Sport-scan daily brief

The Panthers continued to skate shorthanded for 18 seconds after Gudbranson's penalty elapsed and Howden was forced to take a hook that turned into the second of three power-play goals by the Capitals 43 seconds into the second period.

"I made a huge mistake," Dineen said. "Really, the game gets hung on me. ... Bad coaching error by me."

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 04.08.2013

668771 Los Angeles Kings

A Kings-Ducks hockey game at Dodger Stadium edges toward reality

Details are still being worked out, but plans call for a regular-season game on Jan. 25, 2014, using the NHL's portable rink and refrigeration equipment. Community events would be part of the project.

Helene Elliott

5:02 PM PDT, April 7, 2013

An outdoor game between the Kings and the Ducks, to be played amid the palm trees and history of Dodger Stadium, is moving closer to reality.

Details are still being negotiated but plans call for the teams to face off in a regular-season game on Jan. 25, 2014, using the portable rink and refrigeration equipment the NHL owns and has deployed at sites such as Chicago's Wrigley Field and Boston's Fenway Park.

A formal announcement is tentatively set for April 17 or 18. The NHL Players' Assn. must approve components of the plan and the NHL and the Dodgers must agree on financial aspects, including the division of revenue, but no snags have cropped up that appear big enough to derail a project the Kings have energetically promoted.

The game would be played at night to avoid sun on the ice. The rink could be in place a week before and a week afterward to stage community events, minor-league games or alumni games with Dodger Stadium as a stunning backdrop. The Kings are considering designing a special commemorative uniform that would be worn only for that game.

The Kings and New York Rangers played an exhibition game in the parking lot outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1991, memorable for the ice being overrun by grasshoppers. The NHL has since favored cold-weather cities for outdoor games, but advances in technology and the novelty of a game in Southern California won over skeptics who opposed a warm-weather site.

The game between the Kings and Ducks would be the first of two outdoor games that weekend. The second would be played Jan. 26 in New York, with Yankee Stadium the preferred venue.

John Collins, the NHL's chief operating officer, and Don Renzulli, the NHL's senior vice president of events, visited Los Angeles in early March to discuss logistics for an outdoor game, and talks continued from there. A league executive declined to comment Sunday.

As expected, the NHL on Sunday announced the Detroit Red Wings will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2014, at Michigan Stadium. That matchup was scheduled to take place this year but was a casualty of the lockout.

Trade winds

Rick Nash couldn't wait to get out of Columbus and join the New York Rangers. But Marian Gaborik waived his no-trade clause to leave New York and join the Blue Jackets, an odd turn of events before last Wednesday's trade deadline.

Who won and who lost in all those trades?

The Penguins made the biggest splash by acquiring Jarome Iginla from Calgary for a first-round draft pick and two mid-level prospects, as well as adding winger Brenden Morrow from Dallas and defenseman Douglas Murray from San Jose. Acquiring center Jussi Jokinen from Carolina for a conditional draft pick also might prove important while Sidney Crosby recovers from a broken jaw. Not only did the Penguins get a player who could play on their top line and is one of the NHL's top shootout snipers, they got Carolina to pay part of Jokinen's salary through next season.

The Blue Jackets enhanced their speed and credibility by giving up Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and defenseman John Moore for Gaborik, who is signed through next season. They probably won't make the playoffs this season but they have given fans hope, and there's no price tag on that.

"It's going to be fine. I feel good about this," Gaborik told reporters in Columbus following his debut.

The Rangers wanted some aggressiveness and got it in Ryane Clowe at the price of three draft picks in 2013 and 2014. The Kings did well to obtain defenseman Robyn Regehr from Buffalo for second-round draft picks in 2014 and 2015 and hope to re-sign him after this season. With new doubt hanging over Willie Mitchell's ability to return from knee problems, Regehr could stabilize the Kings' defense and penalty killing for a while.

Vancouver added depth up the middle by acquiring free-agent-to-be Derek Roy from Dallas, but he's small — 5-foot-9 — and that won't help in the physical West. The Minnesota Wild got a two-way talent in Jason Pominville, acquiring the former Buffalo captain and a fourth-round draft pick in 2014 for goalie Matt Hackett, forward Johan Larsson, a first-round pick in 2013 and a second-round pick in 2014.

Among the biggest losers is Calgary, which waited too long to begin an overhaul. The Flames got little for Iginla, couldn't persuade goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to accept a trade to Toronto, and got only a conditional first-round pick and two so-so prospects for defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. "I should have had the intellectual honesty even earlier and said, 'This isn't working,' " General Manager Jay Feaster told reporters in Calgary. "So shame on me, but I'm making sure we're going to correct that going forward."

Buffalo is retooling and might be forced to trade forward Thomas Vanek and goalie Ryan Miller before they become free agents. And Nashville, once considered a good place to play, has become a place to leave. Martin Erat wanted out and was dealt to Washington for promising forward Filip Forsberg, defenseman Ryan Suter left as an unrestricted free agent last summer, and defenseman Shea Weber signed a 14-year, $110-million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers before the Predators matched it. They've always been competitive, but small markets have limitations and the Predators might have reached theirs, sad to say.

LA Times: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668772 Los Angeles Kings

Kings see value even in 4-3 shootout loss to Ducks

Though the Kings are forced to concede Pacific Division supremacy to their rivals, they keep their eyes on the prize of making playoffs and feel good about playing a hard, battle-oriented game.

Helene Elliott

11:01 PM PDT, April 7, 2013

Grace and Louis Sutter didn't raise any dummies among their seven sons on their ranch in Viking, Canada. Darryl, the Kings' coach and perhaps the smartest of the brothers, knows when things add up and when they don't, and he knew his team's admittedly slim chances of winning the Pacific division title had evaporated Sunday after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Ducks at the Honda Center.

Sutter had pretty much conceded division supremacy to the Ducks on Saturday while previewing the game. Dropping nine points behind the Ducks on Sunday with each team having nine games left merely reinforced his theory.

"I went to school and I graduated and I can do the math," he said, "and with that few games left, it's pretty much impossible. I've been in the game long enough to know that.

"We're trying to get our own points. We couldn't care less who wins the division."

It all but certainly won't be the Kings, but that might not mean much. Last season, the Kings finished third in the Pacific and eighth in the Western conference and still dominated during the playoffs, losing only four games before claiming the Stanley Cup.

They're a solid fourth now, eight points clear of ninth-place Phoenix. They should make it without too much difficulty and, maybe, get home-ice advantage in the first round.

"The hardest part is just getting in," right wing Justin Williams said. "And once you're in — and we obviously proved it last year — anything can happen. A 48-game season, the hardest part is just getting in and staying with it."

If their pride was wounded by realizing a division banner isn't in their immediate future, it healed quickly.

They played a hard, battle-oriented game and answered the better-rested Ducks goal for goal until the shootout, when Jonathan Bernier was beaten by Bobby Ryan, Saku Koivu and Corey Perry. The Kings could get only Jeff Carter's backhander past Viktor Fasth.

Bernier blamed himself for the loss.

"I've got to be better. It wasn't my best game, that's for sure," he said. "I've got to come up with those big saves to come up with that extra point."

But overall there wasn't much to pick apart on the Kings' side.

"I thought our game overall was pretty good. We battled back in a tough building, against a great team, three times, and we did it late," Williams said. "Unfortunately we couldn't get it in regulation or overtime and then it comes down to a skills competition, and we were on the losing end."

Not by much. They outshot the Ducks, 38-22, including a 16-5 edge in the third period.

Drew Doughty was a force at both ends of the ice, contributing a goal and four hits while playing a game-high 28 minutes and 40 seconds.

Dustin Brown was everywhere, assisting on the goal by Doughty that made it 1-1 and tying the game at 3-3 by batting the puck out of mid-air and past Fasth with 3:45 left in the third period.

"I think if we had another couple of minutes in overtime, we were going to get one," Doughty said.

Even though they didn't, their comebacks outweighed the loss of a point in Sutter's eyes.

"Did it three times. Can't complain about that," he said.

And there was little complaining from the Kings about the division title being beyond their grasp.

"It doesn't matter. Ultimately we've got to get ready for the playoffs and we feel like our game is coming along," center Anze Kopitar said.

"Even tonight, we battled hard. We played pretty good against a good team and we came back three times from a goal down, and in the shootout, it is what it is. They were better at it tonight."

LA Times: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668773 Los Angeles Kings

DUCKS 4, KINGS 3 (SO): Ducks pluck out victory against Kings in playoff-type matchup

By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer

Posted: 04/07/2013 11:30:34 PM PDT

It sure looked and sounded like a Stanley Cup playoff game when the Ducks and the Kings tangled Sunday night at the Honda Center, with the teams trading highlight-reel caliber scoring chances and molar-rattling checks on almost every rush down the ice.

The Kings rallied not once, not twice, but three times to force the Ducks into overtime and then a shootout. Corey Perry won it for the Ducks in the shootout, whistling a quick shot past Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier in the third round for a 4-3 victory.

Matt Beleskey's power-play goal gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead early in the third period, but Kings team captain Dustin Brown swatted a loose puck out of midair and into the back of the net to tie it 3-3 in the closing minutes of regulation time.

Kings coach Darryl Sutter conceded the Pacific Division race to the Ducks after his team's 4-1 rout of the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at Staples Center.

Sutter apparently forgot to tell his players, because they refused to surrender anything to the Ducks on Sunday.

Give the Ducks an inch and they might take a mile.

Playing without leading scorer and team captain Ryan Getzlaf for the second consecutive game because of a right leg injury suffered Wednesday, the Ducks jumped ahead of the Kings on Kyle Palmieri's goal only 2:54 into the game.

The Kings countered with Drew Doughty's power-play goal on a blast from near the left point 5:59 into the second period. Perry put the Ducks ahead 2-1

with a goal off a breakaway, but Jeff Carter tied it for the Kings with his team-leading 23 rd goal of the season.

Each of the previous games was decided in the third period, with the Ducks winning 7-4 in Anaheim on Feb. 2 and the Kings taking a 5-2 victory Feb. 25 in Los Angeles. So, it figured the teams would have to settle matters in the final period again.

LA Daily News: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668774 Los Angeles Kings

Kings look fresh against Ducks despite playing day before

By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer

Posted: 04/07/2013 11:28:45 PM PDT

The Kings didn't look like a team that played Saturday afternoon, when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-1, finding reserves of energy late in the game Sunday night that enabled them to rally from a 3-2 deficit in the closing minutes of regulation.

Dustin Brown swatted home a free puck to tie the score at 3-all, one of 16 shots the Kings fired at goaltender Viktor Fasth in the third period. The Ducks went ahead on Matt Beleskey's power-play goal early in the third, but had only five shots in the period.

"Played good, came in here and played hard, scored three goals and gave yourself a chance to win," coach Darryl Sutter said after the Kings (22-13-4, fourth place in the Western Conference) rallied three times to force the game to overtime and a shootout.

"I think we dominated the whole game," defenseman Drew Doughty said. "The only thing that is frustrating is we only got one point rather than two. We definitely deserved two points. We outplayed them. I think that there's no doubt in anybody's mind about that."

Quote, unquote

Kings forward Jeff Carter had this to say about newly acquired defenseman Robyn Regehr: "I think I only played against him a few times. When I came to the West, he went to the East. I mean, he's just a hard-nosed, big, strong guy. He's almost like a bully out there. He's always in your face. Every time you turn around, he's there. It's great for us back there."

LA Daily News: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668775 Los Angeles Kings

Kings, Ducks to play outdoor game at Dodger Stadium in 2014?

By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer

Posted: 04/07/2013 06:29:04 PM PDT

Hockey pucks and Dodger Dogs, anyone?

The NHL is working to stage an outdoor game between the Kings and the Ducks next season at Dodger Stadium, a Kings spokesman confirmed Sunday. The game would be played on a January night in order to ensure the best possible ice conditions on the NHL's portable rink.

"It's still in the planning stages and nothing is certain, but there is an aggressive plan to make it happen," said Mike Altieri, Kings vice president of communications and broadcasting, in an email. Altieri declined further comment.

Said Tim Ryan, Ducks executive vice president and chief operating officer: "There is nothing confirmed, but we would certainly have interest in being in the game." The NHL has held outdoor games for many years, but all but one of them have been contested in cold-weather cities like Boston, Chicago and Edmonton.

Playing a game in downtown Los Angeles, even in winter, would present unique challenges, however.

In fact, the Kings played outdoors one other time, facing the New York Rangers on a make-shift rink set up in the parking lot of a Las Vegas hotel in 1991. The ice conditions were poor because of high temperatures and there was a mid-game bug infestation, as well.

The league announced Sunday an outdoor game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs would be played next season at Michigan Stadium on the University of Michigan campus. Other outdoor games, including one at Dodger Stadium,

reportedly are in the works, too.

LA Daily News: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668776 Los Angeles Kings

April 7 postgame notes

Posted by JonRosen on 7 April 2013, 10:37 pm

-The Kings (0-1-1) finished a season winless at the Honda Center for the first time 2007-08 (0-2-2).

-The Kings have scored at least three goals in seven of eight games since being shut out in back to back games by Dallas and Vancouver on March 21 and 23. They are 19-2-2 when scoring three-plus goals in a game.

-The Kings have recorded points in five of six road games (3-1-2).

-The teams combined for 71 hits, 36 of which were credited to Los Angeles. Toni Lydman was credited with a game-high six hits. Kyle Clifford and Dustin Brown led the Kings with five.

-With his third period assist, Justin Williams extended his point streak to seven games (6-2=8).

-Jeff Carter now has goals in five of the last six games. Carter has seven points in the last seven games (5-2=7).

-Colin Fraser played his 100th game as a King.

-Dustin Brown leads all skaters with six points (4-2=6) in three games against Anaheim this season.

-Jonathan Bernier lost for the first time as a starter this season. Overall, his record is 9-2-1.

-Matt Beleskey scored his first career power play goal in his 201st career game.

The Kings are scheduled to skate at 10:00 am at Toyota Sports Center.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668777 Los Angeles Kings

April 7 postgame quotes: Darryl Sutter

Posted by JonRosen on 7 April 2013, 10:10 pm

On the team coming from behind to earn a point:

“Yeah, we did it three times. Heck, we can’t complain about that. We played a heck of a game.”

On whether he has revisited conceding the division:

“I went to school, and I graduated, and I can do the math. We’ve got a few games left. That’s pretty much impossible…We’re trying to get our own points. Couldn’t care less who wins the division. You keep asking that, and I keep telling you that, right? We keep getting points cause we’re trying to make the playoffs, and I’m sure that’s what they’re saying, too.”

On the team being proud of its performance:

“We played good. I mean, heck. You know what? They came in here and we played hard. Score three goals, you should give yourself a chance to win and we did.”

On what led to Corey Perry’s breakaway goal:

“Muzz came down on the strong side. The puck changed corners. Corey Perry scores goals, right? If you check, he’s won the scoring title. If he can get breakaways – and he actually had two tonight, didn’t he? He scored on both.”

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668778 Los Angeles Kings

April 7 postgame quotes: Bruce Boudreau

Posted by JonRosen on 7 April 2013, 9:56 pm

On Sunday’s win:

“It was just a fast-paced game. People wouldn’t call it playoff hockey because there were too many goals, but I’d tell you, there were two teams that were giving it everything they had and they didn’t leave anything on the ice.”

On the importance of Sunday’s win:

“It puts us two points closer. Every time we play and we can gain points that means it’s harder for both San Jose and L.A. to catch us. It’s an important issue to try to get as high as you can and set the bar high for future years, and to have home ice advantage for the playoffs.”

On whether there’s an extra burden on Corey Perry with Ryan Getzlaf out of the lineup:

“I mean, he’s counted on to lead us when Getzy’s here or Getzy’s not here. We had a lot of guys that stepped up. But I think everybody, quite frankly, stepped up a little bit today and knew that we didn’t play a very good game against Dallas the other night and wanted to prove that we were capable of playing without Ryan Getzlaf, I mean, for tonight, anyway. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

On the importance of Viktor Fasth:

“He stopped 40 shots, so I’d say pretty important.”

On the challenges presented by Los Angeles, and how Anaheim responded:

“Well, they’re big. They can skate. They’re skilled. They’re strong. What else can you say? And they’re Stanley Cup champions. When they get down, they know how to push harder. I mean, every time we scored a goal, they came back harder. I mean, they have no quit in them, which is what happens when you become a Stanley Cup champion. That’s one of the reasons that everybody loves those guys when they’re free agents, because when they’ve won, they know how to win. That’s a big test for our group, because I knew they wanted to come in here and win today. Whether they p;layed yesterday or not, they showed no ill effects of fatigue, that’s for sure.”

On whether it felt like a playoff game with both teams “throwing their weight around”:

“Very much so. I mean, it wasn’t one-nothing or two to one, but it was a playoff game in every sense of the word. If we can play like that or can play against teams like that…at least we know we can compete against teams like that.”

-First two quotes courtesy of Anaheim Ducks PR.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668779 Los Angeles Kings

April 7 postgame quotes: Anze Kopitar

Posted by JonRosen on 7 April 2013, 9:40 pm

On the importance of winning the division:

“It doesn’t matter. I mean, ultimately we’ve got to get ready for the playoffs. We feel like our game is coming along. Even tonight, I mean we battled hard. We played pretty good against a good team. We came back three times from a goal down. In the shootout, it is what it is. We were bad at it tonight.”

On preparing for Dallas and the challenge of four games in six days:

“You just get the day tomorrow. Try and start to get ready for it, and it’s a matter I think of preparation this time of the year now. It’s getting close to the last spring, or I guess the last stretch of the season, and the best-prepared team usually wins. We’re going to do everything to get ready, and we should be good to go on Tuesday.”

On if he can sense the improvement in the quality of play as the season has progressed:

“Yeah, it’s different. It’s one of those things where you improve each and every game, and we feel like our game is coming around. We feel confident and comfortable on the ice. That’s the way to go at this time of the year.”

On the feeling on the bench when the team trailed by one goal late:

“All positive thoughts. We threw everything at him, and it took us 17 moinutes to get the tying goal. We’re a resilient team, and we’re definitely not going to quit.”

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 04.08.2013

668780 Los Angeles Kings

April 7 postgame quotes: Drew Doughty

Posted by JonRosen on 7 April 2013, 9:33 pm

On whether the team is happy with a point:

“Yeah, happy with a point, but I think we deserved better. We out-shot them by however many, and we came back three times to get back in the game. They had a lucky bounce on the first goal. As I said, I think we deserved better. I thought we deserved the two points, but if we have another chance with them this year, we’ve got to make sure we win it.”

On whether he believes L.A. would have won had the game been extended by one minute:

“Yeah, I did, for sure. Even four-on-four, we were getting some good chances. I don’t even know if they got a shot in that overtime period at all. If we had just a little more time, we were rolling there. We had all the confidence in the world in that third period, and it’s too bad we didn’t.”

On where he sees the most improvement from the start of the season:

“I think everyone, from our top players. First of all, the top players have been working hard. They’re showing up at these big times [and] a big time during the season. The other guys are following their leadership, and they’re playing well at the same time. So that’s what we need from everyone, every night – we need their hardest working effort and play the right system game, and we should win a lot more games.”

Courtesy Anaheim Ducks PR:

“I think we dominated the whole game. The only thing that is frustrating is we only get one point rather than two. We definitely deserved the two points. We outplayed them. I think there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind about that. It sucks that we kind of had them if we won that game. We would have been only six points behind them and we had a chance to catch them, but we gave up the two to them and now it’s a little bit more difficult.”