Great Start

You kind of had a feeling it could be like this. This Kings team is too talented to not be this good. The Kings picked up their sixth win of the season in eight games with a 3-2 shootout win tonight in Minnesota.

The strange thing is they're doing it with injuries slowly beginning to pile up and with two forwards earning game misconducts in each of the last two games. But it hasn't slowed down the Kings.

Drew Doughty was placed on injured reserve today with what's being called an upper body injury, though we already know he suffered a concussion several games ago. And team captain Dustin Brown, the team's leading scorer early in the season, received a game misconduct in the second period after he lowered his shoulder to hit Wild forward Antti Miettinen while he was Miettinen was taking a shot. Brown's shoulder connected with Miettinen's head and shoulder. Wayne Simmonds received a five minute major in Saturday's game at Colorado.

But none of that mattered as the Kings continue to find ways to win games. They've won five of their last six games. Their 12 points in the standings are second most in the NHL.

And the power play finally found it's groove in tonight's win.

Brad Richardson recorded the first hat trick of his career when he netted three goals in the 6-4 win against Colorado on Saturday night.

While Doughty was placed on IR today, defenseman Matt Greene was activated before Saturday's game and played in tonight's game as well.

Next up for the Kings, they travel to Chicago to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions on Wednesday.

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!

BREAKING NEWS: Visnovsky Traded

The Kings have traded 31-year old defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Oilers for 25-year old forward Jarrett Stoll and 24-year old defenseman Matt Greene.

The Kings essentially dumped 5 years, $28 million on Edmonton, while getting younger, and creating some salary cap space. Stoll will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and Greene has two more years before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

It's likely the Kings will re-sign veteran free agent defenseman Rob Blake, and sign defenseman Brad Stuart, whom they traded to Detroit at the trade deadline this past march, once free agents can officially sign with new teams. The Kings, however, are not expected to be very active in the free agent market with top-tiered free agents.

Stay tuned Tuesday evening for a recap of Day One of the Free Agent Frenzy!