Kings-Ducks game may set up where they stand
Willie Mitchell doesn’t need to look at a calendar to know the playoffs are approaching.
“Practices are shorter. Games are more intense. It’s a fun time of year,” the Kings’ veteran defenseman said. “Everything speeds up. It’s a gradual progression. It’s all good. Every little play gets a little bit more magnified.”
Imagine how much every play would be magnified if the Kings and Ducks meet in the first round of the playoffs, a distinct possibility under the NHL’s new, division-based playoff format. Their game Saturday night at Staples Center could be a playoff preview, and it comes at a pivotal time for both teams.
The Kings, who won eight straight games before they ran into an acrobatic James Reimer on Thursday in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, say they’re generally happy with how they’ve played and just need to clean things up. That means fewer turnovers, more focus on the power play, and attention to little details that become big difference-makers in postseason play.
The areas they emphasize will change depending on the previous game or a pattern established over a few games, but their overall philosophy is unchanged.
“The one thing everpresent on this hockey club that we always work on is playing good defense. That’s our staple. We have the lowest goals-against in the league and we know that works at this time of year and the time of year we want to get to, coming up,” Mitchell said of the team’s 2.03 goals-against average.
While they encounter some bumps in the road, the Kings can see the rewards that await them at the end of the path.
“We’re going the right direction. We know we’re going the right way. But we also know we can be better,” center Jarret Stoll said.
“At points in that winning streak, we weren’t, I don’t think, playing our best hockey. We were getting away with some things. We were getting lucky and we were getting some bounces and breaks. You need that too. Don’t get me wrong. But you don’t want to let things slip.”
By contrast, the Ducks — who ended a four-game winless streak and 3-5-2 slump when they beat Colorado, 6-4, on Friday — showed signs of needing to clean up their whole act.
Their power play has fumbled and stumbled. The secondary scoring that enabled them to pull out ahead in the West has become scarce. St. Louis overtook them for the top seed in the conference and they’ve lost their once-impressive lead in the Pacific division.
“All of a sudden San Jose has caught Anaheim and it’s interesting,” Stoll said Friday after the Kings practiced at El Segundo.
“It’s a fun time of year to watch games and to see how teams are doing, teams that are going downhill and teams that are going uphill.”
Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau was noncommittal Friday when asked about a possible first-round playoff matchup against the Kings.
“If it happens, it happens. You’ve got to beat the best to win, so it doesn’t matter where you play them,” he said.
“The minute you start hoping for another team to play in the playoffs, that team comes up and bites you in the [rear]. It is who we play. Whoever’s in that position, we want to be the best we can be at that point and we hope to get to the next round.”
Goaltender Jonas Hiller said who the Ducks play is less important than how they’re playing as the season ends.
“Everything’s so close together, it’s tough to look too far ahead right now,” he said. “You want to win as many games as possible, want to be as high up as possible, plus you want to be playing your best, feeling good about yourselves at the end when you start the playoffs.”
Playing each other Saturday should provide them a good indication of where they stand. Their final regular-season game will be April 12 at Staples Center.
“Nothing against the teams we’ve played but they haven’t put up the points that a team like Anaheim has,” Mitchell said. “Toronto was a step in that direction. It was a game we lost. They didn’t catch us by surprise by any means. I just think that we didn’t play a solid 60 minutes, and playing against Anaheim we’re going to have to play a solid 60 minutes to win the hockey game. That’s just a given.
“Those games are going to be key for us just getting into the playoffs to win those games, and also just getting ready for the playoffs.”
And to see whether they clean up or get cleaned out.