Pre-Game Notes: Ducks vs Kings for the 100th Time

It's been more than a decade since both the Kings and Ducks were in the playoff hunt this late in the season.

Surprisingly, the two teams have never participated in post season play at the same time. Could this be the year?

When it comes to regular season match-ups, this will mark the 100th time the Kings and Ducks have squared off. LA holds the edge in the lifetime series 45-36-18, including 2-1 so far this season.

How many goals does your favorite Kings forward have against the Ducks?

Take a look - Anze Kopitar 12 goals in 29 games, Dustin Brown 12 goals in 40 games, Michal Handzus 9 goals in 41 games, Ryan Smyth 8 goals in 55 games, Justin Williams 6 goals in 14 games, Jarret Stoll 5 goals in 29 games and Wayne Simmonds 5 goals in 15 games.

TRIVIA QUESTION - How many total goals do the Kings six defensemen have against the Ducks lifetime? (answer below)

Other notes and links of interest...

Dustin Penner Looking to Bring the Penner Cup to LA

Tonight will be another first for Dustin Penner, as he suits up for the Kings against their cross-town rival - and his former club - the Anaheim Ducks.

Players always have a special bond to their first team. It's usually the team that drafted them or where they scored their first goal. And if they happen to have won a Stanley Cup there, as Penner did in 2007, the attachment is even stronger.

However, unless you're Steve Yzerman or Joe Sakic, at some point reality sets in - hockey is a business and that guy is traded or leaves town a different way. When it happens, it's jarring. A new city, new teammates, a new routine and so on.

Then, if it happens again (and it usually does), the transition is often much easier on all involved. Guys have a thicker skin at that point.

So, tonight's game vs. the Ducks won't stir up all the same feelings for Penner as it did when he first played the Ducks in 2007 as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Still though, it means just a little more than most regular season games.

MM: How different will this be for you, the 'first time' against Anaheim as a member of the Kings?

DP: I think it's a lot different. I remember what a big rivalry it was when I was with the Ducks several years ago. It should be interesting, especially with the position of the teams and how the season has been going for both clubs. It's been a hard fought series too and it always has been. Both teams are in a playoff position now and looking to increase their lead.

MM: They've had some turnover there, like every team in the league. You still have some friends there though, right?

Drew Doughty Comments on Mark Hardy

photo courtesy of Michael Zampelli

Earlier this week former Kings defenseman and assistant coach Mark Hardy was a guest on the MayorsManor podcast.

Among the myriad of topics discussed was the play of the Kings current defensive group, many of whom Hardy coached over the last few seasons. Specifically, he broke down some of the challenges Drew Doughty has faced the last two years and the changes he's had to make in his game. Hardy also had plenty of praise for #8, even calling him his "favorite player on the Kings."

After practice yesterday Doughty provided a few thoughts on his former coach in return...

Doughty - "Harpo's a good coach. You know, as a player he really taught me a lot. I think when I first came into the league I was kinda - not that I was laid back, but my intensity wasn't where it is now defensively. He really taught me to be hard in the corners and strong in front of the net. That's one thing he really helped me with and from day one he gave me that confidence, he started playing me over 20 minutes (a game) in my rookie year. That confidence really helps me today, making the Olympics last year - a lot of that was just all confidence. He instilled that in me. He's a great coach and we miss him here."

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RELATED LINK:  Mark Hardy on Kings Defense and Power Play

More Notes on Yesterday's Prospect Report

The Hockey News 'Future Watch' list has created several questions for some people, so here are a few follow-up notes on yesterday's article...

* Why Oscar Moller wasn't ranked is a multi-part answer. First, the list is pretty much for 21-and-under prospects. Moller turned 22 in January. However, he wasn't ranked last year either. So, what's the deal? Well, each team provides a list of their top prospects (believed to be 10 players) and then THN cross references that list against a panel of NHL scouts. Essentially, the top 75 is the consensus list from the panel and the 'other' prospects come from the teams list. Thus, if Moller wasn't on the list, perhaps you can assume his name wasn't submitted.

* In addition to the top five players listed yesterday, the 'other' prospects this year were Jake Muzzin, Colten Teubert (since traded in the Dustin Penner deal), Thomas Hickey, Maxim Kitsyn and Martin Jones.

* According to THN, last year's top 10 list was:

Update on Kyle Clifford and Last Night's Fights

Brad Richardson will be in the line-up tomorrow night, playing left wing.

That's per coach Terry Murray after practice today.

You can extrapolate from that the fact that rookie Kyle Clifford will get the night off. Murray also talked about Clifford a little when talking about Kevin Westgarth's fight last night vs. the Blues.

MM: Earlier in the season you talked about Westgarth needing to pick the right spots when engaging in a fight. Last night, early on in the game, was that the right time?

TM:  "I thought it was great. I really do. I think that was absolutely what the team needed. We didn't respond the right way, it's what we needed though going in. Coming off a road trip like that you need a player to really take on some of that responsibility to fire your team up and say 'Hey, we're here to play. We're here to compete,' and he did the right thing. So did Clifford. He responds the right way to get us going. These are rookie players. Westgarth is a young guy, but a rookie. And Cliffy's 19 years old (MM: actually 20) and he recognized the need for something, again, to spark a fire here. He tried to do the right thing."

Regarding Clifford not coming back into the game, he went on to say...

Coach Murray: 'I screwed up' Preparing for St. Louis

OK, so fan-gate is behind us now.

Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray re-addressed his comments on the booing last night here.

Let's move on...

They say if you don't learn from your mistakes (and/or history), you're bound to repeat things in the future.

As such, after practice today Murray provided some thoughts on the Blues going 4-0 against the Kings this season and specifically the loss last night...

Murray - "They play a hard game. They play gritty and we're not matching the intensity. That's probably the bottom line. The other part of it too, in that game last night, is when you come back after four games and the way we dug in with the physical effort and the emotional effort that we had to put into it (the road trip), there's really not a lot left to draw on when you only have one day off. I think I screwed up. I think we should have practiced (note: Wednesday's scheduled practice was cancelled by Murray late Tuesday night). I think I should have brought the team to the rink for a 30-minute skill session only. Just to keep your mind in it, keep your body going, flush the legs out. I have to take a lot of responsibility for that. I think with a young hockey club, especially, it's very easy to take that sigh of relief again coming off the road and say 'Now it's going to be a little bit easier,' when it only gets harder."

Still more to come later.



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Kings Coach Murray Still Talking About Fans Booing

At practice today, Kings fans were still a hot topic.

As you're probably heard by now, coach Terry Murray was very peeved after the game last night - specifically about fans booing the team off the ice heading into the second intermission.

During his super short post-game press conference yesterday, part of his quote was "That is the most embarrassing thing I have ever been through. That’s the worst I’ve ever been through, in all the years I’ve been coaching. I’ve been behind the bench almost 3,000 hockey games in the NHL, and booed off the ice by your own fans at the end of the second period, here after this road trip, going 4-0 in hard places, very disappointing."

Today, when asked about his comments last night, well - it was a little softer...

"I was very upset about how things went last night, with the way we played right from the very start of the game. The turnovers, being outbattled along the boards, dot to boards, giving up the great scoring chances we did. Our power play, right at the start, we have an opportunity to do something and we don’t. We turn the puck over, we go offside on it right at the start. There’s just a lot of things that were frustrating. And obviously the fact that we had six shots at the end of the second period was glaring at me the whole game. Then to give up that late goal, it was a reaction by a very frustrated coach. It’s just disappointing. That's the last thing you want to hear, really. Going into the dressing room you're trying to find a way to start a fire there, to get a good 20 minutes of hockey. If that's what you go into the room with, that's probably what you're remembering as much as anything else that's happened during the game. So, I was frustrated. Look, I've said this many times - we have great fans here, I know that. They mean a lot to this hockey club. They've brought a lot of energy, a lot of emotion to our games and helped us through a lot of difficult times. The atmosphere in our building from the middle of the year last season, all the way through the playoffs, has been incredible - because of the fans. So, I overreacted, probably. You don't want to drag that (the booing) into the reason why (the team performed poorly), but I did. There's nothing I can do about it now. It's never the right thing to throw stuff at your fans. I know that. It was a night to forget."

More notes from practice coming up later this afternoon.



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LA Kings Prospect Report - Close to The End

The college hockey season is over, junior hockey wraps up this weekend and the AHL isn't far behind.

That's right - the playoffs are almost here.

Most junior teams have a pair of games left this weekend and nearly all of the Kings top prospects in the CHL are poised for great playoff runs, as detailed below.

Also making the rounds recently is The Hockey News 'Future Watch' special edition, which crowns Brayden Schenn as the number one pro prospect.

Other Kings in the top 75 were Andrei Loktionov (#39), Derek Forbort (49), Tyler Toffoli (51) and Viatcheslav Voynov at (54).

Here's a quick run down on those five and a few other notes on the CHL and NCAA playoffs...

Schenn - has posted incredible numbers since being acquired by his hometown team, the Saskatoon Blades, at the trading deadline (20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in 25 games). Regardless of the outcome in their final games this weekend, the Blades will end the regular season with the best record in the WHL. Thus, they're heavy favorites to win the league championship and move on to the CHL's Memorial Cup.

Blues' Janssen Still Studying Clifford and Westgarth?

Had it not been for several injuries, "I believe the St. Louis Blues could have challenged the Detroit Red Wings for the division title this season." Blues radio play-by-play guy, Chris Kerber, on NHL radio yesterday afternoon.

That's one man's opinion.

However, at this point, the St. Louis Blues don't have much to play for - except pride.

They last made the playoffs under former Kings coach Andy Murray two seasons ago. He was then let go a few months into the following season when it was thought the team was underachieving. Ninth place was where they finished then and they currently sit in 13th place.

So, in many respects they may be further away from postseason play than they were two years ago.  Add to that the fact that some of their best players were traded away over the last month and now their most veteran presence is Andy MacDonald - yes, the former Duck.

Even so, the Kings can't take this game lightly - especially considering the Blues have won all three games between the two teams this season.

Anze Kopitar Undisputed - full, extended video

Throughout this season Kings Vision has been producing behind-the-scenes bio pieces on several of the players - including Wayne Simmonds, Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown.

The newest segment is posted below, featuring Anze Kopitar.

A small portion of this will be shown during the next Kings telecast. Here, you get the full, extended version...

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