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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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| Sharks aren't ready to cede control of Pacific yet |
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| Pacific | |
| Written by J.P. Hoornstra | |
| Tuesday, November 16, 2010 00:00 | |
San Jose had all the motivation it needed to take the Kings down a peg Monday. All four lines scored in a six-goal explosion against the NHL's best defense, resetting the "measuring stick" in the process.
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It was a game that should have meant a lot to the Los Angeles Kings, but seemed to mean more to the San Jose Sharks.| AROUND THE PACIFIC |
"Good question," the coach responded. "A little indifferent. Not completely committed or engaged. Strong defensively. Special teams have been effective. Finding our way."
Indifference wasn’t a problem in the Sharks’ 6-3 win, which ended the Kings' winning streak at six and pulled the Sharks within four points of the Pacific Division leaders.
San Jose was particularly proficient on second and third chances at the net front, scoring four of its six goals from that critical area, and getting another on a deep shot when Jonathan Bernier was blinded by a Patrick Marleau screen.
None of this might have mattered against red-hot starter Jonathan Quick, in whose crease rebounds go to die, but San Jose had the fortune of catching Bernier on an off-night. The rookie backup allowed six goals on 34 shots, the most the Kings have allowed in a game this season.
To be fair, Bernier didn’t get the best of help from his second and third defensive pairs. Drew Doughty and Rob Scuderi were both a remarkable plus-3. Matt Greene and Jack Johnson were both minus-3. Davis Drewiske and Peter Harrold, playing mainly because of an injury to Willie Mitchell, were both a minus-1.
San Jose overcame a strange instance of adversity in the second period. Ryan Smyth scored a goal for the Kings with 6:22 left in the period, but Sharks defenseman Marc-Eduoard Vlasic swept the puck quickly out of the net, the red lamp didn’t go off, officials didn’t stop the play and the action continued. One minute, 8 seconds later, Torrey Mitchell scored a breakaway goal and all of HP Pavilion thought the Sharks had taken a 4-1 lead. Only then, after play was stopped, did officials correctly grant Smyth the goal, making it 3-2 and forcing the clock backward 68 seconds.
No matter. Nine seconds into the Sharks’ next power play, Marleau scored on a third-chance opportunity to make it 4-2, ending the Kings’ streak of 17 straight penalties killed. Los Angeles got the goal back but San Jose answered 43 seconds later, and capped the scoring with another power-play goal – salt in an open wound for the Kings.“Our management of the puck, from the red line to the top of the circle in the offensive zone is what killed us,” Kings head coach Terry Murray said. “They rammed it right down our throats every time we tried to do something too much with the puck.”
Prior to the game, Murray refuted the notion that playing the Sharks could serve as a “measuring stick" – but maybe it should. HP Pavilion is about as close as it gets to a playoff atmosphere in November. The Sharks offer perhaps the toughest test an NHL defense can face – especially when the third and fourth lines are contributing complimentary scoring.
McLellan, perhaps knowing his team was capable of more than what he's seen so far, believes in the measuring stick.
“They’ve reset the bar. L.A. is obviously the measuring tool, not only in our conference, but maybe in the league,” McLellan told reporters after the game. “It just goes to show if we play the right way and execute properly, we have the ability to do it.”
It also shows that motivation can go a long way up the ruler.
Notes
Coyotes G Jason LaBarbera stopped 35 of 36 shots in his third start of the season, while Kyle Turris and Eric Belanger scored 35 seconds apart, to seal a 2-1 win in Chicago. … Upon returning to Glendale, Coyotes forwards Vernon Fiddler and Ray Whitney had hat tricks on back-to-back nights in wins over Calgary and St. Louis, respectively. … Phoenix enforcer Paul Bissonnette has received everything from marriage proposals to an All-Star Game write-in campaign through Twitter. … The Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals have the best record in the NHL since Nov. 1 (6-0-1). The Ducks’ six-game winning streak ended Sunday in Chicago. … Anaheim LW Joffrey Lupul “is waiting for one more little test and then he is going to be cleared for contact,” general manager Bob Murray told USA Today. Lupul hasn't played since December 2009 because of a back injury and a subsequent blood infection. … The Ducks placed RW Troy Bodie on waivers Monday. … Stars C Mike Ribiero ranks fifth in the NHL in assists (14) but has yet to score a goal this season. "You know, if it was one or two and we were winning games, or if I just hadn't missed on some great chances in games we lost, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad," Ribeiro told the Dallas Morning News. "But you leave the game and you think that you could have changed it when you had a chance, and you didn't score." … In an e-mail to the Morning News, Dallas Stars owner Mark Cuban said his only interest in owning the Stars would be as a minority partner and only to help him gain control of the American Airlines Center.Photos by Getty Images
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