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

When you talk of the Los Angeles Kings, you no longer have to utter the words “Wayne Gretzky” in the same sentence. Despite a horrendous first period, the Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings at another 1PM’er to break the franchise record of consecutive wins with 9 in a row. Jonathan Quick is one win away from breaking Mario Lessard’s all-time wins in a season by a Kings goaltender. The Kings now sit alone as fourth in the Western Conference with 75 points.

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.

The LA Kings are on fire. In this episode we talk about the Kings 8-game win streak, give our thoughts on the game against the Anaheim Ducks, interview a guy who didn’t have an NHL team to cheer for and discuss the Devils trade for Ilya Kovalchuk. Question of the Day: Who should the Los Angeles Kings trade for at the deadline?

John T. Meyer’s PickMyNHLTeam.com

It’s 8 games, folks! That’s right, the Los Angeles Kings have extended their winning streak against the Anaheim Ducks and now sit fourth in the Western Conference with 73 points. 73 points!? What a difference a year makes. We will not be sellers. This team is ready to contend. The playoffs will happen this year. Enjoy the video!

If I told you at the beginning of the season that the Los Angeles Kings would have 71 points just 56 games in you would have laughed, right? Last night at Staples Center the Kings increased their winning streak to 7 as they took down the Sean Avery and the New York Rangers. Kopitar had a clutch shorty and Smyth had a great goal off of a nice play by Brown. Enjoy the vid!

That’s right, folks, the weary Los Angeles Kings came into New Jersey to face the Devils and they didn’t lose. This team has heart. This team has a will to win. This team wants to take us out of years of disappointment and mediocrity. The Kings got a clutch goal from Wayne Simmonds to tie it up and Drew Doughty closed it out on the powerplay. Wow.

That’s right, folks, the Los Angeles Kings are on fire with a nice 5-game winning streak going on. The Kings were in Boston to face the Bruins again and Jonathan Quick one again showed up fellow Team USA Olympian Tim Thomas. Anze Kopitar continues his point tear, also getting a goal in the shootout. The Kings are now in 5th in the Western Conference with 67 points. Nice!

Back in studio to talk a little LA Kings hockey, and we just couldn’t think of an appropriate title. Why? The Los Angeles Kings have been doing some winning as of late and are playing like a solid NHL hockey team. In this show we talk about the overall play of the Los Angeles Kings, spend some time on the Ilya Kovalchuk situation and talk about Connie’s new blog. Sit back and enjoy!

 

 Winning and Awesome [28:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Another 4PM game to screw with my work schedule but, as always, I found a way to take this game in. Despite some excellent first period pressure by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the LA Kings got it together and out-worked them. Anze Kopitar got his 100th career goal and the Kings are now on a four game win streak.