Friday (11/23) practice notes
Some good, some bad...
-- Alexander Frolov will be out for at least the next two games with a strained groin. You probably remember his strained groin from the end of training camp. Well, this is the other one. It's always something, isn't it? So they will shut him down for a few days, perhaps even a week's worth of games, and see how it goes.
-- Scott Thornton is also out, with a bruised sternum. He left the game in the first period Wednesday and did not return.
-- On the positive side, both Raitis Ivanans and Kyle Calder might be available for tomorrow's game. And when a coach says they ``might'' be available, that means you can most likely count on seeing them out there.
-- I'm sure it hasn't escaped notice here that the Washington Capitals, with the worst record in the NHL, fired their coach today. Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Manchester Monarchs, has been hired.
Matt will have more-detailed practice notes and quotes later.

Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at 

Washington may have the worst record, but Edmonton and the Kings are tied for the second worst records this year so far. My guess is Edmonton gets a new coach before we do. I wonder if Rich or Matt would get our Coach to explain his system and why it isn't working. I mean all I see is one of our Defense join the attack. The the other team always seems to get a 2 on one going the other way. This is a system???
The Kings need to echo the Capitals' move and fire Crawford. Rich just said it was the least-inspired effort from the Kings, last game, and when you start to comment on the effort, it begins with who's failing to motivate the players: the coach. The Kings aren't a great team, obviously, but they shouldn't be in the cellar, either. I'm an LA native and long-time Kings fan now living in Nashville, TN. I really like watching the Nashville Predators. They probably have a payroll at least 10 million less than the Kings and their effort is 10 times better. It's a joke how much a team like the Predators outwork the Kings. It's about coaching, plain and simple. Dean, fire Crawford, now!!
Never should have let Andy Murray go.....