Doughty thinks the Kings weren't lined up the proper way

As described in the article posted last hour...with time quickly expiring in the third period Wednesday, Ethan Moreau was in the penalty box, with the Kings and Stars lined up for a faceoff just outside LA's blueline.

Drew Doughty, who wasn't on the ice at the time of the draw and subsequent goal, said Dallas' formation isn't really that uncommon.

"Teams do that all the time if they need that goal late. They'll line up a guy wide and then try to win the draw laterally, and hope for the best. It worked out perfectly (for them). At the same time, I don't think we lined up the proper way too. I think we probably should have had a couple guys in the middle and taken care of the middle first - rather than give up a 2-on-1 that quickly. So, it was a tough way for them to tie it up, that's for sure."

On Steve Ott being the one to get the game-winner in overtime...

"He's a good player. He's a little rat, so it sucks that he scored the goal," quipped Doughty. "But, same thing on that goal - a 2-on-1 should never happen. We tried to track back and kind of get the play. But, you know, it was a bad bounce. We can't be letting teams back into the game like that. We didn't have a good game to begin with and we were up two-nothing. There's no way we should have let them get three goals."

On Jack Johnson's big hit on Mike Ribeiro just seconds before 'the rat' scored...

Kings' Jack Johnson explains the hit on Stars' Mike Ribeiro

Just seconds before Steve Ott scored the game winning goal for the Stars on Wednesday night, Kings defenseman Jack Johnson flat annihilated Mike Ribeiro at the other blue line.

In fact, in took Ribeiro several seconds to get up and get off the ice under his own power. However, his coach proclaimed him 'just fine' after the game and yesterday he was reported to be completely normal, without any signs of a concussion.

If you're the Kings, you would assume they'd rather take their chances with Ott at the other end than Ribeiro - who has 41 points in 42 career games vs. the Kings.

After practice today I asked Johnson if there were any smaller, less noticeable things going on between he and Ribeiro throughout the game.

"No, that was something that just happened," said the Kings defenseman. "He caught a pass in the middle of the ice and I didn't really expect him to cut back into me. It was more of, I was just going to pressure him. When he cut right into me, I figured 'Why not?' and it just ended up that way. But, there was no intention of going after him or anything. That was just the way it played out.

It had to feel good though to lay such a solid hit on a guy who's caused lots of problems for the Kings in the past though, right?

"Well, he's a tricky guy," quipped Johnson. "He's not an easy guy to hit. I think he surprised me just as much as I surprised him. I didn't expect him to do that (cut into me). He's a smart player and he's aware of everything around him. So, he's not an easy guy to hit and I'm sure he'll be trouble for us again.

Up next, comments from coach Terry Murray on the hit and ensuing goal.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

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Coach Murray 'pushing and pulling' Jack Johnson

10 Tidbits on the Kings come from ahead loss in Dallas

It's time to close the book on what was a more than disappointing game for the Kings last night in Dallas.  Leading 2-1 with less than three minutes to go, Ethan Moreau took a slashing penalty. Near the end of his time in the box, Jamie Benn scored to even things up. Then, Steve Ott scored the game winner in overtime.  Here are 10 other tidbits from the contest...

- Mike Richards put the Kings on the board first. He's now scored in five straight, has six goals in the last five games and eight goals in the last eight games.

- From NHL.com: "L.A. made it 2-0 just 36 seconds later when Kevin Westgarth blistered a wrister from 50 feet to the right of Lehtonen for his first goal of the season at 5:29." It was game number 73 for Westgarth in the NHL.

- Just prior to the game-winning goal by Ott, Jack Johnson absolutely leveled Mike Ribeiro at the other end of the ice. Expect a receipt on that one when the Stars visit LA on December 10.

- Both franchises joined the league as part of the Second Six expansion in 1967. The win by the Stars was their 100th regular season victory over the Kings. The only team they have more wins against is the Detroit Red Wings (101).

- The crown jersey (aka the 'alternate' jersey) is now 2-2 on the year. It will see action next on December 8th. However, the two road games this week were the only times it will be worn away from Staples Center this season.

Audio: Terry Murray's postgame presser after 3-2 loss

During Terry Murray's postgame presser in Dallas tonight he talked about Mike Richards, Jonathan Quick, Steve Ott and more. Take a listen...



Even with the loss, the Kings return home with three of the possible four points on the road trip and have gone 5-2-1 in their last eight games.

Prior to facing the Stars, Jarret Stoll and Drew Doughty shared thoughts about the match-up in articles here and here.

More notes up later.

The Mayor
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Midweek Musings

Brief update as we hit the midpoint of the week:

* Monday was Thomas Hickey's 21st birthday. He remains the top rated Kings prospect, according to HockeysFuture.com. The former captain of Team Canada at the World Juniors is currently recouping from a shoulder injury sustained in late November. Speculation has him possibly returning in late March / early April. To read more about Hickey's skills and leadership, check out this NHL.com article that was posted last summer.

* Two of the other Kings top prospects - both recent number one draft picks by LA - Colten 'Mr. Nasty' Teubert (Regina Pats) and Brayden Schenn (Brandon Wheat Kings) faced off last night in WHL action. On Tuesday night the Wheat Kings beat the Pats for the fourth time this season, the final score was 6-2. Neither player scored.

* Today is Dallas Stars forward Mike Ribeiro's birthday. He just returned from a pretty bad injury. How long he'll remain in a Stars uniform seems to be the big question. Rumors are circulating throughout Dallas that he and/or Steve Ott are about to be traded. (You may recall, in an article here I speculated on Ott's fit with the Kings).

* Received an odd email the other day from a follower on Twitter. They alerted me to a post (or should I say tweet) from @POVJoe that read "Tomorrows game plan..Kings game in Anaheim with 8 Ice Girls. Im taking 8 of them to the game to watch the kings cook the ducks. Pics to cum" Oh boy - sounds exactly like the type of PR the Kings don't need. To date, nothing has surfaced.

* Added a link near the top left corner of the page called INTERVIEWS. In case you've missed any of our interviews with guys like Robitaille, Roenick, Modano, Blake, etc. you can quickly access them through the new Interview page.

* Reminder - Thursday night is the first of three upcoming bobblehead nights. To see pictures of the other two bobbles click here. For those wondering why Simmonds was selected to go first, a Kings email this week included the following "This Thursday...the first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a Wayne Simmonds bobblehead. Also, as part of Black History Night, Willie O'Ree, the first black player in the NHL, will take part in the ceremonial puck drop."

* Pictures of Jonathan Quick's TEAM USA mask for the Olympics have been posted HERE and HERE.

The Mayor
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Steve Ott a future LA King?

As the NHL rumor mill kicks into high gear - leading up to the first of two trading deadlines - it seems that every five minutes a new story gets out about the Kings possible interest in Ilya Kovalchuk.

Last week, we had a story looking at some of the other probable players on the move and the reasons why they would or wouldn't be a good fit for the Kings (linked here).

There's also another player who might be in the mix, a guy flying below the radar of names like Ray Whitney and Sheldon Souray...Steve Ott.

Now, there's no guarantee he'll be moved out of Dallas. However, a recent article by Stars' beat writer Mike Heika shed some light on the difficulties the Stars are having in getting the unrestricted free agent-to-be inked to a contract extension:

The talks are cordial, Ott wants to stay in Dallas, and both sides say everybody is happy and open to negotiations. But the fly in the ointment is that it's really tough to define what Steve Ott is right now.

Is he a gritty third line forward who can kill penalties, agitate and help the team win? Is he a top six forward who can score goals and help make a skilled line tougher? Is he the elusive shut-down checking line center who can win faceoffs that this team so desperately needs?

He goes on to say things like:

He is a very good player who has a lot of value in this league as an unrestricted free agent, but he may not have that same value to his own team.

and then

If Loui Eriksson is getting a raise to $4.25 million next season and Brenden Morrow makes $4.1 million and James Neal is going to need a raise into the $4 million range pretty soon, do the Stars have the space to pay another winger $2.5-3 million? Would Ott even accept that kind of offer?

You can read his whole article by clicking here.

The Kings have a history of pulling deals out of left field. A trade for Ott would certainly qualify as such.

Just remember, he's solid on faceoffs and isn't afraid to go to the corners - two valuable attributes come playoff time.

The Mayor
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