Vrbata hopes to break out in Game 5

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Radim Vrbata has scored 185 NHL goals ? 105 of them in four seasons as a Phoenix Coyote ? by being a smart and skilled opportunist, pouncing on defensive mistakes and open patches of ice to pile up points for his team.


But after scoring a career-high 35 goals during the regular season, one of every six the Coyotes scored in 2011-12 (210), the postseason has been a different story.

In 15 postseason games, Vrbata has only two goals and four points and is currently mired in a seven-game pointless streak. That's not uncommon for a player who has been historically streaky, but with his team down 3-1 against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Final, his celebrated timing currently couldn't be worse.

"Every time I feel like I might have a chance, somehow it is quickly taken away," said Vrbata, who ended the regular season with five goals in the last five games. "The perfect shot just isn't out there. The ones that are going in, they hit people or sticks and find a hole, that's the way it is.

"You have one good shift and you try to build on it and there is a penalty, or you get pinned in your zone and you can't keep it going. You feel like you have a good chance ? finally, there it is ? and you have two guys who want to block it. You just have to make sure you play good defense and contribute in other ways until you can make something happen."

Credit the Kings for rendering the Coyotes' "Prime Line" of Vrbata, Ray Whitney and Martin Hanzal invisible in this series, but their entire playoffs have been spotty at best ? thanks in part to injures to Hanzal and Vrbata and one-game suspension to Hanzal. Coach Dave Tippett broke up the trio for Games 2 and 3, but reunited them in Sunday's 2-0 win in Game 4, hoping the line the team has leaned on all season would respond.

Whitney had a power-play assist and Vrbata had two shots on goal. But Tippett isn't shy when asked if he needs and expects more from a trio that collected 173 points in the regular season.

"I thought they were better last game -- that was the best game in the series," Tippett said. "I thought Ray Whitney was around some chances. But you're absolutely right -- it's been a line that has been very strong for us throughout the season. Anything they can do to help chip in would be greatly appreciated."

His individual critique of Vrbata was even more pointed.

"The one thing Vrbata is, he's an opportunistic player," Tippett said. "When he's contributing, he capitalizes on them. He had a couple of opportunities right in the slot (in Game 4) ? one that he bobbled, another one he missed the net. If those chances coming like that are an indication that his game is improving ? the next step is to make some of those chances count."

Translation: Anytime, boys ? and time is running out.

Vrbata knows his role is to score, even with all the extra attention he's receiving when he hits the ice. His 39 shots on goal this postseason is second to Shane Doan on the team, but his 5.1 scoring percentage is dead last.

"The last two years against Detroit, I got my points (four goals and nine points in 15 playoff games) but we didn't get out of the first round," Vrbata said. "If we win every game 1-0 and I don't get any goals, I'm fine as long as we have been winning.

"There are no set plays. It obviously helps if you have guys you are comfortable with, but I don't know if it matters. Right now, it's only about being in the right spot at the right time or having the puck bounce or go through people somehow."

The Coyotes have only eight goals in their last seven playoffs games and have allowed 167 more shots than they have taken in 15 postseason games. Doan, who broke through with a two-goal performance in Game 4, hopes Vrbata can show the form that produced 10 game-winning goals during the regular season.

"With him, he is such a pure goal scorer and he scores big goals for us. I'm sure it would be nice for him to get one or two tomorrow," Doan said. "He wants so badly to contribute. He's such a good guy and a big part of our team.

"But one guy struggling isn't the end of our team. We are fortunate to have so many guys we can count on."

 

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Kings know they have to refocus



Somewhere in the corridors of Staples Center sat the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.

The statistical probability suggests that the Los Angeles Kings will be holding that trophy eventually. The law of numbers also suggests that the Kings were due to be taken off their bulldozed path through these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But the Kings weren't interested in the law of averages, karma or whatever cosmic forces were in place after they suffered only their second loss of the postseason, a 2-0 shutout by the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final.

"As a player, you don?t really think about that," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "You've just got to prepare like you do every other game. Tonight, we couldn't find a way to score a goal. Now it's hit the reset button, refocus."

Brown stopped mid-sentence because, three feet away from him, Anze Kopitar said "refocus" at almost the same time in his media scrum.

At least the Kings were all on the same page, and they concurred that the Coyotes outplayed them to extend this series, which was more lopsided than a deflated beach ball until Sunday. The series shifts back to Jobing.com Arena for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

L.A.'s relentless forecheck was nullified by a Coyotes team that was able to sustain time in the Kings' end, swipe in two goals and sit on the lead for the rest of the game.

"They came in, down 3-0 on the road and played their game to a tee," Brown said. "I think tonight was more about the Phoenix Coyotes' play. They sat back. They're opportunistic, and that's how they've done it all year. We've got to find another gear. They've been a resilient group all year and they've showed it tonight."

It was L.A.'s first loss since Game 4 of the quarterfinals against the Vancouver Canucks on April 18 ? more than a month ago. The Kings appeared flat for most of the second period and finally suffered consequences for their stagnant power play with an 0-for-6 day.

Kings coach Darryl Sutter practically stays up at night worrying about a day game and how his team would react, but his players said they didn't feel flat and Phoenix just appeared to be the team that most observers thought would have showed up say, three games ago.

"I think guys were good," Matt Greene said in a subdued locker room. "But good's not going to get it done around this time of year and we've got to be better than we were tonight. They came out flying, and we weren't matching their speed."

The Coyotes also didn't give the Kings much to work with offensively as L.A. had a lot of one-shot-and-out sequences. The Kings outshot Phoenix, 36-21, but goaltender Mike Smith found his previous form. The Coyotes also got defenseman Adrian Aucoin back in the lineup, and he put his big body on Brown in front of the net while his teammates made other sacrifices.

"There wasn't as many second-chance opportunities for us because they were blocking a lot of shots," Brown said. "[There weren't] lots of guys getting shots through and getting around the net. They played their game and had some big saves."

L.A.'s power play has been an issue for most of the playoffs. Sutter hasn't had much concern for it, but it's hard to ignore the Kings are in a 2-for-57 rut. Those two came during 5-on-3 play in Game 2.

"If you just look at zone time, we probably have it in there most of the time, right?" Sutter said. "You start each series on its own ?. Tonight the power play, we had looks up top, we took too much time. We basically never really looked at it, but I'm going to bet that [Boyd] Gordon, [Antoine] Vermette and probably [Taylor] Pyatt blocked more shots, pucks just hitting them in the pads.

"Quite honestly, that's poor shooting on our part from up top -- from guys that are supposed to take that shot."

The Kings could have highlighted an unprecedented weekend in Los Angeles with the Lakers, Clippers and an international bike race all converging at Staples Center. L.A. actually had chances to make a city celebrate in mass.

Trevor Lewis hit the far post on a backhand, and Brown had his shot deflected after Kopitar stole the puck from Smith.

The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl will have to wait.

"Even if we would have pulled this off, I don't think we really deserved it," Greene said.

 

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Kings' power play struggles remain a hot topic



The power play struggles of the Los Angeles Kings are either a great concern or not a big deal, depending on who was speaking Monday.

After an 0-for-6 performance in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals dropped them to 6-for-70 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Kings seem to be taking a cue from the Boston Bruins. Last season Boston went 5-for-61 on the power play in the first three rounds of the playoffs and, of course, went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Asked if the power play was overrated, Drew Doughty said, "No. The power play is so key. If we just get a couple on that power play [Sunday], it changes the whole game. With the man up, you should be creating those chances and those scoring opportunities.

"I think we're getting some good zone time right now, but it's definitely very important and I know all the guys on the power play are pretty disappointed with themselves right now."

A few minutes later Kings coach Darryl Sutter stood in Doughty's vacated spot and contradicted his most dynamic offensive defenseman.


Power play overrated?

"Yeah," Sutter said. "The Bruins won the Stanley Cup."

Sutter let the laughter die down and said, "There's not many power plays in the playoffs. Basically it boils down to top guys. Sometimes you do [have them perform], and sometimes you don't. I think now we are still plus-1 power play-penalty kill."

The Kings are at least on the same page in that they need to reduce their passes -- a longtime pet peeve of their fans -- and pull the trigger more quickly.

"We need to make sure we're getting pucks off our stick quicker once we make that pass, because if you take your time it gives them more room to close the lane down and get in the shot lane," Doughty said. "So we need to take more one-timers and find a way to get past them to the net."

Doughty plays on a four-forward first unit with Mike Richards, Justin Williams, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. The second unit is Jarret Stoll, Jeff Carter, Dwight King, Slava Voynov and Willie Mitchell. But if there are about 40 seconds remaining on the advantage, Sutter will usually throw out his third line or sometimes his fourth.

The varied personnel get a lot of zone time, but they don't put enough rubber on the goalie. L.A. had one or zero shots on goal on two of their first three power plays in Game 4. In 13 playoff games, the Kings have 96 shots on 70 power plays -- a 1.37 shot-per-power play average.

Whatever the personnel, the issue is the same.

"I think we need to shoot more -- just get it to the top," Brown said. "We need more guys at the net. I think we're kind of perimeter right now. We just need to throw the puck to the net and have a collapsing attitude towards the net and around the net."

Sutter pointed to Phoenix's 12 blocked shots in Game 4 as a major reason why they sputtered, and he doesn't see how moving the puck quicker would be an issue going into Game 5 on Tuesday.

"If you're blocking shots, that means you have time to block a shot," Sutter said. "We've scored goals five-on-three where they weren't allowed to block shots, so we should be able to do that again five-on-four."