Daryl Evans previews LA Kings Carter vs CBJ Johnson

LA Kings radio commentator Daryl Evans helps preview tonight's game vs. Columbus. As you'd expect, much of the talk has to do with Jeff Carter and Jack Johnson.

Click here if you want to see what Johnson - now wearing number seven - had to say after scoring his first goal in a Blue Jackets jersey the other night. At the end of the video he also refers to tonight's match-up as 'just a game.'

Also, on last night's MayorsManor LIVE show, we featured Jarret Stoll, Willie Mitchell and Kevin Westgarth sharing some funny stories about Johnson.  If you missed it, click here to listen to the replay now.

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VIDEO: Daryl Evans previews tonight's Kings game vs CBJ

Daryl Evans previews tonight's game in Columbus with Bob McElligott of Blue Jackets TV in the video below. They cover the game in Boston, recent practices, the power play, Drew Doughty, the absence of Ryan Smyth this season, player reaction to Terry Murray's firing and more.

The Blue Jackets have announced they'll go with Curtis Sanford in goal. He's 0-2 lifetime vs. LA, with a 4.60 goals-against average. This season, he's 2-2-1 with a 2.57 GAA when playing at home. The Kings will counter with Jonathan Quick.

Following practice this morning, Jackets coach Scott Arniel had this to say about keeping the Kings’ forwards in check - "You can’t let them play their game. You don’t allow Doughty and Johnson to have the puck and be a part of the offense. They have real good forwards that cycle down low; you’ve got to do a good job of taking away their strengths, and that’s one of them. This is a team that we can’t allow them to use the whole ice – when pucks do get to the top, we have to get inside position. They have some real big bodies that like to get on top of the goaltender."

Game time is 4pm PST.

As usual, we will be running our first goal contest tonight too. If you'd like a chance at winning a free t-shirt from Glass Bangers, simply reply below with the name of the Kings player you think will score the first goal for LA tonight. You can even use your facebook profile to enter.

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VIDEO: New interview with Lombardi on firing of Murray

Daryl Evans conducted the following interview with Kings GM Dean Lombardi earlier today...

To read the article we posted this afternoon 'Making the case for Darryl Sutter' click here.

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VIDEO: LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi on Doughty, rookies

Daryl Evans spoke with Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi earlier today - among the topics: holdout defenseman Drew Doughty and the just completed Rookie Camp. Take a look...

If you'd like to win a pair of lower bowl seats for this coming Wednesday's pre-season game at Staples Center, featuring the Kings vs. the Coyotes, visit www.facebook.com/MayorsManor for all the details.

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Clarifying the confusion over the Kings' color purple

Kings' new purple-less crown

So...here's the deal...

The Los Angeles Kings are dropping the color purple.

Sort of.

The twitterverse is in a tizzy and facebook is in a frenzy over what many are reporting as the Kings dropping the color purple.

Part of that is true.  Per the team's official press release, their primary colors are now black, silver and white.

And as most Kings fans had previously heard, the Kings are moving to the 'shield' logo as their main crest (the one worn on a black jersey during the playoffs the last two years).

The real news in all of this is that the 'new' third jersey will now feature a slightly modified version of the crown that's been in place since Staples Center opened over a decade ago.

LA's 'new' crown is a black and white version, featuring no purple. However, this crest will be placed on the same black and purple jerseys worn at home over the last few seasons.

So, they'll still have purple on their third jerseys and, of course, on their vintage jerseys (to be worn three times this season).

If you've been reading MayorsManor, the dropping of purple from the crown is probably the only updated news here.  Last October I tweeted the Kings were looking at changing jerseys for the 2011-12 season.  Then, in this article back in January we shared some of the details.

In June, the first official picture of the new road jersey was revealed, along with some additional notes on the upcoming jersey shuffling.

Finally, just a few weeks ago, Kings President of Business Operations, Luc Robitaille stopped by MayorsManor to talk in-depth about the reasons behind the jersey changes.

Moral of the story - fear not Kings fans, we have you covered.

If you're looking for some more jersey related news before it breaks though...here's a few tidbits we shared several weeks back...

This season's three Legends Nights - where the Kings will wear vintage purple and gold jerseys - are scheduled to be 12/10 vs. Dallas, 1/2 vs. Colorado and 2/18 vs. Calgary.  The honorees will be Bernie Nicholls, Daryl Evans and Charlie Simmer, as the team is planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the famed Miracle on Manchester.

...fine, fine, fine - you still want more?

This season, the black pants that will be worn under the new home jersey (black with the new shield logo, you still with me?)...those pants are getting a new silver stripe down the leg.

That's it. Done.

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Luc Robitaille talks how and why LA Kings changed jerseys

...to sell more jerseys.

Of course, that's the obvious answer.

However, if you're reading this article, you probably want to understand some of the process and thoughts behind the change. So, here goes...

Last night, during a long one-on-one conversation with Luc Robitaille, Kings President of Business Operations, the team's new jersey was the first topic covered.

"When we came up with our third jersey a few years ago, we realized our fans seem to really take to it and they really enjoyed it," Luc began. "For me, as a player, I loved that era (late 80s, early '90s). We knew we couldn't quite come back to that. But, we tried to find something that would please everyone - which we could never do. We tried to do something as close as we could though."

He also recalled their 'unofficial' marketing survey - "Before we did the third jersey, once we thought we were close, we asked the players 'Do you like this?' They all said they loved it. I always feel that if the players love it, I know the fans are going to love it because we all want to be players."

So, how about moving from a black third jersey to a adding a white version and making them the primary set for the team...

Daryl Evans recaps LA-VAN series on NHL Radio

Daryl Evans - former player and current radio analyst for the Kings - joined the Power Play on NHL radio this afternoon.  Here's a brief recap of his analysis of the just completed LA-Vancouver playoff series:

* The Kings came out and did exactly what they needed to do last night by coming out and setting the tempo early on.  They out-chanced and out shot the Canucks in the first period.  They scored first. And if the Kings could have found a way to open up a two goal lead last night, he believes they'd be back in Vancouver tomorrow night for game seven.

* Thoughts on Luongo - he wasn't extremely busy...he didn't have to make a large volume of saves in the series...but, when he needed to he came up big. Two big saves come to mind - the stop of Frolov in game four (that would have put the Kings up by two goals in the third) and the stop last night on Ryan Smyth "that looked to be a for sure goal."

* Is the fact the series was so close the 'positive' message the Kings have to take away from the series?  The loss is disappointing.  During the regular season the Kings were 29-0-2 when entering the third period with a lead.  They couldn't repeat that success in the playoffs, giving third period leads away in the three games at Staples Center.  They were outscored 11-3 in the third periods of this series.  So, there's some work to be done.  You have to give yourself a pat on the back for making the playoffs.  However, there's probably a handful of events in the series that if 'this or that' would have happened, the Kings would have been in control of the series.  They gave Vancouver a battle...and for this team and the organization - it's going to pay dividiends in the years to come.  In talking to the guys last night, they couldn't wait to get going again next year.  They wanted to apply what they learned.  They believe they're a playoff team now.

* Lots of questions about Quick coming out of the series.  What's your evaluation?  Quick played real solid, especially early on in the series.  He was a factor in the games the Kings won.  Looking at game five, I dont think you can point the finger at the goaltending.  The Kings inability to score 5 on 5 in the series was a factor.  He didn't get the support he needed at the key times.  The Kings had a total of 7 even strength goals in the six games.  Their power play was red hot and that kept them in the series.  Quick learned a lot.  He probably played more than anybody else in the league this year and he works harder than anybody.  If it wasn't for his strong play throughout the year, the Kings wouldn't have even been in postseason.  Next year it will probably be Quick and Bernier.  Splitting the duties next year will probably help both.  I dont want to say Quick was tired, maybe mentaly drained - but, it's a learning process for him and the organization.  The lack of goals were a greater factor in the outcome of the series.

* Simmonds was impressive in the series.  Thoughts?  He was a bright spot for sure.  His strong work ethic over the last two years has given him a spot on the team.  In a perfect world he probably belongs on your 2nd or 3rd line, even though he played up front with Kopitar at times.  Next year, with a few more pounds, he'll be even better.  The scouts did a great job in finding him and convincing Lombardi to draft him.  He led the team in +/- this season and he'll only get better as he matures.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Nick Nickson please pick up the white courtesy phone.  We've heard from Bob Miller in an interview here on Mayors Manor a few weeks ago...Jim Fox stopped by with his High / Low points from game four...above are some comments from Daryl (via NHL radio)...

Nick Nickson, you're on the clock...

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Bob Miller & Daryl Evans on NHL Power Play

With the Kings in Toronto to take on the Leafs tomorrow night, Bob Miller and Daryl Evans stopped by Gretzky's restaurant this afternoon for an appearance on the NHL Power Play, available on both radio and TV throughout North America at 1pm PST.

While it was great to have them talking Kings hockey for over 30 minutes - instead of listening to their normal stories about the Bruins, Flyers, Blackhawks, Penguins and Capitals - there wasn't a lot of new ground broken for fans that follow the team in LA.

Here are some highlights for the curious though:

Bob said this is the 4th year of rebuilding and the expectations are the playoffs this year. His big question coming into the season was how good would Quick be - and up to this point, he's been great.

Daryl eluded to Dave Taylor deserving part of the credit for any success the team has this year, as he drafted guys like Brown and Kopitar.

Bob said Doughty has been outstanding. Dean is very cautious about kids coming in to the NHL too soon, but that hasn't been a problem with Doughty. He probably could have been rookie of the year. The poise he has is so impressive. He's going to be a Norris candidate for many years to come. Both he and Johnson are great players. For Doughty, it's like the bigger the game, the bigger he plays.

Re: Lombardi's comments about Jack and Michigan - Daryl says Jack had to adjust his game when he came to the NHL. He is a strong skater, shoots the puck a ton, can finish guys in the corner, etc. The style you play in college is more run and gun. There is more structure in the NHL. And the minus 18 is not indicative of his play. For example, he hasn't been on the ice a lot with the Kopitar line, so he isn't getting the pluses. Also, he's been on the ice a lot against the other team's top line.

Bob chimes in that he hates the plus/minus stat. He also says Dean meant it as a comment about how much Jack has developed since coming into the NHL. Jack has a great shot, can move up into the play when he needs to, etc.

Bob thinks Quick struggled a little bit at the start of the year, then he turned it around. Last week against Buffalo, Miller was outstanding, but so was Quick. He doesn't think Quick will be out of his league at all when he is with Team USA.

Daryl is not concerned about Quick's fatigue down the stretch. Says Quick is very athletic and the more he plays the more he gets into it.

RE: Frolov's play this year - Daryl says he's not finishing the same way as in the past. His puck protection on a consistent basis hasn't been there, like it was in the past. It's mind boggling given that it's a contract year. Bob added that he's always been a streaky player. However, there is no doubt the Kings want more goal scoring from Frolov.

On the subject of LA needing a superstar to draw, Bob would like to think its about winning. But, he realizes that what has kept the Lakers at the top of the sports pages all these years is that they keep replacing superstar with superstar year after year. He's just not sure who would be available for the Kings to go out and get, Gretzky was a once in a lifetime type deal. Daryl says they can develop the superstar in house, with guys like Doughty. The Kings are an exciting team to watch right now and that helps attract new fans too.

They wrapped things up talking about the Miracle on Manchester and the Triple Crown.

You can watch the full 3o+ minute video stream via Kings Vision by clicking here.

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