If the Halloween holiday is thought to be one spent warding off the evil spirits set loose by the devil to raise havoc, then it’s only appropriate that the Los Angeles Kings entertain a team for which the devil is used as a nickname.
The Kings return from a triumphant five-game road trip to play at Staples Center on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. The game will feature many subplots, including a pre-game ceremony honoring Mattias Norstrom, a visiting team playing their second game in as many nights, and a lot of booing by fans at a certain Devils left winger. It’s also a game featuring the team with the second worst record in the East visiting the team with the best record in the West.
Throughout the season, Examiner.com will do its best to preview every game the Kings play. We hope to incorporate help from my fellow Examiners, such we have done in this piece. We thank in advance the efforts of New Jersey Devils Examiner Chris Wassel, and ask you to click here to read his articles about the team. We also kindly as you to click here to find out more about his bi-weekly internet radio show ‘The Program’ of which your Kings Examiner will be a guest on Sunday night.
Here’s a preview of today’s contest against the Devils:
Road Team: New Jersey Devils (3-7-1), 7 points, 5th place in Atlantic Division, 14th place in Eastern Conference
Who’s hot: If there is a hot player right now then maybe its Martin Brodeur. Yes his GAA is near 3.00 and his save percentage is only .901 but he does have two shutouts and has likely been the team's best player in the last week or so. It is likely considering the hole the club has dug for itself in the standings that Brodeur, who stopped 27 of 28 shots by Anaheim in victory last night, that the all-time leader in victories will be in the nets yet again tonight. Positionally Brodeur has been better of late and that could rub off on his backup Johan Hedberg. Brodeur has an 8-5-1 record with a 2.04 GAA and one shutout in 14 career starts against the Kings.
Who’s not: Chemistry is clearly what is not hot. Some of that falls on coaching and some falls on management. That may be the worst aspect of the Devils right now. The key is resiliency. New Jersey does not have that right now. If the addition of Kovalchuk was meant to increase scoring, it hasn’t taken shape yet as three players are tied for the team lead in goals scored through 11 games with three. The Kings have seven players with three or more goals.
Who to watch for: The move to place Patrik Elias as the center for Kovalchuk seemed to start paying immediate dividends in Friday’s 2-1 triumph over Anaheim. Elias is experienced enough to work as a center (he’s a natural left wing) and is still considered one of the best passers in the league. When Kovalchuk figures out that he can trust Elias to deliver the puck in his usual scoring areas, Kovalchuk will start delivering the goals his big contract seemingly promised.
What to watch for: Henrik Tallinder is clearly a fish out of water right now. He seems a step slow on many key plays and the Devils almost have to cover for him defensively at times. If the team can figure out a role for the normally solid defenseman until he regains his form, then hopefully he will be the second pairing defenseman the Devils sorely need. Tyler Eckford was recently recalled from the minors but has a booming shot and could really scare some goaltenders. Those shots from the blueline may be just what the doctor ordered. The youth may be what helps New Jersey out of their month long malaise.
Player under the radar: It's been ten years and five months since Jason Arnott took a blind centering pass by Elias into the lower slot area and beat Ed Belfour to win a second Stanley Cup for the Devils in Game Six of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. He was dealt two seasons later to Dallas and has played mostly for Nashville in the past until rejoining the Devils as a free agent this past off-season. He has scored three goals so far in this early season, and his veteran presence will be counted upon to keep the team from coming apart at the seams.
Line combinations
FORWARDS
Ilya Kovalchuk – Patrik Elias – Alexander Vasyunov
Zach Parise – Travis Zajac – Jamie Langenbrunner
Dainius Zubrus – Jason Arnott – David Clarkson
Adam Mair – Rod Pelley – Tim Sestito
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Colin White – Andy Greene
Henrik Tallinder – Matt Taormina
Tyler Eckford – Olivier Magnan-Grenier
GOALTENDERS
Martin Brodeur (starter)
Johan Hedberg
SCRATCHES: Jacob Josefson, Anssi Salmela, Anton Volchenkov
Injury report: Cue to theme song from M*A*S*H as the Devils have bumerous players dealing with injuries. The biggest name out of these is Volchenkov, one of the prize off-season free agent acquisitions, who is still dealing with recovering from facial and neck issues stemming from being struck in that area by a puck. Other players currently on injured reserve include Brian Rolston, Matt Corrente, Mark Fraser, and Bryce Salvador.
Home team: Los Angeles Kings (7-3-0), 14 points, 1st place in Pacific Division, 1st place in Western Conference
Who's hot: Dustin Brown has five goals through the first ten games of the season. While dreaming of a 40-goal season might still be a little hard to grasp for the rugged right winger, he’s on pace to do just that. The two goals he scored on the road trip were both on the power play, which has finally started to click for the Kings.
Who's not: If Brayden Schenn plays tonight, it’ll be important for him to dent the back of the net with a goal. He has just one point, an assist, through seven games, and the conversation about whether to keep him here or return him for one more year of juniors that seemed to be debate-free two weeks ago now has an even split down the middle.
Who to watch for: In the absence of Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson has started to step his presence on the power play unit, and has six points over his last four contests, including three in the victory Thursday night over Dallas. After taking penalties in each of his first four games, he has been whistled for just one minor over the last six contests.
What to watch for: The dreaded let down that comes with playing a first home game following a road trip, and especially with the Devils playing uninspired hockey most of the way so far. Terry Murray spoke with the media Friday and warned that his players will need to handle this potential distraction carefully to avoid the pitfall associated with it.
Player under the radar: Rob Scuderi continues to be a steady presence for the Kings on the defensive end. The Kings enter play Saturday ranked fourth best on the penalty kill and seventh best in goals allowed. Scuderi has found a comfort level playing with Jack Johnson that didn’t seem to be there when they paired up early last season. In fairness to Scuderi, it’s been Johnson’s significant improvement on the defensive end from this time last year that has made the partnership much more palatable for the Kings.
Line combinations
FORWARDS
Brad Richardson – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Ryan Smyth – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
Alexei Ponikarovsky – Michal Handzus – Wayne Simmonds
Kyle Clifford – Brayden Schenn – Kevin Westgarth
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS:
Willie Mitchell – Matt Greene
Rob Scuderi – Jack Johnson
Jake Muzzin – Davis Drewiske
GOALTENDERS:
Jonathan Quick (starting)
Jonathan Bernier
SCRATCHES: Peter Harrold, Trevor Lewis, Wayne Simmonds
Injury report: Wayne Simmonds will attempt to take part in the morning skate on Saturday, and it will be only then that Terry Murray makes a decision about the status of Simmonds following his lower-body injury in Thursday’s win over Dallas. The likelihood is that the Kings would play it safe and keep him out of the lineup, but knowing their next game isn’t until Thursday might be too tempting. Drew Doughty met with the media on Friday afternoon and reported that he is feeling better but still not at 100% recovery while skating, so he will not play Saturday. The club activated Marc-Andre Cliche on Friday and sent him to Manchester. Scott Parse skated on Friday at practice but a timetable for his return is still unknown.
UPDATE (11:10AM): Following the morning skate, head coach Terry Murray announced that Simmonds will play tonight.
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Will the boo-birds save their energy?
In Europe and South America during soccer matches, fans show an incredible contradictory nature by whistling in displeasure as opposed to booing, which seems to be a uniquely American sports fan phenomenon.
While it is understandable for fans to boo Ilya Kovalchuk tonight because of his spurning the team during free agency, have we reached the point where Rob Blake won’t hear the same cascading chorus of ‘Bronx Cheers’? We’ll start to get an answer to that as he is one of several former players expected to attend tonight’s pre-game ceremonies honoring Norstrom.
Several media members of the print and vocal variety expressed genuine surprise when it was suggested that Blake might hear some negative reaction. One prominent personality even went so far to suggest that he would be shocked if fans did in fact boo Blake because it would be a sign of disrespect for the ceremonies honoring Norstrom.
In speaking with several fans at practice yesterday on the subject, it seems as if that media member is in for a disappointing surprise, as the animosity towards the only Norris Trophy winner in franchise history remains fresh. One fan, loyal Examiner reader David Sheehan (a loyal Kings season ticket holder as well), even went so far as to tell me that he has a signed Blake jersey and will never wear it again.
Certainly during his playing career it was okay to show displeasure, and perhaps Blake has some work to do in terms of contrition with the fan base before any consideration of a position with the club and/or a jersey retirement ceremony can even be suggested. While I think it’s the right of the fans to confirm their long memories, I also hope that the booing is minimal so as not to distract from honoring Norstrom.
Jon Moncrief is beginning his third season covering the Kings for Examiner.com and you can follow his thoughts on the Kings by clicking this link to follow him on Twitter. In addition to his Examiner duties covering the Kings and the Dodgers, Jon also is a featured contributor for Bowl Gamer, and is the co-host of the weekly web-TV show INSIDE SPORTS. Be sure to catch him as a guest on the internet radio show 'The Program' on Sunday night at 5PM local time by clicking this link.
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