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About Curtis Zupke
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Curtis Zupke grew up in Los Angeles and got hooked on hockey (along with thousands of other Southern Californians) upon Wayne Gretzky’s arrival to the Kings in 1988. He covered the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County (Calif.) Register from 2006 to 2011.
His work has also appeared in The Hockey News, Associated Press and QMI Agency (a Quebec-based wire service that serves 250 daily and weekly newspapers in Canada).
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| Kings' hot start is a true team effort |
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| Pacific | |
| Written by J.P. Hoornstra | |
| Tuesday, November 09, 2010 00:01 | |
This loose bunch of kids showed they know how to roast their oldest teammate. On the ice, they became the fastest NHL team to 10 wins despite getting less-than-super play from their superstars.
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That the Los Angeles Kings became the first NHL team to win 10 games on Saturday isn't as surprising as how they did it.| AROUND THE PACIFIC |
Thing is, the Kings aren't concerned with who's got the best stats. All that seems to matter is that they are the best, with an NHL-leading 20 points in the standings.
Writing on LAKingsInsider.com, beat writer Rich Hammond noted "the 'buzz' is now much less about certain players and more about the team. Less of, 'Wow, Doughty/Kopitar is really good' and more, 'Wow, the Kings are really good.' Because you can look at almost any team and be impressed by one or two players, but there aren’t many teams that, in general, receive that type of respect."
As individual accolades go, the only one that was celebrated recently was Ryan Smyth's 1,000th NHL game.How did his teammates honor the occasion? By wearing mullets to the morning skate, of course.
"It dated me a little bit," Smyth said, "but it was awesome."
Even though the Lakers have already begun their quest for another NBA championship, and college football is in full swing, even the average Angeleno is beginning to take notice of the local hockey team.
Bill Plaschke, the Los Angeles Times columnist and part-time "Pardon The Interruption" pundit, dated himself in a recent column about the Kings by confessing he had to be reminded not to step on the crown logo in the middle of the team dressing room (a longstanding rule). Plaschke held this up as one of many quirky rituals that reveal the vibe in the room. Another, captain Dustin Brown noted, is that players don't carpool to practice so they can use the carpool lane: "We just like riding together," he said.
The Kings have each other's backs on the ice, too. When Doughty missed six games with a concussion, Jack Johnson stepped up to quarterback the power play and the team went 4-2-0. Kopitar, the Kings' leading scorer each of the last three seasons, hasn't been quite as productive with Brown at right wing and a rotating cast of left wingers. But the "second line" of Smyth, Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams has 14 goals and 34 points in its last 11 games. Goatlenders Jonathan Quick (8-1-0, 1.64 GAA) and Jonathan Bernier (2-2, 2.26) have combined to post the league's third-best goals-against average (2.00).
That's why there was little reason to panic upon Monday's announcement that defenseman Willie Mitchell (fractured hand) will miss the next 4-6 weeks and left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky (fractured finger) will miss approximately 4 weeks.
If nothing else, the Kings have shown they know how to pull together.
Notes
Sharks C Joe Thornton was suspended two games by the NHL for this hit Thursday on St. Louis Blues forward David Perron. Thornton received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct on the hit. His brother and agent, John Thornton, appealed the suspension without success. ... The Sharks lost 3-0, the third straight game in which they've been shut out on the road. ... Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen and Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby made headlines for this fight last Wednesday in Dallas. ... G Jack Campbell, whom the Stars drafted 11th overall in June, has signed a three-year, entry-level contract. Campbell, who is currently playing for the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, won't see the contract kick in until he turns pro. ... Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports that the the Stars are currently pondering a third jersey that could debut as early next season. ... Phoenix Coyotes LW Wojtek Wolski scored his first goal of the season in Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins. Wolski told the Arizona Republic he was "fed up" and embarrassed" entering the game. ... The 'Yotes fell to 0-5 in overtime Monday by losing 3-2 to the Red Wings in Detroit. ... It was the 1,000th game for Tony Silva as the team's equipment manager. ... Captain Shane Doan missed both games with a "lower body injury" he suffered Friday against the Dallas Stars. Doan has also been ruled out for Wednesday's game in Chicago. ... Ducks RW Teemu Selanne is the first NHL player age 40 or older to record seven goals in his team’s first 15 games since 2003-04, when 42-year-old Mark Messier did the same for the Rangers. The 40-year-old Selanne finished the week tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring. ... Paul Mara's game-winning goal with 1.7 seconds left in the third period Sunday was the latest game-winning goal in regulation in Anaheim franchise history. ... The Ducks are only one of four NHL teams to have players selected in the first round of both the 2009 and 2010 NHL Entry Drafts on their current NHL rosters, with right wing Kyle Palmieri (26th overall, 2009) and defenseman Cam Fowler (12th overall, 2010). The others are Boston (Jordan Caron – 25th overall, 2009; Tyler Seguin – second overall, 2010), Edmonton (Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson – 10th overall, 2009; Taylor Hall - first overall, 2010) and Atlanta (Evander Kane - fourth overall, 2009; Alexander Burmistrov - eighth overall, 2010).
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