No joke, Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty was up until 4:30AM on Christmas Eve writing this story for all of you to read. So, after the presents are unwrapped, the brunch has been consumed and you’re wondering what to do with yourself, take a look at Gann’s latest story.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — With Christmas 2009 now upon us, the Los Angeles Kings are all away from the rink, spending time with family and friends, sharing the spirit of the season.

While those of us who celebrate the holiday season by exchanging gifts do so with loved ones and friends, the Kings received the gift they wanted most at this point in the 2009-10 season, the return of several key players from injury, including veteran left wing Ryan Smyth, right wing Wayne Simmonds and defenseman Jack Johnson.

Johnson missed just one game after taking a slap shot by Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray off his foot, so the Kings did not miss him for long. But the return of Simmonds (out for four games) and Smyth (missed fifteen games) has been something the Kings have been waiting for with the proverbial bated breath.

“This is a good time for us,” said center Anze Kopitar, who will have Smyth back on left wing on his line with right with Justin Williams when the Kings return to action at Phoenix on December 26.

A big reason Kopitar was smiling all week in practice was because with Smyth’s presence in front of the opposition’s net, he was scoring goals and racking up points at a torrid pace. But without him, Kopitar scored just two goals.

“We have some banged up bodies from the last little while,” Kopitar noted. “Everybody’s going to get healthy and we’re going to come back strong.”

To be sure, there were a lot of smiles and excitement on the ice and in the Kings dressing room during three days of practice this week, much of it the result of the team getting healthier and the expectations among the players that their team just got a huge shot in the arm that should strengthen them and make things easier down the road.

But there is a potential pitfall here, as the Kings have to worry about the all too common let down after a team gets key players back from injury.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Continuing with Hockeywood, LA’s “Figure Eight” promotion, we close it out with a Christmas Day treat giving you our reasons to be a Los Angeles Kings fan. What are yours?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has been making good use of his holiday time and has cranked out another story on the Los Angeles Kings. As always, he’s got some great quotes for players. So grab an eggnog and enjoy!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Like the rest of the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Kings are now in the midst of the two-day Christmas break. But unlike children the world over who might have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, the Kings are more likely to have visions of them reaching new heights with the return of veteran left wing Ryan Smyth to the lineup, along with right wings Wayne Simmonds and Brandon Segal, and defenseman Jack Johnson.

All four injured players were back on the ice at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California this week as the team skated in three extended practices during an eight-day break in their schedule.

“It’s always good to get your regular players back, there’s no question,” said head coach Terry Murray. “The energy is always higher, there’s going to be an impact on performance.”

Smyth, 33, suffered an undisclosed upper body injury, which has been all but confirmed to be a rib injury, on November 14 at Florida and missed fifteen games before being activated from injured reserve on December 18.

“It felt good to be out there with the guys and knowing there’s a little light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that Saturday [when the Kings skate at Phoenix] is coming right around the corner,” said Smyth. “So it’s exciting. Playing on a regular line and getting back to moving the puck again, it’s just a matter of getting into a game situation.”

Smyth was immediately reunited with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Justin Williams on the line that he started the season with, the most potent line in the league at the time.

After practice ended on December 21, the three remained on the ice, with Smyth feeding Kopitar and Williams for one-timers and then working on a couple of other drills.

“[We were] just getting connected again,” Smyth explained. “It’s been awhile. You’re just doing the little things. You’ve got to play to your strengths.”

Read the rest on HockeyTalk.biz

The Los Angeles Kings have been on a bit of a break but your friends at KingsCast have been working overtime to get you the latest and greatest on Kings hockey. In our 4th Annual Holiday Spectacular, Keith, Chris and Connie give out some gifts to the players, discuss the implications of the break, what healthy prospects to keep and take your questions from Twitter and Facebook. So settle back and enjoy! Feliz Navidad!

KingsCast Holiday Spectacular Podcast [ 28:19 ] Play Now | Play in Popup

The Los Angeles Kings are on an 8-day break so we take the time to spread some holiday cheer. In this episode we show you some Christmas cards we received from players on the Kings, talk about the team’s performance and announce our give away on December 28th. Question of the Day: What gift do you give the Kings fan in your life?

What can I say, folks, we’re on a lot of mailing lists. And this year we received a few Christmas cards from some of the players on the Los Angeles Kings. That’s right, Teddy Purcell, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Wayne Simmonds and Justin Williams thought of us during the holiday season. We thought we’d spread the holiday cheer they sent us with you. Those of you that saw our Holiday Spectacular video and asked for stills of the cards, here you go. Enjoy!

Teddy Purcell sent us this:

Justin Williams sent us this:

Anze Kopitar sent us this:

Wayne Simmonds sent us this:

Finally, Drew Doughty sent us this:

Sweet gestures from these players. Which is your favorite?

Disclaimer: These holiday cards were not actually sent by players but are representations created solely by KingsCast. (Duh)

The Los Angeles Kings continue their “Figure Eight” promotion where they re-cap the best of the decade. Here, KingsCast breaks down the best (and worst) goalies of the 2000′s. What’s your best or worst LA Kings goaltender?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has a new story up on HockeyTalk.biz and, as usual, he’s rocking the interviews and analysis of the Los Angeles Kings performance. It’s a must-read as I know we’re all anxiously awaiting the Kings return to the ice.

LOS ANGELES — Over the vast majority of their history, the Los Angeles Kings have traditionally played poorly in December, so often that many fans resign themselves to the inevitable “December Swoon.”

But this year’s Kings have been a big surprise. To be sure, they have done anything but swoon as their 7-2-1 record for this month (going into action on December 19), indicates. With four games left to play this month, the Kings are guaranteed to have a winning record in December, a rather shocking fact for many Kings fans.

Even more impressive, the Kings have earned a 9-5-1 record since veteran left wing Ryan Smyth went down with what is believed to be a rib injury on November 16. Compare that to recent seasons past when the loss of a key player would have sent them free-falling in the standings, it is rather apparent that there is something very different about the 2009-10 Kings.

“We’re doing all the little things and getting timely goals,” said goaltender Jonathan Quick.

“You could look at as some nights, we seem to be doing it with smoke and mirrors and other nights, it seems like it’s the mark of a good team, or a team that’s maturing and getting better—you don’t have to bring your best effort every night,” said defenseman Sean O’Donnell. “Just find a way to win. We’re starting to get confidence and learn to win the games that aren’t pretty. We’re starting to get on a nice little roll here.”

“Even though our penalty-killing hasn’t been great, when we’ve had to kill one, we’ve killed it,” added O’Donnell. “When Quick has had to make the save, he’s made the save.”

Check out Gann’s latest story on HockeyTalk.biz

This is a great little video from Matt Greene and Kings Vision simply asking what gifts each Kings player would get for one another. Matt Greene may be a tough, rugged defenseman on the ice but he is hilarious off of it. Enjoy the video while the Los Angeles Kings enjoy some well-deserved time off.

With Smyth, Stoll, Simmonds, Johnson and Jones out of the lineup, did anyone expect a win tonight? I didn’t. That said, the Los Angeles Kings played a balanced game against the Calgary Flames. Corey Elkins nabbed his first career NHL goal the the Kings are now on an 8-game break. Let’s hope we get back our key players on December 26th.