Westgarth and Clifford talk aftermath of the Gordie trick

Sometimes you get lucky.

Back in November 2010, sitting in the locker room in El Segundo, after some otherwise meaningless weekday practice, Kevin Westgarth and I were chatting about his rookie season in the NHL. Down the aisle about five stalls away was the only other player there at the time - Kyle Clifford.

During one of Westgarth's many stories, the usually quiet Clifford piped up and offered a challenge. The first one to get a Gordie Howe hat trick would owe the other dinner. Westgarth was more than willing to accept and suggedted they would celebrate when their girlfriends were in town. No problem, both sides agreed and a deal was born.

After Clifford turned the trick last night - getting a goal, assist and fight in the same game - Westgarth laughed when reminded of the other little known detail from that original conversation.

Looking to extend the future double date to include some post-meal entertainment, Westgarth had suggested they make the reward dinner and a movie, to which Clifford replied with simply one word - 'No.'

In the locker room last night, Westgarth laughed when reminded of the bet being dinner only. As for what took place on the ice vs. the Senators, "If anybody else had to do it (before me), he'd be my second choice," said the Princeton grad. "It's going to be a nice little dinner. I don't feel too bad buying him that one at all. That was a hell of a game by Kyle Clifford right there, it's great to see."

Coach Sutter's presser vs Sens: full comments vs Sutterisms

Below are full comments from coach Darryl Sutter's post game press conference following the Kings 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. See if you can pull out a few of his popular three-word Sutterisms...

On the balanced effort from the team - "We got lots from... probably half of our shots came from our defense. The power play scored a big goal in the second, and a penalty-shot goal."

On the killer instinct in the second period - "I thought, emotionally, our second period was a strong period. That’s all I was trying to get, was to emotionally draw something out of them tonight."

On Justin Williams eight-game point streak - "Their line wasn't as effective tonight. I don't know if Kopi and Brownie even had shots on goal. So, I don't think if they were nearly as effective tonight."

Quotes from Senators locker room following 4-1 loss to LA

Although the Senators arrived in LA coming off a loss to the Ducks on Saturday, they hadn't dropped back to back games in regulation since early November. On the flip side though, they had only beaten the Kings once in LA and that was more than a decade ago.

Oh, and you want another stat? LA is one of only two NHL cities where their leading point producer, Jason Spezza, had never potted a goal (St. Louis being the other). His night didn't get off to a nice start either, he was hit by an errant puck during pre-game warm-ups and left the ice bleeding.

After 20 minutes of action, Ottawa was down 1-0 and it only got worse from there. They lost the faceoff battle (53 to 47%), were out shot (34-28) and managed a lone goal, while the Kings posted four. Their only 'victory' on the stats sheet would be the 34-24 comparison in hits.

Following the game, here's what they were saying back in the Sens locker room...

Coach Paul MacLean:

On the overall game - "I thought [the physical aspect] of the game was fine. Obviously the score wasn’t very good and I thought that they did a better job of getting to our net than we did getting to their net. We had some opportunities in there as well but they got the big win tonight."

On the penalty shot - "I thought it was a big part of the hockey game. We get the benefit of replay and it shouldn’t have been a penalty shot. We get the benefit of replay one and two and three times. I’m not sure if it’s reviewable in Toronto on that kind of a call, but that’s just the way it is. I think having video means to get it right, so if it’s not right, it should be [reviewed]. That’s why you should have video, to me."

VIDEO: Highlights of Kings 4-1 win vs Ottawa Senators

Led by Kyle Clifford's first Gordie Howe hat trick, the Kings downed the Senators 4-1 tonight and improved their record to 11-1-1 vs. Ottawa. The video below includes some great saves by Jonathan Quick, Trevor Lewis taking a penalty shot - plus goals by Willie Mitchell, Clifford and Jack Johnson.

If you'd like to watch Clifford's first period fight with Zenon Konopeka, click here.

Daniel Alfredsson, who stopped by MayorsManor prior to the game to discuss the Kings and the upcoming All Stat Game (link), scored the lone Ottawa goal.

We'll have post-game notes and quotes up early in the morning

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LA Kings stats vs Senators and ticket contest details

In the last meeting between the Kings and Senators (on November 22, 2010), Anze Kopitar opened the scoring 10 minutes into the first period. LA eventually lost that game 3-2. It stands as Kopitar's only goal vs Ottawa in four career games. How have some of his teammates fared?

Dustin Brown - no goals in six games

Justin Williams - five goals in 27 games

Dustin Penner - three goals in six games

Mike Richards - 12 goals in 21 games

Jarret Stoll - no goals in five games

Drew Doughty - one goal in three games

Sens Alfredsson gives slight preview of All Star Game Draft

Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson has played 1,100 game in a Senators uniform. Just 18 of those match-ups have been against the LA Kings. So, saying it's a team he doesn't know very well is an understatement.

Still, it didn't take him but more than a few seconds when I asked if he had any memories from those games. "We had one game in Ottawa. I think we ended up losing, but we were up by four or five goals. They came back and I believe they won in overtime. It was a crazy game and a fun game to play in. That's probably the one that sticks out the most."

For the record, that game was just over 11 years ago - played January 16, 2001 - and the Kings rallied from being down 5-1. Goals by Luc Robitaille tied things up at 5-5 and later 6-6. Brian Smolinski's overtime winner was his third goal of the game and gave the Kings a 7-6 win. Jamie Storr was credited with the victory in net, after Steve Passmore had given up the first five goals to Ottawa.

Back to tonight though, Alfredsson is looking forward to playing a Western Conference team. "It's definitely more fun," he said. "We play Toronto, Boston, Montreal and Buffalo a lot of games. You know exactly what you're going to expect from them. We don't know as much about (the Kings). We know they're a good defensive team. They don't give you much, but they don't score a lot of goals either. We'll try to find a way to get goals without giving up much. That's going to be the challenge for us."

Senators-Kings preview with Chris Neil - 100 games later

When the Kings last met up with the Ottawa Senators, then-rookie Kevin Westgarth had what Jim Fox described as, 'his first true heavyweight scrap.' On the other end of that dance was veteran Chris Neil, who was celebrating his 600th National Hockey League game that night.

Later this evening, Neil will meet the Kings again - this time, fresh off of playing in his 700th NHL game over the weekend. Like last year's contest, we hooked up with him for a pre-game chat ...

Defenseman Jack Johnson has often remarked it gets a little boring playing so many games within your division. And it's something Neil agrees with, noting - "Every game is an important game now, especially for teams who are trying to climb in the standings or hold a spot. I think LA has stepped up their game, they're playing extremely well. However, when you come to the rink and you have different video - of teams not in your conference, which gets repetitions - you get a different look and guys thrive off that."

Even with all those games against the Maple Leafs, Bruins and Canadiens, that doesn't stop him from keeping an eye on the Kings, Ducks and Sharks - "We watch the standings on their side too. We know LA is a good team, with a lot of good players. They work hard. You see some of their games, after you finish your game and go out for dinner or whatever. When you catch the games, you see what they're playing like and the Western teams play a hard game. It's my style of game too, so I look forward to it."

Speaking of that point, Kings coach Darryl Sutter hasn't had Westgarth in the line-up much lately. If he sits again tonight, will that make Neil's night a little bit easier?

LA-OTT Game Preview w/ Ottawa's Chris Neil

The Kings are preparing to take on a fairly unfamiliar opponent later today in the Ottawa Senators. Over five plus seasons since the lockout they've only met four times, with LA winning the last three.

One of the game-within-the-game stories for tonight is Chris Neil, who will be celebrating 600 games in the National Hockey League.

Earlier today I spoke with Chris about his special achievement, tough guys in the league and preparing for the Kings...

MM: Looking back, your first NHL game was against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Any thoughts about how you're feeling today versus how you might have been feeling that afternoon?

CN:  Playing my first game against Toronto - you don't even remember touching the ice, you're so wound up and excited with your adrenaline going.  After the first period you sort of settle in and you get your groove.  I think to be coming up on 600 games after not even really realizing you're in your first NHL game it's pretty exciting.

In an unusual twist you'll be sharing the milestone with your linemate Jarkko Ruutu (also celebrating 600 games). Have you ever heard of a situation where linemates share a milestone like this?