Canucks

Before we all get our knickers in a tweet … Let's just say the mini-controversy that erupted late Wednesday night after the official Kings Twitter account circled and jabbed at the Canucks is way more interesting than most back-and-forth between teams. Or mayors. Thankfully, we haven't been subjected to some boring, cliched bet between the mayors of Los Angeles and Vancouver for this first-round playoff series. Hmm, has Antonio Villaraigosa been to a game in the Jeff Carter era?

VANCOUVER, Canada --- Finishing in the top eight in the West had taken so much out of the Kings that Coach Darryl Sutter wasn't sure what his players had in reserve before their first-round series against the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks. They had overcome a 7-8-1 start at home and repeated dips out of playoff position but then lost their final two games. Sutter, who took over for Terry Murray on Dec. 22, wasn't sure if his team had gone as far as it could manage.

    Are you ready for some shutouts? Bring on the goalies - the Kings' Jonathan Quick and the Blues' Brian Elliott. They both recorded shutouts in the last regular-season meeting between Los Angeles and St. Louis, on March 22, at Staples Center. The Kings eventually won, 1-0, needing four rounds of a shootout to settle the issue. The Kings and the Blues will meet in the second round of the playoffs, starting in St. Louis, possibly on Friday or Saturday.  But first, though, a word or two about the past before exploring the future.

    Are you ready for some shutouts? Bring on the goalies - the Kings' Jonathan Quick and the Blues' Brian Elliott. They both recorded shutouts in the last regular-season meeting between Los Angeles and St. Louis, on March 22, at Staples Center. The Kings eventually won, 1-0, needing four rounds of a shootout to settle the issue. The Kings and the Blues will meet in the second round of the playoffs, starting in St. Louis, possibly on Friday or Saturday.  But first, though, a word or two about the past before exploring the future.

Reporting from Vancouver -- Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell once played with Vancouver's Daniel Sedin and considers the Canucks star forward to be a good friend. Yet that didn't prevent him from holding back when asked about the five-game suspension handed out to Chicago's Duncan Keith last week after he elbowed Sedin in the head. Sedin is out indefinitely with a concussion and the Canucks took the step of confirming that fact, not something always done in the NHL. When Mitchell was playing for the Canucks, his hockey career was threatened and future clouded when he suffered a concussion and had months of lingering symptoms.

Vancouver enforcer Rick Rypien has been suspended six games for grabbing a fan during the Canucks' loss to Minnesota this week.The Canucks also were fined $25,000 in the discipline announced Friday by the NHL. While headed to locker room Tuesday night after being assessed a double minor for roughing and 10-minute misconduct, Rypien reached up and grabbed James Engquist , a fan applauding at the railing. Football: No charges filed against Junior Seau No criminal charges will be filed against football star Junior Seau for the incident that led to his arrest Sunday night on a domestic-violence complaint by his 25-year-old girlfriend, the San Diego County district attorney said.

Keys for the Kings and Canucks in their playoff series: KINGS: The stellar penalty killers (fourth in the league) need to recapture some mojo after giving up four power-play goals the last two games; ability of shutdown duo Drew Doughty and Rob Scuderi to combat the Sedin twins; Mike Richards needs to become the Richards of 2010. CANUCKS: Daniel Sedin's health and ability to reignite the power play that has struggled in his absence (concussion); need the dazzling Roberto Luongo in goal, not the frazzled Luongo; trade-deadline acquisitions must quickly find chemistry with an experienced core.

The Vancouver Canucks arrived in Southern California with a lot of fans and a few grimaces after a 5-6 stretch that included a 3-3 homestand. "Winning one and losing one and trying to rationalize it," Coach Alain Vigneault said. No more. While many caravanning fans returned home, the Canucks continued their trip with two solid victories and signs they've shaken the lethargy that often grips elite teams during the winter doldrums. The Canucks' 3-1 victory over the Kings on Saturday and 3-0 triumph over the Ducks on Sunday increased their league-leading points total to 93 points and their goal differential to a whopping plus-61.

Reporting from Vancouver, Canada -- Thoughts and notes on the 7-2 blowout by the Canucks that put the Kings on the verge of playoff elimination entering Game 6, Sunday at 6 p.m. at Staples Center. ... The Canucks' performance Friday at GM Place was by far their most complete and completely convincing of the series. Most obvious is that winger Mikael Samuelsson continued his King-killing ways with two goals and an assist to run his total to seven goals and nine points in five games, Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist and Henrik Sedin had two assists.

Yesterday, in fact, has not seemed so far away. Not for victory-starved Kings fans, who savored long ago playoff success from 1993, pulling it out for close examination, and, well, reassurance during the lost years. The Kings have won one playoff round, in 2001, since that famous run to the Stanley Cup Finals by Wayne Gretzky and friends. They pulled within one game of doubling that total with Sunday's 1-0 victory against the Canucks at Staples Center, taking a 3-0 series lead against the league's best team.

  VANCOUVER, Canada--Center Jarret Stoll scored on a shot from the left circle 4 minutes 27 seconds into overtime on Sunday, giving the Kings a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and a five-game triumph in their first-round playoff series. The Kings, seeded eighth and matched up agains the NHL's top regular-season team, had not won a playoff series since 2001. They had a chance to win the series in four games but had to come back north of the border to Rogers Arena on Sunday, where they finished things on the strength of another fine goaltending performance by Jonathan Quick.

It's been 11 years since the Kings won a playoff series, so what's another four days? Well, plenty actually, if you believe Kings Coach Darryl Sutter, who wasn't too happy about the extended break in their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks - and maneuvered his way through yet another off-day Saturday. Last Sunday, the Kings held a commanding 3-0 lead in the series and looked poised to eliminate the Canucks, the Presidents' Trophy winners as the NHL's top regular-season team.

It really is a small world after all. When Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and Vancouver goalie Cory Schneider faced each other in Games 3 and 4 of their teams' first-round playoff series it was like deja vu all over again. Quick, a native of Milford, Conn., and Schneider, who was born in Marblehead, Mass., are familiar foes. They opposed each other in prep school, when Quick attended Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Conn., and Schneider attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.

Daniel Sedin's return to the Vancouver Canucks had a doubly detrimental effect for the Kings, denying them a first-round playoff sweep and creating a new threat they must defuse when the series resumes Sunday in Vancouver. The gifted winger's first appearance since suffering a concussion on March 21 boosted the Canucks' spirits and talent level. He especially raised the game of his linemate and twin, Henrik, as they combined to score with a man advantage and seal Vancouver's 3-1 victory Wednesday at Staples Center.

Canucks star forward Daniel Sedin, out because of a concussion since March 21, said he expects to be in the lineup Wednesday night against the Kingsfor Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at Staples Center. In fact, he was fairly emphatic. "Yeah. Absolutely," he said in the dressing room after Wednesday's morning skate. Wednesday night they are planning to start goalie Cory Schneider in Game 4, the team said. Roberto Luongo, the starter in the first two games of the series, was not made available for comment.

You had to know it couldn't be that easy. These are the Kings. Nothing comes easily for them except disappointment. They had a chance Wednesday to add to their modest list of franchise firsts and sweep a best-of-seven playoff series, but were stymied by the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks, who rediscovered their grit and passion in an impressive 3-1 victory before a disappointed crowd at Staples Center. An effort that was very much like what the Kings gave in winning the first three games and moving to the brink of their first playoff series win since 2001.

Broken stick. Broken play. Broken (Kings) spirit Even when something seemed to go wrong for the Canucks in the third period, it ended up turning out just right for Vancouver in its first-round playoff series against the Kings. For example, the winning goal: Mikael Samuelsson's stick shattered on his shot. The puck caromed off the Kings' Michal Handzus to a waiting Daniel Sedin. Game and series over. The Canucks would add an empty-netter, but Sedin's goal was the difference in Vancouver's 4-2 victory in Game 6 against the Kings on Sunday night at Staples Center.

The dust was being blown off NHL record books. Potential alliterations trotted out -- Vancouver Vanquished? -- and then discarded. The next step was thinking about measuring space for a Dustin Brown statue in front of Staples Center. There was one small matter: The Kings had to go and play the second period Wednesday night. They were 40 minutes away from sweeping Vancouver in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series, which would have been a franchise first for Los Angeles.