Schwarzes Brett » captain Dion Phaneuf

LOS ANGELES -- Big, fast and physical, the Los Angeles Kings play a punishing brand of hockey. But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents. "Very opportunistic, first and foremost," Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh said of the Kings game. "They make something out of nothing a few times in the game and thats whats dangerous. "You feel like youve got them. You feel like youve got a simple battle in the corner, youve got numbers back. It doesnt matter, they find a way to get a puck towards the net and get a bounce, get the right body position. Youve got to maintain your discipline and your focus all the way through until your shift is done." Goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who faced 20 shots in the third period of the Rangers 3-2 overtime loss in Game 1, says the Kings can threaten from anywhere. "They like to throw pucks from the outside, go for rebounds," said the stylish Swede. "A lot of times you might not think theres a big chance, but a lot of times they create something from second and third chances, not necessarily from the first shot. "Its important that you dont relax even though you feel like you have everything under control maybe in the first sequence. Thats when they can surprise you a little bit." "They throw a lot of bodies, throw a lot of pucks on net," Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi summed up. The Kings certainly have the Rangers attention. New York coach Alain Vigneault has spent the last two days urging his team to dig deep for Game 2 Saturday. "If youre in the final, and your expectations are to win, you have to bring your best game to the table. Our guys are aware of that," he said. "Our guys are talking to themselves, between themselves about it. Were all looking for a better response (Saturday)." Both teams practised Friday -- the Rangers at Staples Center and the Kings at their practice facility in suburban El Segundo. There will likely be lineup changes on both sides. Rangers defenceman John Moore, eligible to return from a two-game suspension, resumed his normal spot in practice. And Kings coach Darryl Sutter said veteran defenceman Robyn Regehr, who has been out injured since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, will "probably" play. Vigneault says backup goalie Cam Talbot remains day-do-day with an undisclosed injury. Despite losing last time out, the Rangers were as cool as ice Friday. The message has been to turn the page on Game 1, while turning it up a notch for Game 2. For the Kings, its stay the course. That means playing with discipline and putting their bodies on the line for the 105th time since the start of the regular season. It is to their credit that they can continue to play their game. "Our style is not easy to play for 82 games every night," acknowledged captain Dustin Brown when asked about the teams scoring lapses during the regular season. "Sometimes we get into a funk and everyone focuses on our goal-scoring. "There was a stretch of games (during the regular season) where we couldnt score but we were finding ways to win games because we played the right way on the other side of the puck. I think thats where a lot of our success comes from, is really the defensive side of the puck." Los Angeles ranked 26th in the league during the regular season with 2.42 goals a game. It helped that the Kings were first in goals-against average at 2.05. In the playoffs, they lead with 3.46 goals a game. They are in the middle of the playoff pack with 2.82 goals against. Asked how they have managed to add a gear in the post-season, Brown said champions find a way. "This time of year, good teams find that extra," he said. The Kings clearly take pride in the toll that their game takes on opponents. "When teams play against us and say that Man, these guys compete, they play hard. They battle for every puck. And yeah, to win four out of seven against these guys is going to take a lot," said defenceman Willie Mitchell. "If other teams are saying that, or people from the outside are kind of giving us that label, it means that were doing a lot of things here and well continue to do that." On Saturday, its the Rangers time to dig deep. "We have to expect theyre going to be a lot better," said New York forward Brad Richards. "We have to be better or youre going to be down 2-0 ... Its this time of year. You get one crack at it. You got to raise it. Theres no other option." Added Girardi: "We know in the room here that we have what it takes to get the job done." "Were going to be ready (Saturday)," said Vigneault. A good performance and the Rangers go home happy. "It would be really nice to have (the series) 1-1 leaving L.A.," said forward Carl Hagelin. Air Max 90 Pas Cher Femme Acheter . So he and his Toronto FC teammates say they will have no problem getting up for their Amway Canadian Championship final against rival Montreal Impact, even if the result doesnt count toward Major League Soccer standings. Air Max 90 Homme Pas Cher Fausse .I shared with him how much I appreciated all he had done for us, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said of that Thursday night farewell. http://www.outletairmaxpascher.fr/fausse...x-97-ultra.html. Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. Vapormax Noir Pas Cher Soldes . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. Air Max Plus Pas Cher Destockage . -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. TORONTO -- Brendan Shanahans first off-season as Toronto Maple Leafs president is almost over, but that doesnt mean hes done. The Leafs are expected to hire another assistant general manager to work with Kyle Dubas under Dave Nonis, something Shanahan said they should have in the works by next week. "Theres always more to do," Shanahan said Thursday. "Once you get something accomplished, its always on to the next thing. I think we made some good changes, but its about getting on the ice and playing and competing and seeing what you have and developing. "For me, once you do something its always: Whats next?" This off-season, the Leafs traded defenceman Carl Gunnarsson to the St. Louis Blues for Roman Polak; signed defenceman Stephane Robidas and forwards Leo Komarov, Petri Kontiola, Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik, David Booth; re-acquired forward Matt Frattin from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jerry DAmigo and signed defencemen Jake Gardiner and Cody Franson, forwards Peter Holland, Carter Ashton, Trevor Smith and Troy Bodie and goaltender James Reimer to new contracts. Behind the bench, they extended coach Randy Carlyles contract, fired assistants Scott Gorddon, Dave Farrish and Greg Cronin, hired Peter Horachek and promoted Steve Spott from the AHLs Marlies to an NHL assistant role.dddddddddddd And in the front office they fired Claude Loiselle and Dave Poulin and began the process of replacing them by hiring 28-year-old Dubas. When he was introduced just after the 2013-14 season ended, shortly after an eight-game losing streak took the Leafs out of playoff contention, Shanahan promised a "culture change" for the team. At Thursdays news conference to reveal Ted (Teeder) Kennedy would be the first player honoured as part of the new Legends Row, Shanahan didnt let on about any more grand plans to that end. "I really just think that you just want to do things the right way," he said. "When you talk about making big changes, its really about doing a whole lot of little things the right way." One thing left on Shanahans off-season to-do list was meeting with captain Dion Phaneuf, who will be starting a US$49-million, seven-year contract signed at the Winter Classic. Shanahan seemed ready to make his trip to Prince Edward Island to see Phaneuf. "Weve scheduled some time to spend together," Shanahan said. "I think hes out catching me some lobsters right now." ' ' '