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.

The team is back in action and the LA Kings are surging into the playoffs. Tonight, Keith and Chris talk about the games up to now, enjoy the thoughts of the upcoming playoffs and say goodbye to Teddy Purcell. Enjoy!

Brad Richardson played like the Brad Richardson of last season when he coughed up the puck in overtime to seal it for the Chicago Blackhawks. It was a rough start for the Los Angeles Kings but they turned up the heat to take Chicago into Overtime. Not a bad game by any stretch and it was nice to grab a point. Your thoughts on the game?

Alex’s post-game blog here.

Prior to Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Chris Kaliszewski took part in an interview with Team 990 Montreal. Here he talks about the Los Angeles Kings and guarantees a victory. If the Kings don’t win, Chris has to wear a Montreal jersey in the next edition of Overtime. We all know who won and look forward to seeing Chris in a Habs jersey soon!

It was like a game of NHL 2010 on Rookie Mode as the Los Angeles Kings notched six goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Staples Center last night. Alexander Frolov had a monster game with four points (1G, 4A) and newly acquired Fredrik Modin (1G, 1A) also had a great game. Incidentally, the conditional 7th round pick the Kings gave up for Modin only happens if the Kings win the Stanley Cup. I guess we’ll be hanging onto that pick!

Alex’s Post-Game blog on the win.

With the Olympic break finally over, the playoff push for the LA Kings begins. In this new installment; how the Olympics experience impacts the players, trade deadline fodder, exclusive coverage of the Stars game from Dallas correspondent Chris Bond and a special “international” shoutout.

The Vancouver Olympics are winding down and the Hockey medal race is in full swing. We take a look at the historic USA vs Canada game, present our game viewing experience and discuss this years hockey rules. Question of the Day: Who is the MVP of Mens Hockey at the Olympics so far?

The boys (and girl) are back in studio with our best podcast of the season. That’s right, here we take a look at the Kings entrance into the Olympic break, a preview of the Los Angeles Kings who are taking part in the Olympic games in Vancouver and say goodbye to a player we barely knew….

With the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games in full effect, we take a look at Team Canada & Team USA’s chances at Olympic gold as well as what Los Angeles Kings will make an impact on their respective teams. Question of the Day: Which Olympic teams get the gold, silver and bronze?

Matt Greene is hilarious. But, to get the true sense of his sense of humor, you need to watch this video!

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.

As the Los Angeles Kings take a break from NHL play in respect to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, let’s take a look at the status of the prospects and the team that develops the future of the LA Kings. The Manchester Monarchs are having a season that provides plenty of optimism to the development of this organization’s future, as if we didn’t have that already. Manchester, as of February 15th, has posted 79 points through 56 games of play in the American Hockey League. The Monarchs stand 3rd overall in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the Atlantic Division. Take a look at the major club in this family, and the Kings are stacked with young talent. And how does it get better? The young talent in our minor league system is proving themselves as well. It’s almost getting to the point; And I don’t want to get over my head here, but that we may have too much young talent. Look, AHL clubs can have a great campaign and then completely flop the year after. The AHL is a very difficult league to analyze. So many aspects of this league are unstable. The rosters, mainly full of young, inexperienced professional hockey players, change on a daily basis. You’ve got coaches coming and going, management directing players to various leagues, just a tough situation to maintain stability to make it to the next level. However, a fair test to those AHL’ers who eventually do get the call to the NHL.
So, if we are to assess Kings prospects solely based on Manchester’s success this season, I’d say we’re in good company. Will some of these players make an impact in Los Angeles in the near future? Yes. Will some of these players make an impact in Los Angeles via trade? Yes, and that’s the key importance I’m seeing in this Manchester lineup. The Kings are built right now for long-term success. Where I think Manchester will really come into play is a trade at this year’s deadline, sometime this off-season, or next season. The fact that Dean Lombardi has done such a wonderful job in constructing such a young, solid core of players gives us a little more comfort when it comes to including prospects in a trade. There are already a handful of players on Manchester’s roster that have NHL experience. Not to say they weren’t NHL savvy, but let’s be honest, the Kings are on the verge of being an elite team. There is so much competition at every position, we’re feeding Manchester players that could very well be starters on other NHL clubs. Could this have something to do with Manchester’s success this season?

Let’s take a closer look at the players excelling in Manchester. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier is having quite the season with the Monarchs, and is quite possibly the hottest Kings prospect. I think it’s too early to tell what Bernier may bring to the Kings. Whatever the future may hold for Erik Ersberg may provide a clearer picture. There are so many variables in Bernier’s future I don’t even know what to say. With Quick’s success thus far, could we gain more by dealing Bernier? Will it disturb Quick’s confidence next season if Bernier’s on the roster? Remember now folks, Quick is having a stellar season knowing he’s the number 1, not with some youngster breathing down his back. This is a GOOD problem to have, remember that. What about winger Corey Elkins? The Kings draftee, fresh off of a 41 point season at The Ohio State University has recorded 36 points for the Monarchs. Here’s a late bloomer, Bud Holloway. Drafted in 2006 by Los Angeles, he leads the Monarchs in points. Still very young though at the age of 22. I could go on for pages and pages about this team, but let’s get one thing straight. If you feel content with the Kings roster now, take a minute to look at what Manchester is developing. To say this franchise is in good hands is an understatement. Whether the Monarchs provide solid players to add to the Kings roster, or provide the key to a big trade in the future, there’s a lot of up-side to this squad in New Hampshire.

The Los Angeles Kings closed out February with a nice win over the Colorado Avalanche and some of the team can enjoy a nice break during the Olympics. In this episode we talk about the Kings play going into the Olympic break as well as the game against the Avs. Question of the Day: What LA King will have the biggest impact on their Olympic Roster?

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.

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

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!

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.

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

The Los Angeles Kings were in Toronto tonight to face the slumping Maple Leafs and it wasn’t much of a match-up. The Leafs showed some life for a bit but the Kings shut it down nicely getting goals from three Canadians in Doughty, Stoll and Smyth. Brian Burke is building through trades, the Kings are building through the draft. Which works best for you?

The game happened a few days ago but the video highlights are still fresh. It’s rare that we get a come-from-behind victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. But that’s just what happened to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. What a night by Anze Kopitar and, wait for it, Peter Harrold!

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.

If you were at Staples Center last night, I’m sorry. The Los Angeles Kings didn’t come out to play. Instead the San Jose Sharks steamrolled the Midget Kings to take control of the NHL lead. Because Detroit also lost, the Kings remain 8th in the Western Conference. “Enjoy” the highlights.

When you sit-down with Dean Lombardi, you’re in store for a very sizable interview. And Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty knows that better than most. Here is part three of his exclusive sit-down with LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi. Check it out!

LOS ANGELES — Since the 2002-03 season, winger Alexander Frolov has been a top six forward for the Los Angeles Kings. A highly-skilled player, Frolov has a definite scoring touch, good hands, and he can pass the puck as well as anyone. The 27-year-old native of Moscow, Russia is also strong along the boards and in the corners and has an uncanny ability to protect the puck once he gets it.

The 6-3, 208-pound winger, who was selected by the Kings in the first round (twentieth overall) in the 2000 National Hockey League Entry Draft, had his best seasons in 2006-07 (35 goals, 36 assists for 71 points) and 2008-09 (32 goals, 27 assists for 59 points). In his six seasons in the NHL prior to the 2009-10 season, Frolov has scored twenty or more goal in each season, except for the 2002-03 season (fourteen goals), his rookie year.

Frolov has displayed flashes of brilliance, but has been an enigma throughout his career because it is evident that he is capable of reaching another level, but does not seem to have the mental makeup to play at that level, night in and night out.

But is Frolov really that good? Is he skilled enough to be a forty-goal scorer?

At this point in his career, Frolov’s aggravating knack to be the best player on the ice in several games only to completely disappear for another stretch of games indicates that the answer to that question is a fairly resounding “no.”

Indeed, expectations for Frolov were probably too high to begin with.

“I think the first premise, that he should be a forty-goal scorer—he had those thirty-goal years, but don’t forget, there’s a big difference between being a thirty-goal scorer on a contender and a thirty-goal scorer on a bad team,” Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi said during a recent interview. “That’s the first thing you want to be careful of.”

“When you’re building, you ask [yourself], where does he fit on a good team? When he’s young, yeah, he could be a forty-goal scorer,” Lombardi added. “But those thirty-goal years, I’m not sure they translate into forty [on a contender]. Actually, the guy who’s a 25-goal scorer on a contender, often times, is a better player than a thirty or 35-goal scorer on a bad team.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

KingsCast invaded Staples Center for Tip a King 2010 and got interviews by Raitus Ivanans, Oscar Moller, Jim Fox, Scott Parse, Ice Captain Debbie and Bailey. It was a great day for the Los Angeles Kings fans. If you were there, what was your favorite experience? How many Kings autographs did you score?

It was a rough start for the Los Angeles Kings this afternoon. The Boston Bruins were in town and played some nice physical hockey. The Kings came from behind in the third period after being down 3-1 and it was enough to go to a shootout. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown both scored in the shootout and the Kings remain in playoff contention in the Western Conference.

When the LA Kings play the Anaheim Ducks, you know it’s going to be a spirited game. In this episode we break down the game, give some thoughts on the fan atmosphere and crown a new Fan of the Game. Question of the Day: What would you re-name the Kings/Ducks rivalry to?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty is right back at it with his exclusive sit-down with Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi. This is a great read to take you into the weekend!

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings started the 2009-10 season on fire, as did center Anze Kopitar.

The Kings were scoring goals in bunches, as the line of left wing Ryan Smyth, right wing Justin Williams and Kopitar were torching just about every opponent they faced.

Kopitar was largely responsible for that, as he opened the season on a serious tear with fourteen goals and seventeen assists for 31 points in the team’s first 21 games (October 3 – November 14, 2009).

Indeed, with Smyth going hard for loose pucks and consistently parking himself in front of the opposition’s net, Kopitar found himself with more room to maneuver in the offensive zone, giving him more scoring chances.

But it was much more than Smyth that made Kopitar the scoring terror that he was early in the season.

Off-season conditioning and strength work added muscle and endurance to Kopitar’s 6-3, 222-pound frame. That gave him more speed and power to get past defenders and to help him win more loose puck battles.

But when Smyth went down with a rib injury and missed six weeks starting in mid-November, Kopitar went down, too, virtually disappearing from the scoresheet. In fact, from November 11 (a few games before Smyth was injured) to December 7, Kopitar did not score a goal—a thirteen-game goal-scoring drought.

Since November 16, the first game Smyth missed due to the injury, Kopitar has scored just four goals and has added ten assists for fourteen points in 26 games, way, way off the 1.48 points per game pace he set to begin the season.

Conventional wisdom has been that Smyth’s absence was the primary reason for Kopitar’s huge slump. But don’t try telling that to Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi, even though he was scratching his head about the situation as well.

“I can’t deny that I’ve asked myself if one guy [could make that much of a difference],” Lombardi said during a recent interview. “I’ve got to admit I was a little confused by that myself. I did the same thing you did. I talked to hockey people and asked, ‘is it possible that one guy who was leading the league in scoring then gets six points in thirteen games, [could be because one player (Smyth) goes out of the lineup]?’”

Lombardi then went to an expert for help.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

The Freeway Faceoff was on tonight at Staples Center as the slumping Los Angeles Kings took on the surging Anaheim Ducks. The Kings started this game out 9th in the Western Conference and finished the game strongly. Jonathan Quick earned his first shutout of the season. Both teams played very physical. After a big hit on Oscar Moller, Drew Doughty and Brad Richardson dropped the gloves showing why this year’s Kings team has some character. Enjoy the highlights!

Put down the coffee and disconnect from your NSFW sites as Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has published Part 1 in his exclusive interview with LA Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi. Take a look and feel free to leave Gann Matsuda a comment to get further insight from him.

LOS ANGELES — Anyone who follows the National Hockey League knows that Atlanta Thrashers superstar left wing Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract expires on June 30, 2010, and that the Thrashers risk losing him if they are unable to sign him to a contract extension prior to that date.

To this point, the Thrashers have been unable to reach an agreement with Kovalchuk, who many believe is waiting to test the free agent waters in July, and rumor has it that Thrashers general manager Don Waddell is testing the trade waters to try to make sure that if Kovalchuk refuses to sign, that the Thrashers will, at least, get something in return.

That has led to furious, wild speculation in recent days regarding teams that may be in the running for Kovalchuk’s services, and the Los Angeles Kings, with their young, up-and-coming team with enough salary cap room to fit Kovalchuk into their plans, are rumored to be among the favorites.

Many Kings fans are drooling all over themselves, both figuratively and literally, at the thought of seeing Kovalchuk in a Kings jersey. But the question is:

Will Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi pull the trigger?

Before looking specifically at that question, it should be noted that, like any NHL general manager worth his salt, Lombardi always has his eyes and ears open for any deal that will improve his team.

“I’m always looking for the next piece,” Lombardi said in a recent interview. “We’re right on schedule. I met with the owner back in July. We talked about if he was happy with our record. This is the way I saw it, this is my projection on what we’re going to need to be a contender, if everything came together the way I thought. To get to the next level, these are the three things we need to have.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Well, it’s not like a top team in the league was in town last night but the Los Angeles Kings still managed to look like an unorganized beer league team. Jonathan Quick like Jason LaBarbera last night letting in four softies. Sure, the Kings managed to make some what of a game out of it by staging a late-game almost-comeback but, in typical 2008-2009 LA Kings fashion, they circle the bullseye and miss it completely. Enjoy the vid!

Desperately clinging onto a playoff spot, the Los Angeles Kings battle the surging and usually dominant Detroit Red Wings at Staples Center. A sellout crowd of Red vs. Black provides the suspense and timing…is everything. Question of the Day: Who has the worst fans in the NHL?

It was a frustrating night at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Kings had over 50 shots on goal against Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings but only Ryan Smyth could put the biscuit in the basket. The Kings played well but they just couldn’t get it done. They now sit 8th in the Western Conference and only 3 points out of ninth. The next games are important!

Jon Moncrief of the Los Angeles Kings Examiner stops by to talk Kings hockey. Tune in as he gives us an exclusive inside perspective on Frolov, Kopitar, Smyth, possible trades, team needs and much more. Great interview from a passionate and knowledgeable hockey journalist.

Read Jon Moncrief here.

You read the score correctly. The Los Angeles Kings came into the Shark Tank last night and were on the winning side of a bloodbath. The Sharks were coming off of an astounding 9-game win streak but the Kings were there to make sure it didn’t go into double-digits. The Kings got scoring from six different players. Drew Doughty had 4 assists and Jonathan Quick had over 40 save. Wow. Your thoughts?

Guest blogger Alex Kinkopf joins us again to give us his take on this very important week of Los Angeles Kings Hockey. You can friend Alex up on Facebook

On Attendance:
I’ve just about accepted the fact that section 325 will no longer be completely vacant for my pleasure for the remainder of the season. The days of scalping any ‘ol 300 level seat without care or concern about the 14th row corner section I just shelled out 10 bones for, an automatic ass-cushion in the three-two-five…are over. I noticed the sudden boost in attendance after the holidays last year, and likewise this year on the 28th against Minnesota. It’s gotta be the holiday ticket packages. It’s gotta be!

On Stolly’s Return:
Hammy said it, Jarret Stoll will be back in the lineup tomorrow night at the Pavilion. Good to hear, but don’t expect a full serving of Stoll right away. If there’s one player to feel comfortable with taking draws, its #28. I’d like to see him work his way back on the PP as well. There’s nothing like a Stoll-Doughty or Stoll-JMFJ tandem feeding each other juicy D to D passes across the blue-line resulting in absolute bombs from the point.

On Scuds:
Rob Scuderi has proven to be a great off-season acquisition for Los Angeles. Not a player that gets a whole lot of love from fans because of his style of play. He gets the job done in the defensive zone. Not a flashy player, and sticks to his priority of playing a defensive-minded game. This gives his defensive partner, whomever it may be, Doughty or Johnson, to step up in the offensive zone and take a couple of chances. Great example here from back in September.

Scuderi’s play is underrated, and I love it. When you can sign a veteran defenseman who can not only teach the youngsters in Doughty and Johnson, but give them the support to allow them to make an offensive presence, you have yourself a key player. One with a lot of playoff experience and a ring on his finger. Expect Scuds to be a gamebreaker later on this year.

On Tonight @ San Jose:
Huge game, no question about it. Like I said previously, the Kings need victories in at least two of the three meetings with San Jose this month in regulation to have any hopes of a shot for the Pacific Division Title. Jarret Stoll will be back with the 4th line centering Ivanans and Moller. Randy Jones is still out recovering from his concussion symptoms. Brown – Kopitar – Smyth leading the top line again. What do you expect to see from this game? Predictions? The win against Washington was huge, and following it with a victory against San Jose would be a shot in the arm for the Kings.

The Los Angeles Kings, enter the new decade with a 2 game winning streak and an Olympic sized boost of confidence. KingsCast, attends the game, has a run-in with Alexander Ovechkin and wreaks havoc at the Celebrities vs Alumni Game. So far 2010, so good! Question of the Day: Who is your favorite hockey player?

The Los Angeles Kings started off 2010 with a nice win against Alexander “the Douche” Ovechkin (more on that later on Overtime) and the Washington Capitals. As good as the Capitals are, they couldn’t get Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick to shake in net. The kid was outstanding as he lead the Kings to a win. Anze Kopitar remains snake-bitten on the goal sheet but Ryan Smyth and Handzuskept it alive for the Kings. Los Angeles remains in 8th place in the conference (4 point ahead of the Stars). Enjoy the clip!

Guest blogger Alex Kinkopf chimes in with his thoughts on last night’s game in Alberta. Your thoughts on the game?

The Kings entered tonight with 8 consecutive losses to Calgary in Alberta. As many of you know, Canada named their official roster for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver this morning. What made me somewhat optimistic for a victory tonight? The last time Los Angeles pulled off a victory in the Saddledome was December 21st, 2005; the day Canada named their official roster for the 2006 Olympics. Let’s put that aside, just a fun fact, if you want to call it that.
This was the final time these two teams met in the regular season with Calgary taking the 4 game affair as Los Angeles could only earn a victory in one of the four contests. However, I’ve had a feeling for a while now these two clubs will be seeing each other again this season. More on that later..

Thoughts on the game:

What I Liked:

* Playoff Atmosphere: Immediately after Phaneuf’s hit on Kopitar, you could feel the electricity from the building through the broadcast. (Yes, even if you were struggling through an internet stream as I did. C’mon now FSW!!) The intensity was heightened above any level we’ve seen this year in a Kings game.
* Murray’s Intensity: I love the guy. All year we’ve seen him send the message to his players that it’s his way or you’re taking a seat. We’ve seen Fro and Randy as prime examples. From what I’ve seen, he’s not too fond of stupid retaliation, but knows there is a time and a place to stick up for your players. As Brent Sutter threw a tantrum after Phaneuf’s game misconduct, Murray let him hear about it. I felt this was similar to an MLB manager arguing until ejection, ultimately firing up the ballclub. Unfortunately, the Kings reacted with less passion than I had originally expected.
* Brad Richardson: Good performance all around. If you can back-track to the play when Dusty was awarded a penalty shot (god knows why) take a look at the hustle Richy utilized to clear that puck out of the zone. Beautiful. They guy backs it up with pure effort and intensity.
* Knee-jerk line to start the 2nd frame. Simmonds – Moller – Parse. Great hustle all around for that goal.
* Scotty Parse: GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU SHOOT THE PUCK. Second consecutive game Scotty wastes no time playing with the biscuit and buries it for a goal. Atta Boy!
* Parse – Simmonds – Richy: Liked the line in general. However, why did Moller get the call to start the 2nd with Scotty and Brad?
* Brandon Segal makes return: Boy, the adrenaline must’ve been pumping for Segal tonight. He made his first return to the arena that hosted him for four years as a member of the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. Solid performance as well, great scoring chance.
* Smyth’s effort: The results haven’t been there since his return, but the effort has. Note the continuous foot movement and puck control in the offensive zone to draw a 2nd period hooking penalty on Robyn Regehr.

What made me swear:

* Teddy Purcell: Move your feet, terrible tripping penalty at the end of the 2nd.
* Lack of Poise: C’mon Drew, Calgary’s announcers associated your play with “great poise” multiple times tonight. Sorry, but throwing a punch in mid-play doesn’t show that.
* Stupid Retaliation: Haven’t I mentioned this already?
* Erik Ersberg: I take it back, unfair to judge this play. Disagree, as I feel many of you will. Give him a home start! Please! To have a confident backup goalie, you must present him with the opportunity to build it, Terry.
* Nystrom: Am I crazy? Was he not pulling on the back of Ersy’s Jersey/Pants during Calgary’s 2nd goal?
* Lack of puck possession in the final 3 minutes: Enough Said.

Final Thoughts:

For the past few months, I’ve had a weird feeling about these two clubs meeting in the 1st round of the playoffs. Both teams are playoff bound, but are both capable of ending up in the top, middle, or bottom of the 8 seeds in the Western. We’ll see, just a feeling. Off to Minny.

The Los Angeles Kings have done something they haven’t done all season long: lose four games in a row. The Kings were in Calgary to face the Flames and, again, they just couldn’t generate any offense. Dion Phaneuf had a brutal hit on Kings center Anze Kopitar that even had the coaches taking jabs at each other. It’s rare to see coach Terry Murray yelling but it was well deserved as Phaneuf’s hit was dirty.

Read Alex Kinkopf’s post-game blog: Lasso’ed at the Saddledome Again.

We love it when you guys send us email, Tweets and notes on Facebook but this one takes the cake. Recently, Chris Kaliszewski and I had the opportunity to do a little dance number with LA Kings Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. It was for the kids. But one of you out there must have had a hidden camera and captured this little ditty. Enjoy!

The Holidays come to a close, the Kings are back in action and the injuries never stop mounting. That’s right, it’s the Los Angeles Kings. Here’s hoping the team can dig deep and figure out a way to win. Question of the Day: To help cope with the Williams injury, who would you trade and for what?

The Minnesota Wild may be surging right not but the Los Angeles Kings still look a bit rusty. It was a very disappointing game for a sell-out crowd at Staples Center last night. The Kings tied it late but the Wild shut the loud crowd up quickly as they scored a few seconds later. David Courtney hadn’t finished announcing the Kings goal.

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty is busy over the holidays covering the Kings. Here’s his latest on Dustin Brown and Scott Parse. Enjoy!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The Los Angeles Kings finally emerge from the dark, wispy shadows of an eight-day hiatus in their schedule tonight at Phoenix, and all expectations are that they should be stronger with the return of left wing Ryan Smyth, right wing Wayne Simmonds and defenseman Jack Johnson, who all missed time with injuries in recent weeks.

If all goes according to their expectations, the Kings’ offense should be bolstered by the return of these players, especially with Smyth being reunited with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Justin Williams on the first line.

The Kings will have to shift some players around on all of their forward lines to accommodate Smyth and Simmonds, and they hope the juggling will help get right wing Dustin Brown untracked.

After scoring 33 goals and adding 27 assists for sixty points in 78 games in the 2007-08 season, followed by 24 goals and 29 assists for 53 points in eighty games last season, Brown has just eight goals with nineteen assists for 27 points in 37 games this season.

Despite ranking second on the team in overall scoring, Brown has scored just four goals in his last 26 games, and has had several goal scoring droughts this season including goal-less streaks lasting six, four and fourteen games.

Brown is currently on pace to score eighteen goals this season.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

No joke, Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty was up until 4:30AM on Christmas Eve writing this story for all of you to read. So, after the presents are unwrapped, the brunch has been consumed and you’re wondering what to do with yourself, take a look at Gann’s latest story.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — With Christmas 2009 now upon us, the Los Angeles Kings are all away from the rink, spending time with family and friends, sharing the spirit of the season.

While those of us who celebrate the holiday season by exchanging gifts do so with loved ones and friends, the Kings received the gift they wanted most at this point in the 2009-10 season, the return of several key players from injury, including veteran left wing Ryan Smyth, right wing Wayne Simmonds and defenseman Jack Johnson.

Johnson missed just one game after taking a slap shot by Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray off his foot, so the Kings did not miss him for long. But the return of Simmonds (out for four games) and Smyth (missed fifteen games) has been something the Kings have been waiting for with the proverbial bated breath.

“This is a good time for us,” said center Anze Kopitar, who will have Smyth back on left wing on his line with right with Justin Williams when the Kings return to action at Phoenix on December 26.

A big reason Kopitar was smiling all week in practice was because with Smyth’s presence in front of the opposition’s net, he was scoring goals and racking up points at a torrid pace. But without him, Kopitar scored just two goals.

“We have some banged up bodies from the last little while,” Kopitar noted. “Everybody’s going to get healthy and we’re going to come back strong.”

To be sure, there were a lot of smiles and excitement on the ice and in the Kings dressing room during three days of practice this week, much of it the result of the team getting healthier and the expectations among the players that their team just got a huge shot in the arm that should strengthen them and make things easier down the road.

But there is a potential pitfall here, as the Kings have to worry about the all too common let down after a team gets key players back from injury.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Continuing with Hockeywood, LA’s “Figure Eight” promotion, we close it out with a Christmas Day treat giving you our reasons to be a Los Angeles Kings fan. What are yours?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has been making good use of his holiday time and has cranked out another story on the Los Angeles Kings. As always, he’s got some great quotes for players. So grab an eggnog and enjoy!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Like the rest of the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Kings are now in the midst of the two-day Christmas break. But unlike children the world over who might have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, the Kings are more likely to have visions of them reaching new heights with the return of veteran left wing Ryan Smyth to the lineup, along with right wings Wayne Simmonds and Brandon Segal, and defenseman Jack Johnson.

All four injured players were back on the ice at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California this week as the team skated in three extended practices during an eight-day break in their schedule.

“It’s always good to get your regular players back, there’s no question,” said head coach Terry Murray. “The energy is always higher, there’s going to be an impact on performance.”

Smyth, 33, suffered an undisclosed upper body injury, which has been all but confirmed to be a rib injury, on November 14 at Florida and missed fifteen games before being activated from injured reserve on December 18.

“It felt good to be out there with the guys and knowing there’s a little light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that Saturday [when the Kings skate at Phoenix] is coming right around the corner,” said Smyth. “So it’s exciting. Playing on a regular line and getting back to moving the puck again, it’s just a matter of getting into a game situation.”

Smyth was immediately reunited with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Justin Williams on the line that he started the season with, the most potent line in the league at the time.

After practice ended on December 21, the three remained on the ice, with Smyth feeding Kopitar and Williams for one-timers and then working on a couple of other drills.

“[We were] just getting connected again,” Smyth explained. “It’s been awhile. You’re just doing the little things. You’ve got to play to your strengths.”

Read the rest on HockeyTalk.biz

The Los Angeles Kings have been on a bit of a break but your friends at KingsCast have been working overtime to get you the latest and greatest on Kings hockey. In our 4th Annual Holiday Spectacular, Keith, Chris and Connie give out some gifts to the players, discuss the implications of the break, what healthy prospects to keep and take your questions from Twitter and Facebook. So settle back and enjoy! Feliz Navidad!

The Los Angeles Kings are on an 8-day break so we take the time to spread some holiday cheer. In this episode we show you some Christmas cards we received from players on the Kings, talk about the team’s performance and announce our give away on December 28th. Question of the Day: What gift do you give the Kings fan in your life?

What can I say, folks, we’re on a lot of mailing lists. And this year we received a few Christmas cards from some of the players on the Los Angeles Kings. That’s right, Teddy Purcell, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Wayne Simmonds and Justin Williams thought of us during the holiday season. We thought we’d spread the holiday cheer they sent us with you. Those of you that saw our Holiday Spectacular video and asked for stills of the cards, here you go. Enjoy!

Teddy Purcell sent us this:

Justin Williams sent us this:

Anze Kopitar sent us this:

Wayne Simmonds sent us this:

Finally, Drew Doughty sent us this:

Sweet gestures from these players. Which is your favorite?

Disclaimer: These holiday cards were not actually sent by players but are representations created solely by KingsCast. (Duh)

The Los Angeles Kings continue their “Figure Eight” promotion where they re-cap the best of the decade. Here, KingsCast breaks down the best (and worst) goalies of the 2000’s. What’s your best or worst LA Kings goaltender?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has a new story up on HockeyTalk.biz and, as usual, he’s rocking the interviews and analysis of the Los Angeles Kings performance. It’s a must-read as I know we’re all anxiously awaiting the Kings return to the ice.

LOS ANGELES — Over the vast majority of their history, the Los Angeles Kings have traditionally played poorly in December, so often that many fans resign themselves to the inevitable “December Swoon.”

But this year’s Kings have been a big surprise. To be sure, they have done anything but swoon as their 7-2-1 record for this month (going into action on December 19), indicates. With four games left to play this month, the Kings are guaranteed to have a winning record in December, a rather shocking fact for many Kings fans.

Even more impressive, the Kings have earned a 9-5-1 record since veteran left wing Ryan Smyth went down with what is believed to be a rib injury on November 16. Compare that to recent seasons past when the loss of a key player would have sent them free-falling in the standings, it is rather apparent that there is something very different about the 2009-10 Kings.

“We’re doing all the little things and getting timely goals,” said goaltender Jonathan Quick.

“You could look at as some nights, we seem to be doing it with smoke and mirrors and other nights, it seems like it’s the mark of a good team, or a team that’s maturing and getting better—you don’t have to bring your best effort every night,” said defenseman Sean O’Donnell. “Just find a way to win. We’re starting to get confidence and learn to win the games that aren’t pretty. We’re starting to get on a nice little roll here.”

“Even though our penalty-killing hasn’t been great, when we’ve had to kill one, we’ve killed it,” added O’Donnell. “When Quick has had to make the save, he’s made the save.”

Check out Gann’s latest story on HockeyTalk.biz

This is a great little video from Matt Greene and Kings Vision simply asking what gifts each Kings player would get for one another. Matt Greene may be a tough, rugged defenseman on the ice but he is hilarious off of it. Enjoy the video while the Los Angeles Kings enjoy some well-deserved time off.

With Smyth, Stoll, Simmonds, Johnson and Jones out of the lineup, did anyone expect a win tonight? I didn’t. That said, the Los Angeles Kings played a balanced game against the Calgary Flames. Corey Elkins nabbed his first career NHL goal the the Kings are now on an 8-game break. Let’s hope we get back our key players on December 26th.

The Los Angeles Kings are back in Oiler town and that means it’s time for KingsCast and The Hockey Zen to drop the gloves and get down to business. Get in on the action as both shows talk about the Kings and Oilers game last night at Rexall Place. Question of the Day: What’s your beverage of choice while watching hockey?

Really? The Los Angeles Kings are still the best team in the Western Conference? Without Ryan Smyth, Wayne Simmonds and Jarret Stoll? Jonathan Quick was awesome tonight and the Kings got some excellent secondary scoring. Hey, even Sean O’Donnell had a goal tonight. Jack Johnson went down with an ankle injury tonight. How soon can our 8-game break come? Exactly!

Read Connie’s post-game blog.

Another injury? That’s right, folks, you heard it right. Jarret Stoll now has a groin injury which he suffered last night. This should make for a fun road-trip! The Kings looked flat last night in Vancouver and could definitely use a bit of a break. With Stoll out, who centers the second and third line?

LOS ANGELES — If you’ve been telling your friends, family, or anyone else that you thought the Los Angeles Kings would be ten games above the .500 mark in mid-December, in fourth place in the Western Conference, just two points out of the conference lead, and just three points behind the Washington Capitals for the best record in the National Hockey League as of this writing, rest assured that you will find a big lump of coal in your stocking courtesy of Santa Claus this holiday season.

After all, liars never wind up on Santa’s “good” list.

To be sure, no one in their right mind would have predicted that the Kings would be right up there with the top teams in the NHL in mid-December, let alone when the season began in October. But improved offensive production, decent defense and better-than-passable goaltending have helped lift the Kings into the upper echelon of the NHL…

…for the time being.

Indeed, about four months remain in the regular season and so much could still happen to this still young, still inexperienced team. But focusing on the present, consider the following:

* The Kings have won three straight and are 6-0-1 in their last seven games.
* They are 16-3-3 when scoring first and 14-0-0 when leading after two periods.
* They are 8-1-1 vs. Pacific Division and are 10-1-3 in one-goal games.
* Six of the Kings’ last seven games have been one-goal games and they won all six of those games.

If those numbers jump out at you in a big way, they should. They point to a team that is finding a way to win on most nights.

Secondary scoring has been a big reason for the Kings’ recent success.

Read the rest on Gann Matsuda’s Frozen Royalty

Wait, the Los Angeles Kings are one point behind the San Jose Sharks? Really? The Kings? That’s right, folks, the LA Kings are playing some serious hockey this season. Last night, against the Coyotes, they gave up the lead and took things to a shootout….and it was a long one. Quick was, again, spectacular in net last night. What is your biggest surprise this season?

Read Connie’s post-game blog

Christian Mora from the University of Texas – Arlington writes us again with his ever-popular Los Angeles Kings spreadsheet and analysis. Again, this is a very solid read which is why I post it every time he writes in. Follow him on Twitter.

The season is 40% done and what a difference 8 games can make. We more than doubled the point output of the last chunk and scored 11 more goals and gave up 7 less. An 18 goal differential is HUGE for 8 games. I have thus concluded that scoring more goals and stopping more shots will win you games. Shocker, I know.

5on5 play is still average at .97, the power play numbers are beginning to look like a roller coaster, and the penalty kill is now only as bad as Anaheim’s.

A lot has been said about our perfect win percentage when winning after 2 periods but I personally don’t find it all that impressive considering there are 6 other teams out there touting the same stat and that we often blow that lead before somehow managing a way to take it back, even it takes an OT or a SO.

The Kings are currently sporting 5 players amongst the top 60 in points. Kopitar is 4th with 36. Stoll, Doughty, and Brown are 51st, 52nd, and 53rd, all with 24 (1 point ahead of Connie’s Matt Moulson), and Smyth is 58th with 23 points despite having only played 22 games. I find this very encouraging because at the end of last year you would find the highest scoring King at 45th and you would need to go to 170th to find our 5th highest scorer. Let’s hope they keep it up and have more players creep up the rankings.

Wayne Simmonds needs to find a way to score 4 points in the next 50 games to match his rookie season’s output while Drew Doughty needs only 3 points to do so. Brad Richardson scored more goals between 12/1/09 and 12/5/09 than he did in his previous 2 years at the NHL level.

Last season we managed 4 out of a possible 12 points against the Sharks while only winning our final game outright. This season we have gained 5 points and 2 wins on them already. Before every game KingsCast asks for final score predictions on Facebook and I find it interesting in what people think will happen. Understandably, the predictions are not as nice looking against the likes of the league’s powerhouses but I think the Kings have held their own and surprised us. I wonder how long it will take for us to expect the Kings to win or even compete with the San Joses, the Calgarys, and the Detroits. I eagerly anticipate the day.

Here’s to hoping the Staples Center event schedulers have to actually coordinate with the Lakers come April.

Once again, thank you Christian for your coverage of the Los Angeles Kings! What do you think about Christian’s number-crunching?

When the Kings decide to start Erik Ersberg against the San Jose Sharks, we never expect to compete, much less win. However, the Los Angeles Kings exceeded expectations last night as they delivered a win in overtime at the Shark Tank. Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Teddy Purcell all broke their goal-less streaks last night. Did any of you expect this?

Last night I had the opportunity to be a part of the first episode of View From My Seats Radio featuring Matt Reitz and co-host (and Dallas Stars fan) Jen. We had a good time talking about my favorite subject, Los Angeles Kings hockey.

For those of you that don’t read Matt’s blog, you really ought to bookmark (and subscribe) to a View From My Seats. His blog is about the National Hockey League and his razor-sharp wit comes through with each post. For those of us stuck in the Kings hockey land, it’s nice to get a league-wide perspective.

Also recommended is their new show, VFMS Radio. By now you should be able to subscribe to the show on iTunes and take it with you on your favorite mobile device.

Listen to the show here:

So what do you think of their first show?

While Kopitar’s points have trailed off into oblivion, secondary scoring has kicked into high gear. Here we’ll break down the games and make some observations about FSN’s TV advertising. Question of the Day: if you got a new jersey for Christmas, what player would be on the back?

The Los Angeles Kings are now 5-3-1 without Ryan Smyth and they had a good game tonight. Rob Scuderi was back and you could tell his presence was missed. Jonathan Quick had another strong game and the Kings secondary scoring kept things going.

Despite powering their way through to a shootout, the Los Angeles Kings were not playing good afternoon hockey (again). Brad Richardson continues on his goal-scoring tear with his third goal in three games. Scott Parse also added to the tally while Kopitar and Brown remain scoreless. Oscar Moller has just been called up. What does that mean for Teddy Purcell?

Is Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty writing positively about Brad Richardson? That’s right, folks, the guy we all wanted on a one-way ticket to Manchester is playing some good hockey right now. Teddy Purcell, however, isn’t. Here’s the latest from Gann.

LOS ANGELES — After losing three of their first four games without veteran left wing Ryan Smyth, things looked quite bad for the still young Los Angeles Kings and their survival in the Western Conference playoff race.

During that stretch, the Kings allowed twelve goals while scoring just eight. To be sure, their defensive play, which was a major strength last season, had finally been exposed with Smyth out of the lineup.

“We’ve got to tighten up defensively,” defenseman Matt Greene said on November 22. “In this league, you’re not going to win games with the old run-and-gun—you’re not going to win championships. That’s something that needs to be addressed immediately, that commitment to defense and to taking pride in not giving up goals.”

“We just have to play with more confidence and make a commitment to defense,” Greene added. “We have to know our assignments. You have to know what you’re doing on the ice before you get out there. A lot of this game is read and react, but there’s a lot that’s structured, too, just knowing where you need to be. That’s what we have to get back to—knowing your job and doing it.”

Discipline in terms of playing within their system has also contributed to the Kings’ poor defensive coverage.

“Sometimes there are mental lapses out there,” Greene explained. “That’s what we have to eliminate so everyone’s on the same page, so you know where your partner is going to be or where you line mates are going to be. That’s how you play within your structure.”

Much of the talk since Smyth suffered the dreaded “upper body injury” that will keep him out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks has been that if the Kings can play .500 hockey until he returns, they should be in good shape for a playoff run.

But few believed they could do it.

Nevertheless, to the surprise of just about everyone, the Kings are 4-3-0 going into their December 5 matinee contest against the St. Louis Blues at Staples Center.

So far, so good.

Read the rest on HockeyTalk.biz

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has some nice material today to complement our lazy Sunday. Here’s his in-depth piece on fan favorite Wayne Simmonds

LOS ANGELES — Two years ago, Wayne Simmonds was toiling away in the Ontario Hockey League for the Owen Sound Attack and the Sault Ste. Marie (Soo) Greyhounds. But his play had already caught the eye of the Los Angeles Kings, who had selected him in the second round (61st overall) of the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

In that 2007-08 season with Owen Sound, Simmonds scored seventeen goals and contributed 22 assists for 39 points with 43 penalty minutes in 29 games before being traded to Sault Ste. Marie, where he scored sixteen goals and added twenty assists for 36 points with sixty penalty minutes in 31 games.

In fourteen playoff games with the Greyhounds, Simmonds scored five goals and added nine assists for fourteen points with 22 penalty minutes.

Simmonds went on to play in the 2008 OHL All-Star Classic and he represented Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships that season, helping lead his team to the gold medal.

And after that? All Simmonds did was make the Kings roster right out of junior hockey last season, playing in all 82 games, scoring nine goals and adding fourteen assists for 23 points with 73 penalty minutes.

But if you think that was impressive, you haven’t been paying attention to what he has done so far this season.

To be sure, Simmonds has been one of the Kings’ best players since the start of the season, although his performance as a gritty, hard-working forward who can chip in here and there with a goal or two was vastly overshadowed by the dominating performance of the line of Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams earlier in the season.

Now, with Smyth out of the lineup due to an undisclosed upper body injury, Kopitar has fallen off the face of the Earth in terms of goal scoring. Add to that the scoring woes of right wing Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov, one would think the Kings’ offense would completely dry up, sending the team into a lengthy downward spiral.

But not if Simmonds has anything to say about it.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

Per LAKings.com

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings will host the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at STAPLES Center, the National Hockey League and the Kings announced Friday. The annual Draft — which will take place June 25-26, 2010 — will be in Los Angeles for the first time ever.

“The Los Angeles Kings organization would like to thank NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and Bill Daly, John Collins, Don Renzulli and the entire National Hockey League for awarding the Kings, STAPLES Center and the city of Los Angeles this prestigious event,” said Kings Governor Timothy J. Leiweke. “The fact that the Draft will be at STAPLES Center and at L.A. LIVE next June is very special to us as our team has been built largely through the Draft and our patience is being rewarded right now. L.A. LIVE is the event capital of the world and we are excited that the NHL Draft is the first of many League Drafts that L.A. expects to host in the future.”

“It has been terrific to watch the continuing evolution of the Los Angeles Kings, as well as the growth of hockey in the state of California,” said National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman. “With local youth programs producing an increasing number of elite players, we are extremely pleased to bring this showcase event to California for the first time.”

“This is a very exciting and this is a very special announcement,” said Kings President of Business Operations, Luc Robitaille, who was originally selected by the Kings in the ninth-round (171st overall) of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. “The Draft is the place so many young players in our sport begin their professional careers and next summer the future of the NHL will be on display in Los Angeles. With the success of L.A. LIVE and our new incredible hotel opening in February, it is the ideal setting for yet another major sports and entertainment event to come to downtown Los Angeles. It is also another example that Los Angeles is a thriving hockey market with knowledgeable fans.”

“With the draft being here in L.A. next summer, maybe we can find another Luc Robitaille,” said Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi.

First priority for all Draft ticketing at STAPLES Center for June 25 and 26 will be given to Kings full season ticket members and STAPLES Center premier seat and suite holders. For official Draft ticket information, call 1-888-KINGS-LA or register for official Draft ticket information by clicking here.

The Kings’ current roster features eight players selected by the club in the annual NHL Draft including seven total players who were selected in the first-round (by the Kings or another NHL club). This list features Dustin Brown (13th overall in 2003), Drew Doughty (2nd overall in 2008), Alexander Frolov (20th overall in 2000), Anze Kopitar (11th overall in 2005), Jack Johnson (3rd overall by Carolina in 2005), Ryan Smyth (6th overall by Edmonton in 1994) and Justin Williams (28th overall by Philadelphia in 2000).

Since Lombardi assumed President/General Manager duties with the Kings, he has used the draft unlike any General Manager in team history to help implement his vision as he continues to build the Kings. Since 2006, Lombardi and the Kings have used 38 overall selections including six in the first round, five in second round and seven in the third round. The Kings have chosen at least one player in each of these rounds the last four years, and going forward the Kings have 10 selections in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, including six in the first three rounds.

At the annual NHL Entry Draft, which began in 1969, the Kings have selected 385 total players including 32 in the first round, 40 in the second round and 38 in the third round. (The Kings had two selections in the NHL Amateur Draft – 1967 and 1968 – when there was only one round and different draft rules applied).

The highest draft selections the Kings have had in their history were the second overall selections (three times: Doughty, Jimmy Carson in 1986 and Doug Smith in 1981). The Kings have held a draft choice in the top five overall selections six other times (third overall: Aki Berg in 1995, Olli Jokinen in 1997; fourth overall: Larry Murphy in 1980, Wayne McBean in 1987, Thomas Hickey in 2007; fifth overall: Brayden Schenn in 2009).

Some other notable Kings draft picks over the years include the following: Butch Goring – Fifth-round (51st overall) in 1969; Billy Smith – Fifth-round (59th overall) in 1970; Dave Taylor – 15th-round (210th overall) in 1975; Jay Wells – First-round (16th overall) in 1979; Mark Hardy – Second-round (30th overall) in 1979 Jim Fox – First-round (10th overall) in 1980; Bernie Nicholls – Fourth-round (73rd overall) in 1980; Kevin Stevens – Sixth-round (108th overall) in 1983; Rob Blake – Fourth-round (70th overall) in 1988; Alexei Zhitnik – Fourth-round (81st overall) in 1991; Lubomir Visnovsky – Fourth-round (118th overall) in 2000; and Michael Cammalleri – Second-round (49th overall) in 2001.

Three players selected by the Kings are currently in the Hockey Hall of Fame – Robitaille, Murphy and Billy Smith.

The Kings began play in the National Hockey League in 1967 and the club has never hosted the NHL Entry Draft. In fact, for the first time in its 46-year history, the NHL Entry Draft will be held in the State of California. The 2009 Draft was held in Montreal as part of that organization’s Centennial celebration.

Defenseman Jonathon Blum, a native of Long Beach, California, and member of the 2007 Memorial Cup-champion Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, became the first California-born and trained player to ever be selected in the first round (2007). Blum, claimed by the Nashville Predators with the 23rd overall pick, played his youth hockey with the California Wave before moving to the WHL.

Since 2001, 23 players have been drafted from the state of California, including nine in the last three draft years. Only five states in the U.S. have had more – Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and Illinois.

Long Beach, California native Emerson Etem is ranked fourth by NHL Central Scouting on its “Top 25 Western Hockey League Players to Watch” list for the 2010 Draft. Etem, a speedy center with great puckhandling skills, is second on his team — Medicine Hat Tigers — in goal scoring with 20.

The first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft will take place on Friday, June 25, beginning at 4 p.m. (PT). On Saturday, the draft concludes with rounds two-seven.

KingsCast Take: This is going to be a huge event for Los Angeles Kings fans. The Canadian media will descend upon Los Angeles for two days of hockey. I know we’re going, are you?

You know it’s a weird game when Brad Richardson scores and Anze Kopitar doesn’t. The Los Angeles Kings hosted the Ottawa Senators at a half-full Staples Center last night and it was a bizarre see-saw game right until the end. While it was nice to see some goals, it was a sloppy game by both teams. Check out the highlights!

Connie’s post-game blog.

I’m sorry, what? Brad Richardson scored a goal tonight? That’s right, Kings fans, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks tonight at the Puddle and Brad Richardson picked up a goal. Rookie Scott Parse also picked up a tally. Great game to start the “Freeway Faceoff”…

We love it when you send us email and love on the social networks. But, we love it even more when we can rip off your material that you send us. Christian Mora from the University of Texas – Arlington chimes in once again with some great analysis. This time, in addition to his spreadsheet, he has some graphs. You can follow Christian on Twitter. What do you think of his analysis?

Here’s the latest spreadsheet. Looking at the games 17-24 was ugly. We scored 15 goals. We gave up 28 (7 of which was on a night I’d rather not remember). To try and look at the bright side/big picture, we are still on pace for making the playoffs, although just by the thinnest of margins. I included some graphs because hey, who doesn’t like pictures? If you notice I also added 3 more tabs.

Our 5on5 ratio came back down to earth and is at .94. The 2 percentage point decline on the PP dropped us down 8 ranks to 18th overall. Fortunately our PK is ever so slowly climbing its way out of the gutter at 76.7%.

Explanation: In order to make all of the graphs look a lot nicer in terms of rankings 30th equates to NHL best and 1st equates to the worst

As you guys touched upon in Episode 4 of the podcast, Jonathan Quick’s win column continues to spit in the face of a mediocre goals against and a poor save percentage. What I really want to know is how the King’s 2nd best shots against of 26.6/G factors in to everything. To me, it could mean a few things. Either the defense is doing a really good job of blocking shots and taking away shooting lanes or Quick is just not that good. OR we do great in most of the game but break down a couple of times and give up really juicy scoring chances which other teams pounce upon much to our disappointment. Here are a couple of games that highlight my question:

11/18 vs Philly: 3 goals on 20 shots. Loss.
11/7 vs Nashville: 3 goals on 25 shots. Loss.
11/2 vs Phoenix: 3 goals on 16 shots. Win.

I know Quick played really well last night against Chicago and that’s kick-ass, but we need that kind of goaltending a lot more consistently if we want to last. Personally I think he needs to play less often. All of the people ahead of him in the win column have played fewer minutes. Brodeur has played 3 fewer games and I feel those are all important rest days. And I know a lot of people say that we can’t ease up on Quick because we don’t have much confidence in Ersberg but playing him once every month doesn’t exactly boost his bravado.

Scoring has also been extremely sparse. 13 goals the past 8 games dating back from last night. I don’t what needs to happen to get those pucks in the net but I hope it happens soon. We can’t wait on Smyth to come back and fix everything.

Hopefully the big win against a scary good team in the Blackhawks will serve as a momentum builder as the dog days of December embark upon us.

As usual, questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

Go Kings – screw Anaheim.

It was great to see the Los Angeles Kings pick up a win tonight against another top team in the NHL. The Chicago Blackhawks were home tonight and, yes, I’ll say it: Jonathan Quick stood on his head. Wayne Simmonds got the goal for the Kings and things weren’t decided until the shootout. With a sellout crowd watching, the Kings showed that they can win without Ryan Smyth if they get stellar goaltending. They got just that.

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty chimes in once again on his regular column at HockeyTalk.biz about Rogie Vachon’s exclusion from the Hockey Hall of Fame. This is a very important article to read in that, as fans, we need to make our voices heard and get Rogie where he needs to be…in the Hall. Read on.

LOS ANGELES — Many hockey fans in the Los Angeles area have at least heard of Rogie Vachon. They may know that he was the best goaltender ever to wear the jersey of the Los Angeles Kings. But few know of his accomplishments with the Kings and with the Montreal Canadiens prior to his arrival in Southern California.

Even fewer know that Vachon’s accomplishments rank him among the greatest goaltenders to have ever played the game, yet he continues to be denied the honor of being inducted into the hallowed halls of the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF).

A close look at Vachon’s career statistics shows that he ranks ahead of a considerable number of goaltenders who were inducted into the HHOF years ago (for details, see Time To Right A Wrong: Hockey Hall of Fame Must Induct Rogie Vachon).

“If there was anyone who deserves to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame who is not—if you look at his numbers, a Vezina Trophy, three Stanley Cups, and the fact is, he wasn’t just the second fiddle on that [Montreal Canadiens] team,” said Brian Kennedy, who featured Vachon in his new book, Living The Hockey Dream. “He shared the goaltending duties with Gump Worsley in that Vezina season and they won the Cup that same season, let alone everything he did for the Kings in the mid-Seventies.”

“There is no way we can keep that guy out of the Hockey Hall of Fame,” added Kennedy.

Vachon got his start in the National Hockey League with the Canadiens in the 1966-67 season, back when the league still consisted of its Original Six teams.

“They called me up with nineteen games to go and, at that time, the coach never told you who’s going to play that night,” said Vachon. “The tradition was that the trainer would come in just before the warm-up and give the puck to the goalie who plays.”

“That night, the trainer gave me the puck, so that was a bit of a shock,” added Vachon. “Especially during the warm-up when I was trying to settle down. On top of that, my first shot in the National Hockey League was a breakaway from Gordie Howe from the blue line in.”

Read the rest on HockeyTalk.biz

When the Los Angeles Kings take on the Edmonton Oilers, KingsCast drops the gloves with The Hockey Zen to break down the game and give our take on the season-long rivalry. Who wins this bet and by how many games?

The Los Angeles Kings have finally been bitten by the injury bug….and they’ve been bitten badly. Losing Ryan Smyth for a month will be a huge test for this young team. Take a listen as Keith and Connie break down the latest and greatest of what’s new with the LA Kings.

On behalf of Chris, Connie and Matt “the Sound Guy”, we would like to wish all of you a happy, healthy and somewhat drunken (American) Thanksgiving.

This has been a fun year at the KingsCast studios and we wanted to take the time to thank each and everyone of you who has been watching, listening and commenting on our shows. As passionate Los Angeles Kings fans, we’re thankful to have fans like you who tune in to hear our endless droning about our favorite hockey team. We truly appreciate your feedback and support.

And, while some of you will be watching football, causing a drunken scene at dinner or already passed out, we’ll be tuning in to see our Kings take on the Vancouver Canucks. Let’s hope they don’t amplify our Black Friday hangover.

So, on this Thanksgiving day, as a hockey fan, what are you most thankful for?

No doubt the loss of Ryan Smyth has not been good for the Los Angeles Kings. Here, Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty takes an in-depth look at the loss.

LOS ANGELES AND INGLEWOOD, CA — A little over a week has passed since the Los Angeles Kings lost veteran left wing Ryan Smyth to that mysterious “upper body injury” and since then, they have lost to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Calgary Flames.

In both games, the Kings not only put in spotty efforts, but their offense sputtered without Smyth’s constant presence in front of opposing goaltenders and in his tenacious work along the boards and in the corners.

“What he does very well is his composure with the puck,” said head coach Terry Murray. “He handles it in pressure situations, makes the game look easy, slows the game down, takes the puck to the net, makes plays in the offensive zone. He can make something happen out of nothing and he has that mentality that it has to end up at the net.”

Indeed, that mentality, or the lack thereof without Smyth in the lineup, is like a black hole on the ice. But the Kings know they have to overcome his absence.

“He’s definitely going to be missed on the team,” said defenseman Drew Doughty. “He’s one of the best players in the league, but we’re going to have to learn to step it up that extra notch and try to replace what he does for us.”

“[Smyth is] one of the key guys on our team, but that doesn’t matter right now,” said center Anze Kopitar, who leads the National Hockey League in overall scoring with 33 points on fourteen goals and nineteen assists. “He’s going to be gone for a month. Somebody else is going to have to step up. We’re going to have to play hard without him and win games.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty

You can’t take anything positive away from Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames. It was an abysmal failure by the Los Angeles Kings. Once again, on Saturday afternoon, the Kings played like they were recovering from a week-long bender. The question now is, what is this team going to do without Ryan Smyth? Watch the highlights, if you dare.

Read Connie Kim’s Post Game Blog

The Kings return to Los Angeles after a decent 3-2 road trip, lose a couple of top players to injury and are battle tested against an Eastern Conference power. How is this team going to respond to its first taste of adversity?

Uh-oh, this may not be a fun month for the Los Angeles Kings. The Philadelphia Flyers were in town and, while it wasn’t a blow-out, you could see how the Kings really needed Ryan Smyth’s presence in front of the net last night. Los Angeles has done a nice job up to now handling some top teams but faltered last night with Smyth out. It’s a tough series of games coming up. Can the Kings handle it without Ryan Smyth?

Read Connie’s Post-Game Blog

If you’re a fan of the shootout, then you must be liking LA Kings hockey lately. The team traveled to the Bank Atlantic Center to take on the Florida Panthers last night. Most of us expected a blow-out but it took the shootout to get it done. Jack Johnson had a clutch goal and a terrible turnover but the team got it done. With a 3-2 record on this road trip, the Kings are in good shape.

Read Connie Kim’s post-game blog.

After the worst game of the season against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Los Angeles Kings won tonight’s game against the Lightning in a shootout. The winning goal in overtime by Tampa Bay was disallowed due to goalie interference. It was quite controversial. What’s your take on it?

Luc Robitaille was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this week. If you’re looking for a true Los Angeles Kings, Luc Robitaille is it. Enjoy his speech!

Check out the KingsCast Tribute to Luc Robitaille

We certainly appreciate all the email, tweets, etc that we get here at KingsCast. They’re all meaningful. However, Christian Mora of the University of Texas, has been writing us lately and giving the Los Angeles Kings performance by the numbers. Christian is in the Computer Science and Engineering field and compiled the following for our enjoyment. It was unfair of us not to share it with you. This is as of three days ago (November 7). Thanks, Christian!

Kingscast,

I am a computer science major with a minor in math. I love watching numbers and trends as the season goes by (being a fantasy junkie also helps). Going into this season, I think the Kings need 96 points to ensure the playoffs – usually a 7th or 8th seed. I have made a spreadsheet which breaks down the season into 10 separate 8 game chunks (with 2 chunks having an extra game).

The results of the next 10% of the season are in. The numbers really speak for the success of the team. Compared to the first 8 games, we have increased our scoring by one goal per game and reduced our goals allowed by an even larger margin. Most importantly, the Kings are now on pace to make the playoffs! Here are some other quick comparisons:

5on5 play 1st 8 games: T-16th
5on5 play next 8 games: 3rd

PP 1st 8 games: 15th
PP next 8 games: T-9th

PK 1st 8 games: 29th
PK next 8 games: 27th

Jon Quick’s numbers are quite the anomaly as he sits in a 4 way tie for most wins(10) but has a considerably lower save percentage (.902) in comparison to Nabokov (.921) or fellow American Anderson (.936). Is this because the guys in front of him are kicking ass and taking names (Kopitar), the horrid penalty killing, something else?

Finally, the Kings won 2 games this week in which they went in to the 3rd period trailing. We only did that 4 times all of last season. Last year the Stanley Cup winning Penguins did it 11 times. They were a team that didn’t give up and the 24 points they earned in that situation are a testament to their will. I am starting to get that kind of feeling from this group – they will not quit.

Thanks again, Christian, for the in-depth analysis. We have asked Christian to keep us abreast of how we’re doing numbers-wise. As fans, we can get emotional but it’s hard to argue against what the numbers say. Have a question for Christian, leave your comments downstairs.

Another snoozer from your Los Angeles Kings last night in Chicago. The Kings looked flat against Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks. Jonathan Quick let in a very soft goal to start the game but the Kings couldn’t recover. Anze Kopitar notched his 14th of the season. We’d love to report more but KingsCast has DirecTV and, thus, no Versus.

Knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champions is such a good feeling! Losing to the lowly Nashville Predators is not. We take you through these games, interview PsychoHockeyLady and anoint one rabid ‘Fan of the Game.’ If you’re Coach Murray, what do you do what that 4th line?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty continues his tribute to Luc Robitaille on the eve of Luc’s Hall of Fame induction. Give it a read!

Robitaille The Leader

I’ve always admired people who were gifted with the quality of leadership, and when leadership and raw athletic ability are found together in one person, it’s a rare combination to be sure. I think that one of the things that I appreciate most about Luc is that not only does he possess this combination, but that it is manifested in him in a unique way. Luc brings a contagious passion to the rink every day and to everything he does. I found that being around that kind of passion and desire made the game even more enjoyable for me and challenged me to give to my full capacity.
— Former Kings tough guy Stu Grimson

Some of the “tenets of leadership” are:

* Every person has leadership potential
* Leadership development is an ongoing process to maximize individual potential
* With leadership training comes the responsibility for action
* Leaders have a responsibility to nurture emerging leaders

Moreover, strong leaders exhibit such characteristics as:

* Dispensing hope
* Foresightedness
* Integrity of character
* Sharing of oneself

(Source: J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership)

Hockey fans often judge the leadership skills of a player on what they see and hear, which is not unexpected because they must rely on the media for their information about the teams and players. However, even though there is so much more information available today because of the Internet, fans still have very limited information about the intangible aspects of the game, and that includes the leadership qualities of a specific player.

To be sure, very, very few fans would consider Robitaille to be one of the Kings’ great leaders. Instead, they would likely point to Wayne Gretzky, Dave Taylor, Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nicholls and Mattias Norstrom.

Read the article on Frozen Royalty

On the eve of Luc Robitaille’s induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame, we release this episode about the face of the Los Angeles Kings. Here we discuss what Luc has meant to the hearts of the fans of the LA Kings and pay our special tribute. What are your favorite memories of Luc?

Part one of Gann Matsuda’s tribute to Luc Robitalle. This will be an exciting series.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Back on April 3, 1995, the night that all-time Los Angeles Kings great Dave Taylor had his jersey number 18 retired by the club, this reporter wrote that he was the King of Kings, earning that right above other all-time Kings’ greats such as Marcel Dionne, Rogie Vachon and Wayne Gretzky.

“No Kings’ player had ever measured up to Taylor when it came to heart, the desire to excel and win and the ability and willingness to go into the corners and sacrifice his body for his team,” I wrote. “No other Kings’ player has ever come close to Taylor as far as leadership—on the ice and off—is concerned, [and] no Kings’ player has ever matched his relentless work ethic, his dedication to his team, the game of hockey and his community.”

To be sure, Taylor had earned the right to wear the crown as the King of Kings, and was a great standard bearer for the organization, both on and off the ice. But on Tuesday, April 11, 2006, the day that Kings all-time great left wing Luc Robitaille announced at a press conference that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, Taylor immediately abdicated the crown because his reign is over. Robitaille now wears the crown as new Kings of Kings.

Read the rest at Gann Matsuda’s Frozen Royalty

In this episode we’ll discuss the new mentality of the Kings fan, talk about Kings assistant athletic trainer Joe Caliguiri’s recent dismissal, take a glance around the 09/10 season of the NHL, and we’ll also take your questions from Twitter and Facebook. Remember, folks: it’s quality, not quantity!

The Los Angeles Kings are playing great hockey right now and that was not more evident than last night’s 4 goal third period against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Anze Kopitar had two great goals last night and the team got some help from secondary scoring. Great game!

Post game audio interviews courtesy of Frozen Royalty

LOS ANGELES — There have been whispers over the past couple of seasons about whether or not right wing Scott Parse would ever be able to make it to the National Hockey League.

Having been an offensive threat at every level, Parse was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (174th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He played in four seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he was their all-time scoring leader with 79 goals with 118 assists for 197 points in 159 games. Parse led the team in scoring in each season and was named the team’s most valuable player in all four seasons.

In 2007-08, Parse played in fourteen games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate), contributing three assists. He also played in eighteen games with the Reading Royals of the ECHL, a Kings’ affiliate at the time, scoring five goals with eleven assists for sixteen points. Parse also had a brief stint late in the 2006-07 season with the Grand Rapid Griffins of the AHL that season, scoring two goals and adding five assists for seven points in ten regular season games. He also appeared in seven playoff games, scoring one goal.

Last season, the 5-11, 197-pound native of Portage, Michigan scored fifteen goals and added 24 assists for 39 points with a +6 plus/minus rating and 38 penalty minutes in 74 games with the Monarchs, earning a one-year contract from the Kings, who signed him on July 9, 2009.

But even after a good season with the Monarchs last year, Parse was not on the radar of the Kings management and coaching staff for their big club roster. To make matters worse, he failed to make an impression during the Kings’ 2009 training camp and was assigned back to Manchester on September 20, 2009, just one week after training camp began.

Read the rest on Gann Matsuda’sFrozen Royalty