-Jonathan Bernier was the Los Angeles Kings’ best player on the ice in a narrow 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes that stretched the team’s home record to 12-2-1. His ability to keep a goal-starved opponent off the scoreboard during a first period in which he faced 15 shots amidst an inevitable early-game Coyotes push served as the backbone of the win. The Kings have scored the game’s first goal in five consecutive home games and haven’t trailed at home since the loss to Dallas on March 7. Overall, they’re outscoring their opponents 9-2 at home in the first period since the Dallas loss. Forcing an opponent to fight from behind on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champion will result in the continuation of their pristine home record. Bernier was exceptionally keen in keeping deflections and redirections out of the net early in what evolved into one of his finest performances in a Los Angeles jersey, and the nine saves he made in the first eight and a half minutes of the game allowed him to weather another late Phoenix push and improve his overall record to 7-2-0 on the season.
-Kings-Coyotes games provide excellent theatre – something I did not expect to write a year ago at this time – and it wasn’t entirely out of the blue to see Shane Doan at the center of some second period controversy. The Coyotes captain led the game with 11 shots and 13 hits and with his team trailing by two goals during a scoreless streak that would eventually extend to 245:33, he came flying off the bench for a pair of late-period shifts in which he hammered several Kings with one or two hits that may have leaned towards the “borderline” category. Doan came up seeing red when he became entangled with Jake Muzzin during a play that he felt was an intentional knee-on-knee hit by the Kings rookie, though I didn’t see it as such, nor did Dave Tippett. Really, what did you expect to develop at that juncture of the game? The Coyotes weren’t going to simply turn the other cheek during an extended scoring drought while trailing by two to the team that they had lost to 24 hours prior and knocked them out of the playoffs last May. I didn’t interpret Doan’s actions as “being frustrated”. Doan is a fiery captain who was upset by the team’s recent lack of results who was taking it upon himself to will his team closer to victory, and it worked – he scored twice in the third period, and the Coyotes had chances late in the game to earn at least a point.
-“Finally the gorilla has left the building” was Bob Miller’s immediate response to Drew Doughty’s first goal of the season, and I may or may not have listened to that goal call one or two extra times with a smile on my face while letting the depiction sink in. As long as Doughty continues the upward trajectory of his defensive zone play, the Kings will be in the good hands of the multifaceted 23-year old blueline stud. So Doughty now has a “one” in the goal column. Good. Great. Grand. Wonderful. Let’s move on.
@jonrosen
I remember the moment bob said that, I was in the kitchen and it instantly put a smile of my face.
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WRT Doughty..”lets move on” you mean DD isnt the most over paid player on the Kings??? 23 years old.and yes he is a stud. Only getting better and a Stanley Cup member !!!
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
@Neil, This is his finest regular season of his career imho.
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Pili Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
@KC23, Agree 100%
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Paul Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:56 pm
@KC23, you’re right, anyone who thinks he’s struggling needs to go to Hockey Camp Basics 101
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 2:03 pm
@KC23, Couldn’t have said it better. Far too many people simply look at statistics and think they know what is going on.
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vindogla Reply:
March 21st, 2013 at 3:52 am
@mrbrett7,
Let them.
Nice picture of the biggest goon ever to play NHL trying to do whatever he was trying to do to Doughty…What a sore loser these dogs are…So glad The Kings won both games…
Sucks that the Kings have to finish the last one in an empty building.
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Sam Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 11:52 am
@KingsFanFTW, On that note, why is Raffi Torres even in the NHL? Does he literally have to kill someone?
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 11:56 am
@Sam, Yea pretty sad,Last season he was going on a record on how many times he can get suspended.Even in the playoffs.LOL
That guy is and always will be the biggest goon in NHL
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Hutch Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:21 pm
@Sam, As I pointed out to my buddy yesterday evening, Phoenix is the perfect home for Raffi Torres. He was made for them and they for him, symbiosis.
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John Roy Morgan Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
@Hutch, Raffi Torres going after DD in the last minute of the game? Isn’t there a rule that if broken, the Coach and the player, Torres being heavy fined for the warranted attack? I have no idea how the officials missed the obvious targeting of Kings players by the same officials..
Bonvivant Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 7:01 pm
@Sam, Torres despite his goonishness, is a skilled player. He was a first round draft pick.
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:40 pm
@KingsFanFTW, quote: ..Sucks that the Kings have to finish the last one in an empty building… ”
That BS. m e and my wife are going to the game. :p
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
@KC23,
So am I!!
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Duckbasher Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 8:01 pm
@kissmyblarneystones, I’m flying down from Bend, Oregon to go too. Can’t wait to call Doan cry-baby to his face.
Doan is one of the dirtiest players in the NHL.
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 11:55 am
@Sam, well i wouldnt say he number one,,Torris is number 1…He the biggest Goon and Dirties in NHL
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NOW IMPRESSED Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
@Sam, I have never known such sore winners as some Kings fans. There isn’t a team in the NHL that wouldn’t want Doan on their team. His game yesterday was awesome and regardless of what team you want to win, any true fan of the NHL would clearly agree.
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Sam Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:06 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, I have thought the same thing of Doan for years and years. It has nothing to do with one game.
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pb frank Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 4:20 pm
@ Dustin Brown needs to be more like Doan. You might think it is dirty and you are right but he does whatever it takes to get his team out of a scoring funk. I will never forgive Dustin Brown for not defending himself when Doan took him down in Phoenix. That is why Mike Richards should be the Kings Captain. He stood in for Brown and took a beating for him.
shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, I don’t think people are being sore winners. Doan plays dirty. He’s good, has a lot of leadership qualities, but when he gets mad, he becomes a dangerous goon. It happened in the playoffs and happened again last night. Like I said, good player, bad attitude
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mask0425x Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
@shiny,
Let’s start placing bets whether Shameless Dung or Bubba Smitty (or both) will end up in a slammer for killing someone in a road rage incident.
One thing is for sure, the Yotes are the easiest team to rattle emotionally.
lvkingaholic Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 5:07 pm
@shiny, yep, he’s got a mean streak for sure……..
kozak Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, well said and I agree 100%
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Hutch Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, Sore winners? Sore at whinners more likely. Phoenix just lacks class. Sore that a team that takes cheap runs doesn’t get penalized for it. That’s what being a fan is all about. I pay a lot of $ for my fancy TV and cable service. I get to be fired up about my team. I doubt Doan acts like such a moppet if he were playing for another team.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, the awesome part of his game is overshadowed by his attempts to cheat.
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Deke'r Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, ….have to agree….Doan gets away with murder on the ice…having a guy that somehow never gets called for anything would be awesome….
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Jeff Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 2:54 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, I guess I’m the crazy one. I would not like Doan on my team. He’s a sore loser, whines, and embarrassed himself in the Western Conference finals. I’ve been watching hockey for almost 35 years, seen some vicious games, but NEVER saw a person not shake hands in the line after a hard fought series. That is CLASSLESS. It’s not like they lost in game 7, they were owned from beginning to end of that series, streamrolled. So that one moment, even if he were right had no impact on the ultimate result of that series. Brown’s hit did not help the Kings go up 3-0 in the series.
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Line Monster Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
@Jeff,
I’m in full agreement. Doan has skill there is no question of that, however there is something to be said about team chemistry. Doan would be a liability on most teams due to his uncontrollable temper and dirty play. Someone who removes his gloves on a hit where he(doan) is trying to draw a BS penalty and chase down a player who is not known to be dirty should be proof enough. Doan has talent but is over shadowed by his constant dirty play
Pesus Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 3:17 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED,
Sorry, what he did last night was embarrassing g to the game. Should be fined or even suspended.
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wobsse6 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 10:50 pm
@NOW IMPRESSED, Sorry..don’t want Doan on my team…I can’t help to think he reminds me of Avery with all the extra antics and drama he creates…no thanks.
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
@Sam, Dirty? I don’t think so at all. Drama queen, yeah … but dirty. Nah.
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shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
@KC23, so dropping the gloves and constantly hunting Muzzin down is your definition of clean? Kid had a target on his back and Doan put it there. Whether or not he purposely selected the rookie, I can’t say. But his antics gave the rest of his team justification to hunt down Muzzin
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Jon,
He is a fiery captain and leaves everything out on the ice, but he should have been called for a penalty when he dropped his gloves. How was that going to help his team come back from a deficit by taking a late penalty in the 3rd?
This seemed like one of those times when he needed to look at the bigger picture. Same with Vermette and the penalty he took. Revenge is great but not when you haven’t scored in 3+ games
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Kings x Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:11 pm
@nykingfan, totally agree. Definition of a specific penalty 101 personified. Refs bleeew that one royally
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Deke'r Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
@Kings x, ….league owned team…..gotta improve team standing for a better chance at a sale….
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@RobSD, First the Doughty / Stoll junk grab http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1qHnhXOfBQ – now this with Torres? Hmmm.
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ILLEGALSTICK33 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
@MmmmYummy, LOL!!! WTH??? Stoll might file a sexual harrasment suit on donuts.
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:42 pm
@MmmmYummy, never saw that. Funny has heck.
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The yotes are known for being a very dirty team. Look at how many man games they have lost to players being suspended. Doan is a great Hockey player but he lets his mouth to say things a first grader would say. Quit acting like a crying baby and man up Yotes.
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That was a big 2 points and keeps #9 in the west that much farther away. Have to play much better Thursday though if we expect to keep it going.
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~So Doughty now has a “one” in the goal column. Good. Great. Grand. Wonderful. Let’s move on.~
Love this line.
Salud
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@ Jon Rosen:
You wrote: “One or two hits that may have leaned towards the ‘borderline’ category”
You got it so wrong. It should have read: “His behavior leans towards the ‘borderline’ category”
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simiarnie Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
@Michael J., Totally agree
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mask0425x Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
@Michael J.,
No, JR is right – one or two were borderline, the rest were downright cheap and dirty!
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Jon, thank you for policing the blog, it’s been needed!
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Neil Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
@Lake Forest, were you on moderation?? How do you know??? late night crew not showing up ???
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Michael J. Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
@Lake Forest,
Our prayers have been answered?
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
@Lake Forest, WAT
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I’m already starting to get nervous about a trap game on Thursday after the emotions of these last two… and ‘it’s only Dallas.’ We’ll see how well the boys keep their focus.
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shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
@bbb7, don’t think it’ll be a trap game. Dallas schooled them in goal scoring spacing last time and Kari Lethonen is a great goalie
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
@bbb7, Not a trap game imho. We got whooped on in our own building by these guys. They will be playing the 3rd game in 4 nights and the tail end of a back to back. They fly in from Denver and play less than 24 hours later.
If we lose this game, its all of shame material all the way. This SHOULD be an easy win for us.
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shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
@KC23, and our guys will be rested. I hope whoever is in net plays solid, like they have been. And guys need to really step it up tomorrow. Can’t lose that game.
It’s reasonable we lost to Coyotes on the 2nd night of a B2B with travel (even though Phoenix is only an hour away, still takes a toll on the body, plus there’s time to get to the hotel, hand out room keys, etc.)
Therefore it stands to reason Kings should have the upper hand. Should
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Keep on rolling kings. Need to look sharp for Dallas on Thursday. We did not look good against them or their speed. Need to contain Benn. if anything that is one improvement that can me done.
Really looking forward to kicking cassucks butt on Saturday. Day game!
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King Kamehameha X Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:16 pm
@King Kamehameha X, changing from kings x to this one Jon as I now live in hawaii
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Dona’s reaction to the Muzzin hit was a theatrical, dramatic performance meant to fire up his team. I’m sure he knew the hit was coincidental, but chose to use it as a momentum changer.
Give the Yotes some credit for battling hard and making interesting at the end. It’s kind of funny though to see Doan’s reaction to his team’s woes against the Kings; the games always poorly officiated of course. You gotta love it.
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dMan Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Doan* (of course)
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shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
@dMan, no, I think you had it right before
. Doan is a prima donna. And prima donna literally means “first lady” in reference to the female star in a theatrical production. So Doan=Don(n)a 
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jess Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
@shiny,
Prima Doanna??
shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
@jess, exactly!
Robert R Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 4:37 pm
@dMan, Maybe Phoenix viewed Muzzin’s hit on Doan as Sequel to Rozival, or Rozival II.
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Shane Doan needs to get control of his emotions on the ice. When he looses it like last night with the Muzzin incident, it did fire up his teammates, but it led them right down the familiar road the Yotes always take which is to play undisciplined hockey. The entire Yotes team was looking for payback against Muzzin rather that sucking it up and playing the game. So goes Doan, so goes the rest of the Yotes as they are sure to follow. This is why I question his character & leadership skills.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:51 pm
@King Alex, Hmm…maybe there is a connection between the Kings and Tippett and undisciplined hockey. Was Tippett a coach on the Kings when the Blues’ Courtnall ran Storr and whoever went after him got something like nine minutes in penalties to Courtnall’s two? (something like that)
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
@King Alex, Well, according to HockeyDB, Tippett wasn’t an assistant on Larry Robinson’s staff.
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i do agree with some that we, as fans are super hypocrtical.
If Brown had 11 shots, 2 goals and 13 hits in a loss we would be proud of that.
Of course not everything Doan did was respectable, but his play, in my mind made up for it. (saying it as if Brown did everything down did).
I’d be more pissed about what his teammates didn’t do.
Great game all the way to the end. I’m sure we were all on the verge of having a heart attack.
First play off atmosphere type game.
Very physical, close. action at both ends.
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Neil Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:58 pm
@Lake Forest, The fact our media(i think its the radio crew..wish we knew for sure).picked Doan as the second star is all I need to know…You hear about athletes not playing hard…or getting overpaid..ETC ETC..This was one player who did everything he could to try and get his team a win..Dirty..No…I actually thought one of the Kings hit(I think it was Brown) that was dangerously close to the boards…I also saw cross checks and etc.Its Hockey..If its dirty..the players will take care of it…
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Doesn’t Doughty whining about whiners on two seperate clubs in one interview kind of make him a serial whiner.
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Doesn’t Doughty whining about whiners on two seperate clubs in one interview kind of make him a serial whiner.
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Neil Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 12:59 pm
@Robbie, Does whining about DD whining twice..is that double whining???
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Duckbasher Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 8:34 pm
@Neil, I actually laughed so loud my wife came upstairs to ask me what was so funny.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:06 pm
@Robbie, no, he was just stating well known facts
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Just noticed JB got one of the 3 stars last night on NHL.com.
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shiny Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
@KC23, what what?? Really? Oh I was thinking NHL Tonight lol
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will Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 1:55 pm
@KC23, YUP! #1 star! (:
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So, did Doan actually live through the night?
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Deke'r Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 2:00 pm
@Michael J., ….right?…after that devestating cheap shot by Muzz and the way Doan was wrything in pain it’s hard to believe……what a maroon…
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Adam M Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 2:09 pm
@Michael J., okay @Michael J here is my post about about Shane Doan is he always killed the LA Kings and injured the LA Kings players is wrong and I just got a e-mail from Anze and he told me not to injured or kill hard on the LA Kings players will be a Illegal or not
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Shotongoal Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 2:48 pm
@Adam M, so what do you think?
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Michael J. Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
@Adam M,
What???? I was trying to be funny. Relax. Tell Kopi to keep his head up, OK?
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Adam M Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 6:20 pm
@Michael J., okay @Michael J do not send that comment to my best friend Anze you typed Tell Kopi keep his head up means is not nice to my best friend you need to respect to my best friend if you don’t you must pay the price
It looks like Jonathan Quick will start in Goal for this Saturday Afternoon and use Bernier to start in Goal Tomorrow night versus the Stars so what do you think
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 2:31 pm
@Adam M, source?
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Adam M Reply:
March 20th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, okay @What’s the frequency, Kenneth I need your answer is Bernier to start tomorrow Night and Quick will start in Goal for this Saturday afternoon
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 21st, 2013 at 6:01 pm
@Adam M, Sorry, missed this until now. My question was your source for your claim. I probably would have started Quick tonight and Bernier Saturday, but it’s almost a tossup. I think for the next eight games or so, Bernier should get, say five or six.
I think that Doan and Torres didn’t have any toys to play with when they were small.
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Jon, with the greatest respect I ask you to read your own words. You said, “Doan is a fiery captain who was upset by the team’s recent lack of results”. This is the quintessential definition of ‘being frustrated’. And yes I agree that he was trying to light a spark, but the methods he tried are what the real question here is. The second attempt is shown in its entirity in the third period. He was a warrior who willed his team to victory. I do not think there is anyone who would not admire and respect that attitude and action. The problem is the first attempt was blatently phony, and without any regard for the ‘game of hockey’. This drama preformance is the crap that will ruin the game if nothing is done to stop it. If he had started with the second attempt, then I would nothing but the greatest respect for man who can’t stand to see his team miss the playoffs. But, as it stands, I just see him as another Ott, who never really did anything.
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