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 Ryan Getzlaf breaks down Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals

Well ladies and gentlemen, another hockey season in the books. Congratulations to the Boston Bruins!

Overall, I thought the series was a case of two hockey teams that had been good all season long and they both definitely deserved to be there. They put on a great show for the fans.

I thought Game 7 was a great hockey game where both teams showed up. I expected a closer game, where it would come down to one or two goals, but Boston took over early.

They had that sense of urgency right off the hop and they were able to carry that throughout. Once you get the first goal in a game like that, you just keep going and don’t let up. That was a big part of their game and why they had success. The Patrice Bergeron short-handed goal to make it 3-0 was like a dagger when you are trying to get some momentum back. It would have been really tough for Vancouver to come back from that.

I was surprised Vancouver wasn’t able to get more pucks to the net at the start of the game. They obviously got it going later because they finished the game with 37 shots. Boston’s Tim Thomas just played really well. The Canucks weren’t able to generate as much as they normally do early on and obviously that is what ended up hurting them.

Speaking of Tim Thomas, he was my Conn Smythe pick as playoff MVP. There wasn’t much doubt that he earned it, not only how he played in the playoffs, but throughout the whole year as well. The fact he was able to go into the playoffs and continue to play that well just shows his consistency. Even if Boston had lost, he only allowed one or two goals throughout most of the series, so it was well deserved.

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.

High-stakes reunion for Dustin Penner, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry

Left wing Dustin Penner has played against the Ducks many times since 2007, when he signed a free-agent offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers and left Anaheim only a few weeks after he had won the Stanley Cup with linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

But Penner, who was acquired by the Kings from Edmonton on Feb. 28, anticipated feeling more charged up to face the Ducks on Saturday night than ever before. The Kings and Ducks are battling each other and a tight field for playoff spots -- the Kings began the day fifth in the West but only four points ahead of the 10th-place Ducks -- and this will be the first of three times they’ll meet before the regular season ends. They will end the season with back-to-back games at Anaheim and Los Angeles on April 8-9.

“I can’t wait for these games the last three or four weeks of the season,” said Penner, who has two goals and six points in eight games with the Kings.

“I haven’t played a game against the Ducks that will rival what’s coming up here. The games in the past when I played for the Oilers won’t be anything like the intensity of these next three against them will be.”

Ducks reacquire Francois Beauchemin for Joffrey Lupul, prospect and draft pick

The Ducks upgraded their defense and created long-term salary cap space Wednesday when they reacquired defenseman Francois Beauchemin — a key figure in their 2007 Stanley Cup championship — from Toronto for winger Joffrey Lupul, touted college defense prospect Jake Gardiner and a conditional draft pick in 2013.

Beauchemin comes with a high salary cap hit of $3.8 million this season and next. But Lupul’s contract carries a cap hit of $4.25 million per year through the 2012-13 season. Without that contract on their books the Ducks should have more flexibility to re-sign core forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, whose contracts expire after the 2012-13 season, and keep them with winger Bobby Ryan, who is under contract through the 2014-15 season.

Beauchemin left the then-salary-cap-strapped Ducks as a free agent in 2009 to sign with the Maple Leafs. His time there has been rocky — he was -4 in 54 games this season and had only two goals and 12 points — but Ducks fans remember his hard hits, dangerous shot from the point, and the four goals and eight points he contributed in 20 playoff games in the 2007 playoffs while averaging a hefty 30 minutes and 33 seconds’ ice time per game.

Lupul came back from a devastating post-surgical infection to score five goals and 13 points in 26 games with the Ducks this season. Gardiner, 20, has averaged a point per game with the University of Wisconsin this season and was chosen by the Ducks in the first round of the 2008 entry draft. The Ducks were reluctant to give him up but paid that price to reinforce their defense for a playoff run this season.

Ducks General Manager Bob Murray had been looking to strengthen the defense since the team rebounded from a rocky start and reentered the playoff picture. If Beauchemin can approach his old form, their top six defensemen should be fairly strong.

Check back later for comments from Beauchemin and Murray.

-- Helene Elliott

Photo: Francois Beauchemin in 2007. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press

Ryan Getzlaf expected back in Ducks lineup in 2 weeks

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who has been recovering from nasal sinus fractures after being hit in the forehead by a puck Dec. 28, is expected to return to the lineup during the team's Western Canada trip beginning Feb. 9.

The 25-year-old center had a follow-up CT scan Wednesday, which showed the fractures are healing well and remain stable, according to a Ducks spokesman.

Getzlaf was injured during a game at Phoenix, when he was struck by a shot off the stick of Coyotes forward Shane Doan.

Getzlaf, who has 13 goals and 24 assists in 40 games this season, has been cleared to skate with the team beginning Monday. But as a precaution, the team will hold him out of the lineup for the next two games, Feb. 2 against the San Jose Sharks at the Honda Center and Feb. 5 against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

The Canada trip begins Feb. 9 against the Vancouver Canucks, then the Ducks face the Calgary Flames at Feb. 11 and close it out against the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 13.

--Debbie Goffa

Photo: Ryan Getzlaf. Credit: Gary A. Vasquez / US Presswire

Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf out indefinitely

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who was hit in the forehead by a puck during the game Tuesday against the Phoenix Coyotes, is out indefinitely after undergoing a second CT scan and visiting with a specialist (maxillofacial surgeon).

A club spokesman said: "The CT scan showed that the nasal sinus fractures are non-displaced and stable. However, more evaluation of the bone breaks [is] needed over the next several days before a definitive expected absence can be determined."

On Wednesday, Getzlaf was held out of practice after experiencing swelling in the forehead area and nausea.

On Thursday, the Ducks had said Getzlaf would not play either Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers or Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The game against the Flyers begins a six-game home stand for Anaheim.

-- Debbie Goffa

Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf out with sinus fractures

Following a CT scan, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has been placed on injured reserve, diagnosed with multiple nasal sinus fractures as a result of taking a puck to the forehead during Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Coyotes.

He will undergo additional tests to determine how long he might be out and any other required steps, according to a Ducks spokesman.

Getzlaf, who had to have 10 stitches to close the wound, had experienced swelling on his forehead and felt nauseated Wednesday.

He has been ruled out for Friday's home game against the Philadelphia Flyers and Sunday's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks. With 13 goals and 37 points, the Ducks are sure to miss him.

-- Debbie Goffa

Photo: Ryan Getzlaf. Credit: James Guillory, U.S. Presswire.

Drew Doughty, Teemu Selanne lead the local teams in NHL All-Star voting

The overall vote leader in the NHL's All-Star balloting is no surprise: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (pictured above). After two weeks of online voting, he now has 218,791 votes. 

The nicest surprise? The guy who jumped up to second place while no one was looking. That would be Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, whose 145,726 votes are the most among write-in candidates. That's right. Write-in. Price has been outstanding in goal so far this season.

Tampa Bay's scoring machine Steven Stamkos is third with 141,818 votes.  More than 6 million votes have been cast through last weekend.

But what about the Kings and Ducks?

Teemu Selanne is doing the best among Ducks with 25,545 votes. Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry aren't far behind him, though. Noteworthy write-in totals: goaltender Jonas Hiller has 9,791, Lubomir Visnovsky 7,137 and Cam Fowler 6,938.

The Kings?

Drew Doughty is leading the way with 94,606. Anze Kopitar has 31,923, while the very deserving Ryan Smith has 16,465. Noteworthy is team scoring leader Justin Williams as a write-in candidate with 8,486. Jonathan Quick comes in ninth among goaltenders with 40,140, while defenseman Jack Johnson has 12,871 write-in votes.

But it really makes you wonder what is going on when former Kings player Sean Avery (he currently ranks third in the league for penalty minutes) of the New York Rangers has 38,551 write-in votes. Even as a joke, this isn't funny.

Through Jan. 3, NHL fans will be able to select up to six players by position -- three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender -– without regard to the conference in which their teams play.

As part of a new format for the 2011 All-Star game, the three forwards, two defensemen and goalie with the most votes will be named first NHL All-Stars. Want to vote? Click here. Meanwhile, here are

4 Ducks, 4 Kings make NHL All-Star ballot

The NHL released the All-Star ballot Friday, and the steady Kings and the newly surging Ducks each placed four names on the 100-name list.

For the 11-3-0 Kings, goaltender Jonathan Quick, forwards Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty made the ballot, while the high-scoring "core four" forwards from the Ducks made it -- Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks have a league-high six players on the ballot: defensemen Brian Campbell, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook plus forwards Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane.

Twenty-year-old center Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is making his first appearance on the ballot. He currently leads the league in goals and points this season, and his 51 goals last season tied him with Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby for the goal-scoring title.

Crosby also made the ballot. Here is a full list.

Voting, which begins Monday and runs through Jan. 3, will be entirely online -- including for the first time through Facebook (facebook.com/NHL) -- and through mobile devices. Fans can select up to six players by position -- three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender –- without regard to the conference in which their teams play.

The three forwards, two defensemen and goalie with the most votes will be named first NHL All-Stars.

Oh, and fans will also have the ability to write in a player of their choice. Anyone for Ducks rookie defenseman Cam Fowler or forward Saku Koivu or Kings forward Justin Williams or defenseman Jack Johnson?

After the fans select the top six, the remaining 36 All-Stars will be named by the NHL from the list and write-in votes for a total of 42 All-Stars (three goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards per team). In addition, 12 NHL rookies will be chosen by the NHL to participate in a skills contest for a total of 54 participants.

After the 42 have been selected, two captains will be chosen per team by the players. Then a draft will be held with all 54 during which the captains will draft the remaining members of their respective teams.

The All-Star game will be Sunday, Jan. 30, at RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.

-- Debbie Goffa

 

 

 

Ryan Getzlaf takes Ducks past Flyers, 3-2

The Ducks did what was starting to look like the impossible. They won on the road. And against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Captain Ryan Getzlaf came through with 1 minute 46 seconds left in the game, taking a crossing pass from Matt Beleskey and pushing the puck past a scramble in front of the net to score his third goal of the season.

Final score: Ducks 3, Flyers 2. The Flyers (2-3-1) outshot the Ducks, 42-22, but backup goalie Curtis McElhinney was strong when he needed to be. The Ducks are now 3-4-1 and next play the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday. Go to latimes.com/sports for tonight's game story.

-- Debbie Goffa