The Los Angeles Kings are poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and they aren’t looking to slide in. Here’s the latest from Gann Matsuda on LA’s push. And, no, they can’t just sit back and slide in..

LOS ANGELES — For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Los Angeles Kings are looking like a playoff team, so much so that even if they play just .500 hockey over their remaining sixteen games, they are still likely to earn an invitation to the post-season party.

Heading into the Olympic break, the Kings were hot, earning a 12-2-1 record in their last fifteen games prior to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. But coming out of the break, the Kings have been a mixed bag, with a decisive 5-1 win at Dallas on March 2, followed by two extremely poor efforts at Nashville (4-2 loss) on March 4 and against Montreal (4-2 loss) on March 6. The Kings responded with a 6-0 blowout over the feeble Columbus Blue Jackets on March 8, but then they suffered a tough, 3-2 overtime loss at Chicago on March 10.

The big question for the Kings with just sixteen games remaining is: even if they qualify for post-season action, will they go in with momentum or will they slide into the playoffs, putting them at a disadvantage right off the bat?

Based on their play over the last six weeks, there is cause for concern, especially when you consider the fact that even during their 12-2-1 run, the Kings often got off to slow starts and had to struggle to come from behind to win.

“The biggest thing for us has been our starts recently,” Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi said. “We’ve shown some real good character and an ability to come back in games. But a few of us have been talking here. When it comes down to the stretch, you’re not going to be able to come back against good teams.”

“The games [heading down the stretch] are going to be huge for us,” Scuderi emphasized. “We can’t make a habit of terrible starts.”

Slow starts continued to plague the Kings after the Olympic break as well.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

LOS ANGELES — As the heavy criticism of NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia gets louder and more overwhelming, if that’s possible, it is clear that the time has come for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee, assuming they have a say in the matter, to end the exclusive broadcasting deal with NBC for future Olympic Games.

Indeed, the criticism of NBC’s coverage has been vehement and unending since these Games began. But with their piece-meal, tape-delayed coverage of the Games, despite the fact that they are in Vancouver—not only in the same hemisphere as the United States, but also the same continent—NBC has no one to blame but themselves.

It seems rather obvious that, even though they are broadcasting the games on their affiliates across the country and on USA Network, CNBC and MSNBC, NBC is unwilling to preempt a significant number of their shows during the day on any of their channels so that they could air live coverage.

That decision has left a foul taste in the mouths of many Olympic fans.

“It’s frustrating,” said Erin Norton, 33, of Gilbert, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. “NBC pays a ton of money to have exclusive coverage and it’s on the same continent. The coverage they could have had for these Olympics would have blown all the other channels out of the water. They could show so many events live during the day on CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network and the local NBC station.”

“Yet they show things tape-delayed and if they show three hours during the day on NBC, then it’s a good day,” added Norton. “Instead, we’re still subjected to all their normal crap.”

“I know they still want to keep their soap operas and other crap on television, but I’d prefer to see more stuff live on NBC so it’s more widely available to the masses,” said Bruce Fung, 45, of Long Beach, California.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

LOS ANGELES — With the 2010 Olympic Winter Games now in full swing, the hockey world is now focused on Vancouver and, more specifically, on the men’s Olympic hockey tournament beginning today.

Five Los Angeles Kings players are in Vancouver, including right wing Dustin Brown (United States), defenseman Drew Doughty (Canada), center Michal Handzus (Slovakia), defenseman Jack Johnson and goaltender Jonathan Quick (USA), and they are chomping at the bit, raring to go.

“I couldn’t wait for it to happen,” Doughty said about the Olympic tournament. “It’s been in the back of my mind even though my main focus is the Kings. I can’t wait to get to Vancouver and get the games going.”

Speaking of being unable to wait, Johnson left the Kings with permission on February 12 to participate in the Opening Ceremonies.

Even though the Kings had played the night before and had another game on February 13, Johnson was not going to miss the Opening Ceremonies—he wanted the full Olympic experience.

“It’s the opening ceremony of the Winter Games,” Johnson exclaimed. “It’s a no-brainer. I had the opportunity, so why waste it? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I’m fortunate enough to play in the next one, it’s in Russia. I can’t just go over and back.”

Johnson not only walked into Vancouver’s BC Place with the US Olympic Team during the Parade Of Nations, but he also got the opportunity to meet his teammates in other sports and bond with them.

“Last night, when we gathered up all the athletes, we didn’t know each other, we didn’t even know what sport each other played,” he explained. “But, instantly, you’ve got that bond and connection because you’re all representing the USA.”

“It was the coolest experience I’ve ever had in my life, it’s something I’ll never forget. It was something that meant a lot to me to get the full Olympic experience.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty’s exclusive sit-down with Dean Lombardi continues on with some excellent commentary on LA Kings prospects Colten Teubert and Brandon Kozun. Check it!

LOS ANGELES — For any National Hockey League team, drafting and development of young prospects is crucial to their long-term success. But for the majority of their 42-year history, the Los Angeles Kings generally resorted to foolishly trading away their first round draft picks and their best young players for NHL veterans—some had been star players—who were little more than washed-up has-beens.

That started to change under former general manager Dave Taylor, but the great emphasis on drafting and development has come under current Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi, who has built the team’s drafting and player development infrastructure up to what is now regarded as one of the best scouting and development staffs in the league.

Last month, four Kings prospects represented Canada in the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Center Brayden Schenn (Brandon Wheat Kings, Western Hockey League), defenseman Colten Teubert (Regina Pats, WHL), right wing Brandon Kozun (Calgary Hitmen, WHL) and goaltender Martin Jones (Calgary Hitmen) helped lead Canada to the Silver Medal, losing to the United States in the championship game.

Lombardi expressed a great deal of pride that four of his team’s young prospects made Team Canada and he spoke with Frozen Royalty about Teubert’s and Kozun’s development.

“[Teubert has] made a lot of progress, but he still has a lot to learn,” said Lombardi. “The whole thing about his physical game still has to be channelled in the right direction. You can’t play like the Flyers of the Seventies, so you have to channel that type of aggression. You can’t get away with just running around being physical.”

Indeed, the 19-year-old native of White Rock, British Columbia, who is the captain of the Pats and was one of two Kings’ prospects (Thomas Hickey) to win a gold medal with Team Canada at the World Juniors, is a rather imposing physical force, but tends to get caught up in trying to make the big hit too often, taking himself out of defensive position.

Although the 6-4, 194-pound Teubert has improved on that, he still has quite a ways to go.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

A great story from Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty on the development of Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds with comments from LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

LOS ANGELES — During the Los Angeles Kings’ recent run to fourth place in both the Western Conference standings and in the overall National Hockey League standings (through games played on February 7), two role players have contributed a lot more than what has been expected of them. Indeed, forwards Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds have surprised most by playing key roles in the Kings’ surge in the standings.

Last season, injuries and uneven play limited Richardson, 24, to just five assists in 31 games. He was unable to find his niche on the team, after being acquired by the Kings on June 21, 2008 from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

After Richardson’s poor showing last season, expectations for the 5-11, 195-pound native of Belleville, Ontario were low, and he found himself on the Kings’ fourth line to start the 2009-10 season. Despite that, he was not going to be denied.

Indeed, he worked hard and played with grit not seen from him before, and, as a result, Richardson started to gain the trust of head coach Terry Murray starting in mid-November. His ice time started to creep up, and he moved up from the fourth line to the third line and now, Richardson is playing on the Kings top two lines, alongside Simmonds and center Anze Kopitar.

Richardson, who has scored seven goals and has added thirteen assists for twenty points in 57 games this season, has also made an impression on his general manager.

“He’s come up the old-fashioned way, kind of like [former Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs center] Doug Gilmour,” said Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi. “That’s the way guys used to break in. They used to be big scorers in junior. They all had to break in on the fourth line because they had to learn to check and play defense.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Another excellent piece from Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty’s recent interview with Dean Lombardi. Here, Lombardi talks positively about quite a few things but admits we still have some more to go to be Cup contenders.

LOS ANGELES — With the Los Angeles Kings flying high, having won nine straight games, setting a franchise record for consecutive wins with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Detroit Red Wings on February 6, many have probably forgotten one important thing.

The Kings are still in rebuild mode.

Indeed, even with the Kings currently living in the rarefied air of fourth place in the Western Conference, they are still not where they want or need to be.

“It clearly shows that we’re [going] in the right direction,” said Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi. “In terms of what you’re pleased with, it’s always been about getting better every year, having a nucleus start to form and to become a contender. So what that record represents to me right now is that we’re clearly headed in the right direction.”

“I don’t doubt that we’re [going] in the right direction, but we’re not going to be ultimately pleased until we get to where we feel we’re at Chicago’s level or San Jose’s level,” added Lombardi. “That’s where we’re going. So I’m pleased in terms of the right direction, but [we’re not] kidding ourselves]. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Before this season began, Lombardi said that his young core of players had to get better if the Kings were going to reach new heights and, at least to this point in the season—58 games in, the core has improved.

“I said, at the beginning of the year, there were a couple of key indications,” Lombardi explained. “Number one, the kids had to get better. No matter who we added, the most important thing was that Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick all get better. That was number one.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

Gann Matsuda continues his interview with Dean Lombardi and talks a little goaltending. via Frozen Royalty

Is Anze Kopitar an elite player? via View From My Seats

Everybody’s favorite LA Kings reporter has an open forum. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 & Part 7. Part 7. via LA Kings Insider

Was Don Waddell in New Jersey to talk with Dean Lombardi or just to scout opponents? via Jewels From the Crown

Breakdown of the Kings/Ducks game on Thursday night. via Jewels from the Crown

The one blog whose game day previews actually crack me up. via Battle of California

A lot of talk going on about Anze Kopitar. Is Kopi’s “resurgence” the reason why we’re in a really good place right now? via NHL.com

Who do you trust when it comes to the rumor mill? via Jewels from the Crown

Your favorite vloggers are back in action talking about the latest in Kings hockey. via KingsCast

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty continues his interview with Dean Lombardi. There is some great stuff on the goaltending stable. Check it out!

LOS ANGELES — With the exception of should-be-a-Hall-of-Famer Rogie Vachon, Mario Lessard and Felix Potvin (for about one season), “goaltending” and “Los Angeles Kings” should not be used in the same sentence unless the idea is to cause uncontrollable laughter or crushing despair, depending on who you might be talking to.

But all indications are that the old joke that has been Los Angeles Kings’ goaltending is about to be put to rest, perhaps for the long-term.

Although it is way too early in his career to compare him to Vachon, Jonathan Quick could be the solid, number one goaltender the Kings have lacked for what seems like an eternity.

Quick, who was selected by the Kings in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft, was called up by the Kings after Jason LaBarbera proved to be a sieve to start the 2009-09 season. Quick stepped right in and played so well that not only did he become the team’s number one goaltender last season, but he also allowed Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi to dump LaBarbera onto the Vancouver Canucks for a seventh round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (this pick, along with an additional fourth round pick and a seventh round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers on June 27, 2009 for a fourth round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The used that pick to select goaltender Jean-Francois Berube).

Indeed, the 6-1 223-pound native of Milford, Connecticut performed well last season, earning a 21-18-3 record with a 2.48 goals-against average (GAA), a .914 save percentage and two shutouts in 44 games.

As poorly as the Kings played last season, ending the season 14th in the fifteen-team Western Conference and way, way out of playoff contention, the fact that Quick had a winning record on a team that was 34-37-11 last year is impressive, to say the least.

Fast forward to the current season, Quick got off to a bit of an uneven start, but has settled down and especially in recent weeks, he has shined.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Part 4 of Gann Matsuda’s interview with Dean Lombardi is now up on HockeyTalk.biz and this one talks about Teddy Purcell. The Los Angeles Kings are clearly still high on him. What do you think?

JANUARY 27, 2010 — LOS ANGELES — On June 27, 2009, during the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft, then-Los Angeles Kings center prospect Brian Boyle was traded to the New York Rangers for a third round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Much was expected of Boyle, a 6-7, 248-pound center with a scoring touch who was selected by the Kings in the first round (26th overall) in 2003 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, former Kings General Manager Dave Taylor said that he would be a project, but in Boyle’s four years at Boston College, he excelled.

Even at the American Hockey League level, Boyle was a solid contributor offensively for the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, even though the Kings tried to convert him to a defenseman, an experiment that failed miserably.

But even with his great physical gifts, especially for a player with his size and strength, Boyle has still been unable to figure out, even with the Rangers, that he has to use his those gifts in order to succeed in the NHL, something the Kings tried to get him to learn.

Although Boyle showed flashes of the grit he will need to succeed at the NHL level, most of the time, he failed to win the physical battles along the boards and in the corners, or worse, was a spectator, just a few feet away.

Boyle’s four goals and two assists for six points in 51 games this season, along with his average ice time of just 8:26, indicate that he still has not learned that lesson.

Like Boyle, Kings right wing Teddy Purcell is facing the same challenges, even though he does not possess Boyle’s size and strength. But to this point in his NHL career, Purcell has been unable to add the necessary grit to his game and that begs the question:

If Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi could give up on Boyle because he could not play with enough grit, will he do the same with Purcell?

Probably not, at least, not as quickly.

Read the rest on HockeyTalk.biz

Part 4 of Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty’sinterview with Dean Lombardi. We’ve switched now from Frolov to Jack Johnson. Excellent insight here!

LOS ANGELES — This season, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jack Johnson has wowed fans with end-to-end rushes, nifty shootout goals and better offensive play. But on defense, even though he has improved since his rookie season, he has blown coverages in the defensive zone and has gotten caught up ice on several occasions, giving up outnumbered attacks.

In other words, the 23-year-old native of Indianapolis, Indiana has been both breathtaking and aggravating to watch, all at the same time.

Now in his third full season in the National Hockey League, Johnson has shown the offensive skill and athletic ability that made him a first round pick (third overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. But his decisions in the defensive zone often leave people shaking their heads after he makes a bad read or blows a coverage.

During a recent interview, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi explained that Johnson is learning his craft…belatedly.

“This guy has never had any coaching [at the University of Michigan],” Lombardi said. “Jack just did what he wanted.”

“Michigan is the worst.” Lombardi added. “For hockey people, if you’ve got a choice between a kid—all things being equal—one’s going to Michigan and one’s going to Boston University, you all want your player [going to Boston University]. Michigan’s players—[head coach] Red [Berenson] doesn’t coach. It’s ‘do what you want.’ He gets the best players in the country.”

During his two seasons at the University of Michigan, Johnson played as a rover, rather than as a defenseman, even though that was his official position.

“Jack was a thoroughbred out there,” Lombardi explained. “But he was all over the place. He was awful as a hockey player. As an athlete, you’re going, wow! Look at the way he skates, shoots, he can pass. But he had no idea where he was going.”

“At times, he was playing forward at Michigan,” Lombardi elaborated. “You had no idea what position he was playing. But he had always been the star and he always got his numbers. Then he turns pro and for the first time, we’re telling him ‘whoa, just make the first pass and learn to play in your own end.’ How about making a read in your own end about the right guy to pick up? He was awful.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.