Interim Coach John Stevens tries to heal Kings, generate scoring

Interim coach John Stevens will be behind the Kings’ bench Thursday for the second straight game while General Manager Dean Lombardi finishes arrangements to hire a replacement for Terry Murray.

All indications remain that the new coach will be Darryl Sutter and that Sutter will take over next Tuesday. After facing the Blue Jackets, the Kings will play at Detroit on Saturday and at Toronto on Monday before returning home to face the Ducks next Thursday at Staples Center. Apparently, Sutter has some family and farming responsibilities to wrap up in Alberta but he should be able to sort everything out within the next few days.

Lombardi declined to elaborate Thursday while watching the Kings’ morning skate at Nationwide Arena. “I’m working through the process,” he said.

Though it’s odd to take so long before appointing the next coach — and the Kings’ 3-0 loss at Boston Tuesday was more of the same performance that undermined Murray — Lombardi said he has confidence in Stevens’ ability to run things for a while. “I’m not too worried about with Johnny having their respect,” Lombardi said.

Stevens is expected to stay on when Sutter is appointed, though it’s unclear whether Sutter will want to also choose an assistant.

In the meantime, Stevens is running practices, trying to find ways to produce goals and end the Kings’ five-game losing streak. Players, who have been addressed by Lombardi twice in the past few days, acknowledged Thursday that this hasn't been business as usual.

“It’s the first time for me. I’ve never had a coaching change in the middle of a year at any level, I don’t think. It is weird,” defenseman Jack Johnson said.

“It is what it is and you’ve got to deal with it. When the puck drops you’re still playing hockey. The game hasn’t changed. It’s kind of when we’re sitting around the room and we’re thinking about it, it’s weird.”

Johnson also said the team’s last practice was “one of the best practices we’ve ever had.” Stevens said he’s trying to deal more with emotions and the mind-set of the team than with strategy.

“When something of this magnitude happens, if you look at the last four years and where this team has come from and the success they’ve had, to go through emotionally what they have the last few days, it was just about trying to get some reps in and trying to get some energy and focus on getting things done on the ice,” Stevens said.

“Just trying to build some spirit back up after what they’ve been through emotionally in the last couple days.”

Kings are facing a faceoff problem

Faceoffs have been a thorny issue for the Kings in their first three playoff games against the San Jose Sharks, who have a 2-1 series lead entering Game 4 on Thursday night at Staples Center.

The Sharks were the NHL’s second-best faceoff team during the season with a 53.7% success rate, and they’ve improved on that in postseason play. Their 56.8% success rate (117-89) ranks first among the 16 playoff teams. The Kings ranked 10th in faceoff percentage this season at 51.1% but rank last among playoff teams with a 43.2% success rate.

The difference was dramatic in the Sharks’ monumental rally to win Game 3: San Jose won 39 of 64 faceoffs, or 61%. The NHL’s statistics system had Joe Pavelski as 11-6 on faceoffs and Joe Thornton as 15-7; Kings center Michal Handzus was 1-14, which isn’t characteristic.

“This is huge. This is a big, big thing,” Kings Coach Terry Murray said Thursday morning when asked about the faceoff disparity. "They’re a very good faceoff team. They do put pucks to the net and kind of arrive quickly to try to get a faceoff. That is part of the strategy. They’ll come across the center red line with a lot of speed and take a long shot to the net in hopes that maybe there might be a fumble, there might be a loose puck that you’d have to freeze....

Kings' Jarret Stoll to return, Oscar Moller to sit

Kings center Jarret Stoll, who missed Game 2 of the Kings’ playoff series against San Jose as punishment for a hit from behind on defenseman Ian White in the opener, was back centering for Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams in practice Monday. And that’s where Stoll is expected to be Tuesday, when the series moves to Staples Center after the teams split the first two games in San Jose.

Stoll’s return means Trevor Lewis, who moved up to the second line, will go back to the fourth line between Alexei Ponikarovsky and Kevin Westgarth, and that fourth-line fill-in Oscar Moller will be out of the lineup. Moller and injured forward Scott Parse wore gray jerseys, usually worn by spare players.

“Stoll’s an important player,” Coach Terry Murray said after the Kings practiced at their El Segundo training facility. “Certainly with his special-team play he’s a big contributor. We’re happy to have him back.”

Stoll said watching the Kings’ 4-0 victory in Game 2 allowed him to see some things he didn’t notice while in uniform.

“Just areas of the ice that are open and that are available,” he said. “I don’t think it’s anything new than what we didn’t know scouting this team, but you definitely see things. It was good to watch the game. I would have liked to have been out there playing but it was what it was and it’s over now and I’m looking forward to Game 3.”

Stoll also said he talked to White, who missed Saturday’s game but might possibly play Tuesday.

“I texted him and we chatted a couple times. He appreciated the texts and reaching out to him,” Stoll said. “I wanted to make sure I did that and letting him know that I didn’t mean to hurt him in any way.”

Check back later for more at www.latimes.com/sports

RELATED:

Kings' Murray wants to move on from Jason Demers hit

Kings hoping for big things from Oscar Moller

-- Helene Elliott

Photo: Jarret Stoll. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / U.S. Presswire.

Kings' Murray wants to move on from Jason Demers hit

Kings Coach Terry Murray, who was irate Friday that San Jose defenseman Jason Demers wasn’t punished for a high hit on Kings forward Ryan Smyth in Game 1 Thursday, declined to discuss it again Saturday.

“You know what, it’s time to turn the page. This is Game 2. Forget about it,” Murray said after the team’s morning skate at HP Pavilion.

“The game is over. There was a lot of competitive atmosphere there. There’s a lot of competitive play. It was a good game and this is now Game 2 and that’s the focus.”

Murray said Friday that Demers’ hit in the third period was “five times more severe a hit on Ryan Smyth than what Jarret Stoll’s hit is on [Ian] White,” and compared it to a hit by Steve Downie four years ago that drew a 20-game suspension from the NHL.

“All I know is that other hit is five times more severe, more intent, traveling distance, launching yourself 2 to 3 feet off the ice and a blow to the head. That is a major, long-time suspension,” Murray said of the Demers hit, which occurred early in the third period.

Murray’s remarks were reviewed by the NHL but it’s believed he was not fined.

Smyth said he wasn't injured by the hit and hadn't looked at a replay. “At the time, on the ice, I thought it was a high hit,” he said. “Obviously, it wasn’t called so … things happen.”

A league executive who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly said Demers’ hit should have been a minor penalty and that a couple of other hits in the game probably should have led to penalties as well.

Demers, as could be expected, said his rising hit on Smyth didn’t merit punishment.

Kings hoping for big things from Oscar Moller

Greetings from San Jose, where the Kings held an optional skate this morning before Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Sharks.

The Kings will be without center Jarret Stoll, who was suspended by the NHL for one game for his hit from behind on San Jose defenseman Ian White during the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1. White won’t play Saturday but Sharks Coach Todd McLellan wouldn’t say whether he will play Kent Huskins or Justin Braun in White’s place.

For the Kings, Trevor Lewis will move up from the fourth line to center for Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams, and Oscar Moller will center the fourth line with Alexei Ponikarovsky and Kevin Westgarth.

Moller, who will make his NHL playoff debut, wasn’t the Kings’ first choice and Coach Terry Murray expressed concern about Moller’s stature possibly being a disadvantage against the Sharks’ bigger players.

The Swedish forward is listed as being 5-foot-10 and 189 pounds but that’s probably generous -- and it’s one reason he was moved from his natural center position to the right wing. John Zeiler, who was the Kings’ first choice to be recalled but couldn't clear 24-hour re-entry waivers in time, is listed at 5-11 and 204 pounds but he’s more muscular and scrappier than Moller.

“Oscar’s a good player. He’s more of a winger than he is a center iceman but he has played at center before,” Murray said. “He can handle the puck. He’s got great vision. He’s got good hands. He can make some plays. We’ll use him on the power play.

Murray says Kings accept Stoll suspension but think San Jose's Demers should have been punished too

Didn’t take long for the first-round playoff series between the Kings and Sharks to become nasty, did it?

Thursday's on-ice hostilities continued off the ice Friday, after Kings center Jarret Stoll was suspended one game for delivering what the NHL ruled was a check from behind on San Jose’s Ian White in the first period of the Sharks’ 3-2 series-opening overtime victory.

Kings Coach Terry Murray said the team would “accept the decision made by the league and get through the next game,” but then condemned the league for not punishing Sharks defenseman Jason Demers for a nasty, third-period hit on Ryan Smyth that should have been a minor charging penalty at least because Demers launched himself into the air to take Smyth down.

Neither play drew a penalty from referees Greg Kimmerly and Brad Watson. White suffered a cut above his lip and was wobbling as he left the ice and did not return to the game. Nor did he practice Friday. Sharks Coach Todd McLellan, asked about White’s prospects of playing Saturday in Game 2 at HP Pavilion was doubtful. “At this present time I’d say no,” he said after his team’s practice.

Murray, usually stoic in public, became loud and emotional in discussing the Demers hit.

“I want to say this: If Jarret Stoll gets suspended for that hit, Demers is five times more severe a hit on Ryan Smyth than what Jarret Stoll’s hit is on White,” Murray said after the Kings practiced at the Sharks’ practice facility.

“He meets every criteria that you can read about from league memorandums, every coach, every player, every management [figure] every owner knows about it. If you travel distance and you launch yourself two to three feet off the ice and throw an elbow at a person’s head, that is a suspension. Big-time suspension.

“I was behind the bench when Philadelphia played in Ottawa and Steve Downie got suspended for 25 games. There is no difference in the intent of that hit.”

Murray was referring to a 20-game suspension imposed against Downie in 2007 for a hit to the head of Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond in a preseason game.

Kings call up John Zeiler as Jarret Stoll serves one-game suspension

The Kings called up John Zeiler, not Brayden Schenn, to bolster their strength at center while Jarret Stoll serves his one-game suspension for his hit on San Jose’s Ian White.

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi declined comment on the Stoll suspension but Coach Terry Murray is expected to comment on his lineup after Friday’s practice. They’re still on the ice.

Stoll said: "Obviously I'm disappointed with the decision but I respect it."

The lines in practice Friday were Dustin Penner-Michal Handzus-Dustin Brown; Ryan Smyth-Trevor Lewis-Justin Williams; Kyle Clifford-Brad Richardson-Wayne Simmonds; Alexei Ponikarovsky-Oscar Moller-Kevin Westgarth.

However, Zeiler will play between Ponikarovsky and Westgarth on the fourth line, and Moller will sit again because of the physicality of this series and his size. Moller is listed at 5-foot-10 and 189 pounds but is probably smaller.

Zeiler, listed at 5-feet-11 and 204 pounds, was scoreless in four games with the Kings this season in November and December. With Manchester of the American Hockey league, he had nine goals, 28 points and 86 penalty minutes in 69 games. Murray is expected to comment on his lineup after Friday’s practice.

RELATED:

Jarret Stoll suspended for Game 2 against San Jose

Kings' Doughty, Sharks' Couture put friendship on hold for now

Kings' determination outdone by Sharks' depth in 3-2 overtime loss

-- Helene Elliott

Photo: John Zeiler during a game against the Ducks earlier this season. Credit: Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images

Kings' Jarret Stoll suspended for Game 2 against San Jose

Kings center Jarret Stoll was suspended by the NHL for one game as punishment for a hit that drove San Jose defenseman Ian White into the boards during the first period of the Sharks' 3-2 overtiem victory over the Kings in the teams' playoff opener Thursday at HP Pavilion.

Stoll, who participated in a telephone hearing with NHL executives Friday morning, will miss Game 2 of the series, to be played Saturday in San Jose. White, who suffered a cut lip and appeared wobbly as he left the ice, did not return to the game. He did not practice Friday and his status for Saturday’s game is questionable.

"At this present time I’d say no," Sharks Coach Todd McLellan said when asked if White will be able to play. McLellan also said White will be evaluated Saturday morning before the team’s game-day skate. The game was White’s first in the Stanley Cup playoffs after playing 401 regular-season games.

Stoll, though not known as a dirty player, used his forearm and elbow to drive White into the glass. Stoll wasn’t penalized at the time but the NHL has the authority to review any play in any game and impose a fine or suspension.

The Kings were due to skate at 1:45 p.m., so we’ll get reactions and update their lineup plans after they’re done. One possibility is that they will recall Brayden Schenn, who had been assigned to Manchester of the American Hockey League. He could play one game without triggering the first year of his contract. If he plays two, for a total of 10, the first year of his contract would be in effect. They could also reinstate Oscar Moller, who had been a healthy scratch for Game 1.

The Sharks, as could be expected, were united in decrying Stoll’s hit and its outcome. “I didn’t like it the first time and I didn’t like it on the replay,” Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said.”Probably three, four, five years ago nobody would have said anything. But now, with what they’re trying to eliminate in the game, that’s a prime example of a guy’s head right against the boards."

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

ALSO:

Kings call up John Zeiler to replace suspended Jarret Stoll

Kings' Doughty, Sharks' Couture put friendship on hold for now

--Helene Elliott, in San Jose

Photo: Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll (28) before the game against the Phoenix Coyotes at the Staples Center April 6, 2011. Credit: Kirby Lee /  US Presswire

Kings need quick turnaround--and a turnaround for Jonathan Quick--before they can celebrate

In two of their last three games the Kings have unwittingly been a footnote to history.

In losing last Thursday at Vancouver they allowed the Canucks to clinch the President’s trophy and top overall seeding in the playoffs. On Monday their 6-1 loss at San Jose allowed the Sharks to clinch a fourth consecutive Pacific division title.

Neither experience was a happy one for the Kings.

“It’s not fun at all, especially Vancouver. We’ve had a pretty good rivalry against them the last little bit,” forward Brad Richardson said. “It’s never easy seeing that team beat you or clinch the league.”

The Kings hoped to do some clinching of their own Tuesday night. To secure a playoff spot they need to gain two points or to have Dallas fail to get two points in its last four games, and the Stars are at home Tuesday to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Kings next play Wednesday, when they face Phoenix at Staples Center.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick, who gave up four goals on 16 shots at San Jose before being replaced by Jonathan Bernier, is scheduled to start against the Coyotes.

“There is no conversation. Quick’s our No. 1 goaltender. He’s the guy that we’re riding,” Coach Terry Murray said after the team practiced Tuesday in El Segundo.

Kings looking to Ducks for help; Justin Williams returns to the ice

The Kings found themselves in an unaccustomed position Sunday: rooting for the Ducks.

A victory by the Ducks over the Dallas Stars on Sunday in regulation would clinch a playoff berth for the Kings and the Ducks -- as well as for the Phoenix Coyotes.

“Go Ducks,” defenseman Jack Johnson said after the Kings practiced in El Segundo and prepared for their flight to San Jose for Monday’s game against the Sharks.

The Kings and Ducks have never made the playoffs in the same season, so it’s odd that they could change that bit of history on the same day. The Ducks missed the playoffs last season while the Kings qualified for the first time since 2002.

After a six-game, first-round elimination at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks last spring the Kings entered this season with high expectations. They experienced some extremes in successes and slumps and lost the production and creativity of forwards Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar in the last two weeks, but they’re fourth in the ultra-competitive Western Conference and might earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“Definitely our No. 1 goal coming into the season was making the playoffs. Surpassing what we did last year and getting further and deeper and, hopefully, winning is all we want,” center Jarret Stoll said. “That hasn’t changed.

“It’s been a lot of hard work. It’s been a long year. There’s been lots of ups and downs. There’s been a couple big downs, a couple big ups.”