SLAV LABOR PAYS OFF SPECIAL BOND FORMS ON KINGS' TOP LINE.Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer Monday night in Anaheim was more than an overtime victory for the Kings. It was a coming out party for three guys from two countries who play on one line. Ziggy Palffy and Jozef Stumpel are Slovakian. Rookie Tomas Vlasak is from the Czech Republic Czech Republic, Czech Česká Republika (2005 est. pop. 10,241,000), republic, 29,677 sq mi (78,864 sq km), central Europe. It is bordered by Slovakia on the east, Austria on the south, Germany on the west, and Poland on the north. . Those nations (formerly Czechoslovakia) split from each other in the wake of the Communist downfall in Eastern Europe Eastern Europe The countries of eastern Europe, especially those that were allied with the USSR in the Warsaw Pact, which was established in 1955 and dissolved in 1991. in the early 1990s. But there is a bond among these three that cannot be stopped by borders or a hot goaltender. ``We will always be one,'' Stumpel said. ``It doesn't matter what it says on your passport.'' Ask anyone around the Kings these days and the chemistry on the club's first line is unmistakable. In their second game together, against 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. , Stumpel scored his first goal of the season, Vlasak scored his first in the NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there and Palffy merely scored the game-winner in overtime. It is a night the three will retell re·tell tr.v. re·told , re·tell·ing, re·tells 1. To relate or tell again or in a different form. 2. To count again. Verb 1. many times over dumplings at their favorite restaurant, Czech-Pointe in Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. . Palffy and Stumpel are neighbors in nearby Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach, city (1990 pop. 32,063), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1912. It is a residential and beach community with an oil refinery and nearby factories that produce transportation and electrical equipment, computers, and pottery. . Palffy let another new teammate, Lubomir Visnovsky, stay at his house when the rookie defenseman first arrived after playing six years in the Slovakian League. It is a trend that is growing more common throughout the NHL, which now has its first Czech coach in Pittsburgh's Ivan Hlinka Ivan Hlinka (January 26, 1950 - August 16, 2004) was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He was one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey. Playing career Ivan Hlinka was one of the greatest hockey players in Czechoslovak and Czech history. . The Penguins Jaromir Jagr, also Czech, is the sport's most dynamic player. In addition to 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). , the St. Louis Blues employ an all-Czech line of Michal Handzus, Pavol Demitra Pavol Demitra (Born November 29, 1974 in Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia) is a Slovakian professional ice hockey player. He plays left wing and centre. He is currently playing for the Minnesota Wild. Playing career Pavol Demitra currently plays for the NHL's Minnesota Wild. and Lubos Bartecko. And though line pairings often are dictated by the flow of the game, the Kings also like to use Visnovsky and Slovakian defensemate Jaroslav Modry on the ice when the first line is playing. ``It has been emotional for me,'' said Vlasak, who scored his first goal Monday on assists by Stumpel and Palffy at 9:19 of the second period. ``I have never played with Ziggy or Stumpy, but they are big stars in my country. I know them by watching them for so long.'' Pairing these players from the former Czechoslovakia was a vision general manager Dave Taylor and coach Andy Murray had long before training camp opened in early September. The three had never played together before Saturday. Stumpel was involved in a lengthy holdout hold·out n. One that withholds agreement or consent upon which progress is contingent. Noun 1. holdout - a negotiator who hopes to gain concessions by refusing to come to terms; "their star pitcher was a holdout for six . Vlasak, original drafted by the Kings in 1993, played overseas until this year when he signed over the summer. But one practice was all it took. ``You could see it right away,'' said defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who played in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of with a Czech line of Petr Nedved, Radek Dvorak and Jan Hlavac. ``They have a common language on the ice, which means a lot. They have a style of playing that is far different than North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. players. They handle the puck more, move it around. All that creates great chemistry.'' Palffy, one of the game's top snipers, opened the season with 12 points in six games with first liners Luc Robitaille and rookie center Eric Belanger. Bothered by a bad back at the end of last season, Palffy displayed the form that led to three straight 40-goal seasons with the New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, a hamlet located on Long Island in Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. . Because Stumpel was out, the Kings did not want to pair Palffy with Vlasak and Belanger. There is not a six-footer in the group. But the 6-foot-4 Sumpel allowed the smaller players to work together. In an overhaul of the Kings lines, Robitaille moved to the second unit with Glen Murray, Steven Reinprecht became the second-line center in place of Bryan Smolinski, who moved down to play with Nelson Emerson with the fourth unit. ``I don't really like to call any group the first unit,'' Murray said. ``To say this group is better than one with Luc Robitaille on it would not be fair. Luc had 36 goals for us last year. That's pretty darm good. But we wanted to try this group. ``There has been a lot of energy out there for the last two games.'' After an 0-3-1 stretch, the win against the Mighty Ducks was the club's first in more than 10 days. The Kings scored three goals against Dallas last Friday but were beaten 4-3 on a late power-play goal by Brett Hull. Without injured Rob Blake, the Kings were 0 for their last 15 with the man advantange. Monday, the Kings scored just once on the power play, but it came 1:04 into overtime when Palffy took a pass from Schneider and ripped it past Ducks goaltender Guy Hebert. Even though they were playing in the enemy building, a huge cheer went up. An impassioned homeland smiled. Murray, who used to coach the Canadian National team Canadian National Team or Team Canada can mean various things:
Although Palffy and Stumpel are Slovakian, they played junior hockey in the old Czech system. Although the capital city of Prague makes the Czech Republic more progressive than Slovakia, the rivalry is intense. ``I had our team over there and we beat them on a power-play goal,'' Murray said. ``Ziggy played in that game. The referee called the penalty late in the game. In their building. 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. how the referee got out alive. ``We can see that passion in our players. The season is young, but we like what we see.'' KINGS VS. MIGHTY DUCKS --Time: 7:30 p.m., Staples Center. --TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net; KRLA-AM (1110). --Matchups: No great strategy changes for teams that faced each other Monday night at the Pond. The Kings will continue to play four lines, which was difficult at times Monday when the Ducks double-shifted their top players Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. As a result, ex-Duck Stu Grimson did not play in the third period. Although the Ducks tied thegame with two goals in the third, Kings coach Andy Murray was pleased the Ducks only got four shots in the final period of regulation. The Kings also outshot the Ducks 35-24. - Matt McHale CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1) Tomas Vlasak, here celebrating the Czech Republic's gold-medal win in the 1999 world hockey championships, loves playing with new Kings teammates Jozef Stumpel and Ziggy Palffy. Andrew Vaughan/Associated Press (2) STUMPEL (3) PALFFY Box: KINGS VS. MIGHTY DUCKS (see text) |
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