Perfect Trip and Ilya Kovalchuk

The Kings have four straight games overall and six of seven, and are currently 3-0 on the current five game trip that started with wins in Detroit, Toronto and Columbus. Tonight, they try for 4-0 in Boston, and then wrap up the trip tomorrow in Jersey, probably the toughest game of the trip.

The trip is already a success in that no matter what happens tonight in Boston or tomorrow in Jersey, they finish the trip with a winning record. They'll be without Jack Johnson tonight, and perhaps tomorrow, as well, who is suffering from the infamous "upper body injury." He's listed as day-to-day. Randy Jones gets the nod in his absence for tonight.

There had been some speculation that this Johnson injury was all just a cover-up to a possible trade with the Thrashers that could net the Kings Ilya Kovalchuk, but the injury is obviously for real. Johnson has been mentioned in trade rumors with Atlanta for Kovalchuk.

Also, with Boston, the other front-running suitor for Kovalchuk, moving on to other trade options, there's growing sentiment that a Kovalchuk deal is close. Kings beat writer/blogger Rich Hammond did confirm mid-week that the Kings did in fact make an offer to the Thrashers for Kovalchuk, but Atlanta made a counteroffer back to the Kings. So far no deal has been consummated.

Meanwhile, Atlanta's GM made it clear that teams will not be given a chance work out an extension with Kovalchuk, who will be a free agent after the season, before completing a trade, but his trade demands remain too high at this point. This has forced most suitors for Kovalchuk to look elsewhere.

If I'm Dean Lombardi and the Kings, I do what I have to to get him. I know the price is steep right now, but you gotta give up something to get something. Obviously, Lombardi is smart enough to know when too much is too much. If Atlanta is willing to grant teams a window to work out an extension, then they need to lower their demands for Kovalchuk, who would then be solely a two-month rental. If they want to keep the price where it is, you gotta give something back in return, in this case, a window to work out an extension.

Stay tuned...

Kings Continue to Roll

They've now won five of six after their 5-3 win in Toronto last night, and they're getting noticed again by some of the national media. Case in point: ESPN's Pierre LeBrun posted this nice column today on the Kings. Just as quickly as they went through their 4-8 mid-season slide, they've battled through adversity and rebounded nicely. And now, they're also among the front-runners for a possible Ilya Kovalchuk trade before the deadline in March.

But back to last night. The Kings looked sharp. They pounded the Leafs all night in the offensive zone, and the Leafs defense really couldn't do much to stop them. The Kings scored three times in the second period sandwiched around single tallies in the first and last periods. And it was Drew Doughty's 10th goal of the season that got the Kings going last night, and also caught the attention of LeBrun.

All-in-all, it was a good night. The Kings got their mojo back. They have a ton of confidence in themselves, so much so, they believe they can beat any team on any given night now. And that could be trouble for other teams come playoff time.

Kings Get Big Win in Hockeytown

After falling behind early in Detroit, the Kings battled back down 0-2 with two very impressive periods and earned a very important 3-2 win against the Wings to start the long road trip. Anze Kopitar, Peter Harrold, his first in 29 games and his first of the season, and Brad Richardson, his second in as many games, all scored for the Kings, who moved into a tie with Nashville for sixth place in the conference.

The Kings are now just two points behind Phoenix, who lost 4-2 in Washington, for fourth place. They also put a little breathing room between themselves and eighth place Detroit. The Kings have now won four of their last five games.

Jon Quick earned his 27th win of the season while making 31 saves in goal.

It's always fun to watch the Kings play Detroit. While there's no "real" rivalry here, the two teams are rivals of one another anyway. It's even better watching the Kings beat the Wings. For years the Wings were always the more dominant team of the two but I sense the tables are slowly beginning to turn a little as the Kings continue to gain more experience and get better and better with each passing game.

Next up for the Kings, north of the border in Toronto on Tuesday.

Kings Rebound Nicely

After the Kings got slammed on Tuesday 5-1 against the Sharks, their second loss to San Jose on the home stand, the Kings rebounded nicely to end the home stand on a high note with a 4-3 shootout win against a very good Buffalo Sabres team.

The Kings got a lone goal from Wayne Simmonds against San Jose, while Brad Richardson, Sean O'Donnell and Ryan Smyth netted the goals against Buffalo. Smyth's goal tied the game mid-way through the third period that would eventually send the game into overtime. Neither team score in the overtime, but Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar netter the shootout goals against Sabres netminder Ryan Miller.

Jon Quick took the loss against the Sharks, but got the win with 26 saves against Buffalo. And Drew Doughty continues to play very well on both ends of the ice.

The Kings currently stand in third place in the Pacific and seventh overall in the Western Conference with 59 points, just four points back of Phoenix who are second in the division and fourth overall in the conference, and just one point ahead of both Detroit, tonight's opponent as they begin a five-game road trip, and Calgary.

Now the real test starts.

Sharks Slam Kings

The Kings looked awful last night against the Sharks. Just thought I'd mention that. Nothing else to really talk about after that horrid game last night.

That's all.

Long Layoff

When we last spoke about a month ago (and my apologies for the long layoff on my part) the Kings were in the midst of an eight-day break between games. When the mini-vacation started, the Kings were riding high, leading the division and the conference despite a 3-1 loss in Calgary heading into the week off. But during the layoff, the other teams behind them in the standings continued to play, and they continued to win. Before we knew it, when the Kings resumed play on December 26, they picked up where they left off and started the stretch losing the first three games in Phoenix, against Minnesota, and in Calgary.

When they did resume play, the Kings got Ryan Smyth back from injury. In those three games, the Minnesota loss was probably the toughest. Down 3-2 late in the game, the Kings tied the game at 3-3. But just a few seconds later, former King Eric Belanger netted the game winner for the Wild and the Kings woes would continue. In all, the Kings lost four in a row before getting back on track and getting revenge on the Wild with arguably their best game of the season in a 5-2 win in Minnesota on New Year's Eve.

The Kings followed the Wild game with two very impressive wins to start the new year, edging Washington at home 2-1, and slamming the Sharks 6-2 in the Shark Tank up in San Jose. After that win in San Jose, the Kings hosted Detroit to start a seven game homestand and played what some say was their best game in years. After trailing much of the game 1-0, the Kings got the equalizer late in the game, only to give up the game-winner shortly after, for a very tough loss. The Kings that night took 52 shots on Wings rookie goalie Jimmy Howard. He stopped 51 of them.

The next two games were probably just as tough, as they lost both by just one goal while playing well enough to win, 4-3 to St. Louis and 2-1 to San Jose. But just as quickly as they won three in a row after that four-game skid, they were back on another three-game skid heading into a tough match-up against a red-hot Ducks team. But the Kings literally fought their way to a nearly perfect game as they upended the Ducks 4-0. The two teams combined for a total of 69 minutes in penalties in third period alone. Dustin Brown also recorded his 100th career goal in the win.

The Kings then battled Boston on Saturday afternoon, earning a hard-fought win in a shootout, 4-3. The Kings trailed 3-1 in this game before battling back to get the win. Tonight, the Kings are battling the Sharks mid-way through the first period, and trail 2-0 already. The Kings are 3-2 against the Sharks so far this season.

It's been a tough stretch for the Kings since their eight-game mini vacation. They started the stretch atop the division and conference, but with a four-game skid and a three-game skid sandwiched around a three-game winning streak, the Kings actually briefly slipped out of a playoff spot in a very tight Western Conference. They currently stand at 57 points, third in the division, 15 points back of the Sharks and four behind Phoenix, but just four ahead of Dallas, and they have a tight hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.

With a win tonight, the Kings would have yet another three-game winning streak with one more to go on the seven game homestand before heading out on the road for a five-game roadie. The Kings need to start picking up points again.

Also, before I forget since I already did once in the month since I last blogged here, I wanted to congratulate the five Kings players who were selected to play for their home countries in the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver set to start on February 12. Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick were selected to play for Team U.S.A., with Brown being named one of the Alternate Captains. Twenty year-old Drew Doughty was selected to play for Team Canada while Michal Handzus will play for the Slovakian team. Congratulations to all five Kings players, and good luck in the Olympics.

(Sharks just scored again, so it's now 3-0 with about a minute and a half left in the first period. This is not how the Kings wanted to start this game.)