Jack Johnson, as quoted on the Twitter account of The Sporting News’ Craig Custance after the United States’ loss to Canada: “You win a gold. You win a bronze. You lose a silver.”

With Canada’s 3-2 overtime victory over the United States, Drew Doughty became the first player to win Olympic gold while representing the Kings. Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller won silver playing for the United States in 2002, and four Kings have won bronze medals. Congrats also to the Kings’ silver medalists, Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick.

Kings in the Olympics

Everyone getting ready for USA-Canada? Check back soon, and we’ll do a live chat here during the game.

Practice is ongoing now in El Segundo, with 4-on-4 drills. Dustin Brown, Michal Handzus and Jonathan Quick will be back in L.A. tonight and will fly to Dallas with the team tomorrow. Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson will fly from Vancouver to Dallas tomorrow.

The bronze medals in men’s hockey will be awarded tonight when Slovakia plays Finland. If Slovakia (with Michal Handzus) wins, it will mean that all five Kings in the tournament will win a medal. That won’t be the most for a single NHL team though. Chicago has six players still going: Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa (Slovakia), Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews (Canada) and Patrick Kane (USA).

It’s likely, though, that the Kings are getting something valuable beyond medals. They’re getting experience in intense, playoff-like games. Remember, that as the Kings made their March-April push for the playoffs, precious few players have playoff experience. Among the Olympians, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick have never been in an NHL playoff game or, really, even been in a late-season playoff race. Handzus has been to the playoffs, but not since 2006. Terry Murray talked about the type of feeling the Olympians will be able to bring back to the Kings…

MURRAY: “This is going to be a great experience for every one of the players. It’s been a while since Zeus has been in those critical situations himself. So to go through it right now, at the level of intensity that they’re playing at, and that they’re going to see in the next game, I think it’s tremendous for them, and it’s going to be great for our hockey club. They’re going to bring that energy back to the locker room and be able to talk about the great experience that they went through. That, in itself, is going to give the young players in this locker room a lot of good feeling and good feedback.”

One more semifinal to go. Who will win, Canada’s Drew Doughty or Slovakia’s Michal Handzus? Either way, it’s setting up nicely for the Kings’ players. If the Canada-Slovakia loser beats Finland in tomorrow’s bronze-medal game, all five Kings will win a medal. Feel free to discuss the developments of tonight’s game here!

(And congrats to the Canadian women for the big curling uh, silver today!) (EDIT: Thought I saw a final score. Dewey beat Truman too, right?)

The Kings have made it through three days of practice, and three remain. Tomorrow, there isn’t an on-ice practice, but the team will workout in El Segundo before branching out for the rink tour. After that, it’s practice Sunday and Monday before Tuesday’s game at Dallas.

The practices have been increasingly intense, with two sessions yesterday and today, and some scrimmaging today. Each practice has ended with a vigorous skate, and even Jamie Storr is participating! Here’s what Murray said about the first three days of practice…

MURRAY: “We’re seeing better focus, concentration, passing, receiving… Everything is moving along in the right direction. The tempo of the practice and the drills is good, and then you finish it off with a good hard skate. Guys are starting to get their legs underneath them again.”

Continue reading ‘Three down, three to go’ »

For those who were planning on going to the Kings’ rink tour tomorrow, there have been a couple changes on the player assignments. Here’s the updated list…

Aliso Viejo Ice Palace – 9 Journey, 949-643-9648 (Davis Drewiske, Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth)

Iceoplex Simi Valley – 131 West Easy Street, 805-520-7465 (Marc-Andre Cliche, Alexander Frolov, Erik Ersberg, Randy Jones, Mark Hardy, Bob Miller)

Ice Station Valencia – 27745 N. Smyth Drive, 661-775-8686 (Teddy Purcell, Brad Richardson, Jarret Stoll, Jamie Kompon, Nick Nickson)

Ice Town Riverside – 10540 Magnolia, 909-637-3070 (Rich Clune, Oscar Moller, Wayne Simmonds)

Pasadena Ice Skating Rink – 300 E. Green Street, 626-578-0801 (Matt Greene, Peter Harrold, Raitis Ivanans, Terry Murray)

Ice Chalet, Palos Verdes – 550 Deep Valley Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, 310-541-6630 (Sean O’Donnell, Rob Scuderi, Justin Williams, Jim Fox, Daryl Evans)

It’s almost time for the USA vs. Finland Olympic hockey semifinal? Who will win? Feel free to discuss here, and also head over to www.hockeywoodla.com/kingschat for a live chat with Jim Fox.

Practice is ongoing in El Segundo, with a scrimmage at the moment. Justin Williams was on the ice with teammates for the start of regular practice, and I was amazed at how strong he looked for someone who broke his ankle two months ago today. More from practice later…

The medals are in sight at the Olympic men’s hockey tournament. The United States (with Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick) plays Finland at noon Pacific time — and yes, it’s actually televised live — and Canada (with Drew Doughty) plays Slovakia (with Michal Handzus) at 6:30 p.m. The losers meet Saturday at 7 p.m. for the bronze medal and the winners meet Sunday at 12:15 p.m. for the gold.

As noted yesterday, it’s a delicate situation for the Olympians. The Kings are guaranteed to have at least one player make the gold-medal game — they might have as many as four — so at least one player will have to fly directly to Dallas from Vancouver to rejoin the Kings. It’s not an ideal situation, but Terry Murray has said that even if the U.S. makes the gold-medal game, Quick will start in goal Tuesday against Dallas. Murray also said he’s not concerned that the Kings’ Olympians will be dealing with any fatigue when the NHL season resumes….

Continue reading ‘Going for hardware’ »