Throughout the remainder of the NHL season, ‘Dancing in the Reign’ will be recapping each week in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. Track the Kings’ push for a second consecutive playoff berth, see which teams are hot and who’s not, and note on key divisional and conference match-ups. This edition of Sunday Night Scoreboard Watch recaps the week of February 14 with a look ahead to the week of February 21.

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The Week That Was: The Kings extended their point-streak to 11 games, but the ride ended Saturday night in Long Island. The week’s results added up to a record of 1-1-1, the Kings earning three out of the possible six points on the board. Wednesday night kicked off the week in grand fashion. A 4-3 shootout victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets added two points to the record, but Kris Russell‘s game-tying goal with just 1:23 remaining in regulation pocketed the extra point for Columbus. The remainder of the week called for a long weekend in New York. The Kings returned to Madison Square Garden, the setting for Erik Ersberg‘s downfall. For the second straight season, Terry Murray called for the back-up goaltender on the road against the New York Rangers. Fortunately, Jonathan Bernier didn’t suffer the same effects. Bernier played well with 34 saves, while Matt Greene recorded his first goal of the season, tightening his ever-intriguing scoring race with co-worker Rob Scuderi. The week ended with a contest against the NHL‘s third-worst club, the New York Islanders. This may have been the ugliest performance of the season. Not much to say about it, not interested in analyzing Saturday’s nightmare. This was the first regulation loss for the Kings in 12 games, it was also the last Eastern Conference opponent of the season. The remainder of the season’s schedule calls for Western Conference counterparts, all three-point games.

Pacific Division Standings

TEAM                    GP       W         L       OT      PTS

Phoenix                 60       32       19        9       73
San Jose                 60       33       21        6       72
Dallas                    59       31       22        6       68
LOS ANGELES       59      32       23       4       68
Anaheim                60       32       24       4        68

Pacific Division Notes: Two things stand out looking at this week’s Pacfic Division lineup. The Los Angeles Kings have finally ended their vacancy in the basement, and the Dallas Stars have finally surrendered the top spot, dropping to third place. The Phoenix Coyotes stand atop with with a vengeance, winners of seven consecutive games. The Anaheim Ducks were without goaltender Jonas Hiller this week, he’s out indefinitely with recurring lightheadedness. Without Hiller, the Ducks allowed an astounding 21 goals in three losses, dropping them to last in the Pacific Division standings. The San Jose Sharks came just short of matching the Coyotes’ perfect week, picking up five points with a 2-0-1 record.

Western Conference Standings

TEAM                      GP       W       L       OT        PTS
5. Nashville              59       31      20       8         70
6. Calgary                61       31      22       8         70
7. Minnesota            59       31      22       6         68
8. Dallas                  59       31      22       6         68
9. LOS ANGELES    59       32     23       4        68
10. Anaheim           60       32       24       4         68
11. Chicago            59       30       23       6         66
12. Columbus          58      29       23       6         64

Western Conference Notes: The headline of week looks to be the Calgary Flames, jumping to 6th place with three commanding victories scoring a combined 17 goals. They capped off the week in the spotlight in the NHL‘s 2nd Heritage Classic. Four clubs saturate the Western Conference‘s playoff boundary with 68 points respectively. The battle of 68 involves the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, and the Anaheim Ducks. Three teams are just five points behind this group. Just as notable, the 68 point club is just five points behind the third place Phoenix Coyotes. How close it is. At this point, only two teams in the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings can be considered safe bets for playoff positioning. The St. Louis Blues are sliding back into contention with a 3-0-0 record this week, leaving the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers as the only two teams free to begin pondering their off-season plans.

The Week Ahead: As I noted earlier, the Kings faced their final Eastern Conference opponent of the season against the New York Islanders on Saturday. This makes regulation victories all the more important, as surrendering an extra point to a Western Conference counterpart at this point is too valuable. The franchise-record ten game road swing hits its final installment Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks. The Kings carry a 5-1-3 record on the trip, and have an opportunity to execute on an Anaheim club that is struggling without their starting goalie Jonas Hiller. The Kings return to Staples Center for the first time since January 26th to begin a six game homestand. The first guest in Los Angeles will be the Minnesota Wild, who stand with the Kings at 68 points. The week’s finale welcomes the Colorado Avalanche, one of the few teams out of the Western Conference playoff picture. All games continue to instill a must-win approach with two games against opponents sharing the Kings’ 68 point-total, and a no-excuses matchup with the free-falling Colorado Avalanche. Here’s to capping off the road swing, and continuing the push for a playoff position back in Los Angeles.

*PHOTO CREDITS
Matt Greene, Los Angeles Kings – GETTY IMAGES
Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes – ASSOCIATED PRESS
Curtis Glencross, Calgary Flames – ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Los Angeles Kings are on the longest road trip of the season and they’re not facing easy opponents. In this episode we talk about the games against the Minnesota Wild and the Edmonton Oilers, we give our thoughts on the NHL’s All Star Game and revisit a little segment we like to call “How’s That One Guy Doin’?”. What changes would you make to the All Star Game next year?

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!

Keith and Chris are back talking LA Kings hockey. In this episode we take you back to 2005-2006 to experience our agony of what it’s like to barely miss the playoffs. We also introduce a brand new segment entitled “If I Were…” and talk a little goaltending. Question of the Day: Who Should be the Backup Goaltender Going into the Playoffs?

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.

As if adjusting to daylight savings time wasn’t hard enough, the Los Angeles Kings played Sunday’s game at 12PM. In this episode, we talk about the games against the Stars and Predators, discuss the Jonathan Bernier/Erik Ersberg situation and give some thoughts on the upcoming playoff run. Question of the Day: Which team do you want the Kings to face in the first round of the playoffs?

The Kings skated into Dallas Friday night to face an aggressive Stars team that is fighting to cling to any hopes of a playoff berth. Tonight’s affair was pretty evenly matched throughout; With both teams producing solid play on both ends of the ice, and solid goaltending from both Jonathan Bernier and Marty Turco. Shots (27) and goals (1) were even at the end of regulation, and lasted into a 6-round shootout to see Jarret Stoll claim the extra point for the Kings. Jonathan Bernier, who started in place of an absent Jonathan Quick, played an outstanding game, and was able to hold his own after allowing a 3rd period goal to Dallas. Bernier, a highly touted prospect, backed up that claim tonight; But will be reassigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League as Jonathan Quick re-joins the Kings. Newly acquired Fedrik Modin continues his resurgence with the LA’s only regulation goal, on a nifty re-direction that beat Dallas’ Marty Turco on a first period power-play. Below are my notes on tonight’s game:

Notes on the game:
– Great recovery on Dustin Brown‘s part to chase down a muffed pass from Alexander Frolov. Not only was he successful in retaining offensive zone presence, but slowed down, walked the puck in, and put a shot on net. Not a howitzer, but the right idea, which led to a goal.
– Fredrik Modin had an impressive game, yet again. With three solid scoring chances, he capitalized on one. His finest attributes are controlling the puck down low, and using his body in front of the net. Tonight, he did just that; Re-directing Dustin Brown‘s shot to beat Marty Turco.
– On Dallas’ 3rd period marker, Richard Clune and Jeff Halpern got caught chasing, and staring at the puck up top. Dallas capitalized on the over-committed Kings players high in the zone, eventually finding Brendan Morrow open on the back-door to beat Jonathan Bernier.
– After tonight, I’d like to see Peter Harrold take some playing time from Randy Jones. Jones had an awful game. Too many times Jones stood still with the puck, allowing defenders to close passing lanes, and shutting down offensive flow. His play in the corners has been terrible as well, concentrating more on the pressure from the oncoming hit, than making a play on the puck. This isn’t anything new with Jones, who has had Kings fans pulling out their hair with play like this on a regular basis.
– Jonathan Bernier‘s performance was quite spectacular tonight. However, I’m disappointed in Terry Murray‘s decision to sit Erik Ersberg. I felt it was a slap in the face to the current back-up goaltender, one who will be dressing come the playoffs. This has nothing to do with who I think is a better goalie, but how to manage a player who can become the team’s backbone in an instant; in the playoffs. I think it’s safe to say Bernier will be on the Kings roster come next season.

Your thoughts on the game? What did you think of tonight’s 2-1 victory? Impressed with Bernier? Frustrated with Jones? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

Nearing the crucial games that will be documented as the “playoff-stretch”, I’m taking a look at each player on the Kings roster and evaluating them with a grade on their performance thus far. A roster that has worked together to post a 37-20-4 record (78 points) at 5th place in the Western Conference has to be doing something right, Right? Which players have contributed most? Which players have disappointed? In Part 1 of a 3-Part series, we’ll take a look at the goaltenders of the Los Angeles Kings. With 166 goals allowed, the Kings stand at 8th in the Western Conference, and 12th in the entire NHL.

GOALTENDERS

#32 JONATHAN QUICK

GRADE: A+

A great way to start off this whole rating process, huh? Makes me look like an easy grader, but let’s be honest; would it be fair to mark Quicker any lower? In his second full season in the league, Quick has already started 55 games. What Fatigue? Quick is 1st in the NHL in goals allowed (139) and Victories (35). He has proven time and time again this season that he has the ability to perform at an elite level on a consistent basis. What I’ve been most impressed with? Quick’s poise. We’ve seen a few sloppy starts from him this season, but how he reacts to these slow starts is striking. Plenty of times Quick has made remarkable saves that have changed the momentum of a game, and that is huge for the players in front of him. The team has confidence in his play, and the Kings know they can be more aggressive offensively after falling behind because of having a goalie who knows how to regroup & compose. Bottom Line: Quick is a young goalie who has validated himself in having the traits of being a prestigious goaltender. With a young roster, it is key to have a persistent leader in net to spread confidence, and ultimately, success.

#31 ERIK ERSBERG

Grade: C-
With Jonathan Quick having such a stellar season, Erik Ersberg hasn’t seen a lot of ice-time. Ersberg has faced action in only 8 games so far, allowing 20 goals. You have to realize, though, Erberg’s situation isn’t very easy. He has been called upon rarely this year, which gives him no groove to work with. His starts often come so far apart, he’s rusty in terms of live-play. The reality of the situation is that a backup goalie needs to take full advantage of the few opportunities he has, and Ersberg has not done that. He has been average at best, but I’m marking him just below. This year, the Kings haven’t developed a confidence in Ersberg. You could argue that he hasn’t seen enough ice, and you could argue that Terry Murray is relying too heavily on Quick. But, how can you blame the guy? So, it’s tough to grade Ersberg, but an NHL back-up needs to be ready to provide stability in net whenever called on, no matter how infrequently. Bottom Line: Erik Ersberg will have a few more appearances this season; And one, if not more will be important games. Back-up goalies can be the difference late in the season, can Ersberg step up?

Part II: “Dancing in the Reign” on Kingscast.net will be pulling out the grade-book on Kings defensemen on the next installment on Kings Grade Reports. What would you grade King’s goaltenders so far? Please post comments downstairs!

In what looked to be a potential blowout for the Los Angeles Kings playing the bottom-feeder Edmonton Oilers, turned out to be a flat and uninspired effort from a team recently on a 9 game winning streak. Down 2-0 in the 3rd period and hearing the boo-birds at Staples Center, the Kings battled back with goals from Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth and took the game into the 10th Round of a Shootout, only to lose the bonus point to none other than former King Lubomir Visnovsky.