The LA Kings have bounced back from their rough losing streak with a tough win over the Detroit Red Wings last week. But, the players that are supposed to make a difference for the team finally are. Here’s Gann Matsuda’s latest story on the team. Enjoy!

LOS ANGELES — After a smoking hot 12-3-0 start followed by a 2-6-0 nose dive, one thing has been a constant for the Los Angeles Kings this season…

…that they have a gaping hole on their top line at left wing, as evidenced by the fact that so many players have played that position this season with varying degrees of success…or failure. Indeed, so many players have played alongside center Anze Kopitar that one could fill an entire roster just with those players.

That is an exaggeration, of course, but you get the point. The Kings’ first line was inconsistent, at best, during the team’s hot start. In fact, the first line was supplanted by the Kings’ second line of left wing Ryan Smyth, center Jarret Stoll, and right wing Justin Williams as their top offensive line in terms of production.

During their 2-6-0 skid, the Kings’ problems started in their own end, where they were giving up Grade A scoring chances and goals in bunches. But later in the slide, the problems moved to the other end of the ice as the team stopped scoring.

The solution? Following their 2-0 loss at Anaheim on November 29, head coach Terry Murray made yet another change on his top line, moving Williams up to play the right side with Kopitar while right wing Dustin Brown shifted over to left wing.

In the two games (both wins) the Kings have played since the change, the new first line has combined for four goals and four assists for eight points.

Two of the goals were game-winners by Kopitar, who has scored ten goals and has added 14 assists for 24 points in 25 games this season.

Kopitar was quietly putting up numbers during the Kings’ hot streak. But, like some of the other top players on the team, he appears to be heating up just as the Kings are getting healthy.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Brad Richardson certainly deserved his contract extension this summer, I won’t dispute that. Unfortunately, the expectations laced in the deal aren’t being fulfilled. Richardson became a prominent fixture on the 3rd and 4th lines last year, breaking out with a career high 27 points tallying 11 goals and 16 assists. If his numbers didn’t catch your attention, his nuisance to the opposition should have. His greatest strength is applying consistent pressure to the puck on both ends of the ice. Richardson created plays, whether it was closing lanes in transition or his ability to force turnovers causing skittish puck movement. Offensive depth was crucial to last season’s success, Richardson stabilized it. With the recent struggles Kings’ forwards have endured, a return of last year’s Brad Richardson could provide a bigger boost than many realize.

In his first full season in a Los Angeles Kings uniform, Richardson was a pleasant surprise. His NHL experience was still a bit shallow and he had yet to separate himself from AHL assignments, expectations weren’t too high. Ruthless on the forecheck, he quickly became a reliable asset. As a result, his line-mates thrived on loose pucks. His presence in front of the net is no Ryan Smyth, but he disrupted the crease, opening up the slot and creating second chance rebounds.

I’m not seeing the same presence he held without the puck this year, and that affects his numbers. In 25 games, he’s posted 4 goals and 2 assists, 3 of those goals coming in one game. He’s not going to hit the highlight reel with his output, neither will the majority of the back-end of this offense. Scrappy play is his key to success, and that feeds his surroundings. The constant shuffling that has been adjusting line combinations on the 3rd and 4th lines this season can’t be helping the cause, but in Richardson’s case, that’s no justification. He set clear guidelines for himself last year, and that granted him a contract extension. He’s getting paid to create opportunities with gritty play along the boards and in the crease, and he’s failing to fulfill his role. Oft-forgotten players such as Richardson are just as valuable to overall team success as the cover-boys. The Kings’ saw enough in him last season to take another shot, it’s critical that he proves his worth in solidifying offensive support.

I recently stressed the importance of this homestand, and the Kings’ have been the masseuse to my worries. Wins in each of their last two games have almost completely obliterated the outcry stemming from the previous eight games that granted only one victory. Nothing pretty, but love is blind in this case, now there’s room to breathe. They’ve tightened up in the defensive zone, most notably on the top of the circles, and they’re finally getting a few bounces in the offensive zone. Jonathan Quick continues to play well, and Terry Murray has expressed his interest in leaning more heavily on the goaltender, good call. You can’t ignore the bliss from Anze Kopitar tallying both game-winners, carrying 4 points in 4 games to his name. The Kings’ have gone from 11th to 4th in the Western Conference in a matter of 48 hours, in the form of 4 points. They’ve rebounded against a flimsy Florida Panthers club and the top team in the Western Conference, the Detroit Red Wings. If the Kings’ were able to settle down and reflect with the time and the comforts of Los Angeles like they’ve shown, these are the expected results. Previous eight games aside, they’ve regained hope and confidence capitalizing on a weak opponent and knocking off the top team in their Conference. Good teams beat bad teams. Good teams beat good teams.

This core has been too consistently successful for their recent slide to trigger serious worry. The problems that attributed to the horrendous play weren’t gaping weaknesses, but simply disappointing performances. When you can relate struggle to joint personal output, it’s nothing but bad timing. I’m not saying the victories against Florida and Detroit have shown complete overturn, but merely positive improvement. Isn’t that we’ve been seething for? I will admit that I never thought their struggles would last as long as they did. They were losing games, problems were exposed, frustrations piled up. The remainder of this homestand calls for the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames, two teams that stand at the bottom of the Western Conference. Two teams the Kings need to beat. Factor in the favorable amount of practice time in El Segundo, which very well may be the most valuable asset to this trip, and the Kings’ fly to Michigan on a roll.

The Kings are taking a shot on Marco Sturm. That is if he passes his physical, not a done-deal just yet. Quite the bargain, as the Kings only have to grant the Boston Bruins a conditional draft pick for the 32 year-old forward. I understand the acquisition is nothing to get immediately excited about. Sturm comes to Los Angeles on the Injured Reserve, still recovering from tears in both his ACL and MCL suffered in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. He’s familiar with the Pacific Division, spending more than seven seasons with the San Jose Sharks. He’s a proven scorer with 466 points in 855 career games, but his production has been halted due to recent injuries. For the second time in less than two years, Sturm is missing substantial time with a knee injury. He was able to recover and contribute with 22 goals and 15 assists in 76 games last season with Boston, a similar return in Los Angeles would be a boost to this struggling offense. This is a low price, low risk, high reward deal, which makes it difficult to not be pleased with the addition. We’ve got a versatile forward here, do his abilities overcome the knee injury?

If he comes back healthy, you can expect at least 20 points from the guy. He may not be first-line material on most teams, but could he solidify the wing slot alongside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown? We’ve got options with Sturm, and I’d bet money Terry Murray experiments with him on the top line. He still has the potential to be a dependable asset to the offense, you can’t ignore the numbers and experience he’s got to his name. The physical presence he brings is attractive, as is his transition in being solid in the defensive zone.

Sturm has yet to play a game this season, but he’s been skating in practice with the Bruins. Apparently confirmation on the trade from both the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings is hinging on results from his physical. Not sure if he’s seen medical staff yet, but it’s got to be the determining factor in finalizing the deal. I’m assuming everything clears with today’s heavy speculation swirling from a number of qualified sources. I’ve got high hopes for the battered veteran, who has a chance to provide stability, leadership, and offensive production. Wouldn’t that be nice.

November is over, I’m blocking it out. Home-ice is often over-hyped, but this upcoming four game stretch at Staples Center couldn’t come at a better time. They don’t just have the comfort of playing in Los Angeles, they have time. Twelve days, four games. What’s going on, Toyota Sports Center? Plenty of opportunities to settle down, watch video, mend the systems in practice. This has almost become too much to handle; Losers in seven of their last eight games holds the Kings at 11th in the Western Conference and living in the Pacific Division‘s basement. I’m done whining about this awful slide, terribly awful. I thought they were going to come home strong against Chicago and beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions in front of a thirsty crowd. I thought they were going to snap out of it and hammer on the Ducks last night in Anaslime. Now’s the time to start fresh, clean the slate, don’t wait for Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky, they can hop on board.

Three of the four opponents coming to LA are teams we need to beat. With a couple of brutal road-trips in sight, the Kings’ must take advantage of a few flimsy opponents at home. Florida, Detroit, Calgary, and Minnesota are coming, the Red Wings are atop the Western Conference, clearly the most threatening opponent. The Kings’ have an opportunity to boost confidence against a few sub-par clubs, and test themselves against a team who has replaced them atop the conference. We’ve got comfort in hearing promising news regarding Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky‘s injuries, but it’s important that improvement is made before they return.

This offense has been surrendering themselves in the neutral zone. There’s no push, no lanes opening, no confidence entering the zone. The defense has been tentative, gaps galore at the blue-line, no early physical presence. These problems aren’t rooted from the abilities of this roster, just bad performances. Don’t try and tell me Matt Greene and Drew Doughty are this bad. Don’t tell me this offense and power-play doesn’t have the capabilities to be a huge threat. A lot of this is mental, just bad decisions with and without the puck. You’ve always got to brace for a bad stretch, unfortunately this one has been drawn out. Please, put the trade talks on hold for a bit, that’s not going to fix the issues that have evolved from this downfall. Maybe for a boost come the playoffs, not now. I wouldn’t mind seeing Terry Murray settle down with the line shuffles and Manchester transactions. It’s difficult to settle down when the lineup constantly changes, let a few things work themselves out. Here’s to a resurgence at home, whaddya say?

*Photo Credit: Life Magazine

KingsCast may have taken a technology break this holiday but Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty did not. Here’s his latest article on the Los Angeles Kings recent slump with quotes galore. Enjoy the read!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — When Terry Murray was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings on July 17, 2008, his highest priority was to teach his young team how to play defense, something that seemed like a foreign concept to the Kings in the seasons just prior to his arrival.

Two years later, Murray’s mostly young charges had improved their defensive zone play in dramatic fashion by emphasizing coverage of the “home plate” area in front of their own net. That new focus, along with improved goaltending, resulted in a dramatically reduced number of shots against, far fewer quality scoring chances by opponents and, as a result, a lot less pucks ending up in their net.

That focus was on point to start the 2010-11 season, one that saw the Kings jump out to a 12-3-0 start. But their defensive focus went by the wayside in mid-November, and the Kings have been in a deep slump ever since, losing five of their last six games while allowing one glorious scoring chance after another and giving up goals in bunches.

“We got away from our little home plate attitude, and it’s been costing us,” said right wing Wayne Simmonds. “We’ve got to fix that quick.”

Indeed, on November 26, while many were running around town or surfing the World Wide Web in search of Black Friday bargains, the last thing the Kings had on their minds was bargain hunting. Instead, they were hard at work at their practice facility, studying video and working on their defensive zone coverage.

“It’s real tough to say, for me, since I’ve only been here for a couple of days, but just from the Montreal game [on November 24], it’s just battling a little bit harder—we went over a lot of video this morning,” said defenseman Alec Martinez, who was recalled from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) on November 23.

“The systems are good,” added Martinez. “We’ve just got to get that little extra push, finish when we have our opportunities, take care of the puck, and just settle down and make plays in our own end.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

Five losses in six games, and it’s got nothing to do with luck. Injuries have bruised the roster, but bad play is the reason for the skid. I’m talking on all aspects; Defense, special teams, and a goaltender. Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky are key players, but their absence from the lineup shouldn’t cause complete abomination. The defense is handing opposition too much time and space, the power-play has been awful, the penalty kill has opened up, and Jonathan Bernier hasn’t been solid. This roster, Mitchell and Ponikarovsky aside, is still too good to justify this terrible stretch. They’re playing soft defensively and cute on the power-play. Good teams still find ways to win without two crucial players, and I know we’ve got the depth, where is it?

Defense: Just throw out a red carpet on the blue line while you’re at it. Add a little spice to it, maybe some orderves. They’re backing down on the blue line, feeding odd-man rushes. Jack Johnson no longer bothers me with this, I’m used to it. Have Matt Greene and Drew Doughty mentally recovered from their injuries? They’ve been behind on plays, notably Greene. If he’s not physical, he’s not much. Rob Scuderi has been solid, Davis Drewiske is himself, just kind of there. The AHL shuffle continues with Alec Martinez promoted in an effort to boost the power-play. Worked last night, about the only thing that did.

Special Teams: The Kings have weakened on the penalty kill. This is one of the problems you can attest the losses of Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarvsky to. They’re both key factors in the defensive zone, and contributed to a 4-man line that sealed lanes earlier this year. As for this power-play that just can’t score, they’re getting too meticulous. Shoot the puck. Jack Johnson has finally decided to use his wrist-shot from the point, which just begs for screens and rebounds. Where’s Kopitar’s shots from the umbrella? They’re not setting up in the neutral zone, surrendering blue-line rushes and dump-ins into easy control and transition for the defense. This power-play situation has no excuses for their lack of production. No one on the IR hurts it’s output, they’re just not taking shots. Too much action on the point to feed slap-shots. Get some slot presence and stop dancing with the puck.

Now to Jonathan Bernier, this has been a touchy subject with fans. It’s clear he’s not getting enough help from his defense, but you need to make saves, bottom line. In his current stretch of three losses, he’s allowed 14 goals. Unacceptable. He’s faced a lot of shots, dealt with an afflicted defense, but that’s why he’s there. The problems that have hit this defense haven’t necessarily left Bernier out to dry, but have allowed room for development on plays. The signs are coming earlier with the lack of pressure on the blue-line, it’s Bernier’s job to read it and deny it. Not happening. First full season in the NHL and still only 22 years old, his recent play shouldn’t trigger complete uncertainty just yet.

Miffed by the decision to disallow Ryan Smyth‘s potential game-tying goal tonight, really. Biased, yeah you are too. I realize it’s no good to harp on it, but the call was clearly factored on the ref’s questionable split-second decision. You look at the replays, no indisputable evidence shown. However, the replay footage heavily foreshadowed an overturned call. You had shots of Smyth’s stick below Pascal Leclaire‘s arms, and shots of Smyth’s stick splitting the crown on his jersey. I’m thinking legal, as were Bob and Jim. Was the lack of a decent camera shot really an issue? FSW didn’t have one, that’s for sure. Let’s be frank, the “War-Room” had no control of this. Too close to call, so they stick with the on-ice ruling. There you go.

Alexei Ponikarovsky‘s fractured finger forced him to the injured reserve list earlier today. This called for some prospect promotion in Manchester. The player granted the upgrade? Dwight King. Certainly not a household name for most Kings fans; The 4th round selection from the 2007 NHL Entry Draft will make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. His selection was through the draft pick acquired by the trade of Craig Conroy to the Calgary Flames. If today’s practice combinations shed any light, expect King to skate with Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds on the third line. The 21 year-old Saskatchewan native is just in his second year of professional hockey, jumping from the ECHL to the NHL in less than a year. Building through the draft has been the Kings’ focus since Dean Lombardi was appointed as general manager in 2006, and that strategy continues to opitimize success.

King’s name didn’t catch attention of the media too frequently during training camp, often being overshadowed by the organization’s expansive prospect depth. After being drafted, King returned to the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL where he capped off his 5-year tenure in the junior hockey scene with 69 and 60 point seasons. King started the 2009-2010 season with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL, and was called-up to the Manchester Monarchs after 20 games. The stats are attractive, 35 points combined with both clubs in the regular season, tacking on 2 goals and 7 assists in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

His sudden appearance has caught my attention. What makes his debut so interesting is the chance to observe a player who has climbed the ranks at such a rapid pace, while being somewhat of an afterthought just two months ago. King will instantly replace Ponikarovsky’s size; the strength and skill will be tested. He’s shown the ability to adapt to higher levels of play, and quickly. May we have a hidden gem here? You might be looking at a future 4th line winger once Ponikarovsky returns. I’m just driving the speculation bus right now. Get off. He’ll be a fun watch tomorrow night.

The Los Angeles Kings are tops in the league and, if you’ve been watching, they’re not being pushed around. Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty goes into detail with notes and quotes. Enjoy the article!

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — To this point in the 2010-11 season, if anything is clear about the Los Angeles Kings, it is that other teams view them as one of the best teams in the NHL, and that is showing up in terms of physical play, as many opponents are going into games against the Kings trying to get them off their game through physical intimidation.

To be sure, despite the fact that right wing Kevin Westgarth, the Kings’ heavyweight enforcer, has not been in a fight yet this season, perhaps due to the fact that he broke Colorado Avalanche heavyweight David Koci’s jaw in a pre-season scuffle back in September, teams seem to be going into games against the Kings with the intent of knocking them around, both with big hits and their fists.

“There were a few hits, a few confrontations,” head coach Terry Murray said after his team’s very physical 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 4. “A little old time hockey with the scrums that were going on. It was a very competitive game out there—two first place teams. The battle heats up.”

One of those hits, albeit a missed one, came late in that game against the Lightning, when Tampa Bay agitator Steve Downie took a run at Kings star defenseman Drew Doughty.

Downie came from distance at nearly full speed and left his feet on the hit. Doughty was able to get out of the way, but the two exchanged words as they skated towards the neutral zone.

Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell, Doughty’s defensive partner, quickly came to Doughty’s aid, knocking Downie to the ice and then dropping the gloves with him.

“I was real happy to see that,” said Murray. “That’s the kind of play where you want your partner to stand up for you in a situation like that. Doughty would do the same thing.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty