AVALANCHE AHEAD FOR KINGS VICTORY OVER DUCKS GIVES L.A. SOME MOMENTUM KINGS 1, DUCKS 0.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer They were the plucky pluck·y adj. pluck·i·er, pluck·i·est Having or showing courage and spirit in trying circumstances. See Synonyms at brave. pluck little Kings a year ago, a scrappy group that few hockey minds counted on to do much in the playoffs, until they pulled a stunning first-round upset of Detroit and then pushed Colorado to a seventh and final game. This time, the Avalanche has every reason to take the Kings seriously. The Kings' 1-0 victory over the Mighty Ducks
Mighty Ducks is a half-hour Disney animated series aired on ABC and The Disney Afternoon in the fall of 1996. Twenty-six episodes total were produced. on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. gave them the seventh seed in the Western Conference and a first-round series with Colorado that begins Wednesday or Thursday in Denver. Colorado's tie with Dallas on Sunday pushed the Avalanche ahead of San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. for the second seed. ``Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup Stanley Cup: see hockey, ice. Stanley Cup Trophy awarded annually to the winning team of the National Hockey League championship. Named for its donor, the Canadian governor-general Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston ,'' Kings forward Adam Deadmarsh Adam Deadmarsh (born May 10, 1975 in Trail, British Columbia) is a former National Hockey League hockey player who played for the 1996 Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup winning team. said. ``We have to have high expectations. We're not here to win two rounds and then go home. We're here to win, but every other team will be there for the same reason.'' If nothing else, the Kings go into the playoffs with a bit of momentum. Ziggy Palffy scored a power-play goal in the third period to beat the Mighty Ducks, and if the Kings had lost or tied the game, they would have faced top-seeded Detroit in a rematch of last year's first-round series. The Kings nearly drew San Jose, but Phoenix scored four times in the third period to beat Nashville and pass the Kings for sixth place. In the West, first-round series include Detroit vs. Vancouver, San Jose vs. Phoenix and St. Louis vs. Chicago. And for the Kings it's the Avalanche, a team they split four games with this season and a team led by former King Rob Blake For other persons of the same name, see Robert Blake. Robert Bowlby "Rob" Blake (born December 10 1969, in Simcoe, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey defenceman in the NHL, playing for the Los Angeles Kings where he is the captain. , the player Staples Center fans love to hate. ``I think we have the respect of Colorado, not just because of what we did against them last year but because of how we played them this year,'' coach Andy Murray said. Unsteady play has marred the Kings' past couple weeks, but they finished just four points behind the Avalanche and had just one loss more than Colorado. There also were plenty of positives to take away from Sunday's game, even though it had no real meaning to the Mighty Ducks except to be a spoiler spoiler: see airplane. 1. spoiler - A remark which reveals important plot elements from books or movies, thus denying the reader (of the article) the proper suspense when reading the book or watching the movie. 2. . Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Kings didn't look sharp but played with the grittiness Murray desires. The game lacked playoff atmosphere but had a similar feel, with tight-checking defense controlling the pace of play. Perhaps most important for the Kings, they came through with a big third-period goal and held the lead. Jason Allison Jason Paul Allison (born May 29 1975, in North York, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey centre in the NHL, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. Playing career Allison attended Humber Summit Middle School and Emery Collegiate Institute in North York. started the play behind the net and tried a wraparound Wraparound A financing device that permits an existing loan to be refinanced and new money to be advanced at an interest rate between the rate charged on the old loan and the current market interest rate. shot. Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere made the save but couldn't cover the puck, and Palffy poked in the rebound 3:03 into the third period. Backup goaltender Jamie Storr Jamie Storr (born December 28, 1975 in Brampton, Ontario) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the DEG Metro Stars of the DEL. Storr is half-Chinese and has Chinese dragons on his mask to honor his mother. made it stand up from there with 23 saves and his 13th career shutout. ``It was good to see us play well with the lead in the third period,'' forward Ian Laperriere said. ``It was a very intense hockey game, very similar to what you will see in the playoffs. They say defense wins championships. It's a cliche, but it's also true. This is a big boost for us. They were playing hard because they had nothing to lose.'' The victory brought an end to the Kings' long and winding regular season, which started with just five victories in the first 19 games and didn't start to turn around until December. The Kings finished with 95 points, two more than Murray predicted they would need to make the playoffs, and a better understanding of what they need to do. Pushing Colorado to seven games last season made the Kings feel like something of a success, but that result wouldn't make any of them happy this time. ``I think it's really two things,'' team captain Mattias Norstrom said of the keys to playoff success. ``It's first of all limiting shots against, and then secondly we need to find that desperation we showed down the stretch in getting into the playoffs, because that is what it takes to get to the second round.'' KINGS vs. COLORADO Thursday Kings at Colorado, 7 p.m. Saturday Kings at Colorado, Noon April 22 Colorado at Kings, 7:30 p.m. April 23 Colorado at Kings, 7:30 p.m. *April 25 Kings at Colorado, 6:30 p.m. *April 27 Colorado at Kings, 3 p.m. *April 29 Kings at Colorado *If necessary CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: The Kings' Jason Allison maneuvers in front of Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, right. John Hayes/Associated Press Box: KINGS vs. COLORADO (see text) |
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