Drew Doughty not expected at Kings' Fan Fest Sunday

Some notes from the Kings and Ducks as they prepare for their rookie camps and training camps next week:

Restricted free-agent defenseman Drew Doughty is not expected to attend the Kings’ Fan Fest, to be held Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Staples Center. Since he’s not signed he’s not obligated to attend promotional or other team functions, and he’s not on the participant list the Kings sent out Thursday.

His absence should add spice to the first event, “State of the Kings,” a scheduled two-hour session that will include a question-and-answer session with General Manager Dean Lombardi. That should be interesting, to say the least.

Lombardi said Thursday through a team spokesman that he and Doughty’s agent, Don Meehan, have agreed not to comment publicly about the negotiations. However, it doesn’t appear that an agreement is imminent.

The Hockey Fest event is sold out, but portions of it will be streamed live at Lakings.com.

The Kings also said Thursday that strength and conditioning coach Tim Adams had left the club to “pursue other opportunities.”

Times guest blogger Bobby Ryan breaks down Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals

It was another goaltender battle in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, a 1-0 victory for Vancouver over Boston. Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo was obviously the star of the show. He certainly deserved to be first star of the game. He made some big saves and anytime you pitch a shutout in the Stanley Cup finals, it’s huge.

Game 5 went exactly as I thought it would go. The pace of the game was very good. Vancouver and Boston didn’t trade chances as much as in previous games. It was definitely more of a reserved, defensive-style game than earlier in the series. Since Vancouver got blown out twice in Boston, I thought they would recover and play the style of game that they did.

The thing that surprised me most was that the Maxim Lapierre line had numerous chances throughout the game and dominated their matchups. I was happy for Max when he scored early in the third period. He’s looked good throughout the series and played a reserved, quiet game. He went about his business and got rewarded for it. Even though he was in Anaheim for just a short period of time earlier this season, it was cool to see him contribute in a big way.

The Bruins have to find a way for their depth lines to provide more offense. They have to solve Luongo, like they did in Games 3 and 4 at the TD Garden in Boston. The big thing for the Bruins is to get more traffic in front of the net and make him uncomfortable. Luongo is a goalie who could become unsure of himself at times. But he looked so calm and steady last game; if he plays like that again, it’s going to be scary for Boston.

Home ice didn’t seem like much of an advantage early in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it has meant everything in the finals with the home team winning the all five games of the series. The distance between Vancouver and Boston is a huge factor and those are two very tough buildings to play in. The fans can really rally around their team when things are going well and momentum is in their favor. I’m not surprised to see the home team winning as much as they are, though I think Game 6 is going to be different.

Luongo is going to be confident heading into Monday’s game. Vancouver closes it out in six.

--Bobby Ryan

The Times is pleased to have Ducks winger Bobby Ryan blogging for us, along with Ducks teammates Corey Perry and George Parros, during the Stanley Cup finals.

Photo: Bobby Ryan. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Times guest blogger Bobby Ryan discusses Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals

Well, there is a lot to talk about from last night’s game!

If there was a single turning point Monday, I thought it came late in the first period. I thought when Vancouver killed the five-minute major the Canucks were going to go on a rally. Boston had some good chances on the long power play but Roberto Luongo stonewalled them and made some big saves. Then it looked like after that, Vancouver took control for the last few minutes. Tim Thomas held them in there and did a great job.

Mason Raymond made a great move and got robbed point-blank by Thomas. I thought if Vancouver could have capitalized late in the first it could have been a different game.

As far as the hit goes, having played [in the AHL] a little bit with Romer [Aaron Rome] I know he’s not a malicious type player. Things happen so quickly, I’m sure Romer was counting one-Mississippi in his head with the intention of finishing a check. Knowing Romer, I know it wasn’t his intention to hurt someone. Obviously he is concerned for him and he reached to Nathan Horton today.  I’m sure Romer knows now, looking back, that Horton was vulnerable, and I’m sure he would take it back if he could.

Times guest blogger Bobby Ryan discusses Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals

 

Hello Times readers!

I thought Game 1 was most notably a battle of goaltenders. I thought it came down to them in the first game – which I guess is obvious with only one goal in 60 minutes!

I think a major determining factor in the series will be which goaltender is hotter. It was nice to see both of them play well. Tim Thomas was great last night even in a losing effort – he stonewalled them quite a bit. He kept them in the game, and I thought he was the best player on the ice.

The Bruins missed a couple of opportunities. They had a real good chance early in the game 5-on-3 to get a lead in a tough building, and that’s a real missed chance. The biggest concern I have for them is that their power play is running at like 7 or 8%. It’s a tribute that they have made it this far, but I don’t think they can win without a stronger power play. They aren’t going to beat Vancouver 5-on-5, they are just a stronger, deeper team.

NHL playoffs: Ducks' Bobby Ryan suspended for two games

The Ducks' Bobby Ryan was suspended for two games by the NHL on Saturday for stomping on the foot of Nashville's Jonathon Blum on Friday night during Game 2 of the teams' first-round playoff series.

The incident took place behind the net and was caught by television cameras. NHL officials held a short hearing when the Ducks got to Nashville on Saturday before announcing the decision.

This suspension costs the Ducks one of their top offensive players. Ryan, who skates on the Ducks' top line with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, had 34 goals and 71 points during the regular season. He scored two goals in the Ducks' 5-3 victory Friday.

Brandon McMillan skated with Perry and Getzlaf during practice Saturday. McMillan had 11 goals and 21 points during the regular season.

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Ducks start fast to even series against Predators

Video: Randy Carlyle on Game 2 victory over Nashville

-- Chris Foster, reporting from Nashville

Photo: The Ducks' Bobby Ryan collides with Nashville's Ryan Suter during the third period of Game 2 in Anaheim on Friday night. Credit: Christina House / For The Times

Sharks, Kings and Ducks are making California a playoff hockey mecca

If the Ducks make the playoffs -- and they need to gain two points or have the Dallas Stars fail to gain two points for that to happen -- it would be the first time the Ducks and Kings will be in the playoffs in the same season.

It would also produce another oddity: There would be more California-based teams in the playoffs than Canada-based teams.

The San Jose Sharks clinched a playoff spot last week and the Kings clinched theirs on Wednesday. The Ducks would make California teams three for three.

Of the six Canada-based teams, only Montreal and top-seeded Vancouver will compete for the Stanley Cup. Edmonton and Ottawa have long been out of contention and Toronto and Calgary were eliminated this week.

And yes, most of the players on the three California teams are from Canada, but it's still a quirky and interesting fact. Surprising too.

“Wow. I didn’t realize that,” Ducks winger Bobby Ryan said. “That’s actually an incredible stat. That just shows southern California -- I guess all of California -- is the place to be right now.”

You just know that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be blamed for this by a lot of unhappy Canadians.

ALSO:

Ducks' Perry gets star treatment, Emery gets lower-body treatment

Kings clinch playoff berth with shootout victory over Coyotes

-- Helene Elliott 

Photo: Sharks forward Dany Heatley, left, tries to skate past Ducks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank during the Ducks' 6-2 victory Wednesday at Honda Center. Credit: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Ducks' Corey Perry gets star treatment, Ray Emery gets lower-body treatment

Ducks right wing Corey Perry got an unexpected perk for becoming the NHL’s first 50-goal scorer this season and a formidable most-valuable-player candidate.

When the team’s practice ended Thursday, Perry had a new personal valet in the locker room to unlace his skates: linemate Ryan Getzlaf.

“He scores 50, I untie his skates,” Getzlaf said. “We don’t want him hurting his hands untying his skates.”

Perry, who hit 50 with a hat trick in the Ducks’ 6-2 rout of San Jose on Wednesday, said he didn’t feel much different Thursday than any other day.

“The phone was off the hook this morning that’s for sure,” he said. “I had a few text messages and voice mails but nothing’s changed. It’s another day and the sun came up again and you just go out again and practice.”

But it's also the day the Ducks can clinch a playoff spot if the Dallas Stars lose to Colorado. The Ducks must gain two points or have Dallas fail to gain two points in its remaining three games. If Dallas doesn’t oblige Thursday night, the Ducks can secure a spot by beating the Kings on Friday at the Honda Center in the opener of a home-and-home series that ends each team’s season.

Ducks' Bobby Ryan questionable for Saturday's game

Forward Bobby Ryan is optimistic but not sure he will be able to play in the Ducks’ game at San Jose on Saturday after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Flames defenseman Mark Giordano near the end of the Ducks’ 4-2 victory at Calgary on Wednesday, a team spokesman said.

The Ducks had Thursday off and practiced Friday, but Ryan didn’t participate in the full session. Ryan, the left wing on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, is second on the team in goals with 33 and fourth in points with 66. He's expected to skate Saturday morning to test the knee to see if he's comfortable enough to play. The Sharks rank second in the West with 99 points, and the Ducks are seventh, with 93 points.

Ryan said after the Calgary game that he thought Giordano's hit was dirty, but Giordano -- predictably -- disagreed.

“I don’t think it was much. I think it was a trip if anything,” Giordano told the Calgary Herald. “He plays hard, and he hits. I don’t mind it at all, but I didn’t try to hurt the guy or anything, or do anything stupid at the end of the game.”

Giordano acknowledged that with Ryan and Getzlaf about to beat him on a give-and-go, he did stick out his right leg. But he said he didn’t intend to injure Ryan.

“I just tried to get in his way -- just a reaction thing,” Giordano said. “He moved one way, and I tried to shift with him. If that’s dirty, there’s a lot of other things a lot worse than that.”

RELATED:

Ducks tame tension in 4-2 win over the Flames

Ray Emery saves Ducks in net while Jonas Hiller recovers

Corey Perry, with 46 goals and counting, gets more attention

-- Helene Elliott

Photo: Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan watches his shot go into the goal against Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff in the first period on Thursday night in Calgary. Credit: Mike Sturk / Reuters

Ducks, Ray Emery subdue Flames, 4-2

Ray Emery’s clutch goaltending, an effective power play and a favorable ruling on a debatable play helped the Ducks strengthen their playoff chances with a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Emery improved to 6-0-0 in seven appearances, stopping 23 shots to help the Ducks win for the seventh time in eight games and ninth in their last 10. His work was crucial because earlier in the day All-Star goalie Jonas Hiller acknowledged he was again experiencing symptoms of vertigo and isn’t ready to play again.

“I can’t make myself see the puck if I don’t feel comfortable,” Hiller said after the team’s morning skate.

Emery, signed as a free agent on Feb. 7, was steady Wednesday when the Ducks needed him to be. However, he did benefit from a ruling by the NHL’s Toronto operations executives, who said that replays of Tim Jackman’s second-period deflection could not conclusively prove that the puck had crossed the goal line after it struck Emery’s glove and so allowed the on-ice call of no goal to stand.

The Ducks vaulted past Nashville and into sixth in the West while severely damaging the Flames’ playoff chances. The Ducks have five games left.

Ducks stumble in 5-2 loss to Phoenix Coyotes

In a playoff scramble so tight that the slightest stumble can turn into a major setback, the Ducks on Sunday made too many missteps on defense and in goal to expect to win.

Goaltender Dan Ellis’ sub-par performance led Coach Randy Carlyle to bring Ray Emery off the bench and into the nets for Emery's first NHL appearance since Feb. 1, 2010, perhaps in hopes the change would jar the Ducks out of their lethargic state. But the move didn’t work, and the Ducks fell to the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-2, before an announced crowd of 14,326 at Honda Center.

Had the Ducks won in regulation, they would have ranked seventh in the West. If they’d won in overtime or by a shootout they would have ranked eighth. Even a loss in overtime or shootout would have moved them up to ninth.

Losing in regulation left them 10th, two points behind eighth-place Calgary. The Ducks do have two games in hand but they can hardly be sure of winning those given Ellis’ struggles Sunday and the indefinite absence of all-star goaltender Jonas Hiller, who is still battling a case of vertigo. Hiller has been skating lightly but said last week he's still not feeling right and there is no timetable for his return.

Emery faced nine shots in the third period and didn't allow a goal, though he got some help when a shot that beat him was swept off the goal line by Lubomir Visnovsky. Shane Doan scored into an empty net for the Coyotes' final goal.

Corey Perry scored twice for the Ducks to move to third among NHL goal scorers, with 36.

The Coyotes matched the Kings with 83 points but have played one more game than the Kings. That leaves them fifth and the Kings fourth.

Ducks' Bobby Ryan seeking consistent level of excellence

Bobby Ryan’s overtime penalty shot goal against Detroit on Wednesday did more than boost the Ducks’ spirits and keep them in the pack of teams jostling for playoff spots in the congested Western Conference.

The goal was the 30th this season for the dynamic winger, his third straight season at a level usually reached only by pure scorers. Ryan, who will turn 24 on March 17, is on pace to surpass the career-high 35 goals and 64 points he scored last season. That’s solid progress considering he scored only two goals in 16 games starting Dec. 3 and ending with a two-goal game against Columbus on Jan. 7.

“When you look at a season and set goals beforehand, that’s the point you want to hit. That’s keeping it consistent,” Ryan said after the Ducks’ morning skate in preparation for their game Friday against Dallas at the Honda Center.

“I thought it was a possibility for me a little early out and just tried to continue my pace throughout the year and tried to put up numbers in that regard, but it’s not something I’ll think about now that it’s done and gone. I’ll try and push for 35 or whatever it was that I had last year and try and get continually a little better.”

The record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons is 15, set by Mike Gartner from the 1979-80 season through the 1993-94 season with Washington, Minnesota, New York Rangers and Toronto. The career record for most 30-goal seasons is also held by Gartner, with 17 in 19 seasons.

“I’ve got a long way to go,” Ryan said, smiling.

“It’s not something I’ll think about by any means but I think it’s a fairly consistent number. I’d like to try and hit it every year. I’m playing with some pretty good players so I know the puck’s going to find me and I’m going to get those chances. As long as I continue to shoot the puck the right way and get to the front of the net, I’ll find them.”

Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle, who rarely doles out compliments, said Ryan had only begun to make the most of his talents.