KINGS, DUCKS STAY GROUNDED REVISED SCHEDULE EXPECTED TO HELP TEAMS REMAIN FRESH.Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer The Kings and 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. face each other eight times this season as part of the NHL's new staggered schedule that keeps the majority of games within a team's conference. The Kings play host to the Ducks on Oct. 25, Jan. 23, Jan. 28 and April 8. They also face the Ducks Dec. 16, Jan. 9, Jan. 30 and April 4 at the Pond. ``It will intensify the rivalry even more,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said of the staggered schedule. ``We've played some great games with the Ducks over the years. This is the year we meet them in the playoffs.'' The Kings begin the season Oct. 5 at Dallas, the first of three road meetings with the Stars during the opening 13 games of the season. The Ducks open on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional men's ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). . All 30 teams are scheduled to play opening night, a first for the league. Other marquee opening-night matchups include Montreal at Boston in an ``Original Six'' matchup, Ottawa at Toronto, the New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, U.S.A. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). at Philadelphia, and Carolina at Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. , in which the reigning 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 champion Lightning will raise their championship banner to the rafters after a year winning the cup. The Lightning makes two visits to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, : Dec. 14 against the Ducks and Jan. 17 vs. the Kings. The NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there will go on hiatus Feb. 13-27 so players can compete at the Olympics in Turin, Italy. There will not be an All-Star game this season because of the Olympic break. The regular season ends April 18, and the Stanley Cup playoffs begin three nights later. The last possible date for Game 7 of the finals is June 19. The staggered schedule was designed by the league to reduce travel costs. It also is expected to help the Kings and Ducks, two of the most-traveled teams in the NHL, remain fresh as the season progresses. One downside of the revised schedule format is local fans will not get a chance to see rookie phenom Sidney Crosby, who likely will be taken by Pittsburgh on Saturday with the first pick of the NHL entry draft The NHL Entry Draft is a collective meeting in which the franchises of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available amateur players who meet the eligibility requirements to play professional hockey in the NHL. . The Kings make just one East Coast trip, to Boston and Buffalo in January. The Ducks will not play the New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Devils have won the Stanley Cup three times, in 1995, 2000, and 2003. , whom they faced in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals. From March 19 to 25, the Ducks play five games on the road in seven nights, all outside the Pacific time zone. -- Burke denies latest rumors: Mighty Ducks general manager Brian Burke denied a report that he has settled on former NHL defenseman Randy Carlyle as the team's next head coach. ``We have not offered a contract to anybody yet,'' Burke said Wednesday from Ottawa, site of Saturday's NHL Entry Draft. The Winnipeg Sun reported Wednesday that Carlyle, coach of the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose and a former assistant with the Washington Capitals, is the favorite to replace Mike Babcock as Ducks coach. - A.J. Perez Matt McHale, (818) 713-3622 matt.mchale(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: KINGS SCHEDULE |
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