LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

Jonathan Quick is the best goaltender in this series. The Western Conference will feature the two hottest goaltenders in the playoffs: Jonathan Quick for Los Angeles and Mike Smith for Phoenix. Quick’s postseason #’s: 8-1, 1.55 GAA, .949 SV%. Smith’s #’s: 8-3, 1.77 GAA, .948 SV%. Their nearly identical SV%’s are the highest of any goaltenders still in the postseason. Their head-to-head numbers during the regular season are nearly identical as well. Quick was 3-1-2 with a 1.79 GAA and .932 SV% with two shutouts in six starts. In five starts, Smith was 3-1-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .938 SV% with one shutout. Quick is a first-time Vezina Trophy nominee coming off his third 35+ win season. To contrast, Mike Smith was on waivers last season and went unclaimed. Credit his reclamation to reuniting with Dave Tippett, his former head coach in Dallas, and his system? Credit to working with Los Angeles Kings Legend/Coyotes Goalie Coach Sean Burke? Mike Smith has been great this sea...

Jonathan Quick: Vezina Worthy The Kings choked again!  Ryan Clowe stole the Pacific Division from us!  Jonathan Quick can’t win the big game!  Forget all that… On March 1 st , the Kings were sitting in 10 th place with a 29-23-12 record after winning only five of fourteen games in the month of February but after the acquisition of Jeff Carter; Los Angeles has gone 13-5-3. The Canucks, winners of back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy are looking to make back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances after falling to Boston in the Finals a year ago.  Much has been made of their regular season success in recent years but Vancouver is still in search of that elusive first Stanley Cup. This teams split four regular season games by a total of one goal.  Two games were decided by a goal and another by a shootout .  Goaltending in the series will be huge. GOALTENDING Both Jonathan and Quick and Roberto Luongo have had Vezina-worthy campaigns.  Quick’s numbers have ...

The $56-million man?!?! Terry Murray (6-3-2, 2.36 GF/G, 1.91 GA/G, 22.5 PP%, 86.1 PK%) Grade: C I only grade TM because I hated his decision to start Bernier vs. New Jersey.  I heard his explanation and still disagree.  I understand that he wanted Quick against the two division rivals but Quick and the Kings were on an absolute roll.  I’m a big believer in momentum and without a doubt the Kings had it.  The Kings played their worst game of the season in front of Bernier and got shutout by New Jersey. Jonathan Quick (6-1-2, 1.52 GAA, .947 SV%, 3 SO) Grade: A Quick has been outstanding for the Kings in the first month of the season.  Three consecutive shutouts earned him a Player of The Week honor already.  But don’t get too excited yet because Quick started off hot last October (7-1-0, 1.84 GAA, .936) only to never reach those numbers again for the rest of the season.  Jonathan Bernier (0-2-0, 3.55 GAA, .857 SV%, 0 SO) Grade: C I thought ...

Jonathan Quick Is A #1 Whether You Like It Or Not  About a year ago to the day, I wrote the following in my 2009-10 Season Review: Goaltending post . The Kings may start out with a Nashville-type split in goal to start next season but it’ll be Bernier’s net by the All-Star break.   So that didn't quite happen.  Jonathan Quick proved that last year was no fluke.  Jonathan Bernier finally stepped into the NHL full-time as Quick's backup.  The tandem provided the most solid goaltending the franchise has seen in decades.  They combined for another 46 wins, .914 SV % (10th), 2.39 GAA (6th), and 9 shutouts on the season.   JONATHAN QUICK 2010-11 Stats: 61 GP, 35 Wins, 2.24 GAA, .918 SV%, 6 Shutouts Signed thru 2012-13; $1.8M Whether it was the embarrassment of his performance down the stretch and in the first round against Vancouver last season or the footsteps of Jonathan Bernier behind him; Jonathan Quick arrived to training camp on a mission....

LASERS ! Dallas came to play against the Kings but L.A. stood their ground and won a close one 3-1.  Game got physical in the second and third periods.  Former King Brandon Segal stopped Kyle Clifford's fists with his face.  Jonathan Quick played outstanding once again, earning the game's first star, and then refusing an interview with Heidi after the game... Justin Williams sniped a beautiful goal on the power play in the third.  He's been playing outstanding this season (knock on wood).  A fan actually called into Kings Talk and asked about the Kings extending Williams's contract past this season...who would of thought after the way he finished last season... Some of my favorite photos after the jump or see them all on my Flickr page .

You Know It's Opening Night When All 20 Kings Are Standing On The Blue Line For The National Anthem The hockey season doesn't officially start for me until the home opener.  It's always fun to get reacquainted with the Kings equipment managers and training staff.  I didn't get there early enough for all the pregame fun outside of Staples Center but Chris Kontos over at The Royal Half did .  Kings won 3-1.

Kopi's Ready For Halloween (PHOTO: ESPN)  THE GOOD Kings score two goals this weekend and manage a split .  Can't really complain about that. The Kings throwback jerseys on Saturday were awesome.  Jonathan Quick's pads and mask were great too.  I like his throwback mask more than his current one.  I was really hoping to see some names but the Kings didn't permanently add names to the back of their Road uniforms until the NHL required them for the 1977 season . Kopitar wasn't seriously injured from an unintentional high-stick in the corner from Manny Malhotra that led to Kopi receiving 15 stitches on the outside; four on the inside, and the loss of a fake tooth.   Brayden Schenn looks like he belongs and should grab that open slot on the second-line any day now .  Kyle Clifford seems to have lost all that aggression that earned him this opportunity.  He may be on his way to Barrie before the week is over. Jarett Stoll dominated the faceo...

This will be the first-installment of my Season In Review.  My thoughts on each player's 2009-10 season and what to expect in 2010-11 from them.  I've also included my Fantasy Projections for fun .  In honor of Dean Lombardi; we'll start from the net out.  The Kings goaltending this year was great at times and terrible at others. And when I say Kings goaltending; I really mean Jonathan Quick. Terry Murray admitted to possibly playing Quick too much to secure a high-seed in the playoffs. That decision hurt the Kings more than it helped them down the stretch and ultimately cost them in the playoffs.   Read the rest after the jump...

Far Too Much Of This From Quicker Kings players along with the coaching staff were available to the media Tuesday and Hammer got some great quotes from head coach Terry Murray on the series, the season and everything else . I thought his most telling remarks were regarding the goaltending situation . “Maybe (I) played (Quick) a little too much down the last month. But at that point, I had already made a commitment to him, and maybe had backed away, a little too far, from Ersberg being able to jump in and get some rhythm to his game and give us those solid games that would have spelled relief for Quick. And I thought about that, long before we got to the end of the year." MAYBE you played Quick too much?  MAYBE you backed too far away from Ersberg?  The season's over now.  Let's be real here.  Stats don't lie.  Read my take after the jump...

After watching the Kings hold on in two games against Colorado.  Watching them get dominated by the Blues.  And then get dominated again tonight versus the Stars on home ice.  I came to one conclusion. The Kings are tired.  Some would say the Kings are catching some bad breaks with officials.  That might be true but the Kings have been back on their heels for a while.  Time to step up their game.  Soon. This group has never been in this position before; playing games that mattered in late-March.  And it's beginning to show. It's been widely discussed that Jonathan Quick hasn't played this many games.  And it's becoming clear he hasn't gotten his game on track since that extended Olympic break. Drew Doughty looked outstanding in the Olympics.  Since returning; he looks spent.  I've never seen him turn the puck over more than once in a game.  It's become more frequent with each game. I don't know what they're going to do....

My Heart Wants America; My Brain Says It'll Look Alot Like 2002 Unlike the women's bracket; there's actually a competition taking place on the men's side.  The NHL-ice surface may give a slight advantage to the Canadians and Americans. There is so much offensive firepower from teams #1-#7 that staying off the penalty kill will be important for every team.  Imagine a Kovalchuk-Malkin-Ovechkin-Datsyuk-Gonchar Power Play....WHOA! Eight of the twelve countries have NHL starting goaltenders.  Any of them are capable of stealing a game.  Once the tournament reaches the quarterfinals and becomes single-elimination; their could be some huge upsets. And without further adieu; my predictions for Men's Ice Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. GOLD: CANADA - No country can match Canada's depth at every position.  With the games in Vancouver; too much is on the line for this team to fail. SILVER: RUSSIA - The trio of Ovechkin, Malkin and Kovalchuk should b...

5-0 Roadtrip: All Smiles For The Kings What a weekend for the Kings with two comeback wins in Boston and New Jersey. Deja vu in Boston where the Kings squeaked out a 3-2 victory in the shootout.  Quick outplayed his Team USA teammate Tim Thomas for the second time in two weeks.  Got a scare when Mark Stuart absolutely destroyed Anze with an open-ice check (Thanks Petey).  But Simmer stepped right in and took care of business; Stuart broke a finger during the fight.  Kopi got the last laugh with the game-tying goal and a 'Forsberg-esque Deke' in the shootout.  Rich Hammond's Recap No Bob Miller & Jim Fox on Sunday but caught the game on DirecTV's Center Ice.  Had to settle for New Jersey's broadcast with Chico & Dano.  No seriously.  Poor Chico didn't know a single Kings player. The Devils game was a snoozer...at least to start.  Seemed like the Kings just wanted to go home.  The first couple goals given up by Brodeur were two I...