Ontario Reign Coach on Poor Season - 'It's All On Me'

Last night was another sellout crowd at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario. And on the ice, the Reign lost another game.

Wait...they won 3-1.

Losing has become such a frequent thing for the team this year it's easy to assume it happened again. However, it didn't. The goaltending - which has been a point of concern all year long - was strong and the offense came through when it needed to.

Prior to the season starting, the Reign had high hopes of returning to the playoffs after just barely missing out last year.

On the eve of game one, their President Justin Kemp was on MayorsManor and emphatically said coach Karl Taylor was "not on the hot seat."  Fast forward 71 games and they have 38 losses, tops in the league.

They'll play their final home game tonight, before another sellout crowd.  But, where do they go from here?

Some thoughts from Taylor after the game last night...

Jarret Stoll Gets Physical with the Dallas Stars

Things aren't always as they appear.

Prior to the season staring, a number of guests stopped by MayorsManor to weigh-in with their thoughts on the coming 82 games.

During one such conversation with John Buccigross of ESPN, he said "This doesn't seem like a team that is expected to go anywhere," when talking about the Dallas Stars.

They led the Pacific Division for most of the season.

Statistically speaking, if Jarret Stoll is on your team, you're counting on him to score some timely goals, win a lot of face-offs and flat destroy the other team's goalie in a shootout. But, lead the team in hits?

Yes, he's third on the Kings this season - albeit, it's a distant third.

Entering play this afternoon, the usual suspects are at the top of the board, Dustin Brown with 280 hits and Matt Greene with 225 hits.  Then, it's Stoll with 151.

However, his top target has been the Dallas Stars.  He has 22 hits against them this year and more hits vs. the Stars than any other team in his career.

What's the story?

MM: Your hit counts are almost always up against the Stars.  But, what got into you the last time the two teams met up (in Dallas on March 13) - you led the Kings in hits that night...

Dustin Penner's Special Relationship with the Dallas Stars

On November 23, 2005 the Kings were spending a day off in Nashville, caught between playing days on a brief two-game road trip.

Nearly 700 miles away a young left winger was about to suit up for his fourth different team in less than two years. More importantly, he was about to make his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars.

They say everything's bigger in Texas, so how appropriate that 6-foot-4, 245-pound Dustin Penner played his first game with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (which they still were back then) in Texas.

He had five shots, zero points and two penalty minutes (goaltender interference) in a 3-1 Ducks loss.

Over the next 418 regular season games he's played the Stars 26 more times and picked up 16 points (nine goals, 7 assists).

Due to the circumstances of his season - read: being traded - this will be the seventh time he's faced them in 2011, having played them four times with Edmonton and twice already with LA.

I caught up with Penner to talk about memories and the 'new' Dallas Stars...

MM: You made your NHL debut against the Stars, so is it still special to play them or have they become just another team at this point?

POLL: LA Kings Player of the Month for March 2011

It's that time of the month again...

After climbing back into the Western Conference playoff race with a record of 8-2-3 (19 points) in February, the Kings followed that up with a 9-3-2 record in March and the 20 points were their high water mark for the season.

Last month, Drew Doughty was the Player of the Month, just barely beating out Anze Kopitar. This time around, he's not even a real contender - with only one goal and four assists. However, another defenseman made a strong case for himself, as did one of the Kings rookies.

Past Player of the Month results (click the month to see the full article and results):

October - Jonathan Quick 51%, Justin Williams 21%
November - Jonathan Quick 52%, Justin Williams 22%
December - Dustin Brown 41%, Anze Kopitar 33%
January - Ryan Smyth 46%, Jarret Stoll 29%
February - Drew Doughty 31%, Anze Kopitar 30%

In alphabetical order, here are the leading candidates for the March Player of the Month...

Interview with Monarchs 'Man of the Year' Bud Holloway

Earlier this week, Bud Holloway scored his team-leading 26th goal of the season for the Manchester Monarchs.

While guys like Thomas Hickey (first round NHL draft pick), Viatcheslav Voynov (just announced as AHL Second Team All-Star) and Oscar Moller (currently up with the Kings) may get more press and attention, one things is clear...

Holloway has a special relationship with the back of the net.

Already a playoff hero from last year - when he tied an AHL record with six game-winning goals during the post-season - he's continued to produce on a regular basis.

The 6'0" left wing was selected by the Kings in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft. He went on to play two more years with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, then split time between Ontario (ECHL) and Manchester during the 2008-09 season. After leading the Reign in playoff points that year, he's been in Manchester ever since.

He added to his resume last season, leading the Monarchs in assists (28) and points (47). And he's found a way to top that this season, already posting 56 points (26g, 30a) with a handful of games remaining.

A few days ago he was voted the 2011 Monarchs 'Man of the Year' for his involvement in the community and is now one of 30 finalists for the league award.

In the interview below we talk about several other Kings prospects, life in Manchester, good pranks, call-ups, the upcoming AHL playoffs and much more...

Forget Schenn, Could Toffoli be Joining Kings Soon?

Truth be told, you can't forget about Brayden Schenn - he's omnipresent.

Prior to the WHL Playoffs staring this past weekend, Schenn stopped by MayorsManor and shared his biggest fear heading into his opening round series with the Price Albert Raiders. Forget the fact that the Saskatoon Blades finished the regular season as the best team in the 'Dub. He was concerned with the Raiders barn - saying "when it's small and it's not a very big rink size, that could be a scary part."

Adding fuel to his worries, the Blades lost last night - game three of the series, but the first in Price Albert's tiny building.

With the recent injuries to Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, Kings fans everywhere have began asking about the possibility of Schenn's return to LA.  However, as reported, he (basically) can't come back until the Blades are eliminated from the playoffs.

It remains to be seen exactly when that will be. Game four of that series is later tonight. [updated at the end of this article]

But, but, but...

Willie Mitchell on Vancouver's Tendency to 'Come Unglued'

Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell has a unique perspective on the Vancouver Canucks. Not only was a member of the team for the last four years, but he also spent the second half of last season observing things off the ice while recovering from a concussion.

As any player will tell you, hockey can be a much different game from the sidelines than it is from the bench or on the ice.

So, what does he think about the his old club as the Kings prepare to face them later tonight? Well, it's really a two-part answer...

MM: First off, any thoughts about facing your old team?

WM:  It's always fun to play against friends and always fun to play against the best team in the league. It doesn't surprise me one bit. Obviously, I was there last year and it's the majority of the same players. It was a team that was on the cusp and now they're coming into their own. It's going to be a real, real big challenge for us. They play really well at home and have been playing great hockey. So, they have confidence. Those are the teams you want to play against. Those are the teams you want to see how you match-up, it motivates you. It's going to be a lot of fun.

MM: When you say you're not surprised by their record, is there anything that's different about this Canucks team compared to the one you were part of last season?

Dustin Brown says 'It's on the players that are playing'

Last season didn't end the way the Los Angeles Kings had wanted or envisioned.

Returning to the post season for the first time in eight years - with a new General Manager, new coach and entirely new roster - they faced off with the Vancouver Canucks, a team they last saw in the playoffs following the 1992-93 season.

After splitting a pair of overtime games in Canada, the series was tied 1-1 and headed back to Staples Center. With the building as loud as it's probably ever been, the Kings offense exploded for five goals - three of them on the power play, including two by Michal Handzus - and downed the Canucks to gain a 2-1 series lead.

Vancouver took over from there, winning the next three games and closing out the series in six games.

Say all the positive things you want about 'learning to lose' and being 'a young team, they'll only get better' - yet, it was still a tough pill to swallow for a group that hoped of so much more.

Kings Take The Field For Opening Day at Dodger Stadium

Dustin Brown - captain or catcher?

Over the last few seasons, the Kings and Dodgers have developed a more-than-friendly relationship.

In fact, when cross promoting each other, the home team had a perfect 6-0 record until just a few months ago.

Later this afternoon the boys in blue will take the field at Dodger Stadium against the hated San Francisco Giants to begin their new season.

After writing many times over the last few years about the parallels of these two teams - i.e. GMs from division rivals, tons of young talent, just one key player away from a possible run at a championship, etc. - I thought I'd go a different route in honor of Opening Day.

Which Kings players would step in for the Dodgers if they took over the starting line-up? Here's a quick look...

First Baseman, James Loney is... Dustin Brown - the all around, solid ball player that is under appreciated and underrated, even in his own town.

Second Baseman, Juan Uribe is... Justin Williams - somebody who put up good numbers with a different club, but you never truly appreciate how good he is until he's on your team.

Shortstop, Rafael Furcal is... Drew Doughty - either of these players could easily be called the best players on their team and be recognized as league MVPs in any year.

Anze Kopitar on Younger Brother Gasper

Yesterday we brought you a one-on-one chat with the other Kopitar, Gasper.

Five years younger than Kings' star center Anze, Gasper is currently playing in the USHL and living the dream, as they say.

He's biding his time and honing his skills, just waiting for the possible chance to someday play in the NHL. However, at times, the conversation read more like one with a scout than a player - as he weighed in on a myriad of Kings prospects, including Brayden Schenn and Jordan Weal.

Gasper also never appeared shy with his feelings or opinions...and went so far as to say that, sure, his older brother gives him advice on how to become a better player - but, that he returns the favor by advising Anze on how to play better.

Is this possible? Plausible? Pretend? Or just preposterous?

Here's how big brother responded to little brother's claims...

"Well, he was a great partner this past summer" Anze said. "We were working out together, skating together back home. So, he was a great partner. He's getting bigger. He's getting a lot stronger too. Soon, I'm going to have my hands full, even though he's five years younger. He's definitely matured a lot. He's definitely... again, challenged me to work even harder because if he works harder, I still want to beat him at every thing. So, it made me work harder and it was fun times."

As noted in Gasper's interview, he and the Des Moines Buccaneers have six games left in their regular season and are trying desperately to qualify for post season action. Only two spots remain unclaimed in their conference.

Once that plays itself out, should Anze need some help this off season while recuperating from his ankle injury, little brother Gasper is just a phone call away and he'd be happy to push him along.



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