A Queen Among Kings

Moving On Up

2010-01-17T15:30:00.001-08:00

Today is the day!!! This is my final post here on A Queen Among Kings, but I'm in no way halting my writing of all things Los Angeles Kings hockey. This is actually the big change I mentioned a few weeks ago. As of you reading this post, I have moved over to SB Nation to manage the Kings blog there. I round out their NHL family of bloggers and hope everyone will move there with me to join the large hockey community that already exists.

Another fun announcement is that the name of my blog is changing too! I will be operating under Jewels From The Crown. I hope everyone follows the link over there and continues the discussion.

Thanks so much to everyone for visiting this site since its inception! I truly appreciate it! I'll definitely miss this blog, no doubt. But I hope you see you over at Jewels From The Crown!

Extra! Extra! The Kings Are Mortal!

2010-01-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

After watching the Los Angeles Kings throw everything at the Detroit Red Wings including the fixtures on the toilet on Thursday, it was hard to get up for the game against the St. Louis Blues last night. There was basically nothing the Kings could do to match the intensity and desperation they showed on Thursday, but I faithfully watched the second game wondering what was going to happen. Let's just say the number of hits to Blues' faces matched the number of shots on Jimmy Howard.

I can't remember the last time I was brought to tears from the result of a Kings game, but my mascara was definitely being smeared from under my eyes after Darren Helm spun away from Sean O'Donnell in the corner only to beat Jonathan Quick through the legs after a poke check loosened the puck from Helm's grip. The remaining 17 seconds had my hands occupying my eye space from the sheer output of effort and sustained attack from the Kings, which is usually the complete opposite in these games. I couldn't believe how quickly I was brought to my knees after Ryan Smyth had me running down the hall screaming with his power play goal late in the third period. I was expecting nothing other than overtime to come around after the tying goal. Maybe next time I shouldn't be so expectant of an outcome.

When one is given the task of following a great act with his or her own, the pressure to "bring it" is as heavy as an anvil on the chest of the performer. For the Kings, it's a rare occurrence to have an insane effort result in a loss knowing they will have to follow it up with a game against a team possessing a boring yet (arguably) similar style of play to their own. This was definitely the case against the Blues at the Staples Center on Saturday night. The slow start let me know it wasn't going to be anything like the Red Wings game a mere two days earlier. The biggest difference was the underwhelming performance of Quick. Perhaps the sheer number of games has caught up with this young pup, but the goals against were ugly and he was yanked after letting in four unsightly ones. Erik Ersberg stepped in with a little over 13 minutes to play, which was about the time where the Kings decided they wanted to try and win. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown notched a goal apiece, but it wasn't enough to get the tie and at least one point.

There are a few things from the game I wanted to mention because I found them fascinating. The first is that apparently the Blues have one of the highest penalty killing percentages in the league. Where did that come from? The other is the annoying fact that Raitis Ivanans doesn't fight. Sean O'Donnell and Matt Greene scuffled against Brad Winchester and BJ Crombeen, not respectively, while Ivanans did nothing. The roles of the aforementioned Kings players are obvious and need not be explained. Let's fix this picture, people.

The next game for the Kings will be tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks. I'm not sure the outcome here since I predicted the Kings would go 5-2 during this seven-game home stand and that they would split the two games with the Sharks. They're already two down and another loss wouldn't look very good to the misty-eyed Kings fans who were hoping this squad could actually make the post season.

Ringing In The New Year!

2010-01-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

The new year festivities brought exciting news for Los Angeles Kings fans, a team that's back on the winning side! After a four-game losing streak, an eight-day hiatus, and the start of a new decade, the Kings find themselves in the middle of a three-game winning streak with the Detroit Red Wings coming into Staples Center on Thursday the 7th. There has been a ton of news for the Kings and I've been neglecting this space for a few days, but I'm back on the horse!

(LAKings.com)

Here are some updates with a bit of my hundreds and thousands served up to you, the faithful reader:

Drew Doughty makes the Team Canada Olympic roster as the 7th defensemen in a pretty exciting announcement ceremony on TSN with Twitter all abuzz. There were plenty of skeptics with this final choice, but after last night's game against the San Jose Sharks, Stevie Yzerman is looking very dapper with this decision. Doughty notched 4 assists in the 6-2 romping of the Sharks in their own house, no less!
Three Kings were named to Team USA's Olympic roster; Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, and Jonathan Quick. The presentation of this roster after the Winter Classic was pretty awesome. I was expecting Brown and Johnson to be announced, but to see Quick's name included sent a rush of happiness down my spine. Quick has had a great season so far and this inclusion into the Olympics proves his worth.
Much has been said of the Dion Phaneuf hit on Anze Kopitar on December 30th; it was dirty, it was clean, and Phaneuf is a douche. This last part is true. For my two cents, the play was dirty because he was no where near the puck when he hit Kopitar, the hit was clean in that his leprous limbs were tucked in and that Kopitar did not suffer a mortal wound, but the hit was also exceedingly, disgustingly, and horrifically excessive and has no business being doled out by anyone. Glad he was ejected from the game. That is all.
The Kings on the World Junior teams are rounding out nicely and getting some recognition of their own. The Gold Medal game is tonight between Canada and the US making me wish everyday that I had the NHL Network.
This Thursday's game will start a seven-game home stand where I'm hoping the Kings pull a 5-2 record. They'll probably split the two games against the Sharks, blowout either the St. Louis Blues or Anaheim Ducks, and get shelled by the Buffalo Sabres. The contest with the Boston Bruins will be intriguing enough with the battle of the Team USA goaltenders marketed against each other.

Lastly, go Kings!

Drew Doughty Makes Team Canada Olympic Roster!

2009-12-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

For Los Angeles Kings fans, today's announcement of Drew Doughty being named to Team Canada in the Olympics was fantastic. Doughty was the under dog to get named to the Canadian roster with the likes of Mike Green, Jay Bouwmeester, and Dion Phaneuf possibly making the team. I am absolutely ecstatic and cannot wait for the Olympics to start!

GO DOUGHTY!!!!

I Was Happy For 12 Seconds

2009-12-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings have played two games since Christmas and have zero points to show for it. They've lost to the Phoenix Coyotes (3-2) and Minnesota Wild (4-3); both were one-goal games and both were heart breakers. The Kings had a 6-on-3 to end the game against Phoenix with a flurry of pucks at Ilya Bryzgalov but the clock wound to 0:00 and my adrenaline died. The game last night against the Wild was played at a pace that I wish the Kings could maintain at all times. Alas, they were outmatched in the last few minutes of regulation as the Wild shut the door on them.

Drew Doughty showed up by attacking the offensive zone for a goal that the team desperately needed. The Kings have been taking one too many passes for their own good. (Scott Parse, when you're in the slot with the puck, take the goddamn shot!) So I say "thank you" to Doughty for getting his behind to the net and putting the Kings on the scoreboard. The goal by Parse to tie the game at 3 apiece was great, except for the fact that Eric Belanger slapped them in the face 12 seconds later. The Wild got their go-ahead goal and gained two more points.

(LAKings.com)

You can't deny the effort and drive is there for the Kings to get as far up the standing as possible. At the same time, they're meeting teams just as hungry as them, which makes for high-paced drama at every turn. They could have been floundering at the bottom of the standings like in the past few seasons, but they're fighting every game and I can't fault them there. I think they're doing as well as they can while trying to stem the injury floodgates at the same time.

How do I feel about Teddy Purcell being on the top line? I'd call it a work in progress. Having Justin Williams out of the lineup is bad, but losing him to a broken leg is worse than people realize. He was the solid player on the top line while Anze Kopitar was struggling to find his game after Ryan Smyth left the lineup. Now that Smyth is back and Williams is out, we'll all be sitting on our hands waiting for Terry Murray's next move. I'm not sure how this is all going to shake out, but check back in for more thoughts and opinions about this topic.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Michal Handzus has been names to the Slovakian team for the Olympics. Awesome. I'm looking forward to whom from the Kings is named to Team Canada and the US team.

KingsCast Holiday Podcast

2009-12-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

KingsCast is out with a brand new episode! Keith, Chris, and I give thanks and well wishes along with some thoughts on the Kings. It's the usual fare with a Christmas twist, so if you have a free moment, please check it out!

Please let us know what gifts you'd like to receive from the Kings or give to the Kings!

Another One Bites The Dust; Kings 3, Oilers 2

2009-12-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings lose one in Vancouver last night and win one tonight in another back-to-back. With Jarret Stoll, Wayne Simmonds, Ryan Smyth, and whoever else out of the line up, the Kings had to lose another key player in tonight's game. Jack Johnson "took one off the ankle" in the first period and was basically out for the rest of the game. Just great. It's no secret the roster has been slowly picked off by the injury monster, and tonight was no different. The Kings faced the Edmonton Oilers with a win to go into Thursday's game against the Calgary Flames still atop the West.

The rock for the Kings has been Jonathan Quick all the way. Erik Ersberg sat out this back-to-back but I felt quite comfortable with Terry Murray going with the number 1 goalie for these important games before the 8-day rest. On a personal note, I missed last night's game because, for some reason, I was recording the "wrong feed." Apparently there were two feeds coming through from Vancouver and I was on the one with horrible audio and no video. I don't even want to go into the logistics of what in the hell was going on there, but I ended up not watching the game at all. Just as well; all reports led to the conclusion that the Kings laid a rotten egg in a 3-1 loss. Gross.

(LAKings.com)

On the other side of "gross," Brad Richardson had a great game notching a goal and an assist with a line mate who was equally having a great game in Dustin Brown. Speaking of, it definitely looked like Brownie was hurting after he scored his goal. Slamming into the boards when you're horizontal usually doesn't produce a good result, but he got up and was back on the ice as soon as he could. He had great chemistry with Richardson and I'm starting to see a glimpse of maybe why the Kings traded a second round pick to acquire the latter.

I'm glad Raitis Ivanans went at it with JF Jacques, but, man, a 2, 5, and 10? See ya later, Raitis. Hope that locker room keeps you company. Someone who actually stayed on the bench the entire game was Corey Elkins making his NHL debut. The consensus? He's a rookie kid. No one should be surprised by this non-revelation and I'm positive he'll be better in his next game. With having so many kids in the lineup, the shorthanded roster spread out the minutes with Matt Greene making a big showing with six registered hits and seemingly getting under the skin of Dustin Penner. Sheldon Souray and Ryan Potunly tied up the game with one goal each, but veteran Sean O'Donnell closed out the game with the winner from the point.

This current swing through Western Canada isn't breaking down doors; one win and one loss is decent and I'm content so far. The Kings were due for a loss and having it come against the Vancouver Canucks doesn't break my heart in the least bit. They always find a way to stick it to the Kings, so I'm fine with just moving along. They have one more game before this long Christmas break and I'm thinking that I should take a screen shot of the standings because you never know how long something like this can last.

Go Kings!

Kings Are Tops In The West

2009-12-13T17:17:00.001-08:00

The Kings are currently sitting at the top of the Pacific Division and, more importantly, top of the Western Conference. This is a rare feeling for me that hasn't really set in. I can't remember the last time I felt this feeling of bliss. That being said, I will definitely loathe the day when the Kings are no longer at the top, but for now I am happy as a clam about how the Kings are performing game in, game out.

They play tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, tomorrow veresus the Edmonton Oilers, and the Calgary Flames are up on Thursday. Any evening of games could surely alter the standings, and these next three will definitely be a big test for the Kings in all aspects of their physical and mental play since they will not face another team until after Christmas on Saturday, December 26th against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The big question for this week is, how will the Kings hold up with Ryan Smyth still out of the line up along with Wayne Simmonds?

Jack Johnson's Got Skills; Kings 3, Phoenix 2 (SO)

2009-12-12T10:20:00.001-08:00

So I'm starting to get sick and can't focus for long stretches, thus I will keep this short and sweet. We all love bullet points, correct?

The Los Angeles Kings gain another two points over the Phoenix Coyotes in a 3-2 shootout victory on Thursday night. As of this morning, the Kings are a mere two points shy of the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks. The Kings play the Dallas Stars tonight and another victory will bring the sort of happiness to the hearts of Kings fans that is not very often felt.
Oscar Moller scored his first goal of the season on the sweetest shot over Ilya Bryzgalov's left shoulder. Just to illustrate how awesome Moller is, he wasn't on the ice for more than 7 minutes the entire game! 6:49 to be exact.
Jack Johnson's goal from the high slot was almost a heart breaker, but he got the lucky bounce back right to him to get his third of the season (once again) over Bryzgalov's left shoulder.
In the longest shootout in Kings history, only two Kings scored while Jonathan Quick was the wall on the other side of the rink.
I must admit, Alexander Frolov is making himself noticed on the first line creating his own chances and grinding it out, but I will also say that the first line lacks the spark from the beginning of the season. I think everyone sees that, but there's no mistaking this current first line can notch some points.
This has to have been the most exciting game against the Coyotes in recent memory. I wasn't bored in the first 10 minutes of the game and it was a nail biter to the end.

Ersberg is a Bit Rusty; Kings 5, Sharks 4 (OT)

2009-12-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings were in San Jose last night to face the Sharks. The game was wide open with both goalies playing in a subpar fashion; Evgeni Nabokov was unimpressive and Erik Ersberg was quite rusty. The game ended 5-4 in OT with a sweet spin move by captain Dustin Brown who desperately needed a goal.

(LAKings.com)

Come back for a full game recap tomorrow after they've also played the Phoenix Coyotes tonight.

I Love Consistency: Kings 2, Flames 1

2009-12-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings had a great showing last night in their 2 to 1 win over the visiting Calgary Flames. The action was great and I can't say I've been disappointed with any one particular player as of late. Although there was one surprise from my point of view; I felt like the Kings dominated the Flames in virtually all facets of the game (except for the PK, which the Flames attack more aggressively than any other teams I've seen so far this season), but there was one particular stat that I found quite surprising. It was that the Flames outshot the Kings 27 to 16. Only 16 shots? That is pretty amazing considering how much time the Kings had possession of the puck.

Stream of consciousness to follow: Did anyone else notice that Justin Williams had a ridiculously fantastic game? He was definitely the standout for me registering the primary assist for Jarret Stoll's GWG in the second period. Stoll has also been strong on every shift; he played 19:25 last night and I think he has deserved every minute. Speaking of more minutes, Brad Richardson has been rewarded with more and more time and has been effective on all shifts as well. His hop has been pleasantly surprising along with Scott Parse's continued production. It's fantastic that these guys are utilizing their short amount of minutes, and I've been very pleased all around with everyone's play.

(LAKings.com)

There's obviously the elephant still in the room with Anze Kopitar's lack of scoring. It has been quite a while (I'll admit), but I personally am not panicking. I'm sure everything will smooth itself out in the near future (a.k.a when Ryan Smyth gets back in the lineup).

Oscar Moller was called up for this game, and it's looking like he will stay for awhile. Awesome for him and for the fans. Once again, no complaints here.

Final thought on the game: Raitis Ivanans actually dropped the gloves and scraped it out with Brian McGrattan. Finally! Ivanans is doing what he's supposed to be doing.

*~*~*~*~*~*

I've been a little behind on the updates, but the best one of month is that the 2010 NHL Entry Draft will be held in Los Angeles!!! I'm incredibly excited for the entire event and will be counting down the days the closer it gets. Click here for the logo, which I think is sharp.

Drew Doughty's birthday has come and gone. He is now a ripe 20-year old. Crazy.

Don't forget I'm on Twitter! Follow if you'd like.

A Game of Shinny; Kings 6, Senators 3

2009-12-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

The win tonight against the Ottawa Senators marks the third win in a row for the Los Angeles Kings. The difference from this game to the past two was that tonight it felt like neither team was in control from one shift to the next. Even Jim Fox described it as a game of shinny, very wide open with not too much dominance overall. I was neither impressed with anyone on the Senators just as I was unimpressed with any one player on the Kings. Obviously different players had flashes of elite play, but nothing toooo impressive. Even Justin Williams seemed lackadaisical about his two goals at the end of the game. Awesome for him, but everything was all over the place!

A great stat from the night was that Michal Handzus and Anze Kopitar both rocked it in the faceoff circle with 81% and 80%, respectively. Also, Wayne Simmonds has continued to impress everyone watching. Tonight he drew a penalty shot where he faked out Mike Elliott and slide the puck between his legs getting the lead back for the Kings. I'm so pleased with his entire game and development so far this season. Go Simmer!

The most surprising part of the game was the goal by Randy Jones in the first minute of the game. In the past that would be the kind of thing the Kings wouldn't be able to do. I seem to recall a game against the Detroit Red Wings two seasons ago where the puck dropped and I could feel it in my bones that the Kings would utterly fail. As predicted, Henrik Zetterberg scored about 51 seconds into the game. Someone can check that number, but I don't think I'm too far off since that memory is seared into my memory bank.

The power play still needs some work. The Kings had two 5-on-3 opportunities back-to-back. That's all I need to say about that. My apologies for the short post and the fact that I'm jumping around a bit, but life is getting in the way for now. There will be some changes coming in the next few weeks around here, which I'm very excited about. I'll let you all know what's going on when it's time.

Until then, go Kings go!

Shootout Gloriousness; Kings 2, Blackhawks 1

2009-11-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the hottest team in the NHL with a win in overtime. The Chicago Blackhawks came in tonight with a record of 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and brought with them a style I wish the Kings could play with on a regular basis, which is an up-tempo, puck-moving mentality. It took until the second round of the shootout, but the Kings pulled through for the W. Regulation had a lot of open play geared more north-south than anything else, and Chicago far outshot the Kings (33-22) especially in the third period. All of the excitement during regulation was transferred to the overtime frame and continued into the shootout.

Wayne Simmonds scored in the second period to put the Kings up, and it would have been epic if he had notched the game-winning goal in OT. He played a great game and his rise in the past few games has been very impressive. He played only 15:24 tonight but it seemed like he was all over the ice. He was popping up in the correct places and times and was definitely making his presence known. A return for Jarret Stoll was also made very aware with the faceoff numbers for the entire team above .500; 59% to be exact.

While the 4th line is playing more minutes, I definitely didn't think Brad Richardson deserved ice time in OT. He didn't have any business being anywhere away from the bench outside of regulation. I could be a bit over critical here, but let's be serious. One player who actually made the most of his 11:53 of TOI was Teddy Purcell. I noticed him pouncing on pucks and getting in the corners. I think he may just be coming around! One thing to note is his reluctance of getting the puck to the goal on the power play. He's getting minutes there but is like a deer in headlights when he has an open lane. Granted the open lanes only appear for just a second at a time, he should have the confidence to not hesitate when he can see them.

(LAKings.com)

All of the wide open play made for a ridiculously exciting overtime frame with a shootout result left to the goaltenders. Cristobal Huet did not fare so well as Anze Kopitar faked him out and let the puck slide through his legs. Jonathan Quick stuffed both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for the win, and Jack Johnson adds another shootout goal to his numbers, which are now 3 for 5 (60%) this season. Quick's confidence is ticking up with each game and the Kings are looking strong as the league passes the quarter mark of the season.

This gives the Kings another 2 points to keep them 2nd in the Pacific Division. They trail San Jose by 6 points and the Kings don't play until Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks who are still last in the Pacific. The team is fighting through every game and the best update of the morning was that Ryan Smyth was on the ice for light practice.

Another Rise and Fall

2009-11-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

In another back-to-back the Los Angeles Kings win one and drop the other over the American Thanksgiving holiday. On Wednesday they won against the Edmonton Oilers (3-1) but lost to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (4-1).

(LAKings.com)

Since this weekend has altered my schedule a bit, I'm going to go back to the quick bullet-point style that I find so useful on this type of occasion. I hope everyone has had a great 4-day weekend because I definitely have.

Matt Greene got his first goal of the season, which was also the game-winning goal against the Oilers. It was a pass out to the point and a lob to the goalmouth that beat Jeff Deslauriers over his shoulder.
The Andrei Loktionov experiment halted to a standstill with a dislocated shoulder at the end of the game against the Oilers, which is completely unfortunate for him and the team.
Thank you, Patrick O'Sullivan.
The Kings were atrocious in the faceoff circle at 42% and 38%, respectively. A certain number 28 needs to get back in the lineup ASAP.
I've actually liked Teddy Purcell's play in these two games on the top line. He's not the greatest replacement but I think he'll be an adequate stand-in while not adding too much in terms of offensive production. It's a shame Terry Murray is changing it up again by putting Alexander Frolov back on the left wing.
Michael Handzus took out Ales Hemsky and he is now out for the rest of the season with shoulder surgery.
The other rookie experiment of Brayden Schenn took only one game as well. He was signed to a one-game contract and will not be returning to the lineup for tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Vancouver Canucks presented a much harder challenge to the Kings than the Oilers on Thursday and they fell 4 to 1. Roberto Loungo was the wall for the Canucks and Jonathan Quick was playing well until the third period with a collapse of three goals against. The last goal was by Kyle Wellwood who is such a great player he hit the post before scoring in the empty net. Great job, guy.
The player of these two games was definitely Wayne Simmonds. He had the most jump of everyone and was the only to get a goal in both games.

That's all I got, folks. Thanks for stopping by. I truely appreciate it! Also, please check out the new episode of KingsCast titled Injury Bugged.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I know it's an American corporate holiday, but what can I do? I'm just in it for the food. The Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers last night and are in Vancouver today for a 7pm faceoff. I'll have game recaps up tomorrow, if you'd like to check those out. I hope you do!

Off to eat myself silly!

[Update]: New KingsCast Podcast - Episode 3. Check it out!

Kings Fizzle At Home; Flames 5, Kings 2

2009-11-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings dropped another game and upped the number in the loss column on Saturday when the Calgary Flames and their fans came to Staples. The ending score of 5-2 basically described the play on the ice especially the first goal of the game by Jarome Iginla just 13 seconds in. Fantastic. The two goals scored by Drew Doughty and Alexander Frolov were the only real highlights of the game. They were scored with less than a minute in between them, but other than that, once again, the scoreboard reflected the play on the ice.

(LAKings.com)

Overall there's not too much to say about this game since there wasn't any improvement in any aspect really. Frolov was put back on the first line and absolutely nothing changed. Surprised? I think not. Ryan Smyth is probably gnashing out his teeth with every game he's sitting out. With Justin Williams still playing solidly and Anze Kopitar's play at a standstill, no one here is questioning the x-factor. C'mon Captain Canada!

(LAKings.com)

I'm sure that was nice.

Matt Moulson!

2009-11-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

Here is your obligatory post on Matt Moulson for this season. I was asked to give my two cents on why I thought Moulson was shining so brightly this season and I hope you go check it out!

Please go to View From My Seats and read his great article on the mighty Matt Moulson!

Kopitar needs Smytty: Flyers 3, Kings 2

2009-11-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

It is very clear that Anze Kopitar needs Ryan Smyth. The Los Angeles Kings hosting the Philadelphia Flyers was one I knew would be a feisty battle to the end. I can retrospectively say this was probably the worst game for Smyth to be out of the lineup because the Flyers came to Staples Center and left with a bashing victory. This game was wide open due to missed passes and subsequent turnovers, and the Flyers were all over the place pouncing on loose pucks and misreads by the Kings.

The first 10 minutes of the game were north-south to the max. The feeling out process for teams in different conferences takes a bit of time, and thankfully the Kings were the first to gain control. Jarret Stoll was able to score off a sharp angle on Brian Boucher for the first goal of the game. (I seem to remember Boucher letting in a similar goal last season when they faced the San Jose Sharks.) The second period went back to neither team dominating causing an overall manic feel and the third was flat out frantic. The 5-on-3 advantage the Kings had should have slowed the game down drastically in their favor, but it was just about the worst man-advantage I have ever seen. The Kings couldn't get the puck past the offensive blueline let alone set anything up. The Flyers were aggressive all around and the 2-man advantage expired with nothing to show for it.

(LAKings.com)

Let me make it clear that Alexander Frolov doesn't belong on the top line. I'm not saying he played terribly; I'm merely saying Frolov is best served on, at most, the second line. He was supposed to up his game and compliment Kopitar and Justin Williams on the first line, but nothing changed for Frolov. He looked the same and I'm not sure what to say other than there will be a different left wing on that line Saturday against the Calgary Flames. Williams, on the other hand, had a strong showing with 8 total shots on net. Kopitar had 6 shots while Frolov had only 1. As a team, the Kings landed 39 shots on the Flyers goaltender with Jonathan Quick seeing just 20.

(LAKings.com)

This was a high hitting game and I was mildly impressed with some players and not with others, as is usually the case. In this particular game, Teddy Purcell stepped up his visibility a touch while Davis Drewiske did not. I'm not going to strategically analyze their play for this one game; rather, I'm just going chock it up to playing in modified lines against a team they are unfamiliar with. (Let me know when that line gets old.)

The incredible high/low light of this game was the rolling puck parallel to the Flyers' blueline that could have led to the Kings tying goal with just seconds left in regulation. The insanity at the end of the game could have tilted just one degree in favor of the Kings, but it predictably didn't and the large "L" loomed upon them on the stats sheet. That, my friends, is the definition of heartbreak.

Thank You Jack Johnson; Kings 4, Panthers 3 (SO)

2009-11-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

Once again it takes a shootout but the Los Angeles Kings pull out another win in the Southeast. They faced the Florida Panthers who were looking quite different from last season. I remember the Panthers to be a team on the brink of shambles, but this season has definitely been much kinder to them. They aren't... last in the Southeast Division, so there's that. The Kings, on the other hand, have another two points to their name bringing them up to 28 points. They have surpassed the Colorado Avalanche (27 ) and only trail the San Jose Sharks (32) in the West.

Like the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, this contest was a physical battle with one pretty significant difference, the Panthers are more organized defensively than the Lightning. They had a much more aggressive defensive mindset, their forechecking was harder, and their defensive box was much bigger than what the Kings are used to. The extra pressure put the onus on the second D to accept that first pass out of the zone, but missed pass after missed pass put the stress on their own shoulders. In the end, it was another hard fought victory that was less physical than the last game but still saw the shootout. This time around the Kings only needed Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson to stand at center ice, and Jonathan Quick was his beastly self in stopping all shots taken by the Panthers.

(LAKings.com)

Ryan Smyth left the game twice with an unknown injury. There haven't been any updates released by the Kings so we can only sit and wait... nervously.

Lastly, something that's bugging me: is it legal for a player to sweep away a goaltender's stick when it's laying outside of the crease? I'm talking about moving a goalie's unbroken stick to the boards so it's completely out of his reach. That's exactly what happened to Quick on the weird bounce ending in a goal against with a massive scramble at the goal mouth. It definitely would have been illegal if the opposing player picked up the stick and tossed it away toward the boards, but c'mon, that's so cheap to clear an unbroken stick away like that giving your team a lame advantage. (Replace "cheap" with a harsher word and you'll get what I really mean.)

(LAKings.com)

Next up are the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday back in Staples Center; they have 23 points and are third in the Atlantic Division. I'm definitely looking forward to this game and grabbing two more points in the standings. I realize I'm getting more and more greedy for these precious points; I can't help it. It feels so great when the Kings rack them up because it means the Pacific Division is looking more in their favor and those in the Eastern Conference are noticing more and more. Having a winning team is creating an almost (but not-yet) insatiable lust for more points!

A Dismal Outcome and Another Lease At Life

2009-11-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

In another back-to-back stint, the Los Angeles Kings had one fail and one lucky night. I missed the game on Friday night where the Kings faced the Atlanta Thrashers and I'm glad I did. I was fully planning on watching the game when I got home, but accidentally seeing the score caused bile to rise up from my stomach. Consequently, I did not watch the game and ended my night on a happy note. A score of 7 to 0 is plain ridiculous and there's no reason to waste my time watching a contest like that. Plus the Chinese food for dinner mysteriously put me to sleep by 10 pm. Go figure.

The stats sheet showed an insane slew of penalties, which leads me believe it was a chip-fest to the end. I saw a few highlights, but not enough to make logical conclusions from the stats sheets. I seem to remember the Kings game against the Thrashers last year ended in a 7-6 OT victory. So two years in a row prove to be strange games. I'll let this one go for now.

(LAKings.com)

On Saturday night the Kings were in Tampa Bay to face the Lightning in their Bolts jerseys; gross. Overall this game was surprisingly even. The shots, hits, and faceoff percentage were virtually identical. Both teams had big opportunities and both also had flubbed chances. The game could have easily gotten boring at multiple times, but they were fighting for possession and control every single shift and neither goalie had too much downtime at any point in the game. Case in point, Antero Niittymaki and Jonathan Quick had identical saves robbing the other team of sweet, sweet goals. (If I can find a decent highlight package, I'll update.)

Steven Stamkos was definitely the standout from the oppostition, but it was a joke the way he cross checked Drew Doughty. I'm not being defensive about the situation; Stamkos took his shot from the point, Doughty blocked it like a man without falling to the ice, and Stamkos cross checked him in the chest for no apparent reason. Perhaps there were words exchanged but, really, Doughty is the better player here. Thank you very much.

By the way, Wayne Simmonds getting a roughing penalty after taking an elbow to the head was complete BS. That is a joke to have something like that get by the refs when there are two of them on the ice. I find that unacceptable and the Lightning color commentator sure acted like he didn't see it either. Where's Jim Fox to not be a homer and tell it like it is? I hate watching a telecast run by homers; makes me sick.

(LAKings.com)

On the flip side, the game went into OT and the battle continued 4-on-4. A Lightning goal was scored and it seemed to be over. But, but, but. The refs huddled and then went to take the call from Toronto. It was deemed not a goal and play continued. Here's where I pause and give credit to the refs who actually had the balls to call back the entire Lightning team after they had flooded the ice and the coaching staff already left the bench. Quick could have possibly stopped the incoming shot were it not for the deflected-Andrej Meszaros shot. Paul Szczechura passed in front of Quick inside the blue paint and the puck was in the back of the net, but an interference call brought the teams back to reality.

The Kings got a second chance at life. They literally got a second chance to change the outcome of the game, which they were able to do. After a stressful rest of overtime, the teams went into the shootout with Anze Kopitar, Jack Johnson, and Dustin Brown taking the shots. Kopitar was his usual awesome self but the other two tried glove-side, which didn't result in goals but Quick was the wall at the other side of the rink to shutdown all of the Lightning players who took their attempts. The game ended with the Kings getting two more points and another win the the W column.

The Kings are still second in the Pacific Division and are in a three-way tie for third in the Western Conference. I can't do anything but smile at those numbers. I'm definitely not waiting for them to falter down the standings anymore. They are at the top not because of a fluke; they're there because they are working hard every night and getting the effort in. There is very little to be disappointed about in these first two months of the season and I'm expecting the rest of the season to pan out that way. Tomorrow they play the Florida Panthers for the last game of this road trip. The Panthers have won their past two games but have only 15 points so I'm hoping this will be another well-fought win for the Kings.

Back in the Game; Kings 5, Hurricanes 2

2009-11-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the second game of this 5-game road trip. They broke a 2-game losing streak by tweaking the lineup a touch and facing a team on its own 12-game losing streak. The 5-2 victory over the Canes was indicative of the latter's play, which looked beyond rough and the Kings exploded out of the gate with a great first period. Ryan Smyth did his job getting his 9th goal of the season in front of the net, and that's basically the bottom line. He's playing his role to a T and I have zero criticism going his way. Jarret Stoll's goal was a bit odd in that I'm not sure he could do it again if he tried. It seemed to be 90% luck and 10% skill. Either way it put the Kings up 2-0 and Randy Jones got his first point as a King. He then went and got his first goal in the third while looking very comfortable in the line up. I'm very pleased with this whole situation of Jones and am hoping it turns out to be a Kyle Quincey-like occurrence.

(LAKings.com)

Of course Anze Kopitar had another good game. He didn't notch a goal last night but did get two assists, so thumbs up to him and keep it going! Another roster tweak was that Erik Ersberg got his second start of the season with Jonathan Quick sitting on the bench. Ersberg got the solid win, and yes, he let in two "interesting" goals but I'd rather he shake off any in-game rust against Carolina than any other team right now.

As a team, the Kings had a great first period, began to falter in the second, but were able to finish in definite fashion in the third. Manny Legace was Carolina's best player of the night and gave his team as many chances as he could to get back into the game. Unfortunately, the deal was essentially sealed after Wayne Simmond's goal in the middle of the third period and Justin Williams capped of the night with an empty netter.

(LAKings.com)

This was a good win for the Kings, which they will continue through the Southeast Division, but there was one slight blemish on the stats sheet from this game. Teddy Purcell. 4:02 of ice time and a -1. I'm in no way angry about how he has completely disappeared the farther into the season they go; rather, disappointment accompanied by raised eyebrows comes across my face every game when I look at his play. His production is almost nil and I'm not sure how much longer he'll stay up with the team. Maybe he needs to be sent back to Manchester for a stint?

On the other side of this NHL/AHL coin, Scott Parse is making a point. He only had 11:44 of TOI but you noticed when he was on the ice. His spark on the forecheck is very noticeable and he's slowly earning his ice time from the coaching staff every game. Parse is how one should make an NHL showing when you're leading the AHL team in points. I'm not saying Purcell won't get there, but for now, he seems to have been pushed to the background for a bit while the rest of the team continues to sort itself out.

Beware of National Coverage: Blackhawks 4, Kings 1

2009-11-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

On the only day of the season that the Los Angeles Kings have face time on Versus, they decide to dilly dally about on the ice losing to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. The game began with a promising first period as the teams battled it out, but the Kings regressed into last season's form and they slowly deteriorated with no chance of saving themselves. They faded in the second period and were virtually non-existent in the third. On paper the sum total of 2 shots on Cristobal Huet in the third was the leading indicator that the Kings were drowning, but visually it was much worse. The team had no connection with each other, but thankfully this has become a rare occurrence this season so I'm hoping this is a slight downhill trend that will right itself soon enough.

(LAKings.com)

A positive for this game was Anze Kopitar who scored his 14th goal of the season putting him in a tie for the league-leading scorer, Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin. This was basically the only highlight of the game. It was pretty abysmal overall, which is such a bummer seeing this was the only shot for the Kings to be seen on a national (+ Canadian) scale seeing how it was the only game of the night. Alas, they couldn't transition their first period momentum into the rest of the game and Kings fans were left disappointed.

(LAKings.com)

I'm getting a little Negative Nancy, but one more thing. Jonathan Quick was not in his best form either letting out big rebounds and not covering his posts. He definitely had minimal help from the defensemen who were having plenty of difficulties of their own.

This was the first game of a 5-game roadtrip with the rest of the games in the Southeast Division. Moving forward, the Kings face the Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow and all I'm hoping for is for them to get themselves back to where they were so I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Los Angeles Kings Versus Nashville Predators

2009-11-07T11:52:00.001-08:00

In about an hour the Nashville Predators will be on Staples Center ice against the Los Angeles Kings. I was looking forward to chilling on my couch and watching the 1:00 pm PST start; alas, FSN West is not airing the game. This would be okay except for the fact that Nashville isn't airing the game either. I think this has happened every year against the Preds. One of the games with these two teams is never aired and I get angry every time. I have an hour to decide if I'm going to find the radio feed or just watch the box score. Either way, it's pretty pathetic.

Kopi-Star: Kings 5, Penguins 2

2009-11-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Kings hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins last night and proved they deserve to be at the top of the standings. Things are clicking for the Kings and they show no signs of slowing down. Anze Kopitar is on FIRE and his line mates are providing support for him all the way. He is dominating the games the way he should have been doing last season.

Last night his first goal was scored less than 30 seconds in was the best wake up call the Kings could have given to the Pens who have been doing very well for themselves so far this season. Sidney Crosby looked mortal and ended the night with a -1. This game wasn't won on pure luck but hard work by everyone on the roster.

(LAKings.com)

I'm not sure what was more surprising: both teams scoring on their first shots on net or the 23 seconds between Jarret Stoll's goal and Michael Handzus' goal in the third. Actually, the latter was more surprising for me because no one is doubting Kopitar's production. I absolutely loved Stoll's exuberance from scoring on Marc-Andre Fleury. This was his 4th goal of the season and his faceoff percentage was back to normal at 83%. I'm not sure how Fleury was feeling last night, but I was sure how all Kings fans were feeling; total excitement and happiness. Two things Kings fans have finally been able to experience beyond a game-by-game basis.

(LAKings.com)

Jonathan Quick had two of the sickest pad saves and led the Kings to their victory. The San Jose Sharks sit two points higher for the Pacific Division lead and the Kings are vying for that spot. At this point in time, the Kings don't need to look at those in their rear view mirrors anymore. The focus is forward for every game.

Kings Saturday Notebook, Oct. 31

2009-10-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I was asked by the Los Angeles Kings to write their Saturday Notebook. I accepted the invitation and attended practice this morning. Afterward I had access to the locker room and left with a number of quotes. The Notebook is up on the Kings website right now so you can take a look! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Back on Top With Two Shootout Losses

2009-10-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

In the third back-to-back of this young season, the Los Angeles Kings lost to the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks in shootouts and yet they find themselves back at the top of the Pacific Division. Odd, I know; but sometimes weird occurrences just happen. Even though the Kings were not the victors in either game, they were both great to watch. There were hit posts, rush plays, and surprise contributions all over the place. In any other year, these are two teams the Kings usually lose to, but this season is, once again, proving they are on a constant uptick.

(LAKings.com)

While viewing the game on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks, I did not realize how much their roster had changed until I saw the lineup. Gone are Christian Ehrhoff and Jonathan Cheechoo; in are Dany Heatley and Manny Malhotra. The make up of their team seems to have remained the same but the difference in this equation is a better Kings roster. That being said, the Kings dominated the first period while the Sharks came back in the second, and the teams battled it out all the way to the shootout. My question here is, "Why was Alexander Frolov left out of the top three shooters?" He had the only Kings goal of the game and was grinding it out as much as the other players, so your guess is as good as mine. It also must be noted that he was left out of the top three shooters against the Canucks as well.

Jonathan Quick played both games and looked solid while Sharks' Evgeni Nabokov and Canucks' Andrew Raycroft looked just as steady. First off, who knew Raycroft could still play! He was hit with 31 shots while Quick had just 15 sail his way. Second, did the Kings not realize that Nabokov was going to stop every shootout shot that went directly towards his chest? I don't get the logic used by the players; subsequently, the Sharks left the arena with two points.

(LAKings.com)

This picture's purpose is solely to show how ridiculous/awesome Bailey is.

Points of interest:

Scott Parse notched his first NHL goal of his career and has made quite the statement.
Anze Kopitar is still among the league leaders in point production.
Hockeywood, L.A. is growing nicely and every Kings fan should check it out!

4 In a Row via Kopitar: Kings Over Coyotes and Blue Jackets

2009-10-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend saw the Los Angeles Kings on their second back-to-back in this young season and I can't decide who has been the star of these past two games; wait, I can, but Jarret Stoll needs props. Stoll has scored his 3 goals in the last two games and has been effective in the faceoff circle and on the forecheck. On the other hand, Anze Kopitar now leads the league in both goals and points, 10 and 21, respectively. Obviously Kopitar is the player of the weekend, week, and month! He's been an absolute stud for the Kings and I couldn't be happier.

Last night the Kings faced the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second time this season where they fared quite a bit better winning 6-2. The story of the game was Jason Chimera getting up ended by Rob Scuderi. Scuderi went to deliver what looked like was going to be a hip check but ended up actually clipping Chimera right in the knees. It was definitely low but it wasn't an intentionally dirty hit. Unfortunately, Chimera looked like he got his head throttled back as he flipped over, but I honestly can say Scuderi wasn't intending for that to happen, which I'm sure is something we all can agree on. Many people will have an opinion, so have at it. Or not.

By the way, the punch to the back of Alexander Frolov's head was REALLY not needed. You can be frustrated, Chimera, but let's leave the punching off the ice. Speaking of Frolov, this weekend he notched two goals and two assists, and I can only hope that he has officially been let out of the doghouse with his production. You really couldn't have asked for more from Frolov in last night's game; perhaps he could have stayed on his feet more against Phoenix, but Fro isn't perfect so I can't hate.

(LAKings.com)

Ryan Smyth continues to be his beastly self logging big ice time and making sure his presence is felt by the opposition. He was on the Fan590 on Friday and was asked about the upcoming Olympics. I don't think anyone is surprised that he was honored by the invite and would love to be a part of Team Canada.

(LAKings.com)

The difference between this game and Saturday's game against the Phoenix Coyotes is that the Kings beat the Jackets handedly while they were on the verge of another collapse against the Coyotes. This was a 5-3 win for the Kings but, let's be honest, it could have resulted in another OT stint or just a straight up loss. Instead the Kings readjusted themselves and finished the game with two more points.

Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll were the highlights of this game. Brownie had over 21 minutes of TOI and had two goals. One was an empty netter, which neither the team nor he really needed. It appeared that he was just skating toward the Coyotes' empty net with no real intention to finish the game off with a pompous gesture. I'm not even sure the puck slid past the goal line before time ran out, but I would have still been happy if it wasn't counted. Stoll had two goals, 18 minutes of TOI, and a respectable 50% win in the faceoff circle.

(LAKings.com)

Some more tidbits to chew on:

Jonathan Quick is currently tied for first in the NHL in wins. He has 8 wins, as do Craig Anderson and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Drew Doughty lead the team in ice time for both games: 27:38 against the Coyotes and 23:34 against the Blue Jackets.
The most invisible player on the ice has been Teddy Purcell. What is the issue there?

Saved In Overtime: Kings 5, Stars 4

2009-10-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last night the Dallas Stars stepped into Staples Center for the first time this season and I was pretty confident the Los Angeles Kings were going to finish the game with the W. All signs pointed to the victory but having to get the win in overtime rendered me speechless. I'm actually unsure of what to say about this game, but I'll try to get something out.

If games were only 40 minutes long, I'd say with 100% confidence that the Kings played their best hockey. Alas, they are 60-minute contests and, for this game, the Kings played their usual up and down, inconsistent hockey. The modified lines looked decent and actually performed wonderfully... but only for 40 minutes. It's a bit difficult to compliment the team on how they made the Stars looks like fools when they themselves didn't hold on to their level of play. This is definitely a bittersweet reflection.

The good: Anze Kopitar owning this game... well, the first two periods of the game by getting his first career hat trick. He is turning into the player management knew he could and has definitely been earning his paycheck. He completely controlled the game as he scored like a madman. As of today, he's tied with a certain Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals in points (8G, 8A and 9G, 7A, respectively).

(LAKings.com)

The Kings were looking fantastic going into the third period, but their hopes were fading as they watched the Stars tie up the game 4-4 forcing the game into OT. Heart breaker. I hardly have the stomach to comment on the third period, but I was happy when Michal Handzus killed the Stars just 55 seconds into OT. His slapshot blasted past Alex Auld and the game was done. I'm very happy that overtime ended in the Kings' favor but the two points don't make up for the poor third period performance. I honestly wondered why Terry Murray pulled Quick at the end of the second period with just 2.7 seconds left in the game when they were up 4-1, but I definitely understood the reasoning 20 minutes later.

The Bad: First off, one thing I can't understand is why Brad Richardson is on the ice during important times in the games. Last night, he was on the ice with just a few minutes in regulation, which is exactly the opposite of what I'd expect! Secondly, Jonathan Quick letting in the goals he did; I'm just in a little bit of shock.

The Needs to Improve: Teddy Purcell received 12:31 of ice time and ended at a minus 1. I'm sure the improvement will explode sometime this season, so I'll continue to wait. To address Alexander Frolov; his play was fine. I honestly didn't think he was any better or worse than before he was benched. I have zero words of wisdom for these two players. Just... focus?

A Little More Up And Down Action

2009-10-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

Firstly, my apologies for the delayed post. My only excuse: Life is getting in the way.

*~*~*~*~*

Currently the Los Angeles Kings are sitting 8th in the Western Conference with 10 points and are 3rd in the Pacific Division. With 9 games in I'm neither ecstatic nor depressed with the results; the Kings are showing that they can compete and that they can take a nosedive at any moment. This was the end of their longest road trip of the year and it just may be the start of something great.

On Saturday evening, I had the unfortunate occurrence of accidentally seeing the score of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets while watching another game. Too bad Leafs TV is really good about keeping you updated around the league. The Toronto Maple Leafs started their game at 4:00 pm PST; I saw the Kings were down 4-1 around the middle of the 3rd period of the Leafs game, and (since the games began at the same time) I knew the Kings were going to lose the game. How utterly deflating. There is absolutely nothing that can salvage the feeling of already knowing the outcome of a game, especially when it's in favor of the other team.

At first I was upset that I saw the score, and then I was irritated that the Blue Jackets got 4 pucks past Jonathan Quick. Needless to say, I was not very enthusiastic watching the game later. There's something about watching a game knowing your team is going to lose that is very unappetizing. It might have led to my falling asleep at times. That being said, the Kings didn't look THAT bad. In my zombie-like state, I didn't think they played worse than some of their other losses. With that, I'm done with this recap.

*~*~*~*~*

For the game I was actually awake and excited for, the Kings decided to bounce back and play like a coherent team yesterday against the Dallas Stars. They won 4-1 to the relief of everyone and proved they can play hockey like professionals. Everything about this game was better than their previous game and capped off this road trip very nicely. They were over .500 in the faceoff circle (thank you Jarret Stoll), ceased taking sloppy penalties for 60 minutes, and collapsed around their own net protecting the goalie.

(LAKings.com)

Going into this game, Bob Miller and Jim Fox mentioned that the top line of Ryan Smyth, Anze Kopitar, and Justin Williams had a combined 29 points in the first 8 games. After they picked up another 6 points against the Stars, the top line is sitting pretty with 35. Okay people, I'm fully on board with the Smyth Train. Williams? I'm getting there. Also I'm over Marty Turco. I don't quite understand the love affair people have with him. I've witnessed far too many meltdowns to have any confidence he's going to stop enough pucks to win games for his team. Am I being too critical? I think not, but let me know what you think!

(LAKings.com)

Also Alexander Frolov is on the hot seat. After the poor performance against the Blue Jackets, Frolov was benched for being a turnover machine while also falling down at inopportune times causing goals against, among other things. Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider posted a transcript of his conversation with Frolov about what happened between him and the coaching staff. Per Hammond: here's what Terry Murray had to say and here's what Dean Lombardi said.

Decide for yourself what really is going on. I personally believe if he doesn't shape up and sign a contract Lombardi-esque, he's going to be sent off to wear a stranger's crest. I will subsequently be heart-broken, but that's only if nothing else negative comes out of this situation.

Still Over .500

2009-10-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to say the Los Angeles Kings deserved the two points against the New York Rangers nor the Detroit Red Wings. In the first game of the back-to-back, the Kings played well but the Rangers were able to get their heads together and finish the game in their favor. In the second game, the Red Wings took advantage of the Kings' frustrations with their own play and subsequent penalties. Since life has me a bit busy, here is a bullet-point list, short and sweet.

(LAKings.com)

The Kings' best period from these two games was the 2nd against the Rangers. The question of "Can the Kings sustain that kind of offensive pressure through the entire game?" is something they're still addressing.
The Kings were better in the faceoff circle against the Rangers (54%) and sustained the percentage in Detroit (52%). Jarret Stoll rocked it getting a 91% win in the 2nd game.

(LAKings.com)

Marian Gaborik got the goal that sealed the deal for the Rangers by cherry-picking the play. That was a goal Eric Ersberg should have had but he was beaten plain and simple, which he was well aware according to his post-game quotes. Jonathan Quick returned for the Detroit game and didn't fare as badly considering he was helping to kill penalties for almost 10 minutes.
Nicklas Lidstrom notched his 1,000th career point on just about the sickest pass slash goal to Henrick Zetterberg. That was just pure eff-ing skill.

(LAKings.com)

By the way, FSN West. The "technical difficulties" was not appreciated. I don't want to listen to the radio if I have the option to watch the game on TV. Bad form.
David Drewiske was on the ice causing more mistakes than he needed to. His 14:08 in New York was too long and he played more in Detroit (18:25)! Granted his play was better in Detroit, 18 minutes is still too much ice time to give to him.
For a positive, Dustin Brown scored his first goal of the season against the Red Wings! He definitely needed this spark and his game is on track getting back to where it needs to be.

These two losses do not mean the Kings are deteriorating and that the winning streak was a fluke. This is a better team compared to last year and they will go through the season as such. They are in Columbus tomorrow playing a team that is on a 2-game winning streak. Catch it; 4:00 pm PST on FSW.

KingsCast - Season 4 Premier!

2009-10-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

KingsCast Hockey Podcast is back on the mic. This is the premier episode of Season 4. Keith, Chris, and I are ready for another season of Los Angeles Kings hockey and we hope you are too!

You can subscribe via iTunes and listen on your iPod.

Starting The Road Trip Off on a Great Foot!

2009-10-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Kings are off to a solid start to the season going 4 and 1. I found their game on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues to be a solidly won game while the win this morning against the New York Islanders was less cohesive but still satisfactory. On Saturday the Kings played a great game all around. The passing was clean, the transitions were smooth, and the lines were clicking nicely. They won 2-1 with the Blues giving it an exciting ending to the cap off the night.

Every game brings me closer to saying, "I'm cool with Ryan Smyth." I can't deny he does what the Kings have needed for a long time, get a body in front of the freaking net, and I can comfortably say I like Smyth better than Justin Williams. I feel like I'm never going to be sold on him; what's the deal? Someone please have a discussion with me! I give a definite two thumbs up to this win with the only time the Kings faltering in their play was the incident that led to Alexander Steen's goal, which was in and out of the net so quickly that play was not halted immediately. The defense looked great and Jonathan Quick was solid.

The score was also 2-1 for today's game on the Island, but the noted difference was that both teams were allowing the play to move back and forth through both zones instead of one team asserting themselves over the other. The Kings didn't control the game until Anze Kopitar's PP goal in the 2nd period. I can definitely see Kopitar's potential beginning to show itself from his past seasons If he keeps this point and performance streak moving forward, he will definitely get noticed outside of the greater Los Angeles area. The noted player of this game was Drew Doughty wearing facial protection due to the puck-in-the-mouth incident in Saturday's game. Jarret Stoll did an awesome job on this play drawing the opposition to him while he was bringing the puck into the Islanders' zone, which left Doughty wide open for the pass. Doughty slapped the puck and got it far side on Marty Biron for his second goal of the season. SICK.

(LAKings.com)

Even though the Kings are 4-1, there are still plenty of things the Kings need to work on, firstly, their faceoffs. Here are the percentages in the circle so far:

44% against the New York Islanders October 12
40% against the St. Louis Blues on October 10
38% against the Minnesota Wild on October 8
43% against the San Jose Sharks on October 6
41% against the Phoenix Coyotes on October 3

No need to paint a hazy picture from these stats; they're poor and everyone knows it. The amount of crucial faceoffs being lost is unbelievable. If the Kings gain the possession AT puck drop, it'd definitely reduce the number of heart attacks on my part.

By the way, who scored the lone Islanders' goal? Matt Moulson of course! He was looking quite scragly with his new coif, which probably is very much needed on the east coast. The funniest part about Bob Miller and Jim Fox's discussion of Moulson was his relationship with Jonathan Quick's wife's sister. It was mentioned twice that Moulson was perhaps Quick's future brother-in-law. Now, now, let's not jump the gun.

(LAKings.com)

The stats for this game overall weren't impressive in terms of shots on and hits. The Kings had 22 shots while the Islanders had 29. Hits were 22 and 34, respectively. It's fantastic the Kings are getting the wins, but the it's the little things that add up to carrying a solidly performing roster deep into the season. The individual players still have many parts of the game to work on, so that's definitely promising. There is room for lots of growth over the entire season, and I'm (almost) happy with the current team on the ice.

P.S. I love Raitis Ivanans. He played 2 minutes and 44 seconds and absolutely pounded the HELL out of Joel Rechlicz, whoever that is.

*~*~*~*

A few more things:

Happy birthday to Mr. Bob Miller! Still looking great!
Check out Hockeywood, L.A. for great content on the Kings!

Kings World Podcast - Ep 2.1

2009-10-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome back everyone! Marie, of Purple Crushed Velvet, and I are back for another fun-filled season of Kings World Podcast. We're in our second year as the Kings are starting the 2009-10 season. The team has already played a few games going 3-1-0, which puts them first in the Pacific Division and tied for second in the Western Conference. In this episode we review Frozen Fury XII, these opening games, and the games for this upcoming week, which starts in a few hours with the Kings facing off against the New York Islanders at 11:00 am PST! This episode is short and sweet with a few sound glitches, but we hope you still enjoy listening and give any and all feedback!

Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Hockeywood, L.A. Lauches Today!

2009-10-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, the Kings have started a new online community on their website called Hockeywood, L.A. and they have asked me to be a feature contributor along with a number of other Kings bloggers. The site launches today in time for the game against the St. Louis Blues at 5:00 pm PST.

I have put up my first post on Hockeywood, L.A. and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of the official Kings blogging family. I'll still be following my usual posting schedule here at A Queen Among Kings, and I'd love all of you to follow me over at Hockeywood as well.

If you have an questions, comments, or post suggestions, please email me at aqueenamongkingsblog[at]gmail[dot]com. And as always, Go Kings Go!

A Regular Occurrence?; Kings 6, Wild 4

2009-10-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

I was only able to watch the second half of this game last night and from what I saw it looked like the game against San Jose on Tuesday night. The Kings had a substantial lead, took some penalties, allowed the opposition to score PP goals, and then finished off the game by scoring a few more to seal the deal.

(LAKings.com)

A sick slap into the net

Don't have the time to do a better recap, but you can find your way over to these other guys and get your fill:

For a good time, call Rudy Kelly.

For a very in depth overall to the game at Frozen Royalty.

Also don't forget to check out Hockeywood, L.A., which will open for viewing tomorrow!

(LAKings.com)

By the way, did you ever think you'd see this?

A Questionably Solid Win: Kings 6, Sharks 4

2009-10-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Kings redeemed themselves last night against the San Jose Sharks with a 6-4 victory. I was extremely proud of their efforts in the first period but was soon shell-shocked in the second and third when the Sharks came back to score 4 unanswered goals. Before puck drop I was still wondering about the defensive pairings that seemingly paired like-and-like instead of one offensive-minded with one defensive-minded, but anything could have been better than last Saturday so I wasn't too worried. I soon was swallowing any doubts because the Kings showed up and played a hell of... well first period and second half of the third period. This game was no where near what the Kings would like on a per-game basis.

In looking at the positives of the game first, I'm not sure which of the Kings 6 goals was the best but I will say that Jack Johnson's aggressiveness and willingness to get to the net can only lead to great things. As long as he has the defensive support on the back end, I can only encourage his spark to get his stick on the puck. Michal Handzus' pass to the front of the net couldn't have been better timed during the 4-on-4 play. Another positive was Anze Kopitar's goal in that he should be scoring like that every single game. His was just about the nastiest and sickest goal I've seen from a King in awhile and Evgeni Nabokov never saw it coming.

(LAKings.com)

My mantra of the Kings being "consistently inconsistent" continued last night by their sheer meltdown in the middle of the game. Yes, their passing and transitions were impressive, but the inevitable excitement and inability to immediately calm the nerves after their lead was built lead to the Kings suffering 4 unanswered power play goals from the Sharks. The most blatant penalty was the Too Many Men call while they were on the power play. The Kings were all over the place during their penalty kills and the bloom was quickly off the rose as the Sharks tied the game with less than five minutes in the game. Yet hope was renewed by Teddy Purcell, the player under arguably the most scrutiny, and his "hail mary" shot from a ridiculous angle. [Update]: Thomas Greiss ~~Nabokov~~ didn't have any control over it whatsoever and the Kings were back within getting the well-deserved two points.

I was very impressed with the 3rd line of Alexander Frolov, Handzus, and Wayne Simmonds. These guys were playing against the Sharks' better players while generating offense at the same time. Their chemistry last night proved that this could potentially happen every single game, which makes this line more of a threat than the 2nd line of Purcell, Jarret Stoll, and Dustin Brown.

According to the stats sheet, Frolov was on the ice for only 17:29 but he utilized every single second by producing 2 points while also being double shifted on the 4th line, which disappeared pretty quickly. Raitis Ivanans did his duty playing less than 5 minutes but letting the opposition know what he really thinks about them. Here's Raitis landing some dome shots on Jody Shelley after Davis Drewiske was slammed into the boards. Thanks, Ivanans for sticking up for the rookie!

(LAKings.com)

All of the Kings were nicely either even in the +/- column or on the plus side while it was just the opposite on the Sharks end. Interestingly, Dany Heatley collected three points and was a -2, Devin Setoguchi got 2 points and ended at a -2, and Joe Thornton got three assists and had almost a team-worst -3.

Lastly, props to Drewiske for scoring his first NHL goal. Yes, it was on an empty net, but it was with full traffic between him and the goal mouth and it put the game away for the Kings.

Pee-yew! Coyotes 6, Kings 3

2009-10-04T06:31:00.001-07:00

Just when you thought the Los Angeles Kings had it all figured out, they open the 2009-10 season with the poorest performance I've seen... since last season! But at least at the end of last season they were playing with full effort for entire games; tonight lacked consistency and teamwork. For example, does Terry Murray really want them to be bunching together at odd places on the ice? Let's make sure we're spread out and covering all the important spots on the ice, mmkay?

I watched this game on a massive delay last night and I've come to realize that I don't think I made a bad decision in not renewing my season tickets. The utterly poor performance of the Kings was quite embarrassing, and I don't think it mattered that they played the Phoenix Coyotes. They could have played anyone and it would have been just as bad.

(Lakings.com)

Story of the game

Is it season-starting nerves? Do all the players have the flu? What do you supposed it is? The Coyotes dominated the Kings for basically the entire game, and not all 6 goals against were Jonathan Quick's fault. There were plently of mistakes coming from all over the Kings roster. Drew Doughty was particularly noticably making a some timely (bad) decisions while players like Teddy Purcell and Anze Kopitar were nearly invisible. The most frustrating part of the game was the 2nd Kings goal where they spent nearly the entire PP trying to get the puck past Ilya Bryzgalov. Missed shot after missed shot finally found Kopitar getting the puck in the net off a Ryan Smyth rebound. Ugly.

I must end this post here since I have other things to attend to. The season opener was a poor excuse for effort on behalf of the fans and themselves. I'm sure no one was happy with that so-called performance, so we'll see what happens between now and Tuesday's game against the San Jose Sharks.

Frozen Fury XII: Good Times Galore

2009-10-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here is my short-and-sweet and late recap of Frozen Fury from last Saturday, September 26th where the Los Angeles Kings dueled the Colorado Avalanche. Frozen Fury X and Frozen Fury XI both ended in shootouts with the teams splitting wins, but this year the Kings managed to get the win in regulation. The game ended 5-3 with an empty netter by Wayne Simmonds with about one second left in the game.

But before I get to the game, I wanted to mention the players at Luc Robitaille's Charity Poker Tournament held the Friday night before the game. A few observations:

Matt Duchene was born in 1991 and is no where CLOSE to being allowed at the poker tables, but that didn't stop him from joining the players at the tournament. If you don't believe me, check out the picture I took with him up on facebook.
It appeared that Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi are okay with wearing pleated pants in public.
Anze Kopitar wasn't looking too raccoon-eyed, so that was a nice change.
Alexander Frolov had the girls lined up behind him. I noticed he was sans wedding ring and so did Marie!
Jack Johnson was in a full pin strip suit and is so thick that he was like a mack truck walking around the tables.

Back to the game: overall the experience and game were up and down. The crowd walking into the Grand Garden Arena seemed more aggressively drunk than usual and the first period was worry inducing in that the Kings looked disorganized while the Aves skated with spunk. This poor showing took the life out of the not-exactly packed arena, but the noise returned when the Kings started getting the pucks past brand new Aves goalie, Craig Anderson. At the other end of the ice, Jonathan Quick wasn't looking spectacular by any means, but this didn't have me completely worried because of the predictability of an inevitable slow Kings start. There also was a definite lack of fights and more emphasis on actually playing like cohesive units, which caused the entire vibe of the game to be somewhat different than last year.

Standouts were definitely Jack Johnson, Simmonds, and Smyth. They were noticeable on the ice by actually being in the right spots and helping to create plays. One standout for not doing much of anything was Teddy Purcell. Talk about disappointing! Oscar Moller gets sent to Manchester and you don't show up? Yikes. Also I didn't EXACTLY agree with Kopitar getting first star of the entire game. Yeah, he scored on his penalty shot but didn't stand out more than any other player. In sum, it was still good times; loved to see the excitement coming from the players and fans.

Check out KingsCast for their three-part video series at the event! Here's the first!

*~*~*~*~*

How was Vegas you ask? Ummm, it was Vegas in that nothing really has changed except more construction has occurred since I had been there one year prior. The most notable part of the weekend was the drive back to Los Angeles. There were a grand total of 4 flipped cars on the road, 3-5 randomly stopped cars along the way, 3 Deloreans on the side of the road as well, traffic up the ying yang, and 100+ degree temperatures almost the entire way back. We are flying next year, no question!

*~*~*~*~*

Last update: Rich Hammond has officially started writing for the Kings at LA Kings Insider. Same content, different house.

Rob Blake Named Captain of San Jose Sharks

2009-09-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

According to the San Jose Sharks website and Sharkspage Rob Blake has been named captain of the Sharks. The assistants will be Dan Boyle and Joe Thornton. The first thing that popped into my head when I read this was that Joe Thornton will never be captain material. Granted they're not my team so I'm not sure if Sharks fans were hoping that maybe one day Thornton could take up the captaincy reins. Either way, I chuckle at Thornton and am happy to see Blake doing well in Nor Cal.

Check out Sharks Hockey Analysis and Fear The Fin for some further questions, thoughts, and discussion.

Could It Be? Is It True?

2009-09-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Wayne Gretzky back in Los Angeles?

(AP)

Not a far fetched headline considering that's the word on the preseason street. Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi was on Fan 590 today and mentioned something about interest in getting Gretzky back to LA. I'm sure it's been talked about for years, but this mention may mean something could happen in the near future. We shall see!

Roster Questions Have Been Unexcitedly Answered

2009-09-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

I have returned from Frozen Fury!! The game was... so-so, but they won 5-3 so it was a good ending for Kings fans. I will have a full recap in a day or two, so stay tuned!

*~*~*~*~*

On the news front, according to TSN, all roster questions have been answered regarding who will make the lineup for the season opener.

Brayden Schenn has been returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings
Jonathan Bernier has been sent to the Manchester Monarchs along with Thomas Hickey and Kevin Westgarth

This means a few things. The first being the 4th line center position might possibly just go Peter Harrold. Secondly, Erik Ersberg will take the backup role on the bench while Jonathan Quick starts the season in net hopefully being just as awesome as he was at the end of last season. Thirdly, Raitis Ivanans is a better player than Westgarth, which is something I've thought from Day Uno.

*~*~*~*~*

Another update from last week (23rd): Rich Hammond of the Daily News will be newly employed by the Los Angeles Kings to basically do the same exact thing he was doing before. The most important part of this news is he will be able to provide for Kings fans real coverage on the road. The lack of road coverage for almost all teams is pretty despicable so I see this as a GREAT THING. He reiterated that he will not be censored by the Kings and will have full editorial control over his content. Naive me will believe this until his content proves otherwise. I'm really excited for this venture the Kings have decided to take and am happy for Rich Hammond for being the first beat writer to gain this type of recognition, visibility, and clearance by the team.

When the story broke, Frozen Royalty gave immediate props, Jon Moncrief was quick to the draw, and James Mirtle of course took note. Today Puck Daddy wrote an interesting writeup of what this could mean for Kings fans and how they get their team news.

Frozen Fury Is Where It's At!

2009-09-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

I have left the blog for a few days to head to Las Vegas for the 12th annual Los Angeles Kings Frozen Fury being held in MGM Grand! I've already mentioned this a few times, but I'm just reiterating the happenings around the west coast not involving the Phoenix Coyotes (a.k.a. Wayne Gretzky). Once again, the Kings will be facing the Colorado Avalanche who toiled at the bottom of the standings last season. They now have Kyle Quincey and we have Ryan Smyth; quite a cosmetic change (if you know what I mean).

Rich Hammond has posted the lineup for the game:

Smyth-Kopitar-Williams
Purcell-Stoll-Brown
Frolov-Handzus-Simmonds
Clune-Lewis-Westgarth

Martinez-Doughty
Johnson-Scuderi
Drewiske-Greene

Quick
Bernier

Bottom line: I'm excited

Alec Martinez will take the place of Sean O'Donnell as a pair with Drew Doughty. OD's suspension doesn't mark anywhere close to the end of the world; it will just give some ice time to some of the younger blood of the roster. I'm actually a bit surprised Thomas Hickey won't be making an appearance at Frozen Fury. I think that would add to the huge draw of this young team; continue to promote the excitement of the new season.

I will have a complete recap after the weekend is over, but I will be Twittering throughout the weekend with pictures and updates from Vegas! So please check out my Twitter, as well as KingsCast, the LA Kings, and the Kings trainer.

Also Hockeywood LA is something else you should watch out for as well.

Gearing Up For Something Something Something

2009-09-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Preseason is in full gear and the Kings have released three commercials to highlight the beginning of a possible burst of talent. They're definitely well done, but I'm also done with the "Pride = Passion = Power" motto and have nothing good to replace it with.

Please press play.

It is T minus 4 days until Frozen Fury, and I'm giddy with glee to see the Kings back on the ice for the only preseason game I'll be watching. This is a great opportunity for the young players to understand what it means to play with the big club; the excitement is unbelievable in the bowels of the MGM Grand where the Kings will face off against the Colorado Avalanche. I'm unsure what the lineup will be, but it should definitely be closer to the roster of opening night than of the one tonight at the Sprint Center where the Kings will face the New York Islanders sans John Tavaras. According to Rich Hammond at Inside the Kings, the lineup will start out with:

Lewis-Stoll-Purcell
Frolov-Handzus-Simmonds
Clune-Harrold-Richardson
Ivanans-Cliche-Westgarth

O'Donnell-Doughty
Drewiske-Martinez
Piskula-Hickey

Quick

Let's just say I'm glad I'm going to Frozen Fury and not this game. That fourth line of Raitis Ivanans - Marc-Andre Cliche - Kevin Westgarth looks ROUGH. Wow. Although perhaps the third line will help to energize the fourth line.

Some quick thoughts:

The only forward line that will remain the same after tonight's game is the second one. I know what it looked like last season and am hoping for more offensive output; not too much to ask for. You know, shutdown the other teams' top lines while trying to move the puck into the offensive zone. They're big boys; they can do it.

I'll admit I like the first line; Trevor Lewis stood out for me opening day of training camp. He had the most jump from the group of players who weren't in LA last season. That'll be a quick line off the draw if Jarret Stoll can stay loose enough on the ice. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing this line on the ice at Staples Center, FYI.

Looking forward to Saturday, I will venture a guess that the top line of Ryan Smyth - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams will be starting the game in Vegas. At least I hope so. I want to see the potential on the ice! I want to see the excitement! I want to hear the crowd! I will be present cheering my heart out.

Lastly, If you're on Twitter, you should follow LAKingsTrainer. This is Joe Caligiuri who is a real person tweeting from this account and NOT a bot giving dry bits of unimportant information. I have yet to find any Kings players with Twitter, so this is the best for now.

Teddy Purcell Has Enough Teeth to Speak!

2009-09-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Training camp for the Los Angeles Kings began on Sunday, September 14th at the Toyota Sports Center and all the players are back and ready to go. Kings Vision has one-on-one interviews posted of Daryl Evans and Heidi Androl speaking with various players and management. I haven't actually watched any of these tidbits because I still hold the preconceived notion that athletes aren't the most articulate bunch. They mostly say the same things from game to game, such as:

We need to communicate better on the ice
Our passes weren't the greatest and we know that
Coach-y or Coach-ie let us know what we need to focus on and that's what we're going to do
That line felt really good ooot there tonight

You asleep yet?

The reason I bring this up is that KingsKoolAid informed me of a particular interview with Teddy Purcell that was worth watching. I was hesitant because of the countless minutes of my life that have been previously spent listening to Sidney Crosby or Roberto Luongo saying the same thing night in and night out. But I watched and was very impressed with Purcell! He actually had legitimate things to say and enunciated his words clearly enough to hold my attention.

You can check out his interview with Daryl Evans here. If Kings Vision doesn't load (as it usually doesn't for me), please inform the Kings because I don't have the time nor patience. Thank you.

Going back to player interviews, there are a few who I will actually listen to regardless of situation. Here are a few off the top of my head in no particular order:

Jeremy Roenick (no surprise)
Sean Avery (not impressive, just intriguing)
Rob Blake
Sean O'Donnell
Kevin Weekes (strange, but trust me, boy is SMART)
Daniel Briere

Who do YOU think is a great interview?

The Nonsense Is Through

2009-09-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Fears abound on Thursday evening were killed about 30 minutes ago by the completion of the Dany Heatley saga. TSN reports that he will be a San Jose Shark along with a 5th round pick and that Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek, and a 2nd round pick are going back to the Ottawa Senators.

I can fully breathe a sigh of relief at this outcome now that Alexander Frolov and Jarret Stoll are safe (for now). I'm not sure what the rest of the day will hold as training camp starts tomorrow! I'm hoping to be there checking out the potentials for the remaining roster spots.

Landed In The Hockey News!

2009-09-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

The current September 7th issue of The Hockey News has a preview of all 30 teams in the NHL written by Adam Proteau that includes a short statement by bloggers of each team. I was asked to write about how the Kings will fare for this new season and I graciously accepted. My only restriction was to keep it under 50 words, which was a bit stifling but I managed to power out something I hope all Kings fans can stand behind.

Here is a screen shot of the digital issue. I'm located on the top half of page 33 next to a great picture of Drew Doughty. Just in case you can't read it, it says:

Underrated Kings GM Dean Lombardi has continued to quietly build a contender with (almost) nobody watching. This young team will play with drama-filled, Boys on the Bus exuberance worthy of a reality TV show.

A few words were snipped out of what I wrote, but it doesn't affect the overall message, which is that this team will make other markets aware of its presence by continuing on the path set out by Lombardi years prior. For Kings fans, there shouldn't be any surprises in the team's potential output considering the additions and subtractions made this summer.

Thanks to Earl Sleek for the mention as he was chosen to write on the Anaheim Ducks. Congrats to fellow HLOGers Elise from 18,568 Reasons Why... and Bethany from Bethany's Hockey Rants. And congrats to all the other bloggers who were asked for thoughts on their respective teams.

Hockey Fest 2009: Part II - Staying On Target

2009-09-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

The final day of Hockey Fest 09 proved that the Los Angeles Kings remain on the path Dean Lombardi set out since he arrived on the scene, which was to strip down the roster and organization and build it back up by getting to the draft table. Since then the Kings have had more picks than I can remember (273?) and have built a franchise full of young potential studs.

From the weekend festivities I felt the main message for fans to take with them was that the Kings are still moving in the same direction toward the same goal. The management team hasn’t deviated from its original end goal and there’s no reason to think it might happen this year. If anything, the fruits of this plan should be showing itself with more goals from the forwards, continued solid defensive support, reliable goaltending, and an elevated consistency across the board. The team has been working towards this ideal, and I think they will finally make something of their potential this season. This doesn’t mean it will happen automatically; the steps to the finish line will be siphoning more blood and sweat from the players with rabid fans looking on.

Day 3 of Hockey Fest had three panels with the first consisting of current management. Dean Lombardi, Ron Hextall, and Terry Murray expressed the commitment of further improvements from the roster. As I said in my first recap, no one reinvented the wheel this past weekend; everything has been said before and other things seemed more common sense than anything else. For example, Lombardi stated that the Kings did not market Drew Doughty like the Tampa Bay Lightening did with Steven Stamkos. They let him come in and earn the respect of his teammates. Essentially if Doughty did not live up to any marketing hype, "the veterans would resent him."

Any sort of resentment would not have been the product of unsuccessful marketing; rather, the resentment would have stemmed from the expectations of an 18-year-old kid leading this team into the playoffs. Lombardi also mentioned Doughty has been rounding out his nutrition and shedding his baby fat and was now developing into an athlete with more upside than one with minimal bodyfat coming in. This obviously has been a topic that has generated enough attention since the summer before he was drafted, which is why I made sure to ask Doughty about what steps he had been taking in regards to his nutrition.

Lombardi fielded a question specifically about Dany Heatley from the audience and I’m glad this shut down any of those still thinking his coming here was a possibility. Right after the question was asked, Lombardi spoke about two things:

The most important things for the team are for Anze Kopitar to step up his game and for Doughty and Jonathan Quick to keep progressing.
The second is to look at San Jose’s progression; they have improved six years in a row with the average age dropping each year. The Kings are on the path to now be able to find players who can be added to fit specifically into the system. He would "like this group to reach its potential before looking outside of the club." It would be too risky of a move to take a chance on Heatley right now while the core is still forming. Basically, he doesn’t want to guess if he doesn’t have to.

If anyone is surprised by this, you should go back and read everything Lombardi has preached since he’s arrived. He wants to be sure that any big move the Kings make takes "the team to the top." Getting Heatley could potentially do more harm than good, which would move the team backwards effectively stunting its growth. If he ends up a bust, he’ll add a negativity to the forming core while taking up the most dollars on the salary cap, which I’m sure no one else would want to deal with. The improvement of Kopitar is the key to this team making a jump. Lombardi emphatically said to look to Kopi for "that dynamic goal"and that "great things start to happen off the fundamentals of the game."

Preaching to the choir.

DL also addressed Teddy Purcell's roster spot saying that college players have no clue how to play in tight corners and that "he's not going to play unless he pays the price."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's no surprise that the ex-goalie of the management group is the one to take goalie-related questions, right? Of course!

During the Q&A, Hextall said he considered Quick to be the number one goalie with Erik Ersberg as the backup, and Jonathan Bernier would be best served going back to the Manchester Monarchs. I'm sure the knowledge of Bernier's impatience of getting to Los Angeles isn't foreign, so I won't feel too badly in completely agreeing with Hextall. Bernier's cocky confidence is felt 3,000 miles away and I'm in the mood to keep him at arm's length from the roster. The unknown for Hextall is definitely Ersberg. He's a solid goalie but isn't sure if he has the physical ability to play 60-65 games a season due to his size. To add to the bottom line, Hextall stated that there were no plans to move Ersberg. That being the case, anything can happen during the season. It appears the goalie situation hasn't deviated from the end of last season up until now, which makes me a whole lot more comfortable than this time last year.

I got a rare insight into Quick from Dustin Brown that I'm sure the everyday fan is unaware of; the fact that he has a cocky attitude both on and off the ice. You'd never know it from watching the way he plays, but Brownie spoke very highly of him when we lobbed a few questions his way. Of Quick: "He's cocky in a way that you actually like him," and he ended that by saying, "You can have an average team in front of you. If you're a good goalie, you have a good team."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Terry Murray said what Terry Murray usually says; the Kings don't want to lose sight of last year and will focus on getting more pucks IN the net starting at training camp. He would like the team to be an aggressive forechecking team, which I am completely on board with. He also mentioned that his lines were already down on paper so he'll have set lines to try out at training camp. The definite lines he said out loud were the first line (Ryan Smyth - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams) and the first two defensive pairings (1 - Drew Doughty - Sean O'Donnell; 2 - Rob Scuderi - Jack Johnson). The only line up in the air for TM is the 4th line. Who could it be?

Raitis Ivanans - John Zeiler - Peter Harrold? (Whoa... I just threw up in my mouth a bit.)

Other than this little tidbit, there weren't any earth-shattering bits of insight. But one thing I asked specifically was if he had a surprise rookie forward in mind who could make a statement out of training camp. He responded by saying he wasn't 100% sure on anyone but that Richard Clune might make a name for himself. Regarding the playoffs, he said if they didn't make the top 8 spots in the West, it wouldn't be a huge disappointment but that they had to show improvement. This was a bit different than what Lombardi said earlierabout the playoffs. If the Kings didn't make it, according to DL, it "would not be a major disaster but would be a major disappointment."

I honestly can't disagree with anything said during the weekend. Everything was inline with how the Kings are being built up and, in the end, I'm happy with how everything went. The venue was very nice, clean, and sent the message that the Kings were continuing to move forward in the players' development. From the fan perspective I was pretty pleased at how everything was presented although the area could have used a bit more signage on the exterior to showcase what was going on and where to go. The heat was killer but that didn't stop the street hockey tournament even on the black asphalt. Much thanks to the Kings for providing this opportunity

Make sure to check out all the news on the event on KingsCast, Frozen Royalty, The Examiner, and the Press Box Perspective!

Next stop: the playoffs! (...or not...)

Hockey Fest 2009: Part I - Breaking Misconceptions

2009-08-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend the Los Angeles Kings held the first annual Hockey Fest at LA Live, which is another shindig in order to help build excitement for the 09-10 season. I must admit I held some skepticism about what the event would end up accomplishing, and I guess we won't really know the success of it until the Kings hit the ice and actually start winning some games. It's hard to build hype around a team that consistently gives so little in return.

I wasn't planning on attending Hockey Fest was was pleasantly surprised and flattered to have been offered media access for this event. I graciously accepted and entered into uncharted territory. All-in-all it was a very relaxed Blue Room with no real stress present at any point. I will admit my heart was pumping a bit of adrenaline when I lobbed my first question at Teddy Purcell asking him what he's done this summer to ensure his spot on the roster. His answer? Just what you'd expect a professional athlete to say; hard work, get stronger, stay focused.

Even though it was very cool to be a part of the ask-and-answer sessions, no one reinvented the wheel today. That being said, there was some very good insight by all the alumni in attendance with a few statements here and there that caught my attention.

Ray Ferraro put it best by saying the fans in the event tent are "cautiously optimistic." The fans have been burned by their beloved team for the past 41 years and now is really not the time to state with confidence that they're going to make the playoffs. I don't know anyone who is currently that confident with this young roster. Of course, the fans shouldn't be chastising the team before they can prove cohesiveness as a roster with consistent chemistry, especially with the new players in the room. There are realistic expectations for all the players that everyone has to be aware of with the best stated expectation by Ferraro (and one that I wholly agreed with) that fans shouldn't be expecting Ryan Smyth to be a 40-goal scorer. Instead he should be a lock for 27 goals next season. I think that's a very reasonable number and can stand behind that, but that doesn't mean I think he's worth his $6.25 million cap hit.

The most notable:

Ray Ferraro stated that all of the Kings teams since its inception have never lost their commitment to win, but it was the ability to win has been absent. Cold hard truth.
Marcel Dionne said during the Triple Crown Line session that back in his time the players controlled the game whereas today the game is controlled by the coaches. This idea was so matter-of-factly stated that I was very impressed by the simplicity and reality of that insight. Having a system placed upon players is now so normalized that no one gives it another thought, but having it verbalized for the audience today was something I really appreciated.
I asked Ferraro about what his thoughts were concerning the hype machine that is college-stud Jack Johnson. His response was that Jack is still trying to find himself as an NHL player and that Drew Doughty's presence shouldn't be considered a threat. Bottom line: Jack needs to make that jump this season.

There were a lot of great things to see on the second day of Hockey Fest. The first was seeing the Kids Press Conference in the morning with Anze Kopitar, Matt Greene, Wayne Simmonds, and Teddy Purcell. The kids were asking some solid questions while the players cracked each other up.

Ego buster: "In April where did you play golf?"
The question that brought the house down: "Anze, do you still live with your parents?

Stay tuned for another recap from Sunday's event tomorrow night.

Questionnaire for CapsChick!

2009-08-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Since the doldrums of summer are still upon us die hard hockey fans, we thirst for anything we can get our lustful hands on that is hockey related. This being the case, CapsChick from A View From The Cheap Seats has sent out a questionnaire to various bloggers, myself included. I have humbly answered as many questions as I could seeing as how there were a ton! But I hope you hop on over there and read my (hopefully) insightful answers. I'm the first Pacific Division blogger who's been posted, which is always exciting and flattering.

So thanks to CapsChick for inviting me in this fun exercise and to the readers for taking the time to read!

Versus Frustrates Me

2009-08-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Last year the NHL on Versus decided to shut the Kings out from any type of national coverage, and once again, they decided to keep it as minimal as possible for this So Cal team. Hey, I love minimalism and everything, but only for my living spaces and furniture within. When it comes to hockey, I want more Kings exposure during more hours of the day.

For the 09-10 season, Versus decided showing one game involving the Kings was enough, but it's blatantly obvious as to why this game was chosen. If it's not obvious, then you need to open your eyes or just have me spell it out for you. This one Kings game was chosen because it was against the Chicago Blackhawks rather than any sort of potential the Kings merit.

Seriously, folks; what Kings game is going to get the most national draw possible? A game against a team that has been put through the hype ringer and drawn as thinly as possible. Yes, people can easily just get the Center Ice package to watch all things Kings, but my point here is not that. It's the fact that this team is, once again, attempting to get out of the usually damp and dusty cellar but are being stunted by a league that views this team as the red-headed step child. I really don't think giving them some national coverage it's that difficult. Why can't Versus just show a hockey double header every night of the season? I really don't think that channel is making its money through bull riding. Ultimate fighting, yes; bull riding, no.

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.34

2009-08-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the summer when there just isn't anything to get excited over. To combat this "sheer excitement," Marie and I got together to record something semi-interesting about the Kings. There have been some movement and additions by Dean Lombardi, but nothing too earth shattering.

We discuss the trades and signings as well as who the Kings picked in the 2009 NHL Draft. Marie isn’t as confident as I am that the Kings will make the playoffs, but there is always a chance the Kings can actually pull something out of their behinds. Of course, everyone looks forward to Frozen Fury coming to you this year on September 26. Also, you will be able to hear Marie’s exciting Chicago story, which blows Patrick Kane’s out of the water!

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Overtime Episode 9 - This Week In Hockey

2009-08-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Enough about Patrick Kane; on to more exciting stuff. The guys at KingsCast have put out a new Overtime Episode for Kings fans. There's talk of trade fodder for those who love them and an invitation to meet them at Frozen Fury in Las Vegas.

The date is September 26th at the MGM Grand for those of you still curiously not in the know. The Kings will be, once again, facing off against the Colorado Avalanche. Two season ago, the Kings won in the shootout; last season the Aves won in the shootout. What will this year hold?!

(LA Kings)

Tipping Is Normal

2009-08-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

I really can't feel any sympathy for someone who takes this kind of mugshot. I'm not seeing any remorse here or "Oops, I really eff-ed this one up."

(AP)

Announcement: Officially On Board!

2009-08-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

So I am officially a part of KingsCast! I'm sure everyone who comes here is already intimate with Keith Korneluk and Chris Kaliszewski, the two huge Kings fans who simultaneously love and hate the team at all hours of the day. It took a bit of time for the boys over there to realize they needed some estrogen injected into their musings, but they have wised up and I will be joining their duo. I will still be posting analysis and game recaps here, so please don't abandon the site! I've appreciated everyone coming here and hope that continues indefinitely. Thanks much!

KingsCast: The Podcast for L.A. Kings fans by L.A. Kings Fans is already established as THE place to be for intelligent and thoughtful analysis of the team and its inner workings of the organization as a multi-million dollar business. We offer a slew of podcasts, videos, and tweets and can easily be reached through a number of ways (see below).

We're entering another "fun-filled" season of watching the Kings and their pathetic downfall to the bottom of the standings. But, wait, they may actually make the playoffs this year! So cheers to the good times and tears that will inevitably fall from my eyes with whatever the Kings do.

With that said, here are some handy dandy ways of checking out KingsCast and myself outside of this blog.

Listen to the episodes through iTunes and then go to KingsCast and start discussing!

Of course we're up on Facebook (the coolest place to be).

Twitter us as well!

Overtime videos are up on YouTube where you can actually see me in action with the guys. I think the chemistry is already flowing nicely.

You can follow me on Twitter if you'd like: Connie_Kim. I'm trying to be more active on it, so please follow and encourage the updates! I'll definitely be Twittering at least once during games (especially if I'm at Staples Center).

Email city: KingsCast - kingscast[at]gmail[dot]com
Connie on KingsCast - connie[at]kingscast[dot]net
A Queen Among Kings - aqueenamongkingsblog[at]gmail[dot]com

Some People Just Can't Help It

2009-07-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

When you grow up in a decent-sized town in an extraordinarily small state, receive your higher education from said state, and have been working in the same town for the past 23 years, what's the best way to occupy your dulled senses?

I guess become the mastermind of a prostitution ring. Manchester Monarchs beat writer Kevin Provencher was arrested today on felony charges related to finding financially-desperate women willing to sleep with equally desperate men. The charges state that he derived "income from prostitution." C'mon people, he's a beat writer in a small state. How much could his income be? The man needs to eat!

According to the article, one of the prostitutes allegedly complained about the 65-mile drive from Quincy to Manchester being too long so he did the gentlemanly-pimp thing of moving his operations to Andover, MA (36.5 miles). Well, this proved to be the killing of operations as authorities "could clearly hear activities consistent with sexual intercourse."

Case closed. But where am I going to get my Monarchs news from now?

Dean Lombardi Is A Genius

2009-07-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

I hate double posting, but I can't wait for this one. Jack Johnson was signed to a two-year deal earlier today. The cap hit will be $1.425 for the two years.

Dean Lombardi, I bow down to you.

(Further analysis to come after Teddy Purcell is re-signed.)

Kings Schedule In Depth

2009-07-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

When the Kings schedule was released last year, I spent numerous labor-intensive hours examining and breaking down the schedule. Two days ago the Kings released the 09-10 schedule with a very comprehensive breakdown virtually eliminating any work for me; thanks guys! This season starts out with more promise than a year ago, so I feel I'm looking at the schedule with a different mindset. There are teams that the Kings could easily dominate who weren't so easy to play against last year (Minnesota and possibly San Jose). San Jose had been making zero waves this summer, so I'm not exactly sure with my assessment; all I know is the Kings are stronger now so it'll be interesting to watch.

The following is a quick scan on my part after perusing the schedule:

Oct. Sat. 3 vs. Phoenix (home opener): Talk about the most boring way to begin the season...
Oct. Tues. 6 vs. San Jose: ...Go Rob Blake...
Oct. Sat. 10 @ St. Louis: Start of the longest road trip over 11 days
Oct. Mon. 12 @ Islanders: Will Matt Moulson play??
Oct. Mon. 26 Toronto @ Anaheim: Going to the Pond for this one... will need a women-sized Leafs jersey. Wouldn't that be hysterical if I got Burke on the back of it? Hated him in Anaheim, but like him in Toronto.

Nov. Thurs. 5 vs. Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby at Staples!
Nov. Mon. 9 @ Chicago: Start of possibly the worst 5-game road trip. CHI, CAR, ATL, TBL, FLA. Zzz..zzzzz....ZZzzZzzzz....
Nov. Wed. 18 @ Philadelphia: Pronger still in orange, yikes.
Nov. Wed. 25 @ Edmonton: Battle versus Moose!

Dec. Thurs. 10 vs. Phoenix: Can't think of a more boring two-game home-stand.
Dec. Sat. 12 vs. Dallas: ...zzz...ZZZzzzzZZzz....

Jan. Sat. 2 vs. Washington: Do you think Ovechkin will try to take a run at Dustin Brown again? Ow, my ear!
Jan. Thurs. 21 vs. Buffalo: End of the longest home-stand at seven games.

Feb. Sat. 13 vs. Colorado: First game against Kyle Quincey! How many tears will Ryan Smyth shed?
Feb. Sun. 14 - Mar. Mon. 1: Olympic Break. Can't say either way if I'm excited yet. I probably will be, but I'll just be hoping the Kings are still in the hunt at this point.

Mar. Sat. 6 vs. Montreal: Kings against the smallest line in the NHL, which includes Michael Cammalleri, bahaha.

Apr. Sat. 10 vs. Edmonton: Last home game of the season; not a bad way to end except if both teams need that last few points to get into the 8-seed.
Apr. Sun 11 @ Colorado: Kings end regular season with a back-to-back, hrm.

Any games that stand out to you? Let me know if I missed something of interest...

Help Please

2009-07-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

So I decided to take a slowdown type of break this summer from the blog and not do the insane Year-In-Reviews I did a year ago. I've enjoyed my time relaxing, but I definitely have a need to write something right now. Here is where you come in.

To my faithful readers: what would you like to read about for my next post? I don't want to do what everyone else is doing; rather, I would like to supplement what is already out there. Gann Matsuda is doing a fantastic job with interviews and the like. Rich Hammond always has something going on. KingsCast is still active over the summer with the Overtime videos.

Please let me know in the comments or email! I would really appreciate a jumpstart of some sort.

No Coincidence... Really

2009-07-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

I swear this is not a plug for the new iPhone. I just wanted to point out the eyebrow raising that this commercial may cause Kings fans.

Asshole Coming Through

2009-07-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well, Lombardi finally made a splash tonight after a very quiet Free Agency opening day with many GMs out of their minds signing players to ridiculous contracts. The wait was killer as a Kings fan and finally Darren Dreger (resident favorite of A Queen Among Kings) broke the story via Twitter just a few minutes ago that the Kings had traded for Aves' Ryan Smyth.

Reaction #1: Omg, we got an asshole in the lineup.

Reaction #2: Who in Zeus' jizz did the Kings give up to get Smyth?

Reaction #3: (After reading the trade results) Hahaha!

In the end the Kings gave up a 5th round pick in 2010, D Kyle Quincey, and D Tom Preissing. First off, the 5th round pick is chump change. Secondly, I cannot believe someone took Preissing from us!!

Lombardi, you are awesome.

But, sadly Quincey will be leaving the sunny coast of Los Angeles for the snowbanks of Denver. This is the only part I'm a bit sad about, but we didn't really need him after the signing of Rob Scuderi (Go Deano!) to a 4-year, $13.6 million contract yesterday. Smyth has 3 years remaining on his 5-year contract in Colorado with the cap hit at $6.25 mil. He will make $6.5 mil this season, $5.5 next, and $4.5 in 2011-2012. Quincey was definitely the big piece in this trade and I'm glad that was all the Kings had to give up.

The pieces are falling into place... and jesus christ, Ryan Smyth is a King...

Douchebaggery

2009-07-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

Michael Cammalleri's 5-year, $30 million deal.

Initial reaction:

OH

MY

GOD

THAT

ASSHOLE.

KingsCast - Episode 12: Post Season Blues

2009-06-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

KingsCast is out with another episode (12) titled "Post Season Blues" If you're not aware, I've joined the duo of Keith and Chris hoping to bring some hilarity and spice to the program. Hopefully this podcast helps to take away some of the summer minutes that seem to pile up when the pre-season is off in the distance.

You can go to this link or drop their RSS feed into your iTunes.

Where Irrationality and Calmness Butt Heads

2009-06-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Calm down everyone. It's just a rumor and will stay a rumor unless something happens on Draft Day in two weeks.

I know you're all bored and need some fodder for the next two weeks, but let's let rationality take over because the rumors are going to begin running rampant from here on out. The Stanley Cup will be awarded tonight and nothing is going on until the Draft, so the brain cells need some action.

Bottom line: Kings fans should first be focused on acquiring a forward, not a defenseman.

Really? You Think So?

2009-06-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

What in Zeus' name is going on here? Trade rumors are rumors because they are founded on the speculation of someone who people will listen to. The problem is, this sometimes leads to ridiculous proposals that don't go anywhere but down the drain. One such writer (Eric Duhatschek) is dreaming up something that would never ever happen. I hate trade rumors, and this one takes some kinda cake. I'll actually talk about this one a little but I'm not even going to address what this would do the Kings salary cap for next season; instead, let's just look at why this would never happen.

[Dany Heatly] as coach Cory Clouston so gently put it – isn’t great defensively; and still has a lot to learn about playing in all three zones. Nor is there much of a physical presence in his game.

Soooo... an established player who disappears in the playoffs and whose coach doesn't think too highly of him. And what are the Senators wanting in return? Assuming they don't want to take back too much salary, a defenseman and a forward who can step into the lineup next season, a prospect or two, and a few picks? So the Kings get one player who would be a top-6 forward while losing at least a different top-6 player and part of the farm? That's a big fat no from yours truly.

The article continues on to state that the Kings should ALSO look into acquiring a one Daniel Briere from the Philadelphia Flyers. Nothing is negatively stated towards Briere (except contract numbers, which we are not discussing), but what would the Kings have to give up for the guy? Briere actually shows up in the playoffs, so ... maybe two or three roster players, a few prospects, and at least two picks?

So the Kings would acquire two players and lose (potentially) 3-4 roster players, 3-4 prospects, and 4-6 picks. Let's just file this back into fantasy land, mmkay?

UPDATE [12:30 pm PST]: Hahahaha, move along.

Another Candle!

2009-06-08T09:19:00.001-07:00

(Flickr)

Just taking a quick moment to wish myself and all those other June 8 babies a happy birthday!

Business As Usual

2009-06-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

I went to my mailbox yesterday and found something hilariously awesome from the Kings. I am the proud owner (along with all of the other season ticket holders) of a Kings hockey puck that is actually a business card holder. I don't have my camera available at this point in time to take a picture, but I shall eventually and post it up when I can.

It's a little silly but pretty cool to get a trinket from the marketing team in the off season. Something to tide the masses over until Draft day arrives. I'll be doing some sort of analysis of what I think the Kings are going to be doing. I also have thoughts on other things as well; I just haven't had the time nor the energy to post regularly during the playoffs. I'm slacking, I know, but I'll get back on the horse soon enough!

Stay tuned, folks!

KingsCast - Overtime Episode 4

2009-05-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

BEHIND THE SCENES

KingsCast - Overtime Episode 3

2009-05-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

What do Kings fans do in the off season?

KingsCast - Episode 11: 3rd Annual Season Finale

2009-05-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

The 11th episode of KingsCast is out! Have a listen at KingsCast.net and please leave a comment on the popular facebook page! The infamous duo has been working hard for the past three seasons bringing Kings fans podcasts with a sarcastic edge. For example, if you've been in a scoring slump, you're going to hear about it with "helpful" suggestions for getting out of it.

Recently the duo has become a trifecta with an added member. That's right, folks. I charged my way into their studio hoping I'd be welcome. You can see for yourself if I actually accomplished that. Please do and let me know!

Insanity

2009-05-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

In the Slovakia vs. Czech Republic game during the 2009 IIHF World Championship, Tomas Surovy swung his stick and hit his own goalie as if he was in a T-ball game. What makes this more unbelievable is that the goalie was JAROSLAV HALAK, GOALIE FOR THE MONTREAL CANADIENS!!!! I'm sorry, Tomas, but don't take your frustrations out on the relief goalie who currently plays in the best league in the world.

I'm curious as to why Halak wasn't the starter for Slovakia. Starter Lasek let in 6 goals before the Slovakian coach pulled him for Halak. This video has just flusttered me to the point of silence, and I don't have time to verbally kick Surovy's ass. Not really surprising, but news stories on the game and the IIHF website have virtually no mention of this incident. This would have brought one of the largest suspensions if it had occurred in the NHL, and if I were Halak, I'd request to leave the club and tournament.

KingsCast - Overtime - Promo 1

2009-04-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

San Jose Sharks In The Playoffs

2009-04-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

(Getty Images/Stephen Dunn)

Choke Artists

Thanks, NHL Media

2009-04-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

So the NHL media dudes voted and Drew Doughty was not included in the Rookie Of The Year balloting. The three who were chosen were Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks, and Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks. Now I'm not insanely annoyed at this travesty, but I am curious to know where he ranked overall. I'm sure Doughty would have been recognized had he been playing in a big hockey market in the West or just in the East or, at least, been talked about more. It is disappointing that he didn't get national recognition but we Kings fans know just how awesome he is. When you're a difference maker on a game-to-game basis, knowing that you're gonna be around for many years to come is all I really need.

Thanks Donuts!

Classy

2009-04-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

You stay classy, Cammy.

End Of Season Note

2009-04-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have been neglecting the blog; not because I wanted to, but more because I just didn't have anything interesting to bring to the Kings discussion table. They finished out their season with a road swing through Western Canada predictably losing to the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames and beating the Edmonton Oilers. The season ended with little fanfare on the road, but the last home game against the San Jose Sharks was the most exciting game in recent memory. It ended in a 4-3 win with the Kings not allowing themselves to be pushed around by the President's Trophy winner. Staples Center was electric and free giveaways handed out were plentiful. Kings merch sold in the TeamLA store at 50% off, so I picked up an awesome Anze Kopitar shirt for my cousin's baby.

The NHL Lottery was last night and the Kings will be picking 5th overall. I'm not expecting a top prospect for the draft since we really couldn't afford another high end player, but it's a comfortable feeling knowing there could be an NHL-ready player joining the roster next season who will be playing in the top 6 of forwards (maybe even in the top 3). Depending on who the player will be coming in, there could be a lot of interest in the Kings in the next few months...

Please check back periodically as I promise this blog won't be dead over the summer!

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.33

2009-04-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

This is the last episode before the end of the regular season and Marie and I take a gander at how the last two weeks have spanned for the Kings. Not surprisingly the team did not do so well after suffering injuries and playing in hodge podge lines. We also discuss the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy selections for the Pacific Division, touch on Jarret Stoll’s contribution in the faceoff circle, and wonder which teams will make the playoffs and which will suffer with the rest of the bottom feeders. Please listen and enjoy!

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Good Times: Kings 6, Coyotes 1

2009-04-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

I was pretty unexcited to watch this game against the Phoenix Coyotes, but I was glad I was watching this game rather than the contest between the Tampa Bay Lightening and New York Islanders. This win definitely renewed some hope that the Kings aren't completely sucking balls. Both Alexander Frolov and Brian Boyle had two-goal nights with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams getting one each. I must say, Boyle had a very productive night: 11:11 of TOI, 2 goals, was a +2, and received a double minor. Frolov was just in the right place and the right times, I heart him.

This game saw a lot of interesting penalties. Out of the 21 total, here are three noteworthy instances:

Matching cross checking penalties (Michal Handzus and Zbynek Michalek). With the scuffle drawing the whistle, I was surprised that cross checking penalties were called. Weird.
Matching double minor roughing penalties (Shane Doan and Brian Boyle). Just some good ole punching each other in the face.
The one that was the most questionable was the altercation involving Denis Gauthier and Scottie Upshall. Gauthier put Upshall into the boards and Gauts received a boarding penalty while Upshall got a slashing penalty. I haven't seen commentary on the hit, but I really didn't think a boarding call was warranted. So following the hit, a Coyote player started to jaw at Gauthier so obviously Gauts was going to defend himself. Lo and behold, Gauthier threw his stick to the ice and took off his helmet and the Coyote player skated away.

WHAT. A. PUNK.

Really? You're just gonna walk away like that? Honestly, when both teams aren't playing for playoffs spots and your team is down 6-1, you should just be a man and throw down. That was a chicken move and he heard it from the crowd. Gauthier ended up receiving a 5-minute unsportsmanlike penalty and a 10-minute misconduct on top of the 2 minutes for boarding. Weak sauce. So the Kings have four games left with three on the road in Western Canada and the last home game of the season against the San Jose Sharks.

Wooo...

R.I.P.: Coyotes 2, Kings 1

2009-04-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well with five games left in the 2008-09 season, the Kings are finished and all I can say is, "It's about time." They've been floundering their existences away by playing in games they knew they didn't have the stamina to win. I'm not exactly able to pin point at exactly when the season was basically over, but I can guesstimate. In my own opinion, the season was toast around the time the Kings played the Boston Bruins. It was the beginning of a long roadtrip and the toll they took from the season didn't help at all. I guess one could question whether or not fitness actually played a role in their downfall. Ron Wilson said he was surprised at how not in shape the Toronto Maple Leafs were when he joined the team last summer. I figure if it could happen there, there's no reason why it couldn't happen in LA.

The fact that players are out with injuries (Alexander Frolov, Jarret Stoll) or fixing injuries (Kyle Quincey) and that management has brought in players (John Zeiler, Oscar Moller, Brian Boyle) to form a hodge podge roster every game isn't very faith-inducing. I don't even know who's playing center or left wing on any given line anymore. The hockey is terrible and it's not like they're playing opponents who are playing great hockey themselves. I'm not that excited to go to the Kings home game tomorrow but it's the second to last game at Staples Center and I'll make a half-assed attempt to milk it for all it's worth. I'm trying to think of an opponent that is more unexciting than the Phoenix Coyotes, but I really can't. It's bad enough that the Kings played them yesterday, but to have to play a home-and-home is wack. (My apologies to any Coyotes fan who has found his or her way over here.) Perhaps I'll have the desire to write something more on the game tomorrow, but this is all I got today.

An Introspective Into Jonathan Quick

2009-03-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this LA Times Entry by Kurt Streeter called The Game Through A Goalie's Eyes where he interviewed Jonathan Quick about what goes through a goalie's mind during one of the most stressful times of a game. I think the experience of a goaltender is lost on the majority of the hockey-watching population unless the position is played by said fan.

(Getty Images/Harry How)

As an aside, I've updated the blog roll. If you're not on there, shoot me an email and let me know! Thanks to Here Come The Bruins! for linking this article.

36%: Predators 4, Kings 3 (OT)

2009-03-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Newsworthy tidbits from this game:

Matt Greene scored his second goal of the season.
Jack Johnson scored with a little over one minute to go in the game.
The Kings need Jarret Stoll back. In this first game without Stoll they were 36% in the faceoff circle.

36% IN THE FACEOFF CIRCLE!!!!!!

Better Than Nothing: Kings 1, Stars 0 (SO)

2009-03-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

So I was pretty much unimpressed with this outing against the Dallas Stars. It was a boring first two periods with the Kings getting only 3 shots on net in the first period! BORING. The offense was no where to be found for the longest time and Jonathan Quick once again stood on his head to keep the Kings in the game. By the end of the game they had gotten their act together (a little bit) and kept the Stars to 29 shots (thereabouts) and they had 30 shots themselves. The hits were virtually even as well that came with some casualties.

Raitis Ivanans nudged Trevor Daley into the boards and Jarret Stoll left the ice after a hit involving his knee. Kyrs Barch tried to pick a fight with Ivanans and left the game as well. I'm not sure what the status of Stoll is, but I'm hoping that it won't take him out for the rest of the season. That would hit the Kings roster pretty hard since Alexander Frolov is already out and Patrick O'Sullivan was shipped off to Edmonton.

(AP)

Looks like good times

The game eventually ended with little fanfare and I was starting to fall asleep, but the overtime frame woke me up when the Kings decided to wake up too. The pièce de résistance was the shootout. It only took three rounds to end the game and Anze Kopitar was FINALLY in the lineup to take the shot; it feels like he hasn't been in there this whole season. His shot looked very similar to his move last season against the Minnesota Wild where he went one way and his stick and puck went the other. Go Kopi!

Jack Johnson was unimpressive with his low shot, but Justin Williams finally did something. He went five-hole on Marty Turco and it looked like we were going to a 4th round until Turco ended the game. Instead of stopping himself after he held the puck between his legs he slowly slid into the net and his whole body crossed over the goal line. The goal went to review and the game was over.

(AP)

Thanks Turco!

Sofa King: Blues 2, Kings 0

2009-03-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

According to Bob Miller and Jim Fox the Kings set the record for the most shutouts in a season last night. That's... really not something to be proud of. The Kings faced the St. Louis Blues and were shutout 2-0. Once again Jonathan Quick made some fantastic saves while the Kings offensive players came up with nothing. There hasn't really been any offensive showing or upside from any player lately except for maybe Jarret Stoll and Drew Doughty.

Speaking of the offense, the roster moves have been interesting as of late.

Why was Teddy Purcell benched in the previous game? He's been getting chances and taking shots on the power play when others haven't.
Why has Oscar Moller been scratched here and there? Injurying flaring up?
How long has Alexander Frolov been playing with his injury (whatever that may be)?
Why was Kevin Westgarth in the line up? He was basically useless.

There are about 10 games left and I'm just hoping the Kings don't crash land to 15th place in the West, but I actually don't see them ending in 14th as much of a stretch since the Blues have picked themselves back up and are in contention for a playoff spot. I just don't understand why the Kings can't have a season where they're magically contending for the 8th spot in the last month of the season. So what if they end up playing Detroit or San Jose, at least they wouldn't be in the basement. Still, it's a miracle in itself that they're not in Colorado's position. But I can't do an introspective while the Kings are still playing games. That being said, look for one once the post season comes around.

So the game against the Blues; it was looking like the Kings were going to come out the victors. They were dominating the Blues on their power plays; even when they were on the PK, they were forechecking like crazy. It honestly looked like they were going to eventually score to get the go-ahead goal so that I could sit back and relax. But it's just too bad that Chris Mason was a stonewall. He stopped all 22 shots and handed the Kings their pathetic new record. The Blues' Patrik Berglund scored both their goals and that was it. I'm always thinking that the Kings should just crash the net when they need a goal. They'd get more goals and learn to be more aggressive around the front of the net. They were looking for the pretty shots last night while Berglund's second goal was a scramble. Matt Greene played goal for a few seconds while Quick was forced out of position by all the bodies in front of the net. The result? A poke of the stick on a loose puck and the Blues were up by two goals.

That's all I got.

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.32

2009-03-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Episode 32 covers the past two weeks’ worth of games, which equals a total of 7 games. The Kings went 2-4-1 and I finally admit that the Kings are toast. With 10 games left on the schedule, it seems that the end is in sight for the Kings who are sitting 7 points out of the 8th spot in the Western Conference.

I give my thoughts on the Evgeni Malkin hit on Wayne Simmonds, Marie doesn’t understand why Kevin Westgarth is in the lineup, and we both are unsure of the next week of games. The Kings face the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators. It's anyone's guess as to how they'll do. We also pick the player who had the Best Two Weeks Ever. Actually, I give Marie options for her to make the decision. Please listen and enjoy!

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

A Poor Outing: Blackhawks 4, Kings 1

2009-03-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

The Kings just can't catch a break. Two empty netters from the Chicago Blackhawks in the last 1:10 of the game doesn't do anything for the Kings' confidence. The game was 2-0 for the longest time with goals from Patrick Sharp and Martin Havlat. The Hawks definitely had more defensive spark compared to the Kings, but it also helped in that the Kings took a total of 8 penalties, which included a 10-minute misconduct by Davis Drewiske. From the looks of the situation, Drew Doughty was taken down in front of the Kings bench and Drewiske was yapping away to draw the penalty.

The poorest stat from this game was that the Kings only had 15 shots in the entire game, which wasn't surprising at all considering the way the first and second period were panning out. They had 5 shots on net in each period, the Blackhawks ended with 32 shots, and I just wasn't impressed with anything in this game. Things finally picked up when Doughty scored on the PP at 16:54, but nothing else happened for my boys.

Good: Kings scoring on the power play.
Bad: Needing a power play in order to score.

The empty netters were soul deflating for me. With a little over a minute remaining, the Kings pull Jonathan Quick and Sharp inadvertently got his second goal of the game when he cleared the puck from his zone, which would have been whistled for an icing. The crappy part was that it actually hit the post of the Kings' net and bounced to the other post and went in. Heartbreak. To make it worse, less than a minute later Havlat got a breakaway on the still empty net and that was all she wrote. The Kings are toast at 70 points and the Blackhawks gained two more points to stay in fourth place in the standings.

In going back to the Evgeni Malkin hit on Wayne Simmonds, as predicted Malkin was not suspended. Instead he received a slap on the wrist and was fined. I just love how people are so caught up in whether the hit was legal or illegal. That's not the fucking point, you nut jobs. To reiterate, the point is that the brunt of the hit was on Simmonds' head. There's no arguing that. But whatever, everyone has a hard-on for Malkin and the fine was clearly just chump change for him. The Penguins played on NBC this morning and both they and the NHL are happy.

On that same note in the Edmonton Oilers game versus the Chicago Blackhawks on the same night (Friday, March 20), Ben Eager shoved some of his body weight into Oilers' Liam Reddox head. Reddox went down and Eager was suspended for 3 games. Thanks for keeping it consistent and fair, NHL.

Unnecessary Hit; Penguins 4, Kings 1

2009-03-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

With just a few seconds left in a game that you're winning, is it really necessary to take a shot to someone's head? Well, Evgeni Malkin thought it was. He gave the cold shoulder to Wayne Simmonds and the whistle blew to end the game. I'm not even upset about the loss. Who gives a shit when someone's head is involved? Who cares if it's the league superstar hitting a rookie's head? In this case, every single Kings fan whereas every Pittsburgh fan probably cheered the hit. But let's talk about questionable acts of unsportsmanlike conduct from the past few days (of which I'm only discussing two because I'm feeling a bit lazy).

(1) Alexander Ovechkin's celebration after he scored his 50th goal of the season. I've read many reactions both for and against. I'm on the fence since he is who he is. He loves to celebrate his teammates' goals as well as his own, but this definitely involved a bit of showboating. He received a talking to by Bruce Boudreau and everyone moves on. Don Cherry's going to have a field day with this one.

(2) Penguins' Malkin laying a hit on Kings' Simmonds with just a few seconds left in a game that the Penguins were going to win. As with Ovechkin, there have been many comments going around about this hit both for and against. Comments like "Get your head up, rookie!" But wait a second, did this person not see that all Simmonds was trying to do was poke the puck away from Malkin? He wasn't going to him to with the intention of hitting him.

Earlier in the game he and Jack Johnson toughed it out in front of the Kings net for a good chunk of time where both players received 2-minutes for roughing. This altercation is a part of the game, but anyone who says that hitting someone else in the head is "a part of hockey" has never had someone on their own team taken a hit to the head. It's not about being an objective observer of every team when you have your specific team that you love; it's about the passion that every single fan brings to the NHL, which is why there will always be cheers and jeers in every situation.

(AP/Joe Sargent)

With Jack severely outweighing Malkin (225 to 195).

In the end, there are going to be comments all over the place with a questionable play such as this one from fans from every region across the US and Canada. But the plain facts are that (1) Simmonds' head was down in going for the poke check while (2) Malkin was defending himself by bracing for some kind of hit that was never going to come. In the end his shoulder goes straight into Simmonds' head. I think the argument of whether he was hit with the shoulder or elbow (legal or illegal) is not the point. The point is that the brunt of the hit was into Simmonds' head.

Malkin is subject to a disciplinary phone call where the resulting decision is to be announced tomorrow. Am I excepting a suspension? Hell no, who has the guts to suspend Malkin? Every situation is unique but I'm not expecting a fair trial here. Everyone has a hard-on for Malkin and the Penguins, so why should anyone care about Simmonds? I'm not saying I don't think the guy deserves punishment; I definitely think he deserves some sort of supplemental discipline. I just don't think the NHL is going to do anything about it considering who both players are.

(AP/Joe Sargent)

Oh yeah, the game. Just some quick notes on an unimpressive outing:

It was Justin Williams' first game in a Kings sweater so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for this game since the entire team wasn't looking too hot. He had 13:36 minutes on the ice and one shot on net. He also had one recorded giveaway, but it definitely seemed to have happened more than just once.
Alexander Frolov was allowed out of the doghouse, but is still chained to it. He had 17 minutes with one shot and one hit.
They're definitely not ready for post-season play. The fact that it took a 5-on-3 to get a goal through all the traffic wasn't impressive. Impressive was the Penguins' penalty kill units. Aggressive and quick. They took 11 total penalties (with one as a 10-minute misconduct and others resulting in 4-on-4 play) but they were successful killing virtually all of them.
The Kings finally got themselves over 50% in the faceoff circle. They won 60% while the Penguins went just 40%.
Dustin Brown made a good showing with 7 hits and 6 shots on net.

(x-posted to HLOG)

Never Would Have Guessed: Kings 3, Bruins 2 (OT)

2009-03-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

Let's just hypothetically say the Kings somehow make the playoffs. You know how they'd do? Bounced in the first round, no doubt. Maybe they'd win a game or two, but it's clear they're not ready to be in the playoffs this season. Saying that, I'm still not completely counting them out. For some reason, I just can't for probably another week. This road trip that sees the Kings in Pittsburgh tonight, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and Nashville is the make or break point. The reason I say they'd be out in the first round is that the past two games made it perfectly clear they're not ready. Two games ago, they played the Nashville Predators (a bubble team in the West) and they couldn't pull out the win. Last night they played the Boston Bruins where they were up and down and all over the place in terms of passing, shooting, and teamwork in general. They managed to get the win in overtime (3-2), but wow, it was a shaky game for the Kings.

Amazingly enough the Kings had 38 shots on net while the Bruins only had 26. I don't know how; I watched the entire game and the flow felt like the Bruins had control of the first period and almost entire second period. Both of their goals happened in the blink of an eye. Combine the Kings being out of position and the Bruins landing passes and you get two goals against. I was also surprised that the Kings were able to keep up with the Bruins in the hits column getting 28 and 27, respectively. Also surprisingly, Dustin Brown only had one hit, but he had the game winner in over time, which had me jumping out of my chair, as per usual. Another seat-jumping goal was from Drew Doughty. He made an aggressive move toward the front of the net after leading the charge into the Bruins' zone and the puck found the back of the net off of his stick. It was a great effort and finish to regulation. I honestly thought the game was over with 5 minutes left, but with less than two minutes to go was when Doughty scored (and where my faith was renewed).

(AP/Michael Dwyer)

What's going on here?

Going back to the bottom of the roster, I thought Raitis Ivanans got an unusual amount of minutes (9:26) but then the guy takes two penalties back-to-back! What's up with that? Once again Kevin Westgarth isn't doing anything. And I realized that there's someone on the team who is a worse skater than Westgarth! Denis Gauthier! He's a horrible skater. He looks like he has lead in his skates with each stride; I'm not sure why it was so apparent last night as opposed to every other game this season, but he's slow and lumbering. Waive him and get him to Manchester.

Alexander Frolov was in the doghouse for this game getting only 12:01 of ice time and ending the night at a -2. Definitely a bit harsh and it's hard to do well when you're on the 4th line, but you can't question the coach. Perhaps Fro will be back in the low 20 minutes for tonight's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In either case, I'm not worried about him. He's got the most goals on the team and the expectations are pretty high for him. Go Fro!

I used to go into games having a feeling in my gut of whether the Kings were going to win or lose, but I've been unsure for the past two weeks or so, which is how I'm going to be for the rest of the season. I'm not shutting the season down just yet, give me a week... or so... and I'll let you know where I stand...

Are We Done?: Predators 4, Kings 3

2009-03-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

As with any game against the Nashville Predators, it’s always an unpredictable outcome. I can hardly even venture a guess, and this game proved that (1) the Preds are better than the Kings at finishing games, and (2) the Kings are probably done for the season. I think I’ve been the last blogger to hold on to the silly notion that the Kings COULD pull something miraculous in order to get into the playoffs. I mean, it’s not completely unfeasible; there are 13 games left and they’re 5 or so points out. But in reality they’d have to also jump over the Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, and/or Nashville Predators. By the math, it’s possible, but in reality, it’s probably not going to happen.

Once again the Kings didn’t play horribly last night against the Preds; rather, the trend continued and they couldn’t finish, which has now caused them to drop three straight games. I don’t have too much to say on last night’s game because it looked like their previous games where they’ve come out with fight and grit but haven’t been able to close it out with a win. Erik Ersberg definitely let in a soft goal to tie it up 3-3 with the Preds' go-ahead goal then going in with less than three minutes to go in regulation. Those goals at the very end of games are the killers. There's no other way to look at them. Even though the Kings had a power play opportunity for the last two minutes, they weren't able to convert and the Preds snagged the two points, which allowed them to hop over the Oilers. Sorry Moose!

Thursday begins the road to the end of the season with a six-game road trip that starts with a back-to-back in Boston and Pittsburgh. At this point every game is a toss up, but I’m going to give this next game to Boston.

Fantastic Goaltending: Sharks 2, Kings 1 (SO)

2009-03-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

After 65 minutes of battling and 7 rounds in the shootout, the Kings were only able to scrap one point from last night's game against the San Jose Sharks. The Kings definitely played better last night than they did against the Vancouver Canucks two nights ago, and Erik Ersberg did not disappoint as he faced 39 shots in all four frames. I was happy to see them working hard to try and get every opportunity going their way.

One particular play that had me spewing profanities at the TV was when Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar had a 2-0 break after Joe Thornton broke his stick. The two had no one near them and neither took charge to get the shot off. Brownie overskated it and passed to Kopi who ALSO overskated. Unbelievable. To flounder a chance in a game where every single one matters absolutely kills the momentum that you're trying to create. The camera shot of the two players on the bench showed frustration and more frustration. Let's prevent that from happening next time, mmkay? I know it's a split second decision, but one of you just take the freaking shot.

With just 41 seconds into the second period, Wayne Simmonds scored off a rebound on Evgeni Nabokov after some solid passing by all Kings players with Alexander Frolov and Michael Handzus digging in. But the amount of overall penalties taken by the Kings was a bit shocking and I'm wondering if it was sheer desperation in the particular shifts to try and keep up with the Sharks. The Kings took 9 total penalties with one being a fighting major to Raitis Ivanans going against Brad Staubitz (whose name rings no bells for me). In the end, give it to Ivanans. Also golf clap to the entire Kings bench for killing all 8 penalties that saw them a man down.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

After 60 minutes of uptempo play and 5 minutes of overtime, the teams went to the shootout. I know I shouldn't have been happy with the fact that the Kings were only able to get one point, but hey, it's better than nothing. The seven rounds of the shootout were the crowning moment to this feisty game. The longest the Kings have gone before was 6 rounds in the 07-08 season against the Anaheim Ducks. So the Kings put out Kopitar, Jack Johnson, and Brown as the shooters with only Jack scoring, but they weren't lacking any shooters for all the rounds, but I did question Handzus' presence at the line over Teddy Purcell. I mean, AHL Rookie of the Year versus a solid shutdown centerman? I'm not bagging on anyone here, especially since neither player scored. In the end Jonathan Cheechoo scored the game winner and the Sharks got their points.

It appears that the Kings just can't budge from the 13th spot in the West. The St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks both sit at 70 points and the Minnesota Wild are right ahead at 72. The Kings could feasibly get back up there. If they keep playing the way they did last night, this season will definitely end 100 times better than a year ago.

Go Kings!

Back And Forth: Canucks 4, Kings 2

2009-03-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Kings played the Vancouver Canucks again up in western Canada where the latter came out the victors in this weird game. All six goals came in pairs with the last four occurring in less than five total minutes. Unfortunately the Kings received zero points from the contest but they remain in 13th place with 67 points in the Western Conference.

Special thanks to FSN for not airing the game with Bob Miller and Jim Fox. Listening to the Vancouver commentators was really "awesome." And by "awesome" I mean "painful." It's a good thing I possess the power of filtering out noise. Something else I found (and still find) annoying was that Denis Gauthier had the puck in the defensive zone at one point and started to pass it out when he fell over. That's right, he. Just. Fell. Over. Unbelievable. By the way, do the Kings really need two players on the roster who are only gonna be playing 5 or 6 minutes a night? Raitis Ivanans played 5:38 and Kevin Westgarth played 4:31. Westgarth needs to learn how to skate better and have more offensive upside or else he's probably gonna be in Manchester for a long time. I'm not sure why he's with the Kings right now, but it's not like he's moving from the 4th line anytime soon.

This game might have had the lowest number of hits the Kings have ever had with 11; the Canucks ended with only 9 too. Quite odd and a bit boring too, but I guess it doesn't help when you're being outshot 20-3 in the first period. The Kings spent the entire first period running around trying to get control of the puck, and the second period wasn't any better but at least the Canucks only had 7 shots then. The Kings best period was the 3rd in terms of shots where they got 14 but they were only able to get two goals!

(AP/Jeff Vinnick)

The first goal was the one part I enjoyed about this game; Alexander Frolov absolutely schooled Mats Sundin to score on the backhand. Talk about slick. But the whole game was a bit odd with Vancouver scoring twice in the first and entering the third period with the same score and then having the next two goals belonged to the Kings with Anze Kopitar scoring immediately after Fro scored. With some hope building for the Kings, the Canucks shut it down with two quick ones from Henrik Sedin. Out of the four against Jonathan Quick, two of them were definitely fluky ones. One bounced weirdly behind the net against the boards and Quick was caught out of position; the other was Henrik Sedin killing some time by taking the puck toward Quick on his own. He ended up dipsy doodling in front of Sean O'Donnell and getting the shot off pretty easily.

The end of the game got a bit exciting with Alexander Burrows taking a penalty with just under two minutes to go; the Kings pulled Quick and it was 6-on-4 for the rest of the game. Unfortuately, it was a no-go for the Kings and the Canucks are sitting in the 5th seed. The Kings face the San Jose Sharks tonight where, if they win, they'll STILL be in 13th place. In looking at the standings, I can be happy about one thing: the Ducks are in 12th place. Haha.

Sweetness; Kings 3, Vancouver 2

2009-03-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

The Kings faced the Vancouver Canucks last night in a pretty damned important game. The Canucks are sitting in 5th place in the Western Conference while the Kings are in 13th and still out by just a bit. This game brought them up two points and (as of today) are sitting just three points out of the 8th spot.

This game started out and continued to be a solid game for the Kings, not to mention exciting; that is, until the Canucks scored their first goal, which was just about the time Denis Gauthier thought it convenient to take a penalty on the next shift. Someone get that guy some glasses or something. So Matt Greene. He's pretty studly, I must say. But not in the "I think he's smoking hot" type of way; I mean more of the "you just blocked that puck with your goddamned face!!!!" And Jarret Stoll. What a game! He was in all the right places. For instance, his first goal was on the PP and Teddy Purcell found the open seam and Stolli snuck right up to slam home the perfect pass. After another goal, Stolli was named First Star of the game. AND RIGHTLY SO.

Jason LaBarbera was sitting on the bench for this game but Roberto Luongo wasn't looking that great. The first two Kings goals came within the first 10 shots of the game and, actually, both teams only had 22 shots on net. For being an exciting game with a lot of fast-moving flow, the shots on and against were definitely lower than usual. Anyway, just a short game recap for your reading pleasure.

(AP/Noah Graham)

Hey, buddy. We miss you.. I mean, ... I miss you...

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.31

2009-03-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

Marie and I are joined this week by Greener from He Score, He Shoot! Moose is no where to be found so Greener attempts to pick up the slack for both of them while the ladies are sitting comfortably. The setting is a familiar Starbucks with some interesting things going on at that bustling location. The three of us discusses the trade deadline and how our respective teams fared, then Marie does game recaps for the Kings with a bit of help from me, and Greener ponders the meaning of life. Simply put: it’s talk while hoping funny things are being said!

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Trade Deadline Shocker

2009-03-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

Just as I thought the Kings weren't going to make any big moves today, Dean Lombardi comes out and surprised the hell out of me. He had signed two players, the deadline passed, and I was content. But about 15 minutes later, the trade announcement rolled out as a crazy three-way deal, wait no, a 4-something deal. First the two players who were signed:

(1) Sean O'Donnell signed one-year deal - $1.25 mil
(2) Erik Ersberg signed two-year deal - $1.5 (combined)

I'm definitely very pleased with O'Donnell getting signed again, and honestly, there was no way he was going to be let go in the summer. Also, we get to keep the conditional pick from that original trade to acquire him. Having Ersberg signed for two years is a pretty good (and cheap) security blanket. He's been solid in the net and I'm glad a deal was signed before the summer began. No complaints from this humble blogger.

------------

Onto the big honkin' trade. For a four-square visual of the trade, go to James Mirtle's page.

(1) Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2009 2nd round pick (what the hell happened there??) was sent to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Justin Williams.
(2) The Carolina Hurricanes turned around and traded both to the Edmonton Oilers and sent Erik Cole back to Carolina.
(3) The Oilers then took the 2nd round pick and sent it to the Buffalo Sabres and received Ales Kotalik.

In the end these are what the teams end up with:

(1) Kings - Justin Williams
(2) Hurricanes - Erik Cole
(3) Oilers - Patrick O'Sullivan & Ales Kotalik
(4) Sabres - Kings 2009 2nd round pick (originally in deal for Craig Conroy?)

------------

Apparently there were still Marian Gaborik rumblings? I can't really be excited for a player that would say (taken from Russo's Rants):

Speaking of watching games, Marian Gaborik put his foot in his mouth today back in Minnesota when he voluntarily said when asked if he feels the pressure to return with the team sinking, “Quite frankly I haven’t really been watching games. I’ve been following the scores but I haven’t been watching games. From my perspective, I just really need to focus on how am I feeling, how everything goes with me and then if everything goes good I’m going to jump in to play. Definitely the pressure is on, but first of all I want to feel confident in my body and … so far everything is going well.”

Wow, talk about selfish. I'm sorry Kirsten and Elise, but I can't hide my dislike for Gaborik. From an outsider's perspective, if he leaves Minnesota on his own, without anything in return for the club, that will be the final nail in the coffin in terms of player and team relations. And I'm pretty sure it'll happen that way if he doesn't re-sign since he's going UFA status this summer.

So that was my preface for my short thought about him potentially coming to LA. If this does go down, it'll be during the summer and (hopefully) for cheap because he'll be on IR for 80 of 82 games next season.

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.30

2009-03-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

This episode brings things back into perspective for Marie and me. We open the show by looking at the Kings 1-2-0 record from the past week and really think about how this is going to effect what they'll do on Wednesday, March 4, trade deadline day. According to Marie, this week could make or break the rest of the season, but I'm a bit more optimistic with a hint of sarcasm to go along with it. We spend the latter half of the show doing a bit of analysis on the Kings specifically concerning the trade deadline and think about whose name could be brought into the mix.

I also read an email I received from a reader and have extended his question to you, the listeners. Please listen and let us know if you know the answer. It will be greatly appreciated!

Please check us out at our respective blogs and at Kings World Podcast.

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Finishers Anyone?: 1-1-0

2009-02-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

This back-to-back the Kings just finished illustrated their need to get a finisher. Find the guy that can get the puck in the net when it matters; not just in the game, but at this point in the season. Is this person Dustin Brown? Maybe it’s that simple; he stayed in Los Angeles for these two games for the birth of his second child (CONGRATS!). Or maybe Brownie’s not the answer.

On Wednesday the Kings were in Minnesota taking on the Wild and they actually had a pretty good game. They played smart, defensive hockey and Jonathan Quick was solid in goal. It was a low scoring game with only two goals total in regulation, but isn’t that what typically happens? The games get so important down the stretch that no one wants to make any mistakes? Old news, everyone knows this. So the game continues into overtime and then to the shootout. My “favorite” shootout player, Jack Johnson, was once again in the top three. But wouldn’t you know it, he was the only one that scored and they had to go to a fourth round. P.S. Sully, everyone knows your shootout move now; you’re not surprising anyone. So who came in to save the day? Drew Doughty. His weird stick-handling shuffle had Niklas Backstrom apparently reeling because he couldn’t stop Doughty’s accidental slip up through his fivehole.

So the rookie defenseman saved the day and the Kings gained two points, but Minnesota was able to gain a point and move up a bit in the standings themselves. Not a bad finish to the game, but more regulation wins are going to be the key for the Kings because their shootout record has been pretty bad this season and they can’t afford to be giving up a point every time to the opposition. Once again, old news.

The game against the Philadelphia Flyers last night was a bit different from their previous game. The Kings came out and played hard against an aggressive team but couldn’t get the job done, but it wasn’t for lack of effort or drive. They outshot the Flyers 34-20 but they were still shutout 2-0 with the second goal being an empty netter. It was pretty frustrating to see that none of the shots were getting past Marty Biron. Patrick O'Sullivan and Jarret Stoll seemed to have so many chances, but neither could finish! The Kings abilitly to shut down the Flyers was great to see and their efforts remain promising in that they may reach that 8th spot in the western conference.

The trade deadline is coming up and I'm not sure what, if anything, Dean Lombardi is going to do. He stated that the team isn't at the point where they're going to give up a ton for a scorer; couple that with watching the team on a game-by-game basis and I'm pretty sure the Kings aren't going to be making any drastic moves by the deadline. Brownie is scheduled to return by the next game against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday and they can still recall Oscar Moller if they need a further shake up. If they don't make the playoffs, this will still be an exciting end to the season for the Kings.

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.29

2009-02-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

Marie and I are reporting this week that maybe the Kings weren’t as good as we had hoped. After a stellar week two weeks prior, the Kings failed to gain any ground in the standings going 1-2-1 this past week. The Pacific Division games are their usual unpredictable selves while the game against the Atlanta Thrashers proved to be a wild one. After 12 regulation goals and a 4-round shootout, the Kings fail to gain two points there. This next week sees the Kings playing three games away from Staples Center, which could be the remedy to their ailing. We also discuss their findings from commentors on what they thought were the most annoying lines to hear at hockey games. Please let us know if you agree or disagree.

Please check us out at our respective blogs and at Kings World Podcast.

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Not Terrible: Sharks 4, Kings 2

2009-02-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

On the back half of this quick road trip the Kings went into the Shark Tank where the Sharks have been non-stop road-team killers. Obviously I’m not surprised that the Kings didn’t win, but they weren’t completely outworked either. They put 32 shots on Evgeni Nabokov and thankfully held the Sharks to 40. Yes, that is a lot compared to what the Kings had been letting on their own goaltender, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t too shabby. The game ended with the Sharks winning 4-2 and I’m kinda glad it wasn’t a blowout even though I was expecting a dog fight til the end.

This game was televised on Center Ice since FSN decided it wasn’t important enough to carry, you know, they're just a divisional rival that is in the top tier of the league. So I got to watch the San Jose feed with Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda who I actually really like. After living in northern California for a number of years, I got used to their banter and chemistry and they’re definitely not homers when it comes to the Sharks. My favorite line from Randy Hahn was, “…and the puck hit Derek Armstrong on the butt,” but the snickering from Drew Remenda after a three-second pause made it that much funnier.

The majority of the game was pretty even and I’m happy that the Kings were able to hang on as long as they were able to, but they’re gonna have to start bearing down a bit more to make sure they’re getting to the end of games without scrambling for a goal or two. If they could just start games with the same energy they have at the end of games, fans could most likely watch these contests without fear of the inevitable semi-meltdown that arrives in the third period.

Once again Denis Gauthier displays his penchant for playing the opposing player’s head instead of his body. Dude, you’re not supposed to ram a guy’s head into the glass! Okay, that’s “the type of game” you play, but can you just open your eyes a bit and think about what might happen if you smash that guy’s nose into the boards? Anyway, he received a double minor for boarding and roughing, which I was fine with. But two penalties I was not okay with were the high-sticking call on Jarret Stoll (because it wasn’t even his stick that hit Mike Grier in the face) and the interference call on Erik Ersberg. Example of why Drew Remenda isn’t a homer like Gayward is: he called this penalty “a gutsy move” on the ref’s part. Retrospectively, I guess it could have gone either way, but it wasn’t like Ersberg purposefully went after the Sharks player.

Rob Blake love: So it turns out Blake isn’t a fuddy duddy. His contributions on the blueline are pretty substantial with the Sharks and is getting ample time on the power play. His cannon of a shot hasn’t diminished at all and I’m pretty happy that he’s earning his paycheck up in San Jose.

Ending note: For your listening pleasure, James Gralin of Jerseys and Hockey Love interviewed me on his west coast swing along with Jibblescribbits and PJ Swenson on the Rink Podcast. I’m the first of three interviewees so I hope you enjoy!

Utter Ridiculousness & A Solid Showing

2009-02-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

On Monday the 16th, the Kings faced the Atlanta Thrashers at Staples Center and it was a wild game. Having the emotional and physical highs and lows with 6 goals for and 6 goals against caused me sheer exhaustion. If I ever wanted to know what it was like to be bipolar, I got a good taste of it. This game was basically a must-win with the worst case scenario being the Kings getting a single point, but when the Thrashers scored the first three goals in the opening 8 minutes, it looked like the Kings were toast. But they came back, but then the Thrasher went ahead, and back and forth and back and forth with broken plays everywhere. Heading into the third period, the Kings were still down a few goals with the shots far in their favor. The goal to tie the game came with only 5 seconds left from Anze Kopitar and caused Staples to erupt.

The overtime was just as exciting and just as dominated by the Kings. After five minutes of stress, the shootout began with Atlanta's Erik Christensen getting the game winner. Once again Jack Johnson got an opportunity in the shootout without scoring. I'm sooooo curious to know why he's getting opportunity after opportunity. The Kings scruffed up one point in this game and looked like they cleaned up a bit for the next game against the Ducks.

Side note: This game was also celebrating Armenian Heritage Night and the arena was in full swing. Zach Bogosian is the first Armenian player in the NHL so the Kings celebrated that fact since there is a very large Armenian population in the Los Angeles area. Here's an interview from the Thrashers website with Bogosian. Also I met up with James Gralin, blogger of the Colorado Avalanche persuasion. He is on a west coast swing of the hockey teams and he went to two Kings games. Go to his blog, Jerseys and Hockey Love, to get an outsider's point of view and take a peek at his pictures!

(Getty Images/Victor Decolongon)

Too cute

Tonight's game against the Anaheim Ducks was a different beast altogether. The Kings never trailed in the entire 60 minutes and ended the game without having any brain cramps. Interestingly enough the Kings only tossed 26 shots on Jonas Hiller while Jonathan Quick saw 31, but I kind of see this as the Kings playing a more efficient game, especially compared to that strange game on Monday. Overall the game was a bit boring, but as long as it ended with the Kings grabbing two more points, I could be satisfied. There wasn't too much going on overall, but there was a fight (Wayne Simmonds and Mike Brown) and a scuffle at the end of the game with Quick getting mixed up in it but only because the scrum began with him getting taken down behind the net.

(Getty Images/Debora Robinson)

Wow, what a waste of space.

At the end of today the Kings have 59 points (tied with the Minnesota Wild) and are 3 points out of the 8th position. Tomorrow the Kings go into the Shark Tank where the Sharks have been tearing it up. They are 24-2-3 at home, but the Kings have been riding a hot streak on the road. Games against the Sharks are always unpredictable, so this one will definitely be exciting.

Kings World Podcast - Ep 1.28

2009-02-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

Here is EPISODE 28: Back To Reality!

The Kings were back in Staples for two of the three games this past week and Marie and I wonder whether they’ve been brought back to reality or not. The Kings haven’t been in the playoff hunt for a number of years and it’s apparent to everyone in the locker room, in the seats at Staples, and those viewing at home. Atlanta, Anaheim, San Jose, and Phoenix are up next for this week and the ladies give out Valentine’s to a couple of unpredictable (yet predictable) Kings players.

Question to the listeners: what are some annoying comments that you have overheard at hockey games? Let us know so we can read them on the air!

Please check us out at our respective blogs and at Kings World Podcast.

We welcome any and all feedback! Please direct any questions, comments, or thoughts to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Back At It: Flames 2, Kings 0

2009-02-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

I think the Kings should move to the Eastern Conference because it's clear that they'd make the playoffs every single year if they were in the east. The Kings returned to Staples Center after a very successful roadtrip only to find that (surprise, surprise) the West smashes the East in terms of competition and quality of life (I like being warm). Not only did the Calgary Flames shut out my team, Michael Cammalleri got the first goal of the game and his 29th of the season. I won't lie; I booed. How in the hell did he only score 19 all last season. Yeah, he was out with that stupid rib injury; excuses excuses, Cammy.

The Kings threw the normal number of shots on with a bunch of ridiculous chances, but nothing happened on the scoreboard. It was definitely frustrating to watch especially because the puck spent the majority of the game in the offensive zone. One thing I liked was that Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty got more than a minute to play with each other 5-on-5. Those two are so skilled that I'm hoping they don't create a top-heavy defensive core, and I only say that because Kyle Quincey's play has been dropping as of late in that he's taking more penalties because his temper seems to get the better of him more often than not.

I'm not going to jump to any conclusions because this was their first game back from being on the east coast for a week and a half. We'll let the next two home games just play themselves out.

JMFJ: Kings 4, Islanders 3 (SO)

2009-02-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

I don't have enough energy to write a full post, but I will say that out of these last five road games, this one against the New York Islanders has been the weakest one for the Kings. Well... you could argue that the one against the Ottawa Senators sucked too, but at least that was won without too much trouble. This game, on the other hand, was a different beast. The Islanders were forechecking the crap out of the Kings and I wasactually pretty surprised to learn that they're dead last in the league. Then again, one game does not a team make; I should know, I root for the Kings.

(Getty Images/McIssac)

Way. To. Go. You. Beast.

So this has been the second game where Jack Johnson has taken the 3rd attempt in the shootout. The first time was in his first game back from his injury a couple of weeks ago. I wondered what the hell Terry Murray was doing then, and tonight I threw my hands in the air when I saw the lineup flash on the TV screen whilst wondering where in the heck Anze Kopitar has been in the shootout. But Jonathan Quick (who was looking quite mortal tonight) made all three saves and Jack MF Johnson sealed the game with a nifty deck to the right and swinging the puck the other way. I will admit, if Kyle Okposo had made his attempt, I'd give him the sweetest shot of the night with that weird backhanded drag.

The Kings leave the east coast with another two points and come back to Staples Center for a three-game homestand before hitting the road again. It's been a pretty damn good road trip and I can't wait to see the boys in LA!