Here’s a new piece from Gann Matsuda on a few of our prospects down in Manchester. Take a read. There’s now NHL hockey for a while so you better get caught up on the prospects.

LOS ANGELES — While the National Hockey League pauses its season to put on its annual All-Star festivities this weekend, what’s a hockey writer to do if the NHL All-Star weekend is not their cup of tea, especially since the game itself has become a complete bore, barely resembling the game we normally enjoy?

Sure, I could have watched the All-Star draft (yawn), and I will watch tonight’s skills competition, the only redeeming spectacle during All-Star weekend. But with some extra time on my hands, why not see how the kids down on the farm are doing?

Indeed, the time has come to take a look at some of the Los Angeles Kings’ young prospects, and, in this installment, the focus will be on the blue line corps.
Deslauriers Already Making An Impact

In his first season in professional hockey, defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers’ development appears to be proceeding at a good pace, despite not being able to crack the lineup with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, right off the bat.

“For anyone in my place, you know that with a veteran team, it’s hard to find a spot, [with the top six defensemen, including] guys who have played in the NHL,” said the 6-1, 214-pound native of LaSalle, Quebec. “I knew that, so I worked hard to earn a place in the lineup.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

The Kings have been giving points away all season. Luckily, under coach Darryl Sutter, they’ve managed to come away with actual points. Here’s the latest from Frozen Royalty looking at the play as of late. Also check the bottom of the article for raw interview footage from various players. Enjoy!

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — 48 games into the 2011-12 National Hockey League season, the Los Angeles Kings have a 23-15-10 record, good for 56 points. That puts them in second place in the Pacific Division, one point behind the San Jose Sharks (through games played on January 20), and in seventh place in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, their next opponent (Saturday, January 21, 7:30 PM PST, Staples Center).

San Jose is third in the conference, and the Chicago Blackhawks, with 64 points, leads the West. As such, the Kings remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, and could still come out on top of the Pacific Division, even though the Sharks have four games in hand.

But the Kings could be in much better position if they could get out of the bad habit of getting themselves into three-point games.

Indeed, the Kings lead the league in games that go beyond regulation time, with 17 contests going into overtime or a shootout, and they are tied with the Minnesota Wild for the league lead in games that go into a shootout with ten.

If the Kings continue on their current pace, they will play in 29 overtime games, which would set a new franchise record (27 in 2003-04), and 17 will end up in a shootout, which would be one game shy of the club record (18 in 2009-10).

The problem for the Kings is that they have a losing record in those games this season, with a 3-4 record in overtime games, and a 4-6 record in shootout contests (Kings had a 10-2 shootout record last season).

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

I find this funny that I post this today when the offense last night against Calgary was slumbering. That said, the Kings have found a way to score more than a goal or two in the last few games. Here’s the latest from Gann Matsuda on the offense that is starting to generate goals. Lots of good quotes and tidbits (as usual).

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — Since taking over the reins as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings on December 20, 2011, head coach Darryl Sutter has already juggled his line combinations a few times, trying anything to get his team’s struggling offense going.

The first, most notable change was to move center Mike Richards to left wing on the first line, with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Dustin Brown.

Despite the move, the Kings’ offense remained locked in its deep freeze. But Sutter shuffled the deck again when the Kings hosted the Alexander Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals on January 9, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

For that game, Sutter moved right wing Justin Williams up to the first line with Kopitar, while Brown skated across the blue line to left wing, where he prefers to be while on the attack.

The result: The Kings dominated the high-powered Capitals in a 5-2 victory, and have not looked back.

Indeed, since that game, the Kings have scored 17 goals in those five games, averaging 3.40 goals-per game (GPG), with the line of Brown, Kopitar and Williams combining for eight goals and ten assists for 18 points.

Although the Kings still rank dead last in the league in scoring with an average of 2.15 GPG, that 3.40 GPG clip would place them second in goals per game in the National Hockey League, behind the league-leading Boston Bruins (3.54 GPG).

Indeed, after struggling mightily for much of the season, the offense is finally coming around. But how?

“Maybe we’re more aggressive, which is causing turnovers,” said Richards. “But we knew that if we stuck with the system, we would, eventually, get some opportunities.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Matsuda is back. Here’s his latest on scoring, putting pucks on net complete with notes and quotes from the team. Enjoy, folks!

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — On January 9, the Los Angeles Kings, owners of the worst offense in the National Hockey League, averaging just 2.09 goals per game, miraculously scored five goals against the Alexander Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals, in a decisive 5-2 victory, shocking a sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

That night, fans were so thoroughly shocked at the Kings’ offensive explosion that throughout the arena, they were pinching each other to make sure they weren’t dreaming. Some made appointments with psychiatrists, fearing that they were suffering from some sort of mental breakdown. Others were fearful that the end of the world was upon us, and began to get their affairs in order.

Seriously speaking, that massive offensive output from the Kings was a rarity this season. After all, they have only scored three goals or more (during regulation play) twelve times in 43 games this season (through games played on January 11).

And talk about extremes. Just one game prior, the Kings were shutout on home ice by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the worst team in the league, who handed the Kings a 1-0 defeat on January 7.

In that game, the Kings had eight opportunities with the man advantage, but really never came close to scoring.

“I don’t care how many power plays it is, as long as we get one, or two, or three—anything,” said forward Jarret Stoll. “We’re pressing. You could tell there, later on in the game. They were blocking everything. Three-quarters of our shots probably didn’t make it to the net. But every team does that. We’ve got to find a way. We all know we haven’t scored many goals.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Very good story from Gann Matsuda on concussions. As you know, Willie Mitchell suffered a concussion prior to signing in Los Angeles. Here’s some great stuff from the defenseman.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — We’re not even at the halfway point of the 2011-12 National Hockey League season, but far too many players have already gone down due to concussions.

In no particular order, the NHL has lost stars like Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers, Milan Michalek of the Ottawa Senators, Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators, all to concussions.

Most notably, the league has also lost Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who is expected to miss the rest of the season, and Pittsburgh Penguins superstar forward Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely after a recurrence of post-concussion syndrome.

Crosby, who is, arguably, the best player in the league, missed 41 games last season, and has played in just eight this season with no timetable for his return, after a high hit by then-Washington Capitals forward David Steckel during the 2011 Winter Classic, followed by another big hit by Victor Hedman on January 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Here in Southern California, Los Angeles Kings center Mike Richards recently missed eight games due to a concussion. Without him, the Kings went into a nose dive, losing five straight before winning a 2-1 decision at Columbus on December 15, on their way to a dismal 2-6-0 record in those eight games.

Since returning to the lineup on December 22, the Kings are undefeated in regulation play, earning a 3-0-1 record in their last four games.

The Kings most recent concussion victim is left wing Simon Gagne, who suffered his injury on December 26 against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Gagne, who has a history of concussions, was placed on injured reserve, and did not make the Kings’ current two-game trip to Chicago and Winnipeg. The earliest he can return to the lineup would be on January 5, 2012, when the Kings host the Coyotes.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

We’re fans of Gann’s writing here at KingsCast but I really don’t understand how a coach whose team that is the bottom of the league in scoring after more than a quarter of the season shouldn’t be ultimately responsible. But that’s just us. Take a read. It’s a good counter-point.

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — After all but one other player had disappeared from the main dressing room area to shower and change clothes, Los Angeles Kings right wing and team captain Dustin Brown sat dejectedly in his locker, slouched down, probably brooding about his team’s performance, or lack thereof, in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on December 10, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

This is not a first for Brown, who has been seen doing the exact same thing in seasons past.

But this time, something was different.

Indeed, Brown sat there, unmoving, with the same dejected, disgusted look on his face, for considerably longer than the times I have seen him do that over the past few seasons since he was named as the Kings’ captain.

Sensing that leaving him alone in his thoughts was the wise and appropriate thing to do, especially since the media had already spoken with him, I do not know what was going through his mind. As such, I can only speculate. But an educated guess is that he has had enough of his team not playing the way they are supposed to.

Contrary to popular belief, the Kings’ problems on the ice boil down to execution, as detailed in an earlier story here on Frozen Royalty. In fact, what may not be evident to many is that their problems often start 200 feet from their opponent’s net.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

I can only speak for myself on the subject of Terry Murray. I can’t speak for Alex or Chris on the subject quite yet. I believe that Terry Murray has worn out his welcome in Los Angeles. That said, you don’t come here for clear and balanced journalism. That’s why we link up Gann Matsuda on a regular basis. So here’s some good reactions from the players on Murray’s “system”. Enjoy!

ANAHEIM AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — Following a 3-2 loss to the struggling Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center in Anaheim on December 6, if you traversed the various web sites, Facebook and Twitter, one would get the distinct feeling that the Los Angeles Kings were already doomed, and that all hope for them to qualify for the playoffs was lost.

But one look at the standings reveals that the Kings are just three points out of first place in their division, and from third place in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference.

Despite that, the sky is falling for many of the Kings’ faithful, who seem to be looking, desperately, for something and someone to blame, and many are blaming head coach Terry Murray and the system he has the Kings playing, which many claim is archaic, and stifles his players’ offensive abilities.

For weeks, there has been a growing cacophony of frustrated fans blaming Murray for everything that ails the Kings, calling for him to be, not just fired, but run out of town on a rail, or worse.

After the December 6 loss at Anaheim, two replacements for Murray were suggested that should leave just about anyone shaking their heads in disbelief…

Former Kings head coaches Barry Melrose and Marc Crawford.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Thanksgiving is over, our liver cleanse is in full effect and it’s time to get caught up on our reading. Gann Matsuda, of course, doesn’t need a liver cleanse as he’s been writing faster than we can post his stuff. We all know where the Kings stand in this see-saw of a season. So take a read at Gann’s latest!

LA Kings: Kevin Westgarth Celebrates First NHL Goal With Teammates, Family, Friends And Fans

Los Angeles Kings Should Take The Great One’s Advice About Shooting The Puck

Los Angeles Kings: Smarter, Better, More Disciplined Play Needed From Ethan Moreau

When Will The Los Angeles Kings Stop Chasing The Game?

Here’s some good morning reading from Gann Matsuda talking about the struggle to score and Coach Murray. Take a read and let us know what you think!

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — Much has been said about the Los Angeles Kings and their struggling offense this season, one that has seen their power play improve rather dramatically from last season, when they ranked 21st in the National Hockey League, with a 16.1 percent rating.

This season, their power play is carrying them offensively, ranking seventh in the league with a 20.3 percent rating, through games played on November 15.

But like the last two seasons, the Kings are struggling to score at even strength, especially five-on-five, dragging them down to 23rd in the league in goals scored, with an average of 2.41 goals per game.

If you take a spin around the World Wide Web, criticism of the Kings’ system and the coaching staff abound. Many emphatically claim that the system that head coach Terry Murray has the Kings playing is archaic, that it stifles offensive production, and that it should be scrapped.

They also insist that Murray should fired. A good portion also seem to want him run out of town on a rail, and that is putting it mildly.

Yet, one look at the NHL standings reveals that while the Kings are currently tenth in the Western Conference, and would miss the playoffs if they were to start today, it is only mid-November, and they are just four points out of third place in the conference.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

Gann Matsuda is back in action with another ditty on the Kings. Here he analyzes Drew Doughty’s slow start and low offensive production. Enjoy!

LOS ANGELES — During the second intermission of the Los Angeles Kings’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 5, colleague Dennis Bernstein, Senior Writer for The Fourth Period Magazine, a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com, and the Executive Producer of The Fourth Period Live on Sirius/XM Radio, was talking with me about the play of Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.

It is not exactly a trade secret that Doughty has not lit the National Hockey League on fire so far this season, with just two assists (both coming on the power play), a -3 plus/minus rating, and twelve shots on goal in eight games.

We discussed the possibility that Doughty is likely still feeling the effects of his recent right shoulder injury (he missed five games due to that injury), and that he may have returned to action too soon. I said that it is more likely that his contract holdout, which forced him to miss the team’s training camp, has caught up to him.

About a month into the season, Doughty has not displayed the speed, physical play or offensive capabilities that he has displayed since his rookie season in 2008-09.

While playing catch-up to the rest of the team, Doughty’s play also appears to be a drag on the Kings’ offensive attack, which has not even come close to performing near expectations.

Following his team’s shootout loss to the Penguins, Kings head coach Terry Murray indicated that he believes that missing training camp is indeed a factor in Doughty’s slow start.

“I’ve seen this so many times over the years, with players who, for whatever reason, miss training camp,” said Murray. “There’s some lag time here, to get the rust off, to get the cobwebs out, to get going.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.