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“We were real average, quite honestly.” — Darryl Sutter

Back to work: It may have been an average performance, barely topping the NHL‘s worst club in Columbus — but the fashion in which the Kings earned the two points was anything but. Before we get to the positives from last night’s contest, and how you really couldn’t ask for a bigger momentum swing to start post – All Star break play, there’s a simple explanation for Staples Center clock controversy as Drew Doughty netted the game winner with just 0.4 seconds to play. Kings GM Dean Lombardi said it best, in response to Columbus GM Scott Howson‘s premature accusations.

“Those clocks are sophisticated instruments that calculate time by measuring electrical charges called coulombs — given the rapidity and volume of electrons that move through the measuring device the calibrator must adjust at certain points which was the delay you see. The delay is just recalibrating for the clock moving too quickly during the 10—10ths of a second before the delay. This insures that the actual playing time during a period is exactly 20 minutes.”

“That is not an opinion -— that is science -— amazing device quite frankly.”

“The clock stoppage is actually common, just not always in the last seconds of a game leading to a GWG in that final second. It is the clock’s display syncing with the internal clock/computer.”

So, to get technical, it came down to coulombs in the last-second victory against Columbus.

Would Dean Lombardi be saying the same thing if this had happened against the Kings? Maybe not, probably not. But, when you’re on the losing side of a situation like that, you tend to let frustrations get in the way of clear, calm thinking. Plus, many times have I seen Staples’ clock pause in such a fashion it did last night in the final minute of a period. Drew Doughty scored that goal prior to the 20-minute mark, case closed.

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Not just Average: Kings coach Darryl Sutter was right on the money tabbing last night’s performance ‘average’, but it’s got the makings to give this club a huge boost, a great deal of momentum. If winning a game in front of a home crowd with 0.4 seconds left to play isn’t enough adrenaline to build off of leading into the season’s longest road trip, those who contributed, and in what situations, should provide some much needed optimism.

For starters, the Kings executed on two of three powerplay opportunities, which further shows the resurgence play in man-advantage situations has seen the past couple of weeks. The last time the Kings saw the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 7th, a 1-0 loss, the Kings went 0-8 on the powerplay. What a difference it can make, no?

Justin Williams, who chipped in with a powerplay goal of his own netting the first goal of last night’s contest, now has points in nine consecutive games. Williams has 35 points in his 49 appearances this season, he’s notched 11 in his current nine game scoring streak. This is huge.

Dustin Penner hounded on a turnover he caused and used his strength to find a lane straight to the net in beating a helpless Curtis Sanford for the Kings’ second tally of the night. Penner isn’t riding a point streak like Williams, but whenever you can get production from the struggling forward, you’re gladly going to take it. Plus, the guy has consistently been looking better each game.

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If you were somewhere under a rock last night, here’s a clip showing multiple replays of Drew Doughty‘s goal. If you get to the :49 second mark of this video, you’ll clearly see the clock’s stoppage at 1.8 seconds. However, there’s no reason to be afraid to see this again, as it simply was the visible clock re-syncing with the internal mechanisms. 10′ths of a second can be a bit hard to keep up with, this happens more than you think. It’s difficult to notice, as the clock had the full spotlight this time around. A good goal it is, tough break for the Blue Jackets.. yet again.

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Checked Bags: Reality hits hard when you’re coming down from a break. For the Kings, the weekend’s downtime during the 2012 NHL All Star Game was a beautiful thing, because life for this roster is going to get pretty hectic – and fast. With 32 games left on the season’s schedule, the Kings are tabbed to play 20 of those in visiting confines, only 12 dates left on the calendar for Staples Center affairs. The Kings will knock off one of those remaining home dates when getting started with post-break play, the return of the Columbus Blue Jackets. That should be an easy start, right?

Then it gets rough, the Kings scheduled for their longest road swing of the season, a six game slate in a span of nine days. I was initially going to say that having six consecutive games on the road isn’t horribly awful considering it’s the longest trip of the year, but it’s jam-packed, just three off-days to counter the heavy travel.

The Kings can afford to continue with their OT/SO trend during this road trip, something that has been a regular occurrence for the club this season. Of the six games the Kings play on their upcoming road trip, four are against Eastern Conference opponents. As long as they can pocket one point against these opponents, they won’t be giving one away to a Western Conference threat if they falter in extra time. But, we all know, the Kings need to start executing when the hockey’s free.

The Kings are no postseason guarantee right now, sitting idle with a 24-16-10 record accounting for 58 points, mapping them out for 95 points at season’s end. In the previous six seasons, the eighth-place team in the Western Conference has finished the year with 95 points or more four times. For the Kings to hit the 95 point mark, they would have to muster together 19-12-1 record, or one that earns them at least 37 points.

If there’s one thing to take in positive manner in the Kings’ road-heavy schedule, location hasn’t attributed to success or lack thereof, it’s well-known that goal scoring has covered that all year long. However, in the past couple of years, the Kings have consistently shown the ability to fare better away from home fans, both during a playoff stretch and the postseason. Boy, I could really go for one more Game 6 Western Conference Quarterfinals elimination at home!

Hotel reservations will be key for the Kings during the remainder of the season, I wonder if Bailey got to room with Jonathan Quick in Ottawa?

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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.

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Or, it could be a blessing in disguise.

Let’s dive into a couple of assets that have shown face recently, both players mighty quiet throughout the season. Neither of the following players are going to save the season for the Kings, but their recent output (if you really call it that) spotlights where this club is really hurting.

Want that big-name, proven talent top-6 type of forward to make way to Los Angeles via another Dean Lombardi deal? That’s the attractive option, there’s another way to look at it.

Kyle Clifford and Trevor Lewis have both been showing more than just hard work and dependable presence as of late, they’ve been hitting the score sheet. With the boost in play the Kings’ 4th line has seen since Darryl Sutter‘s arrival, this needed to happen sooner than later.

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Kyle Clifford has 9 points this season, he’s recorded a point or greater in 7 games this year. The Kings are 6-1-0 in those contests. Trevor Lewis has 3 points this season, he’s recorded a point in 3 separate games. The Kings are 2-0-1 when Lewis chips in. That makes the Kings 8-1-1 when these two 4th-liners ink the score sheet. These moments haven’t been just a personal boost for Clifford and Lewis, but to the Kings and their biggest problem this year – scoring. In Clifford’s 7 games with a point, the Kings have totaled 24 goals, a 3.43 goals-per average. In Lewis’ 3 games with a point, the Kings have totaled 14 goals, a 4.67 goals-per average.

Those medians are a far cry from the club’s lowly average of 2.13 goals per game this season, which sits dead last in the NHL.

This really shows what production from a 3rd or 4th line can do to a club, it has an effect on the big-name role players, alleviates some pressure. The stats, even though I’m not a numbers guy, avidly agree.

I’m a bit thrown off when it comes to hunting down a big-name on the market come the trade-deadline. The Kings have the firepower, the frustration has been it’s extreme lack in output. What has made it even more frustrating? When that top-6 firepower doesn’t do the job, no one’s going to do it – as such with the Kings this year. If the Kings are to deal before February 27th, it should be a couple of under the radar moves to solidify the 3rd and 4th lines.

Really, it should take nothing for the Jonathan Bernier trade activists to get excited about, there’s no blockbuster solution this year. For the Kings and Dean Lombardi, it may be another move similar to two years ago, roping in Jeff Halpern and Fredrik Modin – but not quite that cheap. The trade may be as boring as watching this team, but it’s one that will suit the Kings much better in the long run.

To be honest, it wouldn’t be an invalid argument to claim the Kings are a fresh 3rd and/or 4th liner away from finally hitting a stride this year.

Deals aside, Kyle Clifford has been heckling defensive zones since Darryl Sutter‘s arrival, notching 20 shots in 17 games. Only 7 less than he had in his first 33 appearances.

Sh*t starts looking like a mental ward when it gets this good

Tuh-tuh-tuh…TODAY JUNIOR!

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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.

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Sugar Coat: Darryl Sutter‘s start behind the Kings bench has attracted high acclaim of late, compiling a 9-1-6 record in his first 16 games honing coaching duties in Los Angeles. Considering where this team stood just over a month ago, there’s much to be happy about. Then again, there’s still a few knacks attracting some negativity around the Kings’ play.

Why? Because they’re consistently falling shy to what is a rather short road to gleaming success – regulation goals.

Of the Kings nine wins under Sutter, five have come in regulation. In those five 60-minute contests, the Kings tallied four goals in three of them, five goals in one of them, and two goals in the other – made possible by Jonathan Quick‘s steller 38-save shutout in Chicago.

Looking at the four victories earned after the 3rd period, the Kings managed just two goals in three of those games, and a blank-spot in the other. In fact, goals themselves aren’t coming in OT either, the Kings winning three of these extended contests via extra shots – with just one Kings OT goal recorded.

This is all harping on the Kings inability to amass the two-goal marker, where one more goal in each of these contests would have sealed the game at the final horn.

Full attention shouldn’t necessarily be directed toward goal scoring, since goaltending has been the crucial factor in allowing the Kings to extend games to extra time. It’s been proven all year long, moreso by Jonathan Quick than Jonathan Bernier, that if the Kings can count on three goals in regulation, they can almost surely count on two points.

Sure, earning one point is better than none, but failing to grab the extra point available in OT/SO, and at times giving it away to counterparts in the Western Conference and Pacific Division will seriously factor into the NHL‘s tight standings come April.

For now, it’s about continuing to ride the resurgence Sutter has injected into this roster, and continuing to work and solve the season’s hurdle of finding that third goal before the 60 minute mark. Because really, this club becomes a very scary opponent when goals come consistently before that extra point is up for the taking.

One game that will always remain a mystery since Sutter’s joined the Kings, his only regulation loss, January 7th’s horror show against the Columbus Blue Jackets. You’d think the good would come out against the bad, but good is only going to come with goals.

Let’s try regulation on for size

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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.

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After Regulation: Edmonton’s Taylor Hall (pictured right), who was drafted at Staples Center in June of 2010, put the Kings atop a certain mark in the NHL – one that’s not so flattering. With his Overtime goal Sunday night, the Kings took sole possession for the most OT/SO losses in the league. However, with the Boston Bruins successful shooutout bid tonight, the Florida Panthers now share that dismal stat-line with the Kings – each club with nine losses when extending contests to extra time.

For the Kings, it’s harped on their struggles in shootouts, something the club keyed on for success last year. Two names immediately focus on the downfall – Jarret Stoll and Jonathan Quick, who were guaranteed vices for shootout fortune last season.

The shootout frame was absolutely owned in Los Angeles jerseys last season. The Kings extended contests to extra shots twelve times last year, and won eleven of them. Much of this was due to the stalwart play of Jonathan Quick, and of course, Jarret Stoll‘s record-setting season. Stoll, who was tabbed to shoot ten times by Terry Murray, came through with goals on nine of those ten attempts – setting a single season NHL record with his 90% rate.

Jarret Stoll‘s top-right success has been tamed, due to it’s domination last season

Extending the Struggles: The Kings’ play has heeded much criticism during regulation play, and it hasn’t been much better afterward. In 15 opportunities to grab an extra point after regulation, the Kings have only capitalized six times. When it comes to Overtime losses, Eastern Conference opponents don’t prove to be nearly as detrimental as Western Conference clubs, where surrendering the extra point does it’s least damage to the Kings.

However, in the Kings’ nine losses after regulation, six of them have been to Western Conference opponents, four of them within the Pacific Division. These extra points are huge, especially when it’s within the Conference, even more so within the division. For as questionable as things have been this season for the Kings, small statistics like these are going to be a huge factor as the postseason inches closer.

Jarret Stoll is 2-8 in shootout attempts this season, but is still worth the shot.

Dustin Brown, for some bewildering reason, gets penciled in the majority of the time for his lumbering moves.

Trevor Lewis was given the green light from Darryl Sutter against Dallas for his breakaway goal. An intriguing choice from Sutter, but quit while you’re on top.

When do you put an Andrei Loktionov in there, a Slava Voynov? Something new, something undetected.

When it’s after regulation, thinking outside of the box may be your best bet – especially the way things have gone this season.

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No Streaking: You’d have to dig quite a ways through the season’s archive to locate the Kings’ longest winning streak – an extraordinary second week of the regular season. In this eight day span (November 15-22) the Kings reeled off four consecutive victories. In fact, the Kings have only managed to compile more than two consecutive victories just one other time this season, a three game win streak in the middle of November, two of which were against the Anaheim Ducks.

Now, it’s not to say that an NHL club must string together hoards of persistent winning streaks to compile an impressive campaign, but the ones that do often exemplify not only a postseason berth, but one that’s a serious threat to the other contenders. The Kings, in what may seem like a surprise to many, are a playoff club if the season ended today.

But, why a surprise? For the fan’s perspective, it’s been about being let down immediately after being drawn in, which has been the case all season long.

Excited the Kings scored more than two? Don’t watch the next game.

Excited the Kings recorded a Powerplay goal? Look away during man-advantage situations for the next week.

Not a tumultuous year, but one with little balance.

The only consistent matter you can really tie to this club has been goaltending, but neither Jonathan Quick (19-11-8) or Jonathan Bernier‘s (3-4-1) record really shows that. The Kings’ offensive woes have seriously undermined performances in the crease.

For the Kings this season, it’s now about making sure a playoff spot is situated in the Western Conference‘s top eight slots. If they do in fact reach this goal, they’re going to be an intriguing bunch come the NHL‘s postseason. They’re most likely looking at a deep positioning, which will see them once again in a road-ice situation.

This roster has had both media and fans in shambles all year long due to faulty production with the skill-set at hand. If the Kings can continue to stutter their way into a playoff berth, there’s optimism to be had. They’re due to break out at some point this season. Plenty of 6th, 7th, and 8th seeds have hit their stride in April in the past.

Then again, that’s why the NHL‘s postseason is such a beautiful thing.

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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.