Kings are cautious about playoff lead against Ducks
This has been the year of the comeback in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Through Tuesday, there were 11 games in which the winning team had trailed by two goals or more, and there were three first-round series in which the eventual winner lost the first two games, including the Kings’ rally from a 3-0 deficit against San Jose.
All of which means the Kings, who won the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Ducks, weren’t overconfident as they prepared for Game 3 on Thursday night at Staples Center.
“You know what history says. A 2-0 lead is great but it’s not four wins,” center Jarret Stoll said Wednesday. “We know that better than anybody and we also know that we haven’t played our best hockey to date.”
He said the Ducks out-chanced the Kings in the first two games at Honda Center, and that the Kings must do better against the Ducks’ forecheck and spend less time in their own zone.
“Coming home having that 2-0 lead, you want to have that killer instinct too, and that right attitude, that right mind-set to win in front of your own fans,” he said.
Through the first playoff round, the all-time series record for teams leading a best-of-seven-series two games to none is 289-48, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Slap shots
Defensemen Willie Mitchell and Robyn Regehr remain out because of undisclosed injuries. Forward Jeff Carter didn’t skate Wednesday but worked out off the ice and is expected to play Thursday.
The Kings announced they won’t renew the contract of Mark Morris, who coached their American Hockey League farm team in Manchester, N.H. The Monarchs were eliminated in the first round of the AHL playoffs for the fourth straight time, losing to the Ducks’ Norfolk farm team. Morris coached the Monarchs for eight seasons.
With Manchester’s season over, the Kings recalled forwards Andy Andreoff, Scott Sabourin, Nick Shore and Jordan Weal, defensemen Derek Forbort and Colin Miller, and goaltender Patrik Bartosak.
Ron Hextall, an assistant general manager of the Kings for seven seasons before he took a similar job with the Philadelphia Flyers last summer, was appointed the Flyers’ general manager. Paul Holmgren became the club’s president.
Twitter: @helenenothelen
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