Blackhawks game - three points of view from LA blueline

Tonight will be the first match-up of the year between the Kings and Blackhawks. Last season, Chicago took all four games in the series, pushing their win streak over Los Angeles to six straight and they're 9-0-1 in the last 10 meetings overall.

Last hour we looked at some fun facts leading into tonight's game - including notes on Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Sean O'Donnell, Daniel Carcillo and more (link).

Now, three of the Kings' starting defensemen weigh in with some thoughts...

Drew Doughty - "We know how good they are. We know all their skilled players and what they're all about. It's going to be a tough task for us. We need to come out with a win. We can't be satisfied with only getting three out of four points every time. We need to be winning every game if we can against teams like Chicago, and we have San Jose right after that. There are two huge games for us and we really need to win both of them."

Jack Johnson - "They're still a great team, they still have their top players there and they're some of the top players in the league. Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp - those are great players. They're going to be a tough team to play, for sure. I feel like every time we talk about the next team, we're going to say 'they're a tough team.' But, that's just the way it is now. That's the NHL wants it. The margin for error is so small, a bounce here or there can determine a hockey game."

Kings vs Blackhawks pregame primer - a few fun facts

Before we get into the fun of hearing from a trio of Kings defensemen regarding tonight's match-up with the Blackhawks, let's first run through a few quick notes and stats...

- For Simon Gagne and Mike Richards, today's game may be a little more personal than it is for other members of the Kings. It was the Blackhawks who beat their then-team, the Flyers, in overtime for the Stanley Cup back in 2010.

- During the regular season, Richards has only played Chicago five times in his career, posting two points (both goals). He was also clocked a few times during a fight with Troy Brouwer in one of those game back in 2008 (video). However, Brouwer has moved on to Washington this season, so any thought of a rematch will have to wait until the Capitals visit LA in January.

- Also, don't expect Blackhawks' pest Daniel Carcillo and Richards, his old pal from Philly, to have too many beefs on the ice - they're friends off of it. Now, Kyle Clifford on the other hand...

- And speaking of fights, it looks like Kevin Westgarth won't be getting another dance with John Scott tonight. Almost one year ago to the day, these two squared off in a battle at Staples Center that saw Westgarth leave the ice in a bloody mess (video).  Then, they met up again the following month and things only went slightly better (video).  Scott is expected to be a healthy scratch tonight, while Westgarth will be playing in his third straight game.

NHRA champ Tony Schumacher talks Blackhawks, Kings

Tony Schumacher (photo: NHRA)

Tony Schumacher may drive an NHRA top fuel car for a living, but he easily relate to the pressure that must come from playing in overtime of a game seven during the Stanley Cup Finals.

Yes, he's a seven-time World Champion. Yet, perhaps his defining sports moment was in 2006. Entering the final race of the season he and his U.S. Army sponsored crew needed to do just about everything to overtake the points leader - including win the race and set a new elapsed time record. In one of the most unlikely scenarios, it all came down to what's now known as 'The Run' - where he made one pass down the track to win the race, set the record and capture the championship.

Sudden death if there ever was one.

Away from the drag strip, his passion is simple to understand.

"I love hockey," said Schumacher during a recent conversation. "I grew up playing hockey with the St. John's Military Academy. If I'm not racing, and people ask me what kind of sports I'm watching, I'm watching guys on ice knock each other over and scoring goals. It's amazing what the sport has done since the rule changes a few years ago - it is so fast, so good. It's mind boggling, how a man can put on a pair of skates and be that good at anything."

When the Kings and Blackhawks battle on the ice tonight, you can bet 'The Sarge' will be watching.

"I live in Chicago, so I'm obviously a Blackhawks fan," Schumacher shared. "But, the only other jersey I have hanging there is an LA Kings jersey, signed about four or five years ago by the whole team."

Originally from Southern California, Schumacher still marvels that hockey has become so popular on the west coast.

Is Dustin Penner planning a heel turn?

In pro wrestling, one of the keys to any good heel turn is a slow simmering build. It's as if the audience knows it's coming like a storm from far off in the distance. They can see it. They're just never sure if or when it will reach land.

On January 23, 1984 Hulk Hogan won the WWF Championship in Madison Square Garden and he was riding high as the top babyface in the business for the better part of the next decade. Then, in 1994, he signed with rival WCW, based in Atlanta, GA. Two years later, after the fans had already begun to boo him, Hogan turned heel and formed the New Wold Order - more commonly known as the NWO.

In June 2007, Dustin Penner won the Stanley Cup. He was the toast of the town and the Oilers agreed - signing him to a big money, five-year contract to get him to jump ship and come play in Edmonton. Late last February he was traded to LA and PennerMania took off. Kings fans couldn't get enough of the team's new left wing.

When his production dried up late in the year though, some fans started to grumble. Throughout the summer he trained, ate his vitamins and said his prayers - and it looked like a new-and-improved #25 was about to emerge. However, injuries have slowed him down so far this season and the once small group of hardcore fans that had turned against him seem to be adding new members at an alarming rate.

Then, this...

During a casual conversation with Penner after practice yesterday, something interesting happened...

Willie Mitchell on the new defensive pairings

The Kings have only played 22 games so far this season, yet defenseman Willie Mitchell is already on his third different partner.  Twice he's been teamed with Slava Voynov for a stretch of games - once when his regular partner, Drew Doughty, was injured and then more recently when the Russian blueliner was called up to replaced an injured Alec Martinez.  Then, a few days ago, Voynov was put with Matt Greene. Rather than team Doughty back up with Mitchell, he moved on to Rob Scuderi - leaving Jack Johnson as Mitchell's new partner.

"We've all played a lot with each other. But, it's different, it's an adjustment," said Mitchell, when asked about the recent changes. "I feel pretty comfortable with Voynov and Doughty. Most people can see that I've played pretty well with both those guys. Now, I'm kind of starting to roll with Jack. We played together last year for a little bit. But, I was playing on the right side, in an area I really wasn't comfortable with. To be honest, I was battling a couple injuries, so I wasn't at the top of my game, so to speak.

"I think the idea was to have a guy out there who was pretty responsible on the defensive side of things, get out there with Jack and hopefully compliment his offensive side of the game and settle things down. So, I think it's been a little better than what we were last year, as a pairing. That said, we have to continue to try and get better as a unit. It's our job to go out there and play, coaches put together what they put together for their rhymes or reasons. For the most part, we've all kind of played with each other. So, it just takes a few different reads, as far as - Jack, obviously plays on his off-side, so you have to be aware of certain situations with that."

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...

Mike Richards on 'that play' in Dallas and postgame mood

With Ethan Moreau in the penalty box and 25 seconds left on the game clock Wednesday night, the Kings and Stars lined up for a faceoff in the neutral zone. Having already pulled their goalie, Dallas placed six skaters in a formation that looked like a team lined up for up an onside kick along LA's blueline. Mike Richards skated in for the faceoff...

"I kinda had an idea what they wanted to do," said the 26-year old center. "But, that makes it a lot tougher when it's six-on-four. There's not a whole lot you can do, I guess. I just missed what I was trying to do on the faceoff. The puck turned over pretty quick and it got caught up in (Willie Mitchell's midsection), just a comedy of errors. They made a good play. But, you don't see that very often. The stars have to align from them to do that."

Coming back home, what was the mood - happy about getting three out of the four points or upset about losing in overtime?

"I think you're disappointed when you lose, especially in that manner. But, you can't dwell on something like that. You have to be encouraged by what we did on the road trip and get ready for tomorrow's match."

If you missed Moreau and coach Murray sharing their opinions on the slashing penalty that led to the above situation, click here to read the article posted earlier today on MayorsManor.
Up next, Doughty talks about the draw, the goal and how the Kings prepared for the situation.

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Kings coach Murray not a fan of Moreau slashing 'his buddy'

LA's coach Murray (photo: D. Sheehan)

Last hour, we posted comments from Ethan Moreau regarding the penalty he took late in the game on Wednesday vs. the Dallas Stars.

Terry Murray was still a little hot under the under collar when asked about it today, more than 36 hours later.

"He took a horseshit penalty, that's ridiculous," began the Kings coach. "You can't take a slashing penalty with two minutes left in the game, a veteran player. Just come out and run over that guy. You don't slash. I don't like those penalties."

He wasn't done though. Murray was just getting warmed up.

"Ones in the crease, the scrums, where you're grabbing a hold of a guy, giving him a facewash once and a while or cross checking a guy, whatever - I don't mind those, we'll kill those off. Those are hard penalties. It's a part of the game and it's a part of our team that we want to (continue with). But, penalties have to be timed, you have to have awareness, you have to know how the flow of the game is going. When you get into the latter part of the game, you have to move your feet and keep your sticks in - no slashing, no hooking. Don't bring the referee into the game. Unfortunately, we've had some situations this year where we've brought the referee in a little bit too often."

Moreau has played in all 22 of the Kings games this season. Will his 'mistake' cost him a spot in the line-up tomorrow vs. Chicago?

Moreau - 'You can't give the referee an option on that play'

Moreau, LA Kings practice (photo: D. Sheehan)

Grit, sandpaper, character...

Those are just a few of the words that were used to describe winger Ethan Moreau when he signed a free agent contract with the Kings late this past summer.

The veteran forward was thought to be somebody who could come in, be a physical presence, chip in a few goals from time to time and help mentor some of the Kings younger players. After all, the former first round pick served as the captain in Edmonton, an assistant captain last season in Columbus and has been to the Stanley Cup Finals.

To date, he's played in every Kings game this season - recording zero goals and three assists. Among the skaters on the team who have played in all 22 games, the only one to see less total-ice-time than Moreau has been Kyle Clifford.

However, even with those limited minutes, he's fourth in hits (44) - and perhaps more disturbing though - he's third on the team in penalty minutes (20) and tops among players who don't have at least one fighting major to boost their totals.

His slashing penalty with less than three minutes to go in the game Wednesday night is what ultimately led to the Stars' tying the game.

After practice today, he spoke a little about the play:

LA Kings coach Terry Murray talks Johnson's hit on Ribeiro

Following up on the last post, here's what Kings coach Terry Murray had to say about the hit Jack Johnson put on Mike Ribeiro just seconds before Steve Ott scored the game winning goal the other night...

"Could there be another time and another place? Maybe. If you slow the video down...you see a four-on-two coming. Kopi had fallen down and Loktionov is too deep - he should have been higher, he should have been at the depth of Kopitar. He probably would have been able to break the play up. I don't want to take that away from (Johnson's) game though. I like the fact that he's playing with that type of an attitude against better players on the opposition. There's a time and a place for everything. Could he have pulled it back a little bit and read the situation of four-on-two, (and thought) 'I can't do it right now'? Maybe. But, it happened."

Would you rather he take out Ribeiro in that situation and then take your chances with Steve Ott at the other end of the ice?