Los Angeles Kings Clinch Stanley Cup Finals Berth with Game 5 Win Over Phoenix: Fan’s Reaction (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 11:44:00 PDT)
On Tuesday, May 22, the Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in sudden-death overtime to clinch their second Western Conference title. The team will now move on to play either the New York Rangers or the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Dubinsky returns for Game 5; No hearing for Brown; Spacek rips Habs (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 11:29:50 PDT)
• John Tortorella, when asked how he was going to get his forwards going on Tuesday: "Pray." He then read an excerpt from his memoir on a trip he took around the world after splitting from the Tampa Bay Lightning. • By the way, in case it wasn't clear that John Tortorella's sense of humour is lacking, on Wednesday morning he made it clear that he was joking about prayer and retracted the joke. [ NHL ] • No hearing for Dustin Brown for his controversial collision with Michal Rozsival. [ LA Kings Insider ] • Brandon Dubinsky returns to the Rangers' lineup for Game 5. [ Newsday ] • Showing some much-needed attention to the Devils' relatively anonymous blueline. [ NJ ] • An argument for shaking up the New York Rangers' lines by removing Carl Hagelin from the top unit: "Hagelin is currently playing top line minutes with the Rangers two most skilled forwards, and ha exactly zero goals to show for it. That's no goals and just three assists in 18 games so far this postseason. No matter which way you look at this, it's unacceptable to have a top line player with zero goals in 18 games. At some point, changes need to be made." [ Blue Seat Blogs ] • Jaroslav Spacek claims he might have retired at the end of the year if he had finished it in Montreal, and rips the Canadiens hockey operations team, from the bizarre rules for the players to the total lack of communication. "'So much bad stuff,' Spacek said. 'In my 20-year hockey career, I'd never seen anything like it. If you don't like the way I play, kick me in the ass. But no one said anything. It was terrible.'" [ Montreal Gazette ] • Another major step towards the Phoenix Coyotes staying in Arizona was taken after the team was eliminated last night, as the Glendale City Council voted to approve a preliminary budget that includes $17 million to the prospective buyer of the team for operating costs for the city's Jobing.com Arena." [ Winnipeg Free Press ] • The Wild have signed 2010 first-round pick Mikael Grandlund to his entry-level contract. He announced the deal himself in a video on the Wild's website. [ Wild ] • Michael Arace on the American invasion in the NHL. [ Blue Jackets Xtra ] • Alex Semin cuts his forehead on his gold medal, which is a very enigmatic thing to do. [ RMNB ]

Marek Vs. Wyshynski Radio: Tyson Nash, Mike Brophy, Dustin Brown’s hit and Devils/Rangers (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 10:45:21 PDT)
It's a Wednesday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT , and we're talking about the following and more: Special Guest Stars: Tyson Nash gives us a post-mort on the Phoenix Coyotes and takes on the Dustin Brown hit. Mike Brophy of Sportsnet looks at the Stanley Cup Playoffs and other matters. • In which Marek and Wysh preview Game 5 between the Devils and Rangers. • The Shane Doan, Keith Yandle and Coyotes go off on officiating. • The evils of the handshake line. • Puck Headlines and Talking Points Question of the Day: Overheard in the Kings/Coyotes handshake ally last night was... Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski . Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner .

In which Dustin Penner, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards edit their NHL narratives (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 09:00:40 PDT)
Why are the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final? Because the two drunk, locker room cancers helped set up a lazy fat-ass for the game-winning goal. At least that's how it would have been framed about eight months ago, when the narratives about Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Dustin Penner had defined them as players. The first two were banished from the Philadelphia Flyers, ostensibly for cap relief in the pursuit of a No. 1 goaltender (or, failing that, Ilya Bryzgalov) but mostly for a culture change in the dressing room. Penner, meanwhile, was (a) a waste of salary compared to production and (b) out of shape and (c) lazy to the point where his general manager suggested he might be better off playing for the El Cid Lounge in a men's softball league . In overtime of Game 5 in the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night, Richards won the faceoff near the defensive zone. Slava Voynov moved it up the boards, and Penner kept the puck alive in the attacking zone on the forecheck, sending a nifty backhand pass to a streaking Carter. He fired the puck off of Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith with Richards causing chaos on front of the net, helping to clear the slot for Penner to fire home the rebound over Smith's glove. With that, the Kings were headed to the Cup Final. This trio was maligned and decried for the better part of 2011-12. Yet it was this Dry Island of Misfit Toys that has the Kings four wins away from the first Stanley Cup.

A tribute to the Phoenix Coyotes’ abundant talent (Puck Daddy)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 05:52:58 PDT)
Although their postseason ended with a Game 5 Western Conference overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Phoenix Coyotes deserve attention for this mammoth effort. It was said they wouldn't show up big in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — yet they clearly did. No one believed they'd round into form — yet they clearly did. It was said they didn't have the assets — yet they clearly did. Alas, they bounced last night, despite becoming a trending topic in Canada. They will be missed. Congrats again to the Phoenix Coyotes and Coach Dave Tippett, who apparently can be seen somewhere in this image. As the Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan once sang: "I will remember you ... weep not for the mammaries."

Coyotes disappointed for different reasons after elimination (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 02:21:23 PDT)
The Coyotes were livid at the end of Game 5 -- about what they saw as a brutal hit by Kings captain Dustin Brown that sent defenseman Michal Rozsival out of the game with a knee injury, and about the goal by Dustin Penner seconds later that ended their season.

Kings edge Coyotes 4-3 in overtime to win West (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 01:13:43 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) A great road playoff run has the Los Angeles Kings in a place they haven't been since the Great One was skating in Southern California.

Kings advance to Stanley Cup final with OT goal just seconds after Dustin Brown's controversial hit
(Wed, 23 May 2012 01:12:45 PDT)
Dustin Brown delivered a borderline bodycheck on Michal Rozsival that enraged the Coyotes and might result in a call from the league for the Kings captain.

Glendale council takes 1st step in Coyotes sale (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 23:56:55 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Glendale City Council has approved a preliminary budget that includes $17 million to be paid to the prospective buyer of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes for operating costs for the city's Jobing.com Arena.

Coyotes’ Mike Smith believes Dustin Brown should be ‘done forever’ for Rozsival hit; slams Game 5 officiating (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 23:10:50 PDT)
Mike Smith was frustrated after his Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated in Game 5 of the Western Conference final. He saw his MVP performance fall short of the Stanley Cup Final. His gaffe led to a Los Angeles Kings goal. And at one point, he had to play without a glove. Whether or not that earns him leeway is up to you. Just keep that in mind as you read Smith torching the officiating and calling for Dustin Brown to receive a massive suspension for his OT hit on Michal Rozsival. First, on Brown ( s/t Jared Cohen ), Smith said: "When Brown gets away with something like that after the whistle — knee on knee, that's a dangerous play. If Raffi Torres gets 25 games for his hit during the play, this guy should be done forever." Forever seems like a long time for a hit that was thigh-on-thigh. But Smith also had very harsh words for the referees — both in Game 5 and throughout the season.

Kings cruise into Stanley Cup finals
(Tue, 22 May 2012 22:56:40 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Kings booked their place in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in almost 20 years after wrapping up the NHL Western Conference title with a 4-3 overtime win over Phoenix in Game Five on Tuesday.

Mike Milbury vs. Jeremy Roenick over Dustin Brown’s Game 5 OT hit on Michal Rozsival (VIDEO) (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 22:30:42 PDT)
The Los Angeles Kings are skating to the Stanley Cup Final, but the story after Game 5 of the Western Conference Final was the hit Dustin Brown put on Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival right after an offside whistle — on the shift preceding Dustin Penner's series-winning goal in overtime. Was it a penalty? Should it be a suspension? NBC Sports Network's Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick saw this one in slightly different ways. To summarize: Milbury felt the hit by Brown, a player with a reputation for playing "on the edge," was well after the whistle and should have been avoided. Roenick felt it was humanly impossible to avoid the hit at that velocity, and that it was a clean hit. Said Brown after the game: "He's trying to get away of the way, and I'm trying to finish my check. I didn't stick my knee out."

Watch Kings, Coyotes in hostile handshake line after Dustin Penner sends LA to Stanley Cup Final (VIDEO) (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 22:00:10 PDT)
For a team that's gone from punchline to champion, Dustin Penner was the perfect player to send the Los Angeles Kings to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. His goal at 17:42 of overtime gave the Kings a 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 5, and L.A. heads to the Cup Final for the first time since 1993. But after the Kings' celebration, the real drama started: The most contentious, hostile handshake line in recent memory, as the Coyotes players verbally assailed Kings captain Dustin Brown, whose controversial hit took out defenseman Michal Rozsival moments before Penner's goal with no penalty called: Here's another look at the handshake line:

Kings vs. Coyotes Game 5; Pierre McGuire on Tortorella/DeBoer argument (Playoff Puck Previews) (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 16:02:01 PDT)
Back by popular demand, here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. In which timelines collide and coaches from four different teams yell at each other about goonery. whilst Pierre McGuire — whom we suspect may be an exiled Time Lord — watches on. We'd love a velvet painting of this. [via reader Tony Vela] Game 5 Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Phoenix Coyotes, 9 p.m. EST. (Kings lead, 3-1) The Coyotes face elimination again, as the Kings take their undefeated (7-0) show on the road. The first goal looms mighty big in this game, as Shane Doan told LA Kings Insider: "I think it just calms (teams) down to a certain degree, so they know we're doing things right, things are going your way. I think confidence is everything in the playoffs, just because everyone is so, so close. With everyone being that close, feeling confident is big." Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page . For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock. Evening Reading • Listen to today's Marek Vs. Wyshynski here. In which we discuss a Pete DeBoer/John Tortorella barn fight.

Coyotes vs. the road warriors: Can Phoenix end LA Kings’ road domination? (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 13:38:44 PDT)
Down 3-1 in their series with the Los Angeles Kings and heading home for Game 5 on Tuesday night, the Phoenix Coyotes will have to accomplish something that hasn't been done since the final two games of the regular season: Giving the Kings consecutive losses. In staying alive in the series with a 2-0 win in Game 4, the Coyotes found a way to break through Los Angeles' relentless forecheck. They kept the Kings off the scoreboard for the first time since late March. Facing such a deficit in the series, the obvious "one game at a time" cliche has and will continue to be broken out by the Coyotes should they extend things. "We're in the same boat we were the other night," said Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett. "If we don't play well and we don't win, we go home."

Coyotes, Kings Game 5 preview; Claude Giroux has fun; PK Subban on the ladies (Puck Headlines) (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 13:06:20 PDT)
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Claude Giroux's beer pong adventures are rightfully getting attention on this lovely Tuesday, but it's the double-casted topless cornholing that we're sure a segment of our readership is more interested in. Playoffs leading scorer indeed. [ Crossing Broad ] • In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Kings' snarky infographic about being confused with the Sacramento Kings was hilarious. [ Kings ] • PK and Malcolm Subban talk race and hockey with Complex. And also, the ladies. Who "pulls the most ladies" in the Subban family? PK says: "Wow, well definitely me. I'm the oldest, I have the most experience, and I'm the best looking. I've been told that on numerous occasions, numerous. Now that doesn't take anything away from my brothers, Malcolm is good looking and Jordan's a good looking guy, too. I mean they are related to me so they get a little bit of the looks. But right now I have to say I have the most experience. I'm a veteran when it comes to that, they're still learning. They have lots of potential. They're like first-round picks right now in the game, they still have to develop." [ Complex ] • Coach Bob Hartley's Zurich Lions are ready to bid him adieu as he returns to the NHL. [ Swiss Habs ] • Speaking of the Lions, that's where Ryan Shannon of the Tampa Bay Lightning will be for the next three years. [ SB Nation ] • What kind of grade would Ville Leino receive for his effort with the Buffalo Sabres? [ Die By The Blade ] • In which Shane Doan compares the Phoenix Coyotes' plight to Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail. [ Arizona Sports ] • This is so strange: An entire column written about embellishment in the playoffs and how it needs to stop, without a single mention of Mike Smith's flopping. Oh, Arizona Republic you say? Well then. [ AZCentral ] • Look, we don't like to judge, but embezzling $144,000 from a Youth Hockey Association is a sort of [expletived] up. [ Cap Times ]

Stanley Cup Final schedule released; Game 1 on May 30, Game 7 would be June 13 (Puck Daddy)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 12:34:17 PDT)
Now that Los Angeles is a hockey town , the NHL was able to release its 2012 Stanley Cup Final schedule, despite none of the participants having yet been determined. From the NHL: Based on their superior regular-season point totals, either the New York Rangers or the New Jersey Devils will host Games One and Two of the best-of-seven Final, as well as Games Five and Seven.  Games Three and Four will be hosted by the Western Conference champion, either the Phoenix Coyotes or the Los Angeles Kings, as well as Game Six. In the U.S., NBC will broadcast Games One and Two and, if necessary, Games Five through Seven of the Final, while NBC Sports Network will telecast Games Three and Four.  In Canada, CBC and RDS will televise the entire series.  All games also will be carried on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. 2012 Stanley Cup Final Schedule Game 1: Wed., May 30, 8 p.m. Western Champion at Eastern Champion, NBC, CBC, RDS Game 2: Sat., June 2, 8 p.m. Western Champion at Eastern Champion, NBC, CBC, RDS Game 3: Mon., June 4, 8 p.m. Eastern Champion at Western Champion, NBCSN, CBC, RDS Game 4: Wed., June 6, 8 p.m. Eastern Champion at Western Champion, NBCSN, CBC, RDS *Game 5: Sat., June 9, 8 p.m. Western Champion at Eastern Champion, NBC, CBC, RDS *Game 6: Mon., June 11, 8 p.m. Eastern Champion at Western Champion, NBC, CBC, RDS *Game 7: Wed., June 13, 8 p.m. Western Champion at Eastern Champion, NBC, CBC, RDS * If necessary Steve Whyno of the Washington Times notes that Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final would start roughly 90 minutes after I'll Have Another attempts to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes. Both the Mets and Yankees are on the road on June 13 for a potential Game 7. The city and/or Jersey is the NHL's to dominate!

Kings-Coyotes Preview (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 08:38:11 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Phoenix Coyotes had every reason to concede the Western Conference finals to the Los Angeles Kings.

Monday’s Three Stars: Parise scores, Brodeur saves in Game 4 Devils win (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 21:43:07 PDT)
No. 1 Star: Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils Parise entered Game 4 with one point in his last five games. He left Game 4 as No. 1 star with two goals and an assist as the Devils evened their series with the New York Rangers with a 4-1 victory. The Devils' power play has struggled through the series and went 1-for-4 in Game 4, but Parise's goal with the extra man early in the third period was the insurance marker for New Jersey: No. 2 Star: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils Brodeur improved to 4-2 since turning 40 years old on May 6 by making 28 stops in the New Jersey win. Brodeur also recorded his fourth assist of the playoffs on Parise's empty netter. No. 3 Star: Bryce Salvador, New Jersey Devils Salvador didn't score at all during the regular season, but in the playoffs has brought the offense. Opening the scoring midway through the first period, Salvador tallied his third goal of the playoffs and later assisted on New Jersey's final goal for his 10th point of the playoffs. Honorable mention: Game 4 of their 1994 series was also played on May 21 in New Jersey and ended with a Devils win ... In his first game since April 3, Jacob Josefson was 9-for-14 on faceoffs and a plus-1. Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings; 2. Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings; 3. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers; 4. Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils; 5. Brad Richards, New York Rangers; 6. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings; 7. Mike Smith, Phoenix Coyotes; 8. Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings; 9. David Clarkson, New Jersey Devils; 10. Dan Girardi, New York Rangers Dishonorable mention: Things got very chippy in the third period and ended with both coaches jawing at each other.

Coyotes still on brink of elimination (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 15:34:09 PDT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Phoenix Coyotes had every reason to concede the Western Conference finals to the Los Angeles Kings.

No lion: KCBS angers Bailey, LA Kings mascot, after confusion with Slamson, Sacramento Kings mascot (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 13:28:39 PDT)
The Los Angeles Kings took important steps last week towards finally gaining some respect in the LA sports market. They pushed the Phoenix Coyotes to the brink of elimination and are currently one game from the Stanley Cup Final. And, while they were having playoff success, both the Clippers and the Lakers were not. The Clippers were swept. The Lakers trail 3 games to 1 in their series. But those two important developments were offset by a massive step backwards, as yet another media affiliate showed that they knew absolutely nothing about the LA's hockey team. This time it was KCBS. See if you can spot the error: That mascot they showed just before the highlight package? Sure, it's a lion repping a team called the Kings, but it's the wrong one. That's Slamson, the Sacramento Kings' mascot, not Bailey, the LA Kings' mascot. Bailey was very upset by this, and took to Twitter to let KCBS know:

Inside Staples Center: a weekend like none other
(Mon, 21 May 2012 13:26:34 PDT)
Over a four-day span, Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles hosted six sporting events, an unprecedented string of events for a single arena to host.

What We Learned: Embarrassing LA sports media moments while covering Kings playoff run (Puck Daddy)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:58:22 PDT)
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it. It's possibly the greatest bit of investigative journalism conducted since Woodward and Bernstein brought down Richard Nixon. This exemplary, collective effort of sleuth work is currently ongoing in Los Angeles, Calif., where an entire media market has unearthed the NHL's shocking secret: The city has a professional hockey team. Over the past week or so here at Puck Daddy, we've tried to document every startling discovery made by the intrepid Los Angeles media, like how to properly pronounce Anze Kopitar's name (it's hard because he's from Bosnia or something), the real name of this Drew Doughty character ( it's actually Brad !) and that hockey is in fact not played with a ball, but rather a little piece of rubber known as a "puck." That last one makes me pretty uncomfortable because of the word it rhymes with. ("Duck" — sorry, I just don't trust 'em; they have weird beaks). Just how villainous is this team, operating as a sort of sporting sleeper cell? They got all the way to the Western Conference Finals without one local noticing. That takes real criminal talent. And not only that, but, the NHL had the diabolical idea to hide it right under the Los Angelinos' noses, by having their home games played at the Staples Center. You know, where the Lakers play. Further, they named the team the Kings to intentionally confuse even the savviest media organization into thinking they are the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Astonishingly devious stuff. More twists and turns than the Da Vinci Code, which I've read three times just to make sure I understood it all. The best bit of this journalism on this pressing issue comes, of course, from the city's paper of record, the Los Angeles Times, winner of 44 Pulitzer Prizes since 1942, including three in 2012. It was for that towering beacon of journalistic excellence that columnist Chris Erskine successfully scruted several of the team and sport's most inscrutable mysteries . For instance, that thing I said earlier about the puck (again, yuck… oh and that's another gross word it rhymes with), I learned it from Erskine. Apparently they even freeze the thing. And that's a huge point of concern, because, "The hardest shots can reach 110 mph and tear flesh, crush bone, even kill you if you're not careful." Yikes, you guys! ( Coming Up: Rick Nash to Boston?; Tororella defends Prust; Ryan Suter faces his future; Evegni Malkin is having a pretty good season; why Lundqvist is King; why the Capitals can't win with Ovechkin; the Islanders know how to party; Canucks might keep Luongo; Ryan Miller on the CBA; Flames and Oilers coaching news; and are the Kings in trouble?)

Coyotes beat LA Kings 2-0, avoid West final sweep (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 01:35:49 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Shane Doan has played 16 NHL seasons without ever getting this close to lifting the Stanley Cup. Although his ultimate goal is still a good distance away, Captain Coyote's inspiring performance in the face of elimination got Phoenix's backs off the glass in the Western Conference finals.