Kings’ Canadian players ready to smile for the hometown folks

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Playing for a West Coast NHL team in the U.S. can make it difficult for players to gain recognition in Canada. Not every team plays all of the other franchises, so players from Eastern Canada don’t always get the chance to have their exploits aired for the folks back home. At best, the occasional game is relegated to very late-night TV.

For the Eastern Canadian players on the Kings, tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Staples Center offers a rare chance to show off for friends and relatives. And they were eagerly looking forward to it.

‘All my buddies and family and friends will be watching back home, so I know they’re pretty excited,’ said rookie defenseman Drew Doughty, who’s from London, about a 120-mile drive from Toronto.

‘It’s awesome. It’s always been a dream, in a way, growing up and watching the Leafs play. And so it’s going to be fun.’

Rookie forward Wayne Simmonds, a Toronto native, said his mom was planning to host a game-watching party for friends and family. ‘I lived in Toronto my whole life, and every Saturday got to watch the Toronto game,’ he said. ‘So it’s a thrill playing against them.’

Kings Coach Terry Murray ruefully said he wished he’d spoken to his players about the pressures of playing before the home-country crowd before they played at Calgary last Tuesday -- and fell flat on their faces in a 6-2 loss. He said he’d consider making mention of that in his pre-game talk Monday.

‘I can remember past teams that I’ve coached, we’d run into some situations where players try to do way too much, get our of their element and get out of their team game,’ he said.

--Helene Elliott