The All Star break is over and it’s time for some LA Kings hockey. In this episode we (briefly) talk about the NHL All Star Game, the game tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, talk about the possibility of trading for Jeff Carter and Ryan Malone and tell you what we heard in the Premier section at Staples Center.
Here’s a new piece from Gann Matsuda on a few of our prospects down in Manchester. Take a read. There’s now NHL hockey for a while so you better get caught up on the prospects.
LOS ANGELES — While the National Hockey League pauses its season to put on its annual All-Star festivities this weekend, what’s a hockey writer to do if the NHL All-Star weekend is not their cup of tea, especially since the game itself has become a complete bore, barely resembling the game we normally enjoy?
Sure, I could have watched the All-Star draft (yawn), and I will watch tonight’s skills competition, the only redeeming spectacle during All-Star weekend. But with some extra time on my hands, why not see how the kids down on the farm are doing?
Indeed, the time has come to take a look at some of the Los Angeles Kings’ young prospects, and, in this installment, the focus will be on the blue line corps.
Deslauriers Already Making An Impact
In his first season in professional hockey, defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers’ development appears to be proceeding at a good pace, despite not being able to crack the lineup with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, right off the bat.
“For anyone in my place, you know that with a veteran team, it’s hard to find a spot, [with the top six defensemen, including] guys who have played in the NHL,” said the 6-1, 214-pound native of LaSalle, Quebec. “I knew that, so I worked hard to earn a place in the lineup.”
Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.
The LA Kings continue their see-saw of wins, losses and shootouts. In this episode we talk about the games against the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators. We also give our list of things that are more fun to watch than a Kings game and drop our opinion of TIm Thomas snubbing Barack Obama at the White House Stanley Cup ceremony.
The Kings have been giving points away all season. Luckily, under coach Darryl Sutter, they’ve managed to come away with actual points. Here’s the latest from Frozen Royalty looking at the play as of late. Also check the bottom of the article for raw interview footage from various players. Enjoy!
LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — 48 games into the 2011-12 National Hockey League season, the Los Angeles Kings have a 23-15-10 record, good for 56 points. That puts them in second place in the Pacific Division, one point behind the San Jose Sharks (through games played on January 20), and in seventh place in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, their next opponent (Saturday, January 21, 7:30 PM PST, Staples Center).
San Jose is third in the conference, and the Chicago Blackhawks, with 64 points, leads the West. As such, the Kings remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, and could still come out on top of the Pacific Division, even though the Sharks have four games in hand.
But the Kings could be in much better position if they could get out of the bad habit of getting themselves into three-point games.
Indeed, the Kings lead the league in games that go beyond regulation time, with 17 contests going into overtime or a shootout, and they are tied with the Minnesota Wild for the league lead in games that go into a shootout with ten.
If the Kings continue on their current pace, they will play in 29 overtime games, which would set a new franchise record (27 in 2003-04), and 17 will end up in a shootout, which would be one game shy of the club record (18 in 2009-10).
The problem for the Kings is that they have a losing record in those games this season, with a 3-4 record in overtime games, and a 4-6 record in shootout contests (Kings had a 10-2 shootout record last season).
Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.
I find this funny that I post this today when the offense last night against Calgary was slumbering. That said, the Kings have found a way to score more than a goal or two in the last few games. Here’s the latest from Gann Matsuda on the offense that is starting to generate goals. Lots of good quotes and tidbits (as usual).
LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — Since taking over the reins as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings on December 20, 2011, head coach Darryl Sutter has already juggled his line combinations a few times, trying anything to get his team’s struggling offense going.
The first, most notable change was to move center Mike Richards to left wing on the first line, with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Dustin Brown.
Despite the move, the Kings’ offense remained locked in its deep freeze. But Sutter shuffled the deck again when the Kings hosted the Alexander Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals on January 9, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
For that game, Sutter moved right wing Justin Williams up to the first line with Kopitar, while Brown skated across the blue line to left wing, where he prefers to be while on the attack.
The result: The Kings dominated the high-powered Capitals in a 5-2 victory, and have not looked back.
Indeed, since that game, the Kings have scored 17 goals in those five games, averaging 3.40 goals-per game (GPG), with the line of Brown, Kopitar and Williams combining for eight goals and ten assists for 18 points.
Although the Kings still rank dead last in the league in scoring with an average of 2.15 GPG, that 3.40 GPG clip would place them second in goals per game in the National Hockey League, behind the league-leading Boston Bruins (3.54 GPG).
Indeed, after struggling mightily for much of the season, the offense is finally coming around. But how?
“Maybe we’re more aggressive, which is causing turnovers,” said Richards. “But we knew that if we stuck with the system, we would, eventually, get some opportunities.”
Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.
You’ve seen the Internet memes. You’ve seen Sh*t Nobody Says, Sh*t White Girls Say, Sh*t Asian Girls Say, Sh*t Straight Guys Say to Gay Guys. But have you heard from Los Angeles Kings fans? Exactly. You haven’t. So, please enjoy Sh*t LA Kings Fans Don’t Say.
You want LA Kings hockey? You’ve got it right here! In this show we talk about the games against the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks. We also give a SEE YA to Ethan Moreau, talk t-shirts and more!
Matsuda is back. Here’s his latest on scoring, putting pucks on net complete with notes and quotes from the team. Enjoy, folks!
LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — On January 9, the Los Angeles Kings, owners of the worst offense in the National Hockey League, averaging just 2.09 goals per game, miraculously scored five goals against the Alexander Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals, in a decisive 5-2 victory, shocking a sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
That night, fans were so thoroughly shocked at the Kings’ offensive explosion that throughout the arena, they were pinching each other to make sure they weren’t dreaming. Some made appointments with psychiatrists, fearing that they were suffering from some sort of mental breakdown. Others were fearful that the end of the world was upon us, and began to get their affairs in order.
Seriously speaking, that massive offensive output from the Kings was a rarity this season. After all, they have only scored three goals or more (during regulation play) twelve times in 43 games this season (through games played on January 11).
And talk about extremes. Just one game prior, the Kings were shutout on home ice by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the worst team in the league, who handed the Kings a 1-0 defeat on January 7.
In that game, the Kings had eight opportunities with the man advantage, but really never came close to scoring.
“I don’t care how many power plays it is, as long as we get one, or two, or three—anything,” said forward Jarret Stoll. “We’re pressing. You could tell there, later on in the game. They were blocking everything. Three-quarters of our shots probably didn’t make it to the net. But every team does that. We’ve got to find a way. We all know we haven’t scored many goals.”
Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.
The Los Angeles Kings dropped a snoozer to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and fans were ready to renounce the team. In this episode, we talk about the game against the BJ’s, the 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals, the Manchester Monarchs AHL All-Stars and, of course, LA Kings hockey.
Drew Doughty for Norris? We kid. In this episode we talk about the Jack Johnson trade rumors, the search for the elusive left winger, Anze Kopitar’s scoring drought, Jonathan Quick for MVP, the surprising lack of Kings on the All Star lineup, and (of course) LA Kings hockey. Strap in, Episode 138 is live!
