Over the Boards: Candid Cammalleri welcomes ‘Instagram effect’ in L.A.
A lot has changed in Los Angeles since veteran forward Mike Cammalleri started his career with the Kings (2002-08). He returned to the club in the off-season on a one-year deal. “The only guys from my first time here are (Anze) Kopitar and (Dustin) Brown,” said Cammalleri, whose Kings lost to the Maple Leafs on Monday night at the Air Canada Centre. “Those guys have been friends ever since. That makes the transition easy. I call it the Instagram effect. You know each other’s kids and families without even being around each other all that much.”
GROWING MANTHA: Anthony Mantha has figured out his game after opening his career with more inconsistencies than the Red Wings would have liked. “From a year ago till now our expectations internally are extremely high,” said Wings coach Jeff Blashill. “When a player gets good ice time, and gets lots of opportunity on the power play, the expectations raise. He’s had a lot of nights where he is one of the better players on the ice, if not the best player on the ice. It’s just a matter of learning to do that every single night.” QUICK HANDS: Ottawa centre Kyle Turris is again one of the league’s top faceoff men, winning more than 58 per cent. He said he’s adapted early to the league’s crackdown on faceoff violations. “The key at the beginning was finding the relationship with the linesman as to where your feet are allowed to be and not allowed to be, and where they expect you to have your stick,” said Turris. “As long as you’re outside the lines legally, when you put your stick down, when they drop the puck, you can do anything.”
ICE CHIPS: The Red Wings, perhaps spoiled by the fantastic ice at their former home in the hockey-only Joe Louis Arena, aren’t happy to have to deal with soft ice in the new rink known as Little Caesars Arena. “Halfway through the periods, if the puck
starts bouncing, you just have to take more care of it,” forward Gustav Nyquist said. It’s a byproduct of playing in a multi-sports venue, with the NBA Pistons calling it home. “We should be able to get better ice,” said veteran forward Henrik Zetterberg. “It’s not just this building but a lot of buildings. The technology that we have nowadays, we should be able to be better.”
TALK IT UP: Turns out Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop is a chatterbox. The 30-year-old, who signed a sixyear contract that averages $4.9 million a season, is off to a great start with his new team (5-1-0 with a 2.09 GAA and .928 save percentage). His teammates love his on-ice chattiness. “He talks a ton out there, helping the defencemen,” Dan Hamhuis told the Dallas Morning News. “He’s
another set of eyes and a mouth that’s letting us know what to do. He’s been huge for us. He’s held us in there when we’ve needed it and gave us a win.”
STATS PACK: Leaf Patrick Marleau has 99 career game-winning goals. . . . Rick Nash’s next game for the Rangers will be his 1,000th in the NHL. . . . Joe Thornton’s next point with the Sharks will move him into a tie for 20th all-time in NHL scoring. His 1,397 points sit one shy of Jari Kurri. . . . The Capitals are spending an average of 12:39 in the penalty box this year, up from 9:08 last year. . . . Mike Green has 10 assists in nine games, the third time in Red Wings history a defenceman has recorded 10 or more assists through the team’s first nine games. Nicklas Lidstrom did it the other two times.