Kings Clinch Playoff Spot

Even after coughing up a 1-0 lead late in Saturday night's game against the Ducks and eventually losing 2-1 in a shootout, the Kings still managed to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday. With Calgary's loss Sunday afternoon, the Kings are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

The Kings obviously don't want to let up and get lackadaisical now that they're in. They still have some unfinished business, and with four games left on the regular season schedule, 100 points is still within reach. They currently sit in seventh place in the conference with 95 points.

They probably want to win these last four games to gain some momentum heading into the post-season, as well. After scoring eight goals last Thursday in their win over Vancouver, they only managed one against the Ducks on Saturday. If the Kings are going to advance deep in the playoffs, they need their offense to be consistent. It's no secret the hottest teams heading into the playoffs are generally the teams that do well and advance deep into the post-season.

On an unrelated note, Jeff Halpern could return tomorrow night in Anaheim after suffering an upper body injury last Thursday when he was checked into the boards by Vancouver's Tanner Glass.

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.

So Much For That...

Just as quickly as the Kings seemed to have rebounded from their recent struggles, they fall right back into it. They've lost their last three games, and look to rebound yet once again tonight in Minnesota and tomorrow in Nashville.

The offense is sputtering once again, and the defense and goal-tending haven't been much better. After their 4-3 shootout loss in Denver on Wednesday, the Kings scored just one goal in their last two games against St. Louis and Dallas.

They get Matt Greene back on defense tonight, replacing Randy Jones, and Jonathan Bernier has been recalled to replace Erik Ersberg, who's out with an injury, as Jon Quick's backup.

One thing I've noticed in the past few weeks aside from the fact they seem to be playing in a panic mode is there seems to be a lack of a sense of urgency. Some guys are playing with that sense of urgency, but some guys are playing like it's just another game, and now's not the time to act as if these final nine or ten games are just that. There have been a lot of mistakes that have led to goals that should have never happened, and when you get into the playoffs, it's nearly impossible to recover quickly from such mistakes.

It's time to buckle down. The time is now!

Big Win for Kings

They got what they set out to do tonight: get two points. It wasn't pretty at the end of regulation, but they got the two points.

Drew Doughty netted a blast on the power play in overtime for the 4-3 win over Colorado, salvaging what almost became a disastrous night. With the Kings trailing 1-0, Ryan Smyth tied the game midway through the first period, and Wayne Simmonds gave them a 2-1 lead late in the second. The Avs tied it again early in the third, but Smyth gave the Kings the lead back midway through the period. Then with 10 seconds left in regulation, Colorado tied it again after pulling their goalie for the extra attacker.

It was definitely an exciting game to watch. The Kings played with a sense of urgency and they proved with this game that they're ready to compete in the post-season.

Now the two teams head to Colorado and square off again in Denver on Wednesday night.

Certainly, another very important game as all their remaining 11 games are. The Kings need all the points they can get to give themselves some breathing room in the standings.

Kings Struggles

Well, as expected from such a young team, the Kings have been struggling since their win at Dallas back on March 2nd. They're 3-5 since with wins against Columbus, Dallas again, and the Islanders last night. But despite two of those wins being shutouts, including a dominating 6-0 performance against the Jackets, the Kings haven't played well since the Olympic break.

There's no question the effort has been there for the most part. But they've looked sloppy, slow and tired. They're making mistakes defensively, and it's costing them games. And to make matters worse, the offense has been virtually non-existent in the last five or six games.

One has to wonder if desperation or panic is beginning to set in. There is a difference between the two. From my vantage point, it seems more like panic than desperation, although the panic is a result of desperation. To me, desperation is okay because, as Head Coach Tom Murray noted yesterday, it gets the players adrenaline going and they become more focused. But when there's a reluctance to make plays out of fear of making a mistake, then the panic sets in and they try to do too much.

The Kings are certainly playing with some desperation but when they lose focus for fear of making a mistake, they begin to panic, and this is where I think the Kings are right now.

The Kings have 12 games left, starting with a home-and-home series Monday against Colorado. They're still in great shape to make the playoffs. They've got 87 points after their big win last night, and sit in fifth place in the conference, but they need to keep pushing forward.

They fought through adversity once during the season when they had a two-week lull in December. They rebounded nicely and have been playing solid hockey since, until recently. There's still enough time for the Kings to get some momentum going into the playoffs. A nice, long winning streak would be good right about now.

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I don't know if anyone else has taken notice, but the Phoenix Coyotes are just one point behind San Jose for the division lead, and just two points behind Chicago for the top seed in the West. While San Jose has been reeling of late with a five-game skid, the 'Yotes have been rolling with an impressive eight-game winning streak. Former Kings assistant Dave Tippett has done a fantastic job in his first season as Phoenix's head coach.

**********

Also, just wanted to welcome back Bob Miller to broadcast booth. Miller missed a couple of weeks while battling a case of the shingles. Radio guy Nick Nickson filled in nicely on television in Miller's absence.

Welcome back, Bob!

Kings Add Two

The Kings picked up two players before today's trade deadline.

In separate deals, the Kings picked up center Jeff Halpern from Tampa Bay in exchange for Teddy Purcell and a 3rd round pick, and they picked up left-winger Fredrik Modin from Columbus for a conditional draft pick. Both players are expected to be in uniform for tomorrow night's game in Nashville.

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.

An Olympic Review

I must say in all my years of watching Olympic hockey, and hockey in general, the past two weeks in Vancouver were arguably the best two weeks of hockey I've ever seen. What we saw was a display of twelve countries showcasing the best players it has to offer, and none of them disappointed. It also didn't hurt that NHL represented about 60% of all the players in the tournament, including the entire rosters for the U.S. and Canada.

And speaking of which...

Yesterday's Gold Medal game between the U.S. and Canada was arguably one the greatest hockey games ever played. And to think the U.S. almost pulled off a miraculous upset against arguably the best team in the tournament in which no one gave the U.S. much of a chance to medal, let alone play for the Gold Medal. Many felt the U.S. was probably, at best, the fifth best team in the Olympics behind powerhouses such as Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and perhaps even the Czechs and Slovaks.

But instead, the U.S. held its own throughout the tournament, and behind Ryan Miller's spectacular goal-tending, earned a well-earn chance at the gold medal.

Down 2-0, the U.S. got a late second period goal from Ryan Kesler, who tipped in a shot from Patrick Kane to make it a game again. With the same 2-1 score late in regulation, the U.S. pulled Miller for the extra attacker. It paid off. With just a little over 24 seconds left on the clock, Zach Parise netted a rebound past an outstretched Roberto Luongo for the equalizer, sending it into a sudden death overtime.

It wasn't until the overtime, when the teams were forced to play four-on-four, that we really saw how much of an advantage the Canadians really had over the U.S. And with about 13-plus minutes left in the overtime, Sidney Crosby netted a give-and-go from Jerome Iginla to give Canada the win, and the Gold Medal.

Still, the U.S. has nothing to hang their heads about. They saved their best game for last, and nearly beat the odds. And in a sense, they did beat the odds because they weren't expected to even medal in Vancouver, and came away with a Silver Medal.

Sadly, though, yesterday's Gold Medal game was getting many unfair comparisons to the "Miracle on Ice" in which a team of U.S. amateurs upset a powerful Soviet Union team during the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. To an extent, the comparisons are valid because this year's U.S. team, albeit a team full of NHL players just like Canada, was a far younger team than the group of veterans the Canadians put together. But in all actuality, the circumstances of the two games were far different.

Anyway you slice it, though, the game (and the tournament) didn't disappoint. For the U.S., Miller was at his best in goal as he had been throughout the entire tournament. Despite giving up the three goals that would help give Canada the Gold Medal yesterday, Miller was named the tournament's MVP, and deservedly so.

Miller played out of his mind throughout the Olympics, and was the sole reason the U.S. beat Canada last week to earn the top seed heading into the medal round, despite the fact the U.S. managed to score five times on Marty Brodeur.

Four of the five Kings players who participated in the Games also received medals. Drew Doughty picked up a Gold Medal for Canada while Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick earned well-deserved Silver Medals for the U.S. Only Michal Handzus of Slovakia returned empty-handed after his Slovakian team lost to Finland in the Bronze Medal Game.

I was really pulling for the Slovakians to medal for other reasons than Michal Handzus. The Kings also had four former players on the Slovakian team (Ziggy Palffy, Josef Stumpel, Lubomir Visnovsky and Pavol Demitra), as well as one additional player they currently own the rights to (Lubos Bartecko).

But looking back on the entire tournament, especially after yesterday's Gold Medal game, you can't help but think the sport might have won over many new fans, and perhaps even a handful of fans who gave up on the sport after the 2004 NHL lockout, especially here in the U.S.

Think about it. This game was originally going to be aired on a tape-delay here in the States. Instead, the entire country got it live - yes, including the West Coast, who was getting most of these games on a three-hour delay, anyway - and it turned out to be the most watched hockey game in the U.S. since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game, which wasn't even broadcasted live.

NBC earned a solid 15.2 share overnight. That equates to approximately 26.7 million viewers, up 45.5% over the 2002 Salt Lake City Gold Medal game between the same two countries.

And in Canada, the game shattered records country-wide. The game there, aired on nine different networks and in eight different languages, was the most watched television broadcast ever. Roughly half of the nation's population watched yesterday's game.

When all is said and done, the real hockey Gold Medal winner of these Olympics was the sport itself.

That said, the Kings are back in action tomorrow night in Dallas.

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.

*****

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.

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.)

Random Stuff

So the Kings are off for another six days. It's been two-plus already. They went 1-2 on their trip through Western Canada, losing in Vancouver, winning in Edmonton, and losing in Calgary. They played well enough to win all three games, but of course, you can't win 'em all.

Now they're in the midst of an eight-day vacation. Wish I could have vacations like that!

So far, they've surrendered the top spot in the West because of the long layoff while San Jose keeps playing. They've also relinquished the division lead, as well. But, they did get Ryan Smyth back. So the next time the Kings play - next Saturday in Phoenix - they will have Smyth back, and Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams should be thrilled! Those two have missed Smyth immensely over the last five weeks.

In the meantime, with the long layoff, I've been trying to get my hockey fix elsewhere. But when you're a Kings fan with Center Ice living in Stars territory, it's kind tough. I don't get as amped for games like I do for Kings games. Seriously, the Stars just don't cut it for me. And some of these other games on the dish just seem to bore me to death.

I suppose the busy holiday will keep me preoccupied until next Saturday night. So until then, I leave you with a litte something-something...