Not a lot of new ground broken. Here are the five key highlights:
* When the Kings won the other night there was a great shot of Kings management up in a suite. Hextall jumps up and Lombardi looks so calm, just sitting there. Nick says Dean was trying to figure out who he'll be taking in the 7th round of the draft.
* Did it help the Kings at all to play in Canada, in such a hostile environment...did it help get the playoff juices flowing right away? Nick thinks it did. The players said they think it did. They felt the goosebumps the minute they hit the ice. The anthem got them pumped up. After game one Nick says the players he was worried about the most coming in - guys without playoff experience, like brown and Kopitar - were the guys he was worried about the least coming out of game one.
* Justin Williams, why the benching in game two? Terry Murray made significant changes. Simmonds has played with Smyth and Kopitar this year and it seems like when he gets moved up there he has an extra jump in his step. Murray was confident he could be effective up on the top line. Since Williams has come back he seems to be a step behind. Murray said 'It's the playoffs and I can't wait' for guys to find their game.
* What does LA need to do to score more goals against Luongo. I think the changes they needed to make from game one to game two they accomplished. They put more pucks on the net, they were able to get the forecheck and cycle going...and get more people to the net. You need to disrupt Luongo's flow.
* It looks like Vancouver is playing 8 forwards and 4 defenseman. Meanwhile the Kings are playing all their lines. Do you think that favors the Kings as the series goes more games? Nick says yes, thinks the Canucks defensive is something to look at. He's curious if they'll make a change tonight. Salo is still hurt. Alberts hasn't been effective. As the series series wears on, he'll be keeping an eye on their defensive line-up. A lot of people that follow the Kings think their top 9 or 10 forwards are pretty deep. And a lot of times what happens in a playoff series ends up depending on the performance of the third or fourth line. So that should favor the Kings.
Game three tonight. 7pm.
The Mayor
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