If you like offense, tonight was your game. Talk about an outburst; The Kings, who have recorded six goals in their previous four games, tallied eight tonight in a route of the Vancouver Canucks. Many players have suffered from the “Olympic Hangover”, and I think it’s safe to say Roberto Luongo is a victim. With 29 shots on goal, the Kings managed to put eight of those past an elite NHL goaltender. The Kings capitalized on 2 of 5 power-play chances. Vancouver, who could very well be a 1st round opponent come the playoffs, came out flat, and the Kings took advantage. With 94 points, the Kings remain in 7th place in the Western Conference, one point behind the 6th seed Detroit Red Wings and two points behind the 5th seed Nashville Predators. Roberto Luongo has not allowed 8 goals since January 7th, 2000 against the Boston Bruins. Below are my notes on tonight’s game.

Notes on the game:
– I’m going to start here on a hot 1st period. Although getting outshot 8-7, the Kings held a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Dustin Brown fed a streaking Alexander Frolov for the first goal. As for the second goal, Anze Kopitar set up shop in front of the net, and was able to react to a Jack Johnson shot and score on an easy rebound. Dustin Brown scored his first of what would be a hat-trick to polish off an impressive 1st period.
– Look, Scott Parse has been putting up points the past couple of games, but failed to do so tonight. However, he may have been one of the most impressive players on the ice. His speed to loose pucks, and his physical play on the defensive end caught my eye all night. His highlight? Clearing a sitting puck in front of a helpless Jonathan Bernier, and laying a hit on a forechecking Canuck immediately after.
– Dustin Brown had his second career NHL hat-trick tonight, recording a goal in each period. Talk about coming to play. With 4 points, Brown set the tone for the offense tonight, continually going hard to the net, and finding open lanes through the neutral and offensive zone.
– Drew Doughty, once again, showed his uncanny skill on the power-play. Controlling the puck on the point with a fake shot, showing poise and patience, Doughty rung a howitzer off the post to an open Jarret Stoll who buried the rebound.
– Jack Jonhson, who had a marvelous performance, utilized great puck control up-top to feed Dustin Brown in the first period.
– As for Dustin Brown‘s hat-trick, his third goal was the most impressive. Working through two Vancouver defensemen, Brown found room upstairs to beat Roberto Luongo.
– The Vancouver Canucks failed to clinch a playoff spot tonight.

LOS ANGELES, CA – President and General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today that Church & Dwight, Inc., makers of Trojan Condoms have acquired a 25 percent ownership stake in the Los Angeles Kings. Citing economic reasons, Phil Anschutz’s company AEG Worldwide completed the deal in the early morning of April 1st. The management team of Trojan will be flying into Los Angeles, CA this morning to begin looking at the organization.

“Church & Dwight, makers of important products such as Trojan Condoms, Nair Hair Removal Products and the nationally known Arm & Hammer brand are pleased to welcome the Los Angeles Kings into our investment portfolio”, the company said in a press release. “It just makes sense. We have been trying to penetrate the Los Angeles market with Trojan Condoms but have been unsuccessful at doing so. We believe that this will help leverage our brand into an exploding market.”

Dean Lombardi, President and General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings said “I don’t expect their to be any change in the way we have been running this team. However, there will some changes that fans may not like at first.”

Church & Dwight and AEG Worldwide announced this morning that the Los Angeles Kings would be changing their name to the Los Angeles Magnums. In addition, the Los Angeles Kings parted ways with fan-favorite mascot Bailey as they will now be utilizing the ever-popular Trojan Man. That night, the Kings Magnums will debut a limited-edition third jersey that night. No word on if the jersey will be ribbed for the fans’ pleasure.

The team will be celebrating this union with a Pleasure Pack Giveaway Night. The first 10,000 fans to Staples Center on April 3rd against the Anaheim Ducks will receive their choice of one Pleasure Pack or Multi-Speed Vibrating Ring.

Defenseman Drew Doughty and forward Wayne Simmonds issued the following joint statement: “As young players in the league who are making more than the average American, we use Trojan Condoms on a regular basis. They keep us from becoming Baby Daddies. We think Trojan Condoms are the right fit for all of the Kings.” The two declined to comment on which brand of Trojan was their condom of choice.

As you may have heard earlier today, Terry Murray has decided to start Jonathan Bernier for the second consecutive game. This, with a healthy Jonathan Quick on the bench. You’d be crazy not to describe Bernier’s two starts as impressive, or even stellar. He’s a great goaltender, and has proved he is capable of shutting down NHL opponents. I’m not here to criticize Murray’s decision for tomorrow night, but to explain why I’ve been miffed at his decisions regarding the goaltender spot this entire season.

There’s always talk about fatigue hitting goaltenders late in the season. Don’t tell me Quick’s recent struggles have had nothing to do with this. He’s played 68 games, c’mon now. Here’s the bottom line folks; Terry Murray has overplayed Jonathan Quick. Now, he could have avoided this quite easily. Erik Ersberg just never saw any ice. Why? Personally, I feel Murray gauged too much on Ersberg’s early season loss at New York; His first start of the season. You could tell post-game Murray was rattled he sat his hot starter. That was the breaking point, Ersberg never earned back the trust. His starts were few and far between, and against questionable opponents.

As the season went on, you got the drift that Murray just didn’t feel comfortable playing Erik Ersberg. You might say “he didn’t need to”. Yes, he did. There are plenty of opponents Ersberg is capable of starting against. Well, this drift was all but clinched when Jonathan Bernier was called up and immediately given the start; Ahead of Ersberg. Zing. Bernier won, and in spectacular fashion. I did not agree with Murray’s decision; Completely stomped on any confidence Ersberg still had. Afterward, Bernier was sent down. Back to Quick and Ersberg.

Now, since Erik Ersberg is still day-to-day with a strained back, we’ve got Jonathan Bernier starting in place of Jonathan Quick for the second consecutive game. Now he’s starting over Quick. And why? Someone looks a little tired. I don’t completely buy Murray’s explanation on Quick needing more practice. He needs rest. Now, we’ve got this highly touted prospect who may, just may, ruffle the confidence of Jonathan Quick a bit. And who knows? Is there a chance Bernier stays with the team into the playoffs? If not, will Ersberg get a start if healthy? There’s a whirlwind of questions and speculations going on right now, I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on the goalie situation at hand.

To say this victory was huge would be an understatement. Tonight’s shutout victory snapped a 4 game losing skid, and a 7 game losing streak to the Nashville Predators. Nashville, who has claimed themselves as a force in the Western Conference, was a crucial opponent for the Kings to beat. Tonight’s matchup turned into a goaltending battle. Both Jonathan Bernier and Pekka Rinne delivered impressive performances, but Bernier came out on top for his second consecutive NHL victory. The Kings remain in 7th place in the Western Conference with 92 points. You’ve got to believe we’ll see a boost in the confidence as the Kings are on home ice for their next two games. Tonight was a prime example of how well this young team is able to adapt to disappointment. You couldn’t ask for much more than what they showed on the ice tonight in Nashville. Solid effort all around. Below are my notes on the game:

Notes on the game:
– I’m usually harsh, but Randy Jones played well tonight. And the highlight of his play tonight resulted in the Kings first goal. Jones managed to skate the puck from the blue-line to low on the side-boards, showing great puck control and patience. There, he dumped the puck behind the net to Jeff Halpern, who then turned to find an open Scott Parse. With that goal, Parse recorded his third tally in two games.
– Not only did Sean O’Donnell score tonight, but he caused the turnover that lead to the goal, feeding what turned to be strong transition through the neutral zone. Once in the offensive zone, O’Donnel jumped on a rebound off an Alexander Frolov shot, made sure he had control of the puck, and scored on a quick release.
– There’s no question that I, and the rest of the Kings fan-base are impressed with the play of Jonathan Bernier. Bernier has two victories, stopping a respective 29 shots and 34 shots in each outing, allowing only one goal. Until updates on Erik Ersberg‘s back strain are released, you have to wonder if Bernier will be on the bench come the playoffs.

Goaltender Jonathan Bernier will be starting in-net tomorrow night as the Kings travel to Nashville, Tennessee to face the Predators. Bernier has been recalled from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions. It has been reported that Erik Ersberg is day-to-day with a back strain. This situation could very well welcome an issue leading into the playoffs. If Bernier manages to perform as he did in Dallas, we may have a backup goalie confrontation come the playoffs. Bernier was last in-net for the Kings in Dallas on March 12th; Stopping 29 of 30 Dallas shots, and winning in a six-round shootout. Bernier will be making his 6th career start tomorrow night in Nashville as the Kings try to break a 4-game losing streak. A highly touted prospect, Bernier will allow a struggling Jonathan Quick to rest, and hopefully provide a spark to a Kings team that has been struggling since the Olympic Break.

Getting Nervous? With tonight’s loss, the Kings stand at 7th place in the Western Conference; Only 5 points ahead of the 9th seed Calgary Flames. The Kings are an ugly 0-3-1 in their past four games, and have to face a Nashville Predators team that has beaten the Kings 7 consecutive times. As for tonight’s game, solid effort. The struggles on the power-play continue as of late, as the Kings were unable to capitalize on two 5 on 3 opportunities tonight. Niklas Backstrom was the difference maker in the game, shunning a 31-shot Kings effort. Jonathan Quick had a decent game as well, but recently hasn’t looked quite as sharp on the puck. I’d say the Kings need two more consecutive losses for people to really start loosening the collar. Keep things calm and simple. Go out and beat Nashville. Start Ersberg. Below are my notes on tonight’s game.

Notes on the game:
– When I mentioned above that Jonathan Quick hasn’t looked quite as sharp in the past few games, Minnesota’s first goal was a prime example. The Wild continued to jump on loose rebounds, Matt Greene may have screened Quick
– Brent Burns absolutely undressed Brad Richardson, beating him to the outside, going straight to the net to record Minnesota’s second goal.
– Tonight’s surprise was Scott Parse, who scored the Kings only two goals. For his first tally, Parse shot the puck through traffic from the point, got a couple of friendly bounces off of Minnesota defensemen, and the puck found its way behind Backstrom. His second goal came thanks to solid play in the corners from Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds. Great puck protection and solid cycling allowed Richardson to find a wide-open Parse in the high corner.
– Minnesota’s game-winner was the result of great offensive zone penetration. The Wild continued to move the puck while entering zone, finding space for an open shot. Once they did so, a few Wild players were able to crash the net, but didn’t need to as Martin Havlat beat Quick clean. Matt Greene may have been a screen once again.
– Couldn’t help but get bothered with Drew Doughty‘s late third period offensive zone turnover. With three Kings in front of Backstrom, Doughty was too fancy. Instead of a quick release on net, Doughty tried the toe-drag. Too fancy, you need the quick shot for a goal or to create a rebound.

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty, like most Los Angeles Kings fans, media, etc is pissed. This team isn’t giving the effort they should be. Check out his latest commentary with some great quotes (by Dustin Brown, especially.

LOS ANGELES — Given that the Los Angeles Kings are just 4-6-3 since the Olympic break and have put in mostly poor efforts since that time, one can imagine what an advertisement in the Lost and Found section of the local newspapers might look like:

LOST: Intensity, effort, urgency, enthusiasm. If found, please contact the Los Angeles Kings immediately.

Although their malaise began before the Olympic break, the two-week hiatus killed any momentum the Kings had going into the stretch drive for the playoffs.

“I think it was the break,” head coach Terry Murray lamented. “To me, it’s mental. This is an attitude game at this time of the year. Twenty percent talent, eighty percent attitude, and I think our attitude slipped over the break.”

Murray added that his team is not the only one suffering from this affliction.

“It’s around the league, it’s not just the LA Kings,” he said. “You’re seeing some teams taking a step back from where they were pre-Olympics. As a result, you get into these critical games and you don’t know how to shut’em down.”

Of course, some teams have been hit harder than others by the lag after the Olympics. Nevertheless, the Kings are right up there with those hit the hardest, and, to make matters worse, goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has been the Kings’ best player in many games this season, has been mostly mediocre since the break.

Although Quick represented the United States during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, he was their third goaltender and got no quality practice time in before jumping right back into the fray with the Kings.

In short, he was rusty upon his return to National Hockey League action and has not regained top form, despite what his 2.38 goals-against average and .910 save percentage since the Kings returned to action would seem to indicate. Indeed, what is more revealing is that Quick has had five games since the break in which his save percentage dipped well under the .900 mark.

But just as significant, if not more so, has been the lack of intensity and enthusiasm from the skaters in front of him.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

With tonight’s loss to the Dallas Stars, the Kings have now fallen to the 7th seed in the Western Conference. With 90 points, the Kings are one point ahead of the 8th place Colorado Avalanche and one point behind of the 6th place Detroit Red Wings. There isn’t a whole lot of pressure coming from the 9th seed Calgary Flames, as the Kings are simply fighting for playoff stature. But what came from tonight’s loss? Nothing positive. A reassurance of LA’s cold offense and their struggling defense. Goals have been hard to come by lately for the Kings, and struggles in the net have begun to show. Do I dare blame Terry Murray? Yes. He’s absolutely butchered any of Ersberg’s confidence, and has over-played Jonathan Quick. Folks, it’s starting to show, and I knew it all along. If Erik Ersberg doesn’t get the call a couple of times before the post-season, it’s going to be a short playoff-outing for the Kings. How many times do I have to say it? A backup goalie in the playoffs is a huge factor. Terry Murray has killed any chance of this being a helper to the Kings come the playoffs. Enough with this, I could go on forever, and get quite angry. Here are my notes on tonight’s game.

Notes on the game:
– Let’s start this out on a positive note. As for the Kings only goal tonight, how many times have we seen this sequence? Drew Doughty to Anze Kopitar on the sideboards, a hard wrister on net for a Michal Handzus rebound goal? Music to my ears, eye candy. Beautiful goal, an unfortunate high-point to tonight’s game.
– The Stars came out with a vengeance in the 2nd period. Dallas was able to capitalize on 3 of their 9 shots in the period, setting their tone to the game. The carousel that was the Stars power-play began to run in full-force. With three second period power-play goals, and four overall, the Stars keyed in on a struggling Kings penalty-kill.
– Former King Brandon Segal had a couple of solid scoring chances tonight.
– The Dallas Stars earned their first victory in tonight’s Pacific Division season-series finale.
– Every goal was recorded on the power-play. Tough outing for the Kings, as they only capitalized on 1 of 7 power-play opportunites, and allowed 4 goals when a man-down.

St. Louis managed to maintain their slim playoff chances tonight with a victory over the Kings. The Kings, who have now lost two consecutive affairs, have fallen to the 6th spot in the Western Conference standings. Did the Kings play poorly tonight? Far from it. Are they continuing to struggle on the offensive end? Yes, and you can sum up tonight’s loss on that. The Kings failed to make a statement with the multiple special teams opportunities, only capitalizing on one of seven power-plays; which happened to come off of a St. Louis turnover. Jonathan Quick, coming off of a terrible outing in Colorado, played decent. The defense in front of Quick wasn’t great, and when coupled with a cold offense, you get a turnout such as we saw tonight. With 9 games to go in the regular season, and a playoff spot almost solidified, these final games are crucial to get this team back on track. As for tonight, not the type of performance playoff hockey welcomes. Below are my notes on the game:

Notes on the game:
– Davis Drewiske needs to make sure that puck stays in the zone, or on his stick for that matter. When you’re the last guy in, all intentions to keep the puck inside the zone must be upheld. Tough break here, as B.J. Crombeen was able to beat Jonathan Quick on a 2 on 1.
– The Kings power-play, especially in the 1st period, failed tonight. With almost six minutes of time on the man-advantage, and fourteen overall, you need to take advantage. Good teams do this, the Kings have showed they can, but not tonight. Some kinks need to be worked out during these final 9 games.
– Speaking of special teams, good job by Dustin Brown to jump on a Barrett Jackman turnover, and release a quick shot from in-close to beat St. Louis goaltender Chris Mason.
– Two of St. Louis’ goals came off of rebounds in front of Jonathan Quick. Were both necessarily to fault on Kings defensemen? Not completely, but better coverage in front of the crease is needed when shots are put on net.
– With the Calgary Flames losing to the New York Islanders tonight, the Kings magic number is now 10.

Yes, we all know I love LA Kings hockey. But in between the successes and heartbreaks of my favorite SoCal team, I do watch other NHL teams from time-to-time. I know, it’s shocking really.

So when Matt Reitz of a View From My Seats asked me to blog about non-Kings related material for him, I had to jump at the chance.

If you’re not reading a View From My Seats you should be. With the exception of yours truly, there’s some really great hockey writers over there.

So, without further adieu, my first blog entitled: Where the Florida Panthers Fans at?.

Check it!