Marcel Dionne - 'Kopitar needs to make a decision'

Anze Kopitar, LA Kings (photo: Ikiri)

"I told (Anze) Kopitar 'You aren't touching the puck enough. I don't like your breakout.' I think Kopitar can make magic with the puck" - Marcel Dionne on MayorsManor in 2009.

Getting a chance to speak with a legend is always an honor. However, to chat with somebody as open as Dionne, it's always a chance to learn and gain insight from one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time.

He's back in town for the Kings Fantasy Camp this weekend and we spent some time together last night on a variety of topics, which I'll post over several articles.

First up, here are some updated thoughts from Dionne on the Kings highest paid player...

"I think Kopitar's at the point in his career where he has to decide what he wants to do. Does he want to be the guy? If I was him, he should be looking at the situation and what's going with (Evgeni) Malkin. When (Sidney) Crosby was playing, Malkin was happy to be second fiddle. Then, when Crosby went out, Malkin took over. He wins games on his own. Kopi has to do that! You can't wait for wingers. You gotta make it happen. Some nights he's gotta be the guy. And if he's not, now it's getting to the point in his game where it's going to be tough to get up to the level he wants to be. Everbody knows him, everybody knows how he plays.

What I've learned so far... by Penguins dman Kris Letang

Penguins Kris Letang - sharp dresser

ZZ Top were right. Every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man.

Just ask center Jarret Stoll.

Most of his Kings' teammates have selected him as 'best dressed' guy in the room - although Brad Richardson disagrees. Regardless of who can lay claim to being the cat with the sharpest threads in LA though, based upon what I saw from the Penguins on Saturday morning, the title in Pittsburgh clearly belongs to Kris Letang.

And now that Scott Hannan has pulled a Metallica-like mistake and gone from long to short, Letang may also have the best hair in hockey.

Quick side note, can somebody please remind me to work up a 'Hannan cut his hair and his stats have never been the same' article when he and the Flames come to town next month, thanks.

Now that that's all behind us, let's see what Letang has learned so far this season. We chatted for a bit yesterday and here's what he had to say...

About Evgeni Malkin - "He's better with his English than he used to be."

About Matt Cooke - "He loves In-N-Out burgers. He's probably already been there twice today."

About Steve Sullivan - "He's old."

What I've learned so far... by Pittsburgh's James Neal

Like the Penguins' Steve Sullivan, who was profiled last hour, James Neal is one of the few Pittsburgh players who knows the Kings well. Having played for the Dallas Stars during his first three seasons in the NHL, he became well acquainted with Terry Murray's hockey club.

Another change for Neal since the last time he's been here is the addition of a Hulk Hogan-esque mustache. Not sure if that's a Movember thing or not. Either way though, we chatted for a while after morning skate today. Here's what he's learned so far this season...

About Evgeni Malkin - "He loves his Russian music. He gets his headphones on and he's jamming on the bus. His humor is great too. He's happy to be at the rink everyday."

About Steve Sullivan - "I learned that he's old and short. He's on his twitter all the time too, tweeting away."

About Brooks Orpik - "He stirs the pot behind the scenes. He's serious on the outside. But, he's behind a few things."

Drew Doughty, Davis Drewiske and their link to Kansas City

Inside the Sprint Center, Kansas City

Tonight's NHL pre-season game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings is sold out.

Now, I'm not sure if hockey fans in Kansas City are similar to the ones in California. But, I'm going to assume there is one major difference - when they look over the game rosters, they're going to skip right past names like Dustin Brown, Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar. The name they're probably most excited to see this evening is Davis Drewiske.

Wait...Davis Drewiske?

Yes, it was LA's seldom-used defeseman who scored the very first goal in the new building, back in 2008.

The game-tape - if there even is any - will show it wasn't a highlight reel goal though. In fact, with the Kings on the penalty kill, Drewiske was simply trying to clear the puck. The shot on goal wasn't picked up by St. Louis Blues goaltender Chris Mason and the Kings were up 1-0 early in the second period.

They held on to win the game 2-1, with the other goals coming from Brad Richardson (Kings) and Paul Kariya (Blues).

Something else took place that night that probably meant little, if anything, to the 11,603 in attendance - Drew Doughty played his first NHL game.

I think it's probably safe to assume there were a few more people hoping to see him tonight than even noticed him on the ice last time.

So, come to think of it, maybe hockey fans in Kansas City and Los Angeles do have something in common after all.

Here are the projected line-ups for the game.

Ponikarovsky Wants To Win 'Em All

While tonight's return to Pittsburgh may be bittersweet for Rob Scuderi, it probably won't be anything close to similar for teammate Alexei Ponikarovsky. After spending seven-plus seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was acquired by the Penguins in a deadline deal last March.

It was a move that didn't pay off for either the team or player, as he scored just two goals in his 16 regular season games there and added a single goal in 11 more playoff games - numbers that probably cost him dearly on the free agent market last summer.

Still, he tried to downplay the situation before the Kings headed out east...

MM: For you personally, is there special meaning in the Pittsburgh game or are you perhaps looking forward to a different game on the trip?

AP:  Nah, I wouldn't say so. I played in Pittsburgh for a couple of months last year at the end of the season. It would be nice to beat them for sure, especially in their own building - the new one. Other than that, it's the same as other road trips.

MM:  Dustin Brown alluded to some guys possibly taking the Penguins too lightly with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin being out of the line-up. Is that a concern for you?

Kevin Westgarth Values Life on the Road

Earlier today I posted comments from Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown about trying to pick up two points in Pittsburgh tonight against a Penguins team that will be without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Kevin Westgarth, who will be back in the line-up tonight and probably will see plenty of action over the next few games, had the following comments to add to the topic...

"Clearly they're a great team. Those two guys are special players. But, you look from top to bottom and they still have a great squad, with a majority of the other guys they won the Cup with still being there. So, they're still a great team. Brownie nailed it, you can't let off."

He went on to provide a broader look at the overall importance of the next six games...

Johnson and Brown on the Pair of Missing Penguins

Over the last few years it sure seems like the Kings and Penguins don't like each other very much. Which is somewhat surprising considering an LA-Pittsburgh match-up in hockey is pretty rare.

Evgeni Malkin, who has often found his way into the storyline when these two teams meet (see Malkin's hit on Wayne Simmonds in March 2009) won't be a factor this time around - he's gone for the season with a knee injury.

Nor will Sidney Crosby, who is still experiencing concussion like symptoms.

Taking nothing away from Matt Cooke (suspension) and Chris Kunitz (lower body injury, listed as day-to-day) - regarding Crosby and Malkin both being out, are some Kings players a little disappointed they won't be able to test themselves against two of the best players in the league?

Jack Johnson - "Yeah, but I think we see enough of the great players in the league. I think it's an opportunity for us to get two points. We're obviously playing a short handed Pittsburgh team, with them missing their two best players - two of the best players in the world. I'm not going to look at it really as a disappointment, but as an opportunity."

Dustin Brown - "I could care less really. We have to focus on our game because (when) you take those two players off their team they still have a pretty good team. So, we have to be ready to go. We have to be extra cautious of not taking them...with those two guys out of the line-up, we have to be even maybe more prepared to go up and play there. It's two huge points."

Proceed with caution. Today's words of wisdom from team captain, Dustin Brown.

The Mayor
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