LA Kings’ Dustin Penner: The Irony Of It All

May 27, 2012 by Leave a comment

Los Angeles Kings left wing Dustin Penner’s resurgence
during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, capped by the
overtime game-winning goal in the Western Conference
Finals, is not only a major shock, but ironic as well.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — No one is going to easily forget that Los Angeles Kings left wing Dustin Penner was invisible for much of the 2011-12 regular season, scoring a measly seven goals with ten assists for 17 points in 65 games.

Penner’s time with the Kings started off poorly, as he was a non-factor from the moment he joined the team after a trade deadline deal on February 28, 2011.

A veteran forward with size and skill, Penner was expected to give the Kings’ struggling offense a boost, but he scored just two goals and tallied only four assists last year, after joining the Kings, and he chipped in with a goal and an assist in the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks.

Those are some rather lousy numbers in 19 regular season games with the Kings, to say the least, especially for a player who ended up scoring 23 goals and contributing 18 assists for 39 points in 81 regular season games last season (with the Edmonton Oilers and the Kings). Read more of this post

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Phoenix Coyotes Reaction To Game 5 Loss Was A Disgrace

May 23, 2012 by 34 Comments

COMMENTARY: The Phoenix Coyotes, seething after Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown flattened Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival late in the overtime period, lost their composure, and, as a result, the game, and the series. They embarrassed themselves, and their organization, after the game, with perhaps the most ridiculous excuses one could possibly imagine for losing a playoff series.

Logo courtesy National Hockey League

LOS ANGELES — After watching and listening to the reactions of some of the Phoenix Coyotes after they lost in Game 5 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals, a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, one would get the idea that the entire world, outside of the Phoenix metropolitan area, was against them.

That was just one of the common refrains emanating from the Coyotes dressing room after the game—they were livid about the officiating, especially after Kings right wing Dustin Brown laid out Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival at the Phoenix blue line at late in the overtime period.

On the play, Brown was skating across the blue line, and had Rozsival lined up for a hit. A moment after the whistle blew for an offsides call, Brown nailed Rozsival, his shoulder slamming into his chest, while his left leg Read more of this post

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Phoenix Coyotes Don’t Look Like They Have An Answer For The Los Angeles Kings

May 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (left) and center Anze Kopitar (right) are but two Kings who are thoroughly frustrating the Phoenix Coyotes
in the 2012 Western Conference Finals.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After dropping Games 1 and 2 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Kings, both rather lopsided affairs on home ice, the Phoenix Coyotes let their frustration boil over, as National Hockey League teams often do, resulting in a parade to the penalty box.

That frustration led to two dangerous incidents, including a careless, dangerous, knee-on-knee hit by Coyotes defenseman Derek Morris on Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi (Morris received a minor penalty on the play), and an even more dangerous hit from behind by Coyotes center Martin Hanzal Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings/Phoenix Coyotes: 2012 Western Conference Finals Preview

May 13, 2012 by Leave a comment

The NHL’s 2012 Western Conference Finals may boil down to a goaltender’s duel between Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (shown here at a
recent practice session), and Phoenix Coyotes netminder Mike Smith.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Despite what the players and coaches have been saying over the past week, the National Hockey League’s 2012 Western Conference Finals (Game 1 is scheduled for tonight, 5:00 PM PDT, Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona) features two teams that are very, very similar.

Whether it is a hard, aggressive forecheck, solid play in the defensive end, stand-on-your-head goaltending, both teams making strong runs at the end of the season to make the playoffs, and peaking at just the right time, the Los Angeles Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes, both Pacific Division rivals, would not be easy to differentiate if they wore the same jerseys. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings: No, That Guy Wearing Number 25 Is Not An Impostor

May 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

Los Angeles Kings left wing Dustin Penner has improved his play so much during the playoffs, that he bears little resemblance to the player he was during the regular season.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — At the same time that fans of the Los Angeles Kings are rejoicing in their team’s early success in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, having eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in five games, and jumping out to a 2-0 lead over the St. Louis Blues in their second round series, they are also scratching their collective heads while asking, in unison…

…who’s wearing number 25, and what did he do with Dustin Penner?

All kidding aside, Penner, who has been the target of so many for his poor play throughout much of the season, has looked nothing like the player who raised the ire of fans, game after game.

In fact, Penner began to raise the level of his play over the last few weeks of the regular season, and it continued to improve in the first round of the playoffs. He scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 of the Kings’ first round series against the Canucks, and tallied an assist in Game 2 of that series, but was held off the scoresheet in the last three games.

But do not let those numbers, or the lack thereof, fool you, as he continued to improve as the series wore on, so much so, that Kings head coach Darryl Sutter moved him up to the second line, with right wing Jeff Carter and center Mike Richards. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings Will Need Repeat Performance From Third and Fourth Lines Against St. Louis Blues

April 27, 2012 by Leave a comment

Los Angeles Kings rookie right wing Jordan Nolan (foreground)
has not looked out of place so far in post-season play.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Looking back at the Los Angeles Kings’ first round playoff series win over the Vancouver Canucks, the first things that come to mind are the play of right wing Dustin Brown, and goaltender Jonathan Quick.

There was also a series-winning overtime goal scored by center Jarret Stoll, which, by itself, is significant. But that goal has even greater significance when you look below the surface.

“If you look at the series we just finished, if you think about it, you want to handle the three big guys on their team, even though [center] Ryan Kesler didn’t have as a big a year, numbers-wise,” said Kings head coach Darryl Sutter. “Even strength goals—they didn’t score one, the Sedins and [Kesler]. From our side of it, we got five goals from Jarret Stoll, Dustin Penner, Trevor Lewis, and Brad Richardson, so it’s not always about stars. In fact, we just showed that it wasn’t.” Read more of this post

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