News and notes after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals...

Breaking: Bob Miller Update

"If the Kings win the Cup, you might hear Bob Miller call it." It would be taped rather than live, but oh my gosh! I want this to happen more than I can say. [Los Angeles Times]

Game 1 Reactions

Three quality recaps: Helene Elliott [Los Angeles Times], Bruce Arthur [National Post], and Pierre LeBrun [ESPN]

Quisp’s entertaining running commentary/postgame bullets: "Why does Pierre McGuire have to be between the benches? They should just put him in a plexiglass box and dangle him over the ice on cables." [McSorley’s Stick]

Coverage from New Jersey naturally searches for a bright side: "It took far too long, but from the third period on, the Devils looked like the dominant team that chased the Rangers out of the conference finals five days ago on this same ice." Oh really? [NJ Star-Ledger]

James Mirtle, in a refreshing change of pace, points out that the Kings had a clear edge in shot attempts and possession. Be sure to check out the shot timeline. [Globe and Mail]

The Devils know they need to execute better. That makes four different opponents who have said that after dropping Game 1. [Fire and Ice]

Howard Berger’s photo journal documenting the experience inside the arena. [Berger Bytes]

Players review the quality of the ice, and...let's just go with "atrocious." [LA Kings Insider]

More news, Colin Fraser, and a beard investigation after the jump...

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Post-game media scrums can be lengthy affairs, full of routine questions and expected cliches. But this panel with Quick and Kopitar is not to be missed.

Jonathan Quick (hoodie down, for you fashion critics out there) makes a range of funny faces as he fidgets and waits for questions. But the key moment comes at the end of the clip, when some hapless reporter asks "Anzie" (Anzie?) why he went backhand on Brodeur. Kopitar's response makes Quick burst into giggles, and the room follows.

It may be difficult for players to sit through these Q&As at times, but last night was surely worth it.

And they're back.

Let your love come out!

Since we last met the New Jersey Devils...

IN: Marek Zidlicky, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Peter Harrold (Devils); Dwight King, Jordan Nolan, Jeff Carter (Kings)

OUT: Adam Larsson, Henrik Tallinder (Devils); Simon Gagne, Kyle Clifford, Andrei Loktionov (Kings)

Enemy Reading: In Lou We Trust

Lineups:

Parise-Zajac-Zubrus
Ponikarovsky-Henrique-Kovalchuk
Elias-Josefson-Clarkson
Carter-Gionta-Bernier

Greene-Fayne
Salvador-Zidlicky
Volchenkov-Harrold

Brodeur

Kings lineup:

Brown-Kopitar-Williams
Penner-Richards-Carter
King-Stoll-Lewis
Richardson-Fraser-Nolan

Scuderi-Doughty
Mitchell-Voynov
Martinez-Greene

Quick

Continue reading this post »

The fine folks at NHL Numbers invited the JFTC crew over to help preview the Stanley Cup Finals from the Kings' perspective. Insight from the Devils' side is offered by Brent of Driving Play, and John of ILWT.

We covered a variety of topics, from puck possession to special teams. Check it out!

Stanley Cup Finals Preview at NHL Numbers

What can we say, we like to talk.

Charlie Saunders of Predneck Nation was kind enough to invite me on his show to discuss the regular season evolution and surprising playoff success of the Los Angeles Kings. We had a blast discussing a variety of topics, but none more than our shared love of Bernie Nicholls. Thanks, Charlie!

Listen to our segment here.

Be sure to also check out Miranda's Stanley Cup Finals preview (and pro-Kings prediction).

Today, Americans honor the men and women who fell in service to their country. We at JFTC wish everyone a safe Memorial Day.

Corey S. of the Shutdown Line and NHL Numbers tracked the scoring chances for the Kings-Coyotes series. The Kings not only out-shot Phoenix, they out-chanced them by a wide margin.

Scoring chances are defined as an unblocked shot attempt within the "home plate" area in front of the net.

This flies in the face of the notion that the Kings had mostly perimeter shots, even in their single loss in Game 4.

The Kings also out-chanced the Coyotes 7-1 in Game 5's OT.

It's safe to say that officiating was not the biggest factor in the outcome of this series. Overwhelming pressure was.

Check this post out -- it's another must-read.

Kings-Coyotes Scoring Chance Recap

I've been sitting out on my deck for the last two hours, sipping a glass of wine, thinking about what it means to be a Kings fan.

You see, this article in the LA Times about long-time fans stirred up a whole lot of feelings in me.

Each fan's story is different. And yet they all hit me right here.

Here we are on the eve of the Stanley Cup Finals, and do we revel in it? Well...not exactly. Even as we watch with joy.

Nobody is overconfident.

Nobody feels like this is real.

Nobody knows what rooting for a successful team is supposed to feel like. Even in '93, with Wayne freaking Gretzky, the Kings were the upstarts. We're the team of permanent underdogs. Chalk it up to 45 years of conditioning.

And now? Your Los Angeles Kings have only lost two games so far in the postseason. Things turn out for the best when we expect the worst. We don't know how to get our bearings.

Objective stats tell us that the Kings are a strong possession team with excellent goaltending. When's the last time any of us could expect that?

I understand why doubt lurks around every corner. But maybe it's time to raise a glass and appreciate what they have going here -- even if we never look to far ahead.

When did you get your start as a Kings fan? Tell me.

The puck's about to drop in Jersey. We'll find out in a few hours which opponent the Kings will face in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Here's a little scouting on both teams, with some pros and cons for both sides:

• The New York Rangers are not a very good puck possession team, and are probably fatigued by a long playoff run. On the other hand, they have an elite goalie in Henrik Lundqvist. Their offense has sputtered of late, but they have an excellent defense led by Marc Staal. They collapse around the net and block a lot of shots (sound familiar?). Tortorella is a crazy man, but he has a Cup ring.
• The New Jersey Devils are a stronger possession team than the Rangers, though not as strong as the Kings. They play an aggressive forechecking style (hey!) that the Kings should be able to match. They lack elite goaltending, though Martin Brodeur has served them well enough in the postseason (.921 SV%). DeBoer's coaching has been an underrated factor in their turnaround.
  

Who do you want to see advance, and why?

Which players do you have your eye on?

Let's see what happens. Game on!

Talented LW Simon Gagne, who missed most of the regular season with concussion symptoms, had been skating with the Kings' healthy scratches of late. Today, he participated in a regular team practice for the first time.

This is a positive sign, but according to Hammond, it still seems unlikely that he will dress for the postseason. However, it's great to see him make progress and skate in good health. His conditioning probably needs work, though Darryl Sutter noted that having some "live ammo" in reserve is welcome to any playoff team.

If the Kings should go on to win the Stanley Cup, Gagne currently does not qualify for inclusion on the chalice -- unless, of course, he were to play in the Stanley Cup Finals. He fell just short of the regular season game requirements before he was injured. (We should note that the Boston Bruins petitioned to have Marc Savard's name put on the Cup when his season ended prematurely due to concussion symptoms, and succeeded. That may be a possibility here.)

• For more on Gagne, check out this video interview with Mayor's Manor.
• KingsNewsDaily brings us video of Gagne in practice. He's sniping away and cheering in the green jersey.
  

What do you all think? Will the Kings consider playing him if he makes rapid improvement? Where would he slot in, if so?

We wish Simon the best on his journey back to the NHL. Then he can get back to this:

Who wants goosebumps all over again? Me!

Game 5 Highlights:

Nick Nickson's call of Penner's game-winning overtime goal:

The Kings celebrate the win wildly:

Continue reading this post »

Is Dustin Brown the devil incarnate -- an incorrigibly dirty player, only spared from punishment by a secret ref conspiracy? Or is he just a guy who led with his shoulder into an awkward hit that wound up being incredibly overblown?

Yeah. Let's go with option B.

NBC's broadcasters outlined all the ways that the hit shouldn't be viewed as an intentional knee-on-knee. But Mike Smith blew his top and said it was worse than Torres' hit on Hossa, deserving of a "lifetime ban." Phoenix captain Shane Doan jawed at Dustin Brown after the game instead of following tradition to shake hands in sportsmanship. He also declared that Rozsival's knee had been "blown out" by Brown's hit.

Reality turned out to be a bit different.

If there's one topic that's received lopsided media coverage in this series, it's the refereeing.

If you buy what their players think, Phoenix has been victimized over and over by poor officiating. Meanwhile, the Kings got away with murder. The league -- which owns them, by the way -- was, for some mysterious reason, out to get them. Poor Coyotes.

Sorry, I don't see it that way.

Don't get me wrong -- the refereeing was indeed shoddy at times. The real story, in my view, is that there were plenty of bad calls and missed calls on both sides. Fans of both teams have laundry list of complaints. However, only the calls that went against Phoenix seem to be making the headlines.

The reason? The Coyotes complained loudly about the officials throughout the series, and the Kings didn't. Their view is getting the most attention because Phoenix is the squeaky wheel. Sutter, in his taciturn farmer way, didn't play that card. But he easily could have.

Here are just a few points to think about from the other side.

Continue reading this post »

Turn the music up in the headphones!

Since we last tangled with the Phoenix Coyotes...

IN: Defenseman David Schlemko

OUT: Adrian Aucoin (lower body) Paul Bissonnette, Gilbert Brule (Coyotes); Kyle Clifford, Andrei Loktionov (Kings).

Enemy Reading: Five For Howling

Lineups:

Whitney-Hanzal-Vrbata
Boedker-Vermette-Doan
Korpikoski-Langkow-Pyatt
Chipchura-Gordon-Pouliot

Yandle-Morris
Larsson-Rozsival
Klesla-Aucoin

Smith

Kings lineup:

Continue reading this post »

The Los Angeles Kings have been around since 1967. The talking heads on our local TV shows? Well, they're still figuring it out.

First, the local NBC station posted a logo for the Sacramento Kings basketball team in place of our beloved hockey club's. (Basketball is not only a completely different sport -- who'd believe Sacramento would still be in the playoffs?) Not to be outdone, CBS LA represented our mascot Bailey as the inferior Sacramento lion. But the biggest information trainwreck came courtesy of Fox Channel 11, whose cue-card mangling reporter wins the award for most cringeworthy gaffes per minute. Try to watch this without laughing:

That "Anze Kopidor" scored a really sweet touchdown! It sure is great when the Kings have the ball! But the best part of the match is when #8, Brad Doty, says "Not Tonight!" to Shane Doan. That showed him!

Since some people still need to grasp the basics of this "ice ball" stuff, the LA Kings media relations team sprung into action and created a handy informational guide. When they're not enraging an entire province of Canada with their cheeky jokes, or giving Dwight Schrute his tickets encased in jell-o, they're pretty great educators.

View the full infographic here. We even learn what a puck is. Tremendous work.

Want to know more about Kopidor, Doty, Trey Lew, Ignatio Quick, and their stalwart captain Braun? Check out Rudy's guide at Battle of Kalidornia.

The players know it. The fans know it. My mom knows it. Your mom knows it.

Darryl Sutter acts chill, but he knows it too.

So, we've come to a consensus: the Kings' power play reeks. How would you fix it?

Shots, shots, shots (shots shots shots)

The Kings simply don't get enough shots through to the net. This has been a problem for months.

• They ranked 25th in the league in shots at 5v4 in the regular season (45.1 SF/60 minutes).
• In the playoffs, they've mustered 44.7 SF/60 minutes at 5v4. (Yep. A decline.)
  

By now, everyone knows how much importance we place on shots. It's no surprise that teams that lead the league year after year in shot generation with the man advantage, like Vancouver and San Jose, have met with greater special team success.

Granted, the Kings have been up against teams like St. Louis and Phoenix that place special focus on blocking shots. But this has been a problem all season, no matter who they've faced.

The players also know, in theory, what they need to fix. But so far, saying has been easier than doing. It's like being able to give someone else a detailed lecture on how to fish, without the ability to reel a big one in when you've hooked it.

Just listening to the interviews, you can tell they're disappointed in themselves. On the ice, they seem anxious, prone to hesitate, and sometimes look like they're plain over-thinking it. They also seem more comfortable at even strength. What can they do to shake out of it? What would you like to see?

Time for new blood?

Sutter has experimented with various power play lineups. Martinez had been promoted to the 1st unit, thrilling both Robert and myself, but has since been taken off. Richards and Stoll have played on the point. Sstephen17 proposed that Penner, who camped out in front of the net during his time with the Oilers, get some more time. I like that idea.

There's also a theory that units should be comprised of lines already used to playing together. Nothing's worked so far.

Question and answer time: Who would you like to see out there, and why? Who's not working? Who would you least like to see?

And hey, Sutter sometimes sends the fourth line over the boards. Go crazy.

Inspiration: LMAO and Animals Talking In All Caps. (NSFW)

Cycle through, keep on cheering.

Unlock the pizza party!

It's a pattern by now: the Kings win Game 2, and their opponent loses all their cool.

In the end, Jeff Carter got a hat trick, Jonathan Quick got another shutout, and Martin Hanzal got himself a disciplinary hearing.

The game was a more even affair to start, though the Kings were still out-shooting the Coyotes by a fair margin. Dwight King tipped in one of Drew Doughty's shots to give them a 1-0 lead in the first, and Jeff Carter scored his first of the night at 4:47 of the second. Then a parade to the penalty box began. Daymond Langkow was set to go off for slashing Brown when Doan -- who has faced disciplinary action for boarding before -- caught Trevor Lewis with an awkward hit when he turned to play the puck. Lewis' head slammed into the boards and was cut, and Shane Doan earned a five minute major for boarding. Shortly afterward, Mike Smith decided to tomahawk chop the back of Dustin Brown's knee, but the Kings made him pay with another power play goal 49 seconds later.

The targeting of the captain didn't end there: Martin Hanzal lined up Dustin Brown and boarded him at 11:01 of the third, earning him a misconduct and a call from Shanahan later today. Fortunately for the Kings, Brown was able to get up and skate away, albeit a bit more battered and bruised.

Jeff Carter completed his hat trick in the third, but by then, the game had already been sealed. We wait to see what kind of answer, if any, the Coyotes can muster for Game 3. Right now they look frustrated, reckless, and unhinged.

[Boxscore] [Head-to-head time on ice] [Shot differential (Fenwick/Corsi)] [Faceoffs] [Zone starts]

[Shift Charts] [Shot Timeline]

Corey S. also tracked the scoring chances over at NHL Numbers. His excellent summary is a must-read.

Highlights and questions after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Here's to all the Kings fans representing in Phoenix! And everyone rooting their heart out around the globe.

NHL Numbers is the brand new home of a hockey stat dream team: Kent Wilson, Derek Zona, Jonathan Willis, Cam Charron, all the fine folks from Driving Play, Eric T., and more. Anyone interested in the best analysis going on today should check them out.

Jared L. was kind enough to invite me on to discuss the Kings-Coyotes series. We taped this before Game 1, but it covers a broad range of topics: Sutter vs. Murray, the Johnson trade, Kopitar the eviscerator, puck possession, goalie battles, and even the great David Beckham.

You can also find a terrific discussion of the Eastern Conference Finals, with Brent covering the Devils, and George E. Ays bringing his insights on the Rangers.

NHL Numbers -- Conference Finals Preview Podcasts

Let me know what you think!

Whew.

Every Kings fan breathed a sigh of relief when one of 90 (90!) of their attempted shots hit the net in the third period, giving them a lead they'd hang on to for good. Before Dwight King pounced on a rebound and broke the tie, the score had been uncomfortably close, despite LA's dominance in the offensive zone.

You want to talk about zone time and possession? Oh yeah, the Kings had that in spades. They dominated chances so thoroughly, they broke this shot timeline chart.

But Mike Smith made 44 saves, his teammates blocked another 25 shots, and the Coyotes were able to capitalize on a flukey shot and and a miscue between Doughty and Quick to keep the score close.

Anze Kopitar opened the scoring in the first, ripping a backhand into the corner of the net. The Coyotes barely mustered any shots at all in the first -- but what could have been comfortable game for the Kings suddenly turned into a nailbiter when a shot by Derek Morris from center ice took a skip and went past Quick. Instead of being discouraged by the unexpected bad goal, the team resolved to win one for the goalie who had bailed them out so many times before.

Brown and Boedker traded goals, and the Kings--led by an outstanding effort from Kopitar's line--kept pressing. In the end, the shot barrage paid off, and Dwight King added an empty-netter to cap off the scoring. It was a fitting end to a wild night. As Dave Tippett said afterwards, the Coyotes were beaten "in every facet of the game."

[Boxscore] [Head-to-head time on ice] [Shot differential (Fenwick/Corsi)] [Faceoffs] [Zone starts]

[Shift Charts] [Shot Timeline]

Highlights and key questions after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

I'd like to go on the record and say my mom is awesome. Shoutouts to all the great mommas and grandmas in the house. Yeah yeah!

Since we last tangled with the Phoenix Coyotes...

IN: Deadline acquisition Antoine Germy Vermette; David "Where the pets go" Schlemko (Coyotes); Jeff Carter (Kings)

OUT: Defenseman Adrian Aucoin (lower body) is out; Tippett says he's 'day-to-day' (Coyotes); Kyle Clifford, Andrei Loktionov (Kings). Simon Gagne (concussion) has resumed skating but is not close to a return.

Enemy Reading: Five For Howling

Lineups:

Whitney-Hanzal-Vrbata
Boedker-Vermette-Doan
Korpikoski-Gordon-Pyatt
Chipchura-Langkow-Brule

Yandle-Morris
Rozsival-Larsson
Klesla-Schlemko

Smith

Kings lineup:

Brown-Kopitar-Williams
Penner-Richards-Carter
King-Stoll-Lewis
Richardson-Fraser-Nolan

Scuderi-Doughty
Mitchell-Voynov
Martinez-Greene

Quick

Everyone knows both teams are strong on defense and in net, but are they really similar? Not according to Dustin Brown:

Continue reading this post »

So it's Thursday over Friday, but still the awkward 6pm start. Oh, hey, this would have been cool to know before the Rangers-Caps game started!

Game 1 at Phoenix — Sunday, 5 p.m. Pacific (NBC Sports Network, TSN)

Game 2 at Phoenix — Tuesday, 6 p.m. Pacific (NBC Sports Network, TSN)

Game 3 at Los Angeles — Thursday, May 17, 6 p.m. Pacific (NBCSN, TSN)

Game 4 at Los Angeles -- Sunday, May 20, 12 p.m. Pacific — (NBC)

Yay, professional league.

Patrick O'Neal of Fox Sports West let a few cats out of the bag on Twitter this afternoon (and has since backtracked furiously), but I expect the dates and times he released will turn out to be accurate. Once the NHL gets over itself and stops its pointless hush-hush super secret act, we'll know for sure. (It'd be nice be able to plan our lives.)

Still. We'll note that these times are Unofficial.

Game 3 in Los Angeles -- Friday, May 18th, 6 p.m. Pacific

Game 4 -- Sunday, May 20th, Noon

NBC naturally wants to accommodate their viewers on the East coast. But the traffic downtown in rush hour Friday night will be terrible. Looks like everyone with tickets is going to have to beg to leave early, and then say a prayer. That bites.

Then they'll have to deal with another early noon start. At least they handled it well in Game 4 against the Blues.

If there are any updates/corrections, we'll keep you posted.

Fun while we wait: Pictures of Wayne Gretzky in a Celebrity LA Gear Street Hockey Bonaaanza. Baywatch, 90210, Janet Gretzky in short shorts -- turn up the Bel Biv Devoe. It doesn't get more rockin' than that.

The Western Conference finals will begin Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific in Phoenix, so let's begin our round of previews.

Robert will be bringing us detailed breakdowns of the LA-PHX rosters and their previous games against each other in the regular season. For now, let's begin by taking a look at their regular season performances overall.

The 2011-12 Kings were a team in transition. As we noted before the playoffs began, the firing of Murray and the Carter/Johnson trade both marked improvements in the Kings' overall shot differential:

Why do we care about shot ratios?

Just ask Darryl Sutter: puck possession is important. You want your players to have the puck. You want to spend more time attacking than defending. Great teams like Detroit are famous for controlling most of the play. In the long run, you’re more likely to score goals and win games that way. The ‘ice feels tilted.’

Corsi (named for Jim Corsi of the Buffalo Sabres) adds up shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots at even strength. Fenwick is similar, except it only counts shots that get through the defense (blocked shots are taken out). We can use shot attempts to get a rough estimate how often a team was in the offensive zone overall.

The importance of zone time and possession is something just about everyone can agree on.

Eric T. pointed out that no team was hotter than LA down the stretch in this regard. Their scoring also picked up significantly during the same period. The Kings began the season as an average possession team, but finished "scary good." And that's how they made the playoffs.

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Follow the link to check out this great visual representation of all the Cup winners since 2006.

This infographic examines how Stanley Cup winning teams have been constructed since the cap was introduced.
For each team, notice the progression/regression of their farm team affiliate leading up to and following their Championship year. There are some interesting trends. Perhaps most notable is that Carolina is the only team of the lot to not make the playoffs in the following season while simultaneously having to transition their farm team to a new city. Coincidence? Maybe. We’ll let you decide. The other 5 teams have maintained strong organizational depth from bottom to top and reap the benefits of repeated playoff appearances.

Only one team, Chicago, did not have their oldest players (on average per position) on defence. Detroit and Pittsburgh had the oldest defensive corps yet the Penguins had by far the youngest offence. Also of interest when it comes to the Pens is that each of their Centermen were products of their own drafting/farm system. Only the Red Wings had more overall players on their squad through drafting than the Penguins.

Most defensemen hit their prime at a later age, so it's not surprising to see that stat about Cup-winning defenses. The Kings are comparatively young at that position, after investing their highest draft pick in a defenseman (Drew Doughty, #2 overall). They also have a d-corps featuring Voynov (age 22) and Martinez (age 24). This is balanced by the experience offered by Willie Mitchell (35) and Rob Scuderi (33), the most seasoned players on the roster.

The Kings have also pulled Kyle Clifford, Andrei Loktionov, Dwight King, and Jordan Nolan from the farm team to join the big club over the last two seasons. What do you think? How do the Kings compare?

Kudos to Ron Schwartz for the great visual. Go take a look.

The Phoenix Coyotes currently have a 3-1 series lead over the Nashville Predators. Game 5 starts at 7 p.m. Pacific.

Bob and Jim previewed our potential foes for the next round:

Both are well-coached, defensively-responsible teams, with excellent goaltending. Trotz and our old friend Dave Tippett have received consideration for coach of the year. Both teams score by committee.

Jim Fox is leaning toward Phoenix, simply based on the travel issue.

Let this be our Phoenix-Nashville enemy watch party game thread.