Another game, another night with minimal offense. The Kings and Sharks skated to a 1-1 tie through the first 60 minutes of action last night in San Jose. Neither side scored in overtime, however the Sharks won via the shootout after four Kings players couldn't find a way to put one past Antti Niemi.
Yesterday afternoon, Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller spoke with Dan Rusanowsky of the Sharks about the San Jose vs. Los Angeles rivalry...
The Kings return to the ice for a morning skate on Monday at 10am, followed by a game that night vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. It will be another 7pm start at Staples Center.
Late last night we heard from the Kings and Sharks' head coaches (linked here), as well as comments from LA's locker room (link).
Now, we go across the aisle to see what some of the Sharks players were saying after their 2-0 loss to the Kings.
Sharks captain Joe Thornton on the overall game - "Good third period, bad first two. We just have got to somehow score to make it a game and we didn’t…You knew they were going to play well at home here. I’m disappointed at the way we came out, but I’m sure we’ll get a couple good days of practice and get back at it on Thursday."
Thornton on Kings' goalie Jonathan Quick - "He played good. He’s a good goaltender, he’s a league goaltender. We had our chance but we just didn’t finish. He played well."
Sharks' defenseman Dan Boyle on the overall game - "The first two periods there was not a lot of emotion. We didn’t really work to get our chances. Five-on-five we had nothing for the first two periods. Not working hard enough to win the game. There are 82 games. You have got to find a way to get up for every game. Some nights are tougher than others, but at the end of the day you have to find a way. As a team you have got to get up for it. There’s no reason why. These guys are in our division."
More Kings vs Sharks related articles can be found below.
The Kings and Sharks are now tied in their six-game season series. San Jose picked up game one on home ice 4-2, just a few weeks ago. Tonight, LA won 2-0 at Staples Center.
When things were all done and the final buzzer had sounded, each coach held a post game presser...
Terry Murray on the overall game - "We had a good feel here tonight, there was good energy and emotion in the game and it got exciting at the end…there was a real good response to the game from Chicago the other night, we needed to come out fast, we needed to come out with energy and set the tone, and I thought we did. There was a good carryover into the second period. I thought Quick did a tremendous job…that should have been a nice extra boost of energy to start the third period."
Murray on the two late second period penalty kills - "That was a critical moment there for sure, that’s the part of the game they wait on is the power play, they’re very good at it, they’ve got a group of guys that’s been together for 10 years and they know how to move the puck around, we have to be good in those situations, you kill the penalties the best you can with your forwards, when it comes down to it your goaltender has to be good against the power play, and he was."
We can delve into the specific numbers tomorrow - but it sure seems like when the Kings take more than 30 shots on goal, the win. Tonight they put 33 shots on Sharks' goalie Antti Niemi and skated off the ice at Staples Center with a 2-0 win.
Quick on his 200th game in the NHL - "I didn’t even know it was my 200th game until Greenie [Matt Greene] let me know about five minutes before the game started. They go quickly and tonight was a big win. Everybody battled hard; it was a hard-fought game. They battled to on their side and this is a huge two points."
Quick on LA's penalty kill - "We had a little bit of a stretch there were we weren’t happy with the PK. We had a string of five or six games where we let up a goal in each. It’s something that we’ve been great at the past couple of years and it’s something that we’ve really been putting a big focus on in these past few games because of that little stretch we went through. I feel like everybody’s mentality that they are going into the PK with is great."
After the LA Kings were defeated by Vancouver in the first round of the 2010 NHL Playoffs, it was a bad feeling that stuck around all summer.
The tension and disappointment was still in the air during training camp a few months later and it was easy to keep the issue on the front burner, considering the two teams would open up the 2010-11 regular season right where they left off - facing each other.
This time around, it's different. For some strange reason, the Kings playoff loss to the Sharks just six months ago seems like another lifetime. After an off-season filled with big moves, resulting in even bigger expectations and a roller coaster ride through the first 13 games, tonight may be more of a clean slate, than two teams 'resuming the rivalry' from last year.
Marty McSorley is a man who knows both teams well. Of course, he was a member of the Kings for the bulk of his career, but also spent two seasons with the Sharks - back when Dean Lombardi was the GM there.
As part of tonight's pregame primer, we spoke with McSorley about the two clubs...
The NHL's 2010-11 season is now over, with the Boston Bruins crowned as Stanley Cup Champions.
For those ready to turn the page and look ahead, let's talk about the Western Conference standings.
Every year there is a certain amount of turnover within the eight teams qualifying for the post-season. For example, last season, four 'new' teams made it in the West compared to the 2008-09 campaign.
However, this season, only one team didn't return - Colorado was replaced in the pack by Anaheim.
So, of the eight Western teams that took a shot at the Cup this year, which do you think is most likely to have a drop off...and not return to the playoffs next season?
On the eve of the NHL's post-season coming to end, there are still two open questions - who will win the Stanley Cup this year, Boston or Vancouver?
And what about the Kings?
For more on that second one, the guys over at KingsCast pulled together a panel, consisting of people like Dennis Bernstein of The 4th Period, Jon Moncrief of the Examiner and Dave Joseph of ESPN to help explore the issue.
Over the last few weeks several videos have been posted on various topics surrounding the Kings past, present and future. Below is the final installment - where we talk in-depth about the players, attitude and philosophy needed for the LA Kings to become Stanley Cup contenders next season.
Some of the conversation centers around Willie Mitchell vs. Chris Pronger, who will win the Pacific Division, can the Kings challenge for one of the top spots in the Western Conference and much more.
If you haven't been keeping up with the whole series, here's a recap with links:
The team over at Kings Vision has pulled together clips of game action, behind the scenes footage, locker room activity, perspective from coach Terry Murray, interviews with players - including Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford, Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick, Jarret Stoll, Willie Mitchell - and much more.
Check out their perspective on the whole playoff experience.
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."
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.
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.
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."
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."
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.
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.
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.
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?
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).
Over the last 36 hours, much has been about Drew Doughty's exchange with Scott Nichol in game four - which led to a power play goal for the Sharks.
Yet, that wasn't the only target of Doughty's verbal assault on Thursday night. He also spent plenty of time in the face of Joe Thornton throughout the game.
It's something I spoke with him about yesterday, after first finding out how he was feeling going into game five...
DD: I still think we are fully confident. We saw the things we could do to them. We've had moments of domination. We’ve just got to clean up our d-zone. I think if we clean that up, really focus on that and just keep getting goals the way we are, we’re going to be fine.
MM: You were jawing with Thornton quite a bit on Thursday. Was his blowing kisses to Sharks fans in the crowd a bit disrespectful?
DD: I don't know if it was disrespectful. It's an emotional time in the playoffs. Obviously, Thorts and I have played together before (Team Canada) and were buddies then. But, there's just so many emotions and so much hatred for the other team, that you want to beat them. And we're going to do anything to win that game.
Do that Drew, and we'll see you back home on Monday for game six.
Early in game four the Kings saw Dustin Brown and Matt Greene sitting in the penalty box together, giving the Sharks a two-man advantage and a good chance for some first period momentum.
While San Jose failed to score before things returned to 5-on-5 play, they did plenty of it later - posting three goals in the second and another three in the third.
Then, trailing 6-3 late in the game, the Kings found themselves with their own two-man advantage - something they couldn't capitalize on either.
However, it was the first of the Sharks penalties in that sequence that had coach Terry Murray particularly hot - calling Dany Heatley's tripping of defenseman Alec Martinez 'gutless.'
After waiting a day, to let the emotions simmer down a bit, here's what Martinez had to say about the play - "I was just going back for the puck. I thought I made the play to Greener and then I just tried to turn up ice and he took my feet out. So, I don't know. I, obviously, had my back to the play. I just got up and tried to join the rush because I knew we probably had the delayed penalty. That's just playoff hockey. We just have to make it known that they can't be doing that kind of thing."
Murray was a little more adamant about it at the time, saying it was a slew foot - "That’s where you break your leg. That’s where you blow your knee out. I hate that play. That’s a gutless move in my mind. You just don’t do that in hockey."
