LA Kings center Anze Kopitar - What if? And what's next?

March 23, 1994 will forever be remembered as the night Kings captain Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe to become the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history.

I'm not so sure March 26, 2011 will have the same staying power over time. But, for now, it's the date that Kings players, fans and management can't erase from their minds.

When Anze Kopitar went down with an injury that afternoon it instantly created numerous 'what if' scenarios.

Perhaps, if he hadn't damaged his leg, we'd be talking about the second round today, instead of next season.

Thus, rightfully so, GM Dean Lombardi and coach Terry Murray brought him up several times during our recent de-brief meetings...

Lombardi on Kopitar's defensive improvement - "Over his first couple of years in the league...he was free-wheeling and it looked great on offense, but he was not a great defensive player. I think, this year, he became one of the best defensive players in the league. You've got a guy here now that has has already done the Yzerman, Sakic transformation. It usually took those guys until 25, 26 (years old) before they figured out how to be a complete player. This kid has done it at an early age. I think that's huge, particularly when you’re dealing with big bodies like San Jose down low. But that’s the irony of it. We all looked at it and thought missing his offense (would be an issue in the series), but we end up missing his defense."

They also missed his compete level - "I remember, during the season, the way he (Kopitar) competed with one-goal leads, the way he played at the ends of some games. It said, 'We're going to win this game.' You could just see where this guy said, 'We will not lose this game.' So, that stride is huge."

Kings forward Michal Handzus to join Team Slovakia

Fresh on the heels of announcements that Team Canada will include goaltender Jonathan Bernier and Team USA will feature Jack Johnson on defense, now comes word that Kings forward Michal Handzus will play for Slovakia, the host country for this year's IIHF World Championships.

Although the tournament is set to begin today, reports from Europe say Handzus and Blackhawks' forward Marian Hossa are on their way right now to join former King Pavol Demitra (who had a strong Olympic tournament last February in Vancouver) and current Rangers winger Marian Gaborik.

The team also features Jaroslav Halak of the St. Louis Blues in goal.

Handzus is an unrestricted free agent, having just completed a four-year contract with the Kings. Earlier this week, coach Terry Murray said he'd like to have him back (full interview here).



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Bernier to play for Team Canada, no word on Doughty

Team Canada added four more players to their roster for for the World Championships, including goaltender Jonathan Bernier.

The tournament begins today in Slovakia.

He'll join fellow goalies Devan Dubnyk of the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto's James Reimer (who was already named the starter for game one). None of the trio have been promised the number one role and all are expected to at least see some playing time.

No word yet on defenseman Drew Doughty. However, given that he wasn't part of today's announcement, it's looking like he won't be joining the team. Hockey Canada has stated they don't intend to invite any other players unless there is an injury.

If Bernier does play, it will be his first live action since coming on in relief of Jonathan Quick in a game versus San Jose back on April 4.  For the season, he was 11-8-3 (including three shutouts) with a 2.48 goals-against-average for the Kings.

Of course, Bernier has previous experience playing for Team Canada at the World Junior level (under-20) - something he briefly talked about during his 'looking back' interview here.



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POLL: Who should the LA Kings re-sign?

The Kings have a plethora of restricted free agents to evaluate - most notably, Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds.

However, they also have four unrestricted free agents they need to make decisions on by July 1st - Peter Harrold, John Zeiler, Michal Handzus and Alexei Ponikarovsky.

Let's focus on the latter two.

Earlier today I posted comments from coach Terry Murray regarding why he would want Handzus back - including saying, "He's a real linchpin kind of a guy. He's a leader. He’s a great example. He's a professional in all senses of the word - getting ready, doing the work that needs to be done to be a player." (read the full article here)

As for Ponikarovsky, he said "Big body, a 6-5" guy. I need him to score more, though," before later adding "It wasn’t because of poor play. I mean, he's trying, he cares. He’s going to the net. He's using his size most of the time. I just need more of what you've shown for seven years on your resume, a 20-goal scorer. What happened? He can do some good things."

Both decisions will basically come down to money (of course) and possible replacements (i.e. younger prospects and/or other players available via the free agent market or trade).

Ignoring money - or assuming the contracts were reasonable (as the Kings no longer have to over-pay to get players, they have plenty of prospects now to fill third and fourth-line roles)...

If you were Kings GM Dean Lombardi, what would you do?



Poll closes Saturday at noon PST.

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Doughty says the Kings will 'do anything to win'
.

Kings coach Murray on why he wants Handzus back

Remember high school math? You learned a bunch of stuff you thought you'd never use.

Well, here's your chance.

Michal Handzus' four-year career as an LA King could best be described as a bell curve (go look it up if you forgot).

The signing itself was panned and the first year didn't do much to squash the chatter. After all, four-million is a lot of coin for a guy that scored - gulp - seven goals.

He followed that up with 18 and 20-goal seasons, more typical of what GM Dean Lombardi was expecting. Additionally, he was the Kings best defensive player during that stretch.

This season, he looked to be on the downside of that bell curve - at least offensively speaking - posting just 12 goals. Some critics will argue he was playing with Alexander Frolov the two seasons prior, compared to 'carrying' Alexei Ponikarovsky this season. Perhaps.

Putting it all together, coach Terry Murray said he'd like to have him back...

"He's a real linchpin kind of a guy. He's a leader. He’s a great example. He's a professional in all senses of the word - getting ready, doing the work that needs to be done to be a player. The tough part for him (was that) I had to elevate him to a situation in the playoffs, because of circumstances. Somebody might look at it and say, 'Jeez, I don’t know,' but we know. He's an important guy.'

Oh, and here's one for you - how many games do you think Handzus has missed since signing with LA?  Remember, he was coming off of major knee surgery when he joined the Kings.

Answer - one. ONE GAME in four years.

Yes, Drew Doughty's contract will take top priority in the months to come. However, Lombardi said it looks like the salary cap will be going up, to "around 63 million."

Which is good news if the team wants to try and fit Handzus back into the fold.

Odds are, he'll be back. Expect a one-year deal for about two-million.



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LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi wants 'pissed off' players

At several points throughout the season, Kings GM Dean Lombardi has been talking about how his team handles success and, more importantly, failure.

After being excused from the post-season by the San Jose Sharks - in a series the Kings easily could have won - what's his gut telling him right now?

Lombardi - "I want guys 'pissed off.' I've said it before, you turn the corner when guys go home after a win (by the other team) and they're pissed off. I sense that. I've seen it before, you can tell when they're legitimately pissed off versus 'Yeah, I would have liked to win' or 'Yeah, I'm ticked off, but it was pretty good.' And they actually got there quicker than I thought.

"But, you know what - they really thought they could win this thing (the series with San Jose). And they kinda liked the fact that nobody gave them any chance, their best scorer is out, their other player is coming back from shoulder injury and they have no chance. Well, they took them to overtime in three games and essentially had 'em.

Lombardi on Williams, Parse, Loktionov, Schenn injuries

All things considered, the Kings have been pretty transparent with injuries of late. There wasn't a lot of the mysterious 'lower (or upper) body injury' stuff from several months ago.

Then again, it's hard to mask Anze Kopitar's leg injury when it played out live inside Staples Center and at home on television. Just about every hockey fan has seen the clip by this point.

That being said, GM Dean Lombardi did have some updates on several players during his post-season recap yesterday...

On Justin Williams - "Obviously, there's an issue there. But, it's kind of going to be a player thing (decision). I forget the exact percentage - he can get it 90% back, I think he had it 80% back, in terms of being able to go out there and play. But, the issue is obviously the long term effect. This is one you have to be careful of because this isn't one - like with Parse's hip, where you're like 'OK, you have to have it done' - this is one where you have to make a decision. Do you want to go through this (the surgery)? It will set you back three months, but your shoulder is going to be as good as new. It's one of those decisions where it's more about his long-term benefit than being ready for training camp."

He went on to talk about how great Williams played when he came back in the playoffs - specifically saying he was "outstanding" in the first game, partially because of adrenaline. He also said he almost got the sense the Sharks were "targeting him" later in the series.

Kings coach Murray says Wayne Simmonds 'hit a wall'

Obviously, there is more to player evaluation than just stats.

However, let's start there for Wayne Simmonds...

2008-09 - nine goals, 14 assists, 23 points, 73 PIM, minus-8, 127 shots

2009-10 - 16 goals, 24 assists, 40 points, 116 PIM, plus-22, 127 shots

2010-11 - 14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points, 75 PIM, minus-2, 117 shots

Many people were predicting a 'breakout' year for Simmonds this season. The numbers suggest it didn't materialize. He also went through scoring slumps of six, seven, eight plus games where he wasn't scoring a goal - and he was given top line minutes at various points throughout the season.

So, I asked coach Terry Murray - did he regress in his development this year?

Murray - "He hit a bit of a wall. I don't know if he took a step backwards - maybe a half of step. I thought in the first couple of years there was a lot of physical involvement, a lot of grit, a lot more confrontational stuff, more of that - sometimes you have to get into that 'f-you battle' all the time on the ice, send a message that way. I think sometimes this year I would have liked to have seen more of that, in year three. I don't want to say it's a natural progression for young players, where you come in with a big bang and now you're trying to sort out and trying to improve and you kind of have a tough time getting to that point, you have to sort it out. What's critical here is the off-season and, for me, that he continues to push. Not only in the physical part of it, but now you have to analyze your own self and your own game and watch your game again, by actually bringing clips or the game itself home with you and analyzing it, so that you're going to get yourself ready to get back to where we want you to be."



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Coach Murray on what Oscar Moller could have done

Oscar Moller was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NHL Draft.

This year's Kings roster already featured players from the 2008 and 2009 drafts, yet he's yet to crack the line-up on a consistent basis.

After suiting up for 13 more NHL games this season, that's 87 total now for his career - which is nearly as many as he's played for Manchester in the AHL (110).

He was one of the leading point producers for the Monarchs, while the Kings spent much of the season desperate for offense. Plus, with Tomas Sandstrom and Mattias Norstrom no longer around, he's become LA's favorite Swede.

So, was there anything more that he could have done to get some playing time?

Coach Terry Murray - "No, I don't think so. I really liked what he did when he came up. I liked how he played in game two. We were under a very stressful situation with Jarret Stoll being out and he responded and played very well. I liked his game a lot. He's got skill. He's got imagination. He's more of a sturdy player today. He's going through a process too. He was on the team the first year and then, back to the minors. He's grown, he's improved his game. His mind has improved - in how and what he needs to do in order to play in the NHL. He's not going to show Teemu Selanne blazing speed. He's not a fast skater. But, he has intelligence and he has puck skills. That's where he's going to have to continue to give a big focus over the off-season. But, there would have been nothing else. When (Justin) Williams came back and told me he was ready to play, he's going back in."

Murray can continue to praise him, that's all find and well. Yet, you have to wonder - will Moller ever really get the playing time in LA? And, with several larger, high-end prospects on the way, where do you put him?

It's something GM Dean Lombardi is going to have to think long and hard about real soon, as Moller is a restricted free agent.



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LA Kings coach Terry Murray is NOT happy w/ Scott Parse

Dean Lombardi had overwhelming praise for the fact that Justin Williams even returned to play in the post-season, let alone how well he performed in game one. The Kings GM said 'a lot of guys' wouldn't have played and risked further injury (at this stage of their career), opting instead to shut it down and just return the following season.

Coach Terry Murray had repeatedly said he was waiting for Williams to come and tell him that he was ready before he penciled him in. Once that happened, it was full steam ahead.

Williams played in all six games versus the Sharks and averaged more than 15 minutes of ice time in each contest.

Which brings us to Scott Parse.

He too was rumored to be ready - or at least close to ready - in the days leading up to the playoffs. He finally made his return in game five, playing 10 minutes. Afterwards, Murray said things like "I thought he played pretty well" and "I thought he stepped in and did a pretty decent job."

So, what changed?

Coach Terry Murray on Jonathan - Quick vs. Bernier

Jonathan Bernier.  How many times have Kings fans heard 'He's the goalie of the future'?

Yet, Jonathan Quick has owned the crease the last two seasons.

He should have been voted to the NHL All-Star Game this year, he wasn't. And he was one of the team's best players all year long.

Still, the questions keep coming. Before the playoffs started, coach Terry Murray was adamant though when speaking to the media - Quick will play every game.

He stuck to his guns too, even while his peer on the other bench - Todd McLellan - was swapping around his netminders like a game of three-card monte in attempts to change momentum.

Earlier today, I asked Murray if, in hindsight, he wishes he would have done the same...

Murray - "Absolutely not. Jonathan Quick played tremendous hockey. He gave us the opportunity to win. He did his job. You go back into it, you want to talk about 52 shots - well, hey, that's your job. Stop the puck. That's hard, cold - but, that's a fact. You have to have your goaltender win a game for you. I believe in him and the goals that ended up going into the net in any one of those games that we can go back over, he did his job. We need to be better in front of him."

GM Dean Lombardi on the LA Kings' poor power play

So - Kings GM Dean Lombardi says he likes the 'calmness' coach Terry Murray brings to the team and thinks he still has room to grow - just like the players (full article and quotes here).

But, what about the team's poor power play?

Well, he talks coaching, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and more...

Lombardi - "I think they recognize that (it wasn't as good as last year). That's the first thing, to realize 'Hey, it was so good two years ago...' Ask me about it again in a week."

Hmmm. He then went on to say...

"One of the things, and this is not singling out the player - because I've already said that I think he's (Kopitar) become one of the most complete players in the game. But, the irony of it is like, I think they have the focus on - I think if you ask the coaches for the biggest areas of improvement is getting our best player - Kopitar, our number one scorer - in situations where he can produce. Because if you look at it, his numbers five-on-five are amongst the tops in the league. His power play, compared to the top guys in the league - for him, five goals - was way down. If he has the average number of power play goals as the other top guys, he'd be one of the top scorers in the league."

What about his inconsistency?

"I agree. But, like I said, he's becoming one of the complete players. Has he become a winner yet? No. But, he's certainly evolving towards it when I see a player make the adjustment to play like he does in his own end. That means he cares and that's the first step. To me, he's clearly learned that it's about team.

Dean Lombardi on Coach Terry Murray's Performance

Earlier today Kings' GM Dean Lombardi spoke about Dustin Brown as the team's captain this season (article here).

Now, here's what he had to say about the performance of coach Terry Murray...

Lombardi - "I liked his calmness. I think one of his strengths was when were in that slide there, he kept his composure. I think during that slide, when we slid out of the playoffs, that the necessity of calm and focus was essential. If we had gone the other way, I think that would have been ripe for not getting out of that. So, I think a lot coaches you evaluate at critical moments and I look at the way we came out of that during that period when we had to go into Phoenix and win that game to get on a roll. I thought he was the perfect guy for that situation.

"I think going forward, we're all the same. It's like yesterday's thing - now we write down all the things that we could have done better - including me and Hex (Ron Hextall). And that's the next assignment. We expect players to evaluate themselves and what did we learn from this to do better? So, I think he's capable of doing that. Just like the players have to grow, we all have to grow."

Oh - and for anybody that had a doubt - Terry Murray will be back to coach the LA Kings next season.

Case closed.

As for the power play... well, read what he has to say about that next.



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Lombardi on Dustin Brown as captain this season

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi used nine minutes to answer the first question asked of him during today's post season recap. So, to say there is a lot of content to go through would be an understatement.

Overall, Lombardi was, as he always is - introspective, detailed, mindful of things he's said in the past, consistent with the script he's been following and most of all, honest. He tells you what's on his mind without completely tipping his hand. Well, maybe a little.

Let's just dive right into it because there is plenty to cover from today's meetings with Lombardi and coach Terry Murray.

First up...

MM: Did you get what you needed this year from Dustin Brown as the captain?

DL: I don't only look at him, I look at the whole group to be honest with you. I think they grew, but I think they're still learning. And I think they have to step back - ultimately, the way you learn is how you deal with failure. Again, I'll get a sense of that too as I go through some of (the exit interviews with) these players. I think collectively, as a group, that's still evolving - just like their talents. I'm OK with it. But, I think it has to be better. It's not good enough for where we need to go. But, I look at that intangible as no different than evaluation a player's skating getting better or his decision making getting better.

One of the things he's looking for the leadership group to do this summer is to continue pushing the entire team to be in better shape.  Lombardi felt that Anze Kopitar took a step forward in that area this season and he wants to see more from Drew Doughty and Dustin Penner - topics we'll get into in more detail later today.



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LA Kings Prospect Report - for some, the playoffs continue

The herd is starting to thin.

When the junior hockey playoffs began a few weeks ago the Los Angeles Kings were well represented. They had the WHL scoring champion (Linden Vey), a player on the top team the WHL (Brayden Schenn), the OHL scoring champion (Tyler Toffoli), a player on the top team in the OHL (Maxim Kitsyn), one of the better goalies in the QMJHL (JF Berube) - plus a few others.

Now, we're in the third round and many of them have been eliminated. Ironically though, the Kings still have one player left in each league...

WHL - Vey has continued to put up numbers in the playoffs and still leads 'the Dub' in post-season points (12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points). However, his team is facing a daunting 3-1 hole heading into game five tonight. Even more troubling, his team's high powered offense has gone silent - scoring just one goal total in the last two games. His Medicine Hat Tigers will need to beat the Kootenay Ice in their barn if they plan on seeing a game five in this series. Note: Kootenay was the the team that beat Brayden Schenn's Saskatoon Blades in the last round.

OHL - Kitsyn's Mississauga St. Michaels Majors are already guaranteed a spot in next month's Memorial Cup tournament. However, the OHL's regular season champs aren't resting on their laurels. They swept their opponents in the first and second rounds, then finished off the Ice Dogs in five games to take the Eastern Conference Championship. Now they'll move on to the OHL Finals, where they'll play the winner of the Windsor Spitfires v Owen Sound series (Owen Sound currently lead 3-1 and game five is tonight. You may recall that Windsor is run by former Kings enforcer Warren Rychel and they're the two-time, defending OHL Champions. Their first title team included Kings prospect Andrei Loktionov). Kitsyn had a goal last night, his seventh of the playoffs.

QMJHL - Defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers and his Gatineau Olympiques teammates trail the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in their series. Gatineau opened the series with a win, but have dropped two straight. They'll be looking to tie things up tonight in game four, before the series returns to Quebec on Friday night. Deslauriers scored in game two of this series and his 11 points (three goals, eight assists) are fifth best among defensemen in the QMJHL playoffs.

Each league will crown a champion in about two weeks time and then they'll all compete in the 2011 Memorial Cup beginning on Friday, May 20th.

The Kings Prospect Report will continue here on MayorsManor for the duration of the playoffs and into the summer months.



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POLL: Who was the Los Angeles Kings 2011 Playoff MVP?

First off, I'd like to say thank you to everybody who reads MayorsManor - from the loyal daily readers, to the occasional people just passing by. I appreciate all of you and there will plenty more hockey coverage between now and the start of training camp next fall - including coverage of the draft, free agency, the Kings Summer Development Camp and so much more. We already have several former Kings players lined up for interviews in the weeks to come. So, fear not - you can still get your hockey fix right here.

Now, back to business...

Even though the Kings lost their playoff series to the Sharks this year, it was a grueling six games that reminded me of the series with Edmonton in 1991.

That series ended in six games as well - four of them went to overtime and two needed double overtime. The Kings trailed 3-1 in that series also before winning game five. They came back to Los Angeles for game six and lost to the Oilers 4-3 in overtime. A heart breaker for all Kings fans.

This year was similar. Three games needed overtime - the Kings lost all three. And the Sharks won all three games at Staples Center, including game six last night.

Regardless, several Kings showed great heart and determination throughout the series. The top five candidates for the team's 2011 Playoff MVP are listed below...

Kyle Clifford - Do I really need to explain what he did? Nobody had more goals or more points. Nobody probably had more heart.

Willie Mitchell - Quietly became the Kings best defenseman this season. Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty will get more publicity and bring more offense. Yet, Mitchell brought a new element to the team this year. Plus

Jonathan Quick - Some critics will look at his goals-against-average in this series and dismiss him as a candidate. However, you'd be hard pressed to put even a small fraction of those goals on him. The defense broke down on him - a lot - in this series. He played tremendous and was one of the main reasons the Kings could have easily won five of the six games.

Ryan Smyth - Terry Murray put it best the other day, what Smyth brings isn't on the stat sheets. He is a professional's professional. He provided solid defensive play, chipped in with some offense and brings leadership to the team. His goal in game six is about as clutch as you'll find. His five points (two goals, three assists) in the series tied for the team lead.

Justin Williams - From the guy who wasn't supposed to play, to the guy who stole the headlines in game one. He gave it his all, even if he wasn't 100%. Big props for showing up when it counted most and trying to push the Kings into the second round. His three goals tied for the team lead.

Honorable mention - While I don't think he's deserving of competing with the five guys above, I do want to say - Trevor Lewis played his best hockey as a King in this series. Great job, Elvis. Ditto for Kevin Westgarth. Westie 2.0 was a completely different player.

Who gets your vote?


Poll closes at noon on Wednesday, April 27.

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Sneak Peek of Tonight's LA Kings Intro Video

This will play inside Staples Center before the start of the game...



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Ryan Smyth is playing 'off the stat sheets'

Ryan Smyth has done just about everything the Kings have ever asked of him.

He's mentored the younger players, led by example, played on various lines with multiple partners, scored goals, etc.

Through it all, he's been pretty consistent - except for one thing.

This season, he played in all 82 regular season games - the first time he's done that since 2003-04 with the Oilers.

And even though the goals didn't come as often as normal in the second half, he still finished with 23 goals on the season - third most on the team, trailing only Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar.

After practice yesterday, when talking about the play where Brown goaded Ryane Clowe into taking a penalty on Saturday night, coach Terry Murray reminded everybody that Smyth also does stuff that never shows up in the box score...

"That's a big play (the Clowe penalty). Those critical moments in a game pop-up and to identify and do the right thing at that time is what it's all about to win in the playoffs. There's another play I remember, where Ryan Smyth comes back, as hard as I have seen him come back on the back check tracking, makes a diving play to knock the puck off the stick (of Sharks' winger Jason Demers). Those are not stat sheet numbers. There's no way of really evaluating it at all. That's just digging in to win."

Which is something - even at age 35 - Smyth, obviously, still craves to do.


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Scott Parse - health update and plan for tonight

Prior to Saturday night's contest versus the Sharks, Kings' forward Scott Parse hadn't participated in a real game since November - also in San Jose.

Although he came away pointless in his return to game action over the weekend, that's just fine.

The Kings still won and according to coach Terry Murray, his surgically repaired hip wasn't bothering him yesterday - saying the medical staff reported "Everything was good. No issues at all."

So, how about his performance - was Murray happy with what he saw?

"I thought he played pretty well. He showed a lot of confidence with the puck. And he has that, I guess you'd call it a little bit of that 'inner arrogance' - which you have to have as a pro athlete, to have confidence in your own game, to play, to know exactly what it is you can do and try to do it. I thought he stepped in and did a pretty decent job."

He played 10:17 on Saturday night, was that the goal?

"No. I didn't really set any kind of a number there, for him in particular. But, I did want to play four lines. The penalty kill, obviously, takes minutes away from the rotation. So, it possibly could be higher if we go through a game five-on-five. But, he didn't have any problems on the conditioning side of things. I felt strong about that going into the game, making the decision that he would go out and play, that that would not be a concern of mine. And he confirmed it. He looked good, he looked strong though the game. He brought us the offensive part of the game, some skill that I knew he could."

Parse will be in the line-up again tonight, as Murray is keeping the same line combinations for game six.

And perhaps that can be a lucky number for him - in just his sixth career playoff game, maybe he can add to the list of April 25th post-season moments.



The Mayor
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More history - of the 25th kind - to be made today?

Some of the best creations to ever come out of the NHL's Marketing Department are the 'History Will Be Made' commercials.

In about 30 second intervals they capture the greatest moments in hockey by simply using clips from a game, some music and a thought provoking question.

Even though the Kings are still searching for their first Stanley Cup, the team and their current roster of players have celebrated several momentous post-season events - including a few on this specific day.

Take a look...

April 25, 1993 - Kings def. Flames 3-1, Robb Stauber's first playoff game

April 25, 1997 - Ryan Smyth scores game-winning-goal in double-OT

April 25, 1999 - Michal Handzus plays in his first NHL playoff game

April 25, 2002 - Kings def. Avalanche 1-0 in OT, Felix Potvin shutout

April 25, 2006 - Jarret Stoll scores game-winning-goal in double-OT

April 25, 2011 - TBD

Tonight at 7pm the puck drops in downtown Los Angeles. Can the Kings muster up so more history and force a game seven?

That will still have to wait a few hours.

Until then, check out this interview with Stauber, where he relives the Kings 1993 playoff run.  After all, without him, they most likely wouldn't have made it out of the first round.

Every series has a playoff hero.  Who will get the job done for the Kings this year?


The Mayor
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Kings vs Sharks - Game Five Playoff Photos

Earlier in the series Jon from sharkspage.com - the Bay Area's longest running hockey blog - was kind enough to pass over some photos from games one and two between the Kings and Sharks (linked here: game one and game two).

Below are some shots he took during game five on Saturday night, featuring: Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Scott Parse, Brad Richardson, Jonathan Quick, Rob Scuderi, Ryan Smyth and a few other Los Angeles Kings players...

(click on any image to enlarge)

For coverage of the Kings-Sharks series to date, check out the following MayorsManor articles:

* Highs and Lows with Jim Fox - Game One and Game Two

* Wayne Simmonds - Born for Playoff Hockey?

* Jack Johnson says 'Best is Yet to Come'

* Ryan Smyth Looking For Help From Seventh Attacker

* Rob Scuderi on Expectations and Being Extra Special

* Kyle Clifford's Picking Up Points and Gifts in the Playoffs

* Kevin Westgarth Presents - Westie 2.0

The Mayor
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