SB Nation - Los Angeles Kings

Coyotes at Kings - Game #31 Preview - Remember When We Owned the Kings?

OdinMercer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

2 days ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Scottie Upshall (8) scores against Minnesota Wild's Niklas Backstrom (32), of Finland, in the second period during an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Oh how I pine for the days of yesteryear. When the Kings couldn't buy a goal. When the purple defense was laughably porous. When no matter who they put in goal it wasn't enough to keep us from beating them. Those days have passed it seems, but not all is lost. While the Kings may be making a charge towards the top of the division, the Coyotes too have come out of the basement and are clawing their way up the standings. If no longer destroying the Kings every single time we face them is the price to be paid for overall success then I'll take it! Though I'm not quite ready to concede this game just yet...

FIVE FOR WINNING

PK vs. PP
The Coyotes have managed to deny their opponents on the last 18 power play chances. An 0 for 18 chances looks pretty great for one of the work penalty killing teams of last year. However. Against the Kings in three games this year the Coyotes have allowed them to score on 6 of the 12 chances they've had. Something is going to give tonight. Either the Coyotes will have tightened up and figured out the PK better or the Kings are going to go to town yet again as they are lights out against pretty much everyone on the power play, especially at home where they're 5th in home rink PP% at 24.5%

Can Taylor Pyatt's Scoring Streak Continue?
After a less than spectacular start Taylor Pyatt has been on fire the past three games getting a goal in each one. He's come up with a patented "Hold off the defender with one arm and tip the puck 5 hole move" Where he pretty much does exactly that. Though last game he got an incredible one timer from a Shane Doan pass that he beautifully weaved through two Wild defenders

Bryzgalov for Vezina?
Okay, maybe it's a little early for that, (Though not by much) but I don't think Coyote fans could have expected or wanted much more out of Ilya Bryzgalov so far this season. He leads the league in shutouts with 4. He's among the best in both save percentage and Goals Against Average. The defense has been there, but he's gone from a goalie that was suspect in the eyes on many fans, to the guy that's carried this team into contention. He'll need to be good again tonight as the Kings have been one of the few teams that have been able to score on the Russian. They've managed to score 7 goals in Bryz's 2 starts.

Get the Jump On Them Early
Sure it's always nice to get the early lead, but it will be critical to do so tonight. The Kings are coming over a hard fought 5-4 overtime victory against the Sharks last night and will (hopefully) be at least a little tired. The bigger reason though is that the Kings have shutdown teams late in games from making comebacks in the 3rd. If the Kings take a lead into the final frame they've won in all 13 instances.

Defrost the Power Play
While our Penalty Kill has been solid. Our Power Play has been ice cold. THough we've managed to put together our 5 game winning streak. We've done so without a single power play goal in the last 18 chances. Every goal we've scored in the past 5 has been at even strength. THat says a lot for how our team is working the 5 on 5, but we have to start converting some of those shorthanded chances if we want to climb up the standings any more than we already have.

Key Players

Shane Doan

#19 / Right Wing / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 224

Born: Oct 10, 1976

Shane Doan has been racking up the assists lately but the team could use some more goals from him. Los Angeles seems to be the team for him to do it against as he's scored 3 goals in the 3 games against the Kings so far in the season series.

Wayne Simmonds

#17 / Right Wing / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-2

Weight: 183

Born: Aug 26, 1988

Wayne SImmonds has come a long way since last season when he was getting checked all over the place by Shane Doan. Now he's developing into quite the player for the Kings. He's riding a 6 game point streak in which he's been 4-4-8 and on the season overall he's 9-10-19 and an astounding +13. He's one of the players to keep an eye on with Ryan Smyth still out of the lineup.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

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

Kings Gameday: I'm Going to Poll You

RudyKelly — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:31:44 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

What's more amazing: this goal or the lady's expression in the background? (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

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Next Game

Phoenix Coyotes
@ Los Angeles Kings

Thursday, Dec 10, 2009, 7:30 PM PST
Staples Center

Complete Coverage >

So I was texting my brother during the game on Monday (the one against Calgary) and I described Simmonds as a "train made of meat." He texted back, "You're retarded, that doesn't make any sense; Simmonds is obviously a train that carries meat" I told him that wasn't intimidating at all, unlike a train physically made of meat. He said, "Who the fuck would that scare?" and I replied, "I don't know... vegetarians?" The point is, if we're going full bore with this Meat Train thing, we need to decide this: is he a Train of Meat (stupid), or is he a Meat Train (awesome)? This is very important.

***

Also important: tonight's game. The Kings are only 3 points out of first in their division, but Phoenix is only 4 points behind LA. The Kings are coming off a pretty emotional game but it's important for them to buckle down tonight and play tight defensive hockey. Most importantly, they need to make sure they're making crisp passes out of their own zone because Phoenix likes to jump in on mistakes any chance they can get.

***

If Sharks fans were mad last night, how mad are they going to be when Patrick Marleau signs with Los Angeles in the off-season?

Prediction: Kings win, 3-2. Goals by Meat Train, Frolov and Kopitar.

Poll

Is Wayne Simmonds an actual train that carries meat, or is he a train made out of meat?

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sharks Gameday: Give Me Back My Bullets

Mr. Plank — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:30:13 -0000

	@ 7:30 PST
18-10-3, 39 points		19-7-5, 43 points
5th in Western Conference		1st in Western Conference

Television	CSN-CA (HD)
Radio	98.5 KFOX, Sjsharks.com
Antagonists	Battle of CaliforniaThe Royal Half

Quick one from me today as I'm nurturing a relationship with some books. Yummy.

Great game to watch against the Flames on Saturday, even if the Sharks walked out of the building with nothing to show for it in the standings. The intensity was there, the opportunities were there, it was just a matter of failing to cash in. Also, one thing that's interesting-- a lot of talk after the game about how San Jose "needed to get more people to the front of the net." While I agree with that statement to a degree (there were times when Kipper had a clear sight line to the puck at the blueline), my question is this-- did anything really change from previous outings (specifically wins), or was it just a convenient talking point after a loss? I feel like the equation hasn't differed very much on a game-to-game basis this season, and just because one goal is on the scoreboard at the end of the tilt doesn't mean they did an exceptionally poor job of jamming bodies in the crease, or more specifically, did an exceptionally poor job compared to previous outings. Sure there's room for some improvement there, but let's not kid ourselves and say that this was an atrocious effort compared to we saw in the 30 games before. In fact, I would postulate that the effort in this area was better than the majority of games I have seen this season. Say two shots that hit the post go in-- are we complaining about the lack of traffic in front of the net? I'm not sure we are. At the end of the day you have a team that is second in the NHL with 104 goals scored. You just ran into a hot goaltender.
The Kings big guns have cooled off considerably since the last time these two teams met, and yet they continue to win games, going 6-3-1 in their last ten, including a 2-1 win to the Calgary Flames on Monday. While there may not be a battle for the Pacific Division lead tonight, it's still an important one for both teams-- Los Angeles is winless at HP Pavilion in their last five games, and San Jose is currently in the midst of a bit of a slide at home, going 1-1-1 in the month of December. These next two months were labeled a good place to pick up standings points both before this season as well as five days ago, so anytime they plan on starting to capitalize on this would be quite alright with me.
Two bullet points seemed a little light, so an executive decision was made to add three.
...wait, there's more! Not a big fan of ice girls (sort of seems like a cheap gimmick honestly, nothing against the profession), but if they managed to pull off some Space Age suits like those that premiered in Staples Center the other night, well, then you might have me sold.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-1. Goals by Boyle, Heatley, and McGinn. Denis Gauthier purchases a ticket to the game and elbows Patrick Marleau in the head on his walk to the dressing room during the second intermission. Whatabum.

Go Sharks.

Craig MacTavish - Future GM

Derek Zona — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:30:13 -0000

via cdn.picapp.com

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Thirty years after leaving ULowell following his sophomore year to begin a pro career that saw him become an NHL All-Star and etch his name on four Stanley Cups, MacTavish is back in school, working for an MBA at Queens University in Kingston, Ont.

In what should come as no surprise, Craig MacTavish is using his time away from the game to better himself. As quoted above, Chaz Scoggins brings us news that MacTavish is going to add an MBA to his already impressive resume. That lengthy resume includes ECAC Player of the Year, All-American honors, playoff MVP, a Division II title, four Stanley Cups, three years as an NHL assistant coach, and eight years as an NHL head coach. Add to that an MBA and MacTavish's resume has all of the qualifications of a General Manager in the NHL.

I've often complained that management personnel in the NHL are woefully lacking of the background and skills necessary to run a large-scale business like a multi-million dollar pro sports franchise. A significant number of people within management have little more than an equivalency degree others have a single professional qualification -- they have a personal relationship with someone within the management of the franchise that they are working for. Craig MacTavish does not suffer from the same problem.

MacTavish understands what it takes to develop non-pedigreed players into outscoring NHL players. Under his watch, Fernando Pisani, and Shawn Horcoff developed into bonafide NHL outscorers despite having pedigrees that linked them more to a third-line plugger role. Horcoff, in fact, credits his success to MacTavish:

"I owe a lot to him. He did a lot for my career and he helped me a lot in becoming and putting me in the situation and making me the player than I am today"

His work with Liam Reddox was starting to pay dividends this year prior to the dirty hit by Buffalo's Clarke MacArthur, which derailed Reddox's game and sent him back to the AHL.

Not only does MacTavish understand how to develop those players without a draft pedigree, he's demonstrated an ability to develop, even if it requires a tear-down first, high-end talent into NHL outscorers. MacTavish turned Ales Hemsky into an outscorer without limiting his creativity and explosiveness. His work with Sam Gagner began paying dividends last year, and thus far this year, Gagner is still on track to become a tough-minutes NHL center.

When it comes to roster management, MacTavish was put into situations by his general manager, whether it was Kevin Lowe or Steven Tambellini, that forced him to coach majorly unbalanced rosters. Whether it was a lack of defense, a lack of forwards, an over-abundance of unproven rookies, or an shortage of proven veterans, each year the roster was incomplete. The effect was two-fold. The general manager's mistakes left him with a deep understanding of the need for a balanced roster as well as an understanding of the value of real NHL players, especially relatively cheap veterans from the Wes Walz genus.

In his final season with the Oilers, MacTavish seemed to burn out. He made no excuses for his poor season, and being the man that he is, he will take lessons away from a situation that he struggled to manage. MacTavish is intelligent enough to understand his limitations.

He pointed that out this year in an interview with TSN, saying "... the players lost their trust and faith in me and my ability to get the job done, and for a large part I think that was the same for me, that I lost faith in the players." The situation escalated and he made things personal in the media, something he hadn't previously done. More than most general managers in the NHL MacTavish is likely to learn from his mistakes and surround himself with competent assistants to handle areas in which he may display weaknesses.

He knows how to handle the media as anyone that has listened to a MacTavish post-game interview or press conference is well-aware. There will be no "...is it me?" moments, no "MACT ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE" moments, and no "deer in headlights" moments.

When his coursework at Queens is complete, MacTavish will likely re-enter the NHL in some capacity. If a team is willing to give him an interview as a coach, they should listen to what MacTavish has to say about a possible general manager's position. He's a guy with a proven record as a player, a proven record of player development, a proven record of roster management, an understanding of roster building, and a record of intelligence. Teams like Atlanta, Florida, Ottawa, and Edmonton should be at least willing to listen to what MacTavish has to say, let alone hire the guy to fix their significant messes.

Poll

Which man would you prefer as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers?

Flames @ Kings Post-Game - Karma's a Bitch

Kent Wilson — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:02:08 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

As sometimes happens, the Flames were the better team last night in just about all facets of the game, but ended up on the losing end of the score. Tough to be mad about it though - Calgary has been the beneficiary of similar fortunes recently so we'll just write this one off as the universe trying to balance itself out.

Calgary won the possession battle, the scoring chance count and the shot count, but a couple of posts and some decent saves by Jonathan Quick kept the Kings out in front. That said, it was hardly a perfect contest from the guys in white and red: Adam Pardy moved up in the absence of Robyn Regehr and got his head beat in. In particular, he was frequently victimized off the rush, including Scott Parse's opening tally. Pardy typically ends up on the positive side of things in terms of chances and possession when he's restricted to the third pairing, but last night he was well under water by both metrics (-11, -5). He also took a penalty to boot. Sorry Adam...you're clearly not ready for that kind of gig.

In addition, the Flames newly formed top line of Iginla, Jokinen and Dawes struggled for the second straight game. Since being formed, the trio is a combined -26 in terms of scoring chance differential, which is a rate reminiscent of the bad ol' October days where Iginla and Jokinen were getting beat up by the opposition nightly. To be fair, they faced some pretty capable bad guys the last two games (Thornton et al, Kopitar et al), but the point of going PvP is to at least try to come out even at the end of the game most nights. If not, then you just have $12M+ worth of offensive forwards chasing the puck around their own zone for an evening.

Which brings me to the ever rotating cast of left wingers for that unit - I've resigned myself to the fact that the Flames organization has collectively decided that Iginla and Jokinen have to play together (apologies to Mike Keenan, whom I blamed this exclusively on last season), but the fact of the matter is, outside of periods where Iginla is shooting lights out, that combination is going to need some help to get the job done; especially if Brent is going to send them out against the Thorntons and Kopitars of the world. The natural choice is Rene Bourque, who is doubtlessly the best LW on the Flames roster. Bourque's audition on the first line was rather inauspicious (loss to PHX), although that unit did manage to outchance their counter-parts on the evening - something that hasn't occured since Bourque was moved to Langkow's line and Dawes was elevated. Granted, the level of competition between the PHX game and the following two contests isn't congruous, but I think it's been shown pretty conclusively that Bourque is a strong ES forward who can play against anyone and move the puck in the right direction.

As such, I find the decision making about this situation curious: in Bourque's absence, the Dawes-Langkow-Moss combination held their own. Bourque returns, makes a brief appearance on the first unit and then is "demoted" in favor of an obviously inferior option (no disrepect to Dawes, whom I like - he's just clearly in over his head). Any talk of "balancing the top 6" here is untenable: not only was the Langkow/Dawes/Moss trio operating at an acceptable clip previously, but the Flames first line sees the toughest match-ups. Iginla and Jokinen should therefore play with the best LW option available - otherwise you're just throwing them in the deep end of the pool and tossing them an anchor. And it's not like Olli Jokinen is the best swimmer anyways.

Gameday Preview: Dallas Stars @ Anaheim Ducks (9:00pm CST)

Brad G — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:37:57 -0000

Next Game

Dallas Stars
@ Anaheim Ducks

Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009, 9:00 PM CST
Honda Center

Local TV:FSSW

Radio: Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket

Complete Coverage >

Tonight the Dallas Stars travel to Anaheim to face the ~~Mighty~~ Ducks, and start their longest road trip of the season. It's a five game stretch that will see the Stars go fourteen days between home games, and includes games on both the West and East coasts. This morning the Stars find themselves in 8th place with 34 points, only 4 away from the 12th place Edmonton Oilers, and 5 points away from the third place Blackhawks. This critical stretch against quality opponents is yet another opportunity for the Stars to come together and find the consistent play they've been looking for, or else fall to the wrong side of eighth place in the conference. Knowing the Stars this season, they'll somehow find a way to go 2-2-1 on this trip and end up right back where they started. Which wouldn't be all bad.

These teams met just five days ago in Dallas. The Stars were held off the score sheet through two periods, and a bit of a goaltending duel (or a contest of offensive ineptitude) had carried into the late stages of the game when Dallas finally broke through with two of the more embarrassingly fluky goals you'll ever see. Brenden Morrow added an empty netter and the Ducks lost the game in regulation, as well as Teemu Selanne. Since that meeting Thursday, the clubs have combined to lose three shootout games over the weekend: Dallas to Edmonton, and Anaheim to Minnesota and Ottawa.

Follow the jump for a look at both teams and the injury situation...

The Stars:

The big news for Dallas tonight will likely be the season debut of young defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy, according to the Dallas Morning News. Dallas recalled Vishnevskiy from the Texas Stars and placed defenseman Karlis Skrastins on IR with a lacerated finger.

Our own Brandon Worley opined on the subject:

When news first came that Skrastins was out indefinitely with a cut finger on his hand, it was just about inevitable that he would have to go to injured reserve at some point. The cut is on the hand that grips the top of his stick and it's going to take at least a week for it to heal to a point where he can play comfortably. What I hoped would happen is that the Stars would recall Maxime Fortunus or Garrett Stafford when this happened, in order to provide some intelligent and physical relief on defense while Skrastins was out. Neither are flashy guys, but both are solid defensemen who won't make many mistakes.

And Mike Heika agreed:

I personally would have called up Maxime Fortunus and played him beside Fistric, but I think they like what Vishnevskiy has done so far this year with the Texas Stars. It's probably only for one game and Skrastins will come back Friday against San Jose, so we'll see how this works.

It appears as though Woywitka will be the odd man out tonight, but Marc Crawford has surprised us before.

While trying to keep Perry and Getlzaf away from Marty Turco with an increasingly young and inexperienced group of blue-liners, the Stars will also continue attempting to right the ship on offense. Two goals against the Ducks on Thursday (and an empty netter) and two goals against Edmonton on Saturday gives Dallas only two goals scored in an eye popping 12 of their last 16 games. James Neal will likely be reunited with Richards and Eriksson tonight to further the cause.

Marty Turco will be in net. [link]

The Ducks:

Anaheim, in spite of having one of the scarier offensive pairs in the league in Perry and Getzlaf, have lost five straight and will be looking to get off the slide with a win tonight. Ducks forward Joffrey Lupul returned from injury after the Dallas game, tallying three goals already in two games.

It's tough to figure out which goaltender is starting for Randy Carlyle these days. The OC Register explains...

The fact is Giguere and Hiller have been alternating starts the last four games since Hiller got the nod against the Kings after a start Giguere made against Phoenix in which he played well but lost in a shootout to Phoenix.

Neither goalie has won since and it’s left Giguere wondering what would have happened had Carlyle stuck with him during a run where he went 3-0-1 with a 1.71 goals-against average.

"If you keep going, good things could happen," Giguere acknowledged. "Sometimes a judgment call is more appropriate than that. I think at this point, Jonas and I have got to just take it one day at a time, not worry too much about the next game and just worry when you’re called upon and try to give the team a chance."

Carlyle’s basic approach has been to foster competition between the two would-be No. 1 goaltenders. But could it be having a reverse effect where it’s more you lose you’re out that win and you’re in.

"I’d be lying if I’d say it’s not in the back of our minds," Giguere said. "My mind anyway, I don’t about Jonas. You go into the third, it’s a tie game or whatever and you think about if you want to keep playing, you absolutely need to win. You can’t give up that next goal.

The pattern suggests Hiller tonight, which is a real shame, because I think we all enjoyed Giguere's third period performance on Thursday immensely.

Injuries:

Anaheim: Teemu Selanne (hurt by a Karlis Skrastins slap shot. Broken hand)

Dallas: Karlis Skrastins (hurt later the same game. Lacerated finger)

Have a prediction? Make it in the comments.

Around The Pacific: Kings, Coyotes & Stars Holding Steady

Brandon Worley — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:25:01 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

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Since we last updated on the race in the Pacific Division, the San Jose have been able to maintain their lead in the Western Conference while expanding their lead in the division to six points. Los Angeles, Phoenix and Dallas have tightened up together, with just three points separating the three teams. Anaheim, while they did enjoy a brief good spell, have dropped back to the bottom of the conference standing and are eight points behind Dallas.

Dallas has been able to barely hold on in the standings, but are just three points ahead of 11th place Columbus. With seven of the next nine games against Western Conference teams deep in the positioning race, the Stars have an opportunity to either make a big move or significantly fall behind.

A detailed look at the division after the jump.

Pacific Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
San Jose	31	19	7	5	43
Los Angeles	30	17	10	3	37
Phoenix	29	17	11	1	35
Dallas	29	13	8	8	34
Anaheim	29	10	13	6	26

(updated 12.7.2009 at 9:14 AM EST)

Despite all of the frustrations, the Stars are still just three points behind L.A. and nine back of San Jose. That's either completely amazing or extremely disturbing.

San Jose Sharks; 1st in the Pacific Division, 1st in the West

The Sharks are coming off two straight losses, including a shootout loss to St. Louis on Thursday. Here is what Fear The Fin had to say about the loss:

I would be remiss not to touch upon the travesty that was St. Louis-- the fact that a shorthanded goal was given up with six seconds remaining has probably been beaten to death in the game thread, but the truth is I didn't even bother to browse being in a pretty foul mood and all. My biggest issue during the last two minutes wasn't even the shorty, but the fact that the Sharks gave up a two on one roughly forty seconds beforehand. It was a great outlet pass sure, and you have to give credit to the Blues for busting their ass all game, but San Jose has to be aware the forwards are going to be creeping into the neutral zone well before they would usually. After that gets defused with an excellent save by Nabokov, the play heads the other way. And who gets off for a line change as the puck gets dumped into the offensive zone? Two players, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake. Joe Thornton gets a pass here as he was the requisite forechecker on the play (along with beating out the icing call), but Heatley and Marleau need to make a quick change so they don't get caught with tired legs in the defensive zone. Whether it was an honest mistake, competitive instinct, or a case of seeing that empty net opportunity to pad the stats a bit doesn't matter. That shift change needs to get done.

And now we move on.

Sharks Schedule

Next 5 Games

Los Angeles	Wed 12/09	9:30 PM CST
Dallas	Fri 12/11	9:00 PM CST
@ Phoenix	Sat 12/12	7:00 PM CST
Anaheim	Thu 12/17	9:30 PM CST
@ Dallas	Mon 12/21	7:30 PM CST

Last 5 Games

Calgary	Sat 12/05	L 1 - 2
St. Louis	Thu 12/03	SO - L 2 - 3
Ottawa	Tue 12/01	W 5 - 2
@ Vancouver	Sun 11/29	W 4 - 2
@ Edmonton	Fri 11/27	SO - W 5 - 4

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jody Shelley	other-excused	11/10/2009
Brad Staubitz	other-excused	11/16/2009

Leading Scorer:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Joe Thornton	31	7	33	40	5	6	2	0	1	0	62	11.3

Los Angeles Kings; 2nd in the Pacific Division, 5th in the West:

The Kings are 4-1-1 in their past six games, with three straight wins over Chicago, Anaheim and Ottawa. Connie was impressed:

A great stat from the night was that Michal Handzus and Anze Kopitar both rocked it in the faceoff circle with 81% and 80%, respectively. Also, Wayne Simmonds has continued to impress everyone watching. Tonight he drew a penalty shot where he faked out Mike Elliott and slide the puck between his legs getting the lead back for the Kings. I'm so pleased with his entire game and development so far this season. Go Simmer!

The most surprising part of the game was the goal by Randy Jones in the first minute of the game. In the past that would be the kind of thing the Kings wouldn't be able to do. I seem to recall a game against the Detroit Red Wings two seasons ago where the puck dropped and I could feel it in my bones that the Kings would utterly fail. As predicted, Henrik Zetterberg scored about 51 seconds into the game. Someone can check that number, but I don't think I'm too far off since that memory is seared into my memory bank.

Kings Schedule

Next 5 Games

Calgary	Mon 12/07	9:30 PM CST
@ San Jose	Wed 12/09	9:30 PM CST
Phoenix	Thu 12/10	9:30 PM CST
Dallas	Sat 12/12	9:30 PM CST
@ Vancouver	Mon 12/14	9:00 PM CST

Last 5 Games

St. Louis	Sat 12/05	SO - L 4 - 5
Ottawa	Thu 12/03	W 6 - 3
@ Anaheim	Tue 12/01	W 4 - 3
Chicago	Sat 11/28	SO - W 2 - 1
@ Vancouver	Thu 11/26	L 1 - 4

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Rob Scuderi	other-excused	12/07/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brandon Segal	other-excused	12/07/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Andrei Loktionov	shoulder	11/26/2009
Ryan Smyth	other-excused	11/18/2009

Leading Scorer:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Anze Kopitar	30	14	21	35	3	8	4	0	0	0	92	15.2

Phoenix Coyotes; 3rd in the Pacific Division, 6th in the West:

The Coyotes have won four straight now (and take on the Wild tonight), and Five For Howling has these thoughts:

Play for, you know, 40 minutes at least...
In the post game presser, Coach Dave Tippett even said that the Coyotes weren't putting in a whole lot of effort after they got the first couple of goals. More times than not the effort that they gave on Saturday won't be capable of winning them the game. If it wasn't for the outstanding play in goal and some lucky breaks the Coyotes could have lost that game rather easily. As Tippett said, we'll take the two points, but we can play better and we have to play better.

Give Bryz Some Room, Then Don't Hang Him Out to Dry
The Coyotes got the early lead on Saturday giving goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov some room to breathe and not have to hold the entirety of the team on his shoulders, at least for a little while. Except then the team just decided to go into prevent style play and Ilya was getting a lot more pressure than a shot here and there. When the Coyotes get the lead they need to keep playing as though they don't have it because when they back off the gas bad things quickly happen.

Coyotes Schedule

Next 5 Games

@ Los Angeles	Thu 12/10	9:30 PM CST
San Jose	Sat 12/12	7:00 PM CST
@ Detroit	Mon 12/14	6:30 PM CST
@ Toronto	Wed 12/16	6:30 PM CST
@ Columbus	Thu 12/17	6:00 PM CST

Last 5 Games

Minnesota	Mon 12/07	8:00 PM CST
Ottawa	Sat 12/05	W 3 - 2
Calgary	Thu 12/03	W 2 - 1
@ Anaheim	Sun 11/29	OT - W 3 - 2
Dallas	Fri 11/27	W 5 - 2

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Peter Mueller	other-excused	12/07/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

Lead Scorer:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Shane Doan	29	7	11	18	-8	15	4	0	1	0	84	8.3

Anaheim Ducks; 5th in the Pacific Division, 15th in the West:

The Ducks have lost two straight and are back at the bottom of the Western Conference. Anaheim Calling is not happy:

This is Anaheim Calling to the hockey world.

The Ducks continue to find impressive ways to lose. Wisniewski is apparently continuing to play with the flu and making mistakes rather than admitting he can't play-- thanks for being tough Wiz. The offense from the top line is picking up again with an upright Joffrey Lupul, but secondary scoring is non-existent. And now, it also seems the power play is drying up. But that's all the bad stuff. While it might be more prudent for Anaheim fans to start thinking of the 2010 draft rather than the 2010 playoffs, can you tell me if there's a bright spot on the Ducks roster right now that can have Ducks fans tricking themselves into believing a playoff run might be in our future?

Ducks Schedule

Next 5 Games

Dallas	Tue 12/08	9:00 PM CST
@ Detroit	Fri 12/11	6:30 PM CST
@ Columbus	Sat 12/12	6:00 PM CST
@ Vancouver	Wed 12/16	9:00 PM CST
@ San Jose	Thu 12/17	9:30 PM CST

Last 5 Games

Ottawa	Sun 12/06	SO - L 3 - 4
@ Minnesota	Fri 12/04	SO - L 4 - 5
@ Dallas	Thu 12/03	L 1 - 3
Los Angeles	Tue 12/01	L 3 - 4
Phoenix	Sun 11/29	OT - L 2 - 3

Anaheim Ducks Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryan Whitney	other-illness	12/07/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Teemu Selanne	hand	12/04/2009
Ryan Carter	foot	11/12/2009
Kyle Calder	eye	11/29/2009

Leading Scorer:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Corey Perry	29	15	21	36	5	32	2	1	0	0	106	14.2

Ducks Season Gone in a Flash?

Daniel AC — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:20:50 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

8 months ago: Anaheim Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne, left, of Finland, puts a shot over Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco to win the game during the shootout in an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, April 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)

Browse more photos »

DANIEL:

This is Anaheim Calling to the hockey world. The Ducks chances of crawling out of the cellar just went form bad to abysmal. TSN is reporting that Teemu Selanne will be gone for the next 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his left hand. Selanne is a key component of the Ducks secondary scoring in 5 on 5 situations along with Saku Koivu. More importantly, Selanne is third in the league with 7 power play goals, and second in game winning goals with 4. Aside from being a fan favorite, Selanne is very important to the overall performance of the Ducks, and with Joffrey Lupul still sidelined with back spasms there is no indication of who will replace Selanne's goal scoring abilities.

Recent acquisition Kyle Chipchura has played with Saku Koivu before and might be an accidental success with the space that has oppened up on Koivu's wing. Lupul has been skating recently and might only be a couple games away. Chipchura would provide a big body to go along with Koivu's playmaking and Lupul's shoot first mentality. Possible chemistry could ensue. This would lead to a demotion for Artyukhin whose only bad game in the past week was against the Kings when he took three offensive zone faceoffs penalties, a trend he had seemed to reverse.

Perhaps the best hope for the Ducks was just called up from the AHL. Dan Sexton, a.k.a. Big Sexy, had a phenomenal year in the ECHL posting 13-13=26 in 18 games. Dan Sexton is generoulsy listed at 5'10" and a 170 lbs. More importantly, the guy is crafty in the corner. During training camp I was most impressed with Sexton's ability to come out of the corner with the puck against bigger opponents. He uses his speed and lack of size to his advantage. Think Andy McDonald, only as a winger instead of up the middle. I'm excited to see what Big Sexy brings to the team. If nothing else, I expect energy and better play along the boards. I'd love to see an all rookie line of Beleskey-Sharp-Sexton. This line would have Arthur's favorite combination from old Nintendo, the fat guy, the regular guy and the skinny guy.

No matter what happens, the Ducks are going to have to solve this problem from the inside. There's a report that the best s ource for talent via trade, the cap strapped Blackhawks, don't need to move any players until the off season. The Ducks' rookies can get it done. The Ducks need to let their depth start doing a little work, otherwise the top players won't have any guess for a potential stretch run.

The Birth Of The Montreal Canadiens: From Humble And Tenuous Beginnings, Came Hockey's Greatest Franchise

Robert L — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:31:37 -0000

The Montreal Canadiens were born on December 4, 1909 in room 129 of the Windsor Hotel.

J. Ambrose O'Brien, a businessman and sports entrepreneur from the Ottawa region, with financial backing from business partner T.C. Hare, submitted the one thousand dollar National Hockey Association league entry fee and made guarantees for player salaries in the amount of $5,000.

The Montreal Wanderers had been one of the stronger teams in Eastern Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1908-09 and the owners of the club were upset that the ECAHA's other 3 teams - the Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Shamrocks, and the Quebec Bulldogs - had left them behind to create a newly formed league called the Canadian Hockey Association.

The CHA had been on created November 13, 1909 and was formed of the Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec franchises, in addition to the Montreal National, and a team known as All - Montreal.

O'Brien meanwhile, had sports and arena interests in Renfrew, Haileybury and Cobalt and was sought out by Wanderers owners to form a new rival league to the CHA. Included in their ideas, was one for a Montreal based team comprised mainly of french speaking players, to counter the same idea of the CHA's Montreal National. It would be called the Montreal Canadiens, and their colours would be blue and white.

There was one small problem, these Montreal Canadiens had no arena to play in.

The issue was solved by the Wanderers, who wanted this new league to work out in such a bad way, that they would share their home rink, the Jubilee Arena, with the Canadiens.

Hence National Hockey Association was born, with the newly cteated Canadiens joining forces with the Renfrew Creamery Kings, the Cobalt Silver Kings, the Haileybury Comets, and of course, the Wanderers. The Canadiens and the NHA, in its rivalry with the CHA, endured a difficult birth with several false starts.

After part of the initial schedule was remade and finally scrapped, the NHA accepted, or conspired to lure as the theory goes, two additional franchises from the CHA - the Senators and the Shamrocks - and began the season anew in January of 1910.

Jack Laviolette, a star player with the Montreal National of Federal Amateur Hockey League, the Michigan Soo Indians of the International Hockey League, and the Montreal Shamrocks of the Eastern Canadien Amateur Hockey Association, was regarded as one of the brighter hockey men the city of Montreal had in the early 1900's. He was brought in by owner O'Brien and teamed with secretary treasurer Eddy McCaffery in forming the group of players that would comprise the inaugural Montreal Canadiens team.

Laviolette, in addition to being manager, would also serve as the team's best defenseman and captain. He completed the task of getting players in place in less than one month.

Born Jean Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette in Belleville, Ontario on July 27, 1879, he moved with his family to Valleyfield, Quebec at age 12, where he developed a love of the game of hockey on his best friend Didier "Cannonball" Pitre's backyard rink.

Pitre, another defenseman, would become Laviolette's first signing to the Canadiens as he outbid the National for his services. It was quite a coup for the team, and the signing involved outracing the National's agent by train, who was also on the way to scoop up Pitre.

Soon after, Laviolette added Jos Cattarinich in goal and Newsy Lalonde in the rover position. The team's starters were rounded out by Ed Decary at center, with Arthur Bernier and Georges "Skinner" Poulin on the wings. Seven other players would suit up for Montreal in the restarted 12 game official season and they included Joseph Bougie, Ed Chapleau, Edgar Leduc, Edward Millaire, Patsy Séguin and goaltenders M. Larochelle and Teddy Groulx.

On a team photo handout of the day that featured the composition of the team, are two players named Rick Duckett and Noss Chartrand. There is little data pertaining to the standing of these players who were likely victims of the earlier season's false started schedule.

Laviolette, McCaffery, and O'Brien did much financial wheeling and dealing in aquiring several of their players, and certain transactions were contested with threats and lawsuits. After having stolen Pitre from under the National's nose, he targetted the services of Lalonde and Decary, and then moved on to All - Montreal for Poulin, all of whom where under contract.

With much of this contested in court, the Canadiens made headlines in local newpapers prior to having played their first NHA game.

Edouard Lalonde, was already known as Newsy by the time he arrived on the Canadiens scene. Born in Cornwall, Ontario, on October 31, 1887, the 22 year old Lalonde would quite rightfully become recognized as the Canadiens first true star player. Lalonde's on ice style made him the original "Flying Frenchman".

On January 5, 1910, the Canadiens beat the Cobalt squad 7-6 in overtime, with Lalonde scoring twice in what unofficially became their first ever game. Shortly after, the CHA was dissolved, and hence the Shamrocks and Senators, along with some of the league's better players, were absorbed into NHA.

It is not known how many games the Canadiens had played prior to the schedule being quickly revamped. The prior games played were shelved from the record and there exists little documentation today that details the false start.

The Canadiens restarted the season on January 19 and Lalonde recorded the team's first goal and hat trick in a loss to Renfrew. Both the Canadiens and Wanderers would play their local games at the Jubilee Arena, at the corner of Ste. Catherine and Malborough in the Westmount section of downtown Montreal. The Canadiens would lose the first four games in its history before beating Haileybury 9-5 on February 7, in front of a hometown crowd 3,000 strong. Pitre, the team's highest paid player at $1,700 per season, scored the winning goal.

Pitre would also score the winning goal in the Canadiens only other win of the 1910 season, registering a hat trick - a first for a Canadiens defenseman - on March 11 in a win over the crosstown Shamrocks. The game in itself was an oddity of sorts, as Canadiens starting goaltender M. Larochelle was tossed from the contest for vehemently arguing a goal with officials. Laviolette would take over in goal himself, thus becoming the first player coach to be credited with a win. Larochelle, who has no other Canadiens appearances to his credit, would not return. He has henceforth disappeared into mysterious Canadiens lore.

At the onset, the Canadiens were a bleak on ice, and off ice proposition. After three games, Laviolette passed the manager's hat to goalie Cattarinich so that he could concentrate his efforts on other duties involving the team while continuing to play.

Several events and strange occurances would mark the Canadiens initial campaign. Montreal would suffer its worst loss in history in this season on February 26, via a 15-3 pounding at the hands of the Haileybury Comets. In that game, Alex Currie and Nick Bawlf would become the first players to score 6 and 5 goals respectively against the sadsack Canadiens.

Finances were a problem for the Canadiens as well, and on March 9, prior to a game against the Wanderers, the Montreal players went on strike. Angered at not having been paid for their previous game, the players were convinced by Laviolette - who pointed to an arena full of possibly disappointed fans - that they would receive full renumeration for their services as soon as the gate receipts were counted.

The Canadiens would finish out the schedule in last place with a record of 2-10, scoring 59 goals and allowing an even 100. The following season, only Lalonde, Pitre, Laviolette, Bernier and Poulin would return.

In his first NHA season, Lalonde would score 38 goals in 11 games to win the league's first scoring title. He scored 16 of those in 6 games with the Canadiens before being "lent" to the Renfrew squad where he would add 22 more in the season's final five games. The move was done primarily to strengthen the O' Brien owned Creamery Kings in a Stanley Cup bid.

O' Brien was the big mover and shaker in the initial days of the NHA's first steps. In addition to the Canadiens and Renfrew, he also had ownership of the Haileybury and Cobalt franchises, and donated the league's first championship trophy - the O' Brien Cup.

Despite O' Brien's help, Renfrew would not manage its Cup goal, and the NHA championship and the Stanley Cup would become property of the Montreal Wanderers in 1910.

The Wanderers, led by stars Ernie Russell, Harry Hyland and goalie Riley Hern defeated the Berlin (now Kitchener) Union Jacks 7-3 in a one game Stanley Cup challenge held March 12, 1910 at the Jubilee Arena.

Ownership of the Stanley Cup at this time in hockey history is very different than it is known as today. As it was created to be a challenge cup, rules governing who could compete for it and how were in constant evolution until the bowl become property of the NHL.

The 1909 Stanley Cup champions were the Senators, then of the ECAHA. Ottawa had been awarded the Cup as league champions, and it was too late in the season for them to accept an outside challenge from the Winnipeg Shamrocks. While Ottawa partook in its first NHA season the following calendar year, it twice successfully defended its title in a pair of total goals games in January of 1910 against the Edmonton Eskimos and a team from Galt.

Though the Senators had twice defended their title, the team's name is inscribed on the bowl just once. Wheras other squads multiple wins within a 12 month period are duly recorded, there seemed to be little operative practice of consistency for inscriptions on the bowl.

Hockey in 1909-10, grew in often conspicuous leaps and bounds, and the Canadiens inaugural season mirrored the game's fast changing times.

The team's owners were sometimes suspect, often perceived by the public at large as simply money men cashing in on the sport's rise in popularity. As many of them were involved in boxing, horseracing, and gambling rings, hockey often suffered from the perception of it being nothing more than a violent mug's rackett. And it truly was!

Owners bought and sold teams quickly. Player's rights were fought over considerably. Local rinks gate receipts were questioned. In short, every variety of legal standing regarding the game had its share of dubious moments. Owners took advantage of players naivity, and the sides barely trusted each other.

That the Canadiens survived all of this, team name and origin intact, is quite a feat. They would have more than their share of trials and tribulations in their early going, but on the backs on great visionairies and proud players, they would outlast city rival teams through a multitude of ups and downs over the coming decades.

In all the fuss and flux, it would be the constants that remained from year to year that would bring about allegiance in the locals.

Laviolette and Cattarinich were emotionally invested in the team. Players such as Lalonde, Pitre, - stubborn as they came - and other mainstays to come, helped reinforce the team's humble foundation and build the sport in Eastern Canada.

Newsy Lalonde would leave his mark on the NHA and NHL, as much for his scoring exploits as he would for his temperament. A controversial figure of sorts, who was known at the time to have been making more money as one of the nation's best lacrosse players, Lalonde never hesitated to refuse his services when he felt he was being taking advantage of financially.

After the 1910-11 season, he jumped to Pacific Coast Hockey League's Vancouver Millionaires for more money. He was back in a Canadiens jersey the following season. Two seasons later he was sold / traded back to the Millionaires, but refused to report, causing the Canadiens all kinds of headaches in player and money transfers.

Regardless of his stubborn nature and his principles, Lalonde would be regarded as one of the NHL's early greats. He won six scoring championships across four leagues in his day - 2 NHA, 2 NHL, 1 PCHA in 1912, and 1 OPHL in 1909 - and would remain associated with the Canadiens as a player until 1923 when he was dealt to the Saskatoon Shieks for $3,500 and Aurel Joliat after a contractual squabble with then manager Leo Dandurand.

During his 12 seasons as a Canadiens player, Lalonde had been captain for eight of those years and its coach for 6. He played his final NHL game as a member of the New York Americans in 1927 and retired in 1929 after a year with the Niagara Falls Cataracts.

By 1932, he had patched up differences with Dandurand and returned to coach the Canadiens once more for two and a half seasons during some lean years for the club.

Pitre, a giant of a man for an early hockey player, had the on ice temperment of a teddy bear. He would play 13 of his next 14 hockey seasons in a Canadiens uniform, outlasting his sometimes rival team mate Lalonde by one season. A fast skating strong man with a reknowned hard shot, Pitre was one of the early game's better offensive defenseman at a time when the position was much less defined than it is today.

Laviolette would suit up for the Canadiens until 1918, when a car accident would end his career.

Cattarinich would not play for the Canadiens beyond the 1910 season. He would later team with Dandurand and another local businessman named Louis Letourneau to purchase the Canadiens.

For the 1910-11 season, Cattarinich would find his replacement in goal, and his discovery had a profound effect on the future of the Montreal Canadiens franchise.

SB Nation - Los Angeles Kings

Coyotes at Kings - Game #31 Preview - Remember When We Owned the Kings?

FIVE FOR WINNING

Key Players

Shane Doan

#19 / Right Wing / Phoenix Coyotes

Wayne Simmonds

#17 / Right Wing / Los Angeles Kings

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Kings Gameday: I'm Going to Poll You

Next Game

Is Wayne Simmonds an actual train that carries meat, or is he a train made out of meat?

Kings-Sharks Recap: Booyah!

Sharks Gameday: Give Me Back My Bullets

@

Television

CSN-CA (HD)

Radio

98.5 KFOX, Sjsharks.com

Antagonists

Battle of CaliforniaThe Royal Half

Craig MacTavish - Future GM

Which man would you prefer as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers?

Flames @ Kings Post-Game - Karma's a Bitch

Gameday Preview: Dallas Stars @ Anaheim Ducks (9:00pm CST)

Next Game

The Stars:

The Ducks:

Injuries:

Around The Pacific: Kings, Coyotes & Stars Holding Steady

Pacific Standings

San Jose Sharks; 1st in the Pacific Division, 1st in the West

Sharks Schedule

Next 5 Games

Last 5 Games

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Leading Scorer:

Los Angeles Kings; 2nd in the Pacific Division, 5th in the West:

Kings Schedule

Next 5 Games

Last 5 Games

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

Probable

Questionable

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Leading Scorer:

Phoenix Coyotes; 3rd in the Pacific Division, 6th in the West:

Coyotes Schedule

Next 5 Games

Last 5 Games

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Questionable

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Lead Scorer:

Anaheim Ducks; 5th in the Pacific Division, 15th in the West:

Ducks Schedule

Next 5 Games

Last 5 Games

Anaheim Ducks Injuries

Questionable

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Leading Scorer:

Ducks Season Gone in a Flash?

The Birth Of The Montreal Canadiens: From Humble And Tenuous Beginnings, Came Hockey's Greatest Franchise