2012 AHL All-Star Game - notes on Zatkoff, Hickey, Stevens

The 2012 edition of the AHL All-Star game concluded tonight, with the Western squad defeating the guys from the East 8-7 in a shootout. Kings prospects Jeff Zatkoff and Thomas Hickey represented the Manchester Monarchs on the East team.

Zatkoff played the second period in net, facing 20 shots and surrendering there goals.

Hickey, who leads the Monarchs in plus/minus with a plus-14 rating, recorded zero points and took one shot in the game.

Kyle Palmieri, the Ducks first round selection at the 2009 NHL Draft, also picked up a goal for the Eastern Conference all stars.  He's split time between Syracuse (AHL) and Anaheim this season.

Andy Miele, last year's Hobey Baker Award winner (given to the top player in college hockey) - and a name Kings fans may remember from his stellar performance during Rookie Camp games in LA - had a goal, an assist and was plus-2. The Phoenix Coyotes signed him as a free agent last summer our of Miami (Ohio) University, the same school attended by Zatkoff and Kings defenseman Alec Martinez.

Prior to the game, the AHL held their annual Hall of Fame luncheon. Among the four honorees was Kings assistant coach John Stevens. He is one of only 16 men to win an AHL championship both as a player and as a head coach, having patrolled the blueline in over 800 games as a defenseman and later guided the Philadelphia Phantoms to the Calder Cup in 2004-05 after his playing days were over.

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Los Angeles Kings Prospect Report - October 10, 2011

When training camp began back in early September, we ranked the top ten prospects in the Los Angeles Kings organization...and it's that list that we're using today as the template for the first Prospect Report of the new season.

- Goalie Martin Jones:  While many expect him to battle Jeff Zatkoff for playing time in Manchester (AHL) this season, he is the Monarchs starting goalie - for now. Per NHL rules, the Kings were allowed to take three goalies on their season opening trip to Europe. As such, Jones started both games over the weekend and posted a 1.52 goals-against average, giving up two goals on Friday and only one goal on Saturday. His save percentage sits at .940 for the moment.

[note: The Monarchs are now off until Friday. Earlier today, the Kings returned Zatkoff to the AHL. So, expect him to get some playing time in at least one of the three games next weekend.]

- Defenseman Jake Muzzin: He has not played since the first pre-season game of the year vs the Phoenix Coyotes. In that game, he was hit from behind by Mikkel Boedker (photo here) and has been suffering headaches and neck stiffness ever since. Last Thursday he was activated from the injured reserve list and loaned to Manchester, where his status for next weekend's games remains TBD.

- Forward Tyler Toffoli: Last week he was named the assistant captain of his junior team, the Ottawa 67's (OHL). The player with the most goals in all of junior hockey last season (57), Toffoli has picked right up where he left off, scoring five goals in his first five games. The 67's next play on Friday vs. Peterborough.

- Forward Brandon Kozun: After the first pair of games in Manchester this season, Kozun has zero points, two shots on goal and is a minus-one. Expect more production in the weeks to come. This will be Kozun's second year of pro hockey.

- Forward Andrei Loktionov: He continues to shoot the puck in the early part of the season. Loktionov leads the Monarchs with six shots on goal after their first two games. He also leads the team in assists (three) and is has a plus-two rating.

LA Kings def Rangers in OT, post-game notes and video

Many of the areas the Kings were hoping to improve over the summer were on display front and center in today's 3-2 overtime win against the Rangers.

Jack Johnson scored a power play goal with about a minute left in the extra session and then was mobbed by his teammates, in a scene that looked more like a playoff game winner than the first game of the season.

Anze Kopitar showed no signs of the injury he suffered last season, picking up the first goal of the game and assisting on the one that tied things up with about five minutes left to play in regulation.

Here are a few post-game notes, followed by the video highlights:

- Overall, LA now sits at 44-62-19 against New York and they won't see them again this season - unless they were to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals.

- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is now 2-3-1 when playing the Kings and his counterpart, Jonathan Quick, is a perfect 2-0 against Broadway's Blueshirts.

- Richards vs. Richards lived up to the hype. Brad Richards played 18 minutes for the Rangers, went 9-for-11 in at faceoff dot and assisted on Marian Gaborik's third period goal. Mike Richards scored for the Kings and set up Johnson's game winner in 20-plus minutes ice time.

10 Final Tidbits to wrap up the LA Kings pre-season

Just a few notes to close out the pre-season coverage as we march towards Friday's season opener...

- LA finished their eight-game exhibition schedule with a 4-2-2 record.

- For the second time in three years, Anze Kopitar led the team in pre-season scoring, picking up five goals and four assists, nine points total, in six games played (more on that in another article soon)

- Justin Williams, coming off shoulder surgery at the end of the last season, looks to be in fine form. He had the second most points in the pre-season (two goals, four assists, six points)

- Slava Voynov and Kyle Clifford were the only two players to participate in the maximum number of games (seven). Due to the split-squad games with Phoenix on September 21, it would have been impossible for anyone to play in all eight games.

- Kopitar led all players with five goals. Five players tied for second place with two goals each - Williams, Voynov, Brad Richardson, Alec Martinez and Ethan Moreau

VIDEO: Frozen Fury XIV - proof that it actually happened

Many Kings fans returning to Southern California over the last 24 hours have been asking themselves one question - 'What happened this weekend in Las Vegas?'

Some are referring to what took place on the ice Saturday night inside the MGM Grand hotel, where the Kings were crushed 4-1 by the Colorado Avalanche...and more confusing were the shot totals, as LA managed only two in the first period and 14 in the entire game.

The same question is also being asked by the thousands of fans who enjoyed the Vegas lifestyle a little too much, only to wake up late Sunday morning and not remember much of what happened during the 12-18 hours prior.

Thanks to KingsVision, here are a few sights and sounds to jog those foggy Frozen Fury memories...

If you missed it over the weekend, be sure to take the Frozen Fury Trivia Challenge and read some pre-game comments from Mike Richards about his first Frozen Fury, plus thoughts from Anze Kopitar and Willie Mitchell - that article is linked here.

Immediately following the game, the Kings headed to the airport for a long flight to Germany. Prior to leaving North America though, many of the players shared some thoughts about the trip - including who was going to be the most annoying person on the flight, who would be the best/worst dressed in Europe and more. Be sure to check out that article here.

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Kings at Avalanche: post-game notes, Kopitar goal video

Last night, the Kings beat the Avalanche 6-0 in Colorado - powered by four goals in the second period. Below are some key stats from the game and fan-filmed footage of Anze Kopitar putting one of his three goals in the net.

* Justin Williams led all Kings with six shots on goal (one went in). Kopitar was second, with five. Trevor Lewis had four.

* The Kings, after playing the night before in Kansas City, came out of the gates slow - putting only six shots on goal in the first. They then outshot the Avs 14-9 and 12-7 in the final two periods.

* Jonathan Quick played the entire game in net, stopping all 27 shots he faced.

* Dwight King, Justin Azevedo and Andrew Campbell all made a rare start. And they showed up on the box score - in the penalty section. Campbell and Azevedo each received two minutes for tripping, while Kings was give a four minute double-minor for high sticking in the third.

* Jack Johnson led the Kings in total ice time (23:30). Rookie Slava Voynov wasn't far behind at 23:16.

Kings-Pens: post-game notes and (quick) video highlights

Jarret Stoll scored in the shootout again.

That may be the highlight of last night, as the Kings lost 3-2 to the Penguins in front of a sold out crowd of more than 17,000 in Kansas City.

For the number crunchers, here are some key stats from the game...

* Dustin Brown and Alec Martinez led the Kings with three shots on goal. Richard Park and Ben Lovejoy led the Penguins with five shots each.

* Trent Hunter was a minus-2. He was actually on the ice for three of the four goals scored in the game. However, the Kings second goal was scored on the power play, so it didn't count towards his plus-minus.

* The shots on goal for the two teams were polar opposites. The Kings declined from 10 shots in the first period, to six and then just three shots in the third. Meanwhile, the Penguins increased their shots from nine in the first period, to 12, to 15 in the third. Pittsburgh also out-shot LA 5-2 in the overtime.

* In the shootout, Kings coach Terry Murray went with (in order): Jack Johnson, Mike Richards, Jarret Stoll, Brown, Justin Williams, Dustin Penner, Hunter and Trevor Lewis. Only Stoll scored. While, the Penguins picked up shootout goals from Evgeni Malkin and Matt Niskanen.

* Total ice time numbers are not available for this game.

There are several fan-filmed highlights floating around - however, here's a clip from the local KC news...

Post-game notes (2 of 2): Coyotes at Kings 9/21/2011

Earlier we posted the recap from game one of the Kings - Coyotes split-squad game over in Arizona.

Here are ten post-game notes from the second contest, this one was in downtown Los Angeles...

* Slava Voynov looked strong throughout the game. He scored the Kings only goal in regulation (a power play marker at 5:53 of the second).

* Voynov had five shots, trailing only Dustin Brown and the Coyotes Patrick O'Sullivan (six) for most in the game.

* Coach Terry Murray on the play of Voynov - "I thought Voynov had a very good game. He’s got great awareness on the ice, with or without the puck. I wish he would sometimes shoot the puck a little bit more at times, but he has great composure."

* Jack Johnson played a whopping 32 minutes in the game. Voynov and Rob Scuderi had the second most on the team, around 24 minutes.

* Kyle Clifford led all LA players with 11 penalty minutes, including five minutes for fighting Ryan Hollweg in the second period. The Colonel lost the scrap.

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."

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.

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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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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Two Questions, Five Goals and Jerry Maguire

For a team that's only 20 years old, it was more than 25 years in the making.

No team had come back from being down four goals in the playoffs since Minnesota clawed their way to a 5-4 victory over Chicago on April 28, 1985.

Until the Sharks last night.

Meanwhile, the line of Kyle Clifford, Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds was again impressive, picking up two goals.

Kevin Westgarth and Dustin Penner picked up a point.

Ryan Smyth scored a goal.

Yet, the Kings gave up five goals in the second period. FIVE!

Which leaves two questions to ponder today...

Kings lose 3-2 in overtime - highlights from SJ video feed

For the Los Angeles Kings, there's nothing to be ashamed of - they just didn't get the win.

A few quick post-game notes:

* Earlier this week coach Terry Murray was asked about the possibility of Drew Doughty's ice time increasing to around 30 minutes per game in the playoffs (article here). With the extra time needed to determine the outcome, Doughty played a team high 30:28. Dan Boyle led the Sharks with 35 minutes even.

* Not only did Justin Williams lead the Kings with two points (a goal and an assist), he produced the most shots also - six.  San Jose was led by Devin Setoguchi with seven shots.

* Dustin Brown was tops on the Kings with seven hits, followed by Alexei Ponikarovsky with six.  Seriously.  The seven were matched by Setoguchi and Doug Murray of the Sharks.
Game two is Saturday night in San Jose.

Until then, here are the video highlights, as collected from the San Jose feed...





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Kings Win, But Still Want More

"Made the playoffs.... Now time to get home ice!" - Dustin Brown's tweet after the game.

No need for a fancy press conference or long extended quotes from the team captain. That statement says it all.

The Kings have been a very workman like group this year. There isn't a flashy superstar carrying the load offensively or a Norris Trophy worthy season being played on the blueline.

It's been a team game, supported by (for the most part) excellent goaltending.

Make the playoffs - check. Now, next on the list, hold onto home ice.

Here are a few post-game notes and the video highlights from last night's 3-2 shootout win over the Phoenix Coyotes...

One Small Step For Kings, One Giant Step By The Captain

Earlier today we looked at famous old sayings about the importance of defense in team sports.

Then tonight, Dustin Brown put 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' front and center.

In his pre-game interview on MayorsManor the Kings' captain said "we need him to contribute more offensively" when talking about his new linemate, Trevor Lewis.

The rookie center responded by providing two beautiful assists on Brown's pair of goals against the Oilers - which must have been encouraging for Lewis, who felt he needed to be "a little bit more of a creative player" prior to the game. So far, he's backing up his words.

Ryan Smyth picked up an additional assist on the first goal, giving him points in three straight games - the first time he's done that since early February.  Encouraging.

(Oh yeah, Brown was also the guy Kings fans voted as most likely to 'seize the opportunity' in today's poll - results here)

Given the injuries to Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, the above trio will get most of the post-game attention. However, the play of Jonathan Bernier shouldn't be overlooked. He stopped all 32 shots, posted his third shutout of the season and pushed his record to 7-1-3 in his last 11 starts.

On the defensive side of things, coach Terry Murray recently said he's been impressed with Alec Martinez all season (article here) and called him a "contributing player every game." Additional life was breathed into those words when the rookie blueliner took five shots (!) in the first period.

Even while mired in last place, the Oilers' young guns have been the talk of the NHL this season. However, it was a trio of Kings newbies that would have been responsible for dubbing this game 'The Rise of the Rookies.'

And a final note...the win gave the Kings a sweep of their four-game series this season, marking the first time since the two teams began playing each other in 1979-80 that the Kings have been able to accomplish such a feat.

It's just the latest in a string of firsts for the Kings, all while they continue inching closer to the playoffs.

Check out the highlights...

RECAP: Kings GM Dean Lombardi on NHL Live

Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi was a guest on NHL Live this morning.

Below is a recap of what was discussed (as always, these are near exact quotes, with selected paraphrasing for brevity)...

* [topic: Kings have been good on the road lately] True. However, I think a lot of that is when you're a young team it's easier to keep your players focused. I think there is a lot more structure in their day when they're on the road. I also don't think there are a lot of buildings anymore that are intimidating to play in.

* [What was the hot topic at the GM meetings today?] We spent a lot of time on the shootout, defining when the spin-o-rama crosses the line between being a good play and going backwards. I think the biggest issue is we just have to define it. We just want to know what the rule is and there is a bit of grey area right now. I dread the thought of that Flyers-Rangers game (last regular season game of last season), where a season is determined by that play. They'll get on it though. It came to the forefront and we realize the importance of getting some structure in there.

* [Concussions and the Drew Doughty situation earlier this season] That's the problem, 'Should your decisions be based on the identity of the player?' We all know the reality is if it's a top player, it comes to the forefront more. I thought the league did a tremendous job the first two days here of getting all the facts out there. I'm pretty proud of the fact that people are saying we're ahead of the NFL right now. We were the first ones to have a protocol. The amount of data that went into analyzing where these concussions come from, the science of it, what's causing them, etc. I thought the background information was fabulous. There are two things involved here. It's not only what you do, it's how you do things. I thought procedurally the league was excellent. This does not lend itself to an easy sound-bite answer. I love the fact that we took the time to look at the science and have data to back up our thinking. There's no doubt we're ahead of the NFL here and as a league we can be proud of that.

PennerMania By the Numbers (and video)

Monday saw the trade. Tuesday was the physical. Wednesday featured the first practice.

Thursday night was all about Dustin Penner's debut as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

"It's been a while since I've been this excited." said Penner just prior to the game.

* Penner was the 10th left wing to start along side Anze Kopitar on the first line.

* He entered play with 25 career games vs the Coyotes, where he scored 12 goals, added four assists (16 points) and had a minus-6 rating.

* Of his 406 career games played, 68 of them were on a Thursday - the second highest of any day of the week (one behind the 69 on Saturday). However, in an odd quirk, he had scored the fewest goals (13) and most assists (25) on a Thursday.