Johnson holds on to the puck and tries top clear it out. But it's picked up by a Stars player. But Blake plays his man perfectly, causing him to cough up the puck.

Kopitar looks dead tired, as he skates across center ice. He passes it over, but doesn't quite have the speed to follow up with a pass back. He skates off with a minute left, handing it over to O'Sullivan.

Both teams are seriosuly fatigued as they skate for the shootout.

Kopitar scores!
Hagman misses!
Frolov misses!
Modano wrister saved by LaBarbera.
Brown wrister saved by Turco.
Miettinen scores!
O'Sullivan scores!!!
Ribeiro wrister saved by LaBarbera!!!

Final score: Kings 4, Stars 3 in a shootout

Posted by Matt Murray at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Then Preissing gets two minutes in the sin bin, as the league's second-worst PK unit takes to the ice. Brown is able to wrangle the puck away for a short-handed attempt. But Turco cannot be fooled, as the Stars continue to be on the attack. Blake then gets sent to the box for cross-checking, giving the Stars a prime chance to tie the game.

L.A. kills the two-man advantage, but allow another bone-headed penalty, when Stuart gets two for delay of game, giving Dallas their third two-man advantage. The game is tied, when Modry is nailed by Niskanen's shot from the point, slowing the puck down, as it arcs over LaBarbera and into the net. The Stars still have the man-advantage.

LaBarbera makes a huge play on Halpern, as he shoots on a tight one-timer, and snaps the puck out of the air. The Staples Center crowd gives Jason a rousing roar of approval, as they show the replay. He extended fully, and made a beautiful save to keep the game knotted at 3.

The Kings are playing with some steam, trying to capitilze on the seemingly tired Stars.

L.A. gets another power play, when Ott gets a deuce for hooking Nagy. But the Stars seemingly stymie the Kings with one fewer player on the ice. Dallas kills the penalty, as both teams are slowing down now. As we head to overtime!

Third period: Kings 3, Stars 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Both teams seemed to have cooled considerably as the second unfolds. Every time one teams seems to get the momentum, the other comes back. Case in point, the Stars are buzzing, cycling the puck and peppering the goal. But Morrow gets two minutes for interference, giving the fourth-ranked power play a shot with a man-advantage.

And L.A. comes right out and scores, as he throws the puck on net, and Kopitar skates in front of Turco, seemingly tripping him, as he gets his stick on Blake's shot. The puck trickles in, giving L.A. their first lead of the game. The All-Star Kopitar gets credit for the goal, as Blake gets the assist. Brown should've gotten credit for the second assist, since it was his forechecking that got that started.

L.A. almost gets another, when Nagy's shot surprises Turco. But he makes an acrobatic save to hold off the Kings. The shots are even again, with each club adding 6 shots. But L.A. keeps up their hit parade. Brown has found his stride, and Blake is playing inspired hockey this game.

Second period: Kings 3, Stars 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Then, 16 seconds later, Dallas strikes again. Eriksson puts in a rebound from behind LaBarbera to make it 2-0. And here we go again.

O'Sullivan gets a penalty for tripping Halpern, but the Kings kill the penalty. Then as O'Sullivan leaves the box, the puck is fed to him and he skates in. He puts the puck on net, and the rebound finds it's way to Frolov, who scores to put L.A. on the board.

LaBarbera is showing more comfort handling the puck behind the net. I guess Ranford is giving Labs some good guidance when it comes to puck-handling.

Then, less than a minute later, Armstrong scores to tie the game. As I'm listening to Jimmy Fox on FSN West, he notes that in the last 17 shots faced by Turco, he has let in 8 goals. I guess that's good for Los Angeles. Another good sign: the home team has won each game in this series. Dallas is 2-0 at home, while L.A. is 3-0 at Staples.

The shots were even, (12 a piece) but the hits were not (17-9 in favor of the Kings). It was great to see the Kings come back after being down by two goals. Not something you can count on every night. But they have made it a game again.

First period: Kings 2, Stars 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Johnson gets two for slashing, as the Leafs try to get something going. But L.A. kills the Johnson penalty, as it seems they are content with sitting back and playing defensively. Not a bad idea, since this is Los Angeles, and they lose big leads like Pam Anderson loses husbands.

LaBarbera has played awesome tonight, really making difficult saves, and looking like the LaBarbera of old.

O'Sullivan had a beautiful chance, but was stonewalled by Toskala. The Leafs' Kubina gets called for holding, as the Kings take the PP-mobile out for a spin. But they barely get a chance to take it out for a spin, before they have to put it back in the garage.

The Leafs score another, when Tucker scores from between the circles to give them two goals. The Kings are still playing conservatively, unless the top line is out there. The Leafs are outshooting the Kings, but aren't getting many good looks at the net.

Kilger gets two minutes for hooking, as the Kings gets yet another chance on the power play. Brown has a golden chance to get a hat trick, but shoots wide.

Kopitar gets a rare penalty, a hooking penalty, his sixth of the season. The Leafs are attacking the goal with wild abondon. But LaBarbera makes save after save. he is a man possessed tonight. He even slides out of the crease and winds up sitting on the puck to stop play.

The Leafs pull Toskala with 1:40 left in the game, and go with six players with the puck dropped deep in the Kings zone. Blake just hip-hammers a Leaf into the boards, much to the delight of the Kings fans in attendance. Johnson shoots wide of the crease, missing his bid to score tonight.

Third period: Kings 5, Leafs 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ponikarovsky (Man, I love that name) sends Handzus into the boards and gets a penalty. LA. gets several chances, including Brown, who has two PP goals so far this game. But Toronto stands firm, and L.A. is denied.

Blake fires one from way downtown, putting the Kings up 5-0. The Kings have been cycling and circulating the puck, and one finally makes it through. It's Blake's fourth of the year, and his first in seven games.

The Leafs have a quick two-on-one, but they are shut down by LaBarbera. Although the Leafs have 9 shots so far, he's playing well. The defense is also blocking shots, so he doesn't have to stand on his head.

Kopitar is announced to the Staples Center as the sole representer of Los Angeles, and he is greeted by a warm round of applause. The kid deserves a trip, he's been the Kings best player this season.

The glass is shattered in the corner, as play stops. I've never really noticed that it takes 10 people to change on of those huge panes of glass. It takes a little time, because it's on the corner where the net is tethered to. Usually, the glass just has a straight crack in it. But it looks like the time I threw a hammer through my bedroom window, back in 1984. I wanted to try the Hammer Throw I had seen in the Olympics. Oops.

Guilano gets whistled for hooking, and the Leafs finally get on the board. Antropov beats LaBarbera for his 16th goal of the season. The Toronto crowd cheers much louder than the Kings, which sounds more like a sigh of relief than an actual celebration.

Johnson gets two for interfering with Sundin, and gives him a little shove after the veteran dove to the ice. I can't say I blame Johnson for being a little mad. Then Sundin draws Blake into the sin bin, giving Toronto a two-man advantage.

So Modry, Stuart and O'Sullivan are out there to stem the tide. LaBarbera has a sweet save, spreading wide to halt a Leaf scoring drive. He does it again, this time with his pads, kicking away a shot with authority. He then absorbs a cannon shot from the blueline.

The Kings kill the Johnson penalty, as LaBarbera is being called on to make some heady saves. Johnson, Visnovsky, Handzus and Calder kill the Blake penalty. And with 21 seconds left in the second, Ponikarovsky (I love that name!!) gets called for tripping. So the Kings will have the power play to start the third.

Second period: Kings 5, Maple Leafs 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Modry hits a laser beam, but it clanks off the post loudly, causing the fans to moan in unison.

The Kings score first, when Calder backhands a shot past Raycroft for his sixth of the season. Raycroft has been giving up some big rebounds, and he couldn't hold on to that one. It was the first time the Kings scored first in a long time. Usually, they spot the team a few before they get going.

The Leafs only have one shot so far, as the Kings look a little more focused than last game. LaBarbera makes two very nice saves when the Leafs finally register a few shots. I think fans are ready to jump all over LaBarbera again if he lets in another soft goal.

Antropov tries a wraparound, but LaBarbera is there. Dustin Brown draws a penalty when he's held by Kaberle, as the Kings go on the power play. And Dustin Brown knocks it in, when O'Sullivan's backhand toward the net and Raycroft fails to pull it in. Brown skates after it, and the puck dribbles in. O'Sullivan and Kopitar with the assists.

Frolov joins in on the fun, as he skates around the goaltender, turns wide and fires it past Raycroft. I guess three goals on seven shots is acceptable north of the border, because Raycroft is staying put. Nagy and Armstrong with the assists.

Wozniewski hits the puck over the glass and gets two for delay of game. And Brown scores his second of the period to give L.A. a 4-0 lead. The assists go to Visnovsky and Blake. The Kings have 11 shots in the first, and look dialed in.

Kings 4, Maple Leafs 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Both clubs are last in their respective conference. The Leafs lost last night against the Ducks, 5-0, so I'm sure they're a little punchy. The Kings have lost three in a row, and after the team's last game... let's just say things are bleak in L.A., as far as hockey is concerned.

For a good article about the Leafs and the Kings, head over to the Globe and Mail website.

Posted by Matt Murray at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Linemates Kopitar and O'Sullivan are leading the Kings on ice time. But both have a shot each.

I'm starting to think this will be a case of payback for Nashville. Back on October 23, the Kings shut out Mason and the Predators, 6-0. That was an ugly game for Nashville, and I'm sure they remember that.

Bailey the mascot is parked below the press box, and I've now lost interest in the game. The Kings could be out-hitting the Predators, and causing blood to spill across the ice. And I'd still be watching that stupid lion. It's been half a season, and he's starting to grow on some of the fans. And if he'd stop stirring up the fans directly beneath me, I could concentrate on the game. Then again, the outcome to this game is already predetermined. I might as well try and get a t-shirt from one of the Kings Crew.

The Kings have 15 shots so far, but none real good chances past Mason. Guess his bid for a shutout will remain. (Yes, I am trying to jinx Mason. Why not? I'm not cheering in the press box)

Ivanans tries to stir something up, but no one was biting, and he heads to the box for two minutes to think about what he's done. The Preds then come out and Dumont scores to make it 6-0. That's right, the exact score back in October. Then, they come right back and put one past Aubin, this time by Ortmeyer.

I'm half expecting the Kings to start an all-out brawl. But it seems they just don't have their A-game tonight. I can already hear the callers tonight. Maybe I'll stick to jazz or classical music on the ride home. Honestly, this is quite possibly the worst I've seen the Kings play.

Final score: Predators 7, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aubin skates out to play the puck and try to help the Kings get going. But his pass goes awry, and Nichol skates in and beats Aubin glove-side for his second of the season.

After that, Crawford juggles the line, putting Kopitar on a line with Frolov and Nagy for a shift. Armstrong is paired with Willsie and Calder. Crawford's trying everything he can to jump-start L.A.

De Vrie gets whistled for interference, as the Kings only bright spot takes to the ice. However, they can't get anything going.

Nashville scores again, illiciting more boo-birds from the crowd. Aubin fails to cover up the puck from Erat. There is a rush around the goal, and it looks like it was kicked in. But it's by Blake. The Kings protest, but it stands.

A "Fire Crawford" starts up in the nosebleeds, but I'm not sure that's the answer. Then again, if I knew what the answer is, I'd head down to Toyota Sports Center tomorrow and tell someone. "Pssst, the reason why you guys are losing is because you are tying your skates up all wrong. Plus, you need to eat a half a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk before the game."

The Kings start pumping the puck on the net, and have almost caught up with them. Nashville is in a defensive bubble, so they are just playing safe.

Frolov and O'Sullivan are centered by Kopitar, who is getting a ton of ice time.

Ortmeyer gets called for a penalty, but once again, the Kings are empty. When Nashville kills the penalty, more boos are heard. As time winds down, the crowd is getting more and more bitter. This has been ugly.

Second period: Predators 5, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings get their fifth power play with a lot of momentum on their side. But the top line isn't out there to start it off. Visnovsky hits it so hard that the rebound winds up on Frolov's stick, who tries to shoot it, but it gets deflected to Nagy, who knocks in his ninth goal of the season. He has been on fire the last seven games: he has eleven points, including his hat trick against the Hawks.

The Kings get a power play, when Sarich smacks Calder in the face with his stick, as L.A. takes to the ice for a double minor. Calder is shown getting stitches on the bench, which makes me wince. I'm sorry, but if I'm getting stitches, I want to be underground and away from anyone who would hear me scream like a schoolgirl.

The Kings get a goal, with a two-man advantage, when Blake shoots it on goal. Calder whacks at it, and the puck sneaks behind Kiprusoff, where Kopitar picks it up and puts the Kings up for the first time on the evening. Regehr checks Kopitar into the crossbar, but Anze shrugs it off. And to make things better, they still have the two-man advantage.

But to make things worse, Brown is reportedly not going to return to the game, after ramming into the board with his shoulder chasing a puck. Brown's willingness to muck it up in the corners has its disadvantages, and that's one of them. Not the first time he loses some ice time due to his shoulder.

Then the Kings start getting sloppy. Frolov gets a penalty, and Iginla finds Huselius in front of LaBarbera to tie it up at 4-4. Then Willsie gets two for tripping, and Langkow pops in a puck to put the Flames back up by one. It's Langkow's second of the game, and the Kings look like they might be spent.

Brown is now back out there, so reports of his demises have been exaggerated. (Way to go, Patrick O'Neal.) Brown has become the team's gritty goal-scoring leader, and to have him and Cammalleri out there may prompt a death knell for the Kings.

The Kings pull LaBarbera with less than two minutes to go, and the Kings fail to recapture the intensity earlier into the period. Huselius steals the puck from a reeling Visnovsky and pops it in to give the Flames their two-goal lead back.

It was exciting to see the Kings come out and score three goals in the third period, but it's frustrating to see the game slip away in such a fashion. The Flames were on the ropes, but, in typical Hollywood fashion, battled back against the odds to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Another maddening fact: the Kings outshoot the Flames, 14-4, in the third. But they score on three out of four shots for the victory. Had the Kings been able to lock up the Flames in the first, and not miss some defensive assignments, we may have taken them to overtime or even skate out of Staples with a hard-fought win.

Hopefully Brown isn't too dinged up after this game, because that would have serious reprecussions later on.

Final score: Flames 6, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, maybe I spoke too soon. Kipper skates behind the goal to play the puck, and Frolov is there to pick up the puck and wrap it around and in to get the Kings on the board. Maybe all those games made Kiprusoff a little loopy. The Kings, although in last place in the West, aren't slouches when it comes to scoring. There are tied with the Maple Leafs and the Sabres for seventh in the entire league. I am salivating thinking about the Maple Leafs game coming on next week.

The goal seems to have the Kings re-energized, as they start playing the Flames closer. Nagy has replaced O'Sullivan on the top line. But here's the problem: The top line has failed to register a shot thus far in the game.

Iginla has a quick release and fires it past LaBarbera to help the Flames regain their two-goal advantage. The goal comes off the rush, as Eriksson skates in, then passes it quickly to Iginla, who is simply the best player on the ice anytime he's out there.

The second period ends with the Kings again down by two. But there's some improvement. The Kings finally unleash their shots, finishing with 13 shots. They get more offensive chances, and seemingly have the Flames back on their heels several times.

Jack Johnson and Rob Blake are given credit on Frolov's goal during the second intermission. With the league's fourth best PP, it was just a matter of time before they connected.

Second period: Flames 3, Kings 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Flames strike first, when Robyn Regehr scores past a confused-looking LaBarbera for his fourth of the season. The thing that makes this one sting is the fact that this was a battle of fourth lines. The Kings had Ivanans, Thornton and Guiliano out there, against Godard, Yelle and Conroy. Stuart was in position and as he held Regehr, and the puck appears to have gone off his stick and is redirected past LaBarbera.

The next goal comes under two minutes later, when Daymond Langkow receives a puck in front of LaBarbera in an unusual way. It comes from above. Owen Nolan pops it over the goaltender, a la Hit The Ice, in front of LaBarbera, where it gets knocked around, before Langkow tips it in.

The Kings do settle down, as they finally get the puck several times in the Flames zone. But they can't really sustain any real scoring threat. The Flames outshoot the Kings, 11-6, and are lacking in the faceoff circle. I imagine Crawford is giving them an earful in the locker room.

First period: Flames 2, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stuart gets tripped by Peca, putting the Kings back on the PP. Nagy wins his fourth faceoff of the game, but the Kings can't hold it in. It seems the Blue Jackets play in the nuetral zone has stymied the Kings, as they can't skate in. Brown had a beautiful chance, when he directed an O'Sullivan pass into Norrena's pads. But he stops it, and the BJs kill the penalty.

O'Sullivan skates with the puck, and heads behind the net. The puck gets hit by a Blue Jacket, and the puck bounces up off the top of the goal. The puck winds up on Sully's stick, as he knocks it in unassisted for an amazing goal. The goal is reviewed, but it stands. One of the most amazing goals I've witnessed live.

The game is tied as the Kings suddenly have a second wind. They have outshot the the Blue Jackets thus far, and have shown signs of getting faster. But the Blue Jackets are looking feisty. They are putting the wood on every dark jersey they see.

Johnson almost turns it over deep in the Kings zone, but LaBarbera picks it up and sends it right back out to Jack. He feeds it to Armstrong immediately, and the Kings catch the Blue Jackets in a line change. Nagy skates it in and almost gets a clear backhand, but Norrena covers it up.

Columbus scores their fourth, as Peca scores his second of the game. And now the Jackets seem content with playing keep away from the Kings. The LAD line comes out with 3 minutes left, but fail to get anything started. Brown lines up one BJ in the corner, and almost hammers another, but wisely sidesteps away.

The Kings pull LaBarbera from the net, then Peca gets whistled for hitting the puck over the glass. So now, the Kings have a two-man advantage. After an exciting exchange, the Kings fail to put the biscuit in the basket. Columbus outlast the Kings in a hard-fought battle.

Third period: Blue Jackets 4, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

But the Jackets come right back, when Lindstrom pops one over Aubin's shoulder to put Columbus back on top. Fedorov gets the assist. It quickly quiets the half-filled arena, who were just screaming their heads off for Willsie.

The goals are coming once a minute now, as O'Sullivan backhands one toward Norrena, and Brown smacks it under the pads for his 20th goal of the season. O'Sullivan is so fluid, skating out of the corner and throwing it on net. Kopitar gets credit for the second assist.

Willsie gets called for a penalty, and Columbus' 24th-ranked power play unit takes to the ice. The Kings have the third-worst PK unit, so there's something for the Jackets.

Columbus goes back on top, when Peca scores on Columbus fourth shot of the period. Aubin is replaced by LaBarbera, after letting in 3 goals on 15 shots. Apparently Crawford has seen all he needs to see for tonight, as the book closes for Aubin.

Ivanans has a teeth-rattling open ice hit on Chimera that sends ohhs and ahhs throughout the arena. Chimera comes up with his helmet all-cockeyed, and another Jacket comes to his defense. The organ plays music that sounds like the Kings will get a penalty, but it was clean as a whistle. And that whistling is coming from the gaping, bloody hole Ivanans left in Chimera's head.

Kings get a power play when Hejda gets whistled for hooking, but the Jackets manage to get it in the Kings Zone. After trying to cycle it out, Nash comes up and trips LaBarbera in the crease, illiciting some complaints from Kings fans. But play goes on.

Blake and Hainsey exchange diet tips, as Blake tries to smack home a loose puck, and the scuffle stops play and kills the Kings power play. That's the third PP tonight the Kings have missed on. Blake has picked up his game as of late, looking like he's at 100 percent. Which is good, because being paired with Johnson, he's the perfect compliment.

Brown just hammers Hejda with a trademark BrownTown hit. It was so nice, they showed it twice, and it got an equal response the second time.

The Kings kill a late Nagy penalty, and head to the locker room down by one goal. The Kings only muster 6 shots on goal, but showed signs of coming to life after the Ivanans hit. Brown tallied 5 hits in the second,

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The LAD line of Ladislav Nagy, Alexander Frolov and Derek Armstrong had a stellar game against Chicago, with ten points between them. Lost in the excitement of the Kings' first hat trick since 2006 by Nagy, Frolov scored his 100th goal as a King. Dustin Brown also added a goal and an assist on the night.

LaBarbera is getting the night off, as Aubin starts in goal, opposite Columbus' Norrena. LeClaire played last night against the Ducks, in a 2-1 loss.

Three minutes in, and both teams haven't tallied a shot, but Modry gets the gate for hooking. L.A. is easily able to kill the penalty.

Westcott gets two for holding (more like clotheslining) Nagy, as the NHL's fourth best PP takes to the ice. Brown, Kopitar and O'Sullivan are paired once again, with Visnovsky and Blake on the blueline. Calder replaces Armstrong between Frolov and Nagy. L.A. gets some solid chances, but come up empty. The beautiful thing is L.A. has the second most power play opportunities, right behind Carolina. And it's the DAM line of Brown, Kopitar and Cammalleri leading the team in PP points.

Fedorov scores to put the Blue Jackets up, on a one-timer from Lindstrom. The shot was right in the slot, as it slid under Aubin for Federov's seventh of the season.

The Kings go on the PP when Malhotra gets called for hooking. But there's nothing there for the Kings to capitalize on.

I'm a big No Doubt fan, but I'm a little tired of hearing that B-A-N-A-N-A-S song they start to play, with the drum crops and deep base line. For some reason, it just doesn't fit for hockey. I'm sure it's cool for the Lakers or at USC games. But, it just has a whole "You-Got-Served" feel that makes me want to skip it on my iTunes.

Nagy joins Brown and Kopitar as time expires, and they get some opportunities.

First period: Blue Jackets 1, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ivanans is able to bait Koci again, when the teams are bunched up in front of Labs. Ivanans reaches over and gets Koci to swing at him, giving him a ten minute penalty.

Dustin Brown is able to poke the puck away from Byfuglien and skate in on Lalime and score an unassisted goal. The Kings now have scored 8 goals, the same amount as the last time I was here in December against the Sabres.

LaBarbera has shaken off his iffy start and has settled down. Several fights have broken out behind the crease. Calder throws someone down, Preissing is down on the ice. When it all shakes out, Burish gets 2 for roughing, 2 for high sticking, 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct. Kontiola then gets called for high-sticking.

Lubo scores with a two-man advantage to make it 9-2. Calder gets another assist, and the Kings are routing the Hawks.

The Kings are on their way for their third win in a row. Despite being outshot, the Kings posted a tremendous win.

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Frolov scores his fifth of the season, when he redirects a Stuart shot from the point past Lalime for a Kings goal.

Ruutu gets two for tripping, as the Kings go back on the power play. They have already scored twice. Nagy gets several shots on the PP, since he's very close to something we don't talk about, lest we jinx it.

Both teams are settling down and playing decent hockey since the fight. The Kings have outshot the Hawks this period. Magnus Johannsson (I love the name Magnus. I'm gonna name my first-born Magnus, just because I like it so much) has been called for a penalty, giving L.A. another chance at a power play. Calder hooks up with Frolov to give L.A. another goal. Fro now has 2 goals, and Nagy adds to his point total with his second assist. He now has 4 points.

It looks as if Rene Bourque popped Jack Johnson in the mouth. JJ skates over to the bench, and keeps checking his lips. I sense something coming down the pike when those two meet again.

The Kings score two more this period, as we go to intermission.

Second period: Kings 6, Hawks 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings are riding a four game win streak, and the Blue Jackets are coming in winners of three in a row. This being the 13th game of the season, how appropriate that it's on Halloween? Will tonight's game be a treat to watch, or have I been tricked into seeing a Kings' home loss, a rarity this season.

In goal for the Kings is Jason LaBarbera, coming off of being named the NHL's top star of last week. Pascal Leclaire is riding a huge wave of success, already pull ing out 4 shutouts. These two goaltenders meet for the first time.

Jack Johnson has a nice move on a Columbus forward as he tries to get the puck out. He fakes to go around the goal, then pivots the opposite way and skates past the bewildered player. He immediately passes up to Kopitar when he reaches mid-ice, and Kopitar takes it in and gets a shot on net. What a rookie.

Now about the veterans, Calder skates it up and passes to.... no one. He didn't even look where he was passing to when he flipped a backhand to the boards, resulting in a turnover in the nuetral zone.

The Kings seem one step slower tonight. Passes aren't as clean, and they are having a devil of a time clearing the zone. Visnovsky checks Boll into the corner, and seconds later, Boll returns the favor. But coming to Lubomir's defense is Ivanans, who bashed Boll after he cleared the puck. That was enough cause to give Columbus a penalty.

The Kings, aided by the excellent penalty-killing of Hanzus and O'Sullivan, kill the Ivanans penalty. But the Kings are far from getting out of the woods. The Blue Jackets are staying in the Kings zone for a long time. Modin, the former Long Beach Ice Dog, puts on some nifty moves, and is able to get the puck in front to his clamoring teammates. Finally, the Kings clear it, as Crawford, realizing the rough nature of tonight's game has Armstrong, Frolov and Cammalleri out for some strength. The line of O'Sullivan, Willsie and Nagy also playing well.

Kopitar does some fancy footwork of his own, getting Hejda to trip him up and draw a penalty. But the Blue Jackets won't go down without a fight. They are ranked number one in the NHL on killing penalties. And that's what they do this time as well.

The Kings have two long shifts from the O'Sullivan and Kopitar lines, so as they try to change on the fly, the Blue Jackets are able to collect a rebound and skate to a quick 3-on-2. And Chimera pops one over LaBarbera's glove hand for his second of the year. It was a bad angle, but a nice goal, hitting the top of the goal somehow over LaBarbera's big shoulders.

Kopitar and Cammalleri are joined by Willsie on their line, as Brown joins Calder and Handzus. Clearly, Crawford is trying to see how to get some different combinations out there to shake them up.

Going into the first intermission, L.A. has a slight advantage in shots, although it didn't seem like it. But something that does seem right: L.A. with 11 giveaways.

First period: Blue Jackets 1, Kings 0

Kopitar has a good chance to hit Cammalleri deep in the Jackets' zone, but Michael falls to the ice, and Anze's shot is stopped by Leclaire. The ice seems a little slushy.

Sergei Federov puts the puck on net, and the resulting rebound is smacked in by Gilbert Brule. It's tghe type of play that should have either been controlled by LaBarbera or his defensemen. But neither could get possession of the puck long enough to clear the puck, and the Blue Jackets are up by two goals.

Nagy's unsportsmanlike conduct gives Columbus their second power play. The Kings are able to halt the power play, thanks to the steady LaBarbera.

But Jason has a lapse of judgement, as he turns the puck over on successive possessions when he leaves the puck behind his net for his defensemen. The first time, the Kings were able to clear the zone, but the second time cost them. Chimera intercepts LaBarbera's pass, and finds Nash on the wing, who slaps one on net. The rebound goes back to Nash, and he takes another shot. LaBarbera stops the second and clears it to the side, but it goes right to Chimera, who shoots it past Jason for his second of the game. The Kings are looking sloppy tonight, and their win streak will seemingly end tonight.

The Kings are already being outshot by Blue Jackets in the second, 13-2. They just seem out of sync, as the Jackets are capitalizing our their mistakes.

But the Kings finally get on the board, when Calder pops it over Leclair's pads for a power play goal. L.A. with the man advantage when Boll is whistled for hooking. Frolov skates the puck in, but gets it poke-checked away from him, and it goes to Stuart. Stuart soots on net, and the puck bounces around in front of Leclair, who cannot control it. Clader takes several whacks at it, and finally works it in to give the Kings a glimmer of hope. Nagy gets the assist along with Stuart.

The Kings get a two-man advantage, when Malhotra is called for interference, and then 20 seconds later, Foote gets the gate for tripping Nagy. The Kings go with four forwards on the ice: Frolov, Cammalleri, Kopitar and Calder. Visnovsky is the only defenseman on the ice. The Kings sustain good pressure, but the puck just doesn't bounce their way. Visnovsky hits the post, and the power play ends.

The period ends with only 8 shots for the Kings, the majority of which came on the two man advantage. Leclair is the difference in this game, who lost his bid for another shutout in the second. But the Blue Jackets are in the driver's seat as we head for the second intermission.

Second period: Blue Jackets 3, Kings 1

Chimera gets his name on the stat sheet again, this time for a holding the stick penalty. But the Blue Jackets keep the puck in L.A.'s end. That's why they are the league's best PK unit.

The damn doorbell keeps ringing with trick-or-treaters as I'm watching this game, so the third period is a blur. The Kings have several good chances, but come up empty. Rick Nash adds an open netter to make it 4-1. L.A.'s win streak is over, and they head into the weekend with a tough home-and-home matchup with the Sharks. The Kings were able to outshoot Columbus, who haven't had a win in Los Angeles in eight games.

Pascal Leclair now has the same amount of wins as he did last season. An interesting note about Leclair: his first start in the NHL was against the Kings, And guess what the result was? A 2-0 shutout.

So, Los Angeles gets the equivalent of a Mounds bar in their trick-or-treat pail on this Halloween night.

Final score: Blue jackets 4, Kings 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings hope to continue their winning ways tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. The drive for .500 will occur tonight at Staples, where the Kings are 3-3 at home. Jason LaBarbara gets the nod once again in goal for the Kings, who has been very impressive in goal since coming in relief for Aubin back on Oct. 18. He has a 2.26 GGA, which is in the top ten for the NHL.

The DAM line starts off the game, and early in the first, the Kings put some immediate pressure, cycling through the players, and getting every player involved. They looked focused.

Play is stopped, as the refs confer about a possible lineup goof-up by the Oilers. But after five minutes play is started once again. Curious, I have never witnessed a problem like that. If the Oilers were found to have an ineligible player, he would have to leave the game and not come in.

The Kings got a power play, when Raffi Torres gets called for interference. Coming into the game tonight, the Kings are ranked third in the NHL on the power play. They are second in power play goals, behind Montreal. Visnovsky is out on defense with Rob Blake, Johnson with Modry, and Preissing with Stuart.

The penalty is over and O'Sullivan takes to the ice, this time with Willsie and Armstrong. O'Sullivan is still wearing his protective visor to ensure he doesn't lose those teeth. I'm convinced it has made him fearless, because he's just skating with reckless abondon.

John Zeiler gets called for slashing, and the Kings go down a man. Handzus and O'Sullivan play most of the PK, and are, as usual, effective. Frolov, Cammalleri and Armstrong get another shift together after the penalty is killed, but look out of sync.

Patrick O'Sullivan draws a penalty when Marc-Antoine Pouliot trips him, and Jack Johnson holds onto the puck behind the goal to allow the Kings to change up to their PP line, then follows LaBarbera as he skates off to get the extra attacker. Kopitar takes the puck at mid-ice and skates in with speed, drawing defenders to him After Kopitar skates far enough, Johnson comes flying into the crease. He receives a quick pass from Kopitar, and tries to jam it in, but Roloson touches the puck, and play is whistled dead. You always have instances where the goalie skates off for the extra attacker, but rarely do you see a bang-bang play like that, when a good shot is registered.

The DAM line is, for once, outplayed by the PP unit of Calder, Frolov and Nagy, who get several decent looks, including a Calder pass, which somehow found its way through two diving defenders and within spitting distance of the crease, but is unable to find a charging Nagy stick, who misses the golden chance.

Pouliot gets out of the box, and gets the puck and skates in unhindered on LaBarbera. Jason gets a great look at it, and is able to halt Pouliot's wrister. The defense should have realized when Pouliot was coming out, because that was close. But thanks to LaBarbera, the game is still scoreless.

The Oilers get a power play, when Dustin Penner draws a holding call from Handzus. And Jarret Stoll gets a goal, when he smacks a slapshot from the left side. O'Sullivan tried to clear it, but Ales Hemsky intercepted it, and fed Stoll a nice pass to put the Oilers up, 1-0.

The Oilers now have momentum, as the speedy team keeps pressing. Compared to the Dallas game, this game is like it's on fast-forward.

Faceoff deep in Los Angeles terrority, the Oilers win the drop, but the pass back to former King Denis Grebeshkov is tipped away by Patrick O'Sullivan, who skates in and puts one past Roloson, unassisted, to tie the game. A great shot, which hit the goalie, trickled in for O'Sullivan's second goal of the year.

The Kings had 11 shots in the first, and looks to have a slight edge in momentum, going into the locker room on O'Sullivan's goal. The Kings had two chances on the power play, but came up empty. They also had two penalties that period, allowing one goal. They have killed 18 out of their last 21 penalties, which is a nice improvement from earlier in the season. The one thing that strikes me is the Oilers outhit the Kings, 8-2. The Kings may be a speedy team, but are also known as a good-hitting team, with Blake, Brown and Johnson. But against a seemingly faster team, the Kings have let the hits go on the wayside in the first. We'll see how that pans out laster in the game, when the players get more tired.

First period: Kings 1, Oilers 1

The Oilers have come out swinging in the first, putting pressure on LaBarbera early. But fatre a few shifts, the team go back to that wide-open game, with lots of skating and scoring chances.

The thing that I notice is when the Oilers have the puck, the Kings immediately skates back and skates back and plays defensively, a far cry from last season when players would sort of hover around on D. Every line has a very good defensive forward on it, some have two. It's something that doesn't receive a lot of attention, but it's apparent once you notice it.

Johnson tees up a huge shot from the point, but the puck hits a defender's stick, which slows down considerably. Expecting a laser beam, Roloson is stuck in mid-air and is able to snap it out of the air. In regular speed, all you can see if Roloson jumping out and hanging, Matrix-style, waiting for the puck to get to him.

It's fun to see players try to figure out Kopitar when they play him. Some give him too much leeway, others play him super-tight. Anze is so adept at changing his game, it keeps the other team off-balance. he plays well on defense, he's got good ice vision, and he can get his hands dirty and get a little physical. It sure is a treat to see this kid evolve for the Kings, especially with young linemmates like Cammalleri and Brown, a line that hopefully is around for a long time.

The Kings look to get another shot at a power play, when Pouliot is called again for tripping. But L.A. gets a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Not too sure how that happened, but the result is a four-on-four. And on the ice is Nagy and Frolov, with Johnson and Modry. With more open-ice, it'll be interesting to see how this lineup goes.

Frolov battles for the puck behind the net, and it squirts out to Tom Gilbert, who is immediately checked by Nagy. Nagy picks up the puck and skates back toward Roloson, flipping a backhand past him for his second goal in three games. If Nagy can find his scoring touch, the Kings will be a very dangerous team.

Even with the goal, the teams are skating four man a piece, until Blake gets whistled for hooking. So now the Kings are down another man. But the Kings are able to kill the 4-on-3 and then the 5-on-4. LaBarbera is able to keep the puck after several real good pushes by Edmonton.

Kopitar takes the puck after winning the faceoff from Visnovsky behind the Kings net, skates through two Oiler defenders and goes down low, throwing the puck toward the net with a backhand, in hopes of getting a rebound for either Brown or Cammalleri. But the puck goes in after bouncing off the side of the net. It hits Roloson's skate and underneath him for his fifth goal. Visnovsky gets the only assist for the Kings. The Kings have had three goals and one assist tonight, which is pretty remarkable.

The Kings continue the fire the puck at Roloson, with 11 shots again. Only this time, the Kings come away with two goals. LaBarbera is having another great game, getting help from his forwards and defenseman.

Second period: Kings 3, Oilers 1

For such a speedy team, I'm surprised to learn that the Oilers have the worst power play in the entire league. They only have three PP goals, including the one from Stoll tonight. Meanwhile, the Kings have 14.

The Kings are playing with a sizable lead, so the period is flying past. LaBarbera comes up huge, making several big stops for Los Angeles, when they can't, for the life of them, clear the puck.

It's interesting to note that Jason has two portraits on his helmet, including one of Hollywood Hogan, who co-founded the New World Order when he was wrestling at World Championship Wrestling. It's fitting that the Kings have their own version of the nWo, with key players from Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Canada and the U.S.

Johnson has opened up his shooting from the point more. He has slowly picking his spots to unload his cannon this season, and tonight, he has fired three hard shots from the blueline. As it's pointed out everywhere, Johnson is slowing signs of improvement with every game. So unless he drops off in production, I'm not bringing it up again.

Dustin Brown hammers Dick Tarnstrom to the boards behind LaBarbera, and the crowd roars.

Calder gets the puck and skates in with O'Sullivan. Patrick slaps his stick down, and Calder whistles a pass through a defender, but the puck hits Roloson. O'Sullivan does get the rebound, and while skating behind the red line, flicks a backhard shot toward a wide-open net, catching Roloson unaware, for his second goal of the game. It was a beautiful shot for Patrick, who had the presense of mind to try to get the puck back in front of the net for either Calder or Willsie to jump on it. It's a helluva goal, and if you don't believe me, check it put:

The Kings are now tied with Dallas for the lead in the Pacific division. They are the best scoring club in the West, with 39 goals. Dallas is second with 28. LaBarbera has four wins in a row, and has made 117 out of 121 saves over the past five games. And he is rewarded, for the third straight game, with the first star of the game.

Final score: Kings 4, Oilers 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nine games. That's how long it's been since the Kings have defeated the Dallas Stars. They didn't beat them at all last season. And the last time L.A. has defeated Dallas was on April 1, 2006. And if there's as good a chance to beat the Stars, it should be tonight.

Michael Cammalleri is riding a remarkable wave of offense, scoring 10 goals in 10 games. He leads the NHL in goals scored, and is tied for the Kings points lead with Anze Kopitar. Kopitar centers the DAM line with Cammalleri and Dustin Brown, and has been a monster in his sophomore season.

Both teams are looking to extend their winning ways for a third straight game. L.A. has defeated Vancouver and Nashville, while Dallas has topped Columbus and the defending Stanley Cup champions Anaheim Ducks.

Dallas is lead by Larry Hagman. No, not the actor who starred in Dallas, but the 27-year winger from Finland. But the real King Killer is Mike Modano, who has scored 35 goals in 74 games. But he hasn't scored a point in four games. Let's hope he doesn't find his scoring touch tonight.

Starting lineup: Jack Johnson and Modry on Defense. Nagy, Kopitar and Frolov start the game. LaBarbera is making his second consecutive start for L.A. The Kings are playing with the road whites, since Dallas' uniforms are dark. I've always preferred the white unis to the darks anyway. Former Kings Mattias Norstrom gets the starting nod for Dallas on defense.

O'Sullivan goes back to centering Nagy and Frolov. Brown takes Niskanen into the boards, finishing his check to applause. Turco is taking chances, skating out of the crease to stop the puck. It seems he isn't very intimidated by the L.A. wingers.

Lubo gets called for highsticking, and Dallas gets their first chance on the power play. Los Angeles kills it easily. Frolov makes a wide-turn and backhands toward Turco, who gives up a little rebound, and O'Sullivan is right there to tap it into Turco's glove.

Johnson out there with Lubo and makes a break a little too early for Zeiler's pass. Ott takes down Stuart, and stands over him, waiting for something to happen. The Kings are dialed in on defense, clogging the middle and not allowing any clear shots to LaBarbera. Trevor Daley tries to put the wood to Kopitar, who deftly steps away from the Star.

Frolov uses his size to ward off any poke checks from his puck. Looks like his groin injury is fully mended. O'Sullivan continues to impress, as he is everywhere the puck is. He's still sporting the shield for his teeth. Maybe it makes him invulnerable, because he plays like it.

The referee gets knocked down, much to the delight of the Kings fans at Staples.

A pass from behind the net from Brenden Morrow finds Jere Lehtinen's stick in front of LaBarbera, and he knocks it off the post to put Dallas on the board. Mike Ribeiro with the other assist. There was pressure in front placed by the Kings, and Lehtinen threaded the needle for his second goal of the season. It was a nice goal, but it didn't seem to slow L.A. down.

LaBarbera has faced 11 shots, and, for the most part, has his rebounds go to the safer areas off to the side, so his defense can clear them or start something. But the defense looks tentative.

First period: Stars 1, Kings 0

Continue reading "Kings strike Stars, snap streak" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Playing the second of back-to-back games, the Kings are in Vancouver to play the Canucks, who have only won once at home this season. Thing is, the Kings have been horrid on the road. Tonight, they hope not to break a 38-year record of losing four straight road games.

The Canucks uniforms are just flat out U-G-L-Y, and they have no alibi. The blue and green are a nod to the old uniforms of the club. But those were ugly too. I liked the ones that had, with the black killer whale breaking through the ice. There's no such thing as a blue killer whale. That's just dumb.

In goal is Jason LaBarbera, who played well in relief of Aubin last night. He has a chance to really make a case for the starting job, if he plays well tonight. Aubin, coming off a groin injury, looked hampered last game, so Jason's shot is right now. Not that there's any pressure, but the Kings have been outscored 13-5 on the road.

Starting lineup has Derek Armstrong centering Dustin Brown and Michael Cammalleri. And Armstrong gets called for roughing with less than a minute gone in the first. Vancouver is currently fourth in the league on the power play. LaBarbera is tested early and often, and the Kings are able to kill the penalty. O'Sullivan looks comfortable wreaking havoc on the penalty kill.

Brown gets called for hooking, just as the DAM line gets on the ice. So the Kings PK is back out there, and Michal Handzus wins the faceoff and sends it into the Canucks zone.

It's something small, but doing something seemingly as small as winning a faceoff can really mess with the timing of the opposition. And Handzus is doing a stellar job this season winning his faceoffs. Not only that, but he's had three real good blocks so far in the game. Having a veteran like Handzus get down and take a puck to the midsection (or lower, as it appeared on the second block. He took it on the inside of his knee), it fires up the bench.

It's been all Canucks so far, but L.A. is playing very well defensively. Brown has a sweet no-look pass to Cammalleri, skating backward and dragging a Canuck defender into Luongo. Jaroslav Modry has an nice assist of LaBarbera, knocking away a Marcus Naslund shot.

But the Kings have been flirting with disaster all period, and Vancouver tallys a goal, when Matt Cooke hits a rebound off LaBarbera from Alex Burrows' shot to give Vancouver an early lead.

Jack Johnson brings a hard slapshot from the point, something we haven't seen. It's wicked fast, although a little high. The line of O'Sullivan, Frolov and Nagy gets a good shift in. That should be an interesting combo for the Kings. The Kings are showing more offensive pressure as the period goes on.

Raitis Ivanans hits one of the Sedin twins from behind, and Taylor Pyatt takes offense to that, and the two face off for a Gloves-Off Dance-Off. Ivanans is able to pop Pyatt's helmet off, but Pyatt holds his own. I would score that a draw.

Frolov gets in the way of a Canuck player, and gets called for interference. So far, the Canucks have had four power play chances, and the Kings have thwarted them all. LaBarbera has been solid in the first, turning away nine of ten shots from Vancouver. But this game has a good pace to it, with both teams showing speed in their opposing zone.

First period: Canucks 1, Kings 0

Continue reading "Cammalleri scores again, as L.A. defeats Vancouver" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Flames haven't won a home game yet this season. The DAM line of Dustiin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Michael Cammalleri starts for Los Angeles, as Crawford looks to come out of the gates swinging. In goal for the second straight game is J.S. Aubin, who played well last game.

The Kings get a power play early, when David Hale gets whistled for hooking. L.A. is ninth in the league on the power play, but 0/9 away from home. Good thing is, Calgary is 29th in killing penalties. Looks like a match made in heaven to Kings fans.

Calgary gets a delay of game penalty, putting the Kings up two men, which bodes even better for L.A. They are 2 of 6 with the 2-man advantage. And Michael Cammalleri makes it 3 out of 7, when he beats Kiprusoff on the stick side to make it 1-0. Anze Kopitar and Lubomir Visnovsky get the assists. And... L.A. still has a one-man advantage.

Kiprusoff has help to make a huge save against O'Sully, when his defenseman covers for him by tipping away a good shot. It seems Kiprusoff isn't very focused. Either that or the Kings are dialed in.

My guess is the latter, because Dustin Brown scores his third from the left side around Robyn Regehr, surprising Kiprusoff with his speed. Kopitar leads Brown with a nice pass, and Brown takes it all the way in, to make it 2-0. Kopitar gets his second assist of the game, and it's only halfway through the first.

L.A. gets another power play, when David Moss is called for holding. Then former Kings Craig Conroy get nailed with a hol;ding call on Kyle Calder, giving the Kings another 2-man advantage. This time, the Flames kill both penalties, but not after some good shifts by L.A. The Kings get called for too many men, which is just a sloppy penalty for the Kings, then jack Johnson get a holding call, giving calgary a two-man advantage.

With six seconds left, Kristian Huselius takes a shot right down the middle, past J.S. Aubin to put the Flames on the board. Alex Tanguay and Daymond Langkow with the assists. The Kings were thisclose to getting out of the period without giving up a goal, something they haven't down often this season.

The Kings outshot the Flames, 13-6. And the wily veteran Michal Handzus, who hasn't scored a goal yet, has made his presense known in other way. He is 67 percent in the faceoff circle.

First period: Kings 2, Flames 1

Continue reading "Langkow scorches L.A., as Calgary wins" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings play host to the third division leader they've played this season, Minnesota. The Wild are the last unbeaten team in the league.

Patrick O'Sullivan gets the start tonight against the team that used to own his rights. He's still wearing the facemask, so his teeth must still be in. One surprise is Ladislav Nagy, who is a healthy scratch for tonight. Apparently Crawford wants to grab his attention, since he's tried everything to get him started.

Former King Eric Belanger also plays for the Wild, and he's gotten himself off to a very good start. Coming into the game, his plus/minus ration is at +7. It would be nice to have another guy like tha, since the Kings only have two players in the plus side, Jaroslav Modry and Scott Thornton. Michael Cammalleri has points in five of the first six games. It's good to see him fired up and taking more of a leadership role.

J.S. Aubin gets his first start as a King, but it's his 200th start. Jonathan Bernier was sent down Monday, and I would've thought Jason LaBarbera would get the nod, as Aubin was coming off the IR. But it's apparent that Lombardi and Crawford want to see Aubin in action, especially with a little rest.

Four minutes in, there are no shots for either team. It looks like both teams are going to play very tight, and try to force the other to misstep. Anze Kopitar registers the first shot, between the legs of Kim Johnsson, and catching Niklas Backstrom off-guard, hitting him in the shoulder.

But the Wild score first, when Marian Gaborik fires a shot from outside, and the rebound finds its way to another former King Pavol Demitra, who taps it in for his second of the season. And the crowd at Staples groans, not only because the Wild scored, but because it was Demitra. Pavol was traded to the Wild for Patrick O'Sullivan and the pick in the 2006 Draft that turned out to be Trevor Lewis.

Jack Johnson continues to improve each game, he's now using his skill to force the speed players to the outside, and not let them set up shop in front of the crease. It's only a matter of time before he connects for his first NHL goal.

With less than a minute to go in the period, Scott Thornton can now put his name in the G column of the stat sheet. He scored when Brian Willsie passes the puck between traffic, and Thornton pops it over Backstrom's shoulder for his first of the year. Another goal in the waning minute of the period for the Kings, something they have done several times before.

The Kings have doubled up the Wild on shots, 8-4. And they have out-muscled them, outhitting them 9-5. But Minnesota has 5 blocked shots, and the game remains knotted at one.

First period: Kings 1, Wild 1

Continue reading "Kings run wild on Minnesota" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You wanna hear something depressing? Detroit has won 13 of the last 14 games against Los Angeles, including six of the last seven at Staples. A bright spot for the Kings: they have the same amount of goals as the high-octane Wing offense: 15.

This game is a particularly tough one for me. Not because I hate the Red Wings (which I do), but because I have both Dominic Hasek and Anze Kopitar playing for my fantasy hockey team, The Hockeywood All-Stars. Best case scenario: Anze scores the only goal for L.A. when the game goes to a shootout, after the game ends 0-0. Turns out Chris Osgood is in goal for Detroit, so now I want to see a hat trick from No. 11.

Starting lineup for L.A.: The MAD line of Cammalleri, Frolov and Armstrong, with Preissing and Stuart back on D. But more importantly, Bernier is back in goal, after letting in seven goals on Friday against the Bruins. Apparently, Crawford wants to see what the kid's got in reserve. The Only a Lad line of Nagy, Kopitar and Brown are together once again. And Johnson is back with Modry.

Bernier makes two good pad saves at point blank range. His positioning is great, as always. The Kings have spent a lot of time trying to clear the zone. When they do, they don't spend very much time setting anything up. O'Sullivan is able to get some wood on a Handzus shot, but it flies wide.

Brown registers a shot down low, and almost gets his own rebound. Bernier then turns away several good chances by the Red Wings, including a wraparound attempt and two shots from the point. Zeiler tries to get things moving, when he carries the puck in and starts several good chances. Zeiler's energy should reward him more ice time.

As Osgood snaps a puck out of the air, L.A. goes on the power play, when Niklas Kronwall for interference. L.A. gets a great shift with Nagy, Frolov and Calder. Kopitar had the best shot at a goal, but the puck was deflected by Osgood. Detroit was able to kill the penalty, but L.A. registers five shots on that power play.

After that power play, the Kings have opened the bomb bay doors, and have started shooting more. Kopitar has a great shot on goal, and Osgood gives up a juicy rebound. But Brown is unable to reach it in time.

When Brian Rafalski is called for tripping, L.A. is back on the power play. And the DAM line plays almost the whole shift, before Brown is called for interference. Patrick O'Sullivan gets introduced to the boards by Kronwell, and it's a good thing he's wearing his face shield.

The Kings are able to outshoot the Wings in the first, 14-10, but are woeful in the faceoff circle. Detroit's Kris Draper has been on fire, winning five out of seven. L.A. better get more aggressive in the faceoff circle if they hope to continue putting pressure on the Wings.

First period: Kings 0, Red Wings 0

With less than a minute gone in the second, Pavel Datsyuk puts the puck in for Detroit, Henrik Zetterberg gets the assist. The defense couldn't track down and clear the puck, and Detroit capitalizes. Staples Center groans as they wait to see how the Kings respond.

The Kings go on the power play as Rafalski gets another penalty for hooking. But Stuart loses the puck at the blue line, and Kris Draper skates in and easily dekes around Bernier for a short-handed goal. And to add insult to injury, the Kings have to kill another penalty, as Visnovsky gets two minutes for interference.

Zeiler just cleans Knonwell's clock along the boards, eliciting a loud response from Staples Center. Crawford rolls the DAM line out there once again on equal strength, putting Nagy back on the Frolov/Armstrong line.

The Red Wings have an extended visit in the Kings zone, where they keep cycling and shooting the puck. The Kings are seemingly entranced by the white stripes on the Wings pants like I am. Seriously, I get sucked in every time my eye hits a Detroit player. It just looks odd, having a vertical stripe down the leg right above a horizontal line on their socks. Odd, I tell you.

Datsyuk has a huge open-ice collision with Kopitar, which the crowd roars their disapproval. Kopitar's helmet goes skittering across the ice, but he's O.K.

Draper gets called for boarding with ten seconds left in the period, so the Kings will have the man advantage when the third period starts. The Kings have apparently forgotten how to pull the trigger. They've only had five shots in the second. I guess the one good thing to come out of the second is that L.A. has been very disciplined, and not getting penalties. But they need to capitialize on the power play better.

Second period: Red Wings 2, Kings 0

In between periods, the fans at Staples were shown a movie trailer for the movie 30 Days Of Night across the ice, like a huge widescreen movie screen. Pretty cool, I thought. Until they placed several Kings clips in the trailer, like they were part of the movie. Talk about product placement.

Thornton takes a stick to the face from Andreas Lilja, and the Kings add to their power play with a quick two-man advantage. And Cammalleri shoots the puck from the top of the faceoff circle, from his knee again. Another wormburner from Cammy, as Visnovsky and Frolov get credited with the assists. And the Kings are still on the power play. Visnovsky hits the post, clearly beating Osgood. But there's a reason why the post is a goalie's best friend. It bounces out and Detroit kills the remaining penalty.

Tomas Holmstrom is the recipiant of a a tic-tac-toe passing play between Zetterberg and Datsyuk, and puts one past Bernier to make it 3-1. Zetterberg then adds another goal to put Detroit up 4-1.

Crawford wisely decides to burn a timeout to stop the bleeding. The defense had seemingly stepped back into their old habit of slacking in the third, and Crawford wants to nip that in the bud.

Jack Johnson has a wicked fake-out on Valterri Filppula, commanding a smattering of ohhs from the crowd.

Cammalleri gets his stick down to redirect the puck on Osgood, who snaps it out of the air. Kronwell gets whistled for his second penalty of the game, when he takes out Kopitar at center ice. It seems the Wings are putting the screws to the Kings young center.

Priessing is out on the power play, paired with Johnson. And what seems odder enough is Jack's patrolling the blueline, while Tom has jumped up in the play. Seems like that should be, at least, reversed. The penalty is killed, and the Kings go back to even strength.

The Staples Center crowd files out as the one minute mark is announced. Don't they know this is prime time for a Kings goal? Turns out there's no late game goal from L.A., as they now are in the hold of a nasty intercontinental losing streak. Is it jet lag? Is it lack of experience? Or is it the Kings have yet to gel?

Final score: Red Wings 4, Kings 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings seem to have a hard time scoring, so coach Marc Crawford decided to juggle the line for tonight's game. The DAaaaaaaaaM line of Brown, Kopitar and Cammmalleri has been split up, and Ladislav Nagy has been elevated to the top line, in hopes to boost his scoring. Since I'm all about lines having nicknames for the lines, I'm calling the top line the Only a Lad line. Ladislav, Anze and Dustin? Get it?

And since Cammalleri has been dropped to the second line with Armstrong and Frolov, that'll be the MAD line. (Michael, Alex and Derek). I imagine Cammy's a little mad (get it) about being dropped off the top line with The Phenom and the Wrecking Ball. Handzus will center the line between Calder and O'Sullivan, which I really don't have a name yet. And rounding out the fourth line is the prickly combination of Ivanans, Murray and Thornton, which I'm dubbing the Thorn Line.

In goal is Jonathan Bernier, who last played in the home opener. Their opponents haven't been to Los Angeles since 2003, the Boston Bruins. The Bruins have one of the better re-designed Reebok jerseys this season. It also has that psuedo-tie at the top of the collar that the Kings had on their old third jerseys. Only, it's not as big as the Kings'. Looks like I might have to get another Bruins jersey. I actually have an old away Neely jersey. That's right, I got a SeaBass jersey...

Dropping the opening puck is a member of the Cirque de Soliel troupe, who is sponsoring tonight's game. She's all twisted with flowing fabric, and she drops to the ice, unwinding herself as she spinds. YThen she just daintily drops the puck between Rob Blake and Zdeno Chara. But as she steps on the ice, the carpet slides, and she falls right on her bum. Blake assisted the small woman over to the side. Funny how she didn't need a net when she was high in the air, but needed one when she stepped foot on the ice.

The Kings are putting the pressure on Manny Fernandez early. The Kings have outshot the Bruins early, 5-1. But Jack Johnson gets called for hooking, putting the third-ranked PP of Boston on the ice. Penalties killed the Kings last game, all season actually.

Raitis Ivanans just peppers Milan Lucic during a scrap. They showed it in slow-motion when they went to break. I can't help but say "Raitis Smash!" I guess that fight was for the girl I saw in Las Vegas.

You see, this girl was riding the Zamboni in the second period with her twin sister, and when she saw Ivanans, she went all cuckoo and called out to Raitis, "Get in a fight for me!" And then she sort of shadow-boxed a little before being driven on the ice. Ivanans sort of shrugged it off.

Bernier has looked solid, especially on the penalty kill for Michal Handzus's holding call. But just as time expired in the penalty, Phil Kessel, last season's Masterson Trophy winner, wheels around and takes a clear shot on goal to score his first of the season. Brady Murray seemed to have lost his stick on the play, so the Kings were effectively down two men. But that save should've been Bernier's.

Aaron Ward gets the call for hooking as time expires in the first period. And with 12 seconds left in the period, Brad Stuart scores to tie the game. Nagy and Frolov pass the puck around, as Calder and Dallman cause chaos in front of the goal. Frolov passes it to Stuart, who rockets the puck past Fernandez, for his first goal as a King.

The Bruins edges the Kings in shots, 11-10, but the Kings had more opportunities on the offensive end.

First period: Kings 1, Bruins 1

A silly penalty (too many men) caused the Kings to go on the penalty kill, and Boston capitalizes. Former King Glen Murray knocked a blocked shot past Bernier to put Boston up, 2-1. The puck hit Stuart, and dropped to the ice, and Murray chopped at it quickly for his first of the year.

Aaron Ward makes it 3-1, when he scores on a Milan Lucic pass from the point. Dustin Brown apparently has the same slippery gloves Murray had in the first, because he dropped his stick. Ward blasts a long distance shot, and snuck past Bernier on the far side for the goal. Kessel is credited with the second assist for his second point of the game.

The Kings have a double minor penalty about halfway through the period, and Phil Kessel gets his second of the game. The crowd groans, as the Kings go down 4-1. Apparently, the juggling of lines hasn't boosted scoring, and the Bruins have looked solid on the power play thus far.

Brady Murray scores an unassisted goal to halve the score, 4-2. He picked up a loose puck in the corner and skated in front of the Bruin goal, and snapped it past Fernandez for his first NHL goal. So now, two Murrays have scored in tonight's game. No real reason why I mention that, except that it's my last name. You go, my brothers from some other mothers.

A late penalty by David Krejci puts the Kings back on the power play. Anze Kopitar scores in the last minute to bring the Kings within one goal, 4-3. Dustin Brown turns and fires on net, and the rebound is hacked at by Cammalleri. The puck squirts free to Number 11, and he pops it in for his first of the season, as the Staples Center horn wails overhead. And the beautiful thing? McFlurrys for everybody!

Second period: Bruins 4, Kings 3

Continue reading "Kings find O, but not a W" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Dallas Stars absolutely OWN the Kings. The Stars swept the Kings last season, and for some reason, Los Angeles just can't get anything going against against Dallas.

Ladislav Nagy is now on a line with Frolov and Armstrong. This pairs O'Sullivan and Handzus on the third line. They share a line on the penalty kill, so this should give Patrick some good offensive looks. Calder is on the third line as well.

Dallas is wearing their home blacks, with the name "Dallas" emblazoned across the front. I kinda liked the Stars old logo. It tied in the Cowboys and the Rangers.The Stars have the numbers on every side of their uniform: front, back, left and right. I don't like the DALLAS on the front. I also don't like the numbers on the front. You know who does? Photographers.

Early penalty on the Kings, puts Dallas on the power play, but Jason LaBarbera is able to turn them away. The Kings then get a quick two-man advantage a few minutes later. But the Stars score a short-hander when Niklas Hagman tips a pass away from Calder, and races down the ice and slides one under LaBarbera to make it 1-0.

Jack Johnson is paired with Brad Stuart this game, and it's nice to see Jack get more of a feel of setting up on D with another solid D-man, rather than carry one on his back. But that means Dallman is paired with Modry...

The Kings have had 10 shots already halfway through the period. Kings get a power play with 5 minutes left. The DAM line is out there the whole time, but Dallas kills the penalty. Dallas then turns up the heat on LaBarbera.

But Jason seems very comfortable out there, despite the earlier goal. Another Kings who is playing better this game is Ladislav Nagy, who is getting better looks.

The Kings and Stars have 11 shots a piece.

First period: Stars 1, Kings 1

Another good by-product of having Johnson on the same line with Stuart, is it allows him to play up and get some offensive opportunities. And early in the second, he gets into a foot race with Modano to the Dallas goal, and actually beats him. But the puck sent by Calder ricochets off the post.

Dallas gets on the board again, when the puck hops over Handzus' stick down low, and the puck is passed to Hagman by Brendan Morrow for his second goal of the game. Mike Ribeiro gets the second assist. Handzus' was positioned properly to intercept the puck from going behind to Morrow, but there's nothing you can do about an odd hop.

The Kings are getting more frustrated as the game goes on. Frolov gets the gate for hooking, and the Kings go back on the penalty kill. Stuart gets sent ot the box a minute later to go down two men. Johnson, Visnovsky and Handzus out on the ice. Handzus has been out there a long time. Frolov comes out of the box, and gets a breakaway. But Turco plops down on it to thwart the Kings winger.

The Kings do kill off the two-man penalty, and allow only one shot on goal. But the Stars have all the momentum. Antti Miettinen capitalizes a turnover in the nuetral zone, and shoots to the inside of LaBarbera, scoring his first goal of the season, making it 3-0. A goal like that is a goaltender's worst nightmare.

Dustin Brown gets chippy and gets called for holding. Then Johnson puts the Kings down two men for 28 seconds. The two-man is killed, but Mike Ribeiro scores his first goal, and second point of the game to make it 4-0 Stars. And this game is as good as over.

L.A. could only get three shots in the second, and penalties effectively killed the Kings' chances of coming back from this one. Although, stranger things have happened. Like the Ducks hoisting their Stanley Cup banner to the rafters on the other channel. Meh...

Second period: Stars 4, Kings 0

The third period barely started when Joel Lundqvist takes a neutral zone turnover and skates, awkwardly, into the Kings zone, with Rob Blake on his back, and surprises LaBarbera with a shot to add to the Stars' score, 5-0. Talk about coming out flat, not that being down down 4-0 is a rallying cry for any team.

The only highlight for the Kings was Kyle Calder's goal later in the period. And that's because it was Jack Johnson's first NHL point, as he assisted on the play.

But the Kings fell flat this game. As they did last game. Only this time, they did it in the second, instead of the first. How much do you wanna bet they go flat right from the opening face-off against the bruins Friday night?

Final score: Stars 5, Kings 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A nice introduction of the four King legends, Vachon, Dionne, McSorley and Deadmarsh. I'll post it later.

The whole ice is awash in video. They are showing a preview, complete with an orchestral score that would rival any Hollywood blockbuster. Funny thing is, no one in the press box is watching it. Everyone is too busy watching the USC Trojans lose to Stanford.

As they introduce the Kings staff, they are playing Teenage Wasteland by the Who. Fitting, considering the average age of the players. The starting lineup for the Kings: Blake and Visnovsky on D, Handzus centering Nagy and Willsie. But the player who got the biggest ovation was Bernier.

The Kings are having a hard time getting something set up in the Blues zone. The only real chance the Kings got was with the Kopitar line, when he peeled off and set up Cammalleri for a one-timer that sailed over the goal.

O'Sullivan is centering a line with the rookie Murray and Ivanans. From what I've seen, this kid's got wheels. Bernier has made some solid saves, including a beauty of a kick save that had Staples Center cheering.

Kopitar draws a foul when he is hooked by Doug Weight, giving the Kings a power play. Frolov is out there with Calder and Armstrong. A potential goal by Calder is waived off by the ref, because it was hit above the crossbar. The Weight penalty is over, but the Kings go right back on the PP when Lee Stempniak gets called for hooking.

L.A. sets up the powerplay. Kopitar, Brown and Cammalleri head the first line, Frolov is now paired with Nagy and Calder on the second PP line. They get a few chances but to no avail.

A new addition to Staples Center are the L.A. Kings Drummers, three guys pounding on plastic trash bins a la the Broadway musical Stomp. I guess it's better the Sweaty T-Shirt Guy.

Whoever had Dustin Brown in the pool for First Kings Goal, congratulations. Michael Cammalleri one-touch passes the puck from Jaroslav Modry to Anze Kopitar, who dekes his way through the Blues defense with speed and passes it over to a wide-open Brown for an easy score. The Kings also debuted a new horn! It sounds more like a train horn than anything. At least they kept Randy Newman's L.A. anthem.

Armstrong gets called for hooking late in the period, giving St. Louis their first look on the power play. During one torrid barrage of action, Bernier keeps his head on a swivel, turning away shot after shot. The Kings kill the penalty, and the crowd gives the club a huge cheer. I'm pretty sure people are focusing their love on Bernier.

Kopitar is showing a lot more agressiveness on offense. The Kings outshot the Blues in the first period. The Kings outshot the Blues, 12-8 in the first, and bernier has played solid once again.

First period: Kings 1 Blues 0

The period starts and L.A. is putting some pressure on the Blues early. Kopitar slides a pass over to a kneeling Cammalleri, who puts it past Legace for his fourth goal of the season. He scored a similar goal in the Kings first game. Cammy's not that tall to begin with, so for him to shoot from his knees... talk about a worm-burner.

4-on-3, Frolov is now paired with Cammalleri, and Willsie is out with Nagy.

The Blues score when Jamal Mayers fires a slapshot past Bernier to put St. Louis on the board. There was no one between Bernier and Mayers, it was just a laser beam. Martin Rucinsky and Steve Wagner get the assists.

Brown levels two Blues players in the span of three seconds, as they go sprawling across the ice. Brad Stuart also hammers David Backes into the Blues bench and halfway onto the team bus, much to the delight of Kings fans.

Midway through the period, the Kings are having a hard time clearing the zone, and the Blues are closing in on the shot total. Hannu Toivonen replaces Legace in goal, and is immediately tested by Kopitar and Brown shots.

The Kings score again, when Kopitar throws the puck in front of the net. Nagy gets his stick on it and redirects it to Brown as he throws some interference in front of Toivonen. Brown hammers it home for his second of the game.

The period ends with the Kings on top.

Second period: Kings 3, Blues 1

Patrick O’Sullivan comes out wearing a shield on his mask. I didn’t notice it before. Stuart gets whistled for a penalty early in the period, and the Kings are two men down. But the Kings hold out for Armstrong, whose penalty from the second spilled over into the third.

Bernier looks comfortable out there, especially with everything the Blues are throwing at him. Kings kill off the Stuart penalty , but Keith Tkachuk deposits the puck past Bernier, for his second of the season. Lee Stempniak and Paul McClement get the assists. With that two-man advantage, the Blues have surpassed the Kings in shots.

The Blues tie it when a weak shot from Backes sneaks under Bernier to tie the game up. , McClement and Stempniak get the assists. The Kings are looking sloppier and sloppier the longer the game goes on. And as the defense is looking more and more shaky, Bernier is perhaps overcompensating in net.

Sellout for the Kings, which is news, since other clubs have announced smaller crowds for their home openers.

After the Blues tie it up, the Kings look to be playing better defense. Cammy had a sweet shot on goal, kicking the puck to his skate before shooting it wide. Othwer than that, the Kings’ offensive opportunities are few and far between.

Modry gets called for a penalty, and the Blues score a power play goal when Eric Johnson rockets a shot from the point to make it 4-3. Paul Kariya and xxx with the assists.

Paul Kariya gets sent hard in the boards behind the net by Rob Blake, causing him to lie on the ice for a while before getting up. Fans cheer as Blake makes his way to the box. Bernier is able to stay focused

Claire the Cheerleader and Peter Patrelli from the NBC show Heroes are both on hand tonight. Cuba Gooding Jr. is also here, and is roundly cheered by Staples Center. I wonder if they forgot Gooding was last seen in Anaheim, wearing a Ducks jersey, cheering for the Ducks to win the Stanley Cup.

The Kings go on the PP when Martin Rucinsky gets the call for hooking.With under three minutes left, the Kings have a pp chance. The Kings pull bernier with a minute left to get a two-man advantage. But Mayers puts in the empty netter to make it 5-3.

Final score: Blues 5, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings play the second of a back-to-back series against the Ducks in London. Game one was a high-energy game, with Michael Cammalleri scoring two power-play goals, Anze Kopitar adding two assists and rookie Jonathan Bernier making a strong debut, as the Kings beat the Stanley Cup champion Ducks, 4-1.

Speaking of goaltending, Jason LaBarbera is in between the pipes today/tonight for the Kings. It'll be interesting to see how the team responds to an angry Ducks team, who started to play well late in the first game.

After an atrocious singing of the national anthems, the game is underway. The Kings are slower this game, as the Ducks seem more aggressive. Apparently Tom Preissing can't keep his helmet on. He's lost it for the second time in as many games.

After John Zeiler gets whistled for high-sticking, the Ducks start the scoring off. A scramble around the net, with several Ducks taking whacks at the puck, allows the puck to bounce to Corey Perry, who chips it past Jason LaBarbera to make it 1-0. The frustrating thing about that goal was the Kings just killed off a 5-on-3 penalty.

The Kings get a power play, but do very little with it. The Kings are being outshot 7-3 midway through the period.

Brady Murray gets called for a penalty, and the Ducks go back on the powerplay, and Chris Kunitz scores on a chip-in from behind LaBarbera to make it 2-0.

The Kings take four penalties, and the Ducks are able to capitailze twice. The two Ducks goals were on the PP, and the cause of players being out of position, as well as some rebounds given up by LaBarbera. The Kings finally start to look alive late in the first period, so maybe they'll come out firing on all cylinders in the second. They wind up with 6 shots to Anaheim's 9.

First period: Ducks 2, Kings 0

Continue reading "Kings playing under a purple haze." »

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings and the Anaheim Ducks finally drop the puck on the 2007-08 season, as they meet up in the O2 Arena in London. The playing surface itself is three feet shorter, but it's the neutral zone that takes the hit.

19-year-old goaltender Jonathan Bernier makes the start for the Kings. Bernier has played extremely well all summer, playing in the Super Series for Team Canada, then in training camp. He looks to continue his quick start.

After a delay, thanks to some faulty lights, the game is underway. The two teams start off tentatively. Brad Staurt loses his helmet, thanks to new Duck Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi looked like he was giving Stuart a noogie.

As was the case in camp, the line of Anze Kopitar, Michael Cammalleri and Dustin Brown is the line to watch for L.A. Ladislav Nagy is paired with Michal Handzus and Patrick O'Sullivan. Kyle Calder, Alexander Frolov and Derek Armstrong anchor another line.

The Kings go on the penalty kill, where they were dead last in the league last season. And to make matters worse, they go down two men. Several shots are pumped on goal, but Bernier is able to turn them away. This is where I'm glad Teemu Selanne is not on the Ducks...

The Kings are the first to go on the board, as the Kings capitalize with a two-man advantage. Michael Cammalleri, the Kings' leading scorer last season, scores from his knees at the top of the faceoff circle to make it 1-0. Visnovsky and Frolov get the assists.

Calder has played awesome in the preseason, and is continuing to be the scrappy player he was signed to be. He stuck his rear right in front of Ilya Bryzgalov, helping screen Cammy's shot. I think he's going to be the best pickup in free agency for L.A.

The shots are even for both the Kings and the Ducks as we head into the first break. But it's also been a very sloppy first period, with each team tallying five penalties. I think the team that settles down and plays more controlled will take this game.

First period: Kings 1, Ducks 0

Continue reading "Kings punk Ducks in season opener" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Matt Murray at 4:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With their victory over Lithuania, Slovenia has positioned themselves to ascend to the upper division next year at Canada.

In following the tournament halfway around the world, I've noticed just how many differences there are in the international game, as compared to the one here in North America. But there is one similiarity: Slovenian fans can butcher their national anthem as well as the Americans!

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kings rookie phenom scored a goal and helps set up four others, as his home country Slovenia battered Romania, 10-1.

The line of Kopitar, Ivo Jan and Tomas Razingar paced Slovenia, scoring half of the team's goals. Slovenia struck first, when Jan scored on a 5-on-3 power play. 33 seconds later, Jan redirected a Kopitar pass, to make it 2-0. Toward the end of the second, Jan scored a hat trick, thanks to another Kopitar pass, to make it 5-1.

Kopitar's goal came midway in the third, when he redirected a sprawling Razingar pass for a power play goal to make it 8-1.

Slovenia wound up with 43 shots on goal, and clearly dominated all game. According to Slovenian website delo.si, Kopitar was cheered loudly every time he touched the puck.

Slovenia's next game is Monday against Hungary.

Posted by Matt Murray at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings wrap up their last game of this woeful season playing the Phoenix Coyotes. Even though the Kings are mired in last place, there is hope for this young team. The past few games has served to be a sort of preview for next season, with fans getting their first look at players, such as Jack Johnson, Lauri Tukonen and Joe Piskula, as well as extended playing time for their highly regarded rookies Anze Kopitar and Patrick O'Sullivan.

The Kings start strong, getting a power play chance but fail to capitalize. But the Kings are in firm control of the game.

The Kings' Aaron Miller gets a penalty and the Yotes go on the power play. Of course who is on the ice but Kings Fan Favorite Jeremy Roenick. Every time he touches the puck, the crowd boos lustfully.

Continue reading "Last call and that is all!" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, every game this season between the Kings and Ducks have been decided by one goal. The road team is 5-0, so it seems the Ducks should win tonight. Tonight, the Kings will be welcoming back Jaroslav Modry, as well as Raitis Ivanans, who is back after missing two games from an injury. Shay Stephenson makes his debut tonight, as he was called up to fill a spot on the roster. Since they traded away their captain, I'm interested to see that they have named three alternate captains: Rob Blake, Scott Thornton and Aaron Miller. They are doing that out of respect for Norstrom.

Continue reading "Cammy's OT whammy stymies Duckies" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:33 PM | 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.

Continue reading "Kings battle from behind to defeat Avalanche in shootout" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:38 PM | 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.

Continue reading "Sweet revenge as Visnovsky lifts Kings over Ducks" »

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.

Continue reading "Ducks outlast Kings in shootout" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:34 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.

Continue reading "'Canes are able to halt Kings' point streak" »

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

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?)

Continue reading "Kings exact sweet revenge in Nashville" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:43 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.

Continue reading "Kings maul the Panthers" »

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

Anze Kopitar may have been on the losing team Tuesday, but he made his presence felt throughout the game. Let's make it totally clear right now, this game was nothing more than a exhibition, but I was looking forward to it, because Kopitar would be facing his arch nemesis from Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin, who leads him in points for the Calder Trophy.

On his very first shot of his first shift, Kopitar shot the puck past Atlanta's Kari Lehtonen to lift the Western Youngstars to a 1-0 lead. Anze skated into the zone with the puck, then dropped it back to Dallas' Jussi Jokinen. Jokinen passed it over to Shea Weber, who touch-passed back over to Kopitar. Anze buried it and skated off the ice.

Continue reading "Kopitar announces presence with authority at YoungStars game" »

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There was actually a game played Saturday night, after the hour-long retirement ceremony of Luc Robitaille.

Michael Cammallari fed Alexander Frolov early in the first to give the Kings an early lead. It was Frolov's 24th of the season, and brought all the butts out of the seats. Adding to his team-high 47 points, Frolov has settled on the line with Cammy and Armstrong, and that line has been very productive.

Anze Kopitar had one hell of a goal, when he scored short-handed to make it 2-0. Kopitar checked Travis Roche just as he was trying to get rid of the puck, and took it into the length of the ice, deking Mikael Tellqvist out of his skates for his 13th of his season. It was a tremendous goal that received a tremendous ovation from the sold-out Staples Center crowd.

A late goal by Josh Gratton brought the Coyotes to one. It was Gratton's first goal of the season.

First period: Kings 2, Coyotes 1

The Kings and Coyotes went back and forth to start the second. However, Lubomir Visnovsky was injured midway through the period, and hobbled over to the bench. The fans all held their collective breath, as he has been solid on the blueline. However, several shifts later, he returned to the ice.

During each stoppage of play, they showed a highlight from Luc's career. And there has been a lot of stoppage. Two times, the crew had to come out and fix the glass. Assorted scuffles and commercial breaks really dragged the game on. Considering the actual game didn't start until 8:30, The fans, all 18,346 of them, seemed to be in good form.

Second period: Kings 2, Coyotes 1

Whether it be the late start or each period found the Kings slower and slower, the Coyotes scored twice in the third period to put a downer on the evening's festivities.

SEan Burke had to be replaced by Yakuta Fukufuji midway through the period, due to dehydration. And the Coyotes feasted on the rookie's inexperience in the net at the NHL level.

Ladislav Nagy struck first when he snapped in a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to tie the game. Then Travis Roche got the game-winner from right above the right circle, when his shot ricocheted off defenseman Mattias Norstrom's skate with under two minutes to play.

Third period: Coyotes 3, Kings 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The last 48 hours for the Los Angeles Kings has been a tough one. In one fell swoop, both starting goaltenders for the Kings have been rendered useless, thanks to injuries. Therefore, the dwindling playoff hopes fall on the shoulders of Barry Brust, whose last victory came against the Phoenix Coyotes on Nov. 30. Also added to the mix is Japanese netminder Yutaka Fukufuji, an emergency call-up from Manchester. Fukufuji only has 3 games under his belt in the AHL, and 12 games down in the ECHL.

Anze Kopitar has had some good luck against the Blues this season. He has scored a goal and three assists in two meetings with St. Louis, comes in with a three game scoring streak. Also announced today was the addition of Lubomir Visnovsky to the Western All-Star team as a reserve.

Michael Cammallari got the scoring started for the Kings, when he put one in past Manny Legace. Cammallari gets knocked down skating into the zone, but had the presense of mind to get the puck to Derek Armstrong. Armstrong holds on to the puck, as Cammy gets to his feet. Cammallari gets the puck back and skates out just a bit, putting the puck on goal, and it squeaks past Legace for Cammy's 17th goal of the season.

Michael Cammallari got the scoring started for the Kings, when he put one in past Manny Legace. Cammallari gets knocked down skating into the zone, but had the presense of mind to get the puck to Derek Armstrong. Armstrong holds on to the puck, as Cammy gets to his feet. Cammallari gets the puck back and skates out just a bit, putting the puck on goal, and it squeaks past Legace for Cammy's 17th goal of the season.

The Blues come right back, when Martin Rucinsky scores a power play goal to tie the game for the Blues. Raitis Ivanans got whistled for interfering with Doug Weight. And the Kings penalty kill proved lackluster again. Doug Weight fed Dennis Wideman a one-timer, which hit the post. Brust almost made the save, but Rucinsky was there for the rebound off the post for his 11th of the season.

The Kings came right back, as Craig Conroy took the puck and passed it to Ivanas. After taking the puck behind the goal line, he fed Tom Kostopoulos for a one-timer. TK beat Legace over the shoulder for his fifth goal of the season, and the Kings are up, 2-1.

Coming off both teams switching up lines, St. Louis' Barret Jackman flipped the puck out of St. Louis' zone, and it landed right in front of Dan Hinote. Hinote knocked it over to Jay McClement, who blasted it past Brust's glove to tie the game again. All this with one minute left in the period.

The Kings outshot the Blues in the first, 11-7, and won 14 faceoffs, to St. Louis' 4. But the score is tied as we go to intermission. This is NBC's first Game Of The Week telecast, and the announcers were from St. Louis. You never know what you have until you go without, and it was brutal trying to listen to new announcers. Not so much that they are homers for the Blues, but that they hardly called the game. Bob Miller, Jim Fox... I love you guys.

First period: Kings 2, Blues 2

Rob Blake was hit in the face by Lee Stempniak's skate in the first period, and went back into the locker room. He received 20 stitches to his face, and was out there for the second period. And not a moment too soon, as Blake's second shift of the period resulted in a goal. Konstantin Pushkarev got the puck on the right side of the rink, and fed it back to a waiting Blake, whose slapshot flew past Legace for the Kings' third lead of the game. It was Blake's second even strength goal of the season. Anze Kopitar and Pushkarev each got an assist on the play. Pushkarev now has 3 points in four games, and Kopitar has had an assist in four straight games.

Conroy gets two minutes for interference, then 45 seconds later, Brian Willsie was whistled for tripping. So the Kings go down two men, handing the Blues a great opportunity. Keith Tkachuk took advantage of the power play, when he redirected a Wideman shot to tie the game a third time.

It was about this time when I realized that after a Blues goal, a bell tolls in the arena, signaling the number of goals St. Louis has in the goal. Everyone starts chanting the number with each toll. Couple that with the annoying "When The Saints Go Marhcing In" song on the organ, and I have to say that's about the most annoying goal celebration I have ever heard. Next to the Ducks, of course.

Lee Stempniak, who apparently only uses wood sticks, lift the Blues when he steals the puck away from a flailing Brent Sopel, skates in and puts one past Brust. The Blues now have their first lead in the game, and that annoying bell and resulting chants grow louder.

But then Mattias Norstrom ties the game when he gets a pretty pass from Anze Kopitar. Kopitar gets the puck mid-ice, and skates in, moving the puck deftly from side to side. As he turned the corner, he quickly sent the puck over to a charging Norstrom, who one-timed it past Legace to tie it up.

Doug Weight scored to break the tie, to give St. Louis five goals this game. He blasts one past Brust, which looked pretty weak. They was no one in front to screen him, and Brust looks dejected. So now, the attention turned to Fukufuji, who was an emergency call-up from Manchester when Mathieu Garon went down with a finger injury. After Brust's fifth goal, the cameras kept showing Fukufuji, who looked really nervous. And rightfully so, since he just arrived early today after being snowed in Cleveland on his way to St. Louis. He has only played in two AHL games and 10 ECHL games. I'd be nervous too.

The shots were even through two periods, but the Kings keep winning faceoffs, now at a two-to-one clip. But winning faceoffs are no good when you are down a man.

Second period: Blues 5, Kings 4

As expected, Fukufuji started the third period and made history as the first Japanese player to play in the NHL. HIs first save was a brilliant one against Eric Brewer, when he stopped him point blank.

The Kings didn't really do Fukufuji any favors, as they got whistled twice for penalties. On the second Blues' power play, Dennis Wideman scores a goal, giving him three points in the game.

But Blake brought the Kings within one, when he crashed the net and popped in his second goal of the game.

Crawford pulled Fukufuji with a minute to go, but was unable to get the tying goal, as the Blues continue their torrid pace. The Kings head to the locker room on the wrong end of scoring five goals. An exciting game to watch, as there were 11 goals scored.

The Kings managed to limit the Blues shots to five in the third, while putting the puck on net a dozen times. And the Kings soundly beat the Blues in the faceoff circle. But the defense was lax, as well as some soft goals given up by Brust. Not that it solely rests on any one player's shoulders. This team is a young one, and I wouldn't be surprised if the inevitable house cleaning takes place sooner rather than later.

Third period: Blues 6, Kings 5

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings have played the Sharks 6 times already this season, with two of those games victories. Thing is, each victory was backstopped by a different goalie: Dan Cloutier beat them on Nov. 13, Barry Brust beat them nearly a month later on Dec. 14. Mathieu Garon lost his first matchup with Sam Jose on Nov. 9. Can he register his first win tonight at Staples?

Patrick Marleau actually has a better chance of becoming the Sharks all-time leading goal scorer tonight. He is currently tied with Owen Nolan for most goals as a Shark. Early this season, he broke records for games played, assists and points.

Also, the goaltending of San Jose has been solid, thanks to the game-by-game switching of goalies. Vesa Toskola and Evgeni Nabakov have nearly the same stats, with Toskola the slight advantage. The Kings' goaltending woes are well-known, especially in this blog. Things got a little grimmer for Los Angeles, when it was reported that Dan Cloutier will have surgery on his hip on Friday, effectively ending his season.

There was no scoring in the first period, as the Kings only managed a paltry six shots in the first period. The Kings dodged two bullets, when Craig Conroy was called for tripping league MVP Joe Thornton and Sean Avery got two minutes for high-sticking. If L.A. keeps getting called, it will bite them in the rear.

First period: Kings 0, Sharks 0

MIchael Cammallari finally started the scoring the second period, when he batted an assist from Anze Kopitar to make it, 1-0. Sharks defensman Christian Ehrhoff was trying to clear the zone, but the puck was held in by Anze Kopitar held it in. He quickly passed it over to Dustin Brown, who wound up and took a shot. It went just left, and the puck bounced around in front of the crease. Kopitar got his stick on it, but not enough to control it, and it trickled to Cammallari, who knocked it in past Toskola.

However, the lead evaporated when Mark bell tied it up two minutes later. Just coming out of the penalty box for tripping, Bell was fed by Scott Hannan. He skated in, and was able to put one past Garon to tie it up. The goal quieted a hopeful Staples Center crowd.

The league's best power unit struck again when Milan Michalek scored a power play to break the tie, 2-1. Sean Avery had been called for slashing Mike Grier, so the league's second-worst penalty kill took to the ice. 15 seconds in, Jonathon Cheechoo takes the puck and tries to wrap it around the net and past Garon. The puck bounces to Michalek, who backhands it past Garon for his 12th goal.

Kopitar had a brilliant play when he took fellow 19-year-old rookie Marc-Edouard Vlasic into the boards.Both players were behind the Sharks goal, and Kopitar tattooed Vlasic into the boards, causing his helmet to pop off and slide around the ice. Giving up several incehs and about 25 pounds, Vlasic's face was visibly grimacing when he got to his skates. The Kings were able to sustain some pressure, but Toskola turned them away.

Joe Pavelski took a shot on Garon, but Garon was unable to keep the puck in his glove. It popped out, and went to Patrick Marleau, who backhanded it through traffic and into the Kings net to make it 3-1 Sharks. And with that goal, Patrick Marleau scored his 207th goal wearing the teal and white, becoming San Jose's all-time goal scorer.

The Kings were outshot for the second straight period, as the pricision of San Jose carved them up. Doesn't it seem many players either get their first NHL goal or achieve some milestone in their career against the Kings?

Second period: Sharks 3, Kings 1

Ryan Klowe continued the onslaught of Sharks goals seven minutes in the third. Marleau shoots on goal, as the rebound heads over to the far boards. There, Klowe fired a wrister toward the net and in to make it four unanswered goals for San Jose.

However, rookie phenom Kopitar halts the Sharks offensive juggernaut a bit, when he scored to make it a two goal game. San Jose's Ehrhoff once again turned the puck over in the zone, as Kopitar spun and skated toward the net. He quickly passed it over to fellow rookie Konstantin Pushkarev, who touch-passed it right back to Anze. Kopitar was able to get enough of his stick on the puck to redirect it on goal, off Toskola and in. The physical element of Kopitar's game has certainly come into focus this game, who now has 39 points on the season, and is two behind Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, the leading rookie scorer.

The Kings pulled the goalie with less than two minutes to go, and the Sharks' Patrick Rissmiller scored an empty-netter to make it 5-2. The Kings drop their second game in a row, and start a three game road trip starting Saturday at St. Louis.

The game on Saturday is the first national game for Los Angeles this season. The matchup will also be the first against former head coach Andy Murray.

Third period:Sharks 5, Kings 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Staples Center fans give Mathieu Garon a rousing round of applause when he's announced as the starter. Garon has been on fire, winning four out of his last five contests. Tonight, the Kings are going for their first three-game win streak. Dwayne Roloson gets the start.

In his first shift of the night, rookie Konstantin Pushkarev dumps Jan Hedja into the Edmonton bench. Pushkarev is playing in his second game this season, after being a minus-2 in the Kings' last game against the Red Wings. The check wound up being NHL.com's Frozen Moment for Monday.

The Kings get the first power play when Ryan Smth gets called for hooking. They manage only one shot on the power play, continuing a trend from last game. Meanwhile, the Oilers have had three breakaways in the game thus far.

Roloson gets a penalty for delay of game, when he plays the puck outside "the trapezoid" behind the net. Honestly, I never thought I would use "trapezoid" in a sentence since my ninth grade geometry class. I want to give my teach, Mrs. Haack, a shoutout for telling me that some people actually do use "trapezoid" in their lives. Now, I am one of them.

The Kings go down two men, when Oleg Tverdosky gets whistled for a penalty. But the Kings kill it off with authority, as Brown skates in and puts a shot on goal. To put an exclamation point on it, he checks an Oiler player behind the net, earning a loud cheer from Staples Center.

The Kings are putting so many shots, Roloson is getting frustrated. At one point, in an attempt to clear the zone, Roloson grabs the puck, and tries to clear it himself, by popping it out with his stick. But Frolov holds it in, and the Kings continue their assault.

The Kings have almost doubled the shots of Edmonton, and has looked very solid on the defensive end.

First period: Kings 0, Oilers 0

After a quick jaunt down to the main concourse, I wandered into Team L.A., just to check out any new stuff. I just wanted to let everyone know that they have plenty of Rogie Vachon jerseys on sale for 10 bucks.

Garon makes a spectacular save on Shawn Horcoff, igniting the docile crowd. Sean Avery gets nailed by an Oiler player, but nothing gets called. However, Brian Willsie gets called for hooking. Avery skates around, trying to plead his case, but everyone leaves him alone. On the resulting power play, Jarret Stoll scores on a cross-ice pass from Ales Hemsky through traffic to make it 1-0.

The Oilers are buzzing, but Garon stays solid. They pass the two minute mark after the Stoll goal, which is good, since they have a knack of giving up quick goals. Roloson, challenged in the first period, hasn't had to make too many saves in the second, as the Oilers have outshot the Kings 9-3 with less than half a period to go.

Avery gets a holding penalty, and he just quietly skates over to the box. Marc-Andre Bergeron takes a weicked shot, but Garon snaps it out of the air. The Kings successfully kill the penalty, and Avery exits the box withg a full head of steam. He skates into the zone, and passes it over to Frolov, who had Roloson beat on the backhand. But he misses, much to the chagrin of the crowd.

The Kings get a power play in the last two minutes of the period, when Jason Smith gets two minutes for tripping. But the Kings can't get anything rolling, as the Oilers kill the penalty. A lone fan up in the nosebleeds yells out "Sopel, you suck!" which garners a few snickers from the press box.

The Oilers held the Kings to three shots, while unloading 15, as Edmonton goes to the locker room up a goal. It seems that the Kings got away from what was working in the first period, and maybe Crawford can light a fire under the team in the third.

Second period: Oilers 1, Kings 0

The ice around the Kings goal seems to be sloppy, as Garon flops to the ice as the Oilers take the puck in the zone. He is able to regain his balance well enough to stop a couple scoring chances.

Frolov had a brilliant chance, right smack dab in the crease, with no one to beat but Roloson. But Rolo came up huge on Frolov's backhand.

The Kings finally put one on the board as rookie Konstintin Pushakarev redirects a Visnovsky shot from the point for his first NHL goal. Anze Kopitar also gets an assist on the goal. The crowd erupts when Pushkarev's name is announced.

The Pushkarev goal wakes up the fans of Staples Center as they drop the puck, all tied up at 1-1. Push is on the same line as Brown and Kopitar, and he's looked good out there this game. If the Kings do decide to pull the trigger on some trades to bring in prospects, at least some of the players from the farm clubs look as if they can fill in.

The Kings go on the power play when Jason Smith gets called for hooking. Even after several great chances by Los Angeles, they are now 0-for-5 on the night. The Kings kill off a late penalty, with the Frolov line staying out the entire time. Toward the end of the extended shift, Frolov looked winded as he made his way to the bench. Garon smothers a puck to kill an Oiler rush, as time winds down.

And we're going to OVERTIME!

Third period: Kings 1, Oilers 1

Garon can only do so much, as Jan Hedja scores his first of the season on a redirection of a Ryan Smyth shot. The Staples Center files out, dejected, as the chance to win three in a row are dashed.

Overtime: Oilers 2, Kings 1

A "Hockeywood" sighting: Anthony Michael Hall made his way to watch the Kings take the ice for warmups before the game. Why is it that most Hollywood stars who go to the games never... NEVER wear a Kings jersey?

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings' chief nemesis, the Detroit Red Wings, are in town, and Staples Center is sold out. Not only do the fans come out to see the hated Wings, but it was also KROQ Tailgate, so fans were warmed up. Maybe they all felt they needed some libations to view the game, which, for all intensive purposes, should be a bloodbath. Detroit is coming off a 9-4 shellacking by the San Jose Sharks. The Kings haven't defeated the Red Wings since 2002.

The Red Wings score first, when Kris Draper walks in and has the puck hit him in the skate, then the stick, past Mathieu Garon for Detroit's first tally. The score seemed to really quiet the racous crowd. Maybe because they were all taking shots after that goal to numb the pain.

Surprisingly, the Kings didn't allow a goal within two minutes this time, as they lock down. Both teams have to work for shots, and at the end of the first, L.A. only has seven shots. But the score stands, as we head toward intermission.

First period: Red Wings 1, Kings 0

The start of the second period found the Kings down yet another goal. 14 seconds in, the Kings fail to clear their zone, and Mikael Samuelsson puts one past a stunned Garon to make it 2-0, Red Wings. One good thing about the play was Norstrom laying down, taking away a potential pass, causing Samuelsson to shoot. Unfortunately, the shot went in.

The Wings are peppering Garon with shots, but he keeps putting up solid saves. But the Kings start shooting the puck more as well. Armstrong fed Norstrom with a sweet between-the-legs passm but the Wings collapse down and take the play away.

Lubomir takes the puck in the Kings zone and skates hard into Detroit's end. He powers past Kronwell and looks like he's going to skate behind the goal. Instead, he takes a swipe at the last second, and puts the puck past Osgood for the Kigs first score. Visnovsky has scored five goals in his last five games, and is cementing himself as a lock to make the All-Star team if he continues to play like that.

Less than two minutes later, the Kings strike again. Brian Willsie battles in the corner with a Wing player, and seemingly passes over to Avery. Avery is charging the net, so the puck sort of bounces around. Sensing an opportunity, Blake decides to drive the net. He smacks it with a quick wrister to knot it all up at 2-2. The stars must be aligned for the Kings, because instead of giving up goals in bunches, they are now scoring them in bunches. Willsie gets the assist. The Kings are now energized with every shift. Visnovsky nearly scores again on the next shift, but narrowly misses the goal.

James Caan is at the game tonight, which is worth noting. Caan, of course, starred in the 1975 movie Rollerball. But did you know that Kings announcer Bob Miller made his Hollywood debut in that movie, starring in an uncredited part as, what else, a game announcer.

The Red Wings may be outshooting the Kings, but the momentum has shifted to L.A. Instead of playing discouraged, the Kings have maintained a hard nose approach to the game, playing consistant and putting the puck on the net.

Second period: Kings 2, Red Wings 2

The action is pretty steady throughout the third. The game is heading toward overtime, when the Kings catch a break. The Kings go on the power play for the fifth time in the game, when Mathieu Schneider hooks Anze Kopitar, who was bsuy skating past Detroit player like they were CalTrans cones. The Kings set up, and start passing around the horn, when Cammallari, tired of passing, decides to shoot. Danny Markov gets his stick down to deflect it, but it winds up redirecting the puck past Osgood, to put the Kings up with less than three minutes to go in the game.

The Wings pull Osgood, to try and tie it up, but Sean Avery puts in an empty netter to put the Kings up two goals. A capacity Staples Center really starts to respond, as fans are standing on their feet, counting down the seconds. And as the horn sounds, the fans erupt.

Garon gets the win, his fifth out of six games. He has been brilliant in goal in place of Mike Cloutier. The Kings finally knock off Detroit for the first time in four years. And Staples Center is rocking like it was a playoff game. And since the Kings are way on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in, you have to choose your spots to get excited.

Another Hollywood star sighting: West Coast Choppers owner and L.B. original Jesse James is at the game with his lovely wife, Sandra Bullock. Sitting with them, the only guy who has put Steve Yzerman in a rap song, and uber Detroit fan, Kid Rock. Rock was sporting a black practice Wings jersey. At the end of the game, both James and Bullock were seen giving Rock a hard time about his team losing. Rock just tugs on a sweatshirt before exiting his seat.

Third period: Kings 4, Red Wings 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

What does that mean? I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?

Well, with apologies to Billy Crystal (who stated that question back in 1989 in the movie When Harry Met Sally), the Kings are hoping to forget everything that has happened to them the past year. They have found the scoring touch in the early part of the season, but defensive lapses and suspect goaltending continues to plague the club. Another problem the Kings have is playing from behind. They have allowed the first goal in the last eight games.

Blue Jackets coming off best month in franchise's history, with nine wins in December. Their new coach, Ken Hitchcock, has the team believing in his system. Hired in November, Hitchcock has seemingly motivated the moody Sergei Federov, averaging a point a game the past month.

The line of Anze Kopitar, Mike Cammallari and Dustin Brown has a great shift, where Kopitar makes a nifty pass behind the back to start a Kings run. Several shots later, Columbus is whistled for a penalty. But the power play comes up flat.

A second power play is neutralized by a Craig Conroy hooking penalty, so they skate four-on-four. Lubomir Visnovsky passes the puck up to Derek Armstrong, who jets into the zone. He skates past Duvie Westcott, and puts the puck on goal, but Fredrik Norrena can't contain the puck. Cammallari coasts in and backhands the rebound past Norrena for the Kings' first goal of the game. Cammy's goal was the first time in nine games that the Kings have led to start the game.

The Blue Jackets has only 2 shots in the first 12 minutes of the period. They wind up with 7, but the Kings have clamped down on the Blue Jackets. Garon has been solid, although he didn't really face but a few real scoring chances.

First period: Kings 1, Blue Jackets 0

The second period, there is no scoring. Both teams take 10 shots. But the on-going story has to be the Kings' inability to score with the man-advantage. So far they are 0-for-5 on the power play, which is uncharacteristic of the team as of late. However, they are playing a tighter defensive game, which is something that they haven't been doing. I would gladly trade the Kings' lofty PP percentage ranking for a more complete defensive game. But it's still frustrating when your club has an extra man and they can't put it in, especially at home.

Second period: Kings 1, Blue Jackets 0

Kopitar almost redirects a Rob Blake pass past Norrena , but comes thisclose before Norrena plops down and stops the puck.

Brent Sopel clears out the puck during a Columbus barrage, and Sean Avery wins a foot race over Westcott. Avery immediately passes it to an open Frolov, for a quick two-on-one action. Frolov feeds the puck under the stick of a crouching Westcott to Avery, who one-times it past Norrena for his third goal in five games.

Late in the third, the Kings, after getting nine chances with the man-advantage, the Kings finally score a power play goal. Cammallari skates around the zone with the puck, and fake-passes to Blake. He shoots from the blue line, and the Norrena makes the save. But the puck is lost in the ensuing scuffle, and Visnovsky digs it out and pops it in for the score. Frolov actually gets his skate on the puck, shielding it from Norrena, and gets an assist on the play. With that assist, Frolov now has his fifth multi-point game in a row.

The Blue Jackets, now faced with a three-goal deficit, seemingly throw in the towel, and the Kings get the win. Mathieu Garon gets his second shutout of the season. Kopitar is shut out for the third straight game, matching his longest drought this season. But I wouldn't worry about Anze. After his last drought, he responded with scoring seven points (4 G, 3A) in the four games afterward.

Third period: Kings 3, Blue Jackets 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aaaaah, new year's in Detroit. What else is there to do up in Michigan on the last day of 2006? With a high of roughly 42 degrees, why not go to Joe Louis and see the Red Wings light up the Kings in a blaze of glory? Sound too pessimistic? Let's just say the odds are stacked high against the boys from the Left Coast.

First, consider Detroit has an impressive record playing on New Year's Eve. They have won five in a row and eight in eleven years. The Kings, coming off a loss off of Calgary, has had plenty of problems halfway through the season: they are currently 29th in the league in goals against, and their penalty killing is also ranked 29th.

One player to watch is Robert Lang. Lang, who started his career with L.A. Lang has averaged more than a point a game against the Kings, 17 points in 16 games. The Wings also has the league's number one goals against average, thanks to the Dominator, Dominic Hasek. The Kings have had a revolving door in goal, thanks to the substandard play of their goalies. Not that all the blame rests solely on the netminders. The Kings have had plenty of defensive lapses, which lead to goals. The one bright spot for the team has to be their power play, where they are currently in the top 10. But with shoddy goaltending and defensive goofs, that plus quickly gets erased.

The first goal goes to Detroit, when some nifty one-touch passing mixes up the Kings. Pavel Datsyuk brings the puck in the Kings' zone, and passes over to Henrik Zetterburg, who immediately sends the puck over to Tomas Holstrom. All the Kings could do was watch as the Wings swooped in and score.

Through the first six minutes, the Kings are playing like TV announcer Bob Miller sounds, very weak, with only one shot. Miller has got a cold for tonight's game, but like a true warrior, he shows up and calls the game. If only Crawford could bottle that up and dispense it to his club.

The Kings get a power play late in the period, but to no avail. In their last meeting, L.A. went 0-for-8 with the man advantage. Detroit is middle of the pack on the penalty kill, but they are treating this PK like a normal shift, bringing up two skaters on the forecheck.

The period ends and L.A. gets outshot, 15-7. Detroit spent much of the time in control, while the Kings seemed rudderless.

First period: Red Wings 1, Kings 0

The Wings' Brett Lebda knocks the puck over the glass early in the second, getting a delay of game penalty. The Kings respond with a goal from winger Alexander Frolov. Frolov has been on a tear the past week, who has scored 8 points in the past three games. Brent Sopel shoots the puck wide, and the puck careens around to Sean Avery, who passes it up to Oleg Tverdosky. Oleg shoots it on goal, and Derek Armstrong is able to put his stick on the puck to redirect it slightly. Haske is unable to control the rebound, which goes to Frolov. Frolov backhands it, and goes tops helf over Hasek's shoulder for his 20th goal of the season. The goal is reviewed, but stands, and the game is tied.

But then the Kings give up two goals in under two minutes, which is the most frustrating thing about the Kings this season. Valtteri Filppula has a rebound from his shot go in off his skate as he slid toward the net. Pavel Datsyuk gets his second point of the game when he wrists a shot past Garon.

The Kings bring it within one, when Frolov scores once again. Frolov passes over to Cammalari, who bobbles it over to Armstrong. Cammy heads toward the goal, as Armstrong passes it to Frolov. Alexander one-times it in the top of the slot, through traffic and over Hasek's shoulder for his second goal of the game.

But the Wings get one right back, when Kris Draper scores to give Detroit a two-goal cushion. The Kings shoot more this period, but the experience and skill of the Red Wings has kept them at bay all game. At times, it looks as if they are just toying with L.A., setting up as many different players with scoring chances. Ten different Red Wings have points through two periods.

Second period: Red Wings 4, Kings 2

The third period is painful. For the second time in the game, the Red Wings score two goals within two minutes of one another, to add to their lead, 6-2. Garon's day comes to a close, as Barry Brust comes in relief. But Brust only has to face four more shots, as Detroit hold the Kings at bay the rest of the period.

The Kings head toward the second half of the season ranked at 28th in the league, firmly entrenched in the cellar of the Pacific. Things look grim the rest of the season. But there are some bright spots to look forward to. One has to be Luc Robitaille's number being retired later this month. Also, the Kings may be looking to unload some talent, allowing for some of the promising players down in the minors, like O'Sullivan, Pusharev and Tukonen, to come up for some "seasoning".

Until then, we as Kings fans must wait and whimper.

Thrid period: Red Wings 6, Kings 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After being activated earlier today from the injured reserve, Mathieu Garon gets the start in goal tonight. Another fresh face for L.A. is Alyn McCauley, who gets his first start as a King tonight.

Talk about impressive milestones, Rob Blake is playing in his 700th game as a King. The Oilers also have 999 career wins going into tonight's game.

Fernando Pisani draws first blood for Edmonton, as he gets a pass from Jarrett Stoll to score a short-handed goal over the shoulder of Garon. Brent Sopel held on the the puck too long, behind the net, as Stoll flips it to a wide open Pisani, who shoots quickly, surprising a rusty Garon.

Dustin Brown is set up by Anze Kopitar to even the score. Brown tips it to Kopitar, who takes it along the boards. He sends a pretty pass to Brown, who buries it past Dwayne Roloson for his tenth goal of the season. With the assist, Kopitar is now tied with Malkin for the rookie scoring lead.

Brian Willsie puts the Kings ahead with a wide-open shot, thanks to a defensive lapse of the Oilers. As time elapsed on the Ales Hemsky penalty, the Kings had good offensive pressure. As they were cycling the puck, the Oilers missed an assignment, leaving Willsie open. Conroy passes the the puck to him, and he finishes it, much to the dismay of the fans in Edmonton.

Scott Thornton gets a huge penalty: 2 minutes for instigating a fight, 5 for fighting and two 10 minute game misconduct, to put the Kings on the PK for seven minutes. That's 27 minutes on penalties, my friends. If I had Scott Thornton on my fantasy club, The Four King Ice Holes, I would be dominating the penalty minutes category. (I've got the second highest in our league now with 337 minutes. 27 would put me over the top. /geek talk)

The Kings are playing well, under the circumstances, but seven minutes of power play time is a lot to play a man down. Daniel Tjarnqvist shoots the puck from the point, and it hits Garon on his glove hand. But he can't hold on, and the puck trickles in, despite Garon sprawling backward to try and keep it out. The goal is reviewed and stands as called. The shoot wasn't very difficult, and probably should've been handled by Garon. But it took a weird bounce, and the Kings find themselves tied at the end of one period.

First period: Kings 2, Oilers 2

The second period was hard for me to follow, as I had to tend to the bathtub being clogged after The Wife gave The Daughter a bath. I spent all period catching parts of action, thanks to Nick Nickson and Darryl Evans.

I missed the first two Oiler goals, but was able to hear Rob Blake's power play goal. Alexander Frolov feeds him a perfect pass to give Blake his seventh of the season. All seven of his goals have been power play goals. Frolov gets some love from Derek Armstrong, as he scores his 18th of the season. 5 and a half minutes later, Sean Avery scores to make it 6-4. I also heard it was Kopitar who set up Avery's goal. If I'm not mistaken, the assist put Anze up a point on Evgeni Malkin in the rookie scoring race. Of course, Anze has played in seven more games than Evgeni.

The Kings have had three power play goals against the league's best penalty kill. They also have blocked 15 shots the first two periods. McCauley has taken the most face-offs through the first two periods, winning 8 of 14. He has been a nice surprise for L.A. so far this game.

Second period: Kings 5, Oilers 4

Frolov works the puck behind the puck, and is being chased side-to-side behind Roloson. He spots a wide-open Visnovsky. Lubo walks right down the middle and takes the pass from Frolov and shoots it to put the Kings up, 6-4. The Oilers collapse, with everyone looking at the puck, and the defensive mishap costs them. Derek Armstrong gets his third assist of the game. He's played well.

Garon seems to be more focused the later the game goes. He's been under a barrage of shots in the third, and he's been turning them all away.

Alyn McCauley scores an empty-netter to top off the Kings' scoring. In his first game, McCauley has paid instant dividends from Crawford, giving him another weapon in the face-off circle.

It was the fourth time this season that Roloson allowed at least six goals in a game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that equals the number of games in which Roloson allowed six or more goals over his previous six NHL seasons combined, spanning 218 games.

Third period: Kings 7, Oilers 4

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a season where wins have been scarce, and there are few things to cheer for, one can only hope for small blessings. Like catching a team looking forward to the upcoming Christmas break enjoyed by the league. Tonight, the ones caught looking ahead were the Kings.

Both teams are coming into the game coming off bad losses, Los Angeles suffered a loss to the league's worst club, St. Louis, on the 21st. Nashville were soundly defeated by Buffalo the same night. Both clubs hope to come in and make some noise.

The first club to make some noise was Nashville, early in the first period. The Predaotrs try to clear the zone, and the puck goes right between Kevin Dallman's legs to Steve Sullivan, who had snuck behind the Kings' D. Sullivan skates in and backhands the puck towards Dan Cloutier. The rebounds pops up high in the air and lands behind him, right in front of a charging Jason Arnott. Arnott simply directs it in for the first score.

Paul Kariya misses scoring on a penalty shot on Dan Cloutier. But he won't be denied this period. Nashville scored again later in the period, when Paul Kariya skates in the nuetral zone and passes it to David Legwand. Legwand leaves the puck to Alexander Radulov. Radulov winds up and shoots, hitting Cloutier's pad. Blunder Dan cannot control the puck once again, and it lands in front of Kariya for an easy goal.

Late in the period, the Kings have several good chances on the power play, but goalie Chris Mason comes up large.

First period: Predators 2, Kings 0

The second period was all Nashville. Starting with a short-handed goal on a penalty shot for Legwand, Nashville reeled off four more goals on Cloutier: Jason Arnott scored again, this time on the power play. And J.P. Dumont scored back-to-back goals.

So now, the Predators scoring looks something like this: Dumont 4 pts. (2G 2A), Sullivan 3 pts (3A), Kariya 2 pts. (1G 1A), Arnott 2 pts. (2G), Legwand 2 pts. (1G 1A), Radulov 2 pts. (2A), Zidlicky 1 pt. (1A). It seems Christmas has come earliy for the Predators, who are feasting on the yuletide carcass of the Kings.

But not all of the blame should be attributed to Cloutier. Two of Nashville's four second-period goals come on the power play. Dumont's first goal was a remarkable goal. He takes a shot on goal, and it appears to hit the post, popping up to him. It hits it in mid-air as Cloutier tries to snatch it away with his glove. But Dumont hits it once again in mid-air, past Cloutier for the score.

Second period: Predators 6, Kings 0

So now, Cloutier has had enough abuse in the game. As Scott Hartnell takes some liberties in the crease, Cloutier spears him in the chest, then starts swinging wildly. He gets an automatic game misconduct, but I don't think anyone will notice. Barry Brust comes in relief and plays well, facing 14 shots in the third.

Legwand scores his second of the game, but it was more a redirection off Lubomir Visnovsky's skate that caused the goal. Brust played well the remainder of the third, despite being down two men. All together, there were 17 penalties in the third.

Thankfully, the game comes to an end. The shutout by Nashville ties the Kings' franchise record of worst defeat, last occuring when the Oilers also had a 7-0 shutout on Los Angeles. I rub my eyes and flip off the TV, as my gaze settles on our Christmas tree decorated with several hockey-themed ornaments. I'm anxiously looking forward to Christmas two days away, and hopeful that the memory of this game fades fast.

Third period: Predators 7, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to the recent call-up of Yutaka Fukufiji from Manchester, there's about five people from the Japanese media here tonight. However, Fukufiji has been assigned to Long Beach for the time being. Dan Cloutier is in the building, and gets his first start in three games tonight. When he was announced, Blunder Dan was booed lustfully by the Kings faithful.

Since Christmas time is around the corner, Staples Center is awash in the glow of the holidays. Usually illuminated blue at night, SC was bathed in green lights. Fans were walking around in Kings Santa hats, which look really weird when fans wear the old school purple and gold.

Two shots in, Dan Cloutier lets a puck trickle past him for the first Flames goal. Fans boo him unmercifully. Tony Amonte unloads a shot from the top of the crease, and it sneaks behind Cloutier.

Scott Thornton gets the whistle for for holding, and on the ensuing power play, Richie Regehr scores to put Calgary up, 2-0. The boo birds come out once again. Near the nosebleed seats closest the the press box, a lone child fan starts yelling at the fans booing Cloutier to "see if you could do better." It was loud enough to warrant a few chuckles in the press box.

During the TV timeout, Cloutier remains in the crease, just staring down and stretching. When he has makes a routine save, the fans are cheering sarcastically. There is no love lost between the L.A. fans and Blunder Dan.

First period: Flames 2, Kings 0

In the first minute of the second period, Anze Kopitar scored an unassisted goal to energize Staples Center to life. Kopitar tries to pass the puck over to Brown, who is in front of McLennan. But Calgary's Robin Regehr's stick redirects the pass into the net for the King's first tally.

Anze Nation is in full effect. At Team LA, there are many player t-shirts (including Jason LaBarbara... what the...?). But right in front when you walk in, there's a display with Kopitar #11 jerseys prominantly on display. There are several throughout the store, mostly because there's no authentic Kopitar jerseys. There's plenty of Cloutier jerseys, however.

Halfway through the period, Lubomir Visnovsky fails to clear the puck, and Jarome Iginla skates around him and in on Cloutier. Instead of shooting, Iginla decides to leave the puck for Tony Amonte, who spots Daymond Langkow open for his 12th goal of the season. The play was real bang-bang, and even though the fans groan about Cloutier letting in another goal, that was solid work by the Flames.

Calgary's defensive play has been good, really causing havoc and disrupting the Kings' flow.

However, the hard-nosed play for Jeff Cowan leads to the second Kings' goal, when Kopitar gets McLennan to commit on making a save down low, dropping to his knees, allowing Kopitar to kncok the puck over his shoulder for the goal. It is Kopitar's first two-goal performance at Staples Center. and the Kings are back within one goal.

But the celebration is short-lived as David Moss scored his first NHL career goal. Cloutier has allowed many rookies to score their first goal in the league this year.

And even though the Kings have doubled the Flames' shots this period, they remain two goals behind.

Second period: Flames 4, Kings 2

The Kings were able to sustain some offensive pressure early in the third, but the Flames defense has been stifling. Calgary has allowed the third lowest goals in the league, behind San Jose and Detroit.

When Kristian Huselius scored midway through the third, fans started to file out slowly. The holiday cheer had worn off, the hope for a Kings victory for Christmas were effectively dashed. And even though Brown did score on a Kopitar assist late in the game, the mood was more Bah Humbug than anything.

As the horn sounded to end the game, fans sort of gave a half-hearted cheer. As I was walking out of Staples Center, I spotted a young girl wearing a Kings Menorah hat. I chuckled at the site of that, because I had never seen a menorah hat. It also reminded me that Tuesday night is the fourth day of Chanukah, where five candles are lit to honor the miracle of Chanukah. The Flames lit up the Kings for five goals Tuesday night, so maybe there's a correlation.

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings, coming off their dismantling of division rival San Jose on Thursday, need to continue to have consistancy on the ice, if they hope to beat Dallas. Rookie Barry Brust gets his second start of the season, filling in for the injured Dan Cloutier. Since Brust has been pressed into service, the Kings call up Yukata Fukufuji, the 8th round pick of the Kings back in 2004. He becomes the first Japanese player to ever suit up in the NHL.

In the first minute of the game, the Stars score on the second shot of the game, much to the chagrin of Staples Center fans. The Kings try to clear the puck, but it's passed behind the net to Jeff Halpern. As the defense closed in, Halpern kicks it to Boucher, who unloads a shot over the right shoulder of Brust to lift the Stars, 1-0.

The Kings miss a defensive assignment, and Stu Barnes knocks a shot past Brust to make it 2-0. Kopitar, Dallman and Tverdosksy blew it, by leaving Barnes wide open for a pass from Halpern, and he made the Kings pay. Halpern now has two assists in the game.

The Stars have been keeping the puck in the Kings' zone the majority of the first period. But the Kings haven't helped their cause. Missed assignments, especially in the case of the second goal, have the Kings struggling to keep up. The Stars, have been throwing everything they got at the rookie goaltender. The Stars have 12 shots on goal. For the most part, Brust has been playing well, limiting rebounds and controlling the puck when he gets it. But L.A. needs to suck it up and play stronger, like they did against the Sharks in the last game.

First period: Stars 2, Kings 0

In the first two minutes of the second, the Kings equal the amount of shots they had in the first, with six shots. L.A. has decided to be more agressive, attacking the puck more. Also Crawford has a tighter rein on ice time, with shorter shifts for skaters, allowing for fresher lines on the ice.

Trevor Daley gets whistled for tripping Alexander Frolov, and L.A. goes on the power play. Kopitar cycles around, drawing the Dallas defenser toward him. He then passes the puck back to Cammallari, who spots Brown. Cammy fires a pass to him, who shoots it point blank past Turco for the Kings first goal of the game.

The Kings turn the tables on the Stars, outshooting them in the second, 17-6. L.A. is also leading the surge in the physical department, with 23 hits through two periods. The Kings are hitting anything white and green.

Second period: Stars 2, Kings 1

Both teams are cautious starting the third. But the Kings capitalize first, Brian Willsie gets the puck to Sean Avery, who shoots a wrister from the top circle past Turco to even the score at 2-2.

Brust has been limiting the rebounds by covering the puck as soon as it hits his pads. Plus, the Kings are playing a tighter forecheck, not allowing the Stars to break free and take more shots. The Kings are also blocking shots, 20 through two periods.

Zubov gets called for holding, as the Kings go on the power play. Rob Blake, doing an excellent job creating havoc in front of the goal, touched the puck with his hand before Conroy tipped it in. But the refs whistle it off. The Kings are still on the PP though, and Frolov passes the puck to Avery, who has a quick trigger. Avery shoots the puck and it's loose in the air. It lands behind Yurco and would've gone in but Blake stuck his stick in there to poke it in for the Kings' second power play goal.

Dustin Brown gets two minutes for charging, as Dallas goes on the man-advantage. Dallas ties the game up, when Brenden Morrow passes it toward the net, and it deflects off Mattias Norstrom's stick and bounces off the ice. The puck deflects high, and there was nothing Brust could do.

Avery gets tattooed against the boards, and draws a boarding call, as the Kings will finish the period on the power play. But Derek Armstrong gets called for hooking, evening it up on the ice. Time expires as we go to overtime, and they will play 3-on-3 until the Stars' penalty expires. Then Dallas will play 4-on-3 for 30 seconds.

They're going to OVERTIME!

Third period: Kings 3, Stars 3

Both teams kill their penalties, and both teams get several good shots at winning. But both teams are winded.

They're headed to a SHOOTOUT!

Sergei Zubov's shot is a miss.
Dustin Brown's shot is saved by Turco.
Jussi Jokinen hit the post.
Anze Kopitar hit the post.
Mike Ribeiro's wristshot results in a goal.
Alexander Frolov's wristshot is saved by Turco.

Final score: Stars 4, Kings 3 (shootout)

Posted by Matt Murray at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dan Cloutier was injured in the pre-game skate when a Frolov shot hit hi in the shoulder. So rookie Barry Brust gets his NHL debut start in goal. Coming into tonight, San Jose was a plus-17 in the first period alone. So the scene is set for a real blood-letting. A rook in goal, against one of the top teams in the NHL. Also, Vesa Toskola is in goal, since the Sharks alternate their goaltenders every other game. One of the main reasons why I didn't draft either on my fantasy club.

Brust starts strong, and gets some early help from his team. Anze Kopitar, working hard to draw the goalie out of the crease, then knocking a shot over a sprawling Toskola to give the Kings the early lead. Kevin Dallman took a shot from the point, hitting Brown who was providing a screen. Kopitar picked up the loose puck and worked his magic, to pick up his first goal in eight games.

Brian Willsie was whistled for boarding, as the Kings went on their first penalty-kill. Last game, the Kings were called for eight penalties, two of which allowed goals.

Kopitar strikes again, this time poking a puck to Alexander Frolov, who starts on the attack. He is defended by Christian Ehrhoff, so he turns around, effectivelt shielding the puck from view. He leaves it for a trailing Kopitar, who deked past Toskola with his first NHL short-handed goal. The short-hander was the first one allowed by the Sharks this season.

The Kings have outshot the Sharks on the first period once again, making it 4 times on the season. Last game, they outshot them, 12-9, and that's the exact shot count tonight. This being the second of the home and home series

First period: Kings 2, Sharks 0

The Kings came out in the second period with the same intensity, and it seemed that they caught Toskola on a bad night. Brent Sopel, returning from being on the IR, took a shot fro the point, and the puck bounced off Toskola. The puck flipped up and over Toskola, who lost sight of it. It bounced next to a sliding Mike Cammallari, who knocked the puck in on his knees to make it 3-0.

Brust almost allowed in a goal, when he swiped at a Jonathon Cheechoo shot with his pad, and the puck was knocked in by the high stick of Steve Bernier. The HP Pavilion erupted, but the play was whistled no goal by two refs.

It is then that I notice the face mask of Brust. I recognize the Hollywood sign on the left hand side, and the Manchester M, which adorns the chin of the mask. But I don't really know what is on the crest of the top, or on the other side. After taking a closer look online, I identify a Staples Center on the right side of the mask. And on the crest is a large picture of Jabba The Hut. I get the Hollywood sign and the SC. I even get the Manchester M. But Jabba? I'd love to ask him what the deal is with that.

Kopitar had a brilliant play where he almost had his third goal. But Bob Miller jinxed it, when he said "Kopitar... for the hat trick..." There isn't a phrase in the English language that irks me more. 10 times out of 10, anytime someone actually mentions a player only needs one goal for the hat trick, the Hockey Gogs laugh and put up an invisible barrier. It must've been an invisible barrier that kept Anze from scoring an absolute gimme of a goal. It looks as if Toskola used his stick to trip the rookie Anze, but there is no whistle.

L.A. has done a good job limiting San Jose on even strength. The Sharks have the league's best power play unit coming into tonight's game. But the several times they have had the man-advantage, they have failed to score. The two power plays in the second yielded no shots on goal. Brust has continued playing strong, making solid stops against the high-powered Sharks. The murmurings are starting of that unspoken thing that Brust is two-third of the way towards earning. but you didn't hear it from me.

Second period: Kings 3, Sharks 0

For the 11th time this season, the Kings have the lead going into the third period. When they have the lead, they are 8-0-2.

Frolov takes a shot on goal, which gets directed to the corner. Derek Armstrong picks it up and circles straight toward the goal. He looks to stuff it in, but the puck pops up and over Toskola's shoulder to make it 4-0.

During an ill-advised change for the Kings, Cheechoo drove to the net with the puck. It trickled away and found itself to Joe Thornton. Thornton had a great backhand shot which would've beat Brust. But Brent Sopel, recently back from his trip on the injured list, made the save by blocking the shot with his stick.

Christian Ehrhoff finally puts San Jose on the board, scoring a power play goal, to break up the shutout. And as cool as it would be cool to have Brust get a shutout in his first start, I'll take a victory over the Sharks. Mike Grier adds another goal late in the game, but it's too little, too late.

The stars of the game were all Kings, including two rookies: The rookie netminder Barry Brust, who wound up making 34 saves in his debut start; Alex Frolov, who by notching two assists added to his team-leading 29 points; and Anze Kopitar gets the top star for scoring twice.

This is the type of game that the Kings should build off of. Their next two games are at home; against the Stars on Saturday and the Flames on Tuesday.

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, it's been a full week here at 300 Oceangate, and we are still without TVs. So, I'm forced to listen on the radio. I was able to fashion a make-shift antennae from leftover masking tape from packing boxes around the office and paper clips. I even put a Jack In The Box Holiday Ball on the end, although I don't think it's making too much of a difference.

The Kings and Avalanche are seperated by four points. It is still early in the season, so the Kings are still in the playoff hunt. Dan Cloutier makes his fourth straight start, with no word of the return of Mathieu Garon. Jose Theodore, who was banged up in his last game, makes the start for Colorado.

The first score of the game was the result of another Kings defensive lapse. Former King Ian Laperriere put a shot on Cloutier, who made the save but couldn't hold onto the puck. Lappy got his own rebound, and spied Antti Laaksonen wide open across the crease. Laaksonen scores to make it 1-0.

The Kings had plenty of bodies back to try and help Cloutier, but it seemed no one knew who was covering whom.

The Kings' Peter Harrold gets the box for holding, putting the Kings down one man. The Kings are tied for fourth-worst in the league in penalty killing. The Avs worked the puck down low, and start swarming the crease with a flurry of players. The Staples Center fans groan, as Tyler Arnason jams it past Dan Cloutier, to make it 2-0.

Avery and Lappy decide to drop the gloves and play the Feud, much to the delight of the Staples Center. It is the first fight of the season for Sean Avery, if you can believe it. Avery gets his jersey pulled over his head, and that's when the refs pull the players apart. Avery receives 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct for his tie-down strap being unattached. Not too sure if this will be held against Avery's "Double Secret Probation."

With the "victory", Lappy is a goal away from scoring the rare "Gordie Howe Hat Trick."

The Kings get three straight power plays, but come up empty.

First period: Avalanche 2, Kings 0

The Kings finally get on the board, when Tom Kostopoulos puts a shot on Jose Theodore. But the puck eludes Theodore, as it pops over his pads for the Kings first score. Derek Armstrong gets the assist, as the Kings start to get their game together. They have out-shot the Avalanche, 8-1.

Michael Cammallari ties the game when he puts one past Theodore. The Kings overload the zone, causing a mismatch for the Colorado defenders. It is Cammy's 11th goal, and the assists go to Derek Armstrong, Tom Kostopoulos.

Anze Kopitar had another beauty of a chance, as his shot just trickles past Theodore, but it doesn't cross the line.

Craig Conroy got called for holding Karlis Skrastins, putting the Avs on the man-advantage. John-Michael Liles gets a power-play goal, Colorado's second of the game. Liles takes the shot from the top of the slot, after being set up beautifully by Joe Sakic to put the Avalanche back on top, 3-2.

However, the Kings have shown in this game that they can come back from two goals down, and they outshot the Avs, 20-14.

Second period: Avalanche 3, Kings 2

Brad Richardson gets two minutes for tripping Dustin Brown, and Brown makes the Avs pay. Cammallari scores his second goal, as he was positioned in the right spot for Brown to snake a pass to him to tie the game again.

But the Kings' celebration was short-lived, as Mattias gives the puck away to Pierre Turgeon, who scores an unassisted goal to make it 4-3.

Scott Thornton makes it just on the ice, as he gets the puck from and scores one past Theodore with a quick release to tie the game for a third time.

Craig Conroy forces a turnover, as the puck goes in deep. He fires it toward the goalie, and immediately crashes the net, getting his own rebound to give the Kings their first lead of the game. Brian Willsie and Cowan get the assists. The Kings have held the Avalanche to two shots so far this period.

The Avalanche pull Theodore with a minute and a half left. Colorado is buzzing, but Cloutier is playing as solid as he has all night. Blake knocks the puckout of the zone to finish the game.

Third period: Kings 5, Avalanche 4

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you may or may not know, the Long Beach Press-Telegram hyas moved from its century-long home at Sixth and Pine, and moved down the street to the wonderful ARCO Towers down on Ocean. The view is spectacular, if you work during the day. However at night, we are treated to windows which reflect our ugly mugs back at us.

And as you may or may not have encountered yourself, things don't always go the way you hope they go. Case in point, the Sports Department has NO televisions. The whole floor has no televisions, which has been driving everyone crazy.

You don't realize just how much you rely upon those TVs to keep track of what's going on. Usually, both of the TVs in Sports are tuned to different games. In the late fall, more often than not, it's either Lakers and Clippers and UCLA basketball. On the rare occasion I can get control of the set, I turn to watch Kings games. But it is usually met with groans and complaints from my co-workers. So usually, I tune into the games via the radio or online.

But something happens tnoght, as I drag my old boom-box from home to listen to Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans: I can't get any reception on the 14th floor! I prefer the radio as opposed to the online feed, because it's the more current feed. Plus, when I am thrown a bone by the net-heads, I can follow along with the action, even with the sound turned down. (Oh yeah, if I get to watch hockey in Sports, that's just what I do. Watch. They turn the sound way down, citing it's 'too distracting.' Oddly, they have no problem focusing when Kobe is playing. Hmmmmmm)

So, I tune in tonight to find out Dan Cloutier, who is making his fourth straight start, tweaked his leg or seomthing during warmups. I just roll my eyes and just know what's going to happen tonight. The Predators are without their stud goaltender, Tomas Vokoun, who tore some ligaments in his thumb, which should bode well for L.A.

Right from the get-go, L.A. seems to be a step slow. Cloutier faces a bunch of shots, and he makes some solid saves in the first period. But the Preds are dictating the pace of the game. The Kings seem to be continuing to keep their defensive mindset of the last several games by protecting Cloutier. But it seems that Nasville is getting better opportunities.

The Preds' Jordin Tootoo leveled Mike Weaver as he tried to carry the puck in the Kings' zone, and both teams huddle around. But nothing transpires. Tootoo has changed his number this season, to the number 22. (22, Two-two... get it? Very clever.)

The Predators continue to pressure the Kings more, as L.A. fails to be able to clear the puck several times. It's just a matter fo time before that bites them in the rear. The Kings best chance at a goal was a Lubomir Visnovsky one-timer, that clanks off the post.

As the buzzer rang, Dustin Brown played the body on J.P. Dumont, and both men go crashing down to the ice. Brown loses his helmet, as the Predators rush around. Words were exchanged, probably holiday well-wishes, and we head into the locker room.

Even though Nashville has dictated the pace, both teams wind up with 8 shots. And even though there were several chippy plays, there were no penalties in the first period. Ten was the operative word for the Kings in the first, as they had ten hits, ten giveaways and then blocked shots. Fortunately for L.A., they were able to keep the game within reach with all those giveaways.

First period: Kings 0, Predators 0

The defensive mindset of the first period goes on the wayside, and the guy who gets it all started is Paul Kariya. He draws two hooking penalties, one from Brown and the other from Alexander Frolov. On their second power play, the Predators tally the first score of the game, as Martin Erat fires a pass from the goal to Scott Hartnell, who taps it past Cloutier to put Nashville up, 1-0.

Jeff Cowan gets leveled by Dan Hamhuis as both teams play in the nuetral zone. Cowan gets up, but is grabbed from behind by Scott Hartnell, and both playersa are whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct. The only unsportsmanlike behavior I saw was Hartnell throttling Cowan by his jersey neck, as he was trying to get at Hamhuis.

Kimmo Timonen recieves two minutes for hooking Lubomir Visnovsky, to put L.A. up a man during the unsportsmanlike conduct calls. As the Kings get a skater back to make it five-on-four, Anze Kopitar had a close chance at a goal, when it looks like the goaltender gloves the shot and it looks like it crossed the plane. But the call stands as no goal. Then, in a defensive lapse, Peter Harrold turns the puck over while trying to handle the puck directly in front of Cloutier, and Jerred Smithson scores an unassisited shorthanded goal. That goal took all the wind out of the Kings power play, as they can't convert.

Jeff Cowan gets a penalty against Tootoo, and the Kings go on the penalty kill. But Kimmo Timonen fires a shot, through traffic, past Cloutier to make it 3-0. Recently, the Preds have been dreadful on the power play the last 5 games, going 1-for-21. Tonight, they have 2 out of 4 so far.

It looks as if the Kings, who should be fresh and should be outplaying a team in their second back-to-back game, are just out of sync. The Harrold turnover seemed to be the turning point for the game. L.A. would be whistled two more times in the second, but are able to kill them off. But allowing so many penalties in the period, the Kings were fortunate that the Predators didn't score more.

Second period: Predators 3, Kings 1

Nashville's Scott Nichol gets two minutes for slashing Rob Blake, and Alexander Frolov pops the puck over the goaltender and in, to put the Kings down only two goals.

The Kings put themselves in a very bad position, when Sean Avery gets put in the box for hooking, then a minute later Rob Blake follows for the same things, putting the Kings down two men. L.A. is able to get Avery out of the box, but Alexander Radulov scores on the Blake penalty to put Nashville back up three goals.

Throughly disgusted, I threw my headphones across the room, shattering them into a million pieces. So I'm unable to listen to the rest of the period. Everyone just rolls their eyes at me, since they know that the Kings are probably losing again. Fortunately for me, neither team scored the rest of the game.

Third period: Predators 4, Kings 1

Hopefully, we can get out TVs soon, because I miss them.

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, the L.A. Kings joined an exclusive club. Well, exclusive to this season anyway. After outworking the Ducks by putting pucks on goal and grinding out a victory, the Kings joined Calgary and Philadelphia as the only clubs to hand the Ducks a loss in regulation.

The past three games against the Ducks, which were all losses, the Kings averaged close to 40 shots a game; 44, 31, 41 shots respectively, against Anaheim this season. Sunday night was no exception, as L.A. pounded backup goaltendter Ilya Bryzgalov with 41 shots. Also, the power play continues to click, with L.A. currently eighth in the league in power play percentage. They are also at third overall for power play goals this season.

One of the hottest Kings right now is Lubomir Visnovsky. He has 11 points in his last 9 games, and is tied for fifth among defensemen in the league with 21 points. He also has a 4-game point streak coming into tonight. Dan Cloutier, starting in place of the injured Mathieu Garon, gets his thrid start in a row.

With play underway, Sean Avery crashes the goal, in hopes of trying for a loose puck or a deflection. He was met by Samuel Pahlsson, who throttled Avery from behind by his neck. Then Sean O'Donnell cupped Avery's face, until the whistle blew. O'Donnell continues to palm Sean's face after the whistle, then pushed him back. It was apparent that Anaheim was looking to exact some revenge against the Kings' winger and NHL's Most Hated Man.

Scott Thornton was called from interference, as the league's second best power play unit goes against the 23rd ranked penalty kill of the Kings. Midway through the PK, Sean Avery knocks Scott Niedermayer on his back, and he goes flying like he got hammered with a steel chair. In retaliation, Niedermayer gets up and plows Avery, going for his head. He then gives him a little extra help to stay on the ice. Avery gets up, and takes the puck as time expires on the penalty, then levels Niedermayer near the penalty boxes, and it looks as if they are getting ready for a long day.

Peter Harrold gets two minutes for hooking, as the Kings go right back on the PK. Selanne had a solid shot on goal, but was robbed by Cloutier, snapping the puck out of mid-air with authority. Ryan Getzlaf finally scored on the power play, as the Ducks connect with an efficent shift. Chris Pronger and Dustin Penner get the assists.

After three consecutive unsuccessful power plays, Alexander Frolov finally scores on a one-timer from Visnovsky to even the score. Avery battles Todd Marchant on the boards, getting the puck to Lubo. Lubo passes over to Frolov, who wound up and shot it past the Bryzgalov. Frolov now has 9 goals in his last 10 games.

The game tonight is on KDOC, which is the Ducks' alternate channel. Back in the day, KDOC was home to talk show host wally George, as well as Richard Blade's Video One show, a countdown program featuring the KROQ radio jock. However, they were bought out by a bigger company, and started showing older show. It's strange to see commercials for Charlies Angels. Their new station motto is "Endless Classics," showing such programs as the Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Cheers and Charlies Angels. As we fade to commercial, KDOC Sports starts playing LL Cool J's Going Back to Cali, which made me laugh loud enough to wake my dozing bulldog.

At the end of the first, L.A. has 16 goals in the first, as opposed to 6 last night at Staples Center.

First period: Kings 1, Ducks 1

In the game, the Ducks are laying into the Kings. Dustin Brown gets hammered early in the second, but shows the presence of mind to get up, get the puck and put a shot on goal. Seconds later, Blake chips the puck in the corner. It squirts to Ivanans, who passes over to an open Armstrong, who scores on the backhand, lifting the Kings to 2-1

After that, the Ducks get very frustrated. Dustin Penner gets called for hooking, then Rob Niedermayer got rung up for high sticking. The Kings have a two-man advantage for a minute and a half. But for the second game in a row, The Kings fail with the 2 extra man advantage. Pronger nailed Kopitar during the two-man, and Anze was slow to get up. But the Kings head into the third period ahead of the Pacific Division-leading Ducks.

KDOC Sports plays the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song Californication as we head to a commercial break between periods. I sense a trend here. With literally nothing better to do, I watch a commercial for one of KDOC's movies: the Brian Bosworth classic, Stone Cold. Long Live The Mullet!

Second period: Kings 2, Ducks 1

The period starts with 25 seconds in the penalty to Todd Marchant, and it is killed. Willsie gets called for high sticking. But the Kings kill that penalty, as it appears L.A. has decided to place a little defense. Cloutier makes a great play when the Ducks crash the net, and Cloutier refused to let them score. All five Kings surrounded Cloutier to insure he doesn't have to carry the load himself.

Frolov gets a breakaway, but he gets too fancy with it. Bryzgalov makes the save, but then signals to the bench. He is shaken up, sliding over to make the save on Frolov. He skates off and is replaced by Giguere.

Chris Kunitz gets a strong shift in minutes later, as he hit Kostopoulos, then Armstrong. The Ducks start flying, and the Kings are reeling. Who comes to the rescue? Number 11, Anze Kopitar single-handedly slows the Ducks down, when he dives out to deflect a pass to a defenseman to stop play. It served two purposes: 1) to stop the Ducks from swarming, and 2) allows the Kings to change up.

The break seemed to help L.A., as the Kings start to control the puck more, ticking off seconds as they hold on to the lead. Cloutier makes several great saves, as the defense continues to surround the crease to limit shots on goal. One of tonight's best players has been Sean Avery. As many times as he's been targeted by Ducks thugs, he continues to hold his patience, and doesn't tally any box time.

Any time Avery is on the ice, the Ducks make sure to put a boddy to him. Late in the third, Avery has the puck and instantly attracts two Ducks. Avery simply passes it over to a wide-open Frolov, who knocks it past Giguere for an insurance goal, to make it 3-1. Avery now has two assists on the night.

With a minute left, the Ducks pull Giggy out of goal, and Marchant knocks one past a sprawling Cloutier to make it, 3-2. Good thing the Kings got that insurance goal. But Anaheim just runs out of time, as the Kings win. Tonight's game was the second regulation loss for the Ducks in the Ponda Center this season.

Right after the game on KDOC, Cheers is shown. It was the one where Sam and Rebecca pretend they are engaged. I thought I was burned out by the many, repeated reruns on Ch. 5 over the years. But I forgot just how good that cast of characters was. Especially Woody. Good times.

Third period: Kings 3, Ducks 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings look to get back on track against the league's best team, the Ducks. Dan Cloutier gets his second start in goal, after being pulled in the last game against the Coyotes. Apparently Brust didn't make too much of an impression in his NHL debut in relief last game. Frolov has 8 goals in the last 8 games, and Dustin Brown is back in the lineup.

One bright spot for the Kings this season is their play on the power play. Near the bottom of PP production the past several years, the Kings are currently third in the league in power play goals (29). The past four games, L.A. has scored eight PP goals. But Anaheim is currently tied for first in the league in PP goals.

Sammy Pahlsson attempts a weak backhand, but Cloutier can't handles the rebound. Travis Moen knocks it in to make it 1-0 Ducks. Teemu Selanne gets an assist on the play. Lubomir Visnovsky gets hit hard twice as he tries to cleaer the zone, as Anaheim is playing the body tight.

Craig Conroy gets called for hooking on Scott Niedermayer, and the Ducks go on the power play again. Anaheim is currently second in the league in PP percentage. The Ducks set up, and with strong, crisp passes gets the puck to Andy McDonald. McDonald fakes a move, ever so slightly toward Cloutier, causing him to bite, moving himself out of position, as McDonald slides the puck over to Selanne to make it 2-0.

Anze Kopitar has a great chance at scoring, but the league best goaltender, J.S. Giguere, turned him away. L.A. only had 6 shots in the first, and those were all easy shots.

First Period: Ducks 2, Kings 0

The Kings get a golden chance when Scott Niedermayer gets called for hooking Kopitar and Francois Beauchemin gets whistled for interfering with Sean Avery. The Kings have a 5-on-3 opportunity, but fail to get the puck in the zone for 20 seconds starting the power play. J.S. Giguere turned every attempt away, and it's plays like that that'll haunt you further down the road.

Kopitar gets nailed on the boards by Pronger and Rob Niedermayer, but is able to get the puck to a wide-open Frolov, who is stopped, point-blank, by Giguere. Frolov then gets pummeled by two other Ducks. L.A. is more aggressive in the second period, just pumping shots at Giguere.

Moen appears to have scored, knockking a shot off the crossbar, and in the ensuing scramble, Rob Niedermayer tips it in to make it 3-0. The goal took most of the wind out of the Kings' sails, who have been getting lots of chances.

Scott Thornton gets called for interference when, in trying to get past Pronger for the puck, trips him, and sends him sprawling into the goaltender. The Kings successfully kill off the penalty.

Rob Blake gets whistled for holding Corey Perry's stick, after losing his on the ice. And the Ducks will have a power play when we come back in the third.

Second period: Ducks 3, Kings 0

There is a problem with the ice in Cloutier's crease, probably melted from being scorched so many times this season. Selanne scores a one-timer on the Blake penalty to give the Ducks a power play goal and a 4-0 lead. According to ESPN.com, Selanne is now the all-time leading scorer in the Kings/Ducks rivalry, with 56 points (22 G, 34 A). He is also on quite a tear, with 12 goals since Nov. 1.

Scott Thornton breaks up the shutout attempt, when he pops one past Giguere. Harrold attempted to walk through the crease, and whiffed on his shot, but Thornton just knocks it in, and Kings fans give a loud cheer to the thwarted shoutout attempt. I guess you have to find things to cheer about when you are the Kings.

Ran Getzlaf misses a huge opportunity, when he fails to connect on a nice spin-o-rama move from Corey Perry. Perry lingers in the crease too long, and Cloutier turned into him and just knocks him down way too easy.

The Kings finally get some extended pressure late in the third. Todd Marchant gets a delay of game, when he knocks a puck over the glass to put the Kings on the power play. Rob Blake deflects a Frolov pass to make it 4-2. Blake's goal was the 40th shot by the Kings.

Scott Niedermayer gives the Ducks a second delay of game penalty in a row, when he sends a puck sailing into the crowd. Crawford decides to pull Cloutier, giving the Kings a 6-on-4. Not too sure if that will work, considering the 5-on-3 opportunity last period. Kopitar has the puck and attempts a wraparound on Giguere, and Brown hits it in, to make it 4-3.

But it was too little, too late for the Kings. In the final seconds, Crawford and Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle either exchanged barbs or recipes behind the benches. Apparently Carlyle was yelling at Sean Avery, who was just called for roughing Todd Marchant. Crawford used several words that I can't print here, but he was fire up.

Third period: Ducks 4, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New Jersey Devils are in town tonight to face the Los Angeles Kings. The Devils, currently third in the Atlantic, have dropped three straight games to Pacific Division teams. New Jersey is the last Atlantic Division club the Kings will face. So far, L.A. has split the decisions right down the middle. (Two wins came against the Rangers and Islanders, 2 losses against the Penguins and Flyers.) Overall, the Kings and Devils have played 85 times. The Kings have a 47-26-11 record against the Devils. In L.A., the Kings are 28-8-6.

L.A. has won three of their last four games, but haven't had back-to-back home victories since the first week of the season. Mathieu Garon gets the start tonight. He looked strong in the last game against the Flames, holding them to one goal on 23 shots. Frolov-Avery-Conroy get the start, with Frolov dealing the hot hand. He has 10 goals in his last ten games. Kopitar-Brown-Cammallari are on the other scoring line.

Garon gets lots of pressure early in the game, with the Devils outshooting the Kings. The Kings' first shot almost caught Brodeur off-guard, when Conroy's pass trickles to Avery, who puts it on net. But Brodeur slides over to stop Avery.

The Kings are continuing the trend the past few games of playing tight and forechecking. But the Devils are right there, limiting the Kings to two shots in the first half of the period. The Kings get their first power play of the evening, when Colin White gets called for hooking. The Kings get several whacks at it, but the Devils kill it off.

The Kings' second power play occurs when the Devils get called for too many men. But the Devils forecheck hard to eliminate the man advantage. Avery gets HAMMERED by White, which stops play, but no penalty is called.

The Kings do get called for a penalty at the end of the period, when Brian Willsie gets charged for hooking, to put the Devils on the power play to start the second.

First Period: Kings 0, Devils 0

16 seconds in, Brian Gionta scores a power play goal to make it 1-0 Devils. The assists go to Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez. Gionta hit the post on his next shift. Fortunately for L.A., they didn't allow a goal within two minutes of the first goal, which has been a problem plaging the Kings this season.

Dustin Brown redirects a tight pass from Lubomir Visnovsky through the crease to tie the game. Brodeur looked angry, as if to complain about his defensemen. But, the pass was pretty amazing, considering how tight the Devils have been playing. Brown now has a point in six of his last seven games.

The Kings get another power play, when the Jim Dowd gets called for interference. A flurry of shots had the Devils reeling, and when they finally cleared the puck, it went over the glass, resulting in another penalty. So the Kings get a two-man advantage for a minute. NJ kills both penalties, but a broken pane of glass delays the game while they replace it.

Willsie gets penalized again, this time for slashing, to put L.A. on the PK. Garon couldn't handle a rebound from Brian Rafalski, and Travis Zajac knocks it in to lift New Jersey, 2-1. Patrik Elias got his second assist of the game. Willsie's been in the box for both Devils power play goals.

The Kings gets another power play when Jaime Langenbrunner is called for hooking. L.A.'s power play seems smoother when Kopitar, Cammy and Brown are running it. Michael Cammallari scores his 100th goal as a King to tie the game. Kopitar and Brown get the assists.

Los Angeles has doubled the shots of New Jersey in the second period, 13-6.

Second Period: Kings 2, Devils 2

Kajac interferes with Garon to put the Kings on the power play. But strong defense by New Jersey turns them away again.

The Kings' Aaron Miller gets called for tripping, to put the Devils on the power play, where they have scored both their goals tonight. L.A. kills off the penalty, amid cheers from the fans in Staples Center. But Dustin Brown gets called for elbowing, and L.A. goes back on the penalty kill. After another successful PK, the fans give a rousing cheer.

Two successive hits on Avery and Brown illicited an angry response out of the crowd, but play continued. Great blocking by the Kings limiting the amount of shots on Garon. The Devils kept playing close through several Kings attacks. And we're going to OVERTIME!

Third period: Kings 2, Devils 2

In overtime, the Kings start Blake and Visnovsky, with Brown and Kopitar. Brown gets a gem of a chance, only to be twarted by Brodeur. Midway through the overtime period, Peter Harrold, a recent call-up from Manchester, gets called for hooking, to put NJ up on the man advantage. Avery makes several brilliant plays, slapping the puck out of the zone.

The Kings kill the penalty to harrold, who comes out of the box to pick up the puck and take it into Devils territory. But nothing comes of it, and we go to a SHOOTOUT!

Overtime: Kings 2, Devils 2

Kopitar deked Brodeur to score!
Elias is denied by Garon.
Brown tries to go tweeners, but misses.
Gionta takes a shot, but Garon glove saves.
Frolov dekes past Brodeur to score!

KINGS WIN!!!

Final score: Kings 3, Devils 2 (shootout)

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings, battered and bruised from last night's game against the Dallas Stars, endured a three-hour flight to play the Calgary Flames tonight.

The Flames eneter the Kings zone midway through the first, as Daymond Langkow shoots quickly from his backhand. Mathieu Garon, making his second straight start, slid over and make the save. But Alex Tanguay made a beeline for Garon's rebound, and the Flames are up, 1-0.

After playing sloppy in the first period last game, where they gave up three power play goals to the Stars, the Kings look more focused. Even after Sean Avery got whistled for hooking, L.A. killed the penalty effectively.

Kings rookie winger Anze Kopitar finally scored in Staples Center on a power play goal to tie the game at 1-1. Kopitar, who has 10 assists this season at home, hasn't scored a goal since the Kings defeated the Avalanche in Colorado, Nov. 7. He received a nice pass from Dustin Brown and buried it in the back of the net.

The Kings played real strong in the first period, moved the puck, played the body. Other than the Garon rebound, the Kings gave up no odd-numbered attacks. The mistakes that seemed to haunt them the past several games weren't seen in the first period.

But as is the case in games past, the Kings come out and look undisciplined. They give up four penalties throughout the period, but L.A. kills them all off. The Kings are playing much closer to the vest, in a tight-checking game. Dustin Brown has 4 hits in the game.

Lubomir Visnovsky picked up the puck in the high slot, decided he didn't have a shot, so he took it behind the net, and attempted a wraparound. Miikka Kiprusoff gets his stick down, but Alexander Frolov dives to knock it past him to help the Kings take the lead for the first time, 2-1. AFro has 10 goals in his last ten games, and leads the Kings in goals and points.

Early in the third, Dustin Brown draws an interference penalty from Jerome Iginla to put the Kings on the power play. Then Brown draws another one 17 seconds later, sending Rhett Warrener to the box for hooking, to give L.A. a two-man advantage. With 5-on-3, Michael Cammalleri put a rebound top-shelf off Kiprusoff to put the Kings up for good, 3-1. It was Cammy's eighth, and his first since Nov. 11. Kopitar and Blake get the assist. Blake now has two assists.

The Flames pulled their goalie, and the Kings had several shots at the empty net. But the score stands. Garon made 22 saves out of 23 shots.

Third period: Kings 3, Flames 1

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anyone who says the West has weak teams really doesn't play too close attention to how Western teams are playing. Last game against the Sharks, the Kings played against the league top power play unit. The Sharks are currently tops in the league with a 24.4 PP percentage.

On Friday, the Kings come into the American Airlines Center to take on the league's best defensive club. Through 22 games, the Dallas Stars have a 2.10 goals allowed average. Dallas has won three of their last four games.

The Stars come out of the gates, guns locked and loaded. They outplay the Kings, as L.A. seems to fall back into some bad habits. Anze Kopitar gets called for an early holding call, and Dallas goes on the man advantage. The Kings kill off the penalty, but Jeff Cowen goes to the box for roughing.

For the fourth time this season against the Kings, Dallas draw first blood. A Philippe Boucher shot from the point gets redirected to put the Stars up, 1-0. Eric Lindros and Stephane Robidas get the assists.

For the first time in his rookie campaign this season, Kopitar gets whistled for a second penalty, this time for hooking. Less than 40 seconds later, Aaron Miller gets called for slashing, giving the Stars a quick 5-on-3 opportunity.

Dallas takes advantage when a one-timer by Sergei Zubov makes it 2-0. And has been the unsettling trend by the Kings this season, Phillipe Boucher scored his second power play goal less than 60 seconds later to make it 3-0.

First period: Stars 3, Kings 0

Trevor Daley gets two minutes for hooking, and the Kings go on the power play. Dustin Brown scores a power play goal, assisted by Frolov and Kopitar. Brown scores a second power play to make it 3-2, Stars. Kopitar made a tremendous pass over to Blake through the slot, who tapped it back to Brown to score another power play goal.

And for the first time in the game, things seem to be clicking for the Kings. Midway through the second period, L.A. has outshot the Stars, 8-4. They wound up with 12 shots as opposed to 6 Dallas shots in the second.

But Boucher scored a third power play goal this game for a hat trick. Boucher has now doubled his goal total for the year. His hat trick puts the Stars up, 4-2. According to ESPN.com, Boucher became the 11th defensemen to score a three power play goals in a game.

A play was reviewed, where it appeared a puck trickled under the Stars goaltender before the whistle blew for a faceo-ff. They reviewed it for a while, because it's wasn't clear if the play had stopped before it entered the goal. After many calls up top, they wave it off.

Second period: Stars 4, Kings 2

The third was pretty much a buildup for a letdown.

Eight minutes into the third, the Kings had a two-man advantage and Alexander Frolov crashed the net. The result was a power play goal, making it 4-3. The goal could have been reviewed, because it wasn't clear how it went in. But remarkably, they didn't review this goal, which is amazing since any Kings goal is reviewed for less than this one.

Crawford pulled Garon with a minute to go in the period, and Jere Lehtinen added an empty-netter for Dallas with 25 seconds left to make it 5-3.

Third period: Stars 5, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was that kind of night for the Kings. Alexander Frolov, the Kings' team leader in goals and points, missed an absolute gimme of a goal, whiffing past an open net midway through the second period. The Kings' power play, recently connecting 30 percent of the time, was held without a goal. And for the 11th time this season, their opponents have scored two goals in less than two minutes.

One day removed from being shut out by division-leading Anaheim Ducks, The San Jose Sharks asserted themselves with authority, as they scored three goals in under three minutes to distance themselves from the hapless Kings.

The Kings seemed very slow and sluggish tonight, but much of that may have to do with the long lay-off they had since their last game on Saturday. For the fourth game in a row, Dan Cloutier is in goal tonight. He is 2-1 in his previous three starts.

The Sharks don't have NHL scoring champion Jonathan Cheechoo or Milan Michalek in the lineup. Peter Harrold making his NHL debut, called up to replace Rob Blake, who is missing his first game this season. Harrold is teamed up with Lubo Visnovsky defensively.

L.A.'s Scott Thornton puts a Kevin Dallman rebound off Vesa Toskola to start the scoring off, 1-0. They reviewed the goal a long time. But there was no evidence to overturn it, so the goal stands. Derek Armstrong also got an assist on the play, however got called for a hooking penalty a half minute later.

San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored a power-play goal from the face-off circle to even the game. It was also the rookie's first NHL goal. Joe Thornton got the assist. Vlasic, a 19-year-old defenseman who made the club with a strong training camp, has the third-highest ice time of all the Shark defenseman so far this season. He also tallied an assist later in the contest.

Alexander Frolov was called for hooking late in the first, giving the Sharks a short power play to start the period.

First period: Kings 1, Sharks 1

After playing well and outshooting the Sharks in the first period, the Kings reverted to their old ways of giving up bunches of goals. L.A. gave up three goals in less than three minutes to start the second period. Steve Bernier scored on the Frolov penalty to make it 2-1. A minute later, Joe Thornton scored to make it 3-1. Thornton now has 3 points on the night, (he added a goal on the Bernier PP goal). Patrick Marleau then added a goal at the three minute mark to make it 4-1. Four of Marleau's 12 goals this season have come against L.A.

A fifth goal was added by Marcel Goc, a deflection from Scott Hannan and Mark Bell, was enough for Crawford to chase Cloutier from goal.

Second period: Sharks 5, Kings 1

The Kings came out more focused in the third. Six minutes in, Michael Cammallari appeared to redirect a Dustin Brown pass past Toskala to lift the Kings tally to 2 goals. A long review took place, since it wasn't clear in any replay whether or not the goal should stand. The refs, apparently realizing that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, gave it to Brown.

Sharks rookie Joe Pavelski makes it 6-2, when he knocks a Scott Hannan pass by Garon. That's right, Kings fans, two Sharks rookies tallied their first NHL goals against the Kings tonight. Pavelski became the 12th Sharks player to score in hist first NHL game. The Kings are always willing to help out the kids, as long as they aren't on our team. Patrick Marleau now has 3 points on the night (1 G, 2 A), joining teammate Thorton.

Visnovsky jumped in Toskala's back door, smacking a shot to make it 6-3. Lubo has points in 8 of his last 9 games. Cammy got another assist on Lubo's goal. But it too little, too late for the Kings. Frolov was held without a point for the first time in three games.

Third period: Sharks 6, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alexander Frolov is the team leader in goals so far (10 G) this season. Frolov is truly the King of the Castle, as eight of those ten goals came at home. Dan Cloutier is in goal, surprising after letting in three goals in a period of three minutes in the third period last game against the Flyers. And even though some of those goals weren't his fault, I thought maybe Garon would get a shot. Derek Armstrong is back in the lineup today. The Coyotes are tied for the worst power play in the NHL. Dustin Brown is among the league leaders in hits so far.

For the second game in a row, the Kings come out flat, allowing their opponents more shots to start the period. The fans of Staples Center are raining boos down upon Phoenix winger/fading talent Jeremy Roenick whenever he takes to the ice.

The Kings get their first power play opportunity when an elbow by Owen Nolan was caught by the refs. Frolov scored on the power play, his 11th of the season on a feed from Conroy. He is, as ESPN's Dan Patrick would say, en fuego. The Lov now has seven goals in the month of November.

First period: Kings 1, Coyotes 0

The Kings, outshot in the first period 13-9, come out swinging in the second. Phoenix's Mike Zigomanis gets called for hooking Sean Avery. Avery comes back and helps set up Rob Blake's power play goal to lift the Kings, 2-0.

The Kings got called for two many men on the ice, and the Coyotes go on the power play. But Alexander Frolov takes the puck and carries it in the zone, shooting past LeNeveu for a short-handed goal, to make it 3-0 Los Angeles. That's his third straight home game that he's scored two goals in a game. According to the Associated Press , Frolov is the first Kings player with three consecutive multi-goal games since March 1993, when Luc Robitaille had a hat trick against Calgary and followed that with two-goal efforts against Ottawa and Edmonton.

The Kings are two out of three on the power play today. LeNeveu gets the hook, and in comes CuJo.

Things get a little heated when a scrum breaks out late in the period. Who gets called for unsportsmanlike conduct? Why, Sean Avery, of course. However it's an off-setting penalty with Nick Boynton, so there's no real penalty to the team.

The Coyotes get on the board, when Georges Laraque goes five-hole from the top of the blue line, past Cloutier to make it, 3-1. Less than a minute later, Yanic Perreault flips a shot past Cloutier to make it, 3-2. And the Kings continue their unsettling trend of giving up goals in bunches. It is the tenth time this season the Kings have given up two goals in a period of two minutes or less.

Second period: Kings 3, Coyotes 2

For some reason, Blake doesn't come out for the third period. According to a sharp-eared listener to Kings Talk after the game, Kings radio announcer Nick Nickson announced that Blake had suffered a pulled groin, and that he should be available for the Kings next game against the Sharks on Wednesday.

Cowan connects with a knee-on-knee hit on Roenick, which ellicited a loud response from Staples. Roenick does a mid-air twirl, and goes sprawling across the ice. That should be good for some highlights. It could've been a lot worse.

Cloutier allows one craptastic goal, when Oleg Saprykin lofts a high puck right over Cloutier's shoulder to tie the game at 3-3. Cloutier didn't even bother to look for it, and the Staples Center crowd boos him.

However, the Kings get an opportunity on the power play, as Ed Jovanovski gets the whistle for holding Frolov. The Kings respond by putting four forwards and Lubomir Visnovsky. The result? Craig Conroy rockets a shot from the point past Joseph with a power play goal to give the Kings a 4-3 lead. Sean Avery and Lubo both have two assists in the game.

The Kings start leaving three guys back late in the game, to help Cloutier on defense. Jeff Cowan, playing in his first game back from injury, has played strong today. Anze Kopitar almost lit the lamp late in the third, just missing on a shot, but draws a penalty.

The Kings fail on the extra man advantage, and the Coyotes pull CuJo with a minute to go in the game. Gretzky calls a timeout to give the 'Yotes a chance to catch their breath.

But Frolov pokes a stick, knocking the puck to Kopitar to give the Kings a two-on-none. Kopitar could've scored, but instead passed it to Scott Thornton for an empty-netter. Kopitar has yet to score a goal at Staples Center.

Third period: Kings 5, Coyotes 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Flyers come into Staples Center sporting the worst record in the NHL (4-12-2), and allowing the most goals (72).

For those interested, Debbie Gibson is singing the national anthem.

Cloutier gets the nod tonight. He looked O.K. in goal against the Sharks, turning away 16 out of 18 shots. The Kings will be starting Kopitar, Brown and Murray. Lubo and Blake start on the blueline. Not as many boos for Cloutier when he was introduced to S.C.

Forsberg gets the start, after chipping in a goal and an assist against the Ducks on Wednesday. Blake makes a tremenodus save, point-blank, early in the period. The Kings get their first penalty when Cammy gets a duece for hooking. The Flyers PP unit looks sloppy, and can't set anything up. Kopitar has a brilliant opportunity with a short-handed breakaway, but is denied by Niittymaki. (That's a hard name to type.)

They kill the penalty and they get called for hooking again, this time to Tom Kostopolous. But another sloppy Philadelphia PP helped the Kings kill it off. The Kings have rolled out cartman again in between the action this season, and they debuted a new one tonight: Cartman checking Kenny wearing a Flyers jersey off screen.

A lot of time is being spent in the Kings zone, with occasional trips down the ice on the attack. Another Kings penalty, this time Visnovsky for tripping, puts the Kings on the PK again. The Flyers finally score a power-play goal, a pretty wrap-around by Geoff Sanderson.

The Flyers get a penalty with 24 seconds left in the period, giving the Kings a PP when they come back in the second.

First period: Flyers 1, Kings 0

The Kings don't do much with the PP. But Alexander Frolov pokes a shot past Niittymaki to even the score at 1-1. Frolov now has 8 points (4G, 4A) in the last 5 games.

Blake has made several tremendous defensive plays this game, showing the youngsters how to do it. It's nice to see him out there teaching the younger guys, especially Lubo, the right way to play, forechecking, blocking, jumping up in the play. Well, maybe not everything he does. Maybe it's more of a "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" lesson.

Late in the period, philly's Boyd Kane gets a high-sticking call, allowing the Kings a quick power play before the end of the period, but to no avail.

Second period: Kings 1, Flyers 1

Brian Willsie sends a wrister past Niittymaki to lift the Kings, 2-1, with the assists going to Lubo and Brown. Sean Avery appears to score seconds later, but the goal is reviewed and overturned, due to the fact Philly's Randy Robitaille was called for a high-stick.

The fans of Staples loudly disapprove of the call. The Kings get several choice shots on the PP at Niittymaki, but the penalty is killed by the Flyers.

Alexander Frolov scores his second of the game, off a feed from Craig Conroy, his second. Sean Avery also gets his second assist of the game. Avery now has seven points in his last five games. This line has been the best line on the ice tonight.

The Kings give one right back, when Simon Gagne scores his 10th goal of the season. The Flyers are on the attack, when R.J. Umberger scores seconds later to tie the game at 3-3. Umberger then scores his second goal to lift the Flyers, 4-3. With each goal in the third, Cloutier looks shaky.

The Kings pull their goalie with a minute left in the game, and the Kings are attacking hard. Philadelphia gets a cross-checking penalty with 7 seconds to go. But it's not enough, as the Kings fail to register a shot. Philadelphia wins their second in a row.

Third period: Flyers 4, Kings 3

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Thursday, the Kings scored the first goal in each of the periods. However, the Sharks dominated after that, beating the Kings, 7-3. The newest King, Marty Murray is playing on the same line as Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Speaking of Kopitar, he still leads the rookies of the NHL with 16 points. Two players are tied for second, one of which is San Jose defenseman Matthew Carle.

The Kings are playing extremely tight. They haven't allowed a shot early in the period. The first shot of the night for the Sharks came ten minutes in the game, and it was a goal by Milan Michalek. Dan Cloutier got the start, after two games off.

The Kings evened the game in the last minute when Alexander Frolov knocked in a Visnovsky shot, with Sean Avery creating some traffic in front of Vesa Toskala. Avery and Lubo both got the assist on the play.

First period: Kings 1, Sharks 1

Not a lot of shots starting the second period. Both teams are playing extremely tight. Avery had a chance, but was denied by Toskala.

Dustin Brown just leveled Joe Thornton clean to the ice. Brown continuing his vicious ways, showing flashes of brilliance.

The Kings successfully killed their first penalty. Frolov showing a true strength on the PK, along with Kopitar. Frolov just eats up ice time, playing keep-away with opposing teams' power player units. It's not flashy or anything, just effective.

The Kings start pumping pucks at Toskala late in the period. The Kings have been swarming the net, and at several times, look like they are going to score. Frolov hit the post during one scrum. The Staples Center crowd was really into the game.

Raitis Ivanans brought down Thornton, but it was smart because he was going to have a clear shot at Cloutier. But the Kings successfully kill off the penalty, and they go into the locker room tied against the team that had a 6-2 lead going into the third period the last game they played.

Second period: Kings 1, Sharks 1

Early in the third, Thornton scored on an extremely bad angle. Cloutier gave up another soft goal, his second of the game. Last year's NHL scoring leader went 'tweeners on Cloutier, who looked pissed at himself. He should be. Thornton was only ten feet away!

But then the Kings went on the player play when Matt Carle got two minutes for hooking. Visnovsky then evened the score on a blast from the blueline. Frolov and Dallman got the assist. Both Fro and Lubo have a goal and an assist.

Brown already has six hits tonight. He's got 14 hits in the last two games. He's a maniac out there.

Cheechoo stops play when he gets caught by a high stick. It goes uncalled, but stops play just as the Kings were on the verge of scoring again. The puck was behind Toskola, and Avery was right there. But McLaren saved his goalie's butt and swatted it away.

The Kings continue to have ther quick triggers, outshooting the Sharks, 12-3 so far this period.

The Kings kill off another penalty, this time Craig Conroy's holding call. So far, the Kings have killed off every penalty. They have looked impressive against the league's best power play unit.

Speaking of power plays, the Kings lead the league in PP opportunities. Many teams take a chance that the Kings' PP won't score.

Steve Bernier holds onto Blake's stick to put the Kings on a power play. The Kings answer with a score by Dustin Brown to lift the Kings 3-2. The whole power play was awesome, with clean, crisp passes from Cammalleri and Kopitar. Kings are two out of three on the power play tonight.

The Sharks pull their goalie with a minute left, and Frolov backhands a shot into the empty net to ice it. Three straight goals in the third period lifts the Kings, as they have outshot the Sharks, 15-5. On the night, the Kings hold the advantage, 38-15. San Jose has allowed more than three goals only three times in its last 14 games.

Third period: Kings 4, Sharks 2

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rookie phenom Anze Kopitar hasn't scored a goal in Staples Center yet. All five of his goals came on the road.

Three goals in the last six games for Alexander Frolov. The Kings are averaging four goals a game in their last five. The Kings were 0-for-17 on the PP against the Wild coming into this game. The Wild has the league's best PK unit. Garon is in goal for the Kings, regardless of letting 7 goals in against the Sharks.

Several minutes in the first, Brian Willsie won a faceoff and it went to Mattias Norstrom. Matty hammered the puck, and it got redirected by a Wild player past Manny Fernandez to lead the Kings to a 1-0 score. That was Norstrom's first goal of the season. Cammalleri and Willsie gets the assists.

The Kings survive a late surge by the Wild to go into the locker room up a goal.

First Period: Kings 1, Wild 0

The Kings killed off two penalties early in the period to retain their lead. Garon looked sharper than he did last game, limiting rebounds. Against the Sharks, two of Garon's rebounds lead directly to San Jose scores. So he's tightened it up this game.

Dustin Brown claimed another victim: Kim Johnsson. Square in the chest. Ouch.

Norstrom got two minutes for holding Mark Parrish toward the end of the period. This was the third straight penalty the Kings gave up. The result? Brian Rolston scored his 11th of the season to tie the game. Four of those eleven have come against the Kings.

Second period: Kings 1, Wild 1

Early in the third, the Wild scored an even-strength goal by Kurtis Foster made it 2-1 Minnesota. The Staples Center quieted down, expecting another Kings loss.

But then Cammalleri scored a goal to energize the Staples Center crowd. Willsie has two assists on the night, as the Kings have tied the game, 2-2. After the Cammy goal, the crowd was totally into the game. Avery's tallied just over 18 minutes. Avery has six points in the last five games, but none tonight.

A furious finish by the Kings almost let L.A. sneak past Minnesota. But we're going to overtime!

Third period: Kings 2, Wild 2

The Kings are 0-and-3 this season in ovetime/shootouts.

A p-r-e-t-t-y move by Cammalleri almost won the game for the Kings. But Fernandez showed a lot of patience to stop him. The Kings have been putting the pressure on Fernandez all OT.

The Kings then got a penalty when, for the second time in the game, got caught for too many men on the ice, with two minutes to go in the overtime. The Kings were able to kill it, and the puck squirted to Cammy, who was serving the penalty. Within four seconds of the end of OT, he skated down and put a shot on goal in a bang-bang exchange that had Staples buzzing.

End of overtime: Kings 2, Wild 2

Minnesota Mikko Koivu SAVE!
Los Angeles Anze Kopitar GOAL! First in Staples Center!
Minnesota Brian Rolston GOAL!
Los Angeles Michael Cammalleri SAVE!
Minnesota Pierre-Marc Bouchard SAVE!
Los Angeles Brian Willsie shootout HIT THE POST!
Minnesota Petteri Nummelin GOAL!
Los Angeles Dustin Brown GOAL!
Minnesota Todd White GOAL!
Los Angeles Sean Avery SAVE!

End of game: Wild 3, Kings 2 (shootout)

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings start the game off like they have most games this season: shooting. An interference call by Kyle McLaren has the Kings on the power play. Thornton's back-handed shot was deflected, but it trickles past Toskola for his second of the season. The assists go to Tom Kostopoulos and Mattias Norstrom.

However, Mathieu Garon tripped Mike Grier, and the floodgates opened. The Sharks answered Garon's penalty with a power-play goal by Patrick Marleau. Three minutes later, Steve Bernier scored to make it 2-1. The Sharks started circling, as Garon turned the puck over in front of the goal, and Christian Ehrhoff quickly scored to put the Sharks up, 3-1. 16 seconds later, Jonathan Cheechoo scored his sixth of the season to make it 4-1. The Kings limp into the locker room, a little worse for wear. They had started the game strong, but Garon's penalty turned the tide, and sparked a San Jose feeding frenzy.

First period: Sharks 4, Kings 1

The Kings get a quick power play goal from Alexander Frolov to extend their power-play scoring streak to six games. Sean Avery assisted on the play. Avery has played well in the game so far. But then the Patrick Marleau show began.

Marleau is all alone when a rebound comes right to him. He easily puts one past Garon to make it 5-2, Milan Michalek gets his second assist of the game. Then Marleau scored an unassisted goal to complete the hat trick and to put the game effectively away. By then the Kings just wanted the game to be over. They played tighter though, and had no penalties in the second.

Second Period: Sharks 5, Kings 2

Avery may have scored in his second straight game, but this one was out of reach. Midway through the period, Cheechoo nailed a shot past Garon, who remained in goal all game. A painful game to watch, and even more painful to write about.

Final score: Sharks 7, Kings 3

In other news: Rob Blake was honored by the NHL for his playing in his 1,000th game. Congrats to you, Rob.

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This game featured several rookies who have made a mark early in the season: Anze Kopitar (4 G, 10 A) for the Kings leads the NHL in rookie scoring. Colorado has Paul Stastny (3 G, 9 A) and Wojtek Wolski (4 G, 6 A). All three are in the top five of rookie scoring.

The Kings and Avs started slow, but the Kings soon got a power play. Not long after that, the Kings got a 5-on-3 power play, and Craig Conroy finally scored his first of the season to put the Kings up 1-0. The Kings are not a good team when they go down in a game. They have yet come from behind to win a game this season, so scoring first helps the cause.

So far, the Kings are continuing their pattern of outshooting their opponents. They are up 10 shots to 1 midway through the first. Former King Ian Laperriere butted heads with call-up Tim Jackman, who held his own against the veteran. But then, in the second half of the period, the Avs outshot the Kings 10-1.

Avery got a penalty by spraying ice at the goaltender. I hate that call. You play on ice, for Pete's sake. You're gonna get sprayed with ice. But Avery is on double-secret probation, so he'll get a penalty if he farts in the direction of the ref.

Avery's penalty led to a goal by Marek Svatos. Then 25 seconds later, Wojtek Wolski put one past Dan Cloutier, who was pushed out of position by Dustin Brown. Just like that, the Kings are down.

First period: Avalanche 2, Kings 1

The second period started with a breakaway by Avery, who was denied by Theodore. An off-setting penalty between Norstrom and McLean brought some four-on-four action. Funny thing about that was McLean was whistled for tripping Norstrom, and Matty was whistled for diving. Huh? It should be either tripping or diving, not both. Visnovsky scored his fourth goal of the year to tie the game at 2-2.

The Kings continued the pressure through two line changes, which was encouraging. With the game tied, the Kings buckled down and started to shoot more again. A high-sticking penalty by Thornton caused the Kings to be on the penalty kill. But with a minute gone, Avery poked a pass to Frolov, who passed it back to Avery, who shot it past Theodore, to make it 3-2.

Then, Thornton came out of the box and jumped in the play. He then redirected a Cammalari pass to score his first goal of the season to make it, 4-2. Kopitar had an assist on the play. Colorado called a timeout to try and cool down the Kings. The Kings have scored a goal 5-on-3, 4-on-4, then shorthanded, then even strength.

Kings got a little sloppy toward the end of the second. Tom Kostopoulos got nailed into the boards by Cody McCormack, who didn't get called for the vicious hit. In payback, Dustin Brown took out John-Michael Liles on the boards on what appeared to be a clean check. However, the officials disagreed, and Brown was whistled for roughing.

Avery has been hammered several times this game, with no calls from the zebras on the ice. I guess he's paying for past wrongs.

Then, with two minutes left, Kopitar was fed a pretty pass by Frolov to score his fifth of the season, lifting the Kings, 5-2. The four goal outburst was the Kings largest in one period this season, as the Kings go into the locker room up on the scoreboard. They played with more focus and determination this period, and the score shows that.

Second period: Kings 5, Avalanche 2

The Kings are 4-0-2 when leading after two periods. Budaj came in to replace Theodore.

Brett McLean scored a weak goal early in the third to cut the lead to 5-3. Lappy had the assist, along with Patrice Breisbois. The Kings turned around and started pressuring Colorado, which was something they didn't do last game.

However, a holding penalty by Visnovsky led to a quick-wrister by Joe Sakic to make it a one-goal game. Then a penalty by McLean put the Kings back on the power play, and Avery slipped a puck past Budaj for Avery's second of the night. The refs reviewed the goal, probably because it was an Avery goal. Heaven forbid Avery turn over a new leaf this season. But the review was kicked back quickly, and Avery's goal stands. The Kings regained a two-goal lead, 6-4.

The Kings start to ease up off the throttle, as Colorado gets several good chances with less than 3 minutes left in the game. This resulted in a shot by Tyler Arnason going past Cloutier to make it 6-5. Lappy gets another assist.

Colorado pulled their goalie, and then Lappy drew a penalty against Norstrom, letting the Avs to have a power play late in the game. But smart penalty killing by the Kings killed any chance of a tying goal.

Third period: Kings 6, Avalanche 5

Cammalari and Frolov each had three assists. The Kings have outshot their opponents for five straight games. Stars of the game: Sakic, Kopitar and Frolov.

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kings goalie Mathieu Garon got the nod against the Coyotes, the team that he shut out earlier this season. He let in an early shot from Shane Doan. That became a harbinger of things to come. Going into the night, he led all goaltenders in the NHL in save percentage and goals against average.

Rookie phenom Anze Kopitar scored a power-play goal on a pretty assist from Blake to tie the game. It was the Kings' first shot of the game. Blake may have lost a step this season, but he showed on the power play that he is still effective in other ways.

The Kings won a draw and the rebound from Kostopoulos trickled in under CuJo, to go up 2-1. Last season, Curtis Joseph just owned the Kings. He was 5-1 against L.A. But he was yanked early in the first by coach Wayne Gretzky. The 'Yotes seemed to be a team in disarray. Kostopoulos has made the most of his minutes lately. He has 6 points in 10 games, and he's averaging only 8 minutes a game. He's been a pleasant surprise.

Even after CuJo got pulled, the Kings kept peppering the new Phoenix goaltender, David LeNeveu with shots. Altogether, the Kings outshot the Coyotes, 43-27. Derek Armstrong added a goal midway through the first to go up 3-1, and the Jobing.com arena was silent. Cammalleri had two assists on the night.

Two quick goals by Phoenix brought some life to the Jobing.com arena. The first from Enver Lisin was reviewed but allowed. The second from Georges Laraque was no question. Sopel was out of position, and Laraque knocked it past Garon. Garon has looked a little shaky, considering he's facing the worst team in the league.

The Kings got a penalty, and Crawford sent out Frolov and Kopitar on the penalty kill. Both of them have been working together on the PK recently, and they seem to work well on killing the penalty. Brown drew another penalty (he has been exceptional at that this season) and guess who was out on the power play? The kid Kopitar.

First period: Kings 3, Coyotes 3

After squandering an early power play, the Kings were unable to clear the zone, and former King Yanic Perreault scored to take a 4-3 lead. A power-play goal from Jovanovski made it 5-3, and Crawford decided to yank Garon. He just wasn't focused tonight. Maybe it was those horrible Coyotes jerseys. Maybe it was the annoying Coyote howl after the 5 goals he let in.

When Cloutier came in, it didn't get any better. A quick score by Perreault made it 6-3, and you could hear television sets all over Southern California flipping over to the UCLA game. Ladislav Nagy had three assists on the game.

This game has been good for everyone on Phoenix who has yet to score this season: Lisin, Perreault and Seidenberg tallied their first goals of 2006-07. It was Lisin's first career goal. So far, they've scored five straight.

Frolov scored the Kings' fourth goal, and was the only tally for the Kings in the second.

Second period: Coyotes 6, Kings 4

The teams settled down starting the third, almost to a crawl. Crawford started to double-shift Kopitar midway through the third. Anze has really settled into his role on the ice. During the Kings PP, Kopitar had several looks, but shot wide. Kopitar led all forwards with 22 minutes and had the most shots out of everyone.

L.A. started pressuring Phoenix, who started to look a little tired. The Coyotes played the Ducks last night, so the Kings were relentess in their attack of the obviously winded opponents. But in their excitement, L.A. was caught with too many men on the ice with less than five minutes to go in the third. L.A. killed the penalty, but it was all for naught.

Final Score: Coyotes 6, Kings 4

Posted by Matt Murray at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sid the Kid and The Russian Cub took to the ice at a sold-out Staples Center. There are plenty of supporters for Pittsburgh, as there always seems to be.

Wearing their third jerseys for the second game in a row, the Kings start off with the line that was so impressive last game against the Rangers, Cammalleri-Kopitar-Brown. And it paid off on the first shift: Cammy scored in the first minute to take an early lead.

However, the Staples Center crowd, who was mericless when Dan Cloutier's name was announced as the starter, immediately gave it to the Kings goalie, after he gave up a goal to Jordan Staal. To his credit, it was a tough shot.

Blake and Lubo were paired up once again on defense, although Miller and Norstrom started. I like this matchup, although some disagree.

After Malkin's record goal, loud chants of "We Want Garon" echoed through the arena. The game has been fluid, especially with Weaver and Ivanans scratched.

First period score: Pittsburgh 2, Kings 1

The Kopitar-Cammy-Brown line struck again early in the second, when Brown tied the game with an unassisted goal. Blake added one, set up by Lubo, and the Pens, who seemed to get stronger the longer the period went, showed chinks in the armor.

Both teams found their stride, and the remainder of the period was played pretty even, although the Kings had some great chances. Rob scored a power play goal, to put the Kings ahead. The Kings also did a good job, limiting the amount of shots Cloutier faced. The fewer he has to face, the better.

First period score: Kings 3, Pittsburgh 2

Patrick O'Sullivan has been spotted on the ice. He's actually had a little over 10 minutes, but he's been virtually invisible, as is the case when your on the fourth line. I have a better shot to make it on the ice before O'Sullivan does. He showed some hustle in the third.

An unfortunate bounce tied the game, off Nostrom's skate.

Malkin and Crosby had some sick moves midway through the period. Some tic-tac-toe passing and they almost had a goal. Saying they are good is an understatement. These kids are special.

Third period: Penguins 3, Kings 3

With Norstrom in the box on a questionable call, Crosby and Malkin took to the ice... Gonchar's shot from the point basically gift-wrapped the game to the Penguins, as Malkin slammed it home. So now, Malkin has seven goals in six games. Amazing.

Final score: Penguins 4, Kings 3 in overtime

If you made it down this far, and you liked what you read, drop me a comment. It always nice to know if anyone reads this stuff...

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Staples Center crowd went absolutely ballistic when the announced goaltender was Mathieu Garon. I guess L.A. fans aren't stupid, as some would lead you to believe. Garon played admirably last game, when he faced the Stars. The fans have been supportive of Garon this season, moreso than Cloutier.

The relative ease that Kopitar skates on the ice makes all the differeance to his linemates. He had a sick move early in the period, that was similar to his first goal as a King. He wound up assisting on Sopel's goal a few shifts later.

The crowd isn't as New York-centric as I was expecting. But there are plenty of jerseys around Staples Center tonight. This is the first time in three seasons that the Rags have appeared here in L.A. But early in the game, New York is playing like they've never been here.

The line of Kopitar-Cammalari-Brown is full of energy. Anze is something to watch, but is really impressive in person. He skates, unhindered, through the defense.

In the second, the Kings pick it right back up and scroed early. Frolov scored, ending his 5 game scoring drought. He needs to pick it up. Tonight, he has a goal and an assist.

In a halloween-realted note, Kings fan Rob Zombie was spotted in the crowd, along with his lovely wife, Sheri Moon. I actuaqlly have a Rob Zombie sighting of my own, during a Kings-Red Wings playoff game, but I'm not sure it would be appropriate in a family-oriented blog such as this one. I can say that we didn't make eye contact, as we were both staring straight ahead. But I could tell it was him. Who else dresses like a dezinen of the dead?

After peppering Lundqvist with 21 shots in the first, they played possum in the second. New York almost evened the shots. But Sean Avery's goal in the last minute of the second stole the thunder the Rangers built all period.

That Jagr shot to the back of Avery's head was craptastic. Every time the Rangers touched the puck during the penalty, the fans booed lustfully. It was almost as if Blake was back on the Avs. When the Kings killed the penalty, the fans went crazy, and continued through the end of the game. At the end, the SC erupted with... streamers? Seriously, streamers came shooting out like the Kings just clinched the division. This team is so desperate for a winner.

But for the first time since the Coyotes game, the Kings are hitting on all cylinders.

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For the eighth time this season, the Kings outshot their opponents. Seven of those eight games, they lost. How is that possible? I mean, usually, if you shoot more at your opponent, the chances of you scoring increases, right?

The Kings are still getting used to working in Crawford's system, and his line tinkering seems to be for a reason. Can anyone emplain to me why Dallman is taking faceoffs? He lost all the faceoffs he took, again. But right now, the Kings are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. They have lost their last 5 home games.

Hopefully, they will find their footing when they come back home on Monday against the Rangers.

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This must be the low spot for the club. Being shut out by the Blue Jackets, after doubling their shot total for the game. In fact, the Kings are averaging 32 shots a game, up from 29 last year. The Jackets? They are at the bottom in the league, averaging 26 shots a game. However, they only needed 14 on Friday.

True to Crawford's word, Cloutier has started three games on this road trip. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Garon will be in goal Saturday vs. Dallas. After that? I'm going to say Garon gets his first back-to-back start, this time against the Rangers. It's realistic that he could win both of these games, but it wouldn't be an accurate gauge of his talent.

Has the team given up on Cloutier? Would they rather have Garon between the pipes? Can a team throw a mutiny to get rid of a goalie? Has Crawford lost control of the team? Can I ask any more questions?

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...but they're getting great frequent flyer milage this week. After Wednesday night's game at Minnesota, they travel to Columbus then jet on down to Dallas.

Could it be that the Kings were exhausted by playing the second of back-to-back games? A very hard-fought game against the Ducks, which wound up being tied and decided by a shootout. They were expected to fly to Colorado and play the Avs, who had a day to to prepare.

Cloutier played a decent first period. Unfortunately, there were two more after that. Some say the team looked like they quit. I think they were just exhausted.

Who were the wizards who came up with this scheduling??? 5 games in 7 days. How dumb.

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first period was a well-played one, with goals by Lubo and Cammy to go up, 2-0. However, the Ducks came back to tie it, and won in the shootout. Those are the facts, and they are indisputable.

Here's the good news: Kopitar had a hand in both Kings' goals, adds to his rookie mystique. Armstrong and Avery both hit Pronger every chance they got. And O'Sullivan continues his evolution of becoming the player he is destined to be, a geat two-way player. Even though the Kings lost, I think there's a lot to take away from this game.

Next game is against the Avs, and Cloutier should be in goal. It's about time Dan starts silencing his critics.

Just an observation, but do you think the Kings would do better on the road this week? Five games in seven days...

Posted by Matt Murray at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After six games, the rookie winger that the Kings traded Pavol Demitra for finally tallied a score. For some fans, it took far too long. Then again, when you're only on the ice for 10 minutes, what can you do? Only three other L.A. skaters (Kostopoulos, Ivanans and Thorton) had less playing time Wednesday. O'Sullivan has been averaging a little over 11 minutes a game, languishing on the third-fourth lines, with the occasional appearance on the power play.

Flat out, O'Sullivan needs more time. This kid scored 47 goals down in the minors last year. But, a poor preseason showing seems to have landed Sully in the doghouse with Crawford. If Patrick is going to be effective, he needs more time to gel on the top lines. They've unleashed Kopitar, and they need to do the same with O'Sullivan. He's got the talent, he just needs time to adjust and spread his wings.

As for the guy they traded to acquire O'Sullivan? Demitra set up the game-winning goal in overtime. The Kings played hard, and outshot the Wild. But in the end, it was Pavol who sent the Kings to the locker room, with a four-game losing streak in tow.

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With Garon in goal, everyone in the Kingdom was convinced that L.A. would post a win against the Stars. After Cloutier's weak performance on Thursday, Crawford stated that he'd go with Garon. Well, so much for that idea.

Garon allowed 2 goals on 7 shots in the first period, proving one thing... The Kings really have lousy goaltending. After all, Cloutier let in 2 goals in 11 shots on Thursday. Garon didn't make many fans cheer Saturday night.

In fact, the entire Kings team didn't provide many sparks Saturday night. The team played sloppy, which was a little disheartening. Also, Patrick O'Sullivan was a healthy scratch. Some fans have wondered why he was scratched, and I honestly think that he's on his way down to Manchester.

This team is not going to compete for the playoffs. Everyone should know the Kings are focusing for the future.

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, the Kings' last two opponents have been earmarked for the bottom of each of their respective conferences, so these are games that L.A. should win. But the first-period-power-play-goal drought continues. Four more opportunities, four failed attempts.

But you can see Crawford's system in place. Gone is the old dump-and-chase method, and now the guys are much fluid in their attack. They are using their *gasp* speed. They are setting up the PP 50 times better so far. Guys are penetrating, rotating, moving! Also, the Kings are shooting more. Tonight, they have outshot the Isles, almost 2-to-1.

Where is O'Sullivan? 9 minutes? It pains me to say this, but I think Patrick will be sent down soon. I think Crawford loves to deal with the hot hand, which explains why Kopitar had double the minutes. O'Sullivan had a chance on the power play in the third period, but just seemed out of sorts out there. I think Crawford is smitten with his new phenom winger, but I also think he may hold on for a while to see if O'Sullivan can settle down and start producing.

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

L.A.'s hockey season started Friday, with the Kings visiting the new Honda Center. The result was about what I expected. Ducks win. But, the Kings made a game of it early.

L.A. came out of the chute, guns blazing. They outshot the Ducks, 22-10, in the first period. They wound up with 44 shots on the game. They lost by one. Scoring three goals against a Stanley Cup contender? Not too shabby.

Anze was impressive, with his first two NHL goals coming in the second. He was on fire, just crashing the net and taking shots. His first goal made Giggy look foolish.

Cloutier looked average, really not much of an improvement over Garon or LaBarbara. He didn't show me that he was worthy of that bizarre extension the Kings signed him to. My guess is Garon gets the nod Saturday.

Avery had no penalties? Huh? Who is this imposter? Could we be seeing a new leaf turned by Sean?

Special teams? *sigh* Not too special.

For the first game of the season, with an overhauled roster and two rookie forwards, I think the Kings did just fine. O'Sullivan seemed a little nervous, and wasn't on the ice a lot, but he's got a lot of expectations he has to fill. After all, he was traded for Pavol Demitra. The sooner he slows down and realizes his talent, the better he'll become.

Posted by Matt Murray at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)