Jim Fox: Bonjour from Montreal!

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Editor’s note: The Kings aren’t televising the first two games of their current trip, so we’ve put FS West TV analyst Jim Fox to work. He agreed to share his thoughts and insights on today’s game in Montreal and Tuesday’s game in Ottawa, the city where he played junior hockey.

MONTREAL -- Before we get to the game, I thought it would be OK to think back about how much the historic Montreal Canadiens franchise and the Montreal Forum meant to me and so many other Canadians. They were the New York Yankees and they played in the Yankee Stadium of our sport. Just a few thoughts of why it was so special to me.

When I think of the Montreal Canadiens, I always think of the Forum.

Even though I grew up in the province of Ontario, which is the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I always felt there was something mystical about the Forum. The way the seats were built so steeply, you had the feeling that the fans were right on top of you. The red seats were polished to a high gloss finish and the lower dasher boards were still made of wood (not artificial hard plastic, like all of the other buildings) and painted an ‘un-hockey’-like powder blue. The boards were fast and the ice was faster.

I grew up in the town of Coniston in northern Ontario. The population was approximately 2,500 and we had a large French Canadian group. My wife’s (Susie) grandfather was French Canadian and he lived for the Montreal Canadiens. His favorite player in the ‘60s and ‘70s was one of the toughest men to ever play, the late John Ferguson. Missing a game was unheard of. Every Saturday night her grandfather would put on his best dress pants, white shirt with tie, just to watch the ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ broadcast on television. Going to Montreal to watch a game at the Forum was only a dream, but that did not stop him from paying tribute to his beloved ‘Flying Frenchmen.’

Growing up, Susie and her family (her father still lives there), lived in the house that Toe Blake grew up in. That is the same Toe Blake of ‘Old Time Hockey’ fame from the movie ‘Slap Shot,’ but more to the point, the Hall of Fame player and coach of the Red, White and Bleu. So after thinking about it for a second, I’m starting to understand why it meant so much to play there.

My ‘welcome to the NHL’ moment happened at the Forum.

It was 1981 or 1982, my second or third year with the Kings. I was playing on a line with Bernie Nicholls and Charlie Simmer. Leading up to the game with Montreal, we were the hottest line. That meant we would see the checking line of the Canadiens, since they had last change as the home team. Well, it didn’t take too long. We came onto the ice for our first shift and after a short two- or three-second pause, over the boards came Doug Jarvis, Mario Tremblay and Bob Gainey, one of the most respected checking lines in the game.

Even though I had already played against icons like Guy Lafleur, this was the first time I had to catch myself and try to refocus for the task at hand. Having them come over the boards to check us and more specifically, to line up next to Gainey is something I will never forget. Just to be at the Forum, playing against the Canadiens, was a huge honor for me, this small moment in time made it unforgettable for me.

OK, enough about the old days....

The Kings have now picked up seven of eight points in their last four games. The offense, which has struggled at times this year, has started to come around. Actually, the falloff in offense is completely understandable and almost predictable, although not enjoyable for those who wish the Kings success.

Since the Kings’ No. 1 objective this year was to become a more efficient defensive team, it is not unusual for the offense to suffer until the team can adapt and become comfortable balancing both sides of the puck. This is just a normal part of the growing-up process for any team.

By the way, entering the season, the Kings were listed as the third-youngest roster in the NHL. Updated numbers at the All-Star break listed the Kings as the youngest team in the league at an average age of 25.3 years, followed by Chicago (26.0), Columbus (26.1) and Phoenix (26.2).

Entering the Montreal game at .500 is not a great success in the overall league standings picture, but it does mean the Kings have taken positive strides to set a foundation to become a team that will compete for the Stanley Cup in the not-too-distant future. Scoring is important, but, in most every sport, the teams that win are the teams that can play solid D.

Before the season started I posed the question on air of whether it would be better for players like Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown to have their offensive numbers slip a bit, in order to be ‘plus’ players. It was a rhetorical question, because in order for this team to get to where it wants to be, the top guys are going to have to be more responsible without the puck. Both Brown and Kopitar are still minus players, but so far, it has been relatively easy to see that the Kings are a more efficient team without the puck. Improvements have been made, but as always, there is still a lot of room for more.

Another part of the ‘growing process’ is learning a new system under new head coach Terry Murray. At this point things have developed a touch quicker than most observers predicted.

Most system fundamentals are very similar, but a change in the X’s and O’s part of the game will affect players individually. One player who had to make a huge adjustment was Kopitar. In the past, he had pretty much carte blanche breaking out of his own zone. He would come back and then swing and build up speed and many times he would be receiving the puck at top speed and he would be on his horse on attack. Under the Kings’ new system, the center man is responsible for staying below the puck on most breakouts and that means Anze is not necessarily in an attack mode when he gets the puck.

I felt Anze struggled at first to get used to this new style, but he has progressed to the point where he is finding different ways to be effective on attack. There may be a day when he gets a little more freedom to build up speed, but for now, everyone must play within the structure of the system and that is the right approach as this team builds a more solid foundation.

Jack Johnson is back after missing 41 games in the first half. I am very interested to see exactly where is he is in his maturing process. One thing for sure, the Kings players who battle with him in practice say he is extremely strong right now, even stronger than before his shoulder injury. Like most everyone, I look forward to the day when he and Drew Doughty lead this team together.

My biggest concern for Jack is that he just settles in and plays his style, which is to make sure he is punishing in his own end and reads the play and reacts accordingly when following up or even leading the rush at times. Even though his skills are right at the top, I don’t see him to be a rushing defenseman like Doughty. Two very impressive young defensemen, but I think, with different styles of play. Let ‘Jack be Jack’ and ‘Drew be Drew’ and the team will be much stronger because of it.

At the beginning of the season I felt that if the Kings accomplished three goals they would be on their way to bigger and better things:

1. Develop an identity
2. Improve the goals-against average
3. Sort out the goaltending situation

So far, so good.

The identity has developed to the point where we are seeing a team that plays for each other, with a greater respect for the defensive side of things.

For the progress of the #2 goal, see #1, they go hand in hand.

The goaltending situation is now in the hands of a young group. I consider the group of Jonathan Quick, Jonathan Bernier, Erik Ersberg and Jeff Zatkoff as strong a group of young goalies as the Kings have ever had. But youth means inexperience and potential. In most every case, I think a goalie must play a minimum of 80 solid games at the NHL level before you can start to consider him a true No. 1 goalie. So far, it looks like Quick and Ersberg are on their way.

Keep in mind that Ersberg is the oldest of the group and he is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Also presume that Bernier is still considered to be on par with Quick as far as being a top ‘prospect.’ Zatkoff has come a long way, though. The Kings also have a couple of young goalies in the amateur ranks right now that show promise. The odds look good that at least one of these guys will be the real deal. I haven’t been able to say that in a long, long time.

Game Day / Montreal

The lead-up to this game is different than most. The Kings played Thursday night in Los Angeles and then traveled all day Friday to get to Montreal.

The team arrived at the hotel at approximately 5:30 pm and had a scheduled 6:30 pm team meal set up right inside the hotel. Normally the guys might go out as a group or in smaller groups the night before a game, but I presume due to the unusual travel schedule and due to the importance of this road trip, the team wanted to get together as a group. This morning the coaches went over to the Centre Bell at about 10 a.m. to prepare for pregame meetings (Powerplay/Penalty Kill/Montreal breakdown) that started at noon. Warmup is about to start so I can get line combos and D pairs soon. By the way, this is a picture of one of the team’s most loyal fans. His name is Kent, and he follows the Kings on the road. Here he is at our hotel in Montreal.

-- Jim Fox

Jim Fox is in his 19th season as the Kings’ TV color analyst on FS West. He spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Kings, and at the start of this season ranked eighth on the club’s scoring list, eighth in assists and ninth in goals. He has also been the Kings’ director of community relations. He lives in Redondo Beach with his wife, Susie.

Top inset: Jim Fox. Credit: Los Angeles Kings

Bottom inset: Kent, a very loyal Kings fan, shows his spirit in Montreal. Credit: Jim Fox /Los Angeles Kings

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