Monday being a rare day off for the Wife and I together, we decided to take our Demon Spawn to the Happiest place on Earth. No, not the DMV. We went to Disneyland. This season has been rough, seeing all these bandwagon Ducks fans come out of the woodwork, wearing their crisply-ironed jerseys and new hats balanced on their mis-shapened heads. In the few times I've gone to Disneyland this season (we have season passes), I make it a point to wear something related to the Kings, whether it be a sweatshirt, ball cap or beanie. Being that deep in the heart of Orange County and sporting the Purple, White and Black is just my way of sticking it to the OC.

Today, I was sporting the Luc Robitaille third jersey I bought myself for Christmas. Since I've been blogging for the Press-Telegram, watching some home games up in the press box, I haven't had a chance to actually wear it in public. Being a chilly day, I figured it was time to pull it out and slip it on.

On our way into the park, The Wife stopped in the Disney Store down in Downtown Disney to find some dance clothes for the little one. I meandered through the store, aimlessly looking at coffee mugs, character crayons and feetie pajamas, my eyes settled on some apparel that caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

A Mickey Mouse hockey jersey. I walked over and picked it up and was amazed just how familiar the jersey was: It was damn near the same style as the Kings' third jersey. Same hue of purple, same stripes on the arms, and as close to the same shape and design elements of the Kings' logos. The bottom of the logo was very similar to the Kings crown logo. The name? The Mighty Mickey's, an obvious nod to the now defunct Disney hockey franchise. Last time I checked, the apostrophe is not a toy.

As I picked it up to show The Wife, some of the Disney clones behind the counter were commenting "Aww, how nice. He wants to buy it for his daughter. They'll look the same. How cute." I managed to keep my bile from issuing forth, and just politely smiled. The Wife just rolled her eyes, and my three-year-old saw it.

"What's that?" she asked. "A lame hockey jersey," I replied. She looked closer and asked: "Where's the crown?" I just shook my head and said "I have no idea" and quickly put it back. "Well, I don't like it, Daddy. It's d-u-m, dumb." she said. I just smiled and said "It's spelled d-u-m-b, honey."

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been reported that Mattias Norstrom, long-time Kings and current captain has been dealt to the Dallas Stars. Apparently the Kings couldn't find Matty to let him known he was traded. It's being reported by the Los Angeles Times that Norstom and winger Konstantin Pushkarev have been traded to Dallas in seperate deals in exchange for former King Jaroslav Modry and a grip of picks. The Kings also received the rights to Johan Fransson. a 22-year-old defensive prospect from Sweden.

I'd like to wish Uncle Matty, as he was commonly refered to by fans, the best of luck with Dallas.

The news easily eclipsed the other trade talsk the Kings were involved with. Earlier, the Kings announced that they acquired a fifth-round draft pick from Tampa Bay in exchange for forward Jason Ward. Also, Brent Sopel was traded on Monday to the Canucks for a a fourth-round pick in 2008 and a second-round choice in either 2007 or 2008.

Posted by Matt Murray at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During warmups tonight at Staples Center, the usual rock and roll music stopped, and an odd song started to play. Turns out it was Na Golici, a polka-style song that is sort of Slovenia's informal anthem. It is usually played at all sporting events, but usually after all Slovenian hockey scores.

When it started to play, fans started to look around and wondering aloud what the song was. After hearing the song earlier today over at LetsGoKings.com, I recognized it immediately. And I wasn't the only one. Anze put his head down and started to chuckle to himself as the polka continued on.

After about a minute, the song stopped and warmups continued with Collective Soul's Heavy.

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dean Lombardi made a rare appearance in the press box, as the Kings took the ice to face the Colorado Avalanche. During the pre-game introductions, fans lustifully booed the Avs players announced, with the exception of one: Ian Laperriere.

Besides the Ducks and Red Wings, no one brings out more boo-birds than Colorado. But the rivalry didn't really blossom until Rob Blake went over in a trade. After he signed with Colorado, every time he touched the puck, fans booed him merciliessly. Now that Blake is back with the Kings, the boos remain, forming a nice little rivalry between the two Western teams.

Anze Kopitar scored a power play on a nifty goal to lift the Kings, 1-0. Blake and Burke with the assists. He must've skated through three Avs players, then neatly deposited the puck past Budaj. It was an impressive goal by the 19-year-old, for his 18th of the season. He's extended his point streak to four games.

An interesting note on Kopitar: in the Team LA store, they are now selling replicas of the Slovenian team for... $190! Thing is, they look cheaply made, and his name, the logo and numbers are screened on it. The jersey itself has more holes than... something with a lot of holes in it. I think I'll pass.

The Kings scored again when Brian Willsie scored from up close to make it 2-0. Scott Thornton carried the puck behind the net and passed it over to Jaime Lundmark. Lundy backhanded a pass to Willsie in the slot, and Willsie shot it from close range past Budaj. It was his seventh of the season.

Rob Blake skated off the ice with an apparent injury as the period came to a close. After that, Tom Kostopolous and Lapperriere squared off for a little how-do-you-do in front of the Colorado net.

The Kings outshot the Avs, 16-10 in the first period. Jaime Lundmark has been playing well this period. He is already credited with 3 hits.

First period: Kings 2, Avalanche 0

Colorado got on the board when Brett Clark scored to make it 2-1.

The Avs have dictated the tempo of the second period. Lappy scores to tie up the game, and Staples Center erupts in the cheers of Avs fans, of which they are few and far between. Earlier in the first period, Laperriere got a nice round of applause when he was featured on the scoreboards as being one of the most popular Kings in their 40 year old history. Not too many fans are cheering now, as Lappy has tied it all up.

A foolish penalty by Brent Sopel has the the Kings short-handed going into the third period. The shots were even, and L.A. had two power play opportunities, but failed on both tries.

Second period: Kings 2, Avalanche 2

The Avalanche finally took the lead on a John Michael-Liles power play goal to lift Colorado, 3-2. A nifty play where Joe Sakic had the puck behind the net and quickly passed it to Paul Stastny. Stastny lost control of the puck, but the puck bounced to Liles, who slipped it past Burke for the score.

A defensive lapse that found John Zeiler and Lundmark sprawled across the ice when they ran into each other led to another Colorado goal. Heading into the Kings' zone with a three-on-two, Marek Svatos shot past Burke to score his 14th of the season. The Kings have failed to register a shot in the first 6 minutes of the third period.

Frolov backhanded a mishandled rebound to bring the Kings closer, 4-3. A shot from the point was lost in the chaos in front of the net, but Frolov was able to battle through it and popped it past Budaj. His team-leading 32 goals eclipses anyone on the roster, Cammy is second with 24.

Tom Kostopoulos gets whistled for tripping, and the Kings go back on the penalty. And seconds into the penalty, Milan Hejduk scored a power play goal to make it 5-3 Avalanche.

Back-to-back penalties to Stastny and Ossi Vaananen give the Kings a rare five-on-three opportunity for close to two minutes.After passing the puck around for ages, Lubomir Visnovsky scores on the slapshot from the point to bring the Kings within one goal. He has also extended his goal-scoring streak to three games. Michael Cammalleri has two assists in the game.

Just when things start clicking for L.A., the Kings get called for too many men on the ice, effectively killing any chance they have at tying the game. But L.A. is able to call a timeout and pull the goalie. And that's when Rob Blake scores on his own rebound to tie the game. Staples Center erupts in wild applause as the Kings tie the game and cap off an amazing comeback to take it to overtime.

Third period: Kings 5, Avalanche 5

The Kings get several odd-man rushes, but are unable to hold onto the puck long enough to get a decent shot. The Kings get three shots on goal, but Colorado is only able to register one. As we head to the shootout.

Los Angeles chooses to shoot second, so Colorado send Marek Svatos, whose attempt against Burke results in a goal.
Anze Kopitar shoots wide of the net.
Burke makes a save on Milan Hejduk.
Cammalleri backhands one past Budaj for a goal.
Joe Sakic puts Colorado ahead with a goal for the Avs.
Team leader Frolov puts a wristshot past Budaj to extend the shootout.
Burke is able to ward off Paul Stastny.
Lubomir Visnovsky shoots wide of the net.
Brett McLean's wrister lifts the Avs, 3-2 in the shootout.
But Jamie Lundmark ties it all up again.
Andrew Brunette is thwarted bby Burke.
Dustin Brown slowly circles center ice comes skating down. He dekes and scores, lifting the Kings past Colorado in this exciting game.

Final score: Kings 6, Avalanche 5

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This should be the recruitment picture for the Kings to lure Jack Johnson from Michigan.

This is Fernanda Motta, Michael Cammalleri, Raica Oliveira, Patrick O'Sullivan, Ana Beatriz Barros and Anze Kopitar at the SI Swimsuit Party in WeHo on Valentine's Day. Not too sure if any of the boys got the digits, but I wouldn't be surprised.

For more pics from this event, check out LAKings.com

Posted by Matt Murray at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Found this video on youTube, and it was too good to pass up. Anze's first goal, seen four ways!

Posted by Matt Murray at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Funny thing about karma, it always seems to follow you. No matter what you do, you can't outrun it. Nashville's Martin Erat learns his lesson the hard way. This video is brought to you by our good friend Tickles McGinty, who thinks The Beatles are a little "old-timey."

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings and Ducks meet for the second time this weekend, after last night's heart-breaking loss in the shootout. Goaltender Sean Burke is in goal for Los Angeles, as Mathieu Garon started last night. Mattias Norstrom is out of tonight's game, due to his knee injury from last night.

The most productive line for Los Angeles has been Alexander Frolov, Michael Cammalleri and Dustin Brown. Between those three players, they have a combined 25 goals. John Zeiler, signed by the Kings and brought up for yesterday's game, was credited with 5 hits and brought lots of energy to his line, much like he did down at Manchester. His play has reportedly impressed Crawford.

Lubomir Visnovsky's goal from 40 feet starts the scoring off. Cammalleri sent a sweet cross-ice pass to Lubo, and he fired it over Giguere's shoulder to make it 1-0. It was Cammy's third goal in five games against the Ducks. And just like the previous night, the Kings score first. Rookie Anze Kopitar also gets an assist, building off his 2 point effort last night. He has 10 points in the last ten games.

The Ducks tripled up the Kings in shots (15-5), but the Kings remain on top. The only thing that seems to be working is the majority of the Ducks' shots have come from the outside. The Kings are making it hard for the skilled puckhanders of Anaheim to skate in, forcing them to dump and chase. But the Kings better start shooting, if they expect to remain on top.

First period: Kings 1, Ducks 0

An odd-man Anaheim rush results in a Duck goal. Andy McDonald skates it in and passes it over to Teemu Selanne. McDonald then crashes the net as Teemu passes it over to Chris Kunitz for his 20th of the season.

Shane O'Brien gets yanked for hooking, and a little bit later Rob Niedermayer also gets two for hooking, giving the Kings a quick two-man advantage. The Kings can only muster one sdecnt shot with two extra men, and as O'Brien skates out of the box, he hammers Anze Kopitar as he skates by. Anze is able to shake it off, and takes a pass from Lubomir Visnovsky and holds up for a few. He then fires it to the point, where Michael Cammalleri scores on a one-timer to give Los Angeles the lead again.

The second period found the Kings shooting more, but unable to stem the tide of shots from Anaheim. It would show more Duck shots, if the Kings weren't blocking as many (13-3 in favor of LA). Another key is the Kings power play. They have scored two out of four with the man advantage. Anaheim has had four chances, but have been unable to put one in. Since they do have the third best PP in the league. I'm sure that may change.

Second period: Kings 2, Ducks 1

12 seconds into the third, Referee Mick McGeough strikes again. Tom Kostopolous gets whistled for hooking, allowing the third-best power play to take the ice. Teemu Selanne finally scores on the power play to tie the game, becoming the franchise leader in goals scored as a Duck. It was his 301 goal as an Anaheim player, pushing aside Paul Kariya in the history books for Anaheim. Well, I wouldn't really call it a history book, persay. More like a leaflet pamphlet.

But for the third time this game, Los Angeles takes the lead. Frolov and Cammalleri battle for the puck along the boards. Frolov is able to get it out to Sopel at the point, as Cammy skates in. Sopel's shot is redirected by Cammy, and the resulting rebound off Giguere finds Derek Armstrong's stick, who puts it in for his 10th of the season. Armstrong was given a 2-year extension on Thursday, thanks in part to his heads-up play this season. He already has a career high in assists. Army is on pace for 58 points. Cammy has his second assist of the game, and has figured in all the Kings goal tonight.

The Ducks tie it again, when Getzlaf knocks Selanne's pass past Burke for his 21st. The Kings couldn't clear the puck as Scott Neidermeyer holds the puck in. Getzlaf receives the pass from Neidermeyer, then has a nifty behind-the-back pass to Selanne. Teemu holds onto the puck long enough to draw Blake toward him, then he passed it back to Getzlaf, who one-times it past Burke.

Visnovsky gets his clock cleaned by Chris Kunitz, as he crumples to the ice. Kunitz gets the penalty, but Lubo looks worse for the wear.

The Kings have really brought their A-game against the Ducks for the second night in a row. Their improved play has earned them another point. In February, they have earned at least one point in seven out of eight games.

Third period: Kings 3, Ducks 3

A scary moment in overtime found Chris Pronger injured when he took a puck to the face. As much as I don't like the Ducks, you hate to see any player get nailed with that hard rubber of the puck. It apparently got him on the chin, so it could've been a lot worse.

For the second game in a row and for the third time this month, we are going to the shootout. The Kings have only won three games out of eight in the shootout. The leading scorers in the shootout is Anze Kopitar with three shootout goals.

Michael Cammalleri starts it off for L.A., but he is stopped by Giguere.
Ryan Getzlaf wristshot beats Burke.
Teemu Selanne's slapshot is saved by Burke.
Anze Kopitar's slapshot beats Giguere to tie it up.
Sean Burke halts Corey Perry's snapshot.
Patrick O'Sullivan goes out for his first attempt as a King, but Giguere snaps it out of the air.
Chris Kunitz's slapper lifts the Ducks.
Jamie Lundmark keeps L.A. alive with his own goal.
Sean Burke turns back Andy McDonald and Rob Niedermayer.
Giguere is able to turn away Dustin Brown, but Lubomir Visnovsky finally puts the Kings on top for the win!

Final score: Kings 4, Ducks 3 (SO)

Posted by Matt Murray at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings are coming back from going 2-1-2 on their road trip, earning points in four out of five games. The Ducks have been in a bit of a tailspin as of late. But in this game, in this rivalry, that all goes out the window. Every game this season has been decided by one goal, with the Kings going 1-3 against the Quacks. Add to that the fact that the Kings are winless in five games on Staples Center ice. Another interesting note: Teemu Selanne, the second-leading goal-scorer in the NHL has 299 goals with Anaheim. He is one goal back of franchise leader Paul Kariya. Mathieu Garon is in goal tonight, playing in his second game since coming off the IR. His last game was a well-played one against Washington, when he took them to overtime, earning the Kings a valuable point.

The Ducks come out firing in the first period, both with the puck and with the fists. The Kings are unable to clear the puck in the first minute and a half, as Anaheim keeps peppering Garon with shots. A hard on-ice check by Jason Ward on Todd Marchant is followed by Marchant nailing Raitis Ivanans into the boards for the period's first penalty. The Kings' power play is tied for 17th in the league, but they have picked things up in the last five games, scoring more than 20 percent with a man advantage. Brown, Cammalleri and Frolov are all tied with nine power play goals. But Anaheim is ranked fifth in the league in penalty killing. And they show why, when they deftly kill off Marchant's boarding penalty by shutting out the Kings with no shots on goal.

As I was watching, I couldn't help but think something was off, and then I realized it. The Kings were wearing their white jerseys at Staples.

Then things start to get chippy. After each whistle, players started taking liberties with the other team. For example, the play is whistled dead in the Kings zone, and Selanne eases up and is trying to skate past Tom Kostopolous by the boards, and Ivanans playfully slaps Selanne on the back of the head. As playful as a 6-foot-3, 265 pound winger can be. Selanne starts barking to the ref. On the next play, Aaron Miller takes exception with a hard push by Samuel Pahlsson, and we're off to the races. Several fights break out at the same time, and all the refs can do is take each one on. When it's all said and done, six penalties are handed out, including two ten minute penalties to Miller and Pahlsson. It isn't until a third player, Ivanans gets a ten minute penalty for misconduct, before both clubs settle down.

With less than two minutes left in the period, Teemu Selanne gets whistled for hooking Frolov. He skates over to the box, then decides he wants to get some extra rest so he tries to skate off the ice and into the locker room. But head coach Randy Carlyle yells at him to get back in the box. Selanne grudgingly skates back over to the box. The Kings have already had three power plays, each of them come up short. Anze Kopitar skates in with speed, then holds up and drops it to the point man, Brent Sopel. Brent Sopel shoots the puck from the point, as Frolov redirects it with his stick over Giguere's shoulder to lift the Kings, 1-0.

The period ends as the Kings outshoot the Ducks, 14-8. Both teams have an astounding 58 combined penalty minutes, but it's the Kings who have an early advantage.

First period: Kings 1, Ducks 0

The Ducks come back in the second with a quick powe rplay goal of their own. Selanne tips in a rebound off of Garon to tie the game. Dustin Penner and Chris Pronger get the assists. Selanne now has 19 power play goals on the year to lead the NHL.

Visnovsky and Cammalleri both have nice scoring chances, but Giguere is there to shut them down. Dustin Penner practically seperates Mike Weaver's head from his shoulder with his stick, but the refs didn't see or call anything. Adding insult to injury, Weaver gets called for delay of game, when he tries to clear the puck, but it goes over the glass. As much as I like all the new rules which has opened up the game, the delay of game penalty is one change I can do without.

Mathieu Garon has been soild in goal in this game. Case in point, toward the end of the period, Teemu sends out Andy McDonald on a breakaway. Garon comes out of the net, as McDonald attempts to deke around Garon. But Garon stonewalls him as play continues.

The Kings still lead the Ducks in shots over the game, but the penalty parade has calmed down. As is the case going into the third period lately, the Kings are either tied or within one goal, playing solid defense.

Second period: Kings 1, Ducks 1

Andy McDonald breaks up the tie when he skates in from center ice. He takes a shot from behind Garon, and picks up his own rebound. He then skates and attempts a wraparound from the other side, but Garon slides over and stops him. But the puck goes to Chris Kunitz, who knocks in the puck after whcking at it three time while falling down to lift the Ducks, 2-1. Selanne gets the assist along with McDonald. Teemu now has 20 multi-point games this season.

We have a Rob Zombie sighting on PRIME Sports. The ever-present rock star was sitting with his lovely wife, Shari Moon-Zombie.

The Kings come back to tie up the game when Anze Kopitar ties it up. The line of Kopitar, Frolov and Cammallari is out there when the Kings capitalize on a rare Duck turnover. Lubomir Visnovsky holds the puck in and skates forward, faking a shot to send Ryan Getzlaf to his belly to attempt to block the shot. Lubo skates around and passes it through traffic, past Frolov and Cammy over to a wide-open Kopitar on the wing, as he one-times it past Giguere for the score.

Kopitar get an ill-timed penalty with time running out when Travis Moen trips up on his skates behind Garon to put the Ducks on the power play going into overtime. Ten seconds left in the period, Blake hammers Selanne in front of the net, and immediately Selanne pops up and starts complaining. Clear as day on TV, Blake turns and tells him to "shut up," as he and Teemu start to jaw a while as the teams set up to face off for the last shot of the game. The Kings are limited to three shots in the third, but make the most of their opportunities.

Third period: Kings 2, Ducks 2

The Kings are able to kill off Anze's penalty with solid goaltending by Garon, and good heads-up play by Blake by clearing the puck as the penalty expires.

The Kings pretty great prssure on Giguere, firing shot after shot on the Duck goalie. But he keeps stopping them cold. Every time Anze touches the puck, the crowd rises to their feet and start cheering loudly. The fans are cheering other plays and saves, but it gets kicked up a notch with Kopitar. The secret of Kopitar is no more. He is now the star of this franchise.

And we go to a shootout!

Overtime: Kings 2, Ducks 2

Anze Kopitar shoots wide.
Ryan Getzlaf shoots wide.
Michael Cammalleri attempts a backhand and gets it by Giguere for a goal.
Teemu Selanne wrists a shot past Garon for a goal.
Tom Kostopoulos's wrister is saved by Giguere. Huh? TK before Frolov?
Andy McDonald follows up with his own wrist shot, which is stopped by Garon.
Giguere robs Dustin Brown of a wristshot. Where's Frolov?
Chris Kunitz tries his hand at a backhand, but doesn't fool Garon.
Finally, Alexander Frolov skates out and takes his turn. The result: a Giguere save.
Corey Perry finally scores to lift the Ducks over the Kings.

Final: Ducks 3, Kings 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, mired in a hopeless season where wins are few and far between, the Kings have to drum up support the old fashioned way, using sex.

This gorgeous creature is Lucious Liz, a DJ from Los Angeles radio station Power 106. She graced billboards all over the Southland last season for Los Angeles.

Now this tack is hardly uncharted territory for sport franchises to try and drum up business. The most famous L.A. cheerleaders must be the L.A. Laker Girls. Known for dancing in between timeouts and TV breaks, the Laker Girls are very much a part of Lakers basketball as purple and gold jerseys, Jack Nicholson in the front row and championship banners hanging in the rafters.

Down the 5 Freeway, the Anaheim Ducks have the Power Players who wiggle down the aisles to assist in giveaways, contests and anything else.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have the Strike Force, a group of girls who fire t-shirts through a cannon to the masses around Anaheim Stadium.

So, this is not unchartered territory the Kings are navigating here. Sex sells, and the beautiful people are drawn to the ice like paparazzi to the red carpet. And since attendance has been lagging due to a lackluster showing this season, the Kings brought Liz back for a second go-around.

And it hasn't gone unnoticed. Apparently one of Sports Illustrated's online columnists, Steve Hoffstetter, caught wind of the Kings' new billboards, and decided to write a column about it.

I have nothing against a hot blonde. They just shouldn't embody Kings hockey.

'The idea must be to attract fans by selling sex, something that beer commercials and the LPGA have done for years. But this is not what the Kings need right now.

How about this -- a billboard with a picture of Wayne Gretzky above the phrase, "Hey, we couldn't win a cup with him, either."

Apparently, he forgot about his employers' most heralded issue of the year. And no, I'm not talking about their NHL Preview Issue (the preview which was sandwiched between a feature on the NFL's Nastiest Rivalry and Who Can Derail a Subway Series in New York). You see this week, SI publishes it's annual foray into soft porn with it's annual Swimsuit Edition. Husbands nationwide look forward to trying to beat their wives to the mailbox in hopes of rescuing said magazine from being used to line the bottom of the kitchen trash can.

I'm not a smart man, but I know what sex is. /Forrest Gump voice And I understand why the Kings are using Liz in their latest campaign. It's the same reason SI rolls out the glossy pages the cold months after Super Bowl but before the spring thaw. It's no coincidence SI does this. Interest in sports lags heavily after the Super Bowl, and magazines struggle to maintain readership at least until the start of baseball season.

Then again, maybe Hoffstetter didn't beat his wife to the mailbox this week... If so, you can have my copy, brother.

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to LAKings.com, veteran center Derek Armstrong received a two-year extension with the big club. Terms were not announced, but it's been suggested that it's probably around $1.9 million for the first year and $2.1 million for the second year.

Armstrong has been a solid contributor this season, and is currently the club's number one center with Alexander Frolov on his wing, with Anze Kopitar centering Michael Cammalleri and Dustin Brown.

I think this signing is good for the Kings, because Army is a servicable center capable of getting the puck to his linemates. This season, he has a career-high 30 assists, along with nine goals. He also leads the club with a plus/minus +16.

Will this scuttle the plans of bringing in some top-line talent for next year? Even though he's starting right now, he'd work well on any line and on the power play. Last season, he was tied for third on the club with seven power play goals. He's a hard worker, and he got what he deserved.

Posted by Matt Murray at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles has been disappointing this season so far. But they are currently enjoying their best streak, as they have registered at least a point in the last five games. Their most impressive win came last game against the league's best team, the Nashville Predators. Anze Kopitar still maintains a firm grasp on the second spot in rookie scoring, and Michael Cammalleri has been en feugo in the past 8 games, registering at least a point in each contest. The Kings only dress 11 forwards tonight, so Marc Crawford will get to play Mad Scientist tonight, mixing up the lines.

The Kings come into tonight's matchup with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes with the third best road power play percentage. They get a chance to put some PP shots on goalie Cam Ward early when Jaime Lundmark gets cracked in the face by Justin Williams. But the resulting power play comes up short. Lundmark returned later in the period.

Lubomir Visnovsky gets whistled for hooking Eric Staal, and the Canes go on the power play. Dustin Brown gets a great short-handed chance, as he breaks away with the puck. He had the goalie beat, but decided to go to his backhand and the puck was poked away. A little later, Tom Konstopolous stands up and knocks All-Star Eric Staal down to the ice, causing Staal to skate over to the bench. Rob Blake is hitting everything he sees, but he is soon dead tired and can't get off the ice when Carolina scores.

The Canes get on the board, when red-hot ray Whitney puts in a power play goal to make it 1-0 Carolina. Whitney now has 5 goals and five assists in the last five games. Rod Brind'Amour's assist to Whitney extends both their scoring streaks to five games.

Los Angeles is held to only four shots in the first period, which is not going to get it done. Sean Burke has been impressive, as usual, facing a barrage of shots.

First period: Hurricanes 1, Kings 0

Patrick O'Sullivan gets whistled for a hooking penalty on Justin Williams, and Kings fans hold their breath. L.A. has the third worst penalty kill in the league. And the canes come out firing. L.A. does kill it, but then coach Crawford gets whistled for being abusive to the referees. Aparently, he has had enough with the extracurricular activities of some of the Hurricanes players. The Kings happen to kill that penalty too.

Alexander Frolov ties the game when he scores on the power play with a redirection of a Brent Sopel shot. Frolov now has 30 goals this season, well on his way for a career year. The goal was also assisted by Derek Armstrong.

But the Canes comes back to take the lead, when Scott Walker finally scores after skating around Raleigh, to make it 2-1. David Tanabe gets his second assist of the game, and Josef Vasicek tacks one on.

Los Angeles gets another power play chance, when Eric Staal starts hooking everything wearing a white jersey. Los Angeles has had 3 power plays so far in this game, but only 2 shots. As the power play unfolds, Carolina hustles and outworks the Kings, and only surrender two real good opportunities.

So far the Kings have only 10 shots to Carolina's 24, but the score is still closer than you would expect. Once again, the solid play by veteran goaltender Burke is keeping the Kings in this game.

Second period: Hurricanes 2, Kings 1

Jim Fox notes that O'Sullivan was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and his grandfather was able to procure a box to watch him play. Maybe that's why he's playing a little nervous tonight, seeing that this would be the first time he's played so close to his old home.

The third period finds Los Angeles coming out firing. They get two more power play opportunities, but come up short. They do wind up outshooting Carolina, 12-5, but Carolina holds on to nab the victory. And the road trip comes to a close, with the Kings lose three out of five games on the East Coast swing. However, as noted earlier, two of those losses were overtime losses. The team played really well on this road trip, and hope to match up better this Saturday when they host crosstown rival Anaheim.

Third period: Hurricanes 2, Kings 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The great Helene Elliott wrote a column in last Sunday's L.A. Times about the NHL lending support to the movie "Breakfast with Scot." The film is an adaptation of the 1999 book by Michael Downing. The NHL let filmmaker Paul Brown turn two of the main characters, who happen to be gay, into a former Toronto Maple Leaf player and the team's lawyer.

Even though the director didn't want to make an "issue-y" flick, he's certainly not shying away from it. And the support of one of the major sport league in North America makes it that much more groundbreaking.

The article was eye-opening to me, because thanks to Helene's brilliant investigative reporting, she uncovered a surprising fact about the owner of the L.A. Kings:

The caretaker of this most macho of sports, the NHL has long been insular and conservative. Among its most prominent figures is Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, who owns the Kings and Staples Center and has given financial support to an anti-gay ballot measure and anti-gay groups in his home state of Colorado.

Since I work for a competitor of the Times, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. But the article is great, and I suggest you stop reading this blog and check out her article right now. Be sure to come though...

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to ESPN.com, the Kings will open next season across the pond. No, not the Honda Ponda in Anaheim, but the bigger one called the Atlantic.

Apparently, L.A. will be playing several games at the O2 Arena (formerly the Millenium Dome, renamed by the new owners and operators, AEG), one exhibition and two regular season games. The Ducks and the Canucks are two teams that are being considered accompanying the Kings to Great Britian.

One wonders if this will cancel the wildly popular Frozen Fury, the annual trek out to Las Vegas. FF is usually near the end of the exhibition schedule, and has grown to be a profitable venture. Obviously, the amount of West Coast Kings fans will miss out on this historic event. I, for one, would love to go see a hockey game in jolly old England. However, next season is Year Two of the rebuilding project, so I have reservations on how good the hockey club will be by then.

It also seems weird that the NHL would consider sending West Coast teams over East Coast teams, just from a marketing standpoint. I get the whole "Kings" angle, very clever. But wouldn't it be better to send the Bruins and Rangers? Aren't they more established?

Either way, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.

Posted by Matt Murray at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Kings' road trip lurches forward like the Bataan Death March. The worst team in the West heads into Nashville to play the best team in the West. The last time the Kings came to town, they were handed their heads on a platter, 7-0. But things aren't as bad as it seems for L.A. Even though the Kings are winless in February, they have gotten points in their last three games. The Kings have also been lifted by their veteran goaltender Sean Burke, who continues to be a calming influence on the club.

On the flip side, things aren't so rosy for the Predators either. According to a report in the Tennessean, if the Predators can't increase their home attendance by one-fourth, it will cost the city of Nashville two million dollars and open the doors for owner Craig Leipold to move his club to another city (Kansas City, anyone?)

Midway through the first period, rookie phenom Anze Kopitar gets knocked to the ice by Martin Erat. The replay looked worse, as it appears Erat's stick smacked against Anze's head. Kopitar skates off the ice and heads to the locker room. It looked as if the Kings weren't going to retaliate. But a few minutes later, Anze returns to the ice and Kings fan breathe a sigh of relief.

Dustin Brown exacts revenge for the club, when he hammers Erat with a clean, open-ice hit, prompting ohhs and ahhs from the sold out Gaylord Entertainment Center. On the same shift, Mike Weaver takes out Darcy Hordichuk in the corner. According to Bob Miller, Brown received some not-too-nice comments from the Nashville bench as his shift ends and he skates off. As the Kings try to hold the puck in the Predators' zone, Alexander Frolov is nailed from behind by Scott Upshall, sending Fro headfirst into the chest of Steve Sullivan, who was trying to hop on the ice for his shift.

The period ends scoreless, but the Kings have outshot the Predators, 11-6. Sean Burke remains solid in goal, thanks in part to the Kings blocking several shots. At the end of the period, Jason Ward gets tied up with Scottie Upshall and Scott Nichol tries to start something. All three guys get rough penalties, and the Kings will start the second period on the power play.

First period: Kings 0, Predators 0

Thirty seconds into the second, Anze Kopitar scores a power play goal. Rob Blake holds in a clearing pass and gets it to Kopitar, who passes it down low to Michael Cammalleri. Cammalleri takes a shot on Tomas Vokoun, and the puck bounced off his glove, the rebound finding Lubomir Visnovsky's stick. Lubo shoots and the puck bounces off the goalie's pads and winds up locked in Kopitar's sights. Anze shoots it past a sprawling Vokoun to lift the Kings, 1-0. It is his 15th goal of the season, and he has tallied a point in every game on this road trip. The assists go to Cammy and Lubo. With the assist, Cammalleri continues his torrid scoring streak. In the last eight games, he now has 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists). Since December 29th, the Kings have played 18 games. He has registered at least a point in 16 of them.

Now the teams are skating four-on-four, and L.A. strikes again, this time it's Brian Willsie. Patrick O'Sullivan takes the puck and attempts a wrap-around on Vokoun. The puck bounces around in front, finally being deposited to the back of the net by Willsie's backhand.

Kopitar adds to the Kings' lead, when he scores midway through the second. L.A.'s Jason Ward skates into the Predators' zone, relinquishing the puck to Kopitar who skates wide around the net to attempt a wraparound on Vokoun. But Vokoun takes himself out of the play, by trying to poke the puck away from the speedy youngster. Anze skates out in front, only to find David Legwand and Vitaly Vishnevski standing awkwardly in the crease, trying to protect the wide-open net. Anze easily shoots between them for his second of the game.

The period comes to a close with the Kings on top. The Predators shot more that period, but L.A. had one more that period. At the end of the second, Cammalleri and Vernon Fiddler exchange some choice words and both recieve five for fighting.

Second period: Kings 3, Predators 0

The Kings get a two-man advantage early in the third, and who else would capitalize but the King with the hottest hand. Coach Marc Crawford puts four fowards on the ice to put pressure on Vokoun. The puck movement is crisp and Frolov feeds the puck to Cammalleri, who one-times it past Vokoun for his 23rd of the year. Lubo gets his second of the game, and Frolov adds to his team-leading point total.

After that, the Kings focused solely on shutting down the Predators defensively. Sending out one forechecker and keeping four players back, the Kings limited them to only four shots in the third. The Predators avoided the shutout when Dan Hamhuis scores on a deflected shot off Mike Weaver's skate to make it 4-1. But L.A. continues to play solid defense and the lowly Kings, cellar-dwelling in the West for much of the regular season can view this game as very promising. Two players who came over from recent trades registered a point (Lundmark and Ward), and Kopitar and Cammalleri continue to impress as the Kings roll to a victory over the best team in the West.

Third period: Kings 4, Predators 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this week, former NBA player John Amaechi announced he was gay. Several of radio personalities in the desolate wasteland of L.A. sports talk radio, the topic was brought up in hopes of starting a firestorm of controversy. But the resulting conversations fell way short of many listeners' interests, who would rather call in and talk about the Lakers, USC Football or to yell at Vic "The Brick" Jacobs: "Feeling you!"

One interesting conversation took place Wednesday night between KLAC's Joe McDonnell and former P-T Sports editor and founder of Outsports.com, Jim Buzinksi. During the course of the interview (which can be heard via podcast or download over at am570radio.com, listen to hour 1 of the 2/7 show), Big Joe made an observation that if any professional athlete were to come out while they were still playing, that would probably be someone from basketball or hockey. He noted that it would probably never happen with football players because "they're a different breed" and baseball players are "around each other too much in the clubhouse that it would get weird." But he could see a basketball player or a hockey player have an easier time coming out.

Buzzer agreed on Joe's point of hockey players and said he could see a hockey player be the first athlete to out himself while actively playing. He cited Canada as being much more accepting of gay rights and gay marriage and some European players come from countries where being gay is really a non-issue.

It was an interesting discussion that found me taking the long way home to listen to it in its entirety. Personally, I come from a background that didn't embrace homosexuality. But as I got older and gained more life experience, the more stupid I realized I was when I was younger, and the more accepting I have become. I have two uncles who are openly gay and both are in fantastic relationships with men who are their true soulmates. Buzzer was the first newspaper person that I have worked with who was openly gay.

If a hockey player came out tomorrow and announced they were gay, I honestly think there would not be as big a story than if a football or baseball player. It would be pretty big, though, considering that the general view of hockey players are the Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot. Writers and columnists would predictably pose the question of how could such a violent sport lend itself to having gay players? Hopefully through intelligent discussion and observation, we would find out that the public would be quite accepting of an openly gay hockey player.

Living in Long Beach may skew my point of view. After all, the gay community is widely accepted out here in California, as well as in New York. What would Middle America think? Could sports fans in Nashville or Columbus or Minnesota be as accepting with an openly gay athlete on the ice as fans from Boston? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Predators, Blue Jackets or Wild fans are or would be homophobic. But from my West Coast view, I honestly think that in 2007, our society would have no problem with any gay athlete.

As I was writing this entry for Hockeywood, I started searching around on Buzzer's site and found this article taken from the book In the Game; Gay Athletes and the Cult of Masculinity. The excerpt is about a closeted, Stanley Cup winning NHL player, and how he deals with being gay in the NHL. Written by Eric Anderson, the author of In The Game, asked they player about the degree of homophobia in hockey, the player responded:

“You know there was a lot of it in the lower ranks, especially in high school and college. But in the NHL we are professionals, and guys really aren’t all that homophobic.‿

The article goes on to describe how he lives his life, and the lengths he takes to guard his secret from his teammates. He even admitted to sleeping with women to maintain the "the masculine expectations of the sport." And the end of the article, he says he constantly thinks about coming out to his teammates.

“I think about coming out to my team all the time. I think, ‘Maybe today will be the day,’ then it’s not. I’d really like to. On the other hand I’m so used to being the way I am.‿

Maybe Big Joe and Buzzer are right. Maybe it will be an active NHL player who comes out and announces they are gay first. Who cares? As long as they can play, who cares what "team" they play for?

Posted by Matt Murray at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There hasn't been too many games where the Kings absolutely dominated their opponent. On Saturday, the Kings had one of those days.

It started in the first period when Michael Cammallari started the scoring off early. The Panthers turn the puck over in their zone, and Derek Armstrong skated it out. He passed over to Cammallari, who touch-passed it to Alexander Frolov. As Frolov shot it toward Alex Auld, Cammy got a stick on the puck to make it 1-0.

Five minutes later, the Kings looked to have turned it over in their zone, as Auld skated back to pass the puck to Ruslan Salei. Salei proceeded to try to pass it out of the zone. But the puck trickled to Konstantin Pushkarev, who fired it on Auld to score an unassisted goal.

As time was winding down in the period, the Kings struck again. While on the power play, Anze Kopitar skated in with the puck with two Panthers on him. He quickly passed it over to Cammallari, who had a defenseman close in on him. He passed it back out to Anze, and catching the defenseman in transition, passed it back to Cammy. Cammy skated up and threw it in front to Dustin Brown, who was left alone by his defender. Brown's shot was deflected, but he got his own rebound to make it 3-0, Los Angeles.

First period: Kings 3, Panthers 0

As time was running out on a Raitis Ivanans holding penalty, the Kings skated out with the puck. Sean Avery found a streaking Alexander Frolov as time expired on the penalty to make it 4-0. Avery got his second assist of the game ten minutes later, when he led a charge into the Panthers' zone. His pass found the stick of Jamie Lundmark, who backhanded it past Auld. In two games with the Kings, Lundmark has scored twice and has been pretty impressive.

Less than a minute later, Frolov scored his second of the period when he was able to pick-pocket a Panthers' player and skated in with a backhand to make it 6-0. Cammallari notched his third point of the game, as Los Angeles is having some fun against Ed Belfour's backup.

The Kings were woefully out-shot in the second, 17-8, but scored three times. Burke has been fantastic, turning back shots and playing solid in goal. Both Frolov and Cammy have three points thus in the game, buit I have a feeling they aren't done yet.

Second period: Kings 6, Panthers 0

And like I said, Cammallari and Frolov weren't done. Frolov was able to get the puck to his linemate once more to make it 7-0. Aaron Miller past the puck around the boards, and Frolov picked it up. He passed it between two Panthers to Cammallari, who skated in and scored yet again on Auld. That was it for the night on Auld, who only faced 17 shots and let in 7 of them. Belfour was able to wheel his butt in goal and close out the game. But the damage was done. The Kings start their five-game road trip off right with a win over Florida.

Third period: Kings 7, Panthers 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)