Where has the shot mentality been in the third period?

Last season, the Kings had a pretty balanced attack when it came to shots taken by period. Over the course of the full 82-game regular season, LA posted 2329 shots in regulation - with 33% coming in the first period, 35% in the second and 32% in the third.

Through seven games this season, the numbers tell a far different story. More than 38% of the Kings' shots have come in the first period and only 27% in the third.

For a team with a 5-1-1 record, you might quickly dismiss it as 'Oh, they've been protecting a lead late in games.' However, that isn't the case - as the Kings have only entered the third period with a lead in two of their seven games.

Is the team tired? Have they been instructed to play more defensively in the third period?

Coach Terry Murray offered this explanation - "I don't want to get into that kind of a mindset (to play more defensively) late in the game. I think it's just the way the game unfolds. Everybody is a good checking team right now. Heck, you have five guys back at their own d-zone waiting for you to come through the middle of the ice now - it's a hard thing to generate a lot of shots. There comes a time in the game when they (opponents) pull back even a little bit more and you have to just chip and try to recover pucks and maybe make something good happen off of that. Early in the game, everyone's kind of feeling their way. So, you can have some possession entries and you have more of a shot mentality. But, if you do have a lead, you're probably leaning a little more to that defensive first attitude."

Jack and USA done, Bernier ready for Ovechkin tomorrow

Johnson and Jagr at IIHF quarterfinals
Photo by Matthew Manor / HHOF-IIHF

Out of the sixteen countries to play in the main pool at last year's IIHF World Championships the United States finished 13th - ahead of only France, Italy and Kazakhstan.

They'll finish five slots higher this year, but there isn't much to celebrate. After advancing to the elite-8, they were bounced in their first game by the defending champions from the Czech Republic.

In today's opening game of the quarterfinals Team USA lost 4-0. Al Montoya (New York Islanders) was announced as injured, so Ty Conklin (St. Louis Blues) was given the start in goal. Jack Johnson played over 20 minutes again, but the offense just couldn't get anything going.

The Kings defenseman also laid out Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils) behind the net in the third period. Probably should have been a penalty, but there was no call.

Johnson finished the tournament with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in seven games, picked up eight penalty minutes and was a minus-4. He also led all U.S. defenseman with 20 shots on goal.

Jaromir Jagr looked every bit the part of a player ready to return to the NHL, posting three goals on his first four shots in today's game. He's now tied for the lead on his team with five goals and eight points (matching the totals of Montreal's Tomas Plekanec).

The Czech's beat Russia for the gold last May and this year's brackets have things lining up for a possible rematch.  Russia has also played in the finals for three straight years, having won the gold medal in 2008 and 2009.

Germany and Sweden will play later today. The winner of that game will play the Czech Republic in one of Friday's semi-final games.

On the other side, the winner of tomorrow's two games - Canada/Russia and Finland/Norway - will meet up in the other semi-final game.

Both the gold and bronze medal games will be played on Sunday, airing live on VERSUS in the U.S.

But, back to that Canada-Russia game. Coach Ken Hitchcock has already announced he's sticking with Jonathan Bernier in goal, who is 2-0 in the tournament. One of the many story lines to watch in that game is if Bernier and the Canadian defense can shut down Alexander Ovechkin. In two games played, he's yet to register a point.



The Mayor
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LA Kings center Anze Kopitar - What if? And what's next?

March 23, 1994 will forever be remembered as the night Kings captain Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe to become the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history.

I'm not so sure March 26, 2011 will have the same staying power over time. But, for now, it's the date that Kings players, fans and management can't erase from their minds.

When Anze Kopitar went down with an injury that afternoon it instantly created numerous 'what if' scenarios.

Perhaps, if he hadn't damaged his leg, we'd be talking about the second round today, instead of next season.

Thus, rightfully so, GM Dean Lombardi and coach Terry Murray brought him up several times during our recent de-brief meetings...

Lombardi on Kopitar's defensive improvement - "Over his first couple of years in the league...he was free-wheeling and it looked great on offense, but he was not a great defensive player. I think, this year, he became one of the best defensive players in the league. You've got a guy here now that has has already done the Yzerman, Sakic transformation. It usually took those guys until 25, 26 (years old) before they figured out how to be a complete player. This kid has done it at an early age. I think that's huge, particularly when you’re dealing with big bodies like San Jose down low. But that’s the irony of it. We all looked at it and thought missing his offense (would be an issue in the series), but we end up missing his defense."

They also missed his compete level - "I remember, during the season, the way he (Kopitar) competed with one-goal leads, the way he played at the ends of some games. It said, 'We're going to win this game.' You could just see where this guy said, 'We will not lose this game.' So, that stride is huge."