Last day in L.A.
After tonight's game at Staples Center, it's wheels up for the Kings, for the start of that traditional Denver-Las Vegas-Salzburg-London road trip...
Here's the expected lineup for tonight's game: Calder, Armstrong, Frolov, Cammalleri, Kopitar, Brown, Simmonds, Murray, Tukonen, Ivanans, Giuliano, Zeiler, Modry, Johnson, Boyle, Harrold, Petiot, Dallman, Hickey, Bernier, Cloutier.
Bernier is expected to start and play the first 30 minutes of the game. I talked to Bernier today and later on I'll have some stuff from him. I'll say this much...his situation is the most interesting and complicated training-camp issues I've seen in a while.
The fourth-line shuffle continues. Tonight it's Giuliano paired with Ivanans and Zeiler. In the non-game group, Cliche was skating with Thornton and Willsie. I definitely get the feeling that the fourth line is going to be very fluid, with different guys in there every night depending on what the matchups look like. Even so, Crawford can't keep all these guys around. At least a couple will not be on the roster.
Cuts are expected after tonight's game, to get down to 30 or 31 players. The Kings must be down to 25 players by the time they leave for Austria on Saturday night.
More later...

J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at 

awesome. glad to see there gonna give bernier another look. site looks great rich.
The roster on your list has 21 players listed (12 forwards, 7 dmen and 2 goaltenders).
Will Hickey be dressed tonight?
Rich, is it still a possiblity that the young players in the 4th line mix could push out a vet? Keeping Murry, Zeiler and possibly Lewis or Tukonen over older players like Willsie or even Thornton.
i can't wait to hear how bernier does. hey rich, i like the new look on here BUT!... that banner with Wilsie hurts my eye ball sockets! maybe you can have one of our creative king fans stir something up.
thanks again to you and Matt for all the updates!
Rich, thanks for all the info.
Hate to jump on the anti-Wilsie bandwagon but after watching that first game vs. Anaheim he looked terrible. That 4th goal by Anaheim he just stood there watching Beauchmine wind up for the shot. That GW goal he got was luck and ain't going to happen in the regular season.
LOVE the changes to the site over the last couple weeks.
The Bernier question as you said is the most interesting. Similar to what Pitt had to deal w/ Andre-Fluery you've got to expect that if he stays he's going to face some high pressure his 1st year and sometimes raise some doubts in the minds of fans. But you can't judge him by that year. Now maybe he blows everyone away but not likely. Question is can he come out of it stronger next year?
Kings send:
JOE PISKULA - D
TED PURCELL - C
MARC-ANDRE CLICHÉ - RW
SCOTT PARSE – C
TREVOR LEWIS - C
MATT MOULSON - LW
to Manchester