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. Buck Martinez Blue Jays Jersey . The club announced Friday that Mauro Biello will be kept on as an assistant to coach Jesse Marsch when the Impact join the MLS in 2012. Tim Johnson Jersey . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/556h-doyle-alexander-jersey-blue-jays.html . "You hate when they score," he said with some distaste at the thought. "You take pride in it. Jim Clancy Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Marco Estrada Blue Jays Jersey . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout.Playoff football is back in Big D. The Dallas Cowboys knew it would happen before the season began by boldly sending out postseason packages to their season-ticket holders last summer. Its unknown if Nostradamus had something to do with Dallas audacious prediction to reach the postseason, but the Cowboys know they will have their hands full with the Detroit Lions Sunday in an NFC Wild Card Game. Dallas captured the NFC East title and the third seed in the conference with a 12-4 record and are in the playoffs for the first time since winning the division in 2009. Cowboys quarterback and MVP candidate Tony Romo has only one playoff victory under his belt and looks to build on that. Im playing at a level Im proud of and hope to get better, said Romo, who passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in a 44-17 drubbing of Washington in the season finale. Im just excited about the progression of improvement and want to keep this going in our next game. Romo passed for 3,705 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He is 1-3 as a starter in the playoffs, completing 80-of-1,235 passes for 832 yards, four TDs and two INTs. Now that the running game has hit full stride, Romo wont have to carry the offensive load. In four starts against the Lions, Romo is 1-3 with 1,160 yards, 10 TDs and four picks. In seven home games this season, Romo passed for 1,772 yards, 14 touchdowns and was picked off seven times. He dealt with a lingering back issue all season, but has received treatment prior to the last few games to deaden the pain. Romo has built a strong rapport with leading receiver Dez Bryant, who led the team with 88 catches for 1,320 yards and a franchise-best 16 TDs. Bryant had six touchdown receptions over the last three games for the Cowboys, who ripped off four straight wins after an embarrassing loss at home to the Philadelphia Eagles. Bryant is the only player in the NFL with 12 or more receiving touchdowns in each of the past three seasons, and has five touchdown catches in three meetings with Detroit. Dez is really a remarkable player, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. As a teammate, as a leader, as a veteran guy, you take a lot of pride in seeing the growth of Dez and (running back) DeMarco (Murray) mature as players. Dez is a unbelievable player, hes a dynamic player, and its great to see his growth. The Lions are in the playoffs for only the second time in the past 15 years and ended a two-year drought with an 11-5 record in the first year of head coach Jim Caldwell. The Lions just missed out on an NFC North title and the Green Bay Packers claimed it with a 12-4 mark. Detroit was hoping to close the regular season with five straight wins, but dropped a 30-20 decision to the Packers Sunday at Lambeau Field. Matthew Stafford passed for 217 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for the Lions, whose 11 wins are the most since a 12-4 record back in 1991. Stafford threw for 4,257 yards with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and has eclipsed the 4,000-yard passing mark for a fourth straight season. He is 2-0 in his career versus Dallas and lost his only playoff appearance to New Orleans in 2011, throwing for 380 yards, three TDs and two INTs in a 45-28 setback in the Big Easy. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson is Staffords main target and he had 211 yards and two scores on 12 receptions against the Saints. Stafford is focused on winning his first playoff game. I think, obviously, you watch every game and find ways that you can get better, win, lose or draw, Stafford said. Were a battle-tested team and have won 11 football games this year. We found ways to win a lot of them and well continue to do that. We just have to move forward. Golden Tate, not Johnson, led Detroit with 99 receptions for 1,331 yards in his first year with the team, while Megatron grabbed a team-high eight touchdown receptions. Johnson missed three games because of injury. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh almost missed this playoff game against the Cowboys after he stepped on the llegs of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers while he was down on the grass.dddddddddddd Suh was originally suspended for the game for violating playing rules prohibiting unnecessary roughness, but the penalty was reduced on appeal to a $70,000 fine. Suh paced the Lions with 8 1/2 sacks and is a vital piece to the stout run defense, which finished first in rushing yards allowed (69.3). The Lions were second in total defense and held opponents to 100 rushing yards or fewer in 14 of 16 games, including five games with 50 rushing yards or fewer. Murray led the NFL in rushing with a team-record 1,845 yards and 12 100-yard games. Murray was tied for the league lead in rushing scores with 13 and opened the season with eight straight 100-yard games for Dallas, which was second overall with 147.1 rushing yards per game. Controlling the line of scrimmage is important, Caldwell said. Our defense has been really strong in that area throughout the year. The Lions defeated the Cowboys, 31-30, on Oct. 27, 2013 and were aided by Staffords 488 passing yards. Johnson caught 14 passes for a franchise-record 329 yards and a score in that one for Detroit, which has won two in a row in this series after losing five of the previous six encounters. Detroit and Dallas have split two playoff matchups, while the Cowboys lead the overall series by a 13-12 margin. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Sundays game features two great quarterbacks and two outstanding wide receivers. The Romo-to-Bryant connection has been on point the last few weeks and cannot afford to have a Thanksgiving flop. Romo threw for 199 yards and two interceptions, and was sacked twice in that Big D debacle Bryant had 73 yards on six catches with no TDs. He has made great strides since that loss, however. Were just getting started and were excited about the opportunity in front of us, Romo said about the postseason. Romo led the NFL with a club-record 113.2 passer rating. He has to be aware of Detroit defenders Suh, Ezekiel Ansah, George Johnson and DeAndre Levy. Levy led the Lions with 151 tackles, while Glover Quin snatched an NFL-best seven interceptions. Detroit had 20 INTs this season, second most in NFC. It will try to produce a few more turnovers and contain the likes of Bryant and Witten. The Lions hope right guard Larry Warford will be available after he was carted off the field Sunday with a knee injury. Warford is day-to-day and hopes to be ready for the Cowboys. They havent really told me what to say, Warford said. Cant say anything about the injury right now, but hopefully Ill be back soon. Lions rookie center Travis Swanson made his first start in Green Bay and replaced suspended veteran Dominic Raiola. Dallas had four players with 70 or tackles in Barry Church (97), Rolando McClain (81), Anthony Hitchens (75) and J.J. Wilcox (74). Bruce Carter recorded five interceptions and Wilcox had three. Church and Wilcox will have to help over the top with corners Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick lining up against Johnson and Tate. OVERALL ANALYSIS The Lions have it tough facing the Packers two times a season and were able to split the NFC North series with each team winning at home. The Cowboys are just as talented, and the Lions will have to enter Dallas den in hopes of keeping the season alive. The Cowboys were a perfect 8-0 on the road in the regular season and 4-4 at AT&T Stadium. The house that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones built will be electric this weekend, and getting Murray going early is priority No. 1. As difficult as that will be for Detroit to stop, theres Romo and Bryant to worry about. We have a great defense, theyve held us in games a lot of times, Johnson said of Detroits stop unit. Like they say, defense wins championships, so if we just step our game up on offense well be alright. Detroit is facing a fine collection of talent and will need a complete effort to pull off the victory. It wont happen this year, unfortunately, as Romo and the Boys ride off into the NFC divisional round of the playoffs. ' ' '