It was on this day three years ago, Dec. 20, that Darryl Sutter was lured away from his frigid cattle ranch in Canada to coach the Los Angeles Kings.
Sutter didn't remember his anniversary. Although he remembers shoveling manure when general manager Dean Lombardi called, a story that all of L.A. and all of hockey isn't likely to forget, and he remembers coming to L.A., where there was just a little more daylight than there was at the time on the farm in Viking, Alberta.
"I moved from being a farmer where the days are really short and then you get a little more sunlight," he said. "A couple more minutes tomorrow."
Oh Darryl, where would L.A. be without you? Perhaps without a Stanley Cup or two, but that's beside the point.
Sutter's anniversary was marked with an unmemorable win, a 4-2 regular season victory against the Phoenix Coyotes, but it was a win that personified the type of team the Kings have become under Sutter: Physical to the final whistle, punctuated by a few dynamic plays.
The first was a stop by goaltender Jonathan Quick to deny a shorthanded breakaway. The last was a tip-in goal by Trevor Lewis that began after Marian Gaborik took a hit in order to get winger Tyler Toffoli the puck.
Recap: Kings score two PP goals in 4-2 win over Coyotes
"It comes down to keeping it simple," said defenseman Jamie McBain. "We have a great group in here and when you establish that shot first mentality, we get a few of those and that opens up seams later. With this group, we're going to find those seams and they're going to make teams pay when they get them."
There's more than a few aspects of the Kings' game that have been out of sorts as of late. But back in their home confines of Staples Center after a dismal road trip, the Kings have suddenly found consistency. They've won two straight against the Blues and Coyotes and the manor in which they won - both comeback wins with strong power play performances - is exactly what the team was looking for.
"We came out pretty good dictating the tempo. It could easily go south after those two goals, but we stuck together and got it done on the power play," said center Anze Kopitar. "Our penalty kill was pretty solid tonight too, and that'll win you games."
The power play has been one of the most inconsistent facets of the Kings' game in the last two seasons. The team has credited improved puck movement with their six power play goals in their last three games and it's an output and performance that they'll need to build on moving forward.
"We're moving the puck well and we're getting some good looks," Kopitar said. "A couple of bounces here and there are nice to get, and we're able to score right now. The penalty killing came out huge today. At the end of the third period, they were chasing us and we didn't give up a shot on that last PK. That's obviously a good thing but we're going to have to keep doing that."
The Kings 40 points moved them into a tie for second in the Pacific Division, nine behind league-leading Anaheim.
So happy anniversary Darryl Sutter, you've given L.A. three years of farm knowledge, facial expressions, Sutterisms and most importantly, three years of wins.
