Inland Waterways » seven games by 10 points or less. They either trailed

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. – It may end up being the key matchup in the first-ever playoff series between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. A stingy defence led by Drew Doughty against an explosive offence led by Hart Trophy nominee Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. "Hit and hope," is all Kings head coach Darryl Sutter would say on Friday when asked how his team can slow down the Ducks dynamic duo. Luckily, Sutters top defenceman was willing to go a bit more in-depth. "Ive played Getzlaf and Perry so many times," said Doughty. "Ive played with them [most recently at the Sochi Olympics], I know exactly how they play. I study how they play. Theyre two of the hardest players to play in the league, no matter who is the third guy on that line. Its such a hard line to play against. But, like I said, Ive studied how they play so many times that I know exactly what theyre going to do and it just comes down to out-competing them, being a better player in every situation. "Its going to be tough for me to do, but I have to do it." Doughty, who averaged 26:31 of ice time per game during the first round win over the San Jose Sharks, will see a lot of Anaheims top line along with his defence partner Jake Muzzin. "Those two have been together for a long time," said Muzzin when asked about Getzlaf and Perry. "They have a lot of chemistry between each other and they kind of know where theyre going to be on certain plays. So you have to be very clear on where they are on the ice and be very vocal with each other on defending that top line." But the adjustment shouldnt be too tough for the Kings. Doughty is expecting a similar series to what his team experienced against the Sharks. "Theyve got really good forwards, especially their top guys are really good like San Joses," he said. "I think we can take advantage in some parts of the game with their defence, like we could with San Jose as well. I think Anaheim has maybe a little bit better of a goalie, so itll be harder to get it past him. I think its going to be the same type of game. Theyre going to get in on the forecheck. Their forecheck is a little bit different, but they actually come harder than San Jose, surprisingly. So we know theyre going to create off that." And Doughty warned against focusing too much on the Ducks dynamic duo, who combined for 74 goals in the regular season (28 per cent of Anaheims league-leading 263 goals). "For most of the season it wasnt really Getzlaf and Perry, who dominated our team," explained Doughty, "it was kind of the third, fourth-line guys like [Nick] Bonino, [Andrew] Cogliano and [Patrick] Maroon and guys like that so we got to pay special attention to them to." Getzlaf had one goal and one assist in the five regular season games against the Kings while Perry had two goals and two assists. Bonino had one goal and two assists, Cogliano had one goal, while Maroon had two goals in four games. Doughty remembers the Ducks secondary scoring being a key factor in the season series, which saw Anaheim win four of the five encounters, including an outdoor game at Dodger Stadium. But what stood out to Sutter during the regular-season showdowns? "We played two really good games in their building," Sutter said, leaving it at that. The teams split the two games at the Honda Center where the series will open on Saturday and where Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau will have the advantage of last line change. Sutter was in fine form on Friday in his meeting with the media, which lasted a little under three minutes with a good chunk of that being awkward silence following short answers. The first question to Sutter was: whats the biggest challenge your team will face in the second-round series? "Were playing indoors," a deadpan Sutter stated. "We heard originally the whole series was going to be played at either the Angels stadium or at the Dodgers. So now we found out today that theres actually four in Honda and three at Staples [Center], so weve got a lot of work to do to get that figured out." Its a little warm to play outside, a reporter retorted referencing the high of 35 degrees celsius in Orange County. "Its supposed to cool off, though," Sutter responded, not missing a beat. The Kings had no problem handling the heat against the Sharks as they became just the fourth team in NHL history to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games. And one player who has adapted well to the Hollywood spotlight is the 25-year-old Muzzin. Muzzin has proven worthy of the top-pairing assignment during just his second trip to the NHL post-season. Last year, Muzzin picked up three assists in 17 playoff games while averaging 15:50 of ice time per game. This year, Muzzin already has two goals and three assists through seven games while averaging 18:26 of ice time. "I think its just probably a little bit more experience," Sutter said. "If you take last years playoff where he was in and out of the lineup or didnt play that much, this year weve had to rely on him a little bit more to get him ready for playoffs and thats sort of just a continuation of that." "Jake was only on for one goal against in the whole series [against San Jose], shows you how good he was playing," said Doughty. "We did well offensively too [combining for 12 points]. The good thing about me and Muzz is when a teams emphasis is so hard on the forecheck, our breakout ability is really good where one of us can do it on our own. We can talk to each other, help out and I think that is the strength of us. We dont spend a lot of time in our D-zone. And when we do, were both physical, big guys who can pin a guy to have a loose puck and we can get it that way. We did really well in our D-zone, and thats why we were successful as a pair." Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Brent Burns were held to just one goal over the final four games of the series against the Kings thanks in large part to the work of Muzzin and Doughty. "We were a lot better in our zone," said Muzzin when asked about the reversal in fortune in the series. "Getting pucks in and out, not giving them chances to create cycle opportunities and chances like that. [Jonathan Quick] made some big saves when called upon. But as a whole team, we definitely limited their chances by being quick in our zone and I think we had better gaps on the rush and better awareness on our changes and on the rush as well." NOTES: Jeff Carter and Willie Mitchell (lower body) did not take part in Fridays practice at the teams facility in El Segundo. Sutter said it was an optional skate and Carter took the option after working out off the ice on Thursday. Carter did see his ice time dip in the final few games of the Sharks series, playing 13:07 in Game 6 and 14:06 in Game 7 ... Anze Kopitar on whether theres any difference between facing Frederik Andersen and Jonas Hiller: "No, I dont think its going to matter too much, except for the left catch (Andersen) and the right catch (Hiller). Thats the biggest difference." ... Forward lines at practice minus Carter: Gaborik-Kopitar-Brown; Pearson-Nolan-Toffoli; King-Stoll-Williams; Clifford-Richards-Nolan. Luka Doncic Mavericks Jersey . The Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously in Las Vegas to quit granting therapeutic use exemptions for fighters undergoing the so-called TRT. Jason Kidd Jersey .C. - Steve Clifford isnt exactly singing his teams praises after the Bobcats won for the sixth time in seven games. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/kostas-antetokounmpo-mavericks-jersey/ . According to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun, Brodeurs agent Pat Brisson has spoken to six teams so far regarding the veteran goaltender. Luka Doncic Jersey . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Floridas seniors, those four guys who fell just short of the Final Four the last three years, talked about cutting down the nets after clinching the Southeastern Conferences regular-season championship. It was a brief conversation. And a unanimous decision. The top-ranked Gators chose not to break out the scissors. If they keep playing like they did against LSU on Saturday, they might end up with an even bigger celebration. Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, and Florida used a season-high 13 3-pointers to overwhelm the Tigers 79-61 and extend its school-record winning streak to 21 games. "Everybody on the team didnt feel comfortable cutting them down right now because we knew we have more of a journey to go," guard Casey Prather said. Prather and Michael Frazier II added 14 points apiece for the Gators, who also won their 31st straight at home. This one was never in doubt. Florida (27-2, 16-0 SEC) scored the first eight points of the game, opened up a double-digit lead with consecutive 3-pointers from DeVon Walker and Finney-Smith and put the game away early in the second half with a flurry of points in the paint. Prather made three consecutive driving finger rolls after the break. Patric Young had a dunk and then a left-handed hook shot. And Prather followed with a dunk and another driving layup that put Florida up 62-38 with about 11 minutes remaining. About the only thing left to see was whether Florida would cut down the nets. The Gators clinched the title Thursday night with Kentuckys loss to Arkansas, and many expected they would ceremoniously celebrate in front of a sellout crowd Saturday. It was never going to happen. Prather, Young and fellow seniors Scottie Wilbekin and Will Yeguete chose not to cut down the nets. "We felt it was given to us when Kentucky lost," Wilbekin said. "I was sitting on my couch watching TV. I didnt do anything." Coach Billy Donovan wouldnt have let them do it anyway, especially not with what happened in 2007. That team, the defending national champion led by Joakim Noah and Al Horford, cut down home nets after winning the SEC title and then lost its next two gamees.dddddddddddd. "I regret that," Donovan said. Although Donovan believes his senior-laden team can handle distractions, he figures its best to stay focused on the goals within reach. "You want to be playing well this time of year," Donovan said. "When you get to this point in time of the season, you dont want to play like youre trying to protect something, when youre back on your heels, We dont want to lose being No. 1 and we dont want to lose at home and we want to keep the streak going. "Once you get into trying to avoid things and trying to prevent things from happening, I think inevitably you get tight, you get frozen and you dont play. The biggest thing for us that Ive been trying to explain for our guys is there are things out there for us to chase. What are we going to chase? What are we going to go after?" Florida looked every bit like a championship-calibre team against LSU -- and in dominant fashion. The Gators had been in a number of nail-biters in recent weeks, winning their previous seven games by 10 points or less. They either trailed or were tied at halftime in each of those. This one was the complete opposite. The Gators never trailed. They led 41-25 at halftime and didnt even have a second-half lull. "It says a lot about the team," LSU coach Johnny Jones said. "They sit there and theyve already clinched the championship and for guys to come out and play as motivated and as hard as they did tonight. ... I think when you have a senior team like they are and guys are able to make plays like that and are used to winning, some great things can happen for you." Johnny OBryant III led the Tigers (17-11, 8-8) with 18 points. Jordan Mickey added 14 points and 10 rebounds for LSU, which lost its seventh straight on the road. There was little LSU could do to stop Florida, which just got hot from the 3-point line. The Gators made 13 of 23 from behind the arc. It was just the fourth time this season that they reached double digits in 3s. "I was happy our guys shot the ball with confidence and it was good to see the ball go in the basket for those guys," Donovan said. ' ' '