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 Rebound Nicely

After an ugly week last week, the Kings have looked much better in their last three games, at Tampa Bay, at Florida and back home last night against Philadelphia, going 2-1-0 while posting two shootout wins in the process. But the news hasn't been all good.

Defenseman Rob Scuderi has missed all three games with a lower body injury, but he is listed as day-to-day. And before last night's 3-2 loss to Philly, the Kings learned they would be without the services of Ryan Smyth for up to a month with what is being described as an upper body injury.

Smyth was off to fantastic start for the Kings, netting nine goals and posting 14 assists. The top line combination of Smyth and Anze Kopitar had made for one of the league's top scoring lines so far in the young season. Kopitar continues to lead the league in overall scoring with 32 points (14 goals and 18 assists).

But with Smyth out for a while, the Kings have opted to move Alex Frolov onto the top line with Kopitar and Justin Williams. Only time will tell if Kopitar can continue to lead the league in scoring with Frolov to his left instead of Smyth.

The Kings, second in the Pacific Division with a 13-8-2 mark for 28 points, are off until a date with Calgary at Staples on Saturday.

Kings Ink Blue-liner Scuderi

While it's not the signing the Kings had hoped for, they did make a solid splash in the free agent market on Day 2, reaching out to Rob Scuderi, defenseman formerly of the now Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Rob Scuderi and the Kings agreed on a four-year deal worth approximately $13.6MM over the duration.

Scuderi isn't what you would call an offensive-minded defenseman, which is just fine with the Kings. What they wanted was another defensive-minded veteran presence at the blue-line to go along with Sean O'Donnell. The Kings feel they have their man.

Meanwhile, a Daily News report says the Kings were very much players on Day 1 yesterday, only to come up short on a number of free agents. According to GM Dean Lombardi, the big name who got away, Marian Hossa, nearly signed with the Kings, but ultimately chose Chicago because they were closer to being a 100-point, Stanley Cup champion-caliber team. But Hossa supposedly had some very nice things to say about the Kings and the direction they're headed, saying they are the next Chicago Blackhawks, referring to the quick turnaround made by the team from mediocrity to serious Cup contenders.

The Kings were also very much involved with Marian Gaborik, who signed a ridiculous five-year deal with the Rangers, Martin Havlat, who signed a five-year deal with the Wild, and Mike Knuble, who chose to stay on the East Coast with Washington. They have no turned their attention to Alex Tanguay and Alex Kovalev.