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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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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!

Tune into KingsCast’s Episode 141 HERE
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The Los Angeles Kings have hit (close to) rock bottom since the last show. Terry Murray has been fired, the Kings still can’t score and we’re in the market for a new coach that can bring on the goal-scoring fury…right? Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period joins us and brings the knowledge on Coach Murray, future Coach Sutter, Dean Lombardi and more LA Kings hockey talk. Listen to The Fourth Period Radio on Saturdays 4-7PM EST on Sirius 207, XM 92 NHL Home Ice.

This episode is sponsored by Barry’s Tickets. Click the link and enter the discount code “kingscast25″ to receive a 10% discount.
Music by The Graveyard Bandits.

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Terry Murray ousted as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings

It had all gone bad

“I think it had to happen,” one Kings player who requested anonymity told me via text message. “We were dead.” – Pierre LeBrun

Terry couldn’t Carry: As much as I’ve harped on the need for the Kings to dismiss Terry Murray from duties as head coach, you never want to see this become an ultimatum for a club 29 games into an 82 game campaign. Dean Lombardi was flirting with a deadline to salvage the season, making the move at the latest point he possibly could have to counter the mess the Kings have produced thus far, and turn things around with a new voice behind the bench. I would have liked to see this action from Lombardi two weeks earlier, which especially had me frustrated with LA’s hockey media who sugarcoated Murray’s final weeks in extremely frustrating ways.

If this was happening in a major NHL city (IE: Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Detroit) complete mayhem would’ve abused TV networks, Radio stations, and the Interweb dating back to mid-November. This dragged on far too long.

The hype to cut ties with Murray didn’t really grow wings until this past week, and it had to come from the fans, bloggers were the only sources to express any distaste with the state of the team. You’ve got to understand the other side before taking shots, you’ve got to understand the point of view coming from the sources who talk to Terry Murray on a daily basis. Even with that, however, his explanations started to delve deeper into statistics, something that has been somewhat of a scapegoat for the Kings struggles this year.

Murray did a wonderful job developing a young Kings core for three seasons, and that’s been a positive attribute on his NHL coaching resume. When you’re working with a young, unproven group like Murray did for those three years, expectations aren’t going to spotlight your output. But with the moves made over the summer, and the Kings working with a roster that has come close to maximizing the team’s cap space for the first time in years, failure like this is simply unacceptable. Best of luck to you, Terry. Thank you for the good work you did in Los Angeles.

Right-hand man

John Stevens will head the Kings bench on an interim basis

Terry 2.0: Stevens, who preaches strategy and has a similar history just like Murray will be the momentary head coach for the Kings. Since he was not promoted in concrete fashion upon Murray’s dismissal, you can count out his chances of heading this bench for an extended period of time. And so, you can’t guarantee he’s safe to hold his position if a new coach hits Dean Lombardi‘s interest radar. Assistant coaches don’t feel the threat until a new voice gains strength with the club’s front office, that’s when they’re open to make co-worker requests. Whoever is chosen upon still heeds a question mark as to who fits alongside them for the job.

Who will it be?: That’s the intriguing part, and don’t expect the search to last longer than the Kings’ upcoming four-game roady. I’m hearing notions from a fellow KingsCast administrator that Tony Granato‘s name has been thrown around the inside circle, a guy who’s got the reputation of lighting locker room fires and winning – even if the tenure was rather short.

Initially hired as an assistant coach, Granato was promoted (much like John Stevens) 31 games into the Colorado Avalanche‘ 2002-2003 season, we’re a mere 29 into the season this time around. Under Granato, Colorado finished the campaign’s 51 remaining games with a 32-11-8 record, claiming a Division title. The Kings are close to meeting that mark, with 53 games remaining on the year’s slate. Granato went on to lead Colorado to a 40-22-20 season in 2003-2004, but was fired to due postseason failure. The Avalanche took another shot with Granato after canning Joel Quenneville in 2008, but the second dance just never pans out. His second stint heading Colorado should be irrelevant when considering him for the Kings.

If it isn’t Granato, I wouldn’t get caught up in big names available on the market, there isn’t much to pick from anyway. I’m not on the Randy Carlyle wagon, I’m just not. What’s appealing about Granato is his short-term NHL head coaching experience, which is why I’m interested in the Kings approaching unknown names impressing in the AHL or Collegiate (NCAA) level. I’m taking a dive to say this publicly, much like the risk Dean Lombardi and Co. would be facing to actually do so. I’m not here to pick and choose, it will most certainly be an interesting week.

Jackets on the plate

Two and Out: Columbus isn’t even a slight guarantee at this point, with the Kings struggling mightily to amount more than one goal a game. The differential isn’t terrible, standing at -2, but the lack of production from a refurbished offense that has more talent and veteran occupancy since their rebuild overhaul in 2008-2009 is disturbing. Not to mention, their lack to score early in games, especially being the team to score first. Here’s some quick bullets regarding offensive struggles…which indirectly uncover how crucial Kings goaltending has been.

- In 29 games played so far, the Kings have managed to score more than 2 goals in only 8 of those contests. The Kings are 8-0-0 when this happens.

- The Kings have been unable to eclipse the 2-goal mark in the last 8 games, scoring just 13 goals in a 3-5-1 stretch.

- If the Kings don’t score early, they don’t win. They’ve been trailing to start a 3rd period in 12 contests, and have lost them all. They’ve allowed the first goal in 14 of 29 games, and have won just 3 of those.

This just about sums it up

Wingin’ it: In the first installment of life after Terry Murray, the Kings will head way to TD Garden for a date with the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. This will be the first of a four-game road trip, the Kings carrying baggage of four consecutive losses to New England. John Stevens is taking quite an intriguing approach tonight, where all players that have traveled will take the ice tonight for pregame warmups. Only after will Stevens finalize his roster for the night. However, don’t expect to see any drastic changes coming from Stevens, and expect hometown boy Jonathan Quick to be a lock in the crease.

Stevens’ laid back approach tonight could help this roster find themselves, get away from the textbook-play that has plagued their output all season, and rebuild a bit of their shattered confidence.

Because, well, you know, the Kings just have not been able to produce any type of effective shot mentality.

The Kings are reportedly in talks with Darryl Sutter. Please, please look at all options, Deano. This would not be the ideal solution.

Looks like Terry Murray with a bitter beer face

Tune into KingsCast’s Episode 133 HERE
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The LA Kings have hit a bit of a snag in this young season. In this episode, we cover the Oilers and Penguins games, talk about ‘What’s New at Staples?’, To Boo or Not to Boo Captain Canada and introduce some new KingsCast swag. Question of the Day; What should the Kings do to increase scoring?

The Pre-Season is in full gear with the regular season opener right around the corner! In this episode we head back to ‘The Stape’ in exhibition fashion, talk about the Drew Doughty situation and break down the roster and depth chart. Question of the Day; Is This the Year?

The KingsCast coverage of Hockey Fest 2011 continues with a jam packed installment! Exclusive interviews with Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Matt Greene, Dustin Penner, Jonathan Quick & Justin Williams discussing expectations, chemistry, Drew Doughty & much more. Includes rare scenes from Dean Lombardi’s ‘State of the Kings.’ Celebrate the start of an exciting year of Kings hockey!

The puck is close to dropping on a new season of LA Kings hockey and what a better way to ring it in than the annual Hockey Fest? In this show we show some highlights of the day including Dean Lombardi’s State of the Kings, we show a clip of the Kids Press Conference and interview Dustin Brown, Dustin Penner and Anze Kopitar.

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At least give your Hockey Fest ticket to someone else, man. Those b*tches are SOLD OUT.

An offer of nine-years at $61.2 Million has reportedly been denied by Drew Doughty‘s camp.

Leaning Toward Dean: Here’s my chance to be blunt about the Drew Doughty contract situation, straight forward. That door was opened today amidst reports of Doughty’s most recent contract denial offered by Dean Lombardi. Lord help me if I didn’t worship Doughty’s timeline to re-sign and waste more important thoughts this summer. If the Kings weren’t trying, it’s another story. That’s three offers Lombardi has thrown on the table this summer, the most recent offer carrying Anze Kopitar-type money. Still, not good enough. The guy is 21 years-old, arguably the highest-touted young defenseman in the NHL, and a celebrity in the Canadian hockey market after his stellar performance during the 2010 Winter Olympics with Team Canada. So yes, Doughty’s camp is in the hunt for serious pay and solid job security; But is nine seasons while equaling the yearly salary of Anze Kopitar not good enough?

Thinking it’s time for a gut-check.

Shut the f*ck up Penner. Christ.

Back To The Future
Queue the first installment of June’s KingsCast Summer Hockey Roundtable for a serious dose of honest Doughty critique. Food for thought.

Sour Aftertaste: Please realize here, the members in this group of hockey media in the Episode above are not bashing Doughty’s skill, his value to the Kings blue-line, or his career potential. That’s been well advertised by Doughty himself, but the issues at-hand center on his attitude, his conditioning, feeding to the question that’s building solidity: Is Drew Doughty really worthy of being the highest paid-player on this team?

Attitude wasn’t the only downfall last season.

Trying To Find A Balance: Let’s swap those statistics, and if Doughty’s camp is being this stingy with contract negotiations, then so be it, you can’t argue with 82 games and 59 points. However, a pretty drastic downfall is the reality here, and there seems to be a bit too much demand for the supply – at this point in time. On August 30th, less than ten days ago, Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reported what seemed to be a concurrence of terms between the Kings and Drew Doughty:

“Lombardi said he spoke Monday with Doughty’s agent, Don Meehan, and made an offer that “codifies what we’ve been talking about for a while.” Lombardi said the offer includes “different lengths for him to consider,” likely six to eight years.”

I consider this report to still be deemed ‘recent’ the way this summer has gone, and the Kings’ latest offer of $61.2 million over a 9-year span must be a result of it. Once the funds are broken into a yearly-salary, Doughty is earning just as much as Anze Kopitar – and situated until he’s 30 years-old. I’m lost here, what’s wrong? They may not want more money overall, but a chunkier yearly-salary over a shorter term, positioning him young and rich with NHL freedom in a few years.

Thirsty for Attention.

M.I.A. – Missing In Appearances: Doughty’s lack of public appearances have jolted the nerves of fans all summer, stemming from his cancellation to boarding the LA Kings Fan Cruise to the recent revelation that #8 will not attend Sunday’s Hockey Fest. The common justification for this will be something along the lines of “Doughty is afraid of getting hammered with contract questions.” If Doughty and the Kings were seriously on the same page, and confident in negotiations, this problem is fixed in an instant. What do scrap employees go for these days, 8.50 an hour? That’s what I make, so I’d consider that fair. “No contract questions for Mr. Doughty, Ma’am”. Simple. If everything is on-par internally with the Kings and Doughty, there’s no shame in shielding certain questions from fans in public environments.

Speaking of Hockey Fest, let’s back-track to last year’s event to take another look at Dean Lombardi‘s “Passionate Proclomation”. Check 3:19 – 5:10 in KingsCast‘s Episode 69.

What’s It Going To Be?: It’s starting to have a negative effect on the Kings’ fanbase, who will miss Doughty’s presence at yet another team event Sunday at Staples Center. That, a team can withstand, but when it begins to have an effect on the team itself, that’s when we’ve got real problems; and the way negotiations have been going, they’re flirting with that possibility. As Keith stressed to me earlier tonight, you don’t want to play games with team chemistry, and any sort of holdout from Doughty would do so. Believe me, I want Drew Doughty to re-sign, and I think Drew Doughty will re-sign. But, does he deserve what he and his agents are asking for? How much more will Dean Lombardi‘s stiff reputation on the hockey market withstand the displeasure coming from Doughty’s camp? One of the sides needs to swallow a slice of pride here, and the way this process has been trending, its time for Don Meehan and Drew Doughty to sacrifice a slice of that cake.

KingsCast continues it’s off-season programming with a second compilation of the best segments from the 2nd season. Included in this episode are Holiday Gift Giving, Who the Hell is Dwight King, What We Miss About Staples, How’s That One Guy Doing and much more!