It s time to go bump in the night

Transcription

1 It s time to go bump in the night Ben Kuzma The Province January 14, 2014 Luongo and Lack have taken their shots; the Canucks need to agitate opposing netminders LOS ANGELES Roberto Luongo hopes to be a fast healer. He also hopes his teammates are fast learners. When the Vancouver goaltender labelled Dustin Brown s crease crash here Jan. 4, that resulted in the tying goal and an ankle injury for the Canucks starter accidentally running me over after a slight collision with Mike Santorelli Luongo didn t lament the tactic by the Los Angeles Kings captain. In fact, he applauded the ploy because of the NHL s loose description of what is and isn t an infraction in the blue paint. Brown wasn t penalized on the play, even though Rule 61.2 states that if a player initiates intentional or deliberate contact in or outside the crease it can be deemed a minor or major penalty. It s a judgment call. Rule 69.3 regarding contact inside the goal crease states that if it s intentional, the goal should be disallowed and an interference penalty should be levied. Brown went directly at Luongo with his flop and legs in the air, not around him, and there appeared to be intent. As for Luongo, he practised Monday but did not suit up for the game, a 1-0 loss in L.A. He could return as early as Thursday at Phoenix in the finale of the three-game road trip. What the goalie s teammates do in the interim is worth watching. On this Western Conference so journ, the Canucks face a trio of Olympians in Jonathan Quick, Jonas Hiller and Mike Smith. Giving the opposition netminder something to think about other than just stopping pucks and controlling rebounds is imperative even though the Canucks reputation of not getting breaks from referees still lingers. But goals are down, goalie stats are eye-popping and Hiller is the league s second star of the week. He posted a 3-0 record, 1.67 goals-against average and.941 save percentage for the Anaheim Ducks, who have yet to lose on home ice in regulation time (19-0-2). Any goalie in this league is good, said Canucks winger Tom Sestito. You ve got to take their eyes away and I don t think many goalies like getting rubbed up against or interfered with. It s between the lines you ve got to do it and not take penalties and make sure we re getting in

2 their way. We re seeing it more often and we ve definitely got to get to their goalies and make them feel the same thing we re feeling. We ve got to do a better job and we ve talked about it. In their last visit to Anaheim on Jan. 5, it was Eddie Lack who got run over by a charging Kyle Palmieri and he even stayed down for a few moments. The play wasn t penalized and it gave one-day professional tryout stopper Rob Laurie a few anxious moments on the bench as an unlikely backup with Luongo s unavailability through injury. We want to get more bodies in the paint and make it harder for them, added Canucks winger Zack Kassian. We ve got to get a guy in front and a guy higher for a double screen that s how you score the majority of goals in this league and we haven t been doing it enough. The goalies are so good that if you take away their focus for a split second then maybe he s a little late arriving on a play and it gives you that little extra time. Canucks coach John Tortorella has been consumed by his club arriving in the right frame of mind for any game. The collective commitment has wavered and the trickle-down effect is not enough offence from the back end Jason Garrison and Chris Tanev have five goals while Dan Hamhuis has four and not enough of a push down because of blue-liners under siege in their own zone. Pretty hard to play tough in the opposition s paint when the forecheck or puck possession simply isn t there. We haven t been involved enough offensively with our defence, but I m not blaming our defence, said Tortorella. I m blaming our forecheck. I think we ve spent too much time in our end zone and some defencemen have played a lot of minutes. We have to be a harder team to play against in the offensive zone in their blue (crease) and forechecking and having the puck more. And when that doesn t occur, you don t build on leads and you don t rattle the goalie. It s why things need to go bump in the night, every night. Whistles stop Canucks in tracks Ben Kuzma The Province January 14, 2014 Kings target the twins and Vancouver ends up getting all the penalties Canucks coach John Tortorella wanted more bite. He didn t expect it from Paul Devorski. On a night when you knew the Los Angeles Kings would target Henrik and Daniel Sedin again they re one of the few NHL clubs who physically go after the twins the trickledown effect of Jordan Nolan slamming the Vancouver captain Henrik into the Plexiglas in the opening minutes and then refusing to fight Tom Sestito had senior referee Devorski reaching for his calculator and Tortorella reaching for the rule book Monday at the Staples Center.

3 At the end of a bitter bad-blood battle, the Kings would claim a 1-0 victory, but this wasn t about the points or the fact the Kings have four regular-season wins over the Canucks for the first time in 23 years. It was about making a point and maintaining a resilient collective mindset that Tortorella has been drilling into his troops. I thought we did a real good job as far as deciding that s our ice also, said Tortorella. It s been a minus in our game. We got squat for points but we crossed a couple of bridges in what needs to be done. The effort easily overshadowed the return of Alex Edler from a knee injury because of the bizarre nature in which the script unfolded. How Sestito wound up with two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting, 10 minutes for instigating and a game misconduct had the Canucks scratching their heads. And while Rule 46.2 states a player who is deemed to be both the instigator and aggressor of an altercation is penalized in that fashion, it probably said more about Nolan s unwillingness to finish something he started. Devorski simply doled out what s in the book and Nolan turned a game into an alley fight of retribution and 109 penalty minutes. The resulting seven-minute power play and the 10:13 of man-advantage time the Kings had in the opening period including a 5-on-3 for 48 seconds only galvanized the Canucks and their top-ranked penalty kill. Tortorella challenged Ryan Kesler and the centre responded by winning all eight of his firstperiod draws and then dropping the gloves with U.S. Winter Olympics teammate Dustin Brown six seconds into the second period. It was probably payback for the ankle injury Roberto Luongo suffered here Jan. 4 when the agitating winger scored off a rebound and also crashed into the outstretched starter to erase a 1-0 Canucks lead. Everything that happened with Roberto last game, he (Brown) knew from the opening puck drop he had to fight someone, said Kesler. A lot of guys stuck up for each other. We outbattled and outhit and we dominated them and they got a lucky bounce on a 3-on-1 (goal). That was a big statement by our team. In the past that team tries to bully you. I felt we were good all game. The Monday mayhem continued with Kevin Bieksa being penalized for a cross-check on Brown and the Canucks defenceman then had to answer to Matt Greene in another bout. Dale Weise would slew-foot Drew Doughty and be called for goalie interference when Jonathan Quick went down like he was shot. Zack Kassian had two 10-minute misconducts. One of the most positive losses you can have, said Bieksa. We were going to make a statement whether they liked it or not. After the first period, they were skating around and saying: What s up with you guys tonight? We obviously got their attention and we d like to play like this every night. The issue was finally settled when Brown finished off a 3-on-1 break early in the third period. After Anze Kopitar failed on the backhand and Chris Tanev went sprawling on his stomach with Dan Hamhuis caught on the pinch, the Kings captain shovelled the puck past Eddie Lack. A

4 Mike Richards deflection of a Justin Williams point shot midway through the final period was ruled above the crossbar. In three previous meetings this season, the Canucks held a lead in two encounters yet fell 5-1, 3-2 and 3-1 to the Pacific Division rival because of crucial mistakes and being physically crushed. The Sedins were held to a combined four points in those games and the coach s call Monday was to be better in all areas on a line with the promoted Zac Dalpe. We played a great game, said Henrik Sedin. It was one of our best games of they ear if you look at the way we were battling and getting in the forecheck and everything you need to win games. We were right there. Royal payback but no happy ending Brad Ziemer The Vancouver Sun January 14, 2014 Aggressive Canucks win a lot of nasty battles, but resilient Kings win war on scoreboard LOS ANGELES Once more with feeling. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until April 5 at Rogers Arena, when the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings renew acquaintances for the fifth and final time this regular season. Circle your calendars. That should be a National Hockey League game worth watching. So was Monday s at the Staples Center, which the Kings won 1-0. That really didn t seem to matter as much as you might think. This game was more about settling scores and the Canucks went hard after the Kings right from the opening faceoff. Vancouver played more than half of the first period shorthanded and there was a parade to the penalty box all night long as two teams that clearly don t like one another left it all on the ice. Move over Chicago Blackhawks, the Canucks have a new team they hate even more than you. The Canucks likely won some new fans by showing considerable jam. They left this building Jan. 4 with a bad taste in their mouths, angry at how badly the Kings dominated them in the final two periods of that 3-1 loss. Then there was the little matter of Dustin Brown crashing into Roberto Luongo and injuring the Vancouver goalie. The Canucks clearly wanted to send a message and they did. I thought we did a really good job as far as deciding that ice is ours also, said Vancouver coach John Tortorella. It s something that has been minus from our game a little bit here. That was a

5 big part of our game tonight. We got squat for points. But I think we crossed a couple of bridges in what needs to be done. For us we were coming out and we were going to make a statement whether they liked it or not, added defenceman Kevin Bieksa. After the first period or so a lot of their guys were skating around saying what s up with you guys tonight? So we obviously got their attention. We d like to play like this every night. Bizarre. That s really the only way to describe the first period. Zack Kassian got a holding minor nine seconds into the game after he tried to engage Brown, who appeared to take a dive on the play. Then shortly after Jordan Nolan ran Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin on the side boards, referees Paul Devorski and Francois St. Laurent threw the book at Vancouver winger Tom Sestito. Sestito went after Nolan on the ensuing faceoff. Nolan refused to engage Sestito, who threw several punches. Sestito was handed a minor for instigating, a major for fighting, 10 minutes for instigating and a game misconduct. Nolan got nothing, so the Kings got a seven- minute power play. They also had themselves a 5- on- 3 for 48 seconds after Henrik Sedin was sent off for hooking at the 8: 46 mark. Somehow the Canucks managed to outshoot the Kings 8-7 in the opening 20 minutes. We were going to come out and play hard and play Brown hard and play some of their other guys hard, Bieksa said. And we did it and I have no problems killing off a penalty when Kassian is doing his job out there. No problems killing off a penalty when Tom does his job out there. I think we ll kill those most of the time. If we don t, so be it, the hockey gods aren t on our side. If anything it galvanized us. The fun continued in the second, when Ryan Kesler and Brown fought just six seconds into the period. Later, Bieksa tangled with Matt Greene, Kassian got his second misconduct, Dale Weise got away with a slewfoot on Drew Doughty and there seemed to be a scrum after every whistle. By the time the second period was over the teams had combined for 103 penalty minutes and no goals. It didn t matter. The game was wildly entertaining. I thought that is a big statement by our team, Kesler said. In the past that team tries to bully you and instil physical play. I thought we outhit them, outbattled them. We were good all game.

6 Brown, of all people, scored the winner 24 seconds into the third period when he finished off a 3- on- 1 rush with Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. The Kings had a goal disallowed at 10: 06 of the third when it was ruled Mike Richards had deflected a Justin Williams shot in with a high stick. The Canucks left the building with their heads held high. We had a bunch of guys who wanted to answer the bell for last game in here and obviously what happened to Roberto and everything, Bieksa said. Everyone stepped up and played hard... It was one of the most positive losses I think you can have. Hamhuis spells blue- line relief E- D- L- E- R Brad Ziemer The Vancouver Sun January 14, 2014 Return of Swedish defenceman should reduce minutes for taxed teammates LOS ANGELES Alex Edler is back in the Vancouver Canucks lineup and that sound you hear is fellow defenceman Dan Hamhuis breathing a sigh of relief. It was Hamhuis who was perhaps most affected by Edler s 16- game absence, which ended Monday when Edler played against the Los Angeles Kings. Edler had been averaging better than 23 minutes a night, so his injury meant extra minutes for the rest of Vancouver s top defencemen. No one ate up more of those minutes than Hamhuis, who logged more than 28 minutes and as many as 32: 30 in eight of those 16 games. Coach John Tortorella acknowledged that Edler s absence has been tough for the rest of his defensive corps. I think some defencemen have played a lot of minutes with the injuries we have had there and it s mounted, Tortorella said before Monday s game. Eds will give us some minutes. The hope, of course, is that Edler gives the Canucks more than just minutes. The team hopes it will see on a more consistent basis the type of physical play that Edler is capable of providing. Edler had not had a particularly good start to his season. He was a team- worst minus- 12 when he went down with a knee injury Dec. 3 in Nashville.

7 Both Tortorella and assistant general manager Laurence Gilman think Edler s play suffered after he received a threegame suspension early in the season for a hit on San Jose rookie Tomas Hertl in an Oct. 10 game. I think his performance may have been impacted by the suspension and that there may have been some tentativeness to his game that doesn t normally exist, Gilman said. Alex is a topflight defenceman in the NHL and I m sure that once he gets acclimated he ll get on a roll and be fine. You guys define a tough start a little differently than I do, added Tortorella. He was giving us some good minutes. I thought when he was suspended that s when it kind of went off the rails a little bit with him. I think he lost a little confidence, it took him a little bit longer to get his timing back than he wanted when he came back and I think it just built up on him. He still did some good things for us. We want to try and get him situations, especially as long as he has been out, into areas where he can succeed and get him straight mentally and hopefully it will grow from there. Edler is also capable of providing more of that offensive push Tortorella wants from his defencemen. Remember, this is a player who registered 49 points two seasons ago. Edler acknowledged before Monday s game that he can t let himself become tentative. I have to be physical, that is one of the things in my game that needs to be there for me to be able to be successful, he said. Edler also said he felt returning against a physical team like the Kings would be good for him. Right into it, he said. I think that s good. As a D- man you know you are going to get hit so I am looking forward to getting out there and battle. BACK TO MINORS: With Edler back, the Canucks returned defenceman Frank Corrado to the American Hockey League s Utica Comets on Monday. Corrado was scheduled to play Monday for the Comets, who were in San Antonio, Texas. I think he acquitted himself very well, Gilman said of Corrado. He skated well, he played with confidence, moved the puck. But as a young player it s important that he continue to play as much as a possible. With Edler back and the team happy with the recent play of Yannick Weber, Gilman said it made sense to send Corrado back to Utica. There s no point in having him sit in the press box, Gilman said of Corrado, who played in the last six games for the Canucks. SLUSHEE ANYONE?: Ticket prices have already been cut. Now, the NHL has brought out Wayne Gretzky to try and help sell out its outdoor game at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25.

8 Gretzky appeared at an NHL news conference at Chavez Ravine on Monday afternoon to help promote the game between the Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Gretzky will also be honoured at the game, along with legendary broadcaster Vin Scully. Keeping the ice in good shape for the game figures to be a challenge. It was 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Los Angeles on Monday. The set- up for the game will also include a beach volleyball court. Quick outduels Lack in Kings shutout win over Canucks Greg Beacham The Globe and Mail January 14, 2014 Nine days after Dustin Brown injured Vancouver s Roberto Luongo in a collision, the Los Angeles Kings captain knew he wore a virtual target throughout the rematch. He even had to fight Ryan Kesler, who will be his U.S. Olympic teammate in four weeks. Brown survived just fine, and he figured out an even better way to hurt the Canucks this time. Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in his 27th NHL shutout, Brown scored early in the third period, and the Kings beat Vancouver 1-0 on Monday night for their fourth win over the Canucks this season. Brown converted on a 3-on-1 rush just 24 seconds into the final period of a fight-filled game for the Kings, who earned just their third win in 10 games. In a game featuring 109 penalty minutes and a handful of fights, Brown landed the only blow that really counted. It s no different than any other game, Brown said. They were upset about what happened with Luongo, but I ve been in that situation before. Brown isn t worried about any Sochi awkwardness after his scrap with Kesler, who dropped the gloves with Brown just 6 seconds into the second period, pulling Brown s jersey over his head and whaling on him. And in typical hockey player fashion, Kesler also sees no reason they can t still be friends. I think he knew from the opening puck-drop that he had to go with someone, with everything that happened with Roberto the last time we played, Kesler said. We were just sticking up for our teammate. He talked a little bit and then we started to go.... It s not awkward at all. I know him off the ice and he s a good guy, but right now on the ice he s the enemy.

9 He plays the game hard, I play the game hard, but I d say we re friends off the ice. Neither Pacific Division rival scored in the first two periods of the Canucks second visit to Staples Center this month, but both made a steady parade to the box with a combined 103 penalty minutes already the most in any Kings game this season highlighted by that fight between American stars. Los Angeles stayed ahead of fourth-place Vancouver in the division standings, beating the Canucks four times in a season for the first since the campaign. We just don t like them very much, so they re always going to get our best effort, forward Jordan Nolan said. Quick was unbeatable while making his fifth consecutive start since returning from a 24-game injury absence. The U.S. Olympic goalie posted his second shutout of the season and his first since Nov. 7, a week before he severely strained his groin. It s usually like that when you play these guys, Quick said. They re a tough team, and we ve developed a bit of a rivalry over the past few years after playing them in the playoffs a few times. That s what you expect when they come in here. Eddie Lack stopped 19 shots in his fourth straight start for the Canucks, who were shut out for the first time all season during their sixth loss in seven games. Yet Vancouver left Staples Center feeling good about its response to the physical challenge posed by the Kings, particularly Brown s rambunctious game. It was one of our best games of the year, Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. If you look at the way we were battling, getting in on the forecheck and everything we need to do to win games, we were right there.... We didn t really care about (penalties) today. We went out there and did everything we could to stand up for each other and for our teammates, and we killed off those penalties anyway. The Kings had a man advantage for 8:13 in the first period after Tom Sestito was ejected for attempting to instigate a fight with Nolan, who didn t even drop his stick. Los Angeles finally broke through when Vancouver s defence ended up out of position to stop the Kings top three offensive players on a 3-on-1, with Brown batting home a rebound of Anze Kopitar s shot for his 10th goal. NOTES: Los Angeles begins a five-game trip in St. Louis on Thursday, returning to Southern California for back-to-back games against Anaheim. The Kings don t play at Staples Center again until Jan. 30 while the Grammys take over the building, but they will have a home game at Dodger Stadium against the Ducks on Jan Luongo was scratched, and Joacim Eriksson backed up Lack.

10 Gotta See It: The great Sedin penalty mix-up Luke Fox Sportsnet January 14, 2014 In a game in which official doled out a week s worth of penalty minutes 109 to be precise can you really fault the refs for botching one single call? Poor Francois St. Laurent got his Sedin twins mixed up Monday night when he dispatched captain Henrik to the penalty box for a crime he didn t commit. It was Daniel the younger who committed the penalty, a blatant hold of Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty. Henrik was given the two minutes midway through the second period and enjoyed a good chuckle about the case of mistaken identity. Doesn t the ref know my hair is slightly more gingery? Probably brought him back to that one time back in high school he accidentally dated Daniel s girlfriend. The Sedins switcharoo might not have even been the most curious penalty stat of the heated game between the two rivals. Tom accomplished the nearly impossible. The Canucks winger gathered an incredible 27 minutes of penalties in one second of ice time. Sestito hopped on the ice and attacked the Kings Jordan Nolan immediately off the face-off. Nolan didn t fight back, and Sestito was given a 10-minute misconduct, 10 minutes for being the aggressor, five minutes for fighting, plus another two for being the instigator. This gave the Kings the white whale of power plays seven minutes with the man advantage. They didn t score but did win the hatefest 1-0. Kings shut out Canucks in fight-filled game Associated Press Sportsnet January 14, 2014 LOS ANGELES Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in his 27th NHL shutout, Dustin Brown scored early in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings beat Vancouver 1-0 on Monday night for their fourth win over the Canucks this season. Brown converted on a 3-on-1 rush just 24 seconds into the final period of a fight-filled game for the Kings, and Quick was unbeatable while making his fifth consecutive start since returning from a 24-game injury absence.

11 The U.S. Olympic goalie posted his second shutout of the season and his first since Nov. 7, a week before he severely strained his groin. Eddie Lack stopped 19 shots in his fourth straight start for the Canucks, who were shut out for the first time all season during their sixth loss in seven games. Lack is filling in for Roberto Luongo, who got hurt in a collision with Brown in the teams earlier meeting this month. Neither team scored in the first two periods of the Canucks second visit to Staples Center in 10 days, but both made a steady parade to the box with a combined 103 penalty minutes the most in any Kings game this season. Although things calmed down in the third, the newfound Pacific Division rivals showcased their simmering rivalry in a chippy game that included a scrap between Brown and Vancouver s Ryan Kesler, who will be teammates on the U.S. Olympic team in four weeks. Los Angeles won for just the third time in 10 games, but stayed ahead of fourth-place Vancouver in the division standings. The Kings hadn t beaten the Canucks four times in a season since the campaign. We just don t like them very much, so they re always going to get our best effort, forward Jordan Nolan said. After managing just 15 goals in the past nine games, the Kings shuffled their low-scoring lineup, inserting Nolan, Matt Greene and Tanner Pearson while scratching Alec Martinez, Matt Frattin and Colin Fraser. The first period featured 53 penalty minutes and four power plays, including an 8:13 manadvantage stretch for the Kings after Tom Sestito was ejected for attempting to instigate a fight with Nolan, who didn t even drop his stick. Los Angeles could do nothing with the long power play, which including a two-man advantage for 48 seconds. The second period began with Kesler pulling Brown s jersey over his head and punching him just 6 seconds in. Greene later tossed Kevin Bieksa to the ice with a judo-style throw. Los Angeles finally broke through when Vancouver s defence ended up out of position to stop the Kings top three offensive players on a 3-on-1, with Brown batting home a rebound of Anze Kopitar s shot for his 10th goal. NOTES: Los Angeles begins a five-game trip in St. Louis on Thursday, returning to Southern California for back-to-back games against Anaheim. The Kings don t play at Staples Center again until Jan. 30 while the Grammys take over the building, but they will have a home game at Dodger Stadium against the Ducks on Jan. 25. Luongo was scratched, and Joacim Eriksson backed up Lack.

12 The dumbest parts of Canucks-Kings' wild period Sean Gentille Sporting News (TSN) January 14, 2014 The second period of the Canucks-Kings game on Tuesday night was a disaster. An entertaining disaster, but a disaster. Here are the low/high points: 1) Dale Weise slew-footing Drew Doughty. 2) A fight between Dustin Brown and Ryan Kesler, who will be teammates next month in Sochi. 3) A referee putting Henrik Sedin in the box for something his brother did. 4) Kevin Bieksa punching Matt Greene from his back.