Scoring the first goal of the game has been a subplot in the Kings’ playoff success so far. Before Game 3 against Phoenix, the Kings had scored the first goal in eight of their 11 games. The Coyotes scored the first goal in Game 3, but the Kings answered just more than two minutes later and never trailed again. In Game 4, the Coyotes scored a first-period goal and shut out the Kings. In the regular season, the team that scored the first goal won a large percentage of the games, and the Coyotes, in particular, are known as a team that looks stronger when playing with a lead. Asked, independently, today about the importance of the first goal, two veterans — Rob Scuderi and Shane Doan — both used the game word: confidence.

SCUDERI: “I think it’s just a confidence-booster. You’re playing, not defensive, but you’re just kind of waiting and you’re trying to play and do your best and see what happens. When you get that first goal, it’s a little bit of confidence, a little bit of a boost. You feel like your hard work paid off. Usually the team that plays with the lead plays a little more confident. It would be nice if we could get the first one tonight.’’

Continue reading ‘First goal boosts confidence’ »

There are a couple more bodies in Arizona on this trip, and a lot fewer in El Segundo. Marc-Andre Cliche and Jake Muzzin have accompanied the team on this trip, along with Martin Jones, who made the previous trip as well. The rest of the taxi-squad/“Black Aces” players, who had been practicing in El Segundo for the last couple weeks, has been disbanded for now. Many of those players will presumably return in July for the Kings’ annual development camp.

A bit was made, at the start of this series, about the fact that these two teams were very familiar with each other, given that the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes met six times in the regular season. That’s not quite the accurate story though. The teams didn’t play after late February, after the Kings acquired Jeff Carter and after the Coyotes made a lower-profile trade, but one that has helped them a lot. The Coyotes, on Feb. 22, acquired Vermette from Columbus for goalie Curtis McElhinney, a second-round draft pick and a conditional pick. Vermette had only three goals and seven assists in 22 regular-season games as he adjusted to his new team, but in the playoffs, Vermette has five goals and five assists in 15 games. Coach Dave Tippett said he’s not surprised at the contributions of his new second-line center.

TIPPETT: “Don (Maloney, general manager) did a lot of homework on him, not just watch a lot of video of him playing, but a lot of homework on his personality. We always talk about we need players that are going to fit well into our group. Everything Don heard about Antoine was very good, very good teammate. Sometimes you get players that are outcasts in the dressing room. That wasn’t the case. He was at the forefront of leadership, things he was trying to do. Good experience with the playoffs with Ottawa. We felt it was a player that fit well into our group, personality and play-wise.’’

The Kings, as expected, had a full morning skate today, and no lineup changes are expected. As was the case yesterday, the talk, post-practice, was about the Kings’ power play and the play of Mike Smith. On the Phoenix side, The Arizona Republic reported that the status of defenseman Adrian Aucoin will be a game-time decision. More notes and quotes to come…

The Kings are expected to have a full morning skate today, but it won’t be until tonight that we learn exactly how they will rebound from their Game 4 loss. Asked if a little adversity might be good for the team, captain Dustin Brown pointed back to the regular season, which included a mid-season coaching change and a late-season fight simply to make the playoffs, and said that would help the Kings, in terms of mental strength, rebound from a playoff loss.

BROWN: “I think this team has handled adversity pretty well all year, considering the type of year we had. This time of year, it’s about sticking together. We lost one game, so it’s a matter of rebounding. … We’ve worked really hard to give ourselves this advantage early in the season. We let an opportunity slip by, by not capitalizing, being on home ice. Now it’s up to guys to rally their own games and really collectively, to go into Phoenix with the attitude that we’re coming out of there with a win.’’

Continue reading ‘Kings look to `rally’ collectively’ »

Technically, it’s not Glendale, since this is a new hotel, but it’s close enough to make the point. The state of Arizona, perhaps convinced that it hadn’t shown us its best on the last trip, managed to make it even hotter yesterday. The folks at Jobing.com Arena have done a good job of keeping it cool in the arena though, which is the most important thing. The Phoenix Coyotes will skate at their practice rink this morning, while the Kings will be at the big arena for a scheduled 10:30 a.m. morning skate. Here’s how things look this morning…

In a tongue-in-cheek nod to some of the local TV stations that can’t seem to figure out where the Kings play, what their logo looks like, how the players’ names are pronounced, what type of equipment is used and what the mascot looks like, the Kings put together this relatively awesome infographic to…help. It’s too big to post directly here, but click below to check it out.

L.A. Kings infographic

The positive for the Kings now is that they have something of a template for this situation. In the first round against Vancouver, the Kings had a chance to sweep the Canucks but they lost Game 4 at home. Faced with a flight back to Vancouver and a Game 5 against a rejuvenated Canucks team, the Kings trailed 1-0 going into the third period but won in overtime. So, the Kings know it can be done. The only difference is that there were three days between Games 4 and 5 against Vancouver, compared to only one day now. Then, the Kings had a chance to take a breath and reset a little bit. That opportunity is not there now, but the Kings’ mindset can’t change. They’ve had great success on the road during this postseason, but that will have no impact on Game 5. The Kings know how they need to play, and their success or failure in Game 5 will be a product of how closely they’re able to stay within their structure. Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty talked today about the importance of rebounding from Game 4 and not allowing the series to continue past tomorrow…

BROWN: “From a team standpoint, we definitely want to play better than we did in Game 4. But we’ve been playing good hockey. We’re a confident group, and I think we all believe we can be better in Game 5. It’s just keeping your head down and working, really. There’s always areas of improvement. Even prior to losing Game 4, we had areas we could have gotten a lot better in, and we didn’t, so as a result we (lost) Game 4, so now it’s a matter of rebounding. Nobody said the series was going to be… Three games is not a series. We need to get that fourth one.

Continue reading ‘Kings hope for Game 5 repeat’ »

Mike Smith garnered much praise, and rightfully so, for his 38-save shutout for Phoenix in Game 4. From the opening faceoff, Smith looked confident and poised. At times, he pushed shots to the side with his blocker and pads, as though he was taking shots from teammates in practice. From the Kings’ perspective, that was part of the problem. The way to beat Smith isn’t necessarily by putting a high volume of shots at him and trying to wear him down. He’s too good for that. The important part is to make things as difficult as possible for him, with activity around the net. “Screen, tip, rebound’’ is the mantra of the Kings’ forwards, and that attitude will need to improve in Game 5. Smith didn’t allow many grade-A rebounds in Game 4, and when he did, the Kings were too often not in the correct position to capitalize. Dustin Brown indicated that it’s the “power forwards,’’ such as him, who need to get to the net more, and also the job of the players on the blue line to take advantage of them, when they are in front of the net.

BROWN: “We had some traffic, but probably not enough. It’s the forwards’ job to get there, and I also thought that on the few chances we had and the shots we took, when you’re at the blue line you’ve got have someone at least around the net. So it’s a collective, five-man group type of thing. You have to get guys there, and when guys are there, we need to get it there. I think we can do a better job. He’s a big goaltender, so he’s looking over top. It’s hard to really take his eyes away, per se, but if he has to look over top and it’s a quick shot, you never know.’’

From the Coyotes’ side of things, they understand that the Kings will try to get back to the same attitude they had in Game 1, and for parts of Game 2 as well, in terms of an aggressive, opportunistic attitude, particularly around the net. Dave Tippett said he doesn’t expect any type of Game 4 hangover from the Kings.

TIPPETT: “They’ve played well, right throughout. So I don’t anticipate them to feel like their game has fallen off. They’ll come in, play a hard game, play a solid game. You don’t go 11-1 in the playoffs having fall-off. We recognize they’re a good team. They’re going to come play well. We have to play the way we can and give ourselves the best chance to win. I think it will be a tight game again. That bodes to how we want to play. Comes down to a couple good plays here or there, a couple big saves, and we can find a way to win.’’

Having flown home after yesterday’s game, the Phoenix Coyotes held practice today at Jobing.com Arena. Most of the players skated, but not defenseman Adrian Aucoin, who returned to play in Game 4 after he had missed the first three games of the series. Asked about Aucoin’s status for Game 5, coach Dave Tippett told reporters, “We’ll see where he is. He wasn’t on the ice today. We had three or four guys stay off today. We’ll see how he came out of it. Every game, there’s some nicks that you have to deal with. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow morning.’’

It was, no doubt, the happiest the Coyotes have ever been to practice. The alternative would have been cleaning out their lockers after a Game 4 loss, but that didn’t happen, and now the Coyotes have a chance to make the series very interesting by winning on home ice tomorrow night.

TIPPETT: “Well, our spirits are certainly better when you win a game. Your back’s against the wall still. There’s an awful lot to be accomplished here. We recognize it’s a hard mountain to climb. But our guys, we got the first one, we got to come home and, like I say, use the energy of our building, get ourselves in position to take another one. Then we’ll just keep going from there. Nobody’s looking past tomorrow’s game. We have to continue to get better if we’re going to have a chance to get ourselves back in the series. That’s all we’re thinking.’’

The crew on the ice for an optional skate typically doesn’t change much. Usually, it’s the scratched players from the previous game, often accompanied by the third- and fourth-line forwards, younger defensemen such as Alec Martinez and Slava Voynov, and backup goalie Jonathan Bernier. Veteran defenseman, and noted rink rat, Willie Mitchell will often join in. This morning, though, captain Dustin Brown was on the ice before anyone. Brown, along with consultant Bernie Nicholls, worked on tip-in drills. On a morning when he didn’t need to be on the ice at all, Brown spent time working on his game. It’s the type of small thing that, by itself, might not mean a ton, but signifies leadership and an attitude of always seeking to improve.

BROWN: “This time of year, it’s getting what you need. It was an optional today. I just thought I’d go out early and specifically work on tips, just because I’ve been having a lot of opportunities to tip pucks and I’ve been missing them. You only get one or two opportunities a game to tip a puck. I just wanted to go out there and work on it a little bit.’’

Continue reading ‘Captain gets in extra work’ »

After being masked, in previous games and series, by an effective penalty kill, the Kings’ lack of success on the power play was brought to the forefront after Game 4, after the Kings went 0-for-6 on the power play and had more than nine minutes of power-play time. Lack of power-play success is certainly nothing new for the Kings this season — it, as part of a general lack of scoring, was a theme for much of the regular season — but the power-play shutout was amplified yesterday because the Kings allowed a first-period power-play goal. It was pointed out to Darryl Sutter today that the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup last season without a strong power play. Is it possible, Sutter was asked, that power-play success is overrated in the playoffs?

SUTTER: “Yeah.’’

Question: How so?

SUTTER: “The Bruins won the Stanley Cup.’’

Witty banter aside, Sutter knows the Kings can be much better on the power play. It’s not really a matter of structure. The Kings, for the most part, have been getting set up. They’ve just been slow to react, indecisive at times and ineffective at times in terms of passing and screens and deflections. Dustin Brown and Drew Doughty talked today about needing more from the power play…

Continue reading ‘Kings need more quantity, quality on power play’ »

The Kings had an optional skate this morning, with the usual gang plus captain Dustin Brown, who was on the ice early with Bernie Nicholls to work on net-front tip-in plays. The Kings will fly to Phoenix this afternoon in advance of tomorrow night’s game.

Not surprisingly, there were plenty of questions about the Kings’ power play, with players talking about the need for more shots and Darryl Sutter emphasizing the time that Phoenix was given to block shots. More notes and quotes to come…

Some notes from yesterday’s game…

– The Kings lost for only the second time in this postseason, as they fell to the Phoenix Coyotes 2-0 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday at Staples Center. The Kings lead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

– The Kings’ only other loss in this postseason came in Game 4 of the first-round series against Vancouver, in the same situation, with a chance to complete a sweep at home.

– The Kings were shut out for the first time in this postseason. They had not been shut out since March 26, in a 1-0 regular-season loss to Vancouver.

– The Kings were shut out in a playoff game for the first time since April 29, 2002, when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche and goalie Patrick Roy.

– The Kings allowed a first-period goal to Shane Doan and a second-period goal to Doan. It was the second time in this postseason that they had allowed back-to-back goals in a game and the second time they had faced a two-goal deficit. The other instance, for both, was Game 4 against Vancouver.

– The Kings now have a 10-8 all-time record in games with a chance to close out a series. They are 2-2 in this postseason.

Continue reading ‘Postgame notes (May 20)’ »

Here’s why the Kings would be wise not to merely shrug off their Game 4 loss: the Phoenix Coyotes seem to be slowly improving while the Kings seem to be slowly slipping. That might be a tough sell, given that the Kings had a 3-0 series lead before Sunday’s game, but it seems clear that the Kings’ best overall effort in this series was in Game 1, while the Coyotes played well in the first two periods of Game 3 and played well throughout Game 4. It’s not entirely accurate to say that Mike Smith “stole’’ yesterday’s game, because he got some good support, particularly with an improved Phoenix forecheck, but Smith did a fantastic job in his own game. He looked focused and sharp from the opening draw, and the Kings tried to beat him from just about every area and angle and couldn’t get it done. Now the Coyotes head home with life, but they still have to beat the Kings three more times. Here’s how The Arizona Republic covered yesterday’s game, followed by some additional postgame quotes from the Coyotes…

The Arizona Republic’s Coyotes coverage

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COACH DAVE TIPPETT

(on getting a full 60-minute effort…) “That’s the best we’ve seen in this series, that’s for sure. We ended up getting the lead. I thought we competed a lot harder and a lot more battles. When you do those things, you give yourself a better chance to win. Smith was excellent. Our penalty killing was excellent. We kind of ground out a win.’’

Continue reading ‘The view from Glendale’ »

The Kings didn’t lose because they played an afternoon game — see: St. Louis, Game 4, vs. — or because of whatever magical, mysterious powers some people believe an assistant coach has over a power play. The Kings lost because the Phoenix Coyotes are a very strong team, and they have a very well-defined way that they like to play hockey, and when they do it for 60 minutes, and when the other team isn’t at its best, the Coyotes are difficult to beat. That’s the essence of it. The Kings looked strong in the first half of the first period, but after the Coyotes scored, the Kings looked like a team that didn’t quite know how to handle a little adversity. The Kings have had a shockingly little amount of adversity in this postseason, and when some came their way in the first period yesterday, and when the Kings didn’t get an immediate “push-back’’ goal, they seemed to drift away from their game a bit and couldn’t quite get back to it.

Mike Smith was huge for the Coyotes, and moreover, the Coyotes’ sharp puck movement helped prevent the Kings from establishing much of a forecheck game. The Kings outshot the Coyotes by a wide margin, but the Coyotes seemed comfortable because, other than some stretches in the first period, Smith kept it relatively clean in terms of rebounds, and the Kings weren’t able to maintain much sustained pressure. The Kings also got burned on special teams, as they allowed a power-play goal for the first time in this series and they — meaning the players actually on the ice — went scoreless in more than nine minutes of power-play time. If the Kings, even subconsciously, started to think that playoff hockey was easy, they got a dose of reality on Sunday. What was the key aspect of the Kings’ 2-0 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 4? I present three options at the link below, and you can vote for your choice…

The Key Three: May 20

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For those who enjoy the traditional game recap, it can be found by clicking here.

Darryl Sutter’s postgame thoughts…

(on any concerns about the Kings’ compete level or game…)
SUTTER: “I’m not too worried about our compete level. I don’t think they are, either. … You’ve got to win four games. They are a home-ice team. They finished ahead of us for a good reason. So there’s not much difference in the teams. I’ve said to you guys who aren’t used to covering hockey, and watching playoffs a lot, that the most important parts of playoffs are goaltending, special teams and how your top players play.’’

Continue reading ‘Sutter postgame quotes (May 20)’ »

Matt Greene’s postgame thoughts…

(on the game…)
GREENE: “I think Phoenix played really well. They played a good game and came out hard. They got a big power-play goal against us there and they got a big faceoff goal. Smith was awesome tonight. They played well and we can play better. We need to respond better than that.”

(on possible adjustments for Game 5…)
GREENE: “We just have to get more traffic in front of Smith. We need to try to get more O-zone time, eliminate some turnovers and try and get them off their game.”

Dustin Penner’s postgame thoughts…

(on the game…)
PENNER: “They played really well. It’s a good lesson for us. We had got the bounces, for the most part, until tonight. They threw themselves in front of a lot of shots. Their PK was really good and they got a power-play goal. So, they definitely earned this one, and we couldn’t find an answer for Smith.’’

Continue reading ‘Penner postgame quotes (May 20)’ »

Dustin Brown’s postgame thoughts…

(on the game…)
BROWN: “I think tonight was more about the Phoenix Coyotes playing a good game. They sat back and they are opportunistic and that’s how they’ve done it all year. They’ve been a resilient group all year and they showed that tonight. They executed really well and that’s the bottom line.”

Continue reading ‘Brown postgame quotes (May 20)’ »