Well, It's been another long month since I've had a chance to post anything regarding the Kings, and not much has changed. The Kings are still the league's worse team according to their record, although they are in a dog fight with Tampa Bay to avoid that honor. Since the January 3rd loss at home to Columbus, the Kings have gone a respectable 8-6-1, including another home win over Dallas (the season series is now 3-3 with the home team having won all 6 games) and big road wins on the current 8-game road trip against both New York teams, and Detroit. In the Detroit game this past Thursday, the Kings trailed 3-1 after two periods and scored four unanswered 3rd period goals to take the win, 5-3. They followed that up with a horrific performance yesterday in Pittsburgh, losing 4-2. The game wasn't really that close.
All-in-all, the Kings are playing better. Michael Cammelleri has since returned to the lineup from is injury, but Rob Blake is out now for another week with a non-displaced fracture in his left ankle. Speaking of Blake, his name has come up in trade rumors and he's been linked to Detroit and Colorado (he played for the Avs for five years between his first and current stint with the Kings). Speculation is even if he is traded, he does become an unrestricted free agent after the season and there is talk that he would re-sign in L.A. anyway to finish up his career in L.A. (he said when he signed in L.A. before last season that he intends to retire a King). Stay tuned for more on this one.
Kings have two games left on their current 8-game roadie where they are 3-3. They play in Columbus tonight at 6pm PT, and finish up the trip in St. Louis on Tuesday night.
Second year forward Anze Kopitar played in this year's All-Star game in Atlanta, but didn't record a point in the loss. This should be the first of many All-Star game appearances for Kopitar, assuming the league continues with it. There was talk over the All-Star weekend that a lot of changes could be coming for the festivities, including possibly eliminating the game altogether because of a lack of interest from fans and whatnot. It would be such a shame for this to happen as the league struggles to regain its image after the lockout several years ago.
