SB Nation Los Angeles - Kings Get Shootout Win In Season Opener In Vancouverhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48949/la-fave.png2010-10-10T10:40:24-07:00http://losangeles.sbnation.com/rss/stream/14997982010-10-10T10:40:24-07:002010-10-10T10:40:24-07:00Kopitar Goal Seals Kings' Shootout Win In Opener
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<p>Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54555/anze-kopitar">Anze Kopitar</a> scored the winner in the shootout, as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/teams/los-angeles-kings">Los Angeles Kings</a> took a 2-1 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/teams/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a> in the opener for both squads.</p>
<p>After <span>Mason Raymond</span> was stopped by <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54572/jonathan-quick">Jonathan Quick</a>, Kopitar went to the backhand and lifted it past <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54455/roberto-luongo">Roberto Luongo</a>.</p>
<p><span>Ryan Kesler</span>'s wrister was stopped by Quick's pads, and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54549/jack-johnson">Jack Johnson</a> sealed the win when he blew a wrister past Luongo on the stick side.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54238/justin-williams">Justin Williams</a> scored the lone goal while Quick finished the game with 23 saves for the Kings, who are coming off a 101-point season, the best since the Wayne Gretzky-led Kings posted 102 points in 1990-91. However, the team was knocked out by these Canucks in six games in the first round.</p>
<p>"They spoiled our dream last year and we spoiled they're opening night here," said Williams. "It's nice to start the season with a win, but there's still 81 games to go."</p>
<p>Christian Erhoff scored the goal while Luongo stopped 31 shots for the Canucks, who made it to the second round of the playoffs last season, but were eliminated by Chicago in the conference semis for the second straight season.</p>
<p>"There were a bunch of guys out there who were rusty at the start," said Kesler. "It's a long offseason but once we all got our feet under us it was a good hockey game."</p>
<p>Vancouver took the initial lead at the 11:58 mark of the second period. Skating on the power play after <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54295/alexei-ponikarovsky">Alexei Ponikarovsky</a> was called for slashing, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54471/daniel-sedin">Daniel Sedin</a> held the puck at the right circle. He paused for a moment to pick his lane and tried to dish the puck over to the left side. It hit off a King in front, but it went to the slot and Erhoff was able to put it home for the 1-0 lead.</p>
<p>Los Angeles, though, tied the game with 4:05 left in the third with a power- play goal. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54567/michal-handzus">Michal Handzus</a> held the puck at the top of the left circle and threw a shot on net that Luongo stopped, but the rebound sat in front and Williams backhanded it in.</p>
<p>Vancouver hosts Florida on Monday...Los Angeles plays in Calgary on Sunday...The Canucks took three of the four games against Los Angeles last season...Before the game, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54479/henrik-sedin">Henrik Sedin</a> was named the 13th captain of the Canucks...Kopitar missed a long part of the second period after getting hit in the face with a high stick.</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/los-angeles-kings/2010/10/10/1742131/kopitar-goal-kings-vancouver-canucks-shootout-win-in-openerEric Stephen2010-10-09T11:23:09-07:002010-10-09T11:23:09-07:00Kings At Canucks: Game Notes
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<p>(Sports Network) - High expectations have been present in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/teams/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a>' locker room ever since the club brought goaltender <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54455/roberto-luongo">Roberto Luongo</a> into the fold four seasons ago.</p>
<p>It's been a while since the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/teams/los-angeles-kings">Los Angeles Kings</a> have set the bar that high.</p>
<p>Just making the playoffs won't be enough this season for the Kings and Canucks, who both open up their 2010-11 campaigns this evening at Rogers Arena.</p>
<p>Posting their highest point total (101) last year since the Wayne Gretzky-led Kings notched 102 in 1990-91, Los Angeles arrived to the postseason party for the first time since 2002. The Kings didn't stay long, getting bounced out of the opening round in six games by the Canucks, who went on to get eliminated by the Blackhawks for the second straight season in the next round.</p>
<p>Los Angeles tried to make a splash this offseason by tossing its lure into the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/55442/ilya-kovalchuk">Ilya Kovalchuk</a> pond, but the Russian winger took the bait of the Devils instead.</p>
<p>That isn't the worst thing that could have happened to the Kings, who still boast an excellent -- and mostly young -- club that features the likes of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54555/anze-kopitar">Anze Kopitar</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54563/dustin-brown">Dustin Brown</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/55506/ryan-smyth">Ryan Smyth</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54553/drew-doughty">Drew Doughty</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54549/jack-johnson">Jack Johnson</a> and <span>Jonathan Quick</span>. That core has Los Angeles thinking big again in 2010-11.</p>
<p>"I love the expectations that everybody has for this hockey club," LA head coach Terry Murray told his team's website. "They're legitimate. We took huge strides last year, a nice run to the playoffs, and with that comes more expectation, and we accept that. We're gladly embracing it and we're excited about the season."</p>
<p>The Kings possess some of the top talents in the league in Kopitar and Norris Trophy nominee Doughty. Kopitar posted career highs of 34 goals and 47 assists last year while skating in all 82 games, while Doughty pumped in 16 goals and 59 points during his sophomore campaign. The second-overall pick of the 2008 draft also won a Gold Medal during the 2010 Winter Olympics and teams with Johnson -- the third overall pick of the 2005 draft -- to lead an excellent blue line unit.</p>
<p>Los Angeles also has two of the top goaltending prospects in the league in Quick and <span>Jonathan Bernier</span>. Quick will get the start tonight after going 39-24-7 with a 2.54 goals-against average in 72 games last year, but he is just 1-4-1 with a 2.33 GAA in six lifetime meetings with Vancouver.</p>
<p>The Canucks have handled the Kings recently as they had a five-game series winning streak snapped when the clubs last met in Los Angeles on April 1. Vancouver has still won the last four meetings at Rogers Arena.</p>
<p>While Kopitar is an up-and-coming star, reigning Hart Trophy winner <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54479/henrik-sedin">Henrik Sedin</a> is already a major one. The identical twin led the NHL with 112 points last year on 29 goals and 83 assists, while brother Daniel had 29 goals and 85 points despite skating in just 63 contests due to a broken leg suffered four games into the season.</p>
<p>The two will be missing a linemate tonight due to offseason shoulder surgery undergone by Alex Burrows, who had a career-best 35 goals last year.</p>
<p>Hoping to get over the hump, Vancouver brought in physical free agent defenseman <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54406/dan-hamhuis">Dan Hamhuis</a>, while also trading for blueliner <span>Keith Ballard</span>. Those two will help offset the loss of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../nhl/players/54459/sami-salo">Sami Salo</a>, who will be out until at least January with a torn Achilles' tendon.</p>
<p>Then there is Luongo, who suffered a bit last year when Vancouver went with an up-tempo style. Vancouver's former captain still won 40 games, but turned in his highest single-season GAA (2.57) during his stint with the club.</p>
<p>Luongo also had just a .895 save percentage while going 6-6 in the playoffs, though he is 10-7-1 with a 2.40 GAA lifetime versus Los Angeles.</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/los-angeles-kings/2010/10/9/1740569/kings-at-canucks-game-notesEric Stephen2010-10-09T09:28:19-07:002010-10-09T09:28:19-07:00One More Thing Before the Kings Start Tonight
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<p>Go hockey!</p>
<p><b>FINALLY</b> hockey's back. Not those other, inferior teams, but a real team is playing tonight. The Kings! You know, those lovable rascals. They're squaring off against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/">Vancouver Canucks</a>, the team that bounced them from the playoffs just last season. The Kings responded by poaching Vancouver's best defensive defenseman, <span>Willie Mitchell</span>, while the Canucks went out and attained two solid blueliners, <span>Keith Ballard</span> and <span>Dan Hamhuis</span>. Should be a wild night.</p>
<p>The key match-up in tonight's game will be the battle between the top lines. In the playoffs the Kings didn't have an answer for the Sedin brothers, Henrik and Daniel. Of course, last season the Kings' top line featured an injured <span>Ryan Smyth</span> and a <span>Justin Williams</span> that was coming off a broken leg. To start the season Ryan Smyth is healthy and now <span>Dustin Brown</span> is alongside Anze Kopitar's right side. The Sedins, meanwhile, are missing their old running mate, <span>Alexandre Burrows</span>, and have replaced him with <span>Mikael Samuelsson</span>. Whoever wins the match-up between the Sedin line and the Kopitar line will likely win the game.</p>
<p>The other key to the game will be how the Kings utilize their defensive core. The Kings are rolling with these pairings to start the season:</p>
<p>Mitchell - <span>Drew Doughty</span></p>
<p><span>Rob Scuderi</span> - <span>Jack Johnson</span></p>
<p><span>Jake Muzzin</span> - <span>Davis Drewiske</span></p>
<p>The top 4 is very good but that bottom pairing is rather young and untested. I expect the Kings' top 2 pairings to each play over 20 minutes tonight, with the bottom 2 players getting spot duty. It's not a viable long-term strategy but I expect it to last until defenseman <span>Matt Greene</span> comes back from his shoulder injury.</p>
<p>Watch the game tonight. It's at 7:00. It'll be fun: there'll be a few fights, a few goals, someone's going to get their head knocked silly... you know, good, clean fun.</p>
<p>Hockey!</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/los-angeles-kings/2010/10/9/1740289/nhl-season-opener-los-angeles-kings--vancouver-canucksRudy Kelly2010-10-06T20:57:14-07:002010-10-06T20:57:14-07:00Kings Announce Opening Roster
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<p>The Kings have announced their 23-man roster, heading into their opening game Saturday night in Vancouver, <a target="_blank" href="http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=539746&navid=DL%7CLAK%7Chome">the club announced today</a>. Here is the roster breakdown:</p>
<p><b>Goaltenders (2)</b></p>
<ul>
<li><span>Jonathan Bernier</span></li>
<li><span>Jonathan Quick</span></li>
</ul>
<p><b>Defense (7)</b></p>
<ul>
<li><span>Drew Doughty</span></li>
<li><span>Davis Drewiske</span></li>
<li><span>Peter Harrold</span></li>
<li><span>Jack Johnson</span></li>
<li><span>Willie Mitchell</span></li>
<li><span>Jake Muzzin</span></li>
<li><span>Rob Scuderi</span></li>
</ul>
<p><b>Forwards (14)</b></p>
<ul>
<li><span>Dustin Brown</span></li>
<li><span>Kyle Clifford</span></li>
<li><span>Michal Handzus</span></li>
<li><span>Anze Kopitar</span></li>
<li><span>Trevor Lewis</span></li>
<li><span>Andrei Loktionov</span></li>
<li><span>Alexei Ponikarovsky</span></li>
<li><span>Brad Richardson</span></li>
<li><span>Brayden Schenn</span></li>
<li><span>Wayne Simmonds</span></li>
<li><span>Ryan Smyth</span></li>
<li><span>Jarret Stoll</span></li>
<li><span>Justin Williams</span></li>
<li><span>Kevin Westgarth</span></li>
</ul>
<p>The following players were placed on the seven-day injured reserve list: left wing <span>Scott Parse</span> (groin) and left wing <span>Ray Kaunisto</span> (foot)</p>
<p>Players on the injured non-roster list are defenseman <span>Matt Greene</span> (shoulder), center <span>Marc-Andre Cliche</span> (knee), defenseman <span>Viatcheslav Voynov</span> (shoulder) and defenseman <span>Colten Teubert</span> (wrist).</p>
<p>The Kings' home opener is Tuesday, October 12 against Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. PDT.</p>
<p><i>For more Kings news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog <a target="_blank" href="http://www.jewelsfromthecrown.com/">Jewels From The Crown</a>.</i></p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/2010/10/6/2322187/kings-announce-opening-rosterEric Stephen