Sutter, Brown and just about everybody at a loss for words

For the second straight game the Kings lost 1-0. With Jonathan Quick in net, it's almost like rinse and repeat. He's playing stellar in net and the team in front of him just can't seem to find a way to bang a few pucks in down at the other end of the ice.

After dropping a crucial game to Calgary, that saw the Kings fall to ninth in the Western Conference standings, LA's coach and captain didn't have much to say or any new answers...

Coach Darryl Sutter:

On losing back-to-back 1-0 games at home - "I don’t think I’ve ever done that, maybe in a playoff series, but not regular season."

On how the Kings can improve - "Keep it simple, get shots and traffic...I think we really have to bear down on the opportunities that we get. You don’t get a lot of opportunities. We don’t give a lot, so you have to bear down on the ones you get."

On any possible trades the Kings may make - "First off, I wouldn’t do that, and secondly, that wouldn’t be something to talk about in the media."

Dustin Brown:

Quotes from the Flames locker room after 1-0 win in LA

In a 1-0 game, it wasn't that surprising when the goaltenders were selected as the top two stars, with Calgary's Mikka Kiprusoff receiving number one and LA's Jonathan Quick getting second. The third star went to Mike Cammalleri, who scored the lone goal of the game. It was his fifth goal in 14 games since returning to the Flames in a trade with Montreal.

After the game, here's what was being said back in the Flames locker room...

Captain Jarome Iginla:

On his goalie's performance - "He’s played as good as I’ve seen him play in his career and that’s counting the Vezina year. All year he’s been outstanding, it’s amazing. He’s having the best year that I can remember. He’s enjoying it too, though."

On moving into eighth place in the Western Conference - "It’s a big step for us. We look at it as ‘if it didn’t go our way tonight, we could be four points out again by two teams and had kind of been getting close and getting close.’ To finally get there is a big step for us. We believe that we are going in the right direction. We’ve played some tough games and tough teams, different style games, road games, and we’ve been chipping away and stuff. It feels good. It’s been a long time; I don’t think we’ve been in a playoff spot all year."

Forward Tom Kostopoulos:

LA shutout by PHX - game recap using only Sutterisms

If there's one thing we've come to expect from the Darryl Sutter era in Los Angeles, it's entertaining - and occasionally confusing - press conferences. As usual, he didn't disappoint last night, even if there weren't any more Merle Haggard references.

For you super busy people, here's the game in a nutshell using only his popular three-word Sutterisms:

- first goal big
- they're no different
- not more physical
- probably counting fights
- missed the net
- that's your problem
- lot of traffic

If you prefer to savor Sutter's full quotes in their entirety, enjoy...

On the overall game - "I’ve said it 100 times, just rewind it. This league is about having the lead and scoring the first goal. It’s a big difference in the game. They’re no different than anyone else when they have the lead."

Quotes from the Coyotes locker room after 1-0 win in LA

Prior to the game, Coyotes forward Ray Whitney referred to match-ups with the Kings as 'muck fests' and usually filled with tight, defensive-oriented hockey. Kings defenseman Jack Johnson went so far as to say the games can be boring to watch, with Phoenix lulling teams to sleep.

Neither was the case in the first period, which featured three separate fights - surprisingly, none of them involving Kevin Westgarth or Paul Bissonnette. Things returned to normal though in the second period when the teams combined for 13 shots on goal. In the end, the visiting Coyotes shutout the Kings 1-0 to pull even with them in the Western Conference standings.

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

Captain Shane Doan:

- On the overall game - "It was great. It’s one of those games that you love to play in and you really like to win. It was a big one for us...Everyone realized how big of a game it was and how important it was for us to find a way to win. They’re ahead of us in the standings, they got the position we want, and everybody is chasing everybody right now"

- On his fight with Dustin Brown - "It’s one of those things, it’s part of the game and Brownie plays that way all the time. He hits hard. Both sides are trying to set the tone and he was more than willing and it’s part of the game. " (note: you can watch the scrap here)

Preview: Fox Sports West feature on PennerCakes event

During the second intermission of tonight's Kings-Coyotes broadcast, Fox Sports West will run a special feature on this week's PennerCakes event at IHOP. The video highlights package includes some quotes from Dustin Penner, thoughts from a few several of the lucky raffle winners who attended, and there's even a small cameo in there from some guy I know. Here's a preview...

Also, fresh up on LAKings.com today is an article about the event by Deborah Lew (link).

Of course, if you somehow have never seen the original letter Penner provided exclusively to MayorsManor, it's posted here.

The Mayor

www.twitter.com/MayorNHL

www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

Doughty and Johnson make predictions - plus ticket contest

Tonight marks game five of the Kings-Coyotes six-game season series. Three of the four played so far have been decided by one goal and two have been shutout wins for LA. Additionally, the teams sit seventh and eighth in the Western Conference standings, separated by only two points.

Defenseman Jack Johnson sizes things up for us...

"Phoenix has been a tough team for us to play against. For whatever reason, we've had some really tough game with them. They're a team who plays well within their structure. They're not an easy team to play against, that's probably the best way to put it. At times, they can lull you to sleep. It might not be the most exciting game for fans to watch, but it's definitely going to be a difficult game to get two points from."

As for who will score first for the Kings tonight, Johnson added - "Mike Richards. Cameras will be on him, hopefully he gets it. I'll be pulling for him to get one."

Good luck to him. Richards has one goal in the last 22 games. His odds improve when looking at his nine career games vs. the Coyotes, where Richards has scored three goals - including one earlier this season.

The Wizard plays the ultimate game of 'Where's Whitney?'

Where's Whitney...going? (photo: D. Sheehan)

This season, #WheresWhitney has become a popular hashtag on twitter among Coyotes fans, as they keep an eye on popular winger Ray Whitney. With the trade deadline approaching though, it's getting harder and harder to figure out where he just might be next.

"I haven't been rumored to go to some of the teams at the bottom of the league yet, like Edmonton." he said, when asked if there was a team out there he hasn't seen his name attached to. "It's been like that the last couple of years now - including my last season in Carolina and then with the rumors again this year."

Talks have cooled of late though, as the Coyotes have gone 5-0-1 in their last six games and enter tonight in the eighth playoff spot.

"Certainly if we would have kept going the way we were going, spiraling, it probably would have happened by now or the talks would have been even more. But, us being in a playoff spot changes that. As long as we're in it by the deadline, it will make things a little more interesting. in terms of what they're going to do. If somebody gives (Coyotes management) a good deal, you still have to think about life beyond this year. If there's a right deal, I'm sure they would do it."

Uprooting and moving his family was a major concern the last time he entered the trade deadline as a pending free agent (2010). And while his wife and three children are still a high priority, if he changes teams again, he has a plan this time around - at least for the short term.

"They'll stay in Phoenix, regardless of what happens, and that would be the tough part. If I do get traded, right to the end would be the best time to do it, on the last day. That would minimize the amount of time I have to be away. It would be hard on my wife and kids, but they also realize there's a looming lockout next year. If there is one, that would probably be the end of my career. So, I realize this could be the last chance for me to go get one."

Nicknamed the Wizard, for the amazing things he can do on the ice, Whitney says he'll eventually end up living back in Carolina once his playing days are over. But, he's far from being ready to become a homebody just yet.

In fact, Whitney would be so perfect for LA, it's probably too good to be true. He plays left wing - the position they need the most help with. His 16 goals so far this season would place him second on the Kings, one behind Anze Kopitar. And his 51 points would have him leading the team.

Oh, and how's this - what was he doing last night?

"I (met) my good friend Justin Williams and his beautiful wife for dinner in Manhattan Beach to shoot the bull a little bit and reminisce about the old days."

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves with a Whitney and Williams reunion though, there's still a game to be played tonight.

"It's a 'muck fest' when the two teams get together," he joked. "We're both defensive oriented teams. However, we realize they have the potential to be a big offensive team. For some reason, it just hasn't clicked this year."

No, it hasn't. But, a scoring left wing sure would go a long way towards solving some of the Kings' problems.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor 

RELATED ARTICLES:

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett on memories in LA, Doan vs. Brown, etc.

Ryan Smyth on the 'almost King' Ray Whitney

Kings players talk Doan, Whitney and Yandle

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett on memories, Brown and more

Tippett instructing practice (photo: D. Sheehan)

Dave Tippett played over 700 games in the NHL, primarily as a left wing for the old Hartford Whalers. Soon after his playing days were over he found himself as the head coach of the Houston Aeros (IHL), where he won a championship in 1999. The following year he stepped up to the NHL, as an assistant for the Kings under Andy Murray.

After a three-year stint in LA, he became the head coach of the Dallas Stars for six years, until being fired in the summer of 2009 when the team missed the playoffs for the first time in six years. Many questioned the move at the the time and some still do to this day. Tippett is one of the most respected coaches in the NHL and even though he won the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year) in 2010, he might be doing his finest job yet with this year's Phoenix Coyotes team.

Leading a roster that was thought not deep enough to contend for a spot in the post-season - especially after losing their All-Star goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadephia Flyers - he somehow has them right in the thick of the playoff race.

Following practice yesterday, I asked Tippett if playing the Kings still holds any special feeling for him or if too much time has passed since he was a part of the LA hockey scene.

"I have a lot of good friends here and my daughter lives in Los Angeles. So, there's always good feelings coming back here. I really enjoyed my three years here too. We made the playoffs all three years and we had a real good group of players, including Luc Robitaille and some players who really had some history here. I like coming back and competing against them and I like to beat them," he said, with a good chuckle at the end.

Darryl Sutter on why the Kings didn't call up Kozun

Kozun in training camp (photo: Ikiri)

Nearly every player who's been in a game with him or against him has nothing but positive things to share when asked about Kings prospect Brandon Kozun. And much of that has been documented here on MayorsManor since he was taken by LA in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft.

After last year, his first as a pro - where he finished eighth among AHL rookies in scoring (23 goals, 25 assists) and tied for third in the league with six game winning goals - he's among the Manchester Monarchs most productive players again this season.

When the Kings called up Dwight King and Jordan Nolan last week, Kozun's numbers were better than Nolan's and on par with King's. Yet, he didn't get the nod. Given his noted creativity and speed, something the Kings offense has been lacking at times, it was at least curious. So, I asked coach Darryl Sutter about it after practice today...

"You have a be a really dynamic player to play in the NHL when you're a little player. You have to be really dynamic," Sutter said of the 5-foot-8 right wing. "Those two kids who came in here now, they’re big guys who can skate. That’s what they are, right? When you’re a little guy, you better be really dynamic. How many of them are there? The only one who's (not a star) that I can think of off the top of my head - and he was a dynamic player at the American League level - is the little guy playing in Montreal, David Desharnais (5-foot-7). I saw him in the American League and I thought, 'He’s going to play,' because he was dynamic. You can't just be in and out. It’s a tough league to play in. The average weight of a defenseman in this league is 220, and they’re as fast as any players you have on your team. So, you have to be a pretty special player if you’re 40 or 50 or 60 pounds lighter than that."

Even so, King still had praise for his frequent linemate in Manchester.

Talking LA Kings trade rumors with goalie Jonathan Bernier

Bernier at practice today (photo: D. Sheehan)

As we wrote about earlier today, trading goalie Jonathan Bernier is a risky proposition for the LA Kings when you consider that starter Jonathan Quick can be a walk-away free agent in less than 18 months.

However, he remains one of the key assets likely to move in any big deal that GM Dean Lombardi may swing for a top line sniper. So, after practice today, we spoke about what it's like to continually hear your name in trade speculation at this time of year...

"I just can't control anything," Bernier began. "So, I've been going day by day and that's what I've been doing all year. It's in management's control and if Dean finds that he wants to trade me, then he'll trade me."

When Bernier checked in with MayorsManor over the summer he talked about wanting to play in LA, but realizing that he might have to leave to reach his ultimate goal of being a starter in the NHL. And that's the same dilemma he's facing at the moment.

"I'm a competitive guy and I want to play as much as possible. Right now, I don't have the playing time that I'd wish (for)," Bernier said. "But, Quickie's been outstanding this year and that's the way it goes, I guess. But, I would like to play more. If it's here, then it's here. If it's somewhere else, it's somewhere else."