Kings’ four-game winning streak ends in shootout loss to Coyotes

Kings’ four-game winning streak ends in shootout loss to Coyotes

Kings forward Rasmus Kupari controls the puck in front of Coyotes defenseman J.J. Moser in the second period of the Kings' 2-1 shootout loss Friday. (Darryl Webb / Associated Press)© (Darryl Webb / Associated Press) Kings forward Rasmus Kupari controls the puck in front of Coyotes defenseman J.J. Moser in the second period of the Kings' 2-1 shootout loss Friday. (Darryl Webb / Associated Press)

Karel Vejmelka had a rough night his previous start, allowing five goals, including four in the third period.

Arizona’s goalie was good all game against the Kings, finishing with a flourish to help the Coyotes end a three-game losing streak.

Vejmelka had 26 saves and stopped all three shots in a shootout in the Coyotes’ 2-1 victory over the Kings on Friday night.

“When we scored a goal, I just thought about a win,” Vejmelka said. “I just want to make a lot of saves so we could win and we did it.”

Arizona’s Nick Schmaltz scored with a two-man advantage in the first period. Alex Iafallo evened it on the man advantage in the second, leaving the Coyotes tied heading into the third period for the fifth straight game.

Nick Bjugstad scored on Arizona’s second shot in the shootout after Vejmelka stopped Gabe Vilardi. Arizona’s Clayton Keller had a chance to win it, but sent his shot over the goal.

Vejmelka, who allowed five goals in a loss to Vegas on Wednesday night, finished it off by stopping Adrian Kempe to end the Kings’ four-game winning streak.

“I like our composure, our resilience,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “We were stingy on defense, were able to score on the 5-of-3, almost in overtime. There’s a lot of positive.”

The Kings were sharp after beating Calgary in overtime the night before and so was Jonathan Quick, who had 23 saves after allowing at least four goals in four of his previous five starts.

Los Angeles got a good break when Arizona’s Shayne Gostisbehere hit the post in overtime and was able to kill off a penalty in overtime. The Kings couldn’t finish off in the shootout, thanks to two saves by Vejmelka and Trevor Moore missing the net on his attempt.

“I thought it was gutsy game by our team,“ Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Gas tanks were running low and they checked very well.”

The Coyotes had trouble on special teams in their 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights, giving up two power-play goals and another shorthanded.

Arizona had the early special-teams advantage against the Kings, scoring on a 5-on-3 midway through the first period. Schmaltz got it, one-timing a nifty cross-ice pass from Clayton Keller past Quick.

The Kings then tied it up on a power play in the second period when Iafalo hit a one-timer past Arizona defenseman Patrik Nemeth and beat Vejmelka to the glove side.

The Coyotes failed to get a shot on goal in a disjointed power play early in the third period and couldn’t beat Quick on a 4-on-3 in overtime.

“A good point that we needed,” Iafallo said. “Obviously, we wanted two points and a win, but it’s positive to get a point going into the break.”

Note: Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev missed his second straight game after being injured blocking a shot against the Ducks on Tuesday.

Up next for Kings: vs. Vegas Golden Knights at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

02

Bills are kings of the AFC East again

Bills running back James Cook© Provided by WGR550 Sports Radio Buffalo Bills running back James Cook

The Buffalo Bills checked another box on Saturday. One week after clinching a playoff berth for the fourth straight season, the Bills wrapped up a third consecutive AFC East title with a 35-13 beating of the Bears in ice cold Chicago.

It's the second longest streak of division titles in franchise history. Jim Kelly and company won four in a row from 1988-1991 and way back in the 1960's when the Bills played in the AFL they won four straight East division titles.

The Bills offense had an interesting day. When all was said and done they scored five touchdowns and totaled 426 yards. Their 254 yards rushing were the most by a Bills team in six years. They converted 55% of their third downs and were at 75% in the red zone(3-4).

But for most of the first half and for a four drive stretch in the second half the offense was its own worst enemy. Josh Allen and company started out well with a touchdown on their very first possession but that was followed by a drive that ended with an Allen interception. The Bills quarterback made a bad decision and ended up throwing into double coverage inside the Bears five yard line. On the next drive the Bills punted and on the final drive of the first half they moved the ball down to the Bears 19 yard line before they stalled. Tyler Bass had a wind blown missed field goal and the Bills were trailing 10-6 at halftime.

The offense must have gotten a lift from the warmth of the locker room because they came out and put together back to back touchdown drives in the third quarter. But it was the run game that drove the Bills. Buffalo absolutely shredded the Bears defense with both Devin Singletary and James Cook ripping off chunk runs. Singletary had a 33 yard touchdown run and Cook ran to the end zone from 27 yards out. For all intents and purposes the game was over at that point but the offense couldn't close the sale until late in the fourth quarter.

The offense, as it has done numerous times over the course of the season, went into a deep freeze. Over the next four drives the Bills managed just 12 plays and a meager 36 yards. There was another Allen interception and a Gabe Davis fumble to go along with a couple of punts. It was also a rare instance where offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey should have just kept calling run plays because they were practically unstoppable. He didn't and the passing game never really got into a rhythm.

Even though the Bears would make it a one score game at 21-13, there wasn't a single moment where I thought the Bills would lose thanks to their defense. They absolutely dominated an injury depleted Bears offense. Chicago scored a touchdown on their very first drive but that would be the only time they would get into the end zone.

The Bills held the Bears to 209 net yards, 17%(2-12) on third down, 1-4 in the red zone, 1-4 on fourth down, and took the ball away twice. Best of all they completely shut down the Bears best offensive weapon, quarterback Justin Fields legs. He came into the game

with 1,000 yards rushing in 13 games. Fields ran seven times and gained just 11 yards. There was no way Chicago would pull off the upset.

The Bills offense got back to work and finished strong with touchdowns on their last two possessions and the celebration could begin. But I'd bet it was a low key celebration because of course their work is far from finished. There still is that all important battle for the top seed in the AFC. The Bills can take a HUGE step towards checking off that box with a win in their next game at 11-4 Cincinnati.

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03

The Would-Be Salt Kings of New York City

Joe Bucci, Jr. and Joseph G. Bucci, Sr. Photo: Courtesy of American Rock Salt/B) David Mandeville

The Bucci family has been in the salt-mining business in New York’s Livingston County for four generations, beginning in 1908, when salt was primarily used for preserving food. As refrigerators overtook salt preservation, America started using that same salt to de-ice its new highways, which is when the next Bucci, Joseph Edward, stepped into the tunnels, climbing the ranks to become head plant engineer before he was killed in a 1975 mining accident.

They all mined the same 350-million-year-old bed of salt, which has been overseen by a handful of different companies over the years. Now Joseph Edward’s son, Joseph G. Bucci Sr., is a co-owner and the CEO of the current manager, American Rock Salt. His son, Joe Bucci Jr., is the mine’s environmental and safety manager. Together, the family is behind one of the biggest salt-mining operations in the country, supplying most of the Northeast — but not New York City, which gets its salt from Chile.

This week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Buy American Salt Act, which will change purchasing laws to push local governments to buy domestic salt as long as the cost doesn’t go up by an “unreasonable amount,” potentially making the family one of its biggest beneficiaries.

We talked to Bucci Jr. and Sr. about how they would get their salt to New York, what it’s like to work underground, and why people keep trying to set up New Agey spa retreats in their tunnels.

So you’ve been in the business a long time.Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: Right around the turn of the century, a large number of Italians came from central Italy, many from the same towns near Naples. And my grandfather actually came here and drove a mule in the same area that we work in today; the mules would stay underground, pulling carts of salt until they went blind and died. He worked his way up from mule driver to carpenter. My father started at the mine in 1939, right out of high school. My dad went from foreman, to a senior foreman, to supervisor, to head plant engineer. He was going to take over as plant manager in September of 1975. But on April 15, he was killed in a mine explosion.

What happened?Joe Bucci Jr.: The New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation had required the mining company to go in and close up some of the old shafts. Some of the old timbers in the shaft had become damaged.

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: So they came up with the idea of dropping a camera down to film where all the damage was. He went down with the camera and there was an explosion, caused — we later found out — by methane emissions mixed with the rotting timbers. It was a 2.5 on the Richter scale. I was working as a history teacher at the time and was in class when it happened. Everything shook. I walked across the hall and said to the other history teacher, “Watch my class. I’m leaving.” After my dad passed away, I left teaching and opened up my own real-estate business. A few years later, the mineral rights for the mine where he’d worked — acres and acres — came up for sale. The operator at the time wanted out of the business. That’s how I became a co-owner.

How big is your mine anyway?Joe Bucci Jr.: It’s the single largest producing salt mine in the United States. I guess maybe the best way to describe that is that we’re approximately the height of the Empire State Building underground. In a good year, we’ll mine 4.5 million tons of salt. We can load up to 1,100 trucks in one day and 90 railcars in a day.

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: Over the years, I’ve continued gathering up mineral rights as they’ve become available; now we have 13,000 acres, enough to last us about 50 to 60 years. Our salt bed here is about 1,200 feet deep.

Joe Bucci Jr.: But there’s also another salt deposit about 150 feet below where we mine currently. So if we were able to get the permit for that, we could also mine that as well.

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: Then we’d get another 50 or 60 years on top of that.

It sounds like a massive operation.Joe Bucci Jr.: We are the largest private employer in Livingston County. We have approximately 400 employees, and that’s not including the trucking and railroad jobs that sort of depend on this operation.

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: About 900 related jobs in trucking. Most of it is going to New York, Pennsylvania, parts of West Virginia, New England states, parts of Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut. But not New York City; they get their salt from Chile.

Inside the mine at American Rock Salt

The Bucccis’ mine in Livingston County processes a bed of salt that has been around for 350 million years.

According to the Buccis, their company is one of the biggest in the country. None of their salt currently goes to New York City.

Approximately 400 employees are involved in the mining operation.

Courtesy of American Rock Salt, American Rock Salt/David Mandeville

So the new legislation would potentially change that.Joe Bucci Jr.: Well, it would, in general, give U.S. companies and their workers the first shot at government contracts. Some of these countries where the salt comes from, they don’t have the same labor standards that we have, right? They don’t pay people what we pay people. There’s not the environmental-health or -safety regulations that are in place.

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: Or human rights.

Joe Bucci Jr.: We are bidding against salt coming from Egypt and, you know, let’s say the bid is a few dollars apart or maybe even less. We’ve lost bids —

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: For 25 cents less.

Joe Bucci Jr.: Less than five cents in some cases — a few cents per ton.

Joseph G. Bucci Sr.: To give you an example, Wyoming County, which is next to us — we lost that [bid] by a few cents. I don’t know the exact number. So now they’re getting salt from Canada. We’re right next door.

Joe Bucci Jr.: We have a lot of employees that live in Wyoming County, and they weren’t happy about it. But under the current procurement laws, you know, there’s not that option. You have to go with the lowest bid. So what the legislation does is it allows or gives the flexibility to the local governments to have a second look.

Okay, lastly, what is it like in the mine?Joe Bucci Jr.: Well, it’s sort of like walking through time, right? You’re walking through a part of the earth that has been untouched for 350 million years — on the bed of an ancient ocean, really. You’re taking salt that used to be a 350-million-year-old ocean, grinding it up, processing it, getting it to the surface, and putting it in the back of a truck or railcar. The salt dust is in the air, so you taste it. Honestly, like, if you have a cold or you have allergies, it’s probably the best place to be to clear them right up. We’ve had some really strange requests over the years, where people have asked if they could create an area in the mine for wellness and respiratory therapy and meditation and all that kind of stuff.

Do you think it keeps you healthy?Joe Bucci Jr.: I think it kind of keeps me pickled