Boston Wins Cup

For the first time in 39 years, the Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup Champions after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the Finals on the road after trailing in the series 2-0 and 3-2. Boston goalie Tim Thomas was named series MVP and finished the series with most saves ever in Finals history.

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As you can see, it's been a while since I've checked in on this here blog. The Kings were down 2-1 to San Jose in the first round of the playoffs the last time I was here, and unfortunately lost the series in six games.

This Kings team played their butts off in the San Jose series despite the Game 3 meltdown, but they're still a young team learning how to play through playoff adversity. They could have easily won that series as they lost three of the games, including Game 6 at home, in overtime. One lucky bounce their way in those overtime losses, and who knows what might have happened.

In any case, we've reached the official end of the 2010-2011 season with Boston hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup tonight, and I'm sure Dean Lombardi and co. have been hard at work for weeks now looking for ways to improve the Kings as they head into the 2011-2012 season.

One thing is for certain, this team will only get better. A healthy Anze Kopitar should help the offense, as should a full season with Dustin Penner. And with one of the best defenses with young superstars such as Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, and one of the best young goalies in the league in Jonathan Quick, the sky could be the limit for this team for years to come!

Back Home

And back in black after a 4-0 shellacking of the Fishies on Saturday night.

Gotta love how well the Kings played in first two games on road, especially Game 2.

Took advantage of Sharks stupid penalties.

Jon Quick was amazing in goal, and Drew Doughty was about as good as he's ever been.

Series could easily be 2-0 Kings, but we'll take the 1-1 going back to Staples.

Ok, Kings fans, lets show the hockey world what we're really made of tonight!

Get loud, Staples Center! Let's go Kings!

Magic Number Just Two Points Away

That number is 94 and the Kings currently sit at 92 points, good for fifth in the conference.

They're picking up points left and right, winning big games, but with costly consequences.

Both Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar suffered season-ending injuries in recent games.

Perhaps the deadline acquisition of Dustin Penner looms even larger now.

Despite a few hiccups along the way, the Kings defense continues to be stellar.

And Jonathan Quick has been even better in net, especially during shootouts.

Quick is a perfect 9-0 in those situations.

And we all know how big defense and special teams are come post-season.

It's time to see how resilient this young team really is now by showing they can play through adversity.

Kings Complete Trade

The Kings have officially completed a trade today for winger Marco Sturm from Boston that was originally reported several weeks ago. Sturm passed his physical this afternoon, and will travel to St. Louis to join the team. Sturm hopes to be ready to play sometime next week.

The trade comes on the heels of an impressive win for the Kings last night on the road in Detroit, where they slammed the Red Wings 5-0. Jonathan Quick saved a whopping 51 shots in the shutout for the Kings, and Willie Mitchell was back in action and played a big role in the game defensively. Mitchell took Brad Richardson's roster spot as he was placed on injured reserved with an unknown injury.

After a rough stretch in which the Kings lost six of seven following their great start, the team has turned it around and won four of its last five games, picking up points in all five contests, including two big, impressive wins against Detroit.

The Kings currently sit in seventh place with 35 points in a hotly-contested Western Conference which also has four of the five Pacific Division teams in the Top 8, and all five teams within just four points of each other.

Catching Up

Well it's been a while since the Kings were eliminated from post-season play by Vancouver. They played well at times against the 'Nucks, and looked almost unbeatable at times during those stretches, but when it mattered most, they were dreadful in closing out games. The defense, and to an extent, the goal-tending, as well, was awful. But it is what it is.

Since then, they've hired a new assistant coach to replace Mark Hardy. The NHL Entry Draft was held at Staples last weekend over a two-day frame. And the free agency period went into full swing starting on Thursday.

The Kings have two glaring needs: they need a premier front-line scorer on the top line, and they need veteran depth at defense. I think the goal-tending needs to be addressed as well.

They have not been very busy as far signing anyone over the first two plus days, but they've been busy behind the scenes trying to get things done. They've been mentioned in numerous rumors regarding Ilya Kovalchuk, the top forward in this year's free agent class. And being well below the cap, they have plenty to spend, and would like to. But so far, it's been relatively quiet.

The general consensus is Kovy will wind up in L.A., but at what cost? Reports out there say his camp wants max money (10 years, $10MM per), and as far as we know, only one team is apparently willing to go that far: the Islanders.

Now, I don't think the Kings should go that far to get him. Ten years seems to be a bit much for a 27 year old forward, granted he's one of the top scorers in the league. But even if the Kovy camp wants that much and the Islanders are willing to give him max money, is he really going to take it when the Islanders are so far away from winning? I don't think so, and that leads me to believe Kovy winds up in L.A., and hopefully at half of what his camp wants as far as the years go.

Stay tuned. My gut tells me there will be a resolution on this in the next 24-to-48 hours.

On top of all that, the Kings have also been tied to numerous trade rumors, as well. They were in on two of the top defensemen available through free agency, but Paul Martin signed with Pittsburgh and Dan Hamhuis inked a deal in Vancouver. So where does this leave the Kings? The said trade rumors have them linked to Sheldon Souray and even Tomas Kaberle. (My gut tells me neither ends up in L.A.)

They've also been tied to Simon Gagne, who waived his no-trade yesterday, and more recently, Vincent Lecavalier. (Yes, I know they're not defensemen, but my guess is if something happens with either of them, it's all contingent on what happens with Kovy.)

Kings ownership is pretty peeved at this point that nothing has happened yet. They want to make a big splash because they are that close to being a Cup contender, but obviously Dean Lombardi has a plan and wants to stick to it. In the end, I think they still end up with Kovy, and they'll probably move one of the goalies (either Jon Quick or Jonathan Bernier) for a defenseman. Question is, who?

They'll make their big splash.

Back on Track?

Well, we can only hope after the last two wins.

The Kings had struggled all season against Nashville and Vancouver. For some reason, they just couldn't find a way to beat either team. But in the last two games, with Jonathan Bernier in net giving Jon Quick a little rest, they found a way. On Tuesday, Bernier pitched a shutout as the Kings beat the Preds 2-0 in Nashville.

Last night's game was even more impressive. In fact, it might have been their best game of the season, at the most important time of the season.

The Kings erupted for five goals to start the game before the Canucks ever got on the scoreboard, and with the help of Dustin Brown's second career hat trick, the Kings walloped Roberto Luongo and the Canucks 8-3 at Staples.

The Kings dominated this game from start to finish on both sides of the ice despite Bernier giving up two quick goals to Vancouver in a 39 second span in the middle of the second period.

They did lose Jeff Halpern in the process, unfortunately. He took a hard check into the boards in the first period on a charge from Tanner Glass that resulted in the infamous upper body injury. There appeared to be contact from Glass to the head, which resulted in a power play for the Kings. Glass could receive additional supplemental discipline from the league for the hit.

Meanwhile, Bernier, who was called up last week to backup Quick after Erik Ersberg suffered an injury, was sent back to Manchester this morning. Ersberg will return Saturday as Quick's primary backup.

Last night's offensive outburst, coupled with some stingy defense was exactly what the Kings needed, even as they followed up a pretty impressive win in Nashville two nights earlier. The important thing for the Kings is to not let up. Keep going forward. Keep up the intensity from last night, as well as the sense of urgency.

Next up for the Kings, two against the Ducks: Saturday at Staples, next Tuesday in Anaheim.

Kings Pick Up Right Where They Left Off

And it really wasn't even that close of a game.

In their first game since the break, the Kings ripped the Stars here in Dallas tonight, 5-1.

There had been some talk about whether or not the layoff would hurt Jonathan Quick. Quick was a member of the U.S. Olympic team but never once suited up. He was the third string goaltender behind starter Ryan Miller, and Tim Thomas. So Quick simply sat and watched.

Well, obviously it didn't affect him too much. Quick looked very sharp, and the Kings as a team simply outplayed Dallas all night, and it showed in the score. The Kings got goals from Jarrett Stoll, Alexander Frolov, who also had two assists, Brad Richardson, Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar with his team-leading 29th goal of the season. Olympic Gold Medalist Drew Doughty also picked up three assists on the night.

The Kings now sit in fourth place in the West at 80 points, fourth most points in the league. Jon Quick continues to rack up wins, adding to his single-season franchise record with his 36th win, which is also tops in the league.

So, next up for the Kings is Nashville on Thursday, with the trade deadline tomorrow afternoon. I don't expect the Kings to be very active, and if they are, I don't expect much more than a role player or two. And don't expect Frolov to be moved either.

Quick Makes History

Record-settings seem to be going around L.A. quite often these days. With his 35th win of the season tonight, Jon Quick became the single-season winningest goaltender in Kings history. Quick now also leads the league in goaltender wins heading into the Olympic break.

Quick is one of three goalies for Team USA, which kicks off Olympic competition on Tuesday afternoon in Vancouver vs. Switzerland. He will be joined by teammates Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson (more on Johnson's journey coming soon) on Team USA. Drew Doughty will represent the Kings for Canada, and Michal Handzus will get the honor for Slovakia.

As for tonight's game, Quick and the Kings shutout Colorado 3-0 with goals from Brad Richardson, Anze Kopitar and Oscar Moller. After the Ducks snapped the Kings franchise-record nine-game winning streak on Monday, the Kings lost to lowly Edmonton on Thursday night in a shootout. But they got back in the win column tonight and head into the break in fourth place in the Western Conference with 78 points. The 78 points is also fifth-most in the NHL. Three of the top five teams in points come out of the hotly-contested Pacific Division.

Prime 9: Kings Make History

They've just defeated the Red Wings 4-3 after trailing 3-0 after the first period to set a franchise-record with their ninth straight win, and 11th in their last 12 games.

Michal Handzus recorded two goals, including the game-winner late in the third period. Jon Quick continues his record-setting streak with his ninth straight win. He leads all goaltenders with 34 wins.

Streak Reaches 8

The Kings continue to roll. Tonight, in another Freeway Face-off against the Ducks, the Kings staved off a third period Ducks rally, and won 6-4 with two late goals of their own out at Staples Center.

Jon Quick became the league's winningest goalie with his 33rd win of the season, and Anze Kopitar added two more goals and two assists, including a pretty move on the power play in a little one-on-one with Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller for the Kings sixth goal of the night. With the win, the red-hot Kings moved into a tie for 4th place in the West with Phoenix with 73 points.

The Kings looked like they were gonna roll to an easy win when the 3rd period got under way. They had a comfortable 4-1 lead early in the period, but the Ducks answered with three goals of their own to tie before the midway point of the period. Talk about giving me, and every other Kings fan a heart attack! But the Kings shut them down defensively and went back to work offensively with about 5:30 left when Dustin Brown notched the tie-breaker.

The Kings are really playing well and with confidence while playing through adversity, and when they fall behind, they don't crumble under pressure to get back into the game as they have in recent years. They've really learned to trust themselves and each other as a unit under tough circumstances.

Chalk up another win for the Kings when they lead after two periods. They improved to 23-0-0 in those games.

The two teams meet again next Monday down in Anaheim to continue the Freeway Face-off. First, the Kings host Detroit on Saturday.

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It had been widely reported and speculated that the Kings were one of the leading candidates to land Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk in a trade in recent days. Yesterday, Atlanta's GM Don Waddell told Kovalchuk to start packing his bags, that he would be traded "in a few hours or a few days." Well, today, after Waddell announced that Kovalchuk had turned down a 12-year, $101MM contract extension from the Thrashers, he was eventually traded to New Jersey for three players and a first-round pick.

Maybe a lot to give up for a two-month rental (or more depending how far the Devils parade through the playoffs), but they were willing to meet Waddell's demands. I'm just glad the Kings didn't cave in to his demands. It could have cost them any number of players, and it didn't make sense to me for them to break up a winning chemistry. They're playing very well right now as it is without Kovalchuk.

Now the question is can the Devils sign him now before he becomes a free agent after the season, or can they re-sign him once he does become a free agent? Time will tell. It's always possible the Kings could make a run at him if he does hit the market.

That's Seven Straight

Wins, that is. Kings continue to roll, and edge the Rangers 2-1 back at Staples tonight after their perfect east coast roadie. On top of it being their straight win overall, they've now won 9 of their last 10. Another win for Jon Quick, and another goal from Anze Kopitar, who scored the first goal for the Kings short-handed, his 24th of the season.

Battle of SoCal on Thursday night.

Perfect!

Wow! What a road trip! The Kings finished their five-game trip with arguably their grittiest win of the season, a 3-2 shocker in Jersey, completing their perfect 5-0 trip.

The Kings have now won six straight overall and eight of nine. They've won eight straight on the road and have a league-best 19 road wins. And more importantly, they're racking up points in the standings that they left behind in December during their little mid-season slide.

Couple things stood out to me watching yesterday's win in Jersey. First, was the goal by Wayne Simmonds late in the third period. The goal they scored at the end of the second period probably kept them in the game, but Simmonds' goal from the sharp angle to the right of Devils net-minder was a huge blow to the Devils. It not only tied the game, but it set up their third goal about a minute and a half later when Drew Doughty's slap shot from straight out just inside the line on the power play gave the Kings the lead for good.

By tying the game, it allowed the Kings to keep Jon Quick in net without having to pull him for the man-advantage, and then they went on the power play and got the man-advantage that way.

The other thing that stood out to me aside from the Kings grinding it throughout the game even though they looked liftless and tired for most of the first period was the play of Quick in net. Quick made perhaps the save of the year about mid-way through the third when he made a no-look glove save from a point blank shot from his left. That, folks, was the turning point in the game.

You can't help but be in awe of this Kings team. In years past, they wouldn't have recovered from their December slide. Instead, they battled through adversity and have turned it around that quickly, and are now playing important games into February. The way they have fought through the hiccups of December to get to where they are now tells you a lot about the character of this team. The kids have learned to grow up and it seems like they're ready to take this to the next level.

Let's hope they keep this rolling tomorrow against the Rangers back at Staples, and let's hope the upcoming Olympic break doesn't slow them down they get back at the end of the month.

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.

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.)

Another Shootout Win

Is there any stopping this team now? The Kings continue to roll as they earned another shootout win with a 3-2 win on Dodger Night at Staples Center over the Dallas Stars. The Kings improve to 21-10-3 on the season, good for 45 points and a pull into a tie with San Jose for the division and conference lead, who lost in Phoenix tonight, 2-1. (The Kings technically leapfrog the Sharks by virtue of having more wins.) The Kings have the most wins in the West and second most in the league.

It was well played game on both ends of the ice by both teams as they skated to a 2-2 tie through overtime. But in the shootout, after Michal Handzus scored in the fourth round for the Kings, Stars center Mike Ribeiro took his turn. But Kings goalie Jon Quick poked-check the puck away as Ribeiro approached, but it ricocheted off Ribeiro and into the net for what appeared to be the equalizer. The referees got together and ruled it a no-goal because once Quick touched the puck with his stick before it went into the net, the play was considered dead.

Kings win.

Anze Kopitar picked up his second goal in as many games, his 16th of the season, and Alex Frolov added his eighth goal of the season for the Kings. Quick picked up his 19th win of the season, second most in the league.

As I mentioned earlier, this team is really starting to impress. They are now 7-0-1 in their last eight games, with seemingly no end in sight the way they're playing. The Kings now travel north of the border for three tough road games in Western Canada next week at Vancouver on Monday, Edmonton on Wednesday and Calgary on Thursday.

This Team is Really Starting to Impress

Who would have thought that the Kings would be the first team in the West to win 20 games this year? Certainly not me, but with a three-game winning streak that includes two big shootout wins against division rivals San Jose and Phoenix this week, the Kings did just that. And, with those wins, the Kings pushed themselves to within a point of first place and the top spot in the conference with 43 points. (They currently sit two points behind San Jose, who lost in another shootout last night, this time to Dallas.)

The Kings still do have some questions, though. Their penalty kill unit is near the bottom of the league, they're dealing with injuries to key players such as Ryan Smyth, and now Wayne Simmonds, and Anze Kopitar has struggled in his last 12 to 14 games to put points on the board, mainly because of the loss of Smyth.

But they are getting solid contributions from everyone on the ice. They have the most players with at least 20 points than any other team in the league, Jon Quick has been stellar in net and is tied for second in the league with 18 wins, and they got an important player back from an injury on defense in Rob Scuderi.

Add it all up, and the Kings are off to one of their best starts in team history with a 20-10-3 mark.

And, for the Kings, the important thing is keep pushing forward, and keep picking up points in the standings. Tonight, on Dodger Night at Staples Center, they'll get a chance to add two more points to their season total when they host the Dallas Stars.

Kings Offense Breaks Through in Win Over Sens

Justin Williams took advantage of two Ottawa turnovers in front of their own goal late in the game and converted them into two goals, turning a close 4-3 lead into a 6-3 win out at Staples. With the win, the Kings have now won three in a row and four of its last five, including a 3-1 win at Edmonton last Wednesday, a 2-1 shootout win at home against Chicago this past Saturday, and a 4-3 shootout win at Staples against the Ducks two nights ago.

The Kings improve to 17-10-2 on the season, good for 36 points and second place in the division behind San Jose, who lost tonight in a shootout at home to St. Louis. The Kings pick up a very important point in the standings.

Drew Doughty got credit for tonight's game-winner that gave the Kings the lead for good late in the second period, and Jon Quick earned his 16th win of the season while in net for the Kings. Wayne Simmonds added a goal on a penalty shot late in the first period.

On the flip side, Anze Kopitar's streak of games without a goal continues to grow as it has now reached 11 games. It's pretty obvious the loss of linemate Ryan Smyth, who isn't expected back until the middle or the end of the month, has had a major impact on Kopitar's game.

As for St. Louis, they head south down the California coast and take on the Kings Saturday afternoon at Staples.

Ugly Week for the Kings

After an impressive win against the Stanley Cup Champions last Thursday night, the Kings have suddenly taken a nosedive losing three of its last four in pretty ugly fashion: a 3-1 loss at home last Saturday to a poor Nashville team, a 4-1 loss in Chicago on Monday night, and a 7-0 blowout loss tonight in Atlanta.

In the middle of all that, they managed a solid 5-2 win in Carolina on Wednesday, but that's been the only bright spot for the Kings all week. And with that, Anze Kopitar continues to lead the league in scoring with 30 points.

Fortunately, I was unable to watch the Nashville and Chicago games as the Nashville game wasn't televised and the Chicago game was a Versus exclusive, which wasn't exclusive to me since I don't have access to the network on DirecTV. And I almost wish I didn't waste two and a half hours of my evening tonight to watch that ugly game.

The game was scoreless midway through the second period when the Thrashers rattled off four goals on what seemed like four shots in about five minutes time. Starter Jon Quick was then yanked for Erik Ersberg, who didn't fare much better, when he gave up three more goals.

Definitely not a game to remember. This was one of the ugliest losses I've seen by a Kings team in quite some time.

The Kings still have 24 points, good for second in the division, five points behind San Jose, and fifth in the conference.

Next up: at Tampa Bay tomorrow.

Kings Sign Two For Three

Both Jon Quick and Davis Drewiske have signed three-year contract extensions, effective next season.