Well Isn't This Just Great

Not a good time to be playing your worse hockey and riding a five-game losing streak on top of it.

Yes, there is a cause for concern here...

Another Night...

Another loss. This is becoming very frustrating, the inconsistencies.

But damn the Blackhawks and their cheap-ass fluke fourth goal late in the game. What a joke! What a way to lose a game.

Another Loss

But this time, the defense showed up, and the offense stayed home. Well done.

Say What?

Those were two horribly pathetic performances by the Kings the past two games. Way to ring in the New Year... find your defense, please.

In Case You Missed It...

Check out this incredible pass from Anze Kopitar to Dustin Brown in last night's Kings 4-0 shellacking of the Sharks...

Mile High Rout

Well, that was a fun night. Kings 5, Avs 0. Dustin Brown with two goals. Marco Sturm made his Kings debut. Life is good again in Hockeywood!

Ok, Much Better

Kings 6, Nashville 1. That's more like it.

On to Chicago to face the Stanley Cup Champions tomorrow!

Yikes!

I think I'm glad I missed tonight's game. That is all.

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.

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.

New Season

It's that time of year again. The weather is changing outside as summer turns into autumn, and 30 NHL arenas around the North America are preparing their buildings for a new hockey season.

It's been six long months since the Kings were eliminated from the playoffs last season. In the time since, the Kings prepared for what would be very high expectations in the upcoming season, and rightfully so. The Kings finished as the sixth seed out West with 101 points last season before being ousted by Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs, and with the bulk and core of the team returning, the expectations are sky-high.

The Kings were never able to land their much-coveted top-line scorer such as Ilya Kovalchuk, but they were able to add other pieces which many feel could make this team better than last season. For starters, left winger Alexei Ponikarovsky was brought in to add depth to the middle lines, and perhaps the most important signing of the off-season, defenseman Willie Mitchell was added to a very solid and arguably one of the top defensive cores that already includes Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi.

On offense, Ponikarovsky joins Captain Dustin Brown, who returns along with Ryan Smyth, Anze Kopitar, Brad Richardson, Wayne Simmonds, Jarrett Stoll, Justin Williams and Michael Handzus. Hopefully, scoring goals won't be an issue this season, and a healthy Smyth and a more consistent Kopitar should help.

Jonathan Bernier, who signed a two-year extension today, will back-up Jonathan Quick in net for the Kings this season after Erik Ersberg was placed on waivers. He eventually cleared and was sent to Manchester.

With the high expectations comes added pressure for the Kings to improve on last season's 101 points and go deeper in the post-season. Both ESPN and TSN have the Kings ranked fifth in their pre-season Power Rankings, so the recognition is definitely there.

The keys for the Kings will obviously be the same for any other team: staying healthy. But with a year under their belt together, the defense should be better with the addition of Mitchell, and that should make life a little easier for Quick down the stretch. Offensively, the Kings hope Brown steps up from his down year and contributes more in the way of putting pucks into the net. And hopefully the addition of Ponikarovsky will help ease the loss of an inconsistent Alex Frolov, who took his skills to the Big Apple as a free agent.

All in all, the Kings continue to grow as a team. General Manager Dean Lombardi has a done a nice job of drafting and tweaking the roster to build a solid future for the Kings, and hopefully they get over the hump this year and are playing beyond April, and even May under the guidance of Head Coach Terry Murray.

Kovy Turns Down Kings?

UPDATE (5:08pm CT): Helene Elliott has now posted this report on the LA Times Sports Blog, The Fabulous Forum.

Not good.

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Reports are starting to surface that Ilya Kovalchuk has rejected the Kings offer. Helene Elliott of the Times is the first to report it via Twitter.

More as this story develops.

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.

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.

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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.