#LAKings Kings look to get back on track with consecutive games in Canada (Daily News)
In the most critical stretch of the season, the Kings will be seeing plenty of their Western Canadian rivals in the coming days, starting with visits to Edmonton on Wednesday and Calgary on Thursday.
Theyll host the Oilers and Flames next week after traveling to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Saturday.
Edmonton sits in third place, just two points behind the Kings in the Pacific Division, having posted a 7-2-1 record in its past 10 games. The Oilers have a game in hand on the Kings. Calgary, meanwhile, has begun to pull away from the pack, sitting on a seven-point cushion with three games in hand on the Kings.
Todd McLellans Kings have won just four of their past 10 contests, including a 6-1 drubbing by the Seattle Kraken on Monday. Now, he returns to one of his former homes, where he guided the Oilers for three seasons and part of a fourth. That included the franchises only playoff series victory since they came up a game short of the Stanley Cup in 2006.
On Monday, when the Kings honored McLellan for coaching his 1000th NHL game, Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft and star center Connor McDavid were featured in the video tribute.
The people in Edmonton are what I remember. Theyve got some passionate fans and the players that were there treated me well, they were part of those 1,000 games, McLellan said Monday. But we have a tough task on hand. Its not about my memories or what I liked or didnt like there, its about fixing what we did wrong today and playing better there, because were going to have to.
In their two most recent losses, the Kings finally began to show clear signs of inexperience and inconsistency in the face of massive losses due to injury on their blue line.
A lot of it is talking and being close to each other, having good support in other words, and when it comes to passing the puck, weve got to hit the tape, said team captain Anze Kopitar, who was confident in the Kings ability to bounce back and liked the position they were in despite some recent stumbles.
They also had difficulty solving two low-profile goalies, Chicagos Collin Dellia and Seattles Chris Driedger. Dellia had not earned an NHL win since May 6 of last year and Driedger has averaged one victory a month this season.
Despite its higher stature in the standings, Edmonton has also struggled between the pipes this season. Goalie Mikko Koskinen won comfortably Monday against the struggling Arizona Coyotes, but had been pulled from a 9-5 loss to rival Calgary on Saturday after allowing five goals on just 12 shots. That was part of a four-game stretch in which he surrendered 17 goals and posted a substandard .833 save percentage.
Thats been offset by the explosive offense of McDavid and forward Leon Draisaitl, who rank Nos. 1 and 2 in scoring in the league. If those positions hold, this will be the third consecutive campaign in which theyve occupied the top two spots and the fourth consecutive in which theyve both finished in the top five. Draisaitl was named third star of the week, while Minnesota goalie Cam Talbot (who played for both Edmonton and Calgary previously) earned first-star honors.
Between them was Calgary winger Johnny Gaudreau, who racked up five assists in that 9-5 victory in the Battle of Alberta en route to a 10-point week. Gaudreau has 90 points in 65 games to pace the Flames and slot him third in the league in scoring. Winger Matthew Tkachuk, who wont have his nemesis Drew Doughty to tussle with because of an injury, ranks second on the team with 82 points. Goalie Jacob Markstrom leads the NHL with nine shutouts and ranks in the top five in wins, goals-against average and save percentage.
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The Flames have not had a 100-point season since 2006 and havent advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs since 2004, when they reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. This season, they appear poised to win the Pacific, surpass 100 points and possibly make a deep run. The common thread between that era and today? Darryl Sutter, who between stints with the Flames led the Kings to two Stanley Cups and was a member of the Ducks staff briefly.
Kings at Edmonton
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Rogers Place
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio
Kings at Calgary
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio
https://www.dailynews.com/2022/03/29...mes-in-canada/
Theyll host the Oilers and Flames next week after traveling to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Saturday.
Edmonton sits in third place, just two points behind the Kings in the Pacific Division, having posted a 7-2-1 record in its past 10 games. The Oilers have a game in hand on the Kings. Calgary, meanwhile, has begun to pull away from the pack, sitting on a seven-point cushion with three games in hand on the Kings.
Todd McLellans Kings have won just four of their past 10 contests, including a 6-1 drubbing by the Seattle Kraken on Monday. Now, he returns to one of his former homes, where he guided the Oilers for three seasons and part of a fourth. That included the franchises only playoff series victory since they came up a game short of the Stanley Cup in 2006.
On Monday, when the Kings honored McLellan for coaching his 1000th NHL game, Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft and star center Connor McDavid were featured in the video tribute.
The people in Edmonton are what I remember. Theyve got some passionate fans and the players that were there treated me well, they were part of those 1,000 games, McLellan said Monday. But we have a tough task on hand. Its not about my memories or what I liked or didnt like there, its about fixing what we did wrong today and playing better there, because were going to have to.
In their two most recent losses, the Kings finally began to show clear signs of inexperience and inconsistency in the face of massive losses due to injury on their blue line.
A lot of it is talking and being close to each other, having good support in other words, and when it comes to passing the puck, weve got to hit the tape, said team captain Anze Kopitar, who was confident in the Kings ability to bounce back and liked the position they were in despite some recent stumbles.
They also had difficulty solving two low-profile goalies, Chicagos Collin Dellia and Seattles Chris Driedger. Dellia had not earned an NHL win since May 6 of last year and Driedger has averaged one victory a month this season.
Despite its higher stature in the standings, Edmonton has also struggled between the pipes this season. Goalie Mikko Koskinen won comfortably Monday against the struggling Arizona Coyotes, but had been pulled from a 9-5 loss to rival Calgary on Saturday after allowing five goals on just 12 shots. That was part of a four-game stretch in which he surrendered 17 goals and posted a substandard .833 save percentage.
Thats been offset by the explosive offense of McDavid and forward Leon Draisaitl, who rank Nos. 1 and 2 in scoring in the league. If those positions hold, this will be the third consecutive campaign in which theyve occupied the top two spots and the fourth consecutive in which theyve both finished in the top five. Draisaitl was named third star of the week, while Minnesota goalie Cam Talbot (who played for both Edmonton and Calgary previously) earned first-star honors.
Between them was Calgary winger Johnny Gaudreau, who racked up five assists in that 9-5 victory in the Battle of Alberta en route to a 10-point week. Gaudreau has 90 points in 65 games to pace the Flames and slot him third in the league in scoring. Winger Matthew Tkachuk, who wont have his nemesis Drew Doughty to tussle with because of an injury, ranks second on the team with 82 points. Goalie Jacob Markstrom leads the NHL with nine shutouts and ranks in the top five in wins, goals-against average and save percentage.
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The Flames have not had a 100-point season since 2006 and havent advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs since 2004, when they reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. This season, they appear poised to win the Pacific, surpass 100 points and possibly make a deep run. The common thread between that era and today? Darryl Sutter, who between stints with the Flames led the Kings to two Stanley Cups and was a member of the Ducks staff briefly.
Kings at Edmonton
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Rogers Place
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio
Kings at Calgary
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeartRadio
https://www.dailynews.com/2022/03/29...mes-in-canada/