JACKED UP: KINGS' PROSPECT DEBUTS BUT IT IS A FAMILIAR END FOR L.A.: A LOSS VANC. 4, KINGS 2.Byline: JUSTIN FRANK Special to the Daily News Jack Johnson Jack Johnson may refer to:
Organization of professional North American ice-hockey teams. The league was formed in 1917 by five Canadian teams; the first U.S. team, the Boston Bruins, was added in 1924. It today consists of 30 teams in two conferences and six divisions. debut with the Kings. "It's going to be fast. Obviously it's as good as it gets," said Johnson, the defenseman expected to be a mainstay on the blueline blue·line or blue line n. Either of two blue lines running across an ice-hockey rink, usually 60 feet from each goal, and dividing the rink into defensive, neutral, and offensive zones. for the Kings for years to come. "Honestly, I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what to expect, but it's going to be fun." Johnson, acquired Sept. 29 from the Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). for center Eric Belanger Éric Bélanger (born December 16, 1977 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian professional hockey centre. He currently plays for the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild. and defenseman Tim Gleason Tim Gleason (b. January 29 1983, Clawson, Michigan) is a professional ice hockey defenceman for the Carolina Hurricanes. Gleason was drafted twenty-third overall from the Windsor Spitfires in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. , was playing for the University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. in the NCAA Tournament barely a week ago, joined the Kings for Thursday's game against Vancover, which won 4-2 in front of 17,916 at Staples Center. The 20-year-old defenseman, selected third overall in the 2005 NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there draft by Carolina, didn't have to wait long to get on the ice. When he was announced as part of the starting lineup, he was greeted with a loud standing ovation by Kings fans, who haven't had much to cheer about this season. From that point, it became clear that Johnson, who despite just signing a multi-year contract Tuesday, was going to receive a full complement of playing time from head coach Marc Crawford. "I talked to him and said, 'Just go out and play with passion.' There's going to be a lot of time for us to make corrections," Crawford said during the team's morning skate. "We're going to give him limited instructions on how we play. We just want him to go with his instincts and play with passion." During his fourth shift in the first period, Johnson, who led all NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association defensemen with 16 goals this season, found himself with his first action on the penalty-killing unit paired with Jamie Heward. Then, Johnson got his first dose of professional-hockey reality when Markus Naslund, parked behind the net, sent a pass that deflected off a sliding Johnson, only to be put into the right corner of the net by former King Bryan Smolinski, giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead with 11:44 remaining in the first period. Less than five minutes later Dustin Brown scored on the power play when he deflected Heward's shot into the net for his 16th goal of the season to counter Johnson's bad luck and tie the score at 1-1. Johnson played a total of 15 shifts for nearly 12 minutes through two periods and showed aggressiveness on defense by delivering hard hits and was not shy about trying to get involved in the offense to in a effort to help the Kings against playoff-bound Vancouver. But, Johnson's aggressiveness worked against him when he carried the puck passed the blue line with 14:43 remaining in the second period. Johnson received a vicious hip check from Vancouver center Jan Bulis, sending Johnson head-over-heels in the air. Veteran left winger Scott Thornton took offense and confronted Bulis. Thornton pushed Bulis and recieved a roughing penalty for defending the young defenseman. The Canucks seemed to pull away with second-period goals by Daniel Sedin and Taylor Pyatt to take a 3-1 lead through two periods. The Kings trimmed the deficit when Anze Kopitar scored 6:43 into the third period off a one-timer from Brown to beat Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo. But Daniel Sedin ended any Kings' hope with an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left. justin.frank@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Defenseman Jack Johnson made his NHL debut Thursday. (2) The Kings' Jack Johnson battles for control of the puck over Vancouver's Alexandre Burrows as Sean Burke looks on. Edna T. Simpson/Daily News |
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