It was another lazy first period by the Los Angeles Kings, going down 1-0. Jonathan Quick got the day off and Erik Ersberg came in and played very well. It was hard for the Kings to penetrate the Avalanche defense but it was offensive juggernaut Matt Greene that got the shot through which Jarrett Stoll tipped in. But it was Captain Dustin (off a great shot from Drew Doughty) who got the job done. LA will now play Vancouver in the first round!

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.

The Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche are continuing to make a good case why they should play each other in the playoffs: it’d be goddamn exciting. It didn’t start well as Jonathan Quick was pulled (yes, Terry Murray, sometimes Quicker needs a rest). Erik Ersberg played well until the shootout. The Kings now have 90 points with 10 games remaining.

How much fun would a Kings/Avalanche playoff series be? If last night was any indication, it would be awesome. Ryan Smyth had two goals, the Avalanche tied the game with 6.6 seconds left, Justin Williams showed he is, indeed back and Wayne Simmonds continued to show fans why he is a fan favorite. Not to mention, it was Star Wars night. Did you go?

The Los Angeles Kings closed out February with a nice win over the Colorado Avalanche and some of the team can enjoy a nice break during the Olympics. In this episode we talk about the Kings play going into the Olympic break as well as the game against the Avs. Question of the Day: What LA King will have the biggest impact on their Olympic Roster?

The epic weekend continues! Keith and Chris host the first annual KingsCast Frozen Fury Tweetup at Diego Restaurant in the MGM, interview some fans and mingle with the biggest Kings enthusiasts around. Thanks again to everyone who made this event possible, this episode is for you! Part 2 of 3 in our Frozen Fury “Vegas Trilogy” series.

Keith and Chris finally unveil the location of our meet-up in Las Vegas when the Los Angeles Kings take on the Colorado Avalanche. We also discuss the rookie and goaltending situation in Los Angeles as well as the LA Kings Hockey Fest ’09 celebration.

RSVP for the Event Here
Diego Restaurant in the MGM Grand

Read Gann Matsuda’s take on the Ryan Smyth trade posted on Frozen Royalty

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After sitting at the station, watching the unrestricted free agent train pass him by on July 1 and then signing veteran free agent defenseman Rob Scuderi on July 2, which did nothing to fill the gaping hole the Kings had on left wing, Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi earned at least a bit of redemption on July 3 when he acquired left wing Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a fifth round pick in the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

The trade is contingent upon the results of physical examinations of the players involved in the deal.

Last season, Smyth scored 26 goals and added 33 assists for 59 points in 77 games. He led the Avalanche in assists and was second on the team in goals. He was also tied for the team lead in power play goals (10) and game-winning goals (3). He also led the team withi 257 shots.

In fourteen NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders and the Avalanche, Smyth has scored 310 goals and has added 350 assists for 660 points with 733 penalty minutes in 920 regular season games. In 81 playoff games, the 6-1, 190-pound native of Banff, Alberta has scored 25 goals and has contributed 27 assists for 52 points with 82 penalty minutes.

Read the Rest on Frozen Royalty

It’s been a while since we’ve had a player who deserves their own tribute video. Then, yesterday, the Los Angeles Kings traded Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a 5th round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Ryan Smyth. Enjoy the video!

 

 The Next Phase [27:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

On the eve of the season opener, KingsCast returns with Season 3, Episode 2 – The Next Phase. In this episode, we re-cap the pre-season, talk about our experience at Frozen Fury, discuss our goalie situation and present a brand new installment of “Mock the Slogan”. It’s time for hockey!