Williams realizing what he can get away with on the ice

Justin Williams (photo: D. Sheehan) 

Leave it to the the Blues to slow down the surging Justin Williams. He entered last night with points in nine straight games (four goals, seven assists). However, he has struggled against St. Louis throughout his career - finding the back of the net just once in 17 career games.

And like clock work, they shut him down again. Perhaps he'll find some solace though in the fact that Jaroslav Halak didn't let any of the other Kings score on him either.

Regardless, something seems to have changed in Williams' approach of late. For example, he led the team in assists (seven), points (10), power play goals (three) and shots (39) in the month of January. So, what's been going on?

"I've enjoyed the way Darryl (Sutter) has approached me, he's given me a lot of confidence," said Williams. "We've had a real good open dialogue. I've been able to consistently have a good effort day in and day out. I think as you get through the season, you get a little bit more in shape, you get a little bit more comfortable and you start to realize what you can get away with out there and what you can't. I think hard work, and mainly effort, is the thing that's driving me right now."

He also went on to share a little more insight into the dialogue taking place with coach Sutter...

"He's just instilling confidence in me. There are going to be mistakes. There's going to be times where pucks are turned over and he lets you hear it. But, he also lets you hear the good stuff too."

Tonight the Kings will try to get back on the winning track in Carolina, a city where Williams played for four-plus seasons before being traded to LA a few years ago. In 13 career games vs. the Hurricanes, he has seven points (three goals and four assists). He'll certainly be looking to add to those totals this evening.

The Mayor
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Smyth's been here before with a few of these guys

Last hour, Willie Mitchell shared his experience of being down 3-1 in two different playoff series back in 2003.

Well, at least four other Kings players have been there as well - and it was all in the same series, the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals between Carolina and Edmonton.

The Hurricanes had jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the series before Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll, Matt Greene and the rest of the Oilers rattled off two straight wins.

Is that something Smyth can use to draw upon right now?

"Yeah. We were down in the Stanley Cup Finals. We came back and pushed it to seven and lost in game seven. Obviously, it's a sense of urgency on our part now," Smyth said, referring to the Kings. "It's a sense of 'one game at a time' and not looking past game five. We need to just stay focused."

His Oilers were able to do just that, before ultimately falling in that final game.

It was close though. Trailing 2-1 in the final minutes of game seven, they pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.

Unfortunately, the play went back the other way.

With the puck on his stick, Justin Williams fired it into an empty net - securing the win for Carolina.

Obviously, Smyth is hoping to once again help his team dig themselves out of a 3-1 hole. Only this time, he'd like to come out on the winning end.



The Mayor
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Kopitar Comes Close at NHL All Star Game

The Los Angeles Kings (and their fans) have faced many injustices this season - from what should have been Ryan Smyth's game tying goal in Ottawa to Jonathan Quick not being included on the NHL All Star team. And yes, there was also the blown call against Phoenix, which later cost GM Dean Lombardi a $50,000 fine.

What happened in Raleigh, NC over the weekend wasn't quite to those epic levels. Yet, it did once again put the lack of respect west coast hockey faces front and center.

Friday night's All Star Draft was a fantastic event. What sounded great on paper delivered even more than expected. One criticism - how in the world does Anze Kopitar not get selected until the 15th round (30th overall)?

During Saturday's Super Skills competition you could probably argue Kopitar didn't do himself any favors. Competing in two events, he finished with less than stellar results. In the hardest shot competition he posted a best of 94.5 miles per hour, only good enough to rank him 10th out of 12 shooters. And in the breakaway challenge, which was basically a trick-shot competition, he finished fourth out of six in fan voting (12.5 percent of the vote). However, as things played out, he probably had the best shot at beating two-time defending champion Alex Ovechkin. Unfortunately for Kopitar, his super slick second shot didn't make it past the goaltender.

Then on Sunday, when it mattered most, Kopitar let his skills shine through - even though the pre-game line combinations could have been perceived as partially another slap in the face. He was placed on the fourth line, centering Phil Kessel (the last player taken in the above mentioned draft).

Once the puck dropped it didn't matter. Kopitar scored the first goal for his team - after they had dug themselves a 4-0 hole - and later added a second one for good measure.

Kings-Wild Preview with Patrick O'Sullivan

Soon after Dean Lombardi arrived as GM of the LA Kings in 2006 he made two then-somewhat-unpopular trades. Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason were traded to Carolina for Jack Johnson. And Patrick O'Sullivan was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Pavol Demitra.

It's obvious at this point which ended up being the better of the deals.

O'Sullivan has since played for three different teams - including two this year. Prior to tonight's game vs. the Kings, I sat down with him for some exclusive comments about the Kings-Wild match-up...

MM: You've been with Minnesota now for seven games. How are you fitting in?

POS: I think it's been pretty good. I feel pretty comfortable here and I'm starting to get used to how the team plays and the guys I'm playing with. It's been a bit of a struggle for our team lately. But, we had a good game in our last game - got a win against a good team in their rink, so it's something to build on (they beat the Coyotes 3-2 in Phoenix on Thursday). The Kings will be a tough test.

[note: after starting the year with the Carolina Hurricanes he was waived by them in late November]

MM: Going back to last month, did you see the end coming in Carolina or was it a bit of a surprise to you?

Ryan Smyth on the almost-King, Ray Whitney

For the first time in...well, a really long time...the Kings were buyers at the NHL Trading Deadline last season - instead of the sellers the team had become the last five plus years.

Rather than trading away players for future assets, they acquired two rentals for a playoff push, Freddy Modin and Jeff Halpern. Neither were bad players, just not the player they coveted most. Ray Whitney, playing in Carolina at the time, was a key guy targeted by GM Dean Lombardi.

Fans in Los Angeles know him well, as he's spent much of his career in the Western Conference - having played in San Jose, Edmonton, Columbus and Detroit.

Tonight, the Kings will see Whitney's familiar face in Phoenix - where he signed a two year free-agent contract during the off-season. 

However, a few months before becoming a Coyote, there were many rumors floating around that a deal for Whitney was real close.

How close? Well, Kings forward Ryan Smyth played with him this summer on Team Canada's squad at the World Championships in Germany. Let's see what he heard...

MM: When you were with Whitney over in Europe, did the trade deadline rumors come up at all?

Comments from the kids - Muzzin and Clifford

As announced yesterday, Kyle Clifford will return to the line-up tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes, after sitting out the last two games.

Defenseman Jake Muzzin will also play again. He's played in every game so far this season.

Both players spent last year in junior hockey and were recognized in the OHL Coaches Poll for their strong defensive game - Muzzin was voted the top Defensive Defenseman and Clifford was the Best Defensive Forward. So, you can understand why coach Terry Murray feels comfortable with them in the line-up.

However, neither might be here much longer. Matt Greene is expected to return soon on defense, forcing the Kings to make a decision on (most likely) either Muzzin or Davis Drewiske. Clifford's situation is a little more delicate. They can't keep him past 10 games without eating a full year of his entry level contract.

Thus, he's likely headed back to juniors soon. That's not a knock on his skill - he's a power forward in the making. It's simply a numbers game (and a position thing) with the current Kings roster. We'll see though.

A solid game from either tonight could make GM Dean Lombardi and coach Murray reconsider things.

Below are Clifford's thoughts on returning to game action...plus, some extra comments from Jake Muzzin on how he's enjoying his NHL experience so far.

MM:  How excited were you to get the news that you get to play again?

(Part of) History Will Not Repeat Itself Tonight

Tonight will mark the 11-year anniversary of Staples Center first hosting an official NHL game.

The final score was 2-2, a tie between the host LA Kings and visiting Boston Bruins.

Like it or not, the shootout is now part of the NHL landscape. Thus, you can be assured of one major difference in tonight's contest between the Kings and Carolina Hurricanes - there will definitely be a winner. One team is leaving the building with two points.

For what it's worth, Rob Blake scored the first Kings goal in the new arena. However, the very first NHL goal in Staples Center was credited to forward Anson Carter of the Bruins. 

How ironic is that, considering when the Kings traded for the talented right winger a few years later, he played 15 games for LA...posting ZERO goals.  One simple assist was all the Kings received in return for sending Jared Aulin to Washington to acquire Carter.

You want more irony?  Aulin had become Kings property as part of the deal that sent Blake to Colorado in 2001.

Trivia Time - When the Kings traded for Carter in March 2004 it was actually the second time he had been moved by an NHL team that season.  Who did Washington trade to acquire Carter just two months prior? (answer at the end of this article)

Trivia Question #2 - What number did Carter wear in LA?