Kings coach John Stevens told Dustin Brown last summer he could still be a 20-goal scorer in the NHL after failing to hit that threshold
for five consecutive seasons.
In retrospect
Joe Montana Jersey , Stevens might have undersold what Brown is still capable of achieving.
Brown scored his fourth goal of the game 23 seconds into overtime and the Kings moved into third place in the Pacific Division with a 5-4 win over the
Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
Brown scored on a one-timer from the left circle to put the Kings one point ahead of Anaheim in the division, with Anze Kopitar setting up his 28th goal of
the season. Brown set a career high with his 61st point.
”I thought his game was trending in the right direction last year,” Stevens said. ”I said if you’re not at least a 20-goal scorer again, then I don’t know
what I’m doing. And he kind of laughed, but you could see he believed it, too.
And he is.”
Brown is the 14th player in Kings history to score four goals in a game and the second to do so this season. Kopitar did it on March 22 against
Colorado.
Tobias Rieder also scored, and Daniel Brickley had an assist for his first point in his NHL debut. Jonathan Quick made 23 saves for the Kings’ fourth win
in five games.
Drew Doughty had an assist to become the fourth Kings defenseman with 50 in a season. Doughty also set a career high with his 60th point.
Matt Dumba scored for the second straight game, and Nate Prosser had a short-handed goal for the Wild, who will play Winnipeg in the first round of the
playoffs.
Ryan Murphy and Eric Staal each had a goal, and Alex Stalock made 23 saves. Mikko Koivu had three assists and Mikael Granlund had two assists.
Brown got his first hat trick since Feb. 25, 2012, by scoring with 49.3 seconds left in the second.
Prosser tied it at 4-4 at 9:24 of the third period after Staal scored his 41st at 5:42 during a delayed penalty to cut the deficit to 4-3.
”There’s a lot of good you can take from this game,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”You battled back against the team that’s the best third-period
team in the League. They stayed with the program and consequently got rewarded
for it a little bit.”
Brown got the Kings on the board 55 seconds into the game, but Murphy tied the game at 1 when his shot into traffic redirected off Christian Folin and past
Quick at 3:12, and Dumba put the Wild ahead at 5:02.
But Brown kept creating scoring chances. He made it 2-all when he scored during a 5-on-3 power play at 7:42, waiting at the front of the net to score off
Jeff Carter’s centering pass.
”You just plug away really,” Brown said of his turnaround. ”I got an opportunity this year to play big minutes and be a huge part of the team. That’s
probably the more important thing is that I was able to help the team make the
playoffs.”
However
Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey , Brown was more concerned with how the Kings let the Wild back into the game and what it might portend headed into the
playoffs.
”I don’t know what it is in our DNA, but we seem to make it hard on ourselves a lot,” Brown said. ”The thing is we do that and then we come back and win, so
the stats probably lie a little bit when you see the record holding a lead after
two periods. We try to get heroics every night, which is probably something we
need to avoid next week.”
NOTES: Kings F Torrey Mitchell and D Paul LaDue did not play because of flu-like symptoms. The Kings recalled F Jonny Brodzinski and D Oscar Fantenberg
from their AHL affiliate on Thursday, but both were scratched against the Wild.
… The Wild signed D Louis Belpedio to a two-year, entry-level contract on
Thursday. Belpedio, a third-round draft pick of the Wild in 2014 who played
college hockey at Miami of Ohio, could make his NHL debut on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Wild: Visit the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
Kings: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.
—
The grizzled veteran. The comeback kid. The hotshot rookie.
The New York Jets‘ quarterback competition is an intriguing mix of experience, charisma and hype with Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam
Darnold all going for the starting job this summer.
And any of the three could end up under center when the regular season begins in September.
”It’s a fun room to be a part of,” McCown said Tuesday as the Jets’ three-day minicamp began. ”Just personally because of the character of those guys, but
also professionally because of how they approach their job and what they bring
to the table.”
McCown is the incumbent starter, so he entered offseason workouts as the No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart.
All three got work with the starting offense Tuesday. McCown, who turns 39 on July 4, got the bulk of the snaps with the starters in team drills. But he’s
also well aware that he’s not the future of the franchise. That label would go
to the 21-year-old Darnold, who was the No. 3 overall pick out of USC.
Darnold got the most overall snaps during the team periods and showed his usual quick release
http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/saquon-barkley-jersey , including a terrific pass that zipped past defenders and into the hands of tight
end Eric Tomlinson for a touchdown. He was also nearly intercepted by rookie
Parry Nickerson on a throw intended for tight end Jordan Leggett.
Some really good moments and some not-so-great moments for Darnold. But he has shown steady improvement in the short time he has been with the Jets.
”Every day, I feel like he goes out and gets better,” McCown said. ”I think for all of us, but particularly young players, you’re discovering something new
every time you step on the field. … Being that’s the stage he’s in, he’s
learning a lot about these plays and the ins and outs of them, so he’s done a
good job with that.”
Darnold will certainly have the chance to win the job, but he insists that’s not his focus at the moment.
”That’s not up to me,” Darnold said. ”It’s really a coaching decision. I’m going to come in here and work every single day. I’m just going to work and grow
to be the best quarterback I can be and help this team do well.”
When asked if he believes that opportunity is within his grasp, the rookie said all the right things – again.
”Yeah, I mean, I would say anything is possible,” Darnold said. ”I think I’m capable of a lot of things. But, again, that’s not up for me to decide.”
Coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates certainly will have plenty to consider in two months, when the competition really shapes up.
McCown is the wise, old sage – a veteran leader whose even-keeled approach and overall positive vibe played key roles in keeping New York’s locker room a
united group despite a 5-11 season. If McCown
Reuben Foster Jersey Youth , who is also coming off a career-best season, is the best of the three quarterbacks, the Jets will have no problem starting
him against Detroit on Sept. 10.
But if Darnold continues progressing at this rate through training camp and the preseason, and shows he’s at least even with the veterans, it could be him
from Week 1.
”His learning is outstanding,” Bowles said. ”The process and the steps which he’s taken, he’s been very steady. We’re very pleased with him.”
Bridgewater can’t be ruled out, however, especially with the way he has looked throughout the offseason.
The 25-year-old quarterback who signed a one-year deal with the Jets is still working his way back from a severe knee injury that threatened his career nearly
two years ago. But he has shown no ill effects or limitations in the non-contact
practices while wearing a brace on his left knee. Bridgewater has also looked
good commanding the offense, including making some throws on the run.
That very fact seemed almost impossible on Aug. 30, 2016, when Bridgewater – then with the Vikings – went down with a non-contact injury to his knee. He had
torn the anterior cruciate ligament and had other structural damage, including a
dislocated knee joint.
”It was scary,” Bridgewater recalled. ”But at the end of the day, I was still breathing.”
Minnesota teammates took knees and prayed on the field when the quarterback was hurt that day, but Bridgewater was proud of himself for keeping his emotions
together. Last November, he was back on the sideline with the Vikings and in
uniform
Jason Witten Jersey Elite , and he couldn’t control his emotions that day.
”This game means a lot to me,” Bridgewater said. ”I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years old, and it brought tears to my eyes because it showed me
that you’re never out of it. You’re never out of the fight.”
The comeback continues with the Jets, who have had quite a few quarterback competitions over the years. This one, however, could set the franchise up for
years to come.
”We’re all at a little bit different stages in our career,” McCown said. ”But we’re all wanting the same thing. And that’s, A, for the quarterbacks of the
Jets to play productive football and play good football. But also for each guy
individually to do so, and I think we root for that. … We know that when we
compete and a guy’s playing well, it’s going to bring the best out of the other
two guys.
”Ultimately, that’s great for the quarterbacks room because the other two guys get better, but also it’s better for the Jets.”
—
.
