The Kings’ best line in this series so far? It’s hard to argue against center Michal Handzus and wingers Fredrik Modin and Brad Richardson, a trio that has combined for five of the Kings’ 10 playoff goals so far and, on the other end, has done a solid job so far against the line of Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows. The Handzus line will see a lot more of the Sedin line during the game at Staples Center, since the Kings get the final line change and Terry Murray prefers that matchup. In Vancouver, the Canucks try to match up the Sedins against the Kopitar line as much as possible. Here’s what Murray said today about the two-way ability of the Handzus line…
MURRAY: “Handzus, Modin and Richardson, they’ve very good checking players, very responsible. They’re big bodies. They’re guys who can hold onto the puck. Both Modin and Handzus, for me, have great resumes on the offensive part of the game. I go back with Handzus in Philadelphia, and I even followed him back in his St. Louis Blues days, when he was paired up with Demitra. They had great success in the offensive part of the game. Same thing with Modin. He plays in Tampa Bay and he’s a big part of the Stanley Cup championship year there. He had a great series against the Flyers in that conference final, and you saw the offensive part of the game always there with him. He’s bringing it together now with great chemistry. Richardson is starting to, I think, find that offensive part of the game that he knows, he believes, is in there. He showed it in junior. He told me all about it at the end of last season, in his exit meeting. It was a little bit of a challenge to him, to bring it out, and he shows that knack, that skill that he’s able to play at that level.”
Question: What has been the key for that line in terms of limiting the effectiveness of the Sedin line?
MURRAY: “The only way you can do it is by checking very well. That’s got to be your mindset going into the matchup at the start of that shift. You have to know that we’re in a defensive situation and, if you play with that attitude, you’re going to work hard to get the puck and once you get it back, with Handzus, Modin and Richardson, those guys have the ability now to attack with some speed, with possession, and make plays through the middle of the ice and make smart decisions at the offensive blue line to get a forecheck going. They’re in there fast and establishing position and keep going on the cycle and good things will happen.”
Question: How much does playing at home, and having the last line change, help you?
MURRAY: “It’s always an advantage to play at home and get that matchup, absolutely, especially on the back end. Scuderi and Doughty, those are the two guys we want to see against the Sedins all the time. But starting, when you have faceoffs in your D-zone especially, it’s a good thing, for me, to have Handzus’ line out there. Again, they have awareness. They’re good faceoff men, big bodies, and it loosens up the Kopitar line, which was getting matched up in Vancouver. It puts him in a defensive minder. I want him going the other way. I want him to have that attack mentality, and I think it makes a difference going into the start of each shift.”
absolute best line of the series, the Kings are 7-for-12 on the power play
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Handzus is SOOO underrated, but he had a 20 goal eason and is a great defensive forward.
Really, he was arguable the most important player to our success this year.
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Who watched Handzus in the Olympics? He was a beast and would’ve won bronze had they not had to play so many tough countries prior to that game.
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Hopefully they will bring the same energy to tomorrows game, now that they know Staples had so much energy last night, I think this will help them relax a bit more especially during the start of the game. They seemed a bit to ecstatic in the beginning. It should be a pretty crazy game, the atmosphere at Staples was astonishing.
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They are really firing on all cylinders right now, I hope they can keep up that pace. When we got Modin I was pleased but concerned he would not be but a shadow of what he was in his younger years. But I would say that he is peaking again at the right time and is showing that he still has it.
Honorable mention to Halpern,I feel he really contributed this last game!
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Makes you wonder how good we would be if the other lines were playing as well as the Handzus line. Would love to see the Kopitar and Stoll lines play up to their capabilities (the Stoll line in particular has not done so in the series). We would be unstoppable.
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This team is very deep in talent–mostly young talent too–and they are showing another team (that was supposed to be deep in talent) that they simply don’t stack up.
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…Everybody ,included me are expecting more goals from Kopi, but this guy is playing TOTAL Hockey, he is our best defensive force ,like DD and JJ are best offensive forces
If our opponents feel more presure from ..let’s say our “C”..then obviosly Kopi would score more.So far stoll is the best in that line.Fro need some pattern change and Brown….man I talk about this guy for months.He show some hopes in the end of the regular… ,but now …same old ..same old !!!
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Zues’s line best 5 on 5.
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Yup.
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I think I trust Richardson to work harder than anyone else on the team. Shift after shift, game after game. He doesn’t take a stride softly. Everything is with a purpose. Go hard for his 30-45 second shift like it’ll be his last of the night. Can’t say enough about the guys improvement from last year.
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JJ has played better then I expected. With Jones, Harrold, and Drewiske being questionable at times, you have to wonder how this team would have looked had Dean convinced Zubov to sign here instead of the KHL ? With his cup experience along with the other 3 guys with finals experience this team would be even more difficult to play against.
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PakiFro, yes, Richardson is playing like something has snapped in his mind and he will sacrifice every ounce of his body and energy that he has each shift. He’s playing possessed and is a great compliment to those big bodies he’s paired with.
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Scoring depth is what is going to win playoff games. Certainly some lines play better than others and get more attention because they score goals but it’s the little things that all lines have to do to contribute to the success of teams. Too many players are minus which is a concern. Irrespective of what line is shinning, 5 on 5 play has to improve to move this thing forward.
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People already forget – Handzus and all of his ex-King countrymen very nearly knocked off Canada in the Olympic semi-finals. They had a monster comeback, and if that game would’ve lasted 5 more minutes, I think it very easily could’ve been a US/Slovakia final. I think I would’ve cheered for Slovakia…
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Zeus is the MVP. it’s not all about points itsthe little things he does. faceoffs, blocking shots, penalty kill. he’s just an all around great player.
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I’m so glad Freddy’s found another gear for the playoffs. Halpern too, it seems. It’s not like the deal was a big risk, but it’s nice to see it paying off some now.
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Off topic here, but if there are any Kings fans that never got to see Luc Robitaille’s jersey retirement ceremony a couple of years ago, the NHL Network is going to re-broadcast it twice this weekend. Tomorrow night at 4pm Pacific and Saturday at 2pm Pacific.
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Zeus is a God! He is doing all of the “little” things to help the team, but as was noted above, didn’t he have 20 goals too? Awesome!
As for Richardson, he’s playing like he’s possessed. I don’t have a problem with that!!! Wind him up and let him go!
Modin sure has stepped it up since he got here, and isn’t that why DL brought him here, especially for the playoffs? He may be our Claude Lemieux?
We will be ROCKIN’ Staples tonite. For all those who think Leiweke isn’t a fan, you should’ve seen him jumping around and cheering Monday nite.
Nucks going down tonite, kids!
GO KINGS GO!!!
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A stat from Helene:
“Richardson, incidentally, added ammunition for his next contract negotiations. He scored the winner Monday, leaving the Kings 11-0-1 in games in which he has scored.”
This is the full article link…
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-kings-canucks-fyi-20100421,0,1743036.story
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Why no votes for Handzus for Selke? In this series:
Handzus >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kesler
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Handzus is huge not only in this series but all season long. There is a reason he is the Kings two-time winner of both best defensive player and unsung hero. The February 6th game at home against Detroit Zus was all over the ice and the number one reason we came back and won that game. His play in our zone in the third period of that game alone was a Selke resume video. It is also the reason my dog is named Handzus. Love the way he plays the game.
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