovsky saying "I think all the teams we're going to play on this trip are pretty good teams. So, it's going to be a tough one. We just have to bring a good game as a group and win them all."

While he hasn't been 100% right, he's been pretty damn close - as the Kings have gone 3-0-2.

But, what about today's game with the Islanders? After all, New York has been hovering around the bottom of their conference all season. Plus, the Kings have already played powerhouse teams like Pittsburgh and Washington on this stretch.

Could this be one of the oft-talked about trap games?

Ponikarovsky had a few things to say about that notion...

"That game is not a tough one because mentally you know (it's) the last game of the road trip. If you won the previous five, you just keep the streak going. If you didn't get enough wins, you're going to battle harder to get that one. The mindset has to be it doesn't matter who you play against, just get points."

And that they've done - so far.

Special Seasons Continue for LA Kings Prospects

Over the past few seasons the Kings have been blessed with stellar performances from several of their prospects playing junior hockey.

Andrei Loktionov won a Memorial Cup in 2009, Thomas Hickey captained Team Canada at the World Junior Championships, Brandon Kozun was the CHL's Top Scorer and Martin Jones the WHL's Top Goaltender - just to name a few.

This year, the club has already had a representative on all three medal winning teams at the World Junior Championships (Maxim Kitsyn/Russia gold, Brayden Schenn/Canada silver and Derek Forbort/USA bronze).

And things are heating up in all three of the CHL circuits, the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

In fact, it's not inconceivable that the Kings will have representatives on all four teams that make the Memorial Cup Tournament (comprised of the three league champions and the host city).

Kitsyn is now playing for the OHL's Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. They're hosting the tournament, so he's in.

Here's an update on three of the other leading candidates:

Brown Gets 2, Kings 1, NYR Wins (w/ MSG video)

Rolling, rolling, rolling.

Another game, another point for the LA Kings. That's 11 straight now without a loss in regulation (8-0-3). And just one shy of a dozen games in a row with at least a point.

Credit to the Kings for coming back twice to tie the game in the third period. However, overtime is becoming a habit. After only reaching the extra frame six times in the first 49 games, last night made it six OTs in the last nine. They need more offense. Not really new news though, right?

Dustin Brown - who talked about playing in his native New York and at MSG in this pregame article yesterday - had his most productive night in quite some time, picking up a pair of goals. It still wasn't enough to earn him a shot in the shootout though.

In an interesting note, an NHL.com writer commented last night "I don't get to see the Kings enough anymore, but it seems like Dustin Brown is more instinctive/comfortable/dangerous on the left side."

[more notes and video highlights after the jump]

Everybody Has a Comment on Sean Avery

You would be hard pressed to find a more polarizing person in hockey than the Rangers' Sean Avery.

Maybe even in all of sports.

The scrappy and mouthy forward has spent his off seasons dating famous women, interning at Vogue magazine and exploring the world of fashion.

He once told ESPN he used to play with dolls and enjoys a nice purse.

His Dallas Stars teammates hated him and a mini-revolt was underway even before the ink dried on his four-year, $15.5 million deal.

Yet, for all his troubles, his former coach in LA (Andy Murray) had this to say about him - "Sure, he's a real character. But he's become a pretty darn good hockey player for the Rangers." Later in the same interview he called him "underrated as a player"

The always nice Luc Robitaille called him his "little puppy" when Avery's name came up during a word association segment.

Legendary NHL agitator Theo Fleury called him "different" during his interview on MayorsManor.

However, long time NHL referee Kerry Fraser wasn't nearly as nice at first, calling him "troubled."  He then added, "but, a highly effective, skilled player."

LA Kings players on what it means to skate at MSG

Although every game is worth two points in the standings, some games just mean a little more.

It could be a guy's hometown, or his former team, or a division rival. There are a myriad of reasons why, yet some players look forward to certain nights with great excitement.

For some cities, it's not just the team, but the building too. It used to be that way for Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium and Maple Leaf Gardens. With those buildings being replaced with newer, more modern venues though, most of the mystique is gone.

Enter Madison Square Garden. It may be one of the older arenas in the NHL, but it still has all the charm and grace...OK, maybe not grace. But, you'll be hard pressed to see a game there and not have your heart beating a little faster. It's electricity personified.

And most of the players agree...

Jack Johnson - "Playing in Madison Square Garden, it's the greatest arena in the world. So, it's a cool thing. My family is going to come watch. They've never seen me play in Madison Square Garden before. That's my favorite arena to go to."

Reminiscing with Westgarth's Princeton Teammate

Daryl Marcoux is a 5'10" defenseman who played his college hockey at one of the finest learning institutions on the planet, Princeton University.

These days, he finds himself patrolling the blueline for the ECHL's Stockton Thunder.

With no disrespect to Nick Diaz and his 209 pride, that's not exactly a step up in the world.

Still, he's 'living the dream' as they say and remains optimistic about the future.

He was in town Wednesday night to play the Kings' ECHL affiliate (Ontario Reign) and after the game I caught up with him to talk about his former teammate Kevin Westgarth.

MM: Overall, is the Westgarth we see now similar to what you remember?

DM: In college everybody wears cages, so there's not a lot of fighting, not a lot of toughness. He definitely hit like a truck. He actually put up quite a few points, especially his senior year. He has an amazing slap shot and he actually has quite a bit of skill - as I'm sure people aren't quite aware of yet. I think as the years progress in the NHL he'll get his shot to move up into maybe a little bit different of a role and maybe play a tough guy role who plays on the third or second line.

MM: Second line?

Kings, Stoll Shoot Down Columbus Blue Jackets

The last time the Kings and Blue Jackets met LA had lost five straight games and wasn't exactly off to a hot start in 2011.

What a difference a month makes.

Entering play tonight in Columbus the Kings were 7-0-2 in their last nine games and finally seemed to have worked out whatever was ailing them just a few weeks ago.

They won a few games heading into the All Star break - which coach Terry Murray used to go back into his lab and try to create some team speed. In an interview posted here earlier this week, he said he liked what he has seen since then, explaining in detail about how he was using his centers.

This easily could have been a game where the Kings backed off, coming after two big wins over the weekend.  Instead, they scored the first goal of the game and kept charging all night long.

Rick Nash, who is slowly becoming the new Shane Doan or Brendan Morrow - a true Kings killer - scored a BEAUTIFUL goal to tie things at 2-2 in the second period.  Earlier this year Jarret Stoll said "You can't give him too much time and space."

So true.

In that same article he went on to say "If you respect good players too much (respect), by the end of the night they'll have three points."

Nash did.  One goal, two assists.

[more notes and video highlights after the jump]

STAT CHECK: LA Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets

The Kings are back in action later tonight and looking to pick up at least a point for their 10th straight game, having gone 7-0-2 recently.

They'll be taking on a Columbus team that is just a few points behind them in the Western Conference standings and a group on their own hot streak lately, posting a 8-3-2 mark in the their previous 13 games.

Here are ten things you need to know before the puck drops in a few hours...

* Columbus is 14-13-1 at home this season, Los Angeles 14-13-2 on the road. Both teams have won four of their last five games and seven of their last 10 overall. They also have 15 wins each when outshooting opponents.

* Oh so close - the Kings have scored 70% of their goals on the infamous five-on-five (105 out of 150 total goals), while the Blue Jackets have scored 69% in the same situation (102 out of 148)

* Columbus has played LA twice this season, both games at Staples Center. It took five or more goals to determine the winner each time. The Blue Jackets won the first contest 5-3. The Kings won the rematch 6-4.

* In those two games, Drew Doughty leads all players with five points (five assists). Three players have scored two goals for LA (Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll and Ryan Smyth). Rick Nash has been the top point producer on the Blue Jackets with four goals.

* Nash has 26 goals on the season. That's seven straight years with 25 or more goals. Can you name the only other current NHL player to also achieve that mark? Answer at the end of this article.

No Hollywood Script for Brayden Schenn's Return

Five different teams and over 100 different teammates, yet when it was all said and done Brayden Schenn found himself back home again - in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

The former NHL first round draft pick started the year in Los Angeles with the Kings. Since then, as has been well documented here on MayorsManor, he's played in the AHL, at the World Junior Championships and ultimately was traded.

On that day he was shipped from the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) to his hometown Saskatoon Blades.

As luck or scheduling would have it, the two teams were set to meet the very next day. However, due to a should injury, destiny would have to wait...until last night, when Schenn's new team traveled to Brandon to take on his former club.

The Blades were riding high, winners of 11 straight and undefeated with Schenn in the line-up. Meanwhile, the Wheat Kings were rebuilding after hosting the Memorial Cup last season.

Undisputed: Michal Handzus (full, extended video)

Throughout the season the Kings web team has been producing an eight-part series called Undisputed, with each video profiling a different player.

Below is the just released full, extended video featuring Michal Handzus...

For more on Handzus, take a look at this: 10 Tidbits on The Story of Zeus - a MayorsManor exclusive

The Mayor
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Other Undisputed videos:

Jack Johnson Undisputed

Jarret Stoll Undisputed

RECAP: GM Dean Lombardi on NHL Network

Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi was a guest on NHL on The Fly Monday night.

Here are the basic highlights. Note - these are near exact quotes, but partially paraphrased for brevity...

* The up and down year for the Kings is par for the course when you're dealing with young players. After starting the season 12-3 some guys thought this was going to be easy and they forgot how hard they have to work. We won a lot of early games when we didn't actually play that well. I hope we've learned from it. I think we have.

* Have you learned anything that changes how you approach the trade deadline? No. Many parts of our plan are coming together. Maybe some of our young players took a stumble, but in most cases our projections for where we'd be are pretty much on the mark. We knew then and we know now what we need.

* We haven't looked back on not completing a deal with Ilya Kovalchuk because that deal never made sense for us. We have a strong nucleus that's starting to come together. They need time to mature and we want to keep them together. We felt coming into the year we'd be one of the best defensive teams and we are. We'd like to improve the offensive, but not at the expense of doing something extreme.

If you'd like to listen to this interview via Kings Vision, click here.

The Mayor
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Kovy Finally Arrives in LA

10 Tidbits on the Home Opener

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RECAP: Terry Murray on NHL Home Ice Radio

Los Angeles Kings Coach Terry Murray joined the guys on The Power Play yesterday afternoon, a radio show on NHL Home Ice.

He talked about the recently play of Drew Doughty, winning on the road, the schedule, etc. But, first, they opened with some talk about Peter Forsberg, who retired earlier in the day. Murray had coached him in Philadelphia several years ago.

Here's a recap of the conversation...

* Murray said Forsberg was a great player, one of the most competitive players he's ever been around, could take a game over by himself, brought a great attitude and incredible level of skill. He was also glad to see Forsberg give it one more try before officially deciding he's done.

* (Host) For as disappointed as you were in the January homestand, you have to be equally as excited with how things are going on the road - (TM) We forgot how hard you have to work to win hockey games. It bit us very badly. We're on the road now and playing well. The guys are really digging in and competing hard. We've improved in the checking part of the game - that was a big focus for us coming into the road trip. There was some speed coming at us on the rush, coming through the neutral zone. We've made some adjustments. We put a focus on that, to be much better without the puck. And I think that's the big reason why we've been able to improve defensively lately.

...And Now You're Caught Up (2/14/2011)

Love is in the air today.

For those who are equally as passionate about freshly cut ice, hits in the corner, going five hole, penalty shots and hip checks - here are the ten stories to help catch you up on what's been going on in the world of hockey.

This week's notes include items on the Kings-Ducks rivalry, interesting things in Pittsburgh, future Kings, former Kings, roster changes and much more. Take a look...

* The Kings suffered a disappointing overtime loss in Pittsburgh last Thursday night. However, the feel good moment of the game may have come when the Penguins welcomed back defenseman Rob Scuderi with a tribute video. It was nice to see them honor a member of their recent Stanley Cup team, even though he was now playing for the opposition. If you missed it, you can watch it here.

* Staying in Pittsburgh for a moment, check out the picture of this giant, over-sized goalie mask the Penguins have put on display in their new building.  Love it!

* So much has been written about prospect Brayden Schenn this year some tend to forget about the defensive depth the Kings are stockpiling as well.  Sure, most people know about former first round draft pick Thomas Hickey, Russian Viatcheslav Voynov and free agent pick up Jake Muzzin (all playing in Manchester).  Yet, what about young Nic Deslauriers in the QMJHL - he's been impressive at several Kings camps and he's working his way up the rankings over at HockeysFuture.com too.  Their latest article has him listed as the third best blue liner in the Q.

Quick, Doughty, Kings down the Flyers (with video)

In October 2009, while in Las Vegas for a fairly meaningless exhibition game, defenseman Sean O'Donnell (then with the Kings) made a bold statement about goalie Jonathan Quick.

He said "I think he has what it takes to be an elite goalie in this league."

It's a comment that would have seemed innocent enough or as simple as a teammate propping up his netminder, except for one thing. At that point, Quick hadn't even played in 50 NHL games and was just one year removed from being in the ECHL.

Fast forward fourteen months and the Kings were in Philadelphia today to take on the Flyers, where O'Donnell now patrols the blue line.

The Kings came in on a modest 6-0-2 streak, however they had gone 0-9-1 in the City of Brotherly Love since the Flyers moved out of the old Spectrum.

Prior to the game enforcer Kevin Westgarth acknowledged the team was "looking for a little retribution" - having lost to the Flyers in LA back in December.

Anze Kopitar set up Drew Doughty just 17-seconds into the second period to put the Kings on the board first. Then, after Quick turned aside the first 25 Flyer shots, LA came into the third clinging to a precious 1-0 lead.

As noted in the 'Nine Things You Need to Know Today' pre-game article, the Kings were 17-0-0 when leading after two periods.

Make it 18-0-0.  Doughty's goal stood as the game winner and Quick saved 15 more shots in the third for his sixth shutout of the season.

Video highlights after the jump...

LA Kings vs Philadelphia Flyers Pre-Game Notes

The Kings are attempting to earn at least a point in their ninth straight game, having gone 6-0-2 recently.

With that in mind, here are nine things you need to know prior to the puck dropping at noon PST...

* The last time... Coming off of two of their best games of the year (against the Ducks and Sharks), the Kings lost back-to-back games to the Coyotes and Flyers to end 2010. Those were the only two games coach Terry Murray has pulled his starting goalie and the seven goals given up to the Flyers were the most all season

* As of late, the Flyers have owned the Kings (undefeated in six, 5-0-1 record). You have to go all the way back to the pre-lockout days to find the last Kings win (2002-04 season). Making matters even more daunting, the Kings have never won in the Flyers (not so) new (anymore) building, sporting an 0-9-1 record there. They exercised their demons in Calgary recently, can they do it again in Philadelphia today?

* The Kings continue to have a balanced attack when looking at goals scored by period (49 in the first, 50 in the second and 49 in the third). On the other had, the Flyers have been notoriously slow starters this season - scoring 47 goals in the first and then 66 in both the second and third periods. However, their third period stat is probably misleading, as it includes empty net goals too. The Flyers have the fewest shots in the third period (only 527, compared to 555 and 643). So, the key is to shut them down in the second...as evidenced earlier this year when they scored four goals on the Kings.

LA Kings Players on Second Chance with Flyers

Earlier today, in an article here, Kings resident tough guy Kevin Westgarth spoke about playing the Flyers for the second time this season.

Below, a few others weigh in on if they think it's an advantage...

Jack Johnson - Yes and no. It's still a hockey game. Everyone knows every player around the league pretty well, just because we've watched each other play enough. I wouldn't say it's an advantage just because we played them earlier this year. It will be a fun game, but it will be a tough game.

Kyle Clifford - Well, definitely, especially for young guys, you really don't know teams too well. Some teams you only get to play once. So, now I know what they're all about. We had our chances in that (first) game too. So, we're going to come prepared.

Alexei Ponikarovsky - Maybe. But, it doesn't change anything for us. We know what to expect. They're on top of the Eastern Conference right now, so we know what to do. They're a pretty tough team to play against and we have to bring our 'A' game.

So, that's one yes, one maybe and a yes/no combo.

About the only thing clear at the moment is that the Kings need another two points today.

For the Nine Things You Need To Know about today's game, check out the Pre-Game Notes article here.

The Mayor
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Interview (podcast) with Ian Laperriere

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Westgarth Watching Action On and Off The Ice

With the unbalanced schedule in the NHL, getting a chance to play an Eastern Conference team is rare enough for the Kings...getting a same-season rematch is practically unheard of.

Yet, that's what today's contest with the Flyers provides.

Their last match-up was a 7-4 defeat at Staples Center - a game that was tied 2-2 after one period. The Kings gave up four goals in the second period and the wheels came off late in the third when Kyle Clifford and Kevin Westgarth were given 10 minute misconducts and removed from the game in a 36-second span.

Regardless, they now know what playing the Flyers is all about. So, does that make preparing for today's game any easier than if they were playing an Eastern team for the first time?

Westgarth - "Seeing a team earlier in the season is always helpful. We don't see a lot of those teams from the East. You can do video and you can talk about their tendencies - inevitably it will be kinda similar to teams that you see (more regularly), so you can make some similes to another team that you maybe see a lot more. But, it's never the same and it's never the same personnel. So, yeah, I think for sure - we can't give them any opportunities within about 20 feet of the net. They have some unbelievable snipers on that squad. The last game ended up 7-4 and that was a tough game. I think we started out great and battled hard. But, we didn't have it in the end and that was one that kinda started our skid (in January). So, I think we're definitely looking for a little retribution there and getting two more super important points."

MM:  Is this one of those games where you circle it on the calendar thinking you're probably going to find a scrap or two in the game?