By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Creative Editor

A article from Dan Gross of The Philadelphia Daily News / Philly.com was published yesterday insinuating that the Philadelphia Flyers dealt both captain Mike Richards and Jeff Carter due to their partying lifestyles. 

Two unnamed Flyers reportedly told Gross that Richards and Carter refused to join in on head coach Peter Laviolette’s challenge to his players.  The substance of the “Dry Island” invitation was for the players to commit to not drinking alcohol for a full month.

Paul Bereswill / Getty Images

According to Gross, the players were to write their numbers on a board in the locker room to dedicate themselves to the cause – and in affect, also to their teammates.

It is estimated that there were six different occasions in which Laviolette implemented the initiative since his arrival as coach midway through the 2009-10 season.  

Curiously, numbers 17 (Carter) and 18 (Richards) were absent from the board on every one of those requests.  In a position to show a real and true leadership – even in an off-ice situation – both failed the test.

The local media’s long-standing view from the microscope into the social lives of the pair dates back to the days when Scottie Upshall and Joffrey Lupul still played in the City of Brotherly Love.  When Upshall and Lupul were eventually sent packing, team management had to have hoped that Carter and (especially) Richards would mature into the leaders they had envisioned.

While the “Dry Island” situation in itself seems like a great story, the crux of the respective depatures of both Richards and Carter is the lack of direction exhibited by the duo.  

The unnamed players claimed that the decision to not participate in Laviolette’s appeals disenchanted the front office regarding the pair, as well as worrying teammates about their drinking habits.

After such a promising start to the campaign - in which the Orange-and-Black battled the Vancouver Canucks for the overall NHL points lead - the year came to an abrupt and disquieting conclusion.

There was obviously something askew in the locker room as the Flyers struggled during the latter portion of the regular season and playoffs.  During player interviews you would get the standard “We just have to do this better and that better”, but the feeling was that of attempting to cover up deeper problems in the room that were the real difficulties.

Don’t expect Flyers’ management to ever admit just how much the skipping of the “Dry Island” opportunities played a part in the dealing of both Richards and Carter.

GM Paul Holmgren maintained yesterday that the trades were just good hockey moves, and gave Gross the following quote:

“As far as Mike and Jeff are concerned, we made two good hockey trades that will better suit us now and for the future.  Columbus is happy, L.A. is happy, and the Flyers are happy with the deal.”

From every report, all of upper team management (yes, Ed Snider included) met and was involved in the decision to move Richards and Carter.

As a matter of fact, it’s kind of a funny coincidence that Laviolette’s challenge was called “Dry Island” by the players.  It’s almost as if the pair was “voted off the island”, akin to a reality show like “Survivor”.

Defenseman Chris Pronger, who is likely to be named the next Flyers’ captain, gave this quote two weeks ago on the “Mac and Noodles Show” (Scott MacArthur and Jamie McLennan)  on Toronto’s TSN Radio 1050:

“With the way we exited the playoffs last year, and our owner coming out and asking to get a goalie, that puts a little bit of cash restraints on the team with respect to the salary cap.  Moves have to be made.  In order to free up money, you have to give up good players, and we obviously did that in both Mike (Richards) and Jeff (Carter).

Both of those guys are obviously going to be sorely missed.  They were a big part of the Flyers for a number of years, and hopefully we don’t miss them too much this year.”

Pronger is correct, the talents of both Richards and Carter will be missed.  But in the long run - as well as the short - it may just facilitate a team growth that could push Philadelphia over the top.

A Second Chance for Richards?

As the organization patiently awaited Richards’ metamorphosis into a modern-day Bobby Clarke, it became more evident as time passed that he would never be comfortable in that role.

Nick Laham / Getty Images North America

The move to Los Angeles for Richards could actually be a blessing in disguise.  It appeared that his development as both a player and leader had hit a wall here in Philadelphia, so a change of scenery may be a good thing.

Despite playing in 81 games – much with a wrist injury that required surgery following the season – Richards finished with the least amount of goals (23) since the 2006-07 campaign.  In 11 playoff contests, he managed just a single goal and seven points.

He seemed bored during post-game interviews, often murmuring under his breath about the “same old questions” while the team he was supposed to be guiding continued in a tailspin toward its ultimate destruction.  Richards appeared to long for that one bloated silent pause when the questions stopped for but a brief moment, so that he could make a quick getaway from the inquiries.

Richards’ relationship with the Philly media was tenuous, at best, so it may not be a fluke in the timing of the release of Gross’ story.  There is a press conference scheduled for tomorrow to introduce the Kenora, Ontario-native to the Los Angeles media.

The City of Angels does have its share of temptations, and some on a much grander scale than what is found here.  At just 26 it’s hard to say if this is a make-or-break stage of Richards’ career as he heads into what should be his most-productive years. 

But needless to say it would bode well for him to concentrate on hockey. 

Helping an ever-improving Kings’ squad attain the next level of success may assist in repairing his somewhat damaged reputation.

L.A. can sometimes be an unforgiving town, but hockey does not garner the large-scale interest seen in Philly.  It is not the most-popular professional sport in the city, but hockey’s popularity would be on an even lesser scale in Los Angeles. 

With the Lakers, Dodgers, the beach, the ocean, and some of the afore-mentioned other temptations to sidetrack interest, the Kings are much lower on their city’s measure of adoration.

The Kings are also blessed with a very good captain in Dustin Brown – as well as a nice cast of forwards which includes Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Simon Gagne, and Dustin Penner - Richards may not see the same amount of all-encompassing attention that he received from the media in Philadelphia.

There will be some familiar faces for Richards in L.A. in which to help him get acclimated.  The Kings are affectionately called ”Flyers West” in the Philadelphia area:  

• GM Dean Lombardi and his assistant, legendary Flyers’ goaltender Ron Hextall, came from Philly to help rebuild the Kings.  They are doing a fantastic job in turning the franchise around. 
• Head coach Terry Murray is a former Flyer and Flyers’ coach, and assistant John Stevens was Richards’ head coach with the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms (when they won a Calder Cup championship in 2005), as well as with the Flyers.  
• Gagne is a former teammate in Philadelphia, and Williams played for the Flyers, as well.  

Star defenseman Drew Doughty was even a teammate during Team Canada’s Gold Medal run at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

The dealing of Richards was one of the more surprising moments in a summer of Holmgren’s overhauling of Philadelphia roster, providing something of a second chance for the now former-Flyers’ captain to prove the club wrong for giving up on him.

Maybe the perfect ending for a script of the 2011-12 campaign would be a Flyers-Kings meeting in the Stanley Cup Finals.  In that scenario, the absolute opportunity to deliver the last and decisive word would be hanging in the balance. 

Far-fetched?  Just remember, we are talking about Richards going to a team that plays in Hollywood.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

David Strehle – NHLHS Creative Editor

Hart Memorial Trophy – Corey Perry
Vezina Trophy – Tim Thomas
James Norris Memorial Trophy – Shea Weber
Calder Memorial Trophy – Jeff Skinner
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – Martin St. Louis
Frank J. Selke Trophy – Ryan Kesler
Jack Adams Award – Dan Bylsma
Bill Masterton Memorial Tropy – Ian Laperriere
Ted Lindsay Award – Corey Perry
Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award – Nicklas Lidstrom
NHL Foundation Award – Dustin Brown
GM of the Year – Steve Yzerman

Jeff Quirin – NHLHS Associate Editor

Hart Memorial Trophy – Corey Perry
Vezina Trophy – Tim Thomas
James Norris Memorial Trophy – Shea Weber
Calder Memorial Trophy – Jeff Skinner
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – Loui Eriksson
Frank J. Selke Trophy – Pavel Datsyuk
Jack Adams Award – Dan Bylsma
Bill Masterton Memorial Tropy – Ray Emery
Ted Lindsay Award – Daniel Sedin
Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award – Shane Doan
NHL Foundation Award – Dustin Brown
GM of the Year – Steve Yzerman

Alexander Monaghan – NHLHS President

Hart Memorial Trophy – Daniel Sedin
Vezina Trophy – Tim Thomas
James Norris Memorial Trophy – Shea Weber
Calder Memorial Trophy – Michael Grabner
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – Nicklas Lidstrom
Frank J. Selke Trophy – Ryan Kesler
Jack Adams Award – Dan Bylsma
Bill Masterton Memorial Tropy – Ian Laperriere
Ted Lindsay Award – Corey Perry
Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award – Nicklas Lidstrom
NHL Foundation Award – Dustin Brown
GM of the Year – Steve Yzerman

Brandon Macdonald – NHLHS Copy Editor

Hart Memorial Trophy – Corey Perry
Vezina Trophy – Tim Thomas
James Norris Memorial Trophy – Zdeno Chara
Calder Memorial Trophy – Jeff Skinner
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – Martin St. Louis
Frank J. Selke Trophy – Pavel Datysuk
Jack Adams Award – Alain Vigneault
Bill Masterton Memorial Tropy – Ray Emery
Ted Lindsay Award – Corey Perry
Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award – Nicklas Lidstrom
NHL Foundation Award – Dustin Brown
GM of the Year – Steve Yzerman

Agree? Disagree? Vote in the comments

In what turned out be one of the toughest divisions in the National Hockey League, the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings will face off for the first time in either teams history.  So what make the Los Angeles Kings scary good this year and why will the San Jose Sharks will have a tough time:

1. Jonathan Quick – For a guy whose last name is pretty much the epitome of what he is, it’s hard to watch a Kings game and not get caught solely watching him. His six shutouts and 2.24 goals against average landed him in the top ten among all NHL goalies. He only allowed five or more goals in three starts this season, and put together a seven game winning streak back in the first half of the season.
2. Justin Williams & Anze Kopitar – Both players led the Kings in goals before going down with injuries. Okay, yes Kopitar is done for the season, but he still finished the season leading the team in assists, points, +/-, game winning goals and shots on goal. Williams tallied 22 goals before his shoulder injury kept him out for the final nine games of the season. And according to coach Terry Murray, Williams might be able to return to the line up for the start of the first round on Thursday.
3. Dustin Brown – Yes, the almighty Captain. Leading the team goals (28) and hits (300), Dustin Brown knows how to score goals and do his job quite effectively. He is especially good on the penalty play, scoring seven goals and adding eight assists.
4. Penalty Kill – Los Angeles ended the season ranked 4th in penalty killing compared to San Jose’s 24th ranked penalty kill.

So, then what makes San Jose tough for the Los Angeles Kings?

1. Joe Pavelski – The man we call Joe Pa isn’t anywhere near as good as our top line, but his ten game point streak, including 12 assists makes him quite lethal. Pavelski reached career highs in just about every category this season, achieving 66 points and 46 assists with a +10 rating.
2. Logan Couture – Because if you have been following the Calder race closely, then you would know why. Although Couture is in his second season in the NHL, his twenty five games played last season still allows him to be considered for the Calder this season. He led the rookies early in the season in all categories and is second among the Sharks in goals (32), +/- (18), and game winning goals (eight).
3. Power Play - San Jose’s 68 power play goals puts them 3rd among the NHL for most goals on the man advantage but 2nd over all on the power play with 23.5%.
4. Seven 20+ goal scorers – Los Angeles only has five available players at the moment with 20+ goals, assuming Williams will be ready for action come Thursday.

The situation still looks shaky for the Los Angeles Kings as they attempt to head into the playoffs on a high-point. While the Kings clenched a playoff spot with their last win against Phoenix, it is still unknown at which seed they will enter into the playoffs at. Tonight’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks did not help. What this loss did do was help the Ducks clench a playoff spot of their own. This game also showed that even at 40 years old, Teemu Selanne still has that “Finnish Flash” to his game.

The Kings and Ducks played game one of a back-to-back home finale, playing on both team’s Fan Appreciation Day. Starting out strong, the Kings seemed to dominate the first period and played their style and tempo of hockey. The Ducks found themselves hard-pressed to quickly enter the offensive zone and get quality shots at Kings Goaltender Jonathan Quick.

Ryan Smyth would put the Kings on the scoreboard first when he jumped on a rebound given up by Ducks Goaltender Dan Ellis. Kings Captain Dustin Brown took the initial shot which was blocked by Ellis, but it was Smyth who would capitalize when Ellis got tangled up with his own defenseman, Sheldon Brookbank.

Coming into the second period, the Kings still played a decently defensive game but Selanne found his first goal of the night off a rebound from Quick. Selanne was left alone as the defense and Quick attempted to stop Luca Sbisa’s previous attempt, but the rebound would find its’ way to a waiting Selanne.

Selanne would get the second goal in the third thanks to teammate Saku Koivu. While losing his balance and falling to the ice, Koivu connected a perfect pass to Selanne, who beat a sprawling Quick to the glove side. This made for Selanne’s 31^st goal of the season and 637^th of his career, giving him 80 points in 72 games. Selanne will also now be one of three players in NHL history to play an entire season at age 40 or older with more points than games played.

Sadly, the lack of offense was the Kings’ downfall. While they did a great job at shutting down the Ducks’ top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, and Corey Perry, the Kings were unable to generate much offense of their own.

The Kings will get a chance for redemption Saturday night in a rematch that will serve as the final game in the Freeway Faceoff series and the Kings’ final home game.

Chris Van Deusen
NHLHS Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
Twitter: @TheCrazyWhls

I could sit here and gloat over how the San Jose Sharks were the far superior team in last nights 6-1 beat down of the Los Angeles Kings; how the Sharks now have captured their fourth consecutive Pacific Division Championship and how the last time the Kings won their division was the year before the Sharks joined the NHL, but I won’t. Okay, okay, I’ll leave that to the fans who don’t know when enough is enough.

It wouldn’t take a genius though to figure out that the Sharks dominated the game from the very start. Joe Pavelski continued his point streak to ten games with a goal and assist last night, giving him a career high points (65) and assists (46). It has also been quite the season for Marc-Edouard Vlasic who leads the team in blocked shots with 139, and is third on the team in the +/- with a plus-15. Vlasic was awarded two goals last night, until a review of his second goal confirmed that it belonged to Kyle Wellwood, who walked away with a three point game himself. And if you have been following along, you would know that Sharks Captain Joe Thornton is on the verge of reaching 1000 career points. His two points last night brought him within one of reaching that milestone. Patrick Marleau also ended the night with two assists.

This season in particular with players of such high caliber as Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, the Los Angeles Kings have taken themselves to a whole new level of playing. Before losing both Kopitar and Williams to injury this season, they collectively have 47 goals (22% of goals scored by LA.) Williams held a eleven game point streak at the start of the season, and had a five point one shortly before going down with a separated shoulder, while Kopitar stacked fourteen games together over three streaks from February 12 through March 15. It’s unfair to not include Dustin Brown in that category, as he leads the Kings in goals (28), hits (283), and is second among the team in +/- (plus-16), but he hasn’t been able to put together a point streak longer then three games since December when he went on a seven game point streak. Truth be had, Los Angeles has always been one of the top competitors in the Pacific Division and have always given the Sharks tough competition.

But if you really take a look at the season series between these two teams, you would see that it’s never really changed over the years. This season in their six meetings, the Sharks went 3-1-2 against their Southern California rival and in 27 meetings since the 2007-08 season, San Jose holds a 15-8-4 record. Not to mention that three of those six games were decided by one goal and two of those one goal games were shootouts with the Kings coming out on top. However, San Jose’s offensive outburst has led them to win 21 of their last 29 games.

Should the Kings and Sharks meet in the playoffs this season, it would mark the first time in either franchises’ history that they’ve faced each other in post season.

The Los Angeles Kings are determined to prove that they can make the playoffs without their top two forwards. Captain Dustin Brown helped solidify that determination by scoring an empty net goal in the closing seconds of Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

Many were uncertain how the Kings would fare after a disappointing 3-1 loss to Vancouver on Thursday, not recording a single shot in the third period. Coach Terry Murray made drastic line changes, moving around every line except for the defensive pairing of Matt Greene & Alec Martinez. The changes seem to be working.

The Kings started the game strong, keeping the pressure on Dallas and recording 12 shots. Both teams would prove to have solid goaltending though as they would end with a scoreless first period. It would be Wayne Simmonds who would put the Kings on the scoreboard first with a deflection in the early moments of the second period.

Willie Mitchell fired another one of his strong shots from along the boards where it was deflected behind Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen by Simmonds. Stars defenseman Mark Fistric was the one who actually put the puck in the net though. While he attempted to clear the puck from the crease, Fistric wound up knocking it into the net.

Sadly, the Kings fell victim once again to the problem that has plagued them all season. The Kings once again gave up the lead right after scoring. The very next shot-on-goal after Simmonds scored was a goal by Dallas’ Brad Richards. Breaking out on a 4-on-2 attack, Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski set up Richards’ slap shot from the right circle. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick saw the shot coming and initially stopped it, but the puck trickled through his legs and across the line. Add that goal to the list that Quick wants back.

The third period found Greene giving the Kings the go-ahead goal, notching his second of the season. Simmonds found himself battling in the corner of the Dallas zone before giving a clean cross-ice pass to Greene, who fired from outside the faceoff circle. Greene’s shot beat Lehtonen’s stick side but was initially wide. Unfortunately for Dallas, the puck deflected off the skate of Goligoski who had just cleared Kyle Clifford from in-front of the goal.

Brown would add the empty-netter in the closing seconds of the game after evading two Dallas defenders.

An odd note to the game, this was the first time in Kings history where neither team was given a power-play opportunity.

This 3-1 victory puts the Kings only two points away from clinching a playoff spot in the still tight, Western Conference. The game may also have been a death-blow to the Stars chances of making the playoffs. Dallas only has five games left in the season and currently needs five points to catch eighth-place Chicago.

The Los Angeles Kings will now hit the road to visit the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
Chris Van Deusen
NHLHS Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
Twitter – @TheCrazyWhls

The latest installment in a weekly series from NHL Hot Stove correspondent Jeff Quirin that examines teams, players, and issues from around the Western Conference.  In this issue:  Who or what tamed the Wild? Themselves; Wings limping into playoffs; Best Line in NHL?; Life without Anze; Give Pekka his props.

By Jeff Quirin
NHL Hot Stove St. Louis Blues Correspondent

Who or What Tamed the Wild? Themselves.

A few weeks ago the Minnesota Wild were in the middle of the Western Conference’s battle royale for the post season. With an experienced lineup and a solid goaltender on their side, they should be able to hang in the race till the bitter end. Right?

Apparently not as the Wild have dropped 8 straight and are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. What gives?

No one knows
and the team doesn’t seem to be up for addressing the issue, but it looks like as a team they just gave up on their season at the wrong time. Making one wonder, how much does “veteran leadership” really matter? Matt Cullen and John Madden are as grizzled a veteran of many spring wars as any of their peers. But the two off season additions, plus the longterm core, weren’t able to keep the ship upright as the waves crashed down.

The ship sunk on somewhere between Nashville, Dallas, Vancouver and San Jose. A week long road trip where the old timers secure the rigging and weather the storm. Instead they just left the mast rip in the wind.

Wings Limping in to Playoffs

After last season’s “disappointment”, the Detroit Red Wings have come back strong in their ripe old age. Topping the Central Division once again and about to post yet another 100 point campaign. However, their usually high playoff expectations in 2011 are in danger of going the way of the 2010 version.

Thanks to the San Jose Sharks 6-1-3 and the Wings 5-3-2 run over their last 10 games respectively, the two clubs are tied for 2nd in the West at 97 points. A position Detroit held with much more security a week or so ago. Injuries have been to blame for the sputtering in the Motor City.

Key players not being available has been an issue all season, but without Pavel Datayuk and leading goalscorer Johan Franzen, since March 17th the Wings have dropped three straight before defeating Toronto over the weekend. Will the aggregate effects of the latest injures carry over in to the playoffs? Both over the age of 30 (and over 1,000 games between them), they’re used to the abuse, but their bodies don’t recover the same anymore. Add in a shoulder injury to netminder Jimmy Howard and the concerns grow in legitimacy for a repeat of 2010.

Best Line in the NHL?

Is there a better line in the NHL right now than the Anaheim Ducks’ top trio of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry? No, there isn’t.

By the numbers: 94 goals, 218 points, in 210 games. All three over 20:00 ATOI.

While Perry is making his best case for the Hart Trophy, his two line mates are far from slouches. Ryan is as dynamic a goal scoring forward as the come and Getzlaf is the best all around centerman not named Sidney Crosby. All three are built like bulldogs and attack the net with their strength and size advantage (average 6’3, 210 lbs). Mix in their uncanny chemistry to know where each other is at any given time and defensemen can only hope to limit the offensive production because they can’t stop it.

Life Without Anze

How do the Los Angeles Kings move on without Anze Kopitar?

With the Kings offensive leader and top centerman out for at least the first round and likely more, the burden now falls to a select few to pick up the slack.

Let’s just say there isn’t much confidence in either Jarret Stoll or Michal Handzus to replace Anze’s 25 goals and 73 points in 75 games down the middle. At most they can be asked to battle, win face-offs and play a defensively sound game. Ryan Smyth is a known commodity, but isn’t a peripheral producer at this stage of his career.

Not many options from the veteran core of the club. For that reason, the long touted youth must deliver.

For the likes of Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds the time is now to show they can fulfill their potential to become elite difference makers. They’ve all shown flashes, but have also faltered and struggled to find consistency. In the “do or die” situation the Kings are in now, not only to make the playoffs, but once they get in, is a perfect opportunity to prove they can simplify and provide a consistent level of play. If they can, their skill sets and physical attributes can take over from there.

Give Pekka His Props

Gaining another two points and avoiding a trap game were the main concerns of the Los Angeles Kings as they faced the Colorado Avalanche. Now the Kings are concerned with how they will cope without Anze Kopitar. Missing a minimum of six weeks, Kopitar is now sidelined with a broken ankle. Kings training staff reported that Kopitar will undergo an MRI on Monday to find out the full extent of the damage done.

After being lightly checked by Ryan O’Byrne, Kopitar fell backwards and appeared to badly twist his leg. Kopitar lay on the ice for several moments before being helped off the ice by Michal Handzus and Dustin Penner. Initial reports from the locker room were that he suffered a lower-body injury. The news would end up being far worse.

While many panic and start to feel like the Kings are destined for an early exit during the playoffs, that isn’t the case. The Kings are no strangers to the injury “bug” and went through several stretches without key players like Drew Doughty, Willie Mitchell, and Alexei Ponikarovsky. They are currently also missing Justin Williams who suffered a dislocated shoulder during Monday’s game against Calgary. While Kopitar is seen as a critical part of the team, he is not the only part of the team’s success. Credit can be given to Dean Lombardi in the sense that he has built the team around a core of players rather than just one superstar. If there was ever a time, now is the time for the Kings to show the NHL what they can do. Now is the time for the team to step up and succeed in Kopitar’s absence.

“He’s our best player. We’ve got to find a way, either way. Injuries happen during the year,” said Captain Dustin Brown. “You don’t want to have your best player go down, but if that’s the case, we need to shoulder the responsibility collectively and find a way. No other team is going to feel sorry for us.”

While Milan Hejduk put Colorado on the board shortly after Kopitar’s injury, the Kings came out in the third period focused on gaining those two points and answering whether or not they could do so without Kopitar.

Ryan Smyth answered first by re-establishing the Kings’ two-goal lead by scoring with a wraparound 1:36 into the third period. This gave Smyth his second goal in 25 games and follows a noticeable improvement in his play.

Another King to step up is Trevor Lewis. Oddly enough it was Smyth who set up Lewis to extend their lead to 4-1. Lewis scored on a two-on-one attack with Smyth following a bad Colorado turnover. Both Smyth and Lewis snapped their scoreless streak and were two of the three stars of the game. Jonathan Quick was the third star, giving another great performance and making 20 saves.

Ryan Smyth said it best. “Not one guy can replace a guy like Kopitar,” Smyth said. “Everybody has to collectively come together and regroup. Everybody has got to fill a good role and it’s all about opportunity.”

The Kings will get their next opportunity on Tuesday when they travel to Edmonton. The Kings may have been dealt a severe blow, but they are far from out.
Chris Van Deusen
NHL Hot Stove Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
Twitter: @TheCrazyWhls

Coming into the final match up of the season with the Calgary Flames, the LA Kings needed a good performance after a sub-par game against the Ducks and the worst performance of the season against the Blues.  The Kings are again struggling to find the back of the net.  After a four goal performance in Nashville, the Kings managed only seventeen shots against the Blues and struggled to score on new Ducks goalie Ray Emery.  Finally, after almost five and a half periods, Dustin Brown beat Emery and got the Kings on the board.

Calgary came to Staples coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Ducks the night before with obtaining two points as their primary objective.  Coming into the game, the Flames found themselves two points out of the final playoff spot in the west despite having played two to three more games than everyone else in the Western Conference.

The game was, as expected, a very tight checking affair with few quality scoring chances.  The Kings had one power play in the first period with Jarome Iginla off for hooking, but failed to even muster one shot struggling to get set up.  Calgary had two power plays of their own, but posed no real threat.  Jonathan Quick made two key saves, and the teams went to the locker room with no score.

The second period was the same as the first, tight checking and little room to move for the skilled player.  Calgary had the best chance on an early power play where Iginla and Mark Giordano both hit the left goal post.  On their second power play, the Flames missed a golden chance to score as they held the zone for over a minute and had both Matt Greene and Anze Kopitar trapped on the ice without sticks. Michael Handzus was able to clear the zone on a diving play and allowed his teammates to get off the ice.    The Kings also had two chances with the man advantage, but failed to score.  Kings assistant coach Jamie Kompon called the Kings second power play” the best of the season” as they held the zone for over a 1:30.   However, they failed to score.  The period ended with the Kings getting their fifth power play of the night, which carried over to the 3^rd period.

The third started with the Kings having the power play for thirty-nine seconds.  The Flames were able to kill it off.  The period flowed a little more openly, and the teams exchanged several odd man rushes.  Finally, with just under six minutes remaining, Wayne Simmonds made what my coach growing up called a” hustle play” and drove from behind the net.  Miikka Kiprusoff made the save, but left a large rebound that Jarret Stoll converted for his 19^th goal of the season putting the Kings up 1-0.  Just sixty-five seconds later, former King draft pick Olli Jokinen converted a breakaway and tied the game at one.

Overtime was very tight as no team could take advantage of the open ice.  With 1:03 left in extra time, the Kings were called for a”too many men on the ice penalty, but were able to hold the Flames to just one shot.  The teams headed to the shoot out.

The shoot out opened with a miss by usually reliable, Handzus, and then, Alex Tanguay opened with a goal.  Next up for the Kings was Stoll.  He beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot low, blocker side.  Calgary followed with a miss by Rene Bourque when he lost control of the puck on the way in.  Kopitar was up next.  He out-waited Kiprusoff and slid the puck five-hole putting the Kings up 2-1.  Curtis Glencross had to score, but missed the net high right. The Kings held on for the two huge points.

After the game, the Kings received bad news when it was announced that winger Justin Williams, the second leading scorer on the team, will miss the rest of the season and post season with a should injury.  The Kings recalled Oscar Moller from Manchester to take the roster spot.

Game Notes

Jonathan Quick improved to 9-0 in shoot outs this season.
The Kings had their 30^th sell out of the season, one shy of the franchise record.
Up next for the Kings is a match up with the San Jose Sharks in Los Angeles.

Mike Murangi
NHL Hot Stove Los Angeles Kings Reporter

The Los Angeles Kings needed a big win and Captain Dustin Brown helped earn it with 2 goals and the eventual shootout-winning goal. It was well-known that the Kings were in for a tough game but the team showed their strength and determination as they took the current Pacific Division Leader, the San Jose Sharks to a shootout.

Joe Pavelski would wind up putting the Sharks on the board first, scoring his 100^th goal 35 seconds into the second period with a redirect on a shot from Patrick Marleau. This single goal may have stung more than usual for the Kings since it was scored while Jarret Stoll was serving the second-half of his slashing penalty from the first period. Pavelski’s goal ended the Kings’ consecutive streak of penalty-kills at 35.

An aspect that has been missing for quite some time also surfaced during the game. The Kings were able to score on the power play.  Brown would tie the game at one in the ending moments of a Kings’ power play. The goal came from an odd dump-in by Alec Martinez, which was then found behind the net by Alexei Ponikarovsky and fed to Brown. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi went for the save but Brown was too quick.

Willie Mitchell would give the Kings a 2-1 less than two minutes later with another one of his powerful slap-shots. Unable to convert on his initial attempt, Oscar Moller was able to get his own rebound and feed it to Mitchell. The shot came from between the top of the circles and dead center, beating Niemi who was decently screened.

The third period would find the Sharks battling back hard however, as they would outshoot the Kings while maintaining a decent defense. Marleau helped tie the game at two as he scored late in the third, beating Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick on an angle-shot. Quick had good position on Marleau but obviously it wasn’t good enough. The goal is probably one of those goals that Quick wishes he could have back.

To the joy of many Kings fans and coaching staff, the Kings were able to score on the power-play yet again. Brown would earn his second goal of the night with 1:42 left in regulation. Much like his goal in their previous game against Calgary, Brown would receive a pass from the boards by Michal Handzus. This time Brown would find the net by firing from the top of right circle.

However, the Kings would find themselves succumb to a problem that has plagued the team the entire season. The Kings would surrender a goal moments after scoring one. With 11 seconds left in regulation, the Kings would struggle to control the puck after a neutral zone face-off and the Sharks would persist to capitalize upon it. After two failed attempts by the Kings to clear the zone, Marleau would flip the puck past a sprawling Quick, making it a tie-game with 4.6 seconds to go.

The game would carry-over to a shootout where the Kings would shine. Shootouts for the Kings instantly bring two names to mind: Stoll & Quick. Stoll would deliver yet another laser-beam of a shot to give the Kings their first shootout goal after Niemi blocked Handzus’ attempt. Stoll’s goal gave the fans a much needed sigh of relief after an official review deemed Dan Boyle’s attempt did indeed maintain forward motion and was a good goal. Brown would score the game winner however, beating Niemi with a quick wrist-shot after Niemi previously denied both Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penner. Quick is now nine for nine in shootouts this season and Stoll improved to eight out of nine attempts.

To simply say that it was important to the Kings that they win this game is an understatement. The Kings were in a must win scenario and for multiple reasons. Would they be able to produce that much needed offense now that Justin Williams is out for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder? Moller showed he can fill Williams’ shoes nicely. Would Kyle Clifford be alright after returning from his two-game absence? He didn’t miss a step. Would the Kings emerge from the ever-tight jam that is the lower-half of the playoff positions? That remains to be seen. Could the Kings get two points from their division leader? Yes.

The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks will meet one last time before the season ends. Something tells me we’re going to need a bigger boat.

Chris Van Deusen
NHL Hot Stove Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
Twitter: @TheCrazyWhls