SB Nation - Dustin Brown

Kings @ Oilers, 12/15/09 - The 1st Place Kings?!

Derek Zona — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:30:18 -0000

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SBNation's Kings vs Oilers page

Battle Of California

The Kings Triple Crown Line:

Look at how awesome those yellow unis are. I know I'm being repetitive, but those should come back. Soon.

Yes, the Kings really are in first place. Astounding.

Kiefer Sutherland owns a bizarre portrait of Lucky Luc.

Wayne Simmonds has knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Dustin Brown is ticked at Alexander Frolov if you were to read between the lines.

25 years of Kings draft picks:

The arrows indicate the picks traded to Edmonton for Wayne Gretzky. Los Angeles drafts have yielded 7 top five picks, 5 more top ten picks, 3 number elevens and Wayne Gretzky in the last 25 years. Rebuilding through the draft doesn't always work.

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Andrei Loktionov	shoulder	11/26/2009
Ryan Smyth	other-excused	11/18/2009
Brandon Segal	knee	12/02/2009

Poll

Robert Nilsson - allow him to crush 4th line opposition, or move him up and try to help Horcoff?

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ New York Rangers

Rafal Ladysz — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:01:38 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

12 days ago: Buffalo Sabres goalie Patrick Lalime makes a save against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. The Sabres won 2-1. (AP Photo/ David Duprey)

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I figured I'd salute Patrick Lalime by using his photograph for our game preview today. It wasn't pretty at times but the back-up netminder gave his best Ryan Miller impression Friday evening by stopping 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win over his former squad, the Chicago Blackhawks. Lalime earned his first 'W' and Miller got a well deserved night off.

Tim Kennedy and Patrick Kane, who grew up in the same area of the city, each had an assist. As rewarding as claiming top spot in the Northeast Division is, the win was more about Lalime and the level of confidence he brought easing Lindy Ruff's choice to select him. Buffalo was truly shaky to start the first and third period giving him a workload which helped get him into gear.

It's back to work though as the Buffalo Sabres see the New York Rangers today. Henrik Lundqvist stole the show last week when he out-dueled Miller in a low-scoring, tight checking 2-1 result. With a few days worth of rest, the American ~~should~~ will be prepared to even the series for his team.

To our five thoughts on each squad:

First, Buffalo has scored a powerplay goal in each of the last two games after getting shutout by New Jersey to start the week. This brings them up to 17th best in the league and both tallies were because of a player standing at the front or side of the net. If they're to beat Lunqvist, more of the same is needed.
New York's found it hard to put a string of wins together. Losers in five of six, Marian Gaborik's been the one Ranger who continues to do his part in production leading the league in goals, 21, second to Joe Thornton in points and 25 per cent of their markers are courtesy of the Slovakian. It's too bad none of the others are lending a helping hand to their superstar aside from Lundqvist.
If you read my preview for the Blackhawks contest, you'll notice that I kindly asked Thomas Vanek to end his scoring drought. I even said the word 'please' which I'm sure was what brought him on the score sheet. Vanek has had goals in back-to-back matches only once all year so I'll do my best to assist him again. Please get at least one by Lundqvist tonight Thomas.
Starting off the season with a 7-1 record, the Rangers were looking sharp. But they've gone 7-13-2 since largely because of offensive inefficiencies. Averaging 28.7 shots per game (23rd worst), New York needs more from everyone else especially Vaclav Prospal who was clicking very well with Gaborik.
The Sabres are 14-2-2 when they grab that first lead and 4-7 if the opposition does. As usual, getting on the board will calm the supporters as Buffalo's protection of leads is assuring. Why wouldn't it be? We've got Miller back there, undoubtedly the best goalie in the NHL this season.
With one point in ten games, Ales Kotalik is showing why he wasn't the most preferred forward for Lindy Ruff. A powerplay weapon, the Czech can't seem to make as much of an impact during even strength play. Whatever it is, he's not our problem anymore. Speaking of former Sabres, Chris Drury has nine points on the year.
Mike Grier (personal) likely won't join the team, Chris Butler has an ankle injury and of course Paul Gaustad is working his way back from a knee issue. For New York, Brandon Dubinsky remains out recovering from a broken hand. These teams have stayed rather healthy in an injury-riddled campaign and that includes Connolly and Gaborik.
Rookie sensations Michael Del Zotto and Tyler Myers will lead their blue lines into battle. Separated by one point in rookie scoring, it's a story worth viewing as one has been compared to Brian Leetch and the other to Zdeno Chara. Myers had a helper in the first match-up.
Interesting statistic: Patrick Kaleta has thrown at least 39 more hits than all of his teammates. Maybe he'll give Kotalik and Drury a taste of the shoulder (not elbow). We can only hope.
The Rangers own a hitting machine as well. Ryan Callahan has 109 to his credit which is 37 more than the closest teammate behind him. He's third among the entire league, trailing Stephane Robidas by four and Dustin Brown by three. Well respected for his work-ethic, Callahan will be all over the ice.

Elite goaltending, rookie stand-outs, hard hitters and two healthy stars; there's much to look forward to in this meeting of two clubs heading in different directions. And Madison Square Garden will ensure a terrific atmosphere for everyone involved.

Kings-Sharks Recap: Booyah!

RudyKelly — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:26:05 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

I take it all back: I love Evgeni Nabokov on the Sharks. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

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First thought: woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Drew Doughty is awesome. His assist to get Kopitar off the schneid was a beautiful play. He patiently held onto the puck until the Sharks overcommitted then slid the puck between two defenders to a wide open Kopitar. His goal was just straight heat. I always thought it was kind of bullshit when he talked about how he felt more comfortable because he changed his stick blade, but maybe that actually worked.

-Ted Purcell, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown all broke 10+ game droughts. Good thing the Sharks had a shitty goalie in, otherwise they still might be waiting for their goal.

-You know who's good? Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

-You know who's not? Erik Ersberg.

-Michal Handzus had a pretty bad game, picking up 3 particularly brutal penalties. The Kings managed to win the special teams battle, however, and staved off the powerful San Jose power play. The Kings penalty kill still kind of sucks by the percentages, but it should be better and hopefully this game is a sign that it's going to start improving.

-The Kings have another tough game tomorrow night against the Coyotes, although Ed Jovanovski is suspended for tomorrow's game because the NHL head office still doesn't understand Pronger physics. Quick will be in for that game, so it should be a good one.

-The Kings are 3 points out of 1st in the Pacific. Just saying.

Final thought: wooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deep Thoughts

RudyKelly — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:44:20 -0000

-The guys behind us were driving me pretty Goddamn crazy. It was like I had the fucking Jerky Boyz behind me all night, it was ridiculous. The worst part is that they weren't even Ducks fans; they were Kings fans! Ducks fans are annoying because they're kind of dumb and don't know anything about hockey, but I think Kings fans are honestly worse because they think they know about hockey when they really don't. They guys behind me had apparently played before so they thought they were Bob and Jimmy.

One thing you'll notice is that people who play hockey don't necessarily know anything about hockey, but most people don't call them on it because most people don't play hockey in Southern California. Most people who play hockey are dumb, just like most people in general, and playing hockey and knowing about hockey are different. Here's how you can tell if someone knows about hockey: if they say, "Oh great, more dump 'n chase," then they don't know shit about hockey. Oh, and if they say, "Du-ucks," over and over and over again because they think it's funny to do it in the voice of a mentally challenged person, then they don't know shit about hockey and they've made a powerful new enemy.

-I went to the game because it was my mom's birthday and I'm a terrible son that only gets gifts that somehow benefit me in some way. It was a pretty entertaining game but it was kind of hard to get a read on; the Ducks were dominant when Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan were out there and the Kings were dominant on every other shift. The Kings had to adjust early because Brandon Segal got injured during his first shift and had to leave the game. They adjusted by giving Brad Richardson and Dustin Brown more playing time and the two responded with some of their best games of the year; Richardson especially played very well, showing that he can do good things when he actually has real linemates.

The Kings were better over the course of the game, as the Ducks were only close because Jonathan Quick let in an awful goal to Todd Marchant. (Todd Marchant! That should count as two.) Overall the game was heartening from my perspective: the Kings are kind of at the low point of their season (missing Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi, losing Segal right at the start of the game) and the Ducks are kind of at the high point (winning 6 of their last 7 at home) and the Kings still looked better. I would be happier about beating the Ducks, but beating the Ducks is kind of like nailing Paris Hilton; it's probably fun but who cares if everyone has already done it?

-I went to a fast food Chinese place that's by my work last week and got some food. I was signing my name on the receipt while the guy was wrapping up my order and we finished about the same time. I went to say, "There ya go!" and hand him the receipt, but he said, "There ya go!" as he handed me my food first. I tried to change what I was saying to, "Thanks," but was too committed to my previous sentence and ended up saying, "Tharnks!" I felt like an idiot.

-The Ducks are a pretty hilarious team right now because they're still a team of giant dicks but now they suck so it comes off as just kind of sad and pathetic. It's like they're the high school bully that grew up to be a gas station attendant and the Kings are the lonely, pathetic nerd that grew up to be a fairly successful software engineer with a nice house and a lovely wife that may not be that attractive but is sweet and kind. Last night was the software engineer pulling into the gas station and going for a fill up and then the pump won't work, so he presses the little button to talk to the attendant, but the attendant calls him a fag so the software engineer just drives to another station and gets gas then goes home while the attendant is fired because that was the last fucking time he abused the little button, so then the gas station attendant goes home and gets drunk and posts angrily on a hockey blog under the name, "Spade-in-Victorhell."

But still, the Ducks are in good shape. In 3 years they'll have a core of Getzlaf, Perry, Lupul, Ryan, Hiller, Sbisa, whatever defenseman they sign with Niedermayer's money and whatever defenseman they draft this year. Then they'll lose someone (probably Perry) and they'll have another window as Ryan hits his prime and Getzlaf leaves his. Trading Pronger was a good idea because even with him the Ducks still wouldn't be in a position to win a Cup. It's better to suck and then be great, then tear it down and suck again and then be great. I like what Brian Burke and Bob Murray did with the Ducks and I have a feeling they'll be the 2nd best team in California in just a few short years.

-"Shit, I really gotta go to the bathroom. I gotta stop drinking beer during ga- oh shit, I wore button flies. Fuck! Alright, don't panic, just undo the buttons, but hurry the fuck up. Why the fuck did I buy these, why the fuck do they even make button flys anymore? They don't make TVs with knobs anymore. Jesus, I've already been here for like 30 seconds, do I just go over the top? No, I can't go over the top, I don't like the way the guy next to me is glancing over. Does he know I'm not pissing? Oh God, is he going to stare at my dick? Jesus, c'mon you fucking buttons, come on! Come on! Come- fuck this, I'm using a stall."

-Happy birthday, mom.

Oilers Roundtable Discussion, 1/3 of the way through the season - Part III

Derek Zona — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:30:10 -0000

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Can this thing be fixed? Can the Oilers turn it aound this year? Is this something that Tambellini can rescue? The Copper & Blue's roundtable is back to answer those questions.

Our lineup includes: the prolix Shepso, combining modern western philosophy and hockey at Bringing Back The Glory; Chappy, owner of This is Not a Love Song; HBomb, everyone's favorite bartender in the Oilers' 'sphere; Dawgbone, the pragmatic commentor that writes too infrequently at After The Green Light; Doogie2k, the go-to guy on physiology working at Still No Name; everyone's favorite antagonist Ender, Doogie's partner in crime at Still No Name; and SumOil, a frequent commentor here and the biggest optimist that any of us know.

Find the entire series here, tagged 2009 midseason roundtable

5. The fan poll in the preseason roundtable called this team a playoff team. Without roster changes, is there a even the slightest chance that this team makes the playoffs?

Shepso: I think this team is a still a work in progress that is missing too many key pieces, either due to injury or not having them to begin with, and as such they likely won’t make it again this year. They’ll be too high in the standings to get a lottery pick too, unfortunately. I say this is a 10^th place team, 3 down from where I ranked them in the last roundtable. And on that note by the way, Robert Nilsson is not a tradable asset at the deadline, unless it’s for 3 goats and a virgin to be sacrificed in order to appease the sky wizard and give the Oil the 1^st overall pick next year. I want to believe this team can do better, but I just don't see them as any more than a .500 hockey team at best right now.

Chappy: At this point, we'd need a clear run with no injuries. If the team can stay healthy and go gangbusters throughout the remainder of the season, then YES, there is a chance. I don't think that 6-2-1 at the beginning of the season was a fluke. Unfortunately, the team is down a few forwards, a defenseman or two, and a number one goalie right at the minute. There can't be any more serious injuries if the team is going to have a shot.

HBomb: Not unless they somehow get the percentage train going in their favor like it was the first 8 games or so and carry that through to April. They've changed GM's, they've changed coaches, but the player personnel remains much the same. Serious help is needed at forward to the tune of at least two decent veterans. Have fun trying to add them without any cap flexibility, Tambellini. You can send Kevin Lowe a Thank You Card at Christmas ("Dear Kevin, I appreciate you giving me a shot to finally be an NHL GM, but do you have any idea the mess you've left me? 2.7 million a year for Staios? 2 million a year for Moreau? Another 2 million to Robert Nilsson to sit in the pressbox? WTF?????)

Dawgbone: I think there is a chance. A big hotstreak can be the difference between finishing .500 and 10 games over. If Penner continues to play well, Hemmer stays healthy, Horcoff gets better and our blueline gets back to 100% there are enough pieces to snag extra wins. It is going to take some luck on the Oilers side, combined with things to go wrong with other clubs, but if the 07-08 team and the 03-04 team could nearly sneak in, I think this club could as well.

Doogie2k: Slightest chance? Sure. We're 25 or so games in; there's lots of time for things to change. Is there a realistic chance? I'm not so sure anymore. Unlike Colorado, the Oilers didn't bank a ton of points off their percentages before they started rolling snake eyes and had half their Real NHLers on the IR. Now, they're five points out of the playoffs already and have played more games than any of their direct competition. The only teams with worse road records are Minnesota and Carolina, the basement teams of their respective conferences. Again, injuries are a factor, particularly with that road record, but it's a lot harder to be optimistic now than it was two months ago. And with Hemsky out, I think that unless Tambellini can find someone to stop the bleeding, it's going to be a very long six months from here to mid-April.

Ender: I said a few weeks back that this team makes the playoffs if they're healthy by the end of November. That doesn't look like it's going to happen, so while I'm hopeful that Cogliano or Nilsson jump up, at this point I'm more or less writing off the season. I think the injuries have dug a hole that they're unlikely to recover from.

SumOil: In the pre-season I had even flirted with the idea of this team winning the division, but it all has come down crashing. There is an obvious lack of NHL players on this roster. We don't have enough skilled players. We don't have many good checking line forwards. With Hemsky out for the season, even the most optimistic of fans should have thrown the towel. This team was flawed at the start of the season and the situation has gone from bad to worse. I don't think that certain players have it in them to drive themselves hard and are happy under-performing.

Let me rephrase this question. How does this team sans any changes reach playoffs this season?
a. Defense will have to be extremely stingy(cue to Staios) and will have to support the goalie. While doing this, defense has to be responsible for at least replicating last season's offensive production(cue to Gilbert).
b. Patrick O'Sullivan will have to wake up and start playing ice hockey again. He will have to be defensively responsible (which he currently isn't) in a shut-down role with Horcoff while producing consistent secondary scoring (which is non-existent too)
c. Pisani's return is imminent to form the 3rd part of the shut-down line and relieve JFJ from that assignment.
d. Nilsson and Cogliano will have to return to their form from 2 season's ago.
e. Nikolai Khabibulin will has to return to the net and carry the team on his not so healthy back.

While a couple of these may happen, but all of them isnt. I have never felt so hopeless about this team's chances of making playoffs as I feel now. But hey, I am a huge believer of rebuild and Taylor Hall will look great in Copper n Blue.

6. If you could make a trade, what assets (non-toxic assets) are you willing to put on the table? What type of player would you be looking for in return?

Shepso: I am not sure what a non-toxic asset is at this point, but the only untouchables in my world are Hemsky, Penner, Gagner, Ladi and Lubo. Everyone else can go. Ideally, I would love to package Grebs and Moreau for a James Neal/Dustin Brown type player and a cheap center that can win draws, even if he can’t score. I would kill for a 2nd line Winger with some size and real, NHL calibre hands. As much as I hate to lose Cogliano and all of his upside, they way he’s being utilized makes me feel as though he should be cut loose. I really like the kid and I think he deserves the opportunity to play top 6 minutes somewhere, or at least top 9 and pp2 minutes and he could bring back something great (young, but great) in return. I'd love to get someone like Nik Backstrom or Alex Semin out of Washington too, given half a chance.

Chappy: If I'm pulling the trade trigger here, I'm going to ship out a defenseman (Grebeshkov) for a fourth line centre who can hit and win a faceoff or two. Give me Blair Betts. Grebs is in a one year deal with a 3.1M cap hit, and the Oilers are going to be needing all the help in that area that they can. Let go of Moreau and Nilsson for pick or two, it'll surely free up some space. What's Mike Peca doing these days? I'd pick him up for the remainder fo the year and let 'er rip.

HBomb: The guys I am shopping are Grebeshkov, O'Sullivan, and, if the return is favorable enough, Cogliano (Moreau, Staios and Nilsson are assumed as throwaways at this point). I'm looking for a top-six forward and a third line center in return, players with "wide ranges of skills". This team could use a Brenden Morrow or a Patrick Sharp. Some skilled size for the LW would be ideal (to ride shotgun for Gagner and whomever remains out of Cogliano and O'Sullivan).

Dawgbone: I think if we are talking about the Oilers moving valuable assets in the season (i.e. a guy like a healthy Souray), it's not to fill holes but to gather assets. Aside from that, there are guys like Cogliano and O'Sullivan who may still have lots of interest from other clubs. If one or both of them are traded I'd like to see a decent RH centre come back. It also frees up cap space for the summer, where the Oilers can try and concentrate on bringing in veterans who fit specific roles (which is what they failed to do this year). Guys like a Dvorak or a Betts... the key is to get 2 or 3 of these guys in order to provide a lot more balance throughout the line up.

Doogie2k: Ugh, I've always hated these conversations, and tend to avoid them, simply because they always degenerate into HF-esque pie-in-the-sky dreaming. (In fact, trade talk is second only to line combinations on my list of "shit I just can't be bothered to read.") Plus, I've proven to be a thoroughly mediocre fantasy GM over the years,and that's a lot less work than being a real NHL GM. Fortunately, most of the guys we see as "toxic assets" seem to have value in the world of NHL GMs. Nilsson probably won't be popular, but closer to deadline time, Ethan Moreau and Steve Staios are exactly the sort of player a lot of contending GMs look for to fill in gaps in the bottom half of their roster for playoff time. Of course, they're also both signed through next year, which makes the whole "playoff rental" thing a bit hard to do, but I digress.

I think Tambellini needs to decide what, exactly, he wants this roster to do. We know now that it's never going to be completely healthy, so the question becomes: rebuild or go for it? If he wants to still go for it, he needs to deal for some cheap to moderately-salaried veterans who know what the hell they're doing in the defensive zone, and who can maybe teach the kids the same thing for their future development. (I'd bet there aren't many available at this point, except from the two or three death-spiralling teams, but it's worth trying.) If he decides to tank for the draft, though, he'll need to get rid of an expensive contract or two and let the kids run wild. Sitting and doing nothing won't move this team in any direction in particular.

Ender: I don't know how a roster move will help enough to trade assets. For all the talk of faceoffs - as Scott and I discussed at some point last week - they don't make much of a difference unless you're already being dominated on possession. At some point you have to accept that the majority of this team's problems right now are defensive miscues by the forwards and while some veteran presence might help that somewhat I don't think there's anybody on the market or anybody that we could afford to tilt the ice enough. Unless you want to replace 3-4 players, anyway, and at that point you're losing a lot of your young, low-cap options. I don't think it makes sense moving forwards..

Sumit: How much difference does a couple of week make. Just 2 weeks ago I was thinking about trades to upgrade the skill and grit level of our team. I was ready to move prospects and young players to get more veterans or players in their primes. I was targeting Gagne, Stafford, Lang, Horton, However, now all I am doing is praying that Oilers dont make any such trade. A full rebuild is on the cards and it is time to protect and develop young assets. Lets go about this question in a more more organised manner. Which players(age 25+) will be extremely beneficial(experience, skill-set and salary cap hit) to the club 2-3 years from today? Hemsky, Penner, Horcoff, Gilbert and Grebeshkov. I will protect these players. Other than that Souray, Visnovsky, Moreau, Pisani and Comrie are not going to be a big part of this club moving forward. So dealing of any or all of them over time for prospects and picks will be the ideal situation.

However If you are asking what trade now to fix our situation. I propose the following:
Grebeshkov and O'Sully for Tyutin and Umberger
7th round pick for Adam Mair
Cogliano, 2nd for Frolov.

Week in Review

RudyKelly — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:39:51 -0000

More photos » by Danny Moloshok - AP

It's good to see Diamond Dallas Paige is still up and about. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

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Tuesday: The Kings call up Andrei Loktionov (yea!) and Brandon Segal (who?*) for their Western Canada road trip. Great expectations are had by all.

*Segal actually had a great week: he didn't score or anything, but he had a few good opportunities and threw his weight around nicely. I think he's locked up a spot for the foreseeable future.

Wednesday: Andrei Loktionov (no!) separates his shoulder and will miss 4 months. The Kings win in a lackluster effort for both them and the Oilers, 3-1. Goals are by Wayne Meat Train Simmonds (yea!), Matt Greene (wha?), and my main man Alexander Frolov.

Thursday: The Kings get handled by the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1. They have a few great opportunities but Roberto Luongo was excellent in net and holds the Kings to one lone goal, scored by Meat Train Simmonds (yea!!).

Friday: I go to the Ducks-Blackhawks game with Earl, his brother and a buddy of his. It was terrible: not only did the Ducks win, not only did Corey Perry extend his scoring streak, not only did the Blackhawks not score, but Kyle Calder (boo!) played well. Kyle Calder. Damn Earl for saying I was going, I think it was motivation. Also, it was funny that I went to the game with a bunch of Ducks fans and had to explain why they some times call off icing.

Saturday: The Kings play the Blackhawks and are fairly mediocre. They win the game on the back of Jonathan Quick, who followed up a solid week with a spectacular game against the Hawks. Quick stopped 22 of 23 against the Oilers, 30 of 33 against the Canucks, and 32 of 33 against the Blackhawks (he was also 2-for-2 in the shootout). Quick obviously read my criticism of his play and responded accordingly.

The Kings' lone goal in regulation was scored on a pretty play by Wayne Meat Train (yea!!!), who overall had 3 goals and an assist on the week. Simmonds, Dustin Brown (yea!) and Jack Johnson (eh) were the 3 stars for the week, while the traditional stars (Kopitar, Doughty, Williams) all took the week off. The Kings managed to gut through 3 pretty tough games to pick up 2 wins, but they can't score 5 goals in 3 games and expect to win 2 of them every week.

Overall, the Kings did what they needed to do: they played tough, defensive hockey and counterpunched when they needed to. This felt like a middle of the season episode, like that episode of Mad Men where they focused on Pete Campbell when he raped the au pair across the hall. Those episodes are great and are sometimes the best ones of the season, but the Kings need their stars to continue the season-long arc and get to the playoffs.

League Leaders: Takeaways, Penalties Drawn and Rebounds

Hawerchuk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:31 -0000

by John Lazar - AP

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Yesterday, I listed the league leaders in deflections since the lockout. Three other statistics that may convey offensive ability around the net are offensive zone takeaways, offensive zone penalties drawn and rebounds. Let's go through the league leaders in order.

There aren't a tremendous number of takeaways recorded in general, and we have to look at only road takeaways to eliminate home rink bias. If we further restrict takeaways to the area below the faceoff dots, we end up with rather small numbers:

	Takeaways
Pavel Datsyuk	28
Alexander Frolov	27
Scott Gomez	25
Sidney Crosby	24
Matt Stajan	21
Vaclav Prospal	20
Shane Doan	20
Daniel Alfredsson	19
Alexander Ovechkin	18
Ryan Getzlaf	18
Rick Nash	18
Ryan Smyth	18
Ian Laperriere	18

This is a slightly different list than our deflection leaders - there are some guys here who spend a lot of time in front of the net like Ryan Smyth, but there are also players like Alexander Frolov who have a reputation for not going into the corners and not checking people. Yet he comes away with a lot of pucks.

What about penalties drawn in the offensive zone below the face-off dots? This list includes only non-coincidental penalties:

	Pens
Dustin Brown	74
Sidney Crosby	57
Ryan Smyth	54
Rick Nash	48
Erik Cole	44
Scott Hartnell	42
Sean Avery	42
Ryan Malone	42
Eric Staal	42
Daniel Briere	41
Evgeni Malkin	41

There are a lot of familiar names here - guys who draw penalties in general, like Crosby and Brown. And, of course, there's Ryan Smyth again. I'm reminded that Dustin Brown is a big hitter - so is this the same group of players who hit a lot in the offensive zone below the face-off dots?

	Hits
Alexander Ovechkin	116
Matt Cooke	90
Chris Kunitz	89
Ryan Callahan	88
Milan Lucic	87
Dustin Brown	85
Erik Cole	81
Tuomo Ruutu	78
Travis Moen	77
Mike Fisher	72
Cody McLeod	72

There isn't much overlap at all - Cole and Brown. The big hitters aren't necessarily the kinds of guys who have the speed and offensive skill to force defensemen to take penalties.

And finally, what about rebounds? Here we see a much more traditional group of scorers, with Ryan Smyth dropping to 31st overall. Next time - wraparounds...

	Rebounds
Alexander Ovechkin	168
Eric Staal	164
Dany Heatley	149
Olli Jokinen	147
Jonathan Cheechoo	136
Vaclav Prospal	131
Zach Parise	131
Vincent Lecavalier	130
Jason Blake	126
Martin St. Louis	125

King Anze and Los Angeles take down Pittsburgh 5-2

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:47:01 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

about 1 month ago: Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11), of Slovenia, and Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) keep Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bill Guerin (13) from scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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Penguins vs Kings coverage - Penguins vs Kings boxscore

Coming into the game, the Los Angeles Kings were a buzzsaw. 5-0-2 in their last seven; and after tonight they've scored 5+ goals in five of the last seven games. They showed why, with superior zone time, cycling, shots on goal. Usually all the aspects the Penguins outmatch others, that's what LA did to them tonight, and they pulled away late in the third period to get a deserving result, a 5-2 victory.

Right off the bat in the first period, the Kings collected a puck in their zone and rushed it up the ice, Justin Williams crissed, Anze Kopitar crossed and Kris Letang was somewhere in the middle. That's not a good equation. Kopitar showed the skill that's why he's currently the league's leading scorer when he stepped up, smoothly went to the backhand and beat Marc-Andre Fleury cleanly for a goal.

The next shift the Penguins put Jordan Staal out with Chris Conner and Matt Cooke. On a breakout Jay McKee (of all people) ended up driving towards the net. Conner dropped the puck to Staal who slapped it to the net. It found paydirt 1-1.

The very fact a defensive defenseman like McKee finds himself in the position to be a little ahead of the play and ends up driving to the net just shows how much the entire team has bought into the system that Dan Bylsma wants them to play. When Jay McKee is your lead force center driving the net and a guy like Jordan Staal knows to pull up, everyone's clicking, everyone's on the same page. In a nutshell that's why Pittsburgh's had so much success since Bylsma took over.

In the second period Brooks Orpik took a shot that Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby waived their sticks at. Kunitz got a piece and it was enough to beat Jonathan Quick. IT was 2-1 Pens after two, despite being out-shot and generally out-played they took a lead into the second intermission. It wouldn't last though.

In the third Kopitar would tie it. He beat Crosby on a faceoff and found Williams for a shot. The shot found Kopitar behind the net (as the puck always seems to find the good ones) and he popped out for the easy stuff in to tie the game at 2.

Following a real sloppy power-play by the Pens (what else is new recently), Dustin Brown made a great pass to Jarret Stoll and he buried it. 3-2 Kings. The very next shift the Kings kept the pressure up, Craig Adams was no match for Alexander Frolov and he fired a pass out that bounced around and Michal Handzus got the goal, with Wayne Simmonds right there to get it too. 4-2 Kings just like that.

And in the "piling it on" folder, the Kings got zone time, they cycled well and drew a penalty. With the extra man they got some great passes, caught the Pens running around and Stoll made a great pass to Dustin Brown for an easy slam dunker. 5-2 Kings.

The goalies really settled down after two goalies in the first 1:10 of gameplay, for a while at least. Fleury stopped the next 24 shots, and the only way the Pens beat Quick was a deflection out front. MAF got victimized in a flurry in the 3rd, but let's absolve him because the Kings applied a lot of pressure and outworked a lot of Pittsburgh players to get their goals.
It's not even that Kopitar scored his two goals: the way he did it was almost effortless and very skillful. If he played in the eastern time zone he'd be one of the most hyped players in the game. He's definitely one of those guys like a Rick Nash or Ilya Kovalchuk that is worth watching any chance you get. A supremely talented player and Kopitar put on one of the best performances tonight that I've seen all season.
It should be noted that Kris Letang played 24:49, and though Kopitar made him look foolish twice, he escaped with an even plus/minus rating. Fellow youngster Alex Goligoski logged 21:32 of ice-time and was a +1.
Not to say the usually solid four more defensive defenseman (Jay McKee, Brooks Orpik, Martin Skoula and Mark Eaton) deserve all the blame; but that foursome combined to have a plus/minus rating of -7 (all were negatives except McKee). Pittsburgh's not going to win many games under those circumstances, especially with the power-play not clicking.
Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin combined for 10 of the Pens total of 23 shots on goal. Guerin got a couple wonderful feeds but couldn't convert (including one that hit Quick's pad and then the post). Can't knock those two for a lack of effort, but the results generally just haven't paid dividends.
Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis and Ruslan Fedotenko -- three veteran wingers all relied on for contributions didn't fare as well. That trio combined for almost 47 minutes of ice-time but only got one shot on goal (Fedotenko's) and weren't dangerous. They were flat out overmatched by their counter-parts in guys like Stoll, Brown and Frolov.
Tough night for Craig Adams too. While he registered a game high 8 hits (including one on Matt Greene that dislodged the glass), Adams was a -3 and lost 9 of 12 faceoffs.
As far as diminutive forwards with the first name of Chris go: Conner > Bourque. Maybe it's because Conner's two years older, maybe it's because he's got 54 more NHL games, but whatever the reason, Conner seems more poised, a better skater and makes better decisions with the puck.

Overall, no excuses, the Kings worked very hard, played a superior game, got some solid goaltending and deserved the win. They displayed all the usual tenets of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, but did so with better skill and execution from top to bottom. One can't help but wonder what the outcome would have been if Pittsburgh was fortunate enough to have their four key injured players (Malkin, Gonchar, Kennedy, Talbot) but let that take nothing away from the display LA put on. Sure would be nice to see a seven game series between these two teams, but that is a long ways away.

Pittsburgh's franchise best of seven straight road wins to open a season is now history, but they still have a big chance to have a winning west coast road trip if they get the result in San Jose on Saturday. The Sharks are no easy task, so time to put this one behind us and move north in California to see what can happen.

Scenes from the Father-Son Dinner

RudyKelly — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:22:48 -0000

The Kings took their fathers on their road trip to Phoenix this past week, capping off the festivities with a grand dinner for the 16 fathers that were on the trip. I managed to swipe a waiter's outfit and was able to catch a few snippets of conversation. Here are a few things I saw and heard. Oh, and before you read, it'd probably help to read this article, or at least look at the picture.

Tim Stoll (Jarret's Dad): So, Raitis, I'm sorry to hear your dad couldn't end up making it, but I thought he was going to.

Raitis Ivanans: Well, I guess he ran into a little problem at Customs and couldn't get into the country.

Tim Stoll: Really? What happened? Does he have a record or something?

Raitis Ivanans: My dad is actually a bear, so...

Tim Stoll: Oh.

***

Bob Scuderi (Rob's Dad): Hey, Matjaz, your son's really having a great start this year!

Matjaz Kopitar (Figure it Out): Yes, yes, my young apprentice has truly seen the power of the Dark Side.

Bob Scuderi: Yeah he rea- I'm sorry, did you say Dark Side?

Matjaz Kopitar: Yes, he thought I was mistaken but it turned out he was mistaken, about a great many things!

Bob Scuderi: Uh-huh. ...Boy, that's a pretty cool cell phone ya got there, is that one of those Droid things? I thought they weren't supposed to come out for a while?

Matjaz Kopitar: Oh, I'm afraid this cellular phone is quite operational. Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL phone!

Bob Scuderi: Hey, that's pretty cool!

Matjaz Kopitar: I know, I can even update my Twitter! But now I'm sorry, my pathetic Rebel friend, that the time has come; now you will DIE! Hissssss!!!!

Bob Scuderi: ...Please don't point your fingers at me, Matjaz.

Matjaz Kopitar: Hissssssssss!!!!!!!

Terry Murray: So Alexander, where's your dad, I was kinda hoping to meet him.

Alexander Frolov: *Bursts into tears

Terry Murray: *Slowly backs away

***

Jim Greene (Matt's Dad): So, Cyril, right? What is it you do?

Cyril Simmonds (Wayne's Dad): Well actually, I was a bit of a hockey player myself.

Jim Greene: Really, you're both hockey players?

Wayne Simmonds: That's right, we're black and we're hockey players. Let's not make an issue of it.

Cyril Simmonds: No one's making an issue of it, son, you're making an issue of it.

***

Paul Doughty (Drew's Dad): So son, that redesign of SBNation sure does suck, huh?

Drew Doughty: You said it, Pop.

***

Jack Johnson, Sr.: Finish the rest of that steak, son.

Jack Johnson, Jr.: I don't wanna, Dad, I'm kinda full.

Jack Johnson, Sr.: Whaddaya mean, you're full? No son of mine is going to leave a plate with food on it! C'mon you limp-wristed pussy, eat that steak!

Jack Johnson, Jr.: But Dad, I'm fu-

Jack Johnson, Sr.: *smacks him I said eat it!

Jack Johnson, Jr.: *crying Alright, fine, I'll eat it!

Jack Johnson, Sr.: Atta boy. I don't know what they're teaching you down here, but men from Michigan always finish their plates.

Jack Johnson, Jr.: I hate you, Dad! I hate you! *runs away

***

Bryan Brown: So... how are things?

Dustin Brown: ...Good. Mom?

Bryan Brown: She's fine. Kids?

Dustin Brown: Cool.

Bryan Brown: ...Yep.

Dustin Brown: ...Yep.

*Both drink at the same time

Olympics Watch: Americans off to hot starts

James Mirtle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:57:07 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

Browse more photos »

Following up on a look at the hottest Canadian players in the NHL so far this season, here's a look at which American players may be impressing the Team USA brass so far:

Goal

	Player	Team	GP	GS	W	L	OT	GAA	Sv%
1	Ryan Miller	BUF	10	10	8	1	1	1.86	0.936
2	C. Anderson	COL	15	15	10	3	2	2.11	0.936
3	Ty Conklin	STL	5	4	2	2	0	2.34	0.921
4	Tim Thomas	BOS	9	9	4	5	0	2.66	0.910
5	Jon Quick	LAK	13	13	8	3	2	2.59	0.905
6	J. Howard	DET	5	3	1	2	1	3.42	0.879

Thomas may be the reigning Vezina winner, but it's hard to argue with Miller and Anderson making the team based on their starts. The Americans have the NHL's two hottest netminders so far.

Defence

	Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-
1	Alex Goligoski	PIT	14	5	7	12	12
2	Matt Carle	PHI	11	2	10	12	9
3	James Wisniewski	ANA	9	0	9	9	6
4	Ryan Whitney	ANA	12	1	6	7	3
5	Erik Johnson	STL	12	0	7	7	3
6	Ryan Suter	NSH	13	2	5	7	2
7	Jordan Leopold	FLA	12	1	5	6	2
8	Brian Rafalski	DET	12	1	5	6	-1
9	Zach Bogosian	ATL	10	5	1	6	-2
10	Keith Yandle	PHX	13	1	4	5	-2
11	Matt Niskanen	DAL	12	0	5	5	-3
12	John-Michael Liles	COL	8	2	3	5	-4

There will definitely be some interesting decisions to make on the Americans back end, with some of the less-heralded names playing th best to this point. Whitney, Suter, Rafalski and Johnson were the only ones invited to the team's summer camp.

Forward

	Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PPG	+/-
1	Zach Parise	NJD	L	12	6	8	14	1.17	7
2	J. van Riemsdyk	PHI	L	9	2	8	10	1.11	4
3	Ryan Malone	TBL	L	11	8	3	11	1.00	2
4	Dustin Brown	LAK	L	14	4	9	13	0.93	0
5	Patrick Kane	CHI	R	13	4	8	12	0.92	4
6	Tim Connolly	BUF	C	11	4	6	10	0.91	-1
7	Ryan Kesler	VAN	C	15	5	8	13	0.87	0
8	Jason Pominville	BUF	R	11	3	6	9	0.82	2
9	Kyle Okposo	NYI	R	13	3	7	10	0.77	0
10	Keith Tkachuk	STL	C	12	3	6	9	0.75	1
11	R.J. Umberger	CBJ	C	13	4	5	9	0.69	-3
12	J. Langenbrunner	NJD	R	12	2	6	8	0.67	6
13	Mike Knuble	WSH	R	14	3	6	9	0.64	7
14	Bill Guerin	PIT	R	14	3	6	9	0.64	5
15	Scott Gomez	MTL	C	14	2	7	9	0.64	0
16	Brandon Dubinsky	NYR	C	15	3	6	9	0.60	6

More tough calls here, probably, especially with players young and old like Van Riemsdyk and Tkachuk. Connolly and Pominville were not at the orientation camp but could play their way onto the roster in the next month or so.