March 2008 Archives

From Don:

Brady Murray scored two goals, Teddy Purcell, Brian Boyle and David Meckler added one goal each, and the Monarchs increased their hold on the final playoff spot in the AHL's Eastern Conference by five points, as the team defeated the Hershey Bears last night 5-2. Goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 31 of 33 shots to improve his record to 8-8-0 on the season. The Monarchs currently have 79 points with only six games left to play - including the final three games of the season against the league's best team, the Providence Bruins (107 points). The Monarchs (35-30-5-4) look to maintain or extend their five point lead over the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday night at home against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Daniel Taylor has been recalled. I certainly hope they didn't put the poor guy on a plane yesterday. Safe to assume that Cloutier isn't ready to go, or at least that the Kings don't think so...

From Don:

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Peter Harrold went from being "the" guy on defense for the Manchester Monarchs, to adding some necessary depth on the Kings' blue line. The 24-year old says he has made the transition, but is still learning the NHL brand of hockey.

"It's a pretty big transition, I mean the game is so much faster here," Harrold said. "I think I'm fitting in pretty well and learning more and more every day. It's important to try and get better every day."

Still, it is kind of strange going from being the quarterback of the Monarchs' power play to suddenly being a depth player for the Kings.

"It's no problem for me. Obviously you want to get to the point where you can be on the power play at this level, but you have to crawl before you can walk," he said. "I'm trying to learn a little more each and every day and when you watch those guys on the power play and try to pick up on the little things that they do so that when I get my chance I know what to do."

Odds are that the depleted defensive unit at Manchester will get an infusion should Harrold be reassigned to the Monarchs following the conclusion of the Kings' season.

"They haven't talked to me about it yet, but I'd like to go back. I like playing in the playoffs and as soon as the season is done here, I hope they send me back," Harrold said. "I pay a lot of attention to what is going on in Manchester. They're my friends that played there all year and most of last year, so I'd love to go down there and help them in the playoffs."

Here's what went on in El Segundo today, courtesy of Don...

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Goalie Dan Cloutier returned to the ice today and pronounced himself fit to play. Cloutier faced shots and appeared to show no issues with mobility as a result of the groin strain that kept him out of action over the weekend. "I feel good, I'm just not sure if I'll be playing in San Jose," Cloutier said.

Coach Marc Crawford was unsure about the health of his beleaguered goaltender, and says it will be the training staff who ultimately makes the decision concerning Cloutier's availability.

"We're not 100% sure about Dan. He tried it today, but whether or not he can be a guy who is ready to play tomorrow, that's another question," he said.

Rookie Erik Ersberg who has started the last five games for the Kings is likely to be in net tomorrow in San Jose.

"I think we are definitely looking at playing Erik tomorrow regardless, because I just don't think Dan is ready, and we'll probably have a decision to make if Dan continues to improve," Crawford said. "The trainers are going to make the decision here now if they feel he is going to be at least good enough to be an option for us tomorrow and is capable of playing. We'll deal with that as it moves along. I guess you'll have your answer later on if we call someone up.''

And what about the possibility of not calling anyone up, declaring Cloutier fit to play and both goalies go down (hey, it could happen); who is the Kings' emergency back-up goalie?

"We don't have one," Crawford said. "The trainer Corey Osmak always plays in net when we need someone. He plays in Osmak-ian fashion," he joked.

Don Fulton talked to Michael Cammalleri at practice today...

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Forward Michael Cammalleri has had a difficult season, to say the least.

Following his much-publicized arbitration hearing and, ultimately, the ruling in favor of the Kings, the 25-year-old winger has struggled to regain his 2006-2007 numbers that saw him net career highs in goals (34) and points (80). This season he has tallied 19 goals and 27 assists in 60 games, and most of his drop-off can be attributed to missing the entire month of January with a nagging rib injury.

Cammalleri answered a few questions about his disappointing season today:

Q: There's a perception from some people that the arbitration process and ruling has negatively impacted your game.

Cammalleri: I don't think the actual hearing had any negative impact. It's obviously been a tough year for me personally for different reasons. I'm not going to sit here and say the arbitration process is the reason why.

Q: There's another perception that from last year to this year you have turned into a selfish player.

Cammalleri: I don't know where that comes from. I wouldn't give much credit to hearing that. The game is still fun, and obviously it has been a frustrating year, but I still have fun playing the game. It's been frustrating because we haven't been able to win as many games as I thought we could have, but I don't think by any means that it is a selfish moment or anything like that. I just wanted us to do a little bit better as a team.

Q: Has this been your most frustrating year ever in organized hockey?

Cammalleri: It has been a tough year, but you live and you learn, and I've kind of been able to analyze some things for myself and for the team. You just get better from the experience, so it doesn't worry me too much.

Q: Are you 100% back from your injury?

Cammalleri: I feel really good. It is one of those injuries that I don't think will heal all the way until I get a full summer off. It definitely feels a lot better than it did.

Q: If you had to wager a guess; are you a member of the Los Angeles Kings next season?

Cammalleri: I would think so. My contract says that I am and I haven't heard otherwise.

Q: Do you want to be back?

Cammalleri: I definitely want to be a King. It will be interesting to see what we do.

In response to the comment earlier, about ticket prices rising 10 percent next season, the Kings say it's not true and that ticket prices for next season have not yet been determined.

Has anyone else had a ticket rep say something different?

Don Fulton caught up with Kings prospect Oscar Moller, who recently completed his season with Chiliwack of the WHL. We'll also have a practice report this afternoon...

I've been out all day, but this afternoon the Kings assigned John Zeiler to Manchester and Daniel Taylor to Reading. Sounds safe to say that Dan Cloutier's groin/hip/whatever is better, but we'll get the whole scoop at practice tomorrow.

Here's the complete quotes and notes from this afternoon's game:

I'll just go ahead and submit this without comment...

Sean Avery in hooker's black book

Dallas with a touchdown, Kings with a safety, Erik Ersberg back to Earth. Here's the AP story, complete with quotes...

I'm not sure if we really resolved anything with the ``most outstanding defenseman'' debate -- which was kind of the point, right? That there's no obvious choice -- but it was a fun debate to read.

So what does everyone think about team MVP? I have a pretty solid idea on this one already, but I'm curious to know what everyone thinks. By the way, I'll let you know all my picks when I send them in. Tomorrow, I think...

OK, I've been invited to vote in the Kings' season-ending awards. One of the categories is ``outstanding defenseman,'' and these are the eligible choices: Rob Blake, Kevin Dallman, Peter Harrold, Jack Johnson, Jon Klemm, Tom Preissing, Lubomir Visnovsky. I'm really not trying to be sarcastic here...if anyone can give me a compelling reason why one of these guys is the clear choice, I'd really like to hear it...

The story that just won't go away...

Todd Bertuzzi brings ex-coach Crawford into Moore lawsuit

Here's the scoop...

Guess who got the shutout...and another boatload of saves... Ersberg is doing a tremendous job to help his cause. Here's the early AP game story:

Here's the Associated Press preview of tonight's Kings-Phoenix game:

I'm curious to know what people's thoughts are here. How upset are you about the Kings losing these days?

Here's the second half of Don's interview with Drew Doughty...

The Kings recalled goaltender Daniel Taylor from Manchester, on an emergency basis. Dan Cloutier has suffered a strained groin.

Don Fulton, who must be a part-time detective, tracked down Drew Doughty for an exclusive interview. it's fairly lengthy, so I'll break it into two parts. It's another look at a prospect who might well end up in the Kings organization next season. It's another good read...

Some quotes from last night's game, from Erik Ersberg, Patrick O'Sullivan and Marc Crawford...

For those inclined to attend, the Kings will not skate tomorrow morning in El Segundo. They'll instead meet a little earlier at Staples Center to discuss preparations for Phoenix.

Here's the AP game story from tonight...Quotes to come as they're available...

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Mathieu Schneider and Teemu Selanne scored for the Ducks during a shootout and the defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Kings 2-1 Wednesday night to clinching a playoff berth.

Ducks rookie goaltender Jonas Hiller, filling in for the ailing Jean-Sebastien Giguere, ended the shootout at the end of six rounds when he blocked Brian Willsie's shot. Dustin Brown had the only shootout goal for the Kings.

The Ducks already has assured themselves a spot in the postseason when they were tied at the end of regulation, since they needed only one point to clinch.

Patrick O'Sullivan scored for the Kings in the first period, and Anaheim's Bobby Ryan tied it in the second.

The Ducks made the playoffs for the third year in a row, and the sixth time since they came into the league as an expansion franchise in 1993.

The Kings, already eliminated from the postseason, haven't made the playoffs since 2003.

Hiller, starting for the third game in a row, made 31 saves for the Ducks -- including a dramatic one with time running out in regulation.

The Kings' Alexander Frolov stole the puck from Schneider in the Kings' zone and skated off on a breakaway. He bore down on Hiller, feinted to his left then tried to slide the puck behind the sprawling goalie on the other side. Hiller blocked the shot with his left skate, with 17 seconds on the clock.

Kings goalie Erik Ersberg, like Hiller a 26-year-old from Sweden, had a fine outing, stopping 39 shots.

Ian Winwood, a reporter from The Guardian, recently hopped the pond to take in a game at Staples Center and didn't exactly find it impressive. But you might find his account of the evening pretty amusing...

The NHL experience that ended up putting me to sleep

Reader Drew passed that along, along with this USA Today story about the struggles of lower-payroll teams:

Many low-payroll teams sit below the playoff line

Here's the notes and quotes from this morning's (very brief) skate, courtesy of Don:

Here's Don's interview with Teddy Purcell. Morning-skate reports coming soon...

Don Fulton tracked down Brian Boyle in Manchester and got an exclusive interview. He also talked to Teddy Purcell, so I'll have that up later, along with a report from today's morning skate.

The stories about skating in Southern California are great. I learned to skate at the tiny little rink inside the mall in Palos Verdes. It's not even full-size, but it sure felt like it. The mall has changed, almost completely, but the little rink is still there.

Here's Boyle...

Here's another gem from the Sports Illustrated ``Vault.'' It's the ``They Said It'' entry from Nov. 21, 1988:

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•Jim Fox, Los Angeles Kings right wing, complaining about the skating surface at a Culver City, Calif., practice rink: "I've seen better ice on my windshield."

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I've never been in that arena, but I've driven past it many times and I can't believe an NHL team practiced there...

For those who haven't seen it, the ``Vault'' section on Sports Illustrated's website is fantastic. With enough interest and time, you can read any article that has ever run in the magazine. So here's a couple, for old times sake. The first one is from April 8, 1968, a story about how those expansion Kings might win the Stanley Cup! The second story is about a little trade with Edmonton. The third is from Nov. 30, 1992, about how a rookie coach named Barry Melrose seems to have the Kings on track.

The coast's crazy dreamers

Woe, Canada

Kings again

Take it for what it's worth, but based on numbers from hockeyfights.com and nhl.com, the Kings have recorded the second-fewest fighting majors this season. They've had 21 fighting majors in games. The Ducks have the most fighting majors, with 67, and former Kings winger George Parros has the second-most fighting majors, with 23. What does it all mean, in terms of wins and losses? Probably not much. Of the top 10 most-fighting teams, seven would be headed to the playoffs if the season ended today. But the team with the fewest fighting majors this season (20)? The Detroit Red Wings.

Here's the other half of the Steven Stamkos interview, courtesy of Don Fulton...

Again, major thanks to Don for taking the initiative to get this interview with Steven Stamkos, who is considered the clear top prospect in the 2008 NHL Draft. Here's Don...

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There are a few things you need to know about Steven Stamkos.

First, he does prefer to be called Steven, but doesn't mind at all if you call him Steve. He just turned 18, but after talking with him you are left feeling like you just chatted with a 35 year-old NHL veteran.

Steven was kind enough to chat with me by phone from Sarnia, Ontario, where his team the Sarnia Sting currently leads its first round Ontario Hockey League playoff series against the Windsor Spitfires, two games to one.

He has scored five goals in the three games.

Steven discussed life in the OHL, the prospect of him likely being the number one pick in June's National Hockey League draft, and talked about the possibility of lacing them up in Hollywood and playing for the Los Angeles Kings.

A special thank you to Mark Glavin, the very helpful Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for the Sting for setting up the phone interview.

Hope everyone had a good Easter Sunday. Tomorrow, I'll be posting the transcript of an exclusive interview Don did with Steven Stamkos. It's a great read, in which Stamkos talks about his season, his development, the Kings and whether he thinks he's NHL-ready (short answer: yes). So, thanks to Don for that great effort in tracking down Stamkos. It's no stretch to say that Don is our Erik Ersberg!

Here's the Associated Press game story:

J.S. Aubin has been called up by the Ducks, to (temporarily, at least) take the roster spot of J.S. Giguere (bad back). Aubin had been doing quite well with Portland in the AHL, with two shutouts in seven games and a 1.80 goals-against average since the Kings traded him to Anaheim for a seventh-round pick.

Michal Handzus scored two goals. Not in the same month. Not in the same week. Not in the same game.

In the same period.

In one of those games that you look at and just kind of say, ``Huh?'', the Kings were pretty much stifled for 57 minutes, then scored three goals in a span of 1 minute, 42 seconds. And yes, Handzus scored two of them. And Visnovsky scored the other. Yes, really.

So the Kings pull ``even'' with Tampa Bay at 66 points, but Tampa plays later and also has another game in hand over the Kings.

Another solid game for Erik Ersberg, who made 25 saves and kept the Stars off the board in the third period. Game story to follow later...

Here's the Stats LLC preview of today's game, for those hanging around and not watching college basketball...

Here's the second part of Don's interview with Manchester coach Mark Morris...

Kyle Calder suffered a broken finger in last night's victory over Dallas. He's headed back to Los Angeles and John Zeiler will take his place on the roster for Saturday's game at Dallas.

Morning, everyone. Don Fulton did a great Q&A with Manchester coach Mark Morris, who answers questions extensively about the development of different prospects and the state of that team in general. I'll break it up into two parts since it's fairly lengthy...

Here's the game story. Sorry for the delay but AP was especially slow tonight.

Here's the Associated Press preview of tonight's Kings-Phoenix game:

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Wins against teams such as the Kings have helped the Phoenix Coyotes stay in the postseason race, but losses to teams ahead of them in the standings are keeping them from moving into playoff position.

After three straight defeats to teams in playoff contention in the Western Conference, the Coyotes look to continue their dominance of the Kings when the teams meet Thursday night.

Phoenix (36-33-5) has lost two games to 10th-place Edmonton and one to sixth-place Vancouver over the past week. The Coyotes, in 12th place in the West, are seven points behind three teams tied with 84 in the race for the conference's last three postseason spots.

After two straight road games, Phoenix is beginning a three-game homestand. The Coyotes are 5-7-1 at Jobing.com Arena since the start of February.

"It's looking dismal for the playoffs, but we have to leave this behind us up here and get back to Phoenix," Coyotes center Daniel Winnik said after Tuesday's 8-4 loss in Edmonton. "I don't think it's a lack of effort or intensity on anyone's behalf or a lack of caring. We're just having mental letdowns at the wrong times."

Phoenix has been able to stay in the race thanks partly to its outstanding play against the two worst teams in the West.

The Coyotes are 6-0-0 against league-worst Kings (28-40-6) this season, winning each of those games in regulation. They also are 4-0-0 against St. Louis, which is second-worst in the West with 71 points.

Phoenix's dominance at home versus the Kings extends to last season, having won six straight meetings with the Kings at Jobing.com Arena since a 4-0 loss on Oct. 19, 2006. The Coyotes are 17-2-1 with two ties at home against the Kings since the start of 2000.

Taking advantage of another matchup with the Kings is crucial for a Phoenix team that has eight games remaining. The Coyotes have lost five of their last seven.

A bright spot for Phoenix in Tuesday's loss was a one-goal, two-assist performance from Shane Doan, giving him 70 points through 74 games to surpass his previous career high of 68 points set in 2003-04.

The veteran winger has four goals and nine points in six games against the Kings this season, helping the Coyotes score four times in each of the last five meetings.

The Kings, meanwhile, have scored two goals or less in eight of its last nine games. The Kings have converted 9.5 percent (4-for-42) of their power-play opportunities in their last 11 games, going 2-6-3 in that span, and went 0-for-4 in a 2-1 loss to San Jose on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles' most productive players have stalled in recent games.

Anze Kopitar, who leads the team with 69 points (29 goals, 40 assists), has been held off the scoresheet in three straight games. Alexander Frolov hasn't tallied a point in four of his last five games, but is second on the team with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists).

The Kings are beginning a three-game stretch on the road, where they are 1-6-1 after winning eight of their previous 12.

The CBS show ``60 Minutes'' is reporting this week that David Beckham has an option to buy a MLS team starting in 2011, after his contract with the Galaxy expires. Maybe AEG should keep the Galaxy and let Beckham buy the Kings. Beckham might not know how to run a hockey team, but, well...

Here's a story out of the Sun Journal, the Lewiston paper, about Jonathan Bernier...

Nomad of the ice

Round three...

Here's the second round of questions...

Here goes the first round of questions and answers, as we all begin to watch our NCAA Tournament brackets go up in flames...

Here's the update from the Kings...

``Jack Johnson suffered a non-displaced fracture to his right foot in the Kings vs. San Jose game on Tuesday night (March 18). He is out for season and he’s expected to resume skating in approximately four weeks.''

Johnson took a puck off the foot during his first shift in the second period last night.

Here's something from the Philadelphia Inquirer today about Jaroslav Modry's situation.

Modry oping with ill father

I'm expecting an update on Jack Johnson sometime in the next hour.

It's kind of a slow week...anyone have any questions? I'll be trying to set up a Lombardi Q&A, and we're working on a Q&A with Mark Morris in Manchester, so hold those type of questions for now, but if there are any others, fire away...

Here's the preview of the Kings' game against San Jose tonight, as provided by the Associated Press:

There's Jonathan Bernier...Erik Ersberg...Jonathan Quick...Jeff Zatkoff...(OK, Daniel Taylor also)...but don't forget about Linden Rowat. Those who attended the prospects camp last summer, or read about it, probably have heard the name, but he's not usually included among the list of the Kings' top goalie prospects. Rowat, the Kings' fifth-round pick last year, is doing quite well for the Regina Pats of the WHL. The local paper up there did a story on Rowat today:

Rowat rolling right along at right time

It's been almost five years since the story about Patrick O'Sullivan and his abusive upbringing became public. ESPN magazine had the big story a few years back, but CBC maintains a web page about the story. Check it out if you've never seen it, or if you haven't read the story in a few years.

Whose life is it, anyway?

Recently, ESPN magazine followed up with O'Sullivan, who had this to say about the story and his father:

``I still get envelopes I think are from him. I just throw them in the trash. Telling my story was tough. But at the end of the day, if someone -- even just one person -- read it and was helped, it was worth it.''

Jaroslav Modry has been nominated, by the Los Angeles members of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn., for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually ``to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.'' Each team has a representative, and Modry will be the Kings', even though he was traded to Philadelphia last month. For those who aren't aware, Modry played a significant part of this season knowing that his father was in poor health back in the Czech Republic. Modry even took a quick trip overseas to visit his dad but hardly missed any time with the Kings. On the ice, I think it's fair to say Modry exceeded expectations. Jack Johnson had high praise for Modry, his former partner, who managed a plus-two rating on a last-place team.

Don gives an update on the Manchester Monarchs:

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With the Kings long out of playoff consideration, it’s a good time to check in with the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs.

On Sunday afternoon, goalie Jonathan Quick stopped all 27 shots he faced, and Brady Murray redirected a blast from defenseman Troy Milam for the game’s only tally in the Monarchs’ 1-0 shutout victory over the Lowell Devils. The victory enabled Manchester (69 points) to pull to within one point of the fourth place Springfield Falcons, who lost on Sunday 3-2 to San Antonio. The Falcons currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

On Saturday, the Monarchs defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack 3-1 on goals from David Meckler, Matt Moulson and Lauri Tukonen. Goaltender Daniel Taylor stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced.

With only 13 games remaining on the schedule, Manchester (30-28-5-4) looks ahead at two of the next three against the Falcons (this coming Wednesday and then again Sunday), and likely needs to win both contests, as their schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Monarchs play eight of their remaining games on the road where they have won 16 of 32 contests, but the team has been surprisingly mediocre at home, where they have won only 14 of 35.

The Monarchs’ final three regular season contests are against the Providence Bruins, the top team in the AHL with 97 points.

Forward Matt Moulson leads the team with 24 goals, followed next by Brian Boyle and Gabe Gauthier, who each have 23 tallies. Gauthier injured his left knee early in the first period of Sunday's game and did not return. His prognosis is unknown and was reported to have boarded the team bus on crutches. Teddy Purcell is the overall team leader in points with 66 (18 goals, 48 assists). Rugged winger/some-time defenseman Paul Crosty leads the team with 196 penalty minutes.

Oft-injured center Marc-Andre Cliche has come on of late since returning to the Monarchs’ lineup, and has points in six of the last seven games.

Cliche was acquired by the Kings last season in the deal that sent controversial forward Sean Avery to the New York Rangers.

Goalies Quick (5-6-0) and Taylor (11-5-2) are now splitting duties between the pipes, since the promotion of Ersberg.

More from Don today:

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Coincidence or not, following the February 21st acquisition of forward Matt Ellis (claimed off of waivers from the Red Wings), the Kings have killed 31 of the last 33 shorthanded situations, with Ellis as one of the key players on the kill.

"I didn't get the chance to kill penalties in Detroit, but I got the chance in practice all the time and I had a decent amount of success in the American League," said Ellis, whose five shorthanded goals for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL was among the lead leaders in the 2006-2007 season.

Ellis, who is averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time per game, says there are many factors that go in to a successful penalty kill.

"One of the big things on the penalty kill is it's not as much about talent level as much as it is work ethic. All of the killers on this team are willing to sacrifice the body to get in front of shots, battle hard and compete," he said. "When you do the little things well on the PK it translates into the five-on-five because good habits are contagious. We're starting to see some guys who aren't shot-blockers get into the shooting lanes and do those little things - do whatever it takes to be successful."

Quite fittingly, Ellis scored his first goal as a Los Angeles King while the team was shorthanded, as he put the finishing touches on Thursday’s 4-1 win over Nashville with an empty-netter.

More from Don:

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It was reported in this blog earlier that winning face offs has been an issue for the Kings this season, and in winning only 16 of 45 draws in last week's overtime loss to Vancouver it was obvious that allowing the Canucks puck possession had the Kings on their collective heels most of the game and ultimately cost them a win.

But upon further review of the last 10 games, it appears that in at least recent history, face offs haven't been the biggest culprit.

During the 10-game span, the Kings have won 249 of 528 face offs (47%) and have actually been on the positive side of winning draws in half of the 10 games. In fact, the Kings had a three game streak (versus Montreal, Ottawa and St. Louis) where they won more draws than their opponents unfortunately they lost two of those three games.

Perhaps an even stranger statistical oddity: In the Kings' 4-1 victory over Nashville on Thursday, the Predators actually won 38 of the 64 face offs (the Kings winning only 41% of the draws), the Kings then won three more face offs than Minnesota in the Wild’s 2-0 victory.

Forward Michal Handzus, who is called upon to take many key face offs each game is at a loss to explain exactly why the team is wildly inconsistent in the face off circle.

"It's really strange because some games are good and others it's just pretty bad," Handzus said. "Personally it's something I'm working on and hopefully things will improve. You really want to win every face off you take because puck possession is so important - just look at teams like San Jose and Detroit. We need to be winning 65-70% of our face offs."

Here's the first part of Don Fulton's report from practice today:

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The knock on goalie Jason LaBarbera was rebound control. Too many times opposition shots were turned into excellent scoring opportunities - often times opposition goals - because of LaBarbera's inability to glove or smother a shot to thwart the chance and force a face off (not that taking a face off in the defensive zone is necessarily a good thing, but more on that later).

Enter rookie goalie Erik Ersberg.

It's been well-documented that Ersberg's emergence as the latest "Kings goalie of the future" has been a welcome surprise in an otherwise immensely disappointing season, and it has been his calm demeanor and reliable rebound control that has been especially appreciated by fans and teammates alike.

"To use an analogy, he plays like a sponge," laughed defenseman Rob Blake. "When a shot does find its way to the goal, it's usually sucked in to him and he covers it up."

Ersberg, who started both games on the recent two game road trip, going 1-1, allowing just three goals on 67 shots, admits that controlling rebounds is a strong and important aspect of his game.

"It's (controlling rebounds) something I've worked on very hard this year here and down in Manchester," Ersberg said. "I have guys shooting lots of pucks at me in practice from the blue line and I work on covering it up. I just follow the puck with my eyes everywhere it goes and never lose sight of it."

A small goalie at 6-feet even and 183-pounds, Ersberg looks even younger than his 26 years, but looks can be deceiving. His ability to make key saves in key moments look relatively easy has Ersberg's defensemen relaxing a bit more near the goal mouth.

"Rebound control is even more important now because of how the game is played," Blake added. "You used to be able to track the shot and tie up the guy in front of the net and you didn't get the interference calls, but now they call it. You have to be able to react to the shot and when there are fewer rebounds, or if the puck is pushed into the corners it is cleaner in front of the net."

Controlling rebounds or not, NHL life is still a new frontier for the Swedish-born Ersberg, who is happy to be here, and would like to become a permanent fixture.

"Things are going pretty well for me in the games that I've played. I really can't complain," he said. "I'm just going to play it one game at a time and I am just glad for every game I get. I'm having fun."

Don was out at practice today, so I'll be posting his full report this afternoon.

Don't forget to Vote Krush!

J.P. Hoornstra, who covers the Ducks for one of our sister newspapers, talked to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly recently about playing regular-season games in Europe and the fact that it negatively impacted both the Kings and Ducks this season. For the record, the Kings -- for the most part -- were against the trip, but did it out of a sense of duty to the league. Daly seemed to admit that early-season trips like that hurt the teams, but guess what, they're doing it again...twice! Why? Ca-ching, of course.

Kings, Ducks won't hop across the pond

And also, if you haven't already, don't forget to Vote for Krush!

L.A. Kings Madness

Here's the Associated Press story on tonight's game. There's a cool note at the bottom about Tom Preissing getting a nice ovation from the Minnesota crowd.

This pretty much says it all: The Kings, down 1-0, went on the power play with 6:16 remaining. Not only did they not score, but Gaborik scored 12 seconds after the penalty expired to give the Wild a two-goal lead. Pretty much the story of the season, don't you think?

Positives? Ersberg was strong again, with 27 saves, and by my count, the penalty-kill unit has now killed 29 of the opponents' last 30 power plays. Negatives? Well, I'm sure you can figure that out... It's the sixth time this season the Kings have been shut out.

I'll post the AP game story when the full version, with quotes, comes over.

Out in Minnesota, the Kings trail the Wild 1-0, on Brian Rolston's goal 14 minutes into the second period. They're in the middle stages of the third period at the moment. At this writing, Ersberg has stopped 27 of 28 shots and Backstrom has stopped all 18. To no surprise, the Kings have killed all three Minnesota power plays but are 0-3 on the PP themselves.

Here's some bonus coverage. Don sent this to me a few days ago and I'm absolutely certain I tried to post it, but I guess the blog demons snatched it. It's timely, since Dustin Brown was credited with his 30th goal after Thursday's game...

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In his fourth season in the NHL, forward Dustin Brown has seen his game rapidly progress, from being a guy who can dish-out some hits to now also hitting the back of the net with regularity. Brown's 29 goals has his tied with Anze Kopitar for he team lead, and his 190 shots on goal is behind only Patrick O'Sullivan.

His steady progress is the result of a few factors.

"It's my fourth year, so experience is a big part of it. I have more confidence coming in, and I'm much more comfortable with my role on the team," he said. "I feel like I'm making little gains within the game, like hitting the net every time with every shot, and that translates in the game."

Still, all things being the same, he'd prefer to be in the playoff hunt.

"We're in this situation (last place) and we have to try and make the best of it," Brown said. "We're not in the playoffs, but these are important games for us to learn and understand this is the type of environment we'll have to play in if we're going to be in the playoffs next year or any year."

One thing a disappointing hockey season can't disrupt is the joy Brown is feeling as a proud papa, as little Jake is now a month old. Brown reports that both Jake and mom - his wife Nicole - are going fine. It's the sleep that could use a little improvement.

"He's good, awesome actually, but you know the whole sleep thing," Brown said. "Last night was actually the first night where we didn't have one of our parents here, so it was our first really long night."

The people have spoken in the L.A. Kings Madness poll, and Mike Krushelnyski has won, although I do believe you should demand Pat Conacher as a write-in candidate. Or Corey Millen or Robb ``Blue Line'' Stauber. But Krush is the official blog candidate, and he needs your support! We're lining up his superdelegates now...

So it's time to vote for Krush. It's going to be hard to get him past Marty McSorley in the first round, but give it a shot!

L.A. Kings Madness

This is the rest of the stuff I got before the Kings went on the road trip. I asked a fairly simple question to both Marc Crawford and Derek Armstrong (as one of the Kings' elder statesmen): Are the Kings angry enough about losing? The question being, is this team accepting losses too easily? Before the season, Lombardi spoke openly about young players ``taking responsibility'' for winning and losing and said it was an important part of developing a winning team. Here's Crawford's thoughts about whether that has been happening:

Crawford said: ``I see guys improving, for sure. Taking ownership? Well, that's a difficult thing. I think they're still very respectful of some of the older people on this team, people like Rob Blake, Thornton, Armstrong and those types of guys, even Jon Klemm and the fact that he has won a Stanley Cup. Even Handzus, some of these older guys that are in our lineup. I think we're still not at the stage where Brown or Kopitar or O'Sullivan or even Cammalleri, and certainly Frolov and Johnson, are coming in and being the voiceful guys in the room. That's not going to happen, to any great degree, right now. I think we're encouraging them to be a little bit more voiceful in the room. We have encouraged them to take ownership of things like our special teams and our rush chances against.

``When players know what's expected of them, then they know what they're going to be given positive and negative reinforcement on. You want that reinforcement, also, coming from your players. We've asked guys like Brown and certainly Cammalleri, and guys who have been here three or four years, to take ownership in those areas. And yes, I do see that improving, but don't expect them to be captain-like right now. I don't think that's fair and I don't think that's respectful of the older guys in the room. They're still the guys that lead this group.''

I followed by asking Crawford if the team has been angry enough about losing:

Crawford said: ``Well, I don't think anger is a real positive emotion, at any stage of time. I know what your point is. Your point is, are guys giving the type of effort that you'd expect in a predicament like we're in? I would say there's room for improvement, obviously, when you don't win. That's the fine line you can't cross. You can't accept losing and you can't give yourself the excuse of, `Well, we're developing and it's not important that we win.' Everything is about winning and we've got to try our darnest, in each and every game, to put forth the effort that allows us to win, and take hold of the little sidebars that are in each game. ... We're challenging individuals and certainly we'll challenge the team.''

Here's what Armstrong had to say about the team's attitude:

Armstrong said. ``We're a young team and we're trying to find our way through the league. Obviously winning is the most important thing, but I think making strides as a team is a big thing right now. The winning is going to come. I don't think anyone is satisfied with losing. You can go around the (dressing) room and ask anyone. We wouldn't have gotten to this level if we were satisfied with losing. You've heard it for a long time, but I think we are making strides as a team. I think that's the most important thing.

``The Detroits, back in the day, the Ducks, they struggled for a long time as well. As a reporter or as a fan, as you sit there and watch us I think you can see the progression, and that's the most important thing. It's like Michael Jordan said about winning: `You don't become a winner until you lose.' But once you start accepting losing, it's no good, but I don't think we're accepting that. I think we're making strides as a team.''

I meant to blog this stuff last week, but got caught up in my time off and the Cloutier mess. It's from Marc Crawford, talking about the Kings' defensive problems and areas that need improvement. It's kind of an insight as to what the coaches are looking for from the players...

Crawford said: ``Our defense, they have to recognize, judging the time and the score and all of the elements that go into the game, when it's not opportune for them to go in and try to join the attack. We've had a couple times, especially in last (week's) game against St. Louis, when we were guilty of trying to manufacture something. And that's a fine line, because you want your guys to be interactive with your forwards but you have to make good decisions. The time and score of the game, and who you're out there against, those are the important elements in making that decision.

``And our backcheck, while it's been a staple of our game, we can shore up on that and we can pick it up. When we're playing well you should see, as a trademark, tremendous back-side pressure. You should see guys just really working hard on the backcheck. ... That's the type of time we have right now. We're not big on defense. We lost some people at the trade deadline and we're young in those positions. We have to give those people as much help as we can. When you look at shoring things up, the one thing you can control is the amount of rush chances you give up. There's going to be mistakes and there's going to be mistakes in coverage down deep in the zone, with a young team, but we're not talking about those. We're talking specifically about how we can eliminate rush chances.''

A good night in Nashville all around for the Kings. Here's the initial Associated Press story...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Alexander Frolov scored two goals and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Thursday night.

Kevin Dallman and Matt Ellis also scored for the Kings, and J.P. Dumont had the lone goal for the Predators.

Neither team scored in the first period when the Predators held an 11-9 shots advantage.

Dumont put the Predators on the board 8:50 into the second period. Alexander Radulov skated down the right side of the slot and fired a shot that bounced off Kings goalie Erik Ersberg to the left. Dumont skated in and shot the rebound in behind Ersberg.

Frolov tied it with 1:17 left in the period during a power play. He skated in from the left side of the slot and put a one-timer low to the right past Dan Ellis.

Dallman gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 5:02 of third period. Standing just inside the blue line, directly in line with the net, he blasted a one-timer past Ellis high to his glove side.

At 10:23 of the third, Lubomir Visnovsky took a shot from above the left circle that was redirected in by Frolov.

Ellis scored an empty-net goal with 1:53 left.

Notes: The Predators outshot the Kings 38-30. ... The first NHL win for Ellis was against Los Angeles in his only game for the Dallas Stars during the 2006-2007 season. The Kings had been held to two goals or fewer in their previous six games. The teams split the four-game season series.

With faceoff looming in Nashville, here's the game preview from Stats LLC:

Our good friend Don Fulton took the time to put together this report on some of the Kings' top prospects in the minors and juniors. It's a real comprehensive look and I thought everyone would enjoy it. Thanks Don!

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Jonathan Bernier (Goalie): The Kings' first round pick (11th overall) in the 2006 draft, Bernier, 19, is currently with the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where he has posted an 18-14 record, with a goals against of 2.75 and save percentage of .907. Bernier was recently named the QMJHL's defensive player of the week. In three starts, Bernier was 2-1, posting a 1.34 GAA and .955 SV% while facing nearly 30 shots per game. Bernier stopped 27 shots in a 3-1 victory over St. John’s on Sunday, and yesterday he made 31 saves in Lewiston's 3-2 win over Halifax.

Brian Boyle (Forward): The Kings selected the 23-year-old Boyle with the 26th pick in the 2003 draft. Viewed by most as an interesting project with potential upside, the organization experimented with the 6-foot-7 forward on defense with their American Hockey League affiliate Manchester Monarchs this season, then just as quickly abandoned the idea and returned him to his natural spot up front on offense. The payoff has been encouraging, as Boyle has 23 goals and 49 points in 57 games with the Monarchs this season, and impressed everyone in his brief time with the Kings in February, netting four goals in eight games before returning to Manchester for the team's playoff run.

Thomas Hickey (Defenseman): The Kings' surprise first round selection in last year's draft (4th overall), Hickey, 19, is currently playing with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League where he has 11 goals and 33 assists in 62 games played. Drafted as much for his leadership qualities as his defensive skills, Hickey is the Thunderbirds' team captain and also skated a regular shift for gold medal-winning Team Canada at this year's World Junior Hockey Championship in January.

Trevor Lewis (Forward): Lewis was a first round selection (17th overall) in the 2006 draft, the pick acquired along with Patrick O'Sullivan in the Pavol Demitra trade with the Minnesota Wild. A late-season call-up for Manchester last year (after compiling 29 goals and 73 points in his first season in the Ontario Hockey League), Lewis has eight goals and 21 points in 60 games with the Monarchs this season. The 21-year-old American is known as a play-maker with excellent instincts, decent speed, and is utilized by the Monarchs on the penalty kill. Lewis returned to the Monarchs' lineup is yesterday's 3-1 victory over Springfield after being a healthy scratch in the previous two games.

Oscar Moller (Forward) - Taken in the second round of the 2007 draft and 52nd overall, the 19-year-old Moller got off to a blazing hot start for the Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL this season and currently has 39 goals and 40 assists in 61 games. He has seven games in which he has scored at least two goals and 24 multiple-point games for the Bruins.

Ted Purcell (Forward): Currently playing for Manchester after signing an entry level contract with the Kings, Purcell, 22, was one of the more sought-after non-drafted players following his lone college season with the University of Maine which saw him net 16 goals and 43 points for the Black Bears. Purcell currently leads the Monarchs in points with 64 (17+47), and had a goal and assist in last night's win over Springfield, which extended his point scoring streak to five games.

Jonathan Quick (Goalie): The 22-year old netminder was the 72nd overall selection taken in the 2005 draft, and is currently seeing duty in net for Manchester following a brief call-up with the Kings and a half season with the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League. With Reading, Quick was 23-11-3 with a 2.79 goals against and .905 save percentage. In nine games with the Monarchs, Quick has four wins, including last night's 22-save performance in the team's 3-1 win over Springfield.

Wayne Simmonds (Forward): Simmonds, a second round selection in last year's draft and #61 overall is currently with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League following a December trade with the Owen Sound Attack. His season essentially split between the two OHL teams, Simmonds, a 6-foot-2, 175-lbs winger has 31 goals and 38 assists in 58 games, and will see post season action with the Hounds, who have clinched a playoff spot. Simmonds, 19, has already endeared himself to Kings fans for his willingness to drop the gloves, including a memorable September preseason scrap against former Anaheim Duck Shane Hnidy.

For those who haven't seen it, the Kings are conducting a March Madness-style competition on their web site, in which fans can vote on the most popular Kings of all time. So, even though I think it's kind of a cool idea, I also thought it would be cool for blog readers to pick a...ahem, darkhorse, and take him all the way to the championship. How great would it be to see Warren Rychel honored?

Here's the link. Voting starts on Saturday, I believe.

L.A. Kings Madness

So who's the official blog ``favorite''?

More from Don...

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Patrick O'Sullivan, on his highlight-reel goal in Monday night's game:

"My buddy Kopi here picked-off the pass and it went to Brownie and then the defenseman broke his stick, so our 3-on-2 basically turned into a 3-on-1. Brownie spotted me and slid the puck across. Luongo is such a big goalie I had to just try and put it somewhere he couldn't get it and luckily it went in."

On the development of his NHL game:

"I've come a long way since last year. I feel I've established myself as someone who's going to have an impact on the game and an important role on this team. A game like last night for me personally was a chance to play in a tense situation and learn from it. These last 11 games will be extremely valuable to us and we are going in to it like it is a playoff race for us."

More notes from our friend Don Fulton...

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As Jack Johnson noted recently, the game is still fun - even on a last-place team - and team captain Rob Blake feels the same.

"As long as I'm playing I'm having fun. There's a lot of stuff around the game that isn't much fun, but once I get in the game and start playing it is absolutely fun," Blake said. "You never want to be in last place that's for sure, so the spirit and energy you see here (at practice) and in the games from this team is from the respect we have for the rest of the league."

Blake indicated that he still favors a return to the Kings next season and perhaps beyond, and sees many reasons to be excited about the future.

"I feel like I want to play another year or maybe a couple," he said. "I'll approach that this summer and I'll train like I always do and then see the options that are there for me. My focus has always been Los Angeles since I returned, and even though I don't like the position that we are in, I still think there are steps that can be taken this summer to really improve this team and take it to another level."

More notes from our friend Don Fulton...

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As Jack Johnson noted recently, the game is still fun - even on a last-place team - and team captain Rob Blake feels the same.

"As long as I'm playing I'm having fun. There's a lot of stuff around the game that isn't much fun, but once I get in the game and start playing it is absolutely fun," Blake said. "You never want to be in last place that's for sure, so the spirit and energy you see here (at practice) and in the games from this team is from the respect we have for the rest of the league."

Blake indicated that he still favors a return to the Kings next season and perhaps beyond, and sees many reasons to be excited about the future.

"I feel like I want to play another year or maybe a couple," he said. "I'll approach that this summer and I'll train like I always do and then see the options that are there for me. My focus has always been Los Angeles since I returned, and even though I don't like the position that we are in, I still think there are steps that can be taken this summer to really improve this team and take it to another level."

I got some more clarification today from the Kings regarding one of Dan Cloutier's accusations, that he and his pregnant wife were essentially forced to stay in a hotel room in Manchester rather than an apartment.

Here's what the Kings say...Cloutier was put in a hotel upon his arrival, and when his wife arrived, they were upgraded to a ``suites hotel.'' After the standard 28-day period, the Kings asked him to stay in the hotel, which they say is ``not out of the norm,'' and then Cloutier was injured. The Kings say Cloutier then decided to move to a different hotel, and the Kings say they aren't sure why. Then finally, they say Cloutier decided to get his own place in Manchester, before he was recalled.

So, that's that. Also, I got an e-mail from Kevin Woodley, who is the contributing editor for a publication called Goalie News magazine. Kevin passed along a story about the situation that he wrote several months ago. I'll attach the article below, but you can check out Goalie News here.

No practice today, since the team is flying to Nashville, but I have some good notes from Don left over from yesterday, so I'll post those throughout the afternoon.

This is the statement from Jeff Moeller, the Kings' senior director of communications, on Dan Cloutier's assertion that the Kings encouraged him to play while hurt:

``We would never put a player's long-term health at risk.''

This is what was written in the Vancouver Sun story: ``(Cloutier) was having hip pain. He volunteered to keep playing because the Kings' other goalie, Mathieu Garon, had a broken finger. Cloutier's pain got worse, but the team insisted initially there was little wrong with him. Knowing his body, Cloutier pushed the issue. Only after a specialist said his career could be in jeopardy, the Kings sent him to Vail for season-ending surgery.''

Dean Lombardi declined the interview request but gave the following statement: ``The Kings take the utmost pride in how our organization treats its players and its staff. Not only do we treat everyone fairly and top-shelf, it is a priority for our organization.''

A team official also sought to clarify some of the accusations made by Cloutier. Specifically...

-- The Vancouver Sun describes the lead-up to Cloutier's hip surgery last year by reporting, ``In pain, Cloutier flew to Colorado in a middle economy-class seat and was lodged by the Kings at a Super-8 Motel about 50 kilometres from the clinic where he was treated daily.''

According to the Kings, Cloutier insisted upon having the surgery as soon as possible, which meant booking flights and a hotel on Jan. 11, 2007 for a Jan. 12, 2007 surgery. That was a holiday weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and there was only one available flight to Vail, Colo. According to the Kings, that was OK with Cloutier. The Comfort Inn in Vail, located 10 miles from the clinic, was the only hotel to have rooms available on three consecutive nights, and the Kings decided to book that rather than have Cloutier change hotels mid-trip. The clinic later found a different hotel for Cloutier and his wife, and the Kings paid for all five nights.

-- The Vancouver Sun describes Cloutier's time in Manchester by reporting, ``Cloutier's wife, Nikki, accompanied her husband to the American League, where they lived in a hotel. They were expecting their first baby in December. As the due date neared, Cloutier asked the Kings to move them into an apartment. The team balked and said the Cloutiers should stay in their hotel. I said: 'I can't, we're expecting a baby here. I don't know if it's a big thing to you guys, but to me it's the most important thing,'" Cloutier said. "Finally, I called the [Players' Association] and they said after 28 days you're entitled to get a place."''

(This has been updated, because of a clarification on a second phone call)... According to the Kings, the Cloutiers stayed in the team-provided hotel room for an undetermined period of time, after which the Kings asked Cloutier ``to continue in that situation'' -- meaning to stay in the hotel rather than get him an apartment. (I'm still awaiting more clarification from the Kings on this part of the story)

I asked for a bit more clarification, particularly in terms of whether Cloutier's hip injury was ever downplayed by anyone in the organization. When I hear back, I'll post it...

More from Don from practice today. Still more to be posted later...

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A full 90-minute practice today before the team departs for road games in Nashville on Thursday and Saturday in Minnesota. Coach Marc Crawford is leaning towards giving starts to both goalies, Dan Cloutier and Erik Ersberg, but would not initially tip his hand on who would get which game.

"We'll probably make that decision on the plane," Crawford quipped, then hinted that Ersberg might get to see the Wild again. "He played well in the last game against them, so maybe will let him see Minnesota again."

A glaring statistic from Monday's loss to Vancouver was the team's woeful performance in face offs. The Kings lost 29 of the 45 draws taken, with Canucks center Ryan Kesler - who victimized the Kings for both Vancouver goals - winning 13 of the 17 face offs he took for a 76% clip.

"It's an area where we've obviously got to get better. When you start with possession it's always better and when you play a team like Vancouver that is a great face off team it's important," Crawford said. "Michal Handzus is an experienced guy and one of the reasons he was brought in here was for his defensive zone prowess and his face off prowess and he's just got to be better."

Handzus lost seven of the 11 face offs he took on Monday.

I have a message in to Dean Lombardi to discuss Cloutier's comments. Don Fulton was out at practice for me today and gives the following report about Cloutier, who didn't speak directly about the Vancouver Sun article. More from practice throughout the afternoon...

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Perhaps appropriately enough, goalie Dan Cloutier got his bell rung near the end of practice by an errant slap shot.

There is no truth to the rumor that this was a planned hit for the goalie's colorful comments about the Kings in the Vancouver Sun article posted earlier.

Cloutier chose to keep the discussion on the positive, and while he was happy with his own personal performance in last night's 2-1 overtime loss to his former team, the Canucks, he was not satisfied with the outcome.

"It was very disappointing, I mean the game was so close and we played such a good game only to lose 2-1," he said. "But to hold the Canucks to shutout hockey for nearly 58 minutes in what was basically a playoff game for them was great and I thought we played them well. It was disappointing, but at the same time we need to build on the positive."

A day removed from his Sun interview, Cloutier was somewhat more critical of himself than the team.

"I think since I've gotten here I've only been 100% for about two weeks and I've been trying to battle though these injuries. That's no excuse, I mean, last year I should have just pulled myself at the first sign of the problem, but at the time Matty Garon was hurt and I tried to do the right thing and obviously it backfired on me," Cloutier said. "This year I'm not where I want to be in terms of my game by any means, but I am getting better every time I get the chance to play."

And to the fans who are his harshest of critics?

"Oh, it's got to be tough on them. I came in here and they expected better things and I expected better things too. I do have to be better. It takes a long time to turn critics around but I think they'll come around if I start putting wins together. That's just the nature and the beauty of sports."

Seems as though many of you have already found it, but the Vancouver Sun published a story today about Dan Cloutier, in which Cloutier does a fairly solid job of ripping the organization for (in his mind, at least) various misdeeds. It's a very interesting read. I have a request in to speak with Dean Lombardi about some of the allegations...

Cloutier caught in a hard reign

We'll have a full report from practice today, a bit later. Just wanted to give a big thanks to Jill Painter, George Foulsham and Don Fulton, who did an amazing job with the blog while I was out having fun in the frigid Midwest. All three of them went above and beyond the call of duty, and thanks to all the readers for making them feel welcome. Don will continue doing some of his great practice reports, and George had so much fun that he has volunteered for more work! Poor guy... Anyway, more later. Is there a need for another ``Open Forum'' session this week?

From contributor Don Fulton:

Defenseman Tom Preissing on his first season in Los Angeles:
"As a whole, I feel I've gotten better as a player this year," he said. "Still, my expectations coming into the year both as a player and team-wise have not been met. I am a lot more comfortable with the puck, and here they give you a little more freedom to make plays and that's an area where I feel I've gotten better."

This is from contributor Don Fulton...

Defenseman Jack Johnson has a refreshing take on the role of spoiler, too.
"We want to be playing against teams who are really trying to compete for something," Johnson said. "It makes the games more fun for us."
Teammate Anze Kopitar agrees.
"These are teams that hopefully we'll be competing for the playoffs, or maybe in the playoffs next season," Kopitar said. "These are the types of games that all the young guys want to play in and get the experience. We know (the Canucks) are trying to stay alive, and I know this is kind of rude to say, but we're going to try and knock them off. We're trying to win games, and who knows, maybe next year we'll be battling them for a playoff spot. Those are the kind of games that you really want to bear down and get excited for."

Again, this is from contributor Don Fulton.

While not exactly a reclamation project at the age of 26, forward Matt Ellis nonetheless feels rejuvenated since being claimed from Detroit on waivers on February 21st. The 6-0, 207-pound forward is getting serious ice time and has provided some added grit and toughness on the penalty kill.
And he's happy to be in Los Angeles.
"It has been a really nice change for me, coming into a locker room full of good character guys, guys with a lot of talent," Ellis said. "They have done a nice job of embracing me and making me feel like a part of things here this late in the season, and it's made the adjustment much easier. I'd been a part of the Red Wings' organization for six years, so really this is that first step outside of that comfort zone and for me it's been a nice change."
And what about the aforementioned grit and toughness?
"It's just something that I've always done," he said. "The way that I play the game I try to leave everything that I have on the ice night in and night out, and some nights will be better than others, but the effort level is going to be there every night."

This is from contributor Don Fulton....

Kopitar on being mentioned in the same breath as Sidney Crosby:
"It doesn't really matter to me. I'm not here to give interviews or be a big shot,'' he said. ``I'm here to play hockey, and even though it's Hollywood here, there's really not the pressure on the young guys like maybe in Toronto."
On the progress of his game, Kopitar said:
"Overall my game has gotten better. I've obviously gotten more experience, and I'm starting to know the league better, but I still have to work hard every night to succeed."

This is from contributor Don Fulton...

The Kings look to continue a trend of playing the Canucks tough, as they are 3-0 against Vancouver this season, and look to sweep the season series for the first time since the days of Mario Lessard and Marcel Dionne.
It is the role of spoiler that the Kings relish at this point in the season, as all 12 remaining games are against teams either on the postsseason bubble or jockeying to improve their playoff seeding.
Count forward Mike Cammalleri as one of many players disappointed by the Kings' season but motivated to perhaps ruin the postseason ambition of other teams.
"Obviously, we are at a point we wish we weren't in - we're not going to be in the playoffs - but at the same time, playing against teams that are, it kind of gives you the extra motivation to go out and beat them," he said.

Dan Cloutier is expected to start tonight against the Canucks, a Kings official said via e-mail.

Brian Willsie is expected to be the only healthy scratch tonight.
Scott Thornton and Ladislav Nagy are still out with injuries.

In the spirit of March Madness, the Kings are launching the ``LA Kings Madness'', in which a bracket of 64 present and former Kings players will go head-to-head for the right to be crowned all-time fan favorite.
The following is the release from the Kings:

Just wanted to let you guys know contributor Don Fulton was at this morning's skate and brings us today's upates, which I'll post in several blog items.

With only 12 games left on the schedule, the Kings prepared Monday morning for tonight's contest against Vancouver with a sense of importance. For a team that has only 59 points in 70 games and currently sits at the bottom of the league standings, the feeling throughout is that these games are very important.

"I would disagree with anyone who would call these games meaningless," Marc Crawford said. "They are meaningful. We get to see from our guys who can raise the level of their game to the level that it needs to be - when the urgency has to be manufactured - and that's quite a quality to be able to do that."

Dustin Brown:
"They're a good team. Their goalie played real well. They got the goals they needed when they needed them.

"We keep giving teams two-goal leads and then we fight to come back."

Goaltender Erik Ersberg:
"Obviously, it's my job to stop the puck and I didn't stop all of them. But you can't get too down on yourself.

"All games are tough games. You just have to play your game. They're a good power play team. It was a pretty hard situation out there.

"I'm just enjoying it being up here."

Coach Marc Crawford:

"They're a team that can score. They're a dangerous club on the rush and on the power play. But if we put the kind of effort in most nights like we had tonight, we're going to come out on top.

"We didn't quite get as strong goaltending as we had the other night. The other night was excellent."

On the Kings goal that was disallowed in the first period:

"That's not the spirit of the law, but that's the breaks. You just have to persevere."

Signing off from Staples Center. Thanks for letting me be your Kings tour guide today.

George

Montreal wins, 5-2. Last goal was an empty-netter by former King Tom Kostopoulos.

Headed to the locker room for a few quotes.

Kings about to start a power play. Can the stage another one of those third-period rallies? They've outshot the Canadiens 32-21 and continue to keep the pressure on Halak. But there's only 8 minutes left.

Moments after Montreal made it 4-1 on a point-blank shot by Andrei Kostitsyn, the Kings responded with a goal by Anze Kopitar, a slap shot after a nice pass by Patrick O'Sullivan. It's Kopitar's 29th goal of the season.

Kings finally break through with a power-play goal by Rob Blake, his 7th goal of the season and the 700th point of his NHL career. It comes on a rebound of a shot by Michael Cammarelli. Kings added a late flurry of shots in the second but the period ends (well, not really) with the score 3-1.

We're in the second intermission, but the period's not over. A pane of glass shattered with 49 seconds left in the second period, so the referees decided to take the break now. They'll finish the second period when the teams come out after this break.

BTW, one of the highlights of the second period was a marriage proposal on the big screen. She said yes.

3-0 after a goal by Guillaume Latendresse. The Habs have 4 shots on goal this period and they've scored on 3.

Nice tip-in by Saku Koivu of the Canadiens on a shot by Mark Streit. Not much Ersberg could do on that power play goal. It comes less than two minutes after the first goal.

Moments after Kings goaltender Erik Ersberg made a great save on a shot from the left circle, Montreal's Patrice Brisebois scored on the rebound -- with a long slapshot from the right point. Unassisted. 1-0 Montreal in the second period. Ends a lengthy scoreless streak for Ersberg.

Despite the disallowed goal, an impressive first period for the Kings. Shots on goal were 10-10 but the Kings had far more quality scoring chances. And birthday boy Erik Ersberg was solid, with a couple of good saves. Is this really first against last? Kings hanging tough.

On the Preissing goal that was disallowed, the referee ruled that Calder was impeding the movement of Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak in the crease. Replays clearly showed that was not the case.

Looked like the Kings had taken a 1-0 lead after a power play goal by Tom Preissing on a nice rebound, but the ref wiped it out saying that Kyle Calder was in the crease. Was hard to tell from the replay if Calder was in or had just stepped out as Preissing shot.

Not dressing for the game this afternoon:

Defenseman Jon Klemm
Left wing Scott Thornton
And, of course, Jason Labarbera, who's out for the rest of the season.

There are a LOT of Habs fans here today. Montreal jerseys everywhere.

This is George Foulsham, a Kings blog rookie, reporting from Staples Center where the Kings go for two wins in a row today over another Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Montreal Canadiens. LA is coming off an impressive 2-0 win over Ottawa on Thursday night.

That victory featured the first-ever win (and first NHL shutout) by Kings rookie goaltender Erik Ersberg, who has been impressive in his first few appearances in net. He'll start again today.

Today's game matches a couple of strangers, so not sure what to expect. Montreal, which is tied for first place with Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference, and the Kings haven't faced each other since 2005 and haven't played in Los Angeles for four years. The Kings are dead last in the NHL with 59 points, but could move ahead of Tampa Bay with a win here today.

I'll try to provide updates during the game, but remember, I'm an editor who hasn't written a sports story in 30 years. So be kind.

Erik Ersberg celebrates his 26th birthday today with another start in net when the Kings plays Montreal.

So how did Erik Ersberg celebrate his first NHL win? He said he went home and had a bite to eat. He didn't even watch highlights of the game on television.

Marc Crawford holding Ottawa to one rush opportunity:
``We gave up one good rush chance. That’s pretty good, if you can keep a good rush team down to one great rush. They had a couple from the outside, but those we expect our goaltenders to have. You can never stop a team outright. At least I haven’t seen anybody do it. We were pleased with how we played. We’ll have to continue to play like that if we hope to be successful from Montreal.’’

As Marc Crawford makes clear, rookie Erik Ersberg won't have the pressure of being a No. 1 goaltender for ``a long ways.''

``Right now, we’ve talked to Erik and said enjoy what’s happening right now,'' Crawford said. ``Come with a real strong work ethic, don’t take anything for granted and play as well as you can. I think that’s a pretty good way for a goaltender to be. He’s a long ways away from being a guy that should wrestle with the burden of being a No. 1 goalie on a good team. First of all, we’re not a good team yet. Second of all, he hasn’t put enough of a body of work together to get that distinction. That’s no slight on him. We like what we see. He’s got some great characteristics. Of all the goalies we’ve had of the young variety, he shows the most promise right now. We were talking as coaches and we said this is the same feeling we got with (Jonathan Bernier) at the start of the year. Very efficient in their movement and very efficient in saves and execution they go through. As far as the other things that make goalies great, it’s experience and knowing and having a book on people, and he definitely doesn’t have that yet, nor should he be expected to.’’

I asked Marc Crawford if he wanted Ersberg to use this stretch to make a case for himself for next season.
``I just want him to play well. I don’t’ want any excess pressure. We don’t want to lead anyone into believing it’s do or die for the young Erik Ersberg. He’s a good, young goaltender. He’s shown a nice ability to take a nice step this year. He took a step from the American League level getting used to North American hockey and how more many shots there are and how people will throw pucks at the net and play more of a direct attack as opposed to a controlled attack in Europe. He’s shown that adjustment and came here and practice hard. He’s been given an opportunity, and he’s really stepped forward. In talking with him, he thinks it’s easier to play here than in the American League, because what happens is logical. When I was young, I used to think life was so logical.''

Here is Marc Crawford's response to a seemingly more lively practice Friday morning, but that's not a surprise since the Kings snapped a five-game losing skid the night before with a 2-0 win over Ottawa. Also, Erik Ersberg will start Saturday against Montreal.

``You could see there was a little more life,'' Crawford said. ``Victories do that for you. That’s why it’s so nice to get them and build upon them. We did it in the right way, I thought. We did keep the rush chances down. We wanted to keep our rush chances down. That’s what we felt we did such a good job of. It’s going to be a great challenge for us tomorrow. Arguably, we’ll be playing a team (Montreal) with even more speed and even more dynamic rushing attack. They’ve got the supplemental kind of defensemen that are extremely creative, not that Ottawa’s weren’t creative, but I think they take it to another degree. That always poses an extra challenge for your club. We’re playing with a little extra confidence right now. You always like to play with confidence, and Ersberg is at the top of his game, even thought he’s only a young goaltender. He’s seeing the puck quite well. We’re going to give him the opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the East tomorrow.’’

Goalie Erik Ersberg got his first NHL victory tonight, two days before his 26th birthday. He had one of the best performances in the NHL with 40 saves in a 2-0 win over Ottawa. He's listed as one of the top performers by ESPN, but what's funny is they don't even have a picture of him, so there's a blank face with ''no photo'' on it.
What did you guys think of Ersberg's performance?

The Kings were ravaged by injuries in goal this year. Asked if he needed to make a statement with the Kings now, Erik Ersberg said:
``There were many goalies here, but when you get your chance you have to take it, so to speak. I have to try to do my best while I’m here. I just have to play my game. I can’t change anything just because I’m here. I’m not going to help them if I change too much at this point.’’

Last year, defenseman Tom Preissing played for Ottawa in the Stanley Cup finals, which the Ducks won. Preissing will play against his former team tonight and said he hasn't thought much about the Stanley Cup playoffs recently but that he'll probably do so when he's sitting at home watching the playoffs.
``Obviously, you were that close to something you’ve dreamt about since you were a little kid,’’ Preissing said. ``It was very exciting and very difficult. It was an invaluable experience. It was an experience I’d hoped to bring to the team this year, but obviously that’s not going to happen because we’re not going to make the playoffs. I hope that’s something we’ll do in the future.’’

Erik Ersberg will make another start for the Kings in goal tonight. Ersberg is winless in three starts, but he's played well for the Kings, who are 0-1-2 with him in the net.
``We’ll give him another opportunity tonight,'' Crawford said. ``He’s played well enough that he should have a victory by now. He hasn’t gotten one, but as we said to him, just keep doing the things you’re doing. He plays his angles very well. He’s a very good skater. He sucks rebounds and shots into him and doesn’t spread a lot of pucks out. We found it’s been easier for our defensemen to play. We’ve done a decent job of keeping the opposition to the perimeter and not giving up a lot of second and third chances. A big part of that is incumbent on the goaltender not to spray his rebounds. That’s the biggest area we see that he’s got a high level at. He looks like he’s very comfortable in the net. We said to him, `Just keep trying to find ways to make that one extra save so we can turn these one-goal defeats into a chance to get us to overtime or maybe the difference in the game.' ’’

Here's Marc Crawford on Ottawa, which is second in the Northeast Division but has gone 3-5-2 in its last 10 games. Of course, the Kings are in a similar slide with a 2-6-2 record over the last 10 games and five consecutive losses. His comments on Ottawa were brief, as he quickly turned his focus toward the Kings and how much they need a win.

``In their mind, they’re the team most people picked to win the East at the start of the year. They struggled a little bit and at Christmas, made the coaching change. I think they’re a team that’s sorting through some issues right now. That’s of little concern to us. We’ve got to find a way to sort through our own issues. We played decent hockey as of late, but we haven’t gotten any victories. This game is about finding a way, at the end of the day, to get your team a victory. We’ll have to be at our best tonight to beat a very determined Ottawa team. They’ve come out West and lost to Anaheim, lost in overtime to San Jose, so you know they’ll be quite an ornery bunch. For our guys, (it’s about) recognizing they’re playing against the top Canadian team and recognition that comes from playing against top teams, that’s some of the motivation. We talked yesterday about the amount of chances we give teams off the rush, that’s going to be one of the things we concentrate on for tonight.’’

Greetings Kings fans. This is Jill Painter, and I'll provide you with Kings information today and tomorrow. It's been a while, but I've covered the Kings in the past, and it was nice to be back at the rink this morning.
Derek Armstrong, who had a sprained left knee, will be back in the lineup against Ottawa tonight, Marc Crawford said. Armstrong went through the morning skate and said he felt fine, though it will be tough to play in a game after not praciting for a couple of weeks. He worked out at the Kings practice facility in El Segundo while the team was on a roadtrip.
``He'll come back in the lineup tonight,'' Crawford said. ``It looks like he'll be ready to play. It's been physical, and he's been banged around the last couple of days and tested his knee out. It'll be nice to have Army and his energy back in the lineup. It's another skill player. We've been just short of skill. We haven't been short on hard work. We haven't been short of determination. The skill element, you can have another person that can play on the power play and maybe find a way to make a play at the opportune time. We're quite confident Derek will give us more of that tonight.''
Crawford figured Armstrong could play his usual number of shifts, depending on how well he was playing.
Will post more Crawford comments and tidbits today.

Columnist Steve Dilbeck says yes, it's time for the Kings to get new ownership. See what Steve has to say here...

It's time for Kings' owner to pass puck

Hey all...I'm heading out of town for a few days, for a vacation that was scheduled well before I knew I was going to be jumping back into things here. I'll be back next week and I've done my very best to line up some coverage over the next few days, as well as add some people I'm very excited about.

Jill Painter, who has done some excellent hockey writing for us in the past, has graciously volunteered her free time to cover practices Thursday and Friday mornings. She didn't have to, and I really appreciate it. Justin Frank, who also knows his hockey, will cover Monday's game on his own time, which is also very much appreciated.

Our assistant managing editor(!), a great guy named George Foulsham, will cover Saturday's game. George has a long, distinguished background in journalism and, in addition to being one of the most valuable members of our paper's management, is a big hockey fan and a guy I've greatly enjoyed getting to know in the last couple months. George has also volunteered, on his day off, to cover the game, which is tremendous.

So is the fact that Don Fulton, who has backgrounds working in both journalism and hockey, has volunteered his services to cover any practices I might need help with. Don is making a tremendous effort and is volunteering to escape his day job for an hour or so every now and then, just to help me.

Anyway, all of this is probably more than you care to know, but I just wanted to express my appreciation to these folks and let you know that I'm doing what I can to maintain a high level of coverage here. There will be bumps in the road, and if you want to send me angry e-mails about it, I'll understand, but please recognize that these people are all making great contributions to keep this going strong.

Here's what Erik Ersberg had to say about his big road trip, which included the first two starts of his NHL career. Ersberg stopped 61 of 66 shots in losses to Minnesota and St. Louis...

``First of all, it was a great experience to start some games and play some games up here. It was really fun. We didn't get too many points though, but I think I played OK.''

I asked Ersberg how playing NHL games differed from his expectations...

``It was actually kind of what I thought it would be. It's a fast game, really fast, compared to the minors and where I've been before this year. It's a little more structured and there are obviously better players. But I think it's a little easier to read what's going to happen because there's not so many broken plays. Some parts of it are almost easier up here.''

I asked Ersberg if it helped to watch games from the bench, and also to make a couple ``relief appearances,'' before he was out there on his own starting games...

``Every time you're on the bench, you try to watch and see what's going on out there and maybe pick up a thing or two. So I'm sure it helped me a little bit.''

Finally, I asked Ersberg about his rebound control, one area in which he received a lot of praise. I asked him if that was something he prided himself on, or if he's been working on it...

``It's something I've worked a lot on this year down in Manchester with the goalie coaches. It's an important part of the game. If you can do that well, you're going to help your `D' a lot and make them not have to take such long shifts sometimes.

As previously reported, Jason LaBarbera had surgery this morning to repair a sports hernia and will miss the rest of the season. Here's what Marc Crawford had to say about the injury, which had been called a ``groin strain.''

``We had feared that that was the case,'' Crawford said of the sports-hernia diagnosis. ``It's unfortunate. He's had a decent season for us. I think he's proved that he's a capable NHL goaltender and obviously he played the bulk of the time for us. So, it's a tough injury but on the positive side, it allows him to have a long period of recovery and hopefully he'll be ready to start fresh at the start of next season.''

That leaves the Kings with Erik Ersberg and Dan Cloutier, and Crawford indicated that Ersberg might get the majority of the work over the last 14 games.

``I think what we're doing now is, we're just saying that Ersberg has played well and we'll keep going with Erik and see if he can continue to play strong. He obviously isn't tired or anything like that.Dan, I think, came in here and he had no pressure on him, with Jason being the No. 1 goalie. I thought he performed well. Since he became the guy, so to speak... maybe we can lessen that burden on him. Both of them just have to go out and play.

``Obviously we're in a situation, quite obviously, where we're looking right now and we're seeing where these players are at. It's exciting that Erik Ersberg is young and looks like he's got a little something, much like it was exciting at the start of the season when we had had a young goaltender, Bernier, come in and show that he had something that you could look forward to. (Ersberg) is going to get a chance to play right now, and we're excited for him and I think our guys have focused in, even that much more. When you've got a young defense and you've got a young goaltender, that's the type of situation where your forwards have to take ownership of the defensive part of the game. We've got to be defending as a group of six back there and making sure that we limit chances.''

I'll have some stuff from Ersberg a bit later...

Kings goalie Jason LaBarbera had surgery this morning to repair a sports hernia and will be out for the rest of this season, Marc Crawford said after practice today. Crawford indicated that Erik Ersberg will get the lion's share of the work for the rest of this season, based both on Ersberg's strong efforts in his last two starts and the Kings' desire to get a better look at him going forward.

A very light day at practice today. Just Cloutier, Klemm, Armstrong and Ivanans skating, with the rest of the guys over at a nearby soccer field, doing some creative conditioning stuff. Armstrong said he will try to skate tomorrow morning and hopes to be able to play tomorrow night.

I'll have a full report later this afternoon

I'll attach the Associated Press game story. Not much of importance in terms of notes and quotes, other than this from Marc Crawford, apparently in reference to the fact that the Blues weren't called for a penalty until the final two minutes of the game:

"It was very spirited. You knew it was going to be a tight game," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "And it was a very tight game. But they got the breaks from the officials tonight on the calls, and that ended up being the difference in the game. We had that power play right at the very end of the game. I thought that our guys battled hard tonight, and they had six good chances in the third period. Unfortunately, we couldn't solve their goalie in the third period."

The AP game story follows. Thanks to the graciousness of our sports editor, I'll be out at practice (noon start scheduled) tomorrow and will have a full report in the afternoon.

It's a final from St. Louis. A fairly wild ending, with 16 minutes' worth of penalties in the final minute, including a Brown-Brewer fight. All told, the Kings pulled their goalie and had a 5-on-3 advantage in the end, but couldn't really put a good scoring chance on Manny Legace. Somewhat amazingly, the Blues were not whistled for a penalty until 2:09 remained in the game. The Kings killed all three St. Louis power plays and Erik Ersberg stopped 28 of 31 shots. Alexander Frolov scored in the first period and Dustin Brown scored in the second period to give the Kings a 2-1 lead. Johnson scored the game winner with 6:54 remaining in the third. The Kings remain in the NHL cellar, which they could have escaped with a victory tonight, since Tampa Bay lost.

A few more notes and quotes to follow later on...

Bernie Miklasz wrote a column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch yesterday about how things are getting a bit rough for Andy Murray in St. Louis. I thought it would be interesting reading and a chance for people to compare/contrast the way things went with Murray in L.A., especially near the end...

Scoring drought is putting heat on Murray, others who run Blues

They'll be facing off in St. Louis in a few minutes. I won't be available to live blog, as I'll be listening to Nick and Daryl on my 90-minute commute home and watching the game on Tivo later. I'll post the usual notes and quotes after the game. For now, you're welcome to comment on this post and use it as a live-game thread.

Oh, and thanks for the response on the ``open forum.'' I had fun with it. We'll do another round of questions/answers next week.

This should be the last of them...

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``Exactly how many picks and where do we have in this year's draft? Is the first pick still decided by the balls?''

First of all, yes, the first pick is still done by lottery, weighted by where the teams finish. And here's what I have, in terms of the Kings' picks. Hopefully I didn't miss any... (thanks for the corrections):
FIRST ROUND: Kings' own pick plus Dallas' pick (Norstrom trade).
SECOND ROUND: Kings' own pick but Calgary's pick (Conroy trade) plus Detroit's pick (Stuart trade).
THIRD ROUND: Kings' own pick plus Philadelphia's pick (Modry trade) plus a conditional pick (for not signing Jan Marek).
FOURTH ROUND: Tampa Bay's pick (Munce trade) plus Vancouver's pick (Sopel trade). The Kings traded their fourth-round pick to Washington.
FIFTH ROUDN: Kings' own pick.
SIXTH ROUND: Kings' own pick, plus Dallas' pick (Evgeny Federov trade).
SEVENTH ROUND: Kings' own pick plus Anaheim's pick (Aubin trade).

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``I think Cammy is an outstanding player, and I would very much like him to stay in the Kings. But I also agree with you other guys that Kings have to give up something in return for a defensman. We have many young talents, maybe too many, why cant we give up one of them? We have tons of talented forwards. What are your thoughts Rich?''

This is quite possible to happen if two factors fall into place: one, the Kings don't sign a big-name free agent, and two, contract talks with Cammalleri go nowhere fast. I think it's unreasonable to expect that all of the Kings' young forwards will stay with the team long-term, and given the lack of depth on defense, it's probably unwise to have such a wealth of talent in one area when they lack talent in another. It then becomes a question of making sure they don't trade the wrong forward. Based on a combination of factors, I think Cammalleri is a more likely trade target than Kopitar, Brown, O'Sullivan or Frolov.

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``What is the situation with LaBarbara's contract for next season? Is he RFA? Also, to pick up on Eric's point about the captaincy....what about the possibility of Kopitar being the next captain of the Kings? I would assume if Blake is back, which I hope he is, he would remain the captain, but just wondering what your feeling is about Kopitar? How is he viewed in the locker room?''

LaBarbera has one more season left on his contract, with a salary-cap hit of $825,000. If Blake doesn't come back, I think the captaincy is a really dicey question. There's no obvious choice. In the past, I would have said Armstrong, but Crawford didn't even make him an assistant captain this season. Cammalleri might step into the role, but with his contract situation lingering, I'm not sure if that's the best decision. Among the young players, Jack Johnson has shown the most leadership ability so far, but he would only be a second-year player. There's nothing particularly wrong with Kopitar, but he still defers a little bit, in terms of being a vocal leader. In a few years, he might grow into the role.

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``I was wondering on the status of Purcell's contract. I thought if you played 10 games or more you loose a year of arbitration? Can you clarify his situation, and the plans for him in the future in this organization.''

I don't know the CBA, page-for-page, but I'm not aware of any 10-game rule for rookies. As far as I know, it's only junior players to whom that rule applies. If I'm wrong on that, someone please correct me.

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``What song did hall of famer Bob Miller sing at that Nashville honky-tonk bar? ...or did he swore you to secrecy? ..and did Foxy back him up?''

Ha! I couldn't remember the country song to save my life. Most of them sound the same to me anyway. But it was at Tootsie's, a favorite of Bob and legendary Kings trainer Pete Demers, among others. I think Jim Fox was trying to find the nearest Jamba Juice.

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``I'm curious as to the franchise's cap situation. With various media outlets predicting that the cap will rise to approximately $54mil, what is the franchise's current cap number for '08-'09? How many players are under a one-way contract for the next season, or how many of the players combined are anticipated to be on the roster come opening night? Given the past few years, what is the organizational "temperature" for possible free agent acquisitions this summer...or does the organization feel youth would better be served by staying in house for the start of the year (leaving a larger amount of cap space for the next deadline for a possible acquisition of a "remaining piece")?''

As far as contracts and cap numbers, I would refer you to www.nhlscap.com, which is unofficial but seems to do a great job of compiling contract information. As far as the ``temperature'' this summer, the Kings stand to lose at least three NHL-caliber forwards (Thornton, Willsie and Nagy) and ``two'' NHL-caliber defensemen (Blake and Klemm/Dallman). I think the temperature will be pretty similar to what it was last summer, with perhaps a little more willingness to be big spenders on the free-agent market, since the team is (presumably) getting closer to where Lombardi wants it to be.

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``Why is it that Lauri Tukonen gets consistently passed over for NHL looks? He's been up a couple times, but has never really had a long-term shot with the Kings. Have they given up on him, or does the Lombardi regime discount him as an NHL contributor?''

Over the last three years, Tukonen has 33 goals and 57 assists in 167 AHL games. Plus, there have been questions about his work ethic in the past. That's a bad combination, and doesn't speak well to Tukonen's future with the Kings.

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``Do you think Crawford is likely to be retained? It seems there is an awfully long leash with him. What positives does DL see that keep his faith in him?''

Yes, I think Crawford will be retained. If Lombardi was looking to get rid of him, it would have happened in December, or some time when the season clearly was heading into the dumpster. But I think the leash gets CONSIDERABLY shorter next season. I haven't asked Lombardi specifically what he sees in Crawford, but I presume it's the same things he saw when he hired him.

The next round...

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``Does management, coaching staff or players know about the blog?''

Yes, I've endured a moderate amount of ribbing from Dean Lombardi about being a blogger. The Kings' communications department includes our blog entries among its daily clips, so coaches and players at least have the possibility of being aware. I'm sure I've mentioned it to a player or two.

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``My question to Rich then is do you see the draft picks we've stocked this year and maybe a roster player being moved in a deal for a goalie? Do you think Cammy could be that roster guy?''

I know a lot of fans are hungry for the Kings to trade for an established, quality, No. 1 goalie, but my question to you is, ``Who?'' Which team, at this point, is just dying to trade its superstar goalie to the Kings? None that I can think of. I believe that Lombardi's philosophy will remain the same when it comes to trading for a goalie. If a great offer comes along, he will jump on it, but he's not going to panic and give up a first-round pick for just an above-average goalie. The Kings think they (finally) have the answer in Bernier. At this point, I don't think they're going to do anything ``bold'' in terms of goalies. I know that disappoints a lot of people.

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``What will bother me the most is if we retire (Rob Blake's) name and number up in the rafters with the other 5 King greats. Frankly, he isn't even in their league. Do you think the goal of the organization is to do this? What percent would you give it and would the organization realize that a ton of fans would be outraged by this?''

Yes, I absolutely expect the Kings to retire Rob Blake's number, unless there's (another) major falling out, just as I would expect the Lakers to retire Shaquille O'Neal's jersey in a few years. I wrote a column for the newspaper on this subject a couple weeks ago. The Kings organization is absolutely aware that Blake isn't completely beloved by the fans, but I don't think that will impact their decision. But where is Butch Goring's number?

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``I'm curious as to ownership issues with AEG. They recently sold a large share of their Houston Dynamo soccer team. Have you heard any rumblings about their ownership of the Kings?''

No, and I don't except to. AEG is selling off soccer teams because at one point, it owned a ridiculous percentage of the MLS league. AEG's deal, owning the Kings and Staples Center, is too cushy to give up.

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``When (not if) Blake re-signs with us next year, what should the ceiling be set at? I was thinking 3 million max. Thoughts.''

Yes, I think somewhere in the $2.5-million range would be in line.

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``What's your take on the locker room chemistry? Do they all seem to get along? Is it old guys vs young guys? Point producers vs non point producers?''

Regardless of how it is now, it will never be as bad as it was with Sean Avery. I know most fans loved him, but he was a loud, divisive figure in the locker room. You'll never see a team with 20-some guys who all adore each other equally, but in general I think the Kings have pretty good chemistry. The younger guys, such as Cammalleri, Johnson and Kopitar, are showing leadership but are still respectful of the older players. It's a fairly low-key room, which contributes to good chemistry, but it's also a bit of a cause for concern, since I think the organization would like to see a little more ``fire'' in the room.

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``Since Reading is not going to be affiliated with the Kings next year, where does that leave Manchester?''

In the same place, at least for the time being. AEG still owns the Monarchs, and they're the Kings' top minor-league affiliate. The Kings would like to have an AHL team on the West Coast, but right now there are none. That's the goal, but until the AHL decides to come out West, Manchester will remain as the Kings' top affiliate.

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``Will we be seeing you at practices again? Will you be covering the Kings on a daily basis?''

This is something I'm trying to figure out at this very moment. I'm trying to put together a strong coalition of people who can contribute to the blog for the next month. They all have backgrounds in hockey and love the sport, so I'm excited about what they can contribute. During the summer, in terms of the draft and free agency, I plan to be doing the majority of the coverage on the blog.

It's Erik Ersberg getting the start, most likely. I'm told Crawford and Ranford gave him good reviews for his effort against Minnesota, and barring a last-minute switch-up, it will be Ersberg in goal tonight against St. Louis.

The forum answers will continue in a little while. I figure there's about 15 more questions to answer.

The second group of questions/answers:

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``Have they started contract talks with O'Sullivan, JJ and Kopitar? What's your opinion on what DL will do if they get the #1 pick overall?''

If they have with Johnson and Kopitar, they aren't serious discussions just yet. O'Sullivan is a RFA this summer, so there's a bit more urgency there, but I think at this point the Kings probably value him more than most teams would, so there's a good chance of getting a deal done. If the Kings get the No. 1 pick, and don't take Stamkos, they'll be lambasted for years. If they get the top pick, they're taking him.

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``Rich, what do you think DL will do to address the goaltending ? Keep Cloutier and LaBarabar up ? Or send one or both of them down to Manchester ? Similarly, how will the defense be addressed ? Is it really that hard to get Free Agents to sign in LA ?''

If we're talking about next year's goaltending, I think Bernier, LaBarbera and Ersberg (assuming he comes back) will be the top three candidates. I think they'll be eager to see how Zatkoff looks at the development camp this summer, and Quick and Taylor really need to open some eyes in the organization quickly. Lombardi absolutely has to address the defense this summer. Right now, Visnovsky, Johnson and Preissing are in the fold. Harrold can fill a role. Lombardi should be making it his goal to find at least one solid defenseman who is in his prime. It's harder to get players to come to L.A. than it used to be. The team isn't winning, and with the salary cap in place, and their ability to make huge money restricted, players will sign where they have a chance to win.

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``Is there any word anywhere that you know of that the NHL will finally go back to home white Jerseys? ... I also read at CBS Sportline a while back that Pavol Demitra intends to re-sign with the Kings in the offseason which makes sense because he signed a 3-year deal and wanted to stay. Know anything about that.''

No word on a return to white home jerseys. I wouldn't be stunned to see Demitra come back to the Kings, but I think it's a stretch to say it's a done deal. Ideally, though, I don't know if he's a top-six forward on the Kings, so I don't know if the fit is correct. It would certainly make Visnovsky happy. They're close friends.

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``Earlier this year the Kings signed Wayne Simmonds to a contract but he isn't playing for Manchester. Is this because he is ineligible due to age or his commitment to his junior team? Are they burning a year off of his entry level contract or does it kick in once he dons a Kings/Monarchs jersey? If this is the norm, why the wait for Oscar Moller or Thomas Hickey?''

Simmonds was ineligible to play in Manchester this year because of his age and isn't close to being NHL-ready yet, so that's why he went back to his junior team this season. They are not burning a year off his entry-level contract this season. The exact same scenario plays out with Hickey and Moller.

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``Any word on whether Petiot will get a call up or have they already decided to let him walk after the season?''

I think we've passed the point where Petiot is considered a major part of the Kings' future. Not saying he won't be back, but it's not exactly a priority. I suppose he would get called up if someone got hurt.

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``How do you see the Kings goaltending shaping up for the future? Will we see Bernier again this year? What about Zatkoff? Manchester next year? Do you see him and Bernier fighting it out for the No.1 job? Also, as deep as this draft is this year how do you see the Kings drafting? We have a ton of picks, however it appears the top player is Stamkos. The conventional wisdom is to pick the best player available. Is it still possible to pick Stamkos and fill the defensive needs with the other high draft picks? Your thoughts on what direction DL may take.''

I think the goaltending question has pretty much been answered, but you won't see Bernier again this year and if I was a betting man, I would think Manchester is the most likely destination for Zatkoff next season. I don't see Bernier and Zatkoff fighting it out next season. Two years from now? Maybe. And as I said earlier, Stamkos is the clear-cut No. 1 pick. It looks as though the Kings' second first-round pick (from Dallas) will be very low, so they might be a good spot to pick up a defenseman.

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``Word on the street is Labs is out for the rest of the season. Any chance you could find out whats going on with that?''

More than any other injury, groin injuries are impossible to predict. They can range anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, so it's constantly a day-to-day thing. At this point, there's little need to rush him back into action.

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``What I'd like to know is what the Kings think of Handzus, Calder, & Armstrong, and whether they'd consider moving them in the offseason?''

I know other people have a higher opinion of Handzus' game than I do, but I think all three of these guys fit into the same category. They all have salaries that are fairly bloated, and they're not the dynamic type of players who are going to be heavily sought on the trade market. Would the Kings consider moving them? Sure...any player, except the young stars, is on the table at this point.

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``Rich, How do you see the future of the newspaper industry? Do you think they will have move to 100% online content or maybe morph into something else, or do you think they can survive reporting on yesterday's news? Where is this all headed?''

The million-dollar questions, right? There will always be a market for a newspaper that you can hold and carry with you, but the only newspapers that will thrive are the ones who can find the proper mix or print and online content and find a way to make it all profitable. Right now, everyone's hearts are all aflutter about online content, but nobody has figured out how to make it profitable. If they do that, we'll be OK. If not, I'll be asking you if you want a bagel or muffin with your latte. We have to give people things they can't get on TV or online. That means intelligent commentary, solid reporting and breaking news. There will always be a market for trained, experienced, credible journalists. We just have to reinvent ourselves a little.

Here we go, just taking them in order posted. I'll try to answer about 10 at a time or so. For the most part, questions that pertain to the draft and free agency should be handled by Lombardi, and I'll be trying to set up a Q&A with him in the near future...

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``What in the world do you think DL may do with all those draft picks? If we finish last, do you think he'll pick twice in the first round or maybe wheel and deal some?''

If there's one thing we know about Dean Lombardi, it's that he loves his draft picks. Can't get enough of them. That said, I would not be surprised to see him deal one or more of them, if it meant getting a player (particularly a defenseman) in his prime. Getting the Dallas first-round pick in 2008, rather than 2007, backfired, because the Stars have been so strong. There's no way he will trade the top pick, but anything else could be in play.

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``I would like to know, how realistic is it to expect Bernier to be the No. 1 goalie next season? Or is Ersberg the more immediate future? Or should the Kings go out and sign or trade for a No. 1 goaltender?''

Is it realistic for Bernier to be the No. 1 goalie? Sure. Is it realistic to expect him to play 65-70 games? Probably not. If Bernier is going to stick with the NHL team next season, the Kings will need to find a solid, 1A caliber guy who can help. That's probably Jason LaBarbera, but I'll also be curious to see how Ersberg looks over these last 15 games. The thinking going into this season was that Ersberg would need a year of North American seasoning and be NHL-ready in 2008-09. That could end up being the case. We'll see.

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``what is the kings plan for the rest of the season? since they sent all their young talent back to Manchester, I guess they believe they are better served down there than at the NHL level? can they not stay up here, then go beck to the AHL once the NHL season is over? What are they planning on doing with Cloutier? He obviously is not NHL material anymore and cant even play well in the minors, can they just cut him?''

The Kings' plan for the rest of the season is exactly what it was 12 months ago. Play out the string, without hope of making the playoffs, and get the word out to all the players: you're playing for a spot on next year's team. That's where the motivation comes from. I wouldn't say ``all'' of the young talent has been sent to Manchester, but Lombardi has a very specific theory about young players. He doesn't want them to be overwhelmed in the NHL and have their development stunted. Personally, I think he goes overboard on that at times, but that's what he thinks is correct. I don't think you'll see Dan Cloutier in a Kings uniform next season. A buyout is possible, or he might choose to play overseas, as Oleg Tverdovsky did.

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``Do you think Cammalleri will be traded, either by Draft Day or by next the Trade Deadline? Do the Kings feel Brian Boyle has solidified a roster spot for himself next fall? I have been impressed with Matt Ellis thus far, not necessarily by his skill but by his work ethic. How does Lombardi feel about him? Is he an option next season?''

If the Kings don't sign Cammalleri to an extension this summer, I would not be surprised, at all, if he got traded. The first choice is to keep him, but as everyone saw last summer, contract negotiations with Cammalleri and his agent are not going to be easy. I wouldn't say Brian Boyle has ``solidified'' a roster spot. Not at all. I do think he will get every chance to earn a spot in training camp. I haven't talked to Lombardi about Matt Ellis, but he does seem to have the potential to fill an ``energy line'' role nicely.

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``What are the plans for Brenier after QMJHL wraps up? Manchester? Is there, was there, concern of Bernier's average numbers in the Q this year? Who are the worthy UFA goaltenders expected to be available this year? What are the plans for NCAA standout Goalie Jeff Zatkoff? Let him finish out his senior year or sign him to play in Manchester next year?''

Unless Lewiston gets eliminated early in the QMJHL playoffs, it's pretty unlikely that Bernier will end up in Manchester. In fact, I don't believe the Kings are planning to see Bernier in a Monarchs jersey this season. There was definitely concern about Bernier, but more about his mental state than his physical game. The Kings seemed resigned to the fact that Bernier would slump a little when he first got sent back to junior, but that period seems to have passed and they think he will be fine. Theodore and Huet are probably shaping up to be the top free-agent goalies. And I suppose there's a chance Zatkoff could sign and end up in Manchester, but I doubt it. There's a lot of goalies in the system and, before anything can happen, he actually has to sign.

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``After watching alot of these games this year, what department is the most to blame for this abysmal season. Forwards, defense, goaltending, the defensive effort of the forwards perhaps? Thanks.''

If we're talking purely about players, I would say the order of blame goes defensemen, goalies and forwards. As you mentioned, the defensive effort of forwards has been an issue at times as well. Injuries contributed, somewhat, to the goaltending issues.

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``Why are the Kings calling up Jon Klemm, when there are so many kids in Manchester that can use NHL experience?''

In part, it goes back to Lombardi's philosophy about not using players in the NHL until they're ready. He doesn't want players to be overwhelmed, or develop bad habits, before they're ready to play in the league. The chicken-egg argument is, ``Players can't be experienced until they get...experience,'' but that's a fine line that Lombardi and Crawford have to toe.

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``Why is Cloutier still playing? At his best he was never good enough to get this many chances. Why should Ersberg not play the last 15 games to see what he could do especially since the kings have a tough remaining schedule.''

Good questions! He's playing now because LaBarbera is hurt and they didn't know what they would get from Ersberg. Ersberg's first game was great, but it was only one game. We'll see how his next couple games go. If LaBarbera doesn't come back, I would expect that Ersberg will get every chance to earn the majority of the final 15 games.

The Kings aren't going to the playoffs, and they might have taken Colorado out of the picture too. Marek Svatos, who got tangled with Jon Klemm in Saturday's game, has been diagnosed with a torn ACL. Ryan Smyth, who slammed head-first into the padded partition after a check from Jack Johnson, is out indefinitely with a concussion. Colorado went into Monday with a tenuous hold on eighth place in the Western Conference.

Keep the questions coming...I'll start answering them tonight or early tomorrow morning.

This is something that works well on our other blogs, so it's definitely worth bringing over here. We'll make this a weekly feature, in which you can post questions and I'll answer, or try to find an answer for you if I don't have it at my fingertips. Obviously there are some questions I can't answer, like, ``Who will the Kings sign this summer?'' but to the best of my ability, I'll answer anything. Post away!

This is something that works well on our other blogs, so it's definitely worth bringing over here. We'll make this a weekly feature, in which you can post questions and I'll answer, or try to find an answer for you if I don't have it at my fingertips. Obviously there are some questions I can't answer, like, ``Who will the Kings sign this summer?'' but to the best of my ability, I'll answer anything. Post away!

First of all, thanks to everyone who passed on their good wishes to Matt this weekend, and thanks to those who have participated in the poll about paid content. If you haven't already voted below, please do so. Thanks...

For some Monday morning reading, just thought I'd pass along a couple of the game stories out of Minnesota from yesterday. The stories are fairly Wild-heavy of course, but you might enjoy the photo gallery on one of them, at least...

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

St. Paul Pioneer Press

Wild coach Jacques Lemaire, on the Kings and the suggestion that tonight's game would be easy: "They really played hard last night, but they came out with more energy than we did. It won't be easy. It can't be."

Kings coach Marc Crawford: "I thought our guys played terrific tonight and we deserved a better fate. But it was a close game. They are used to playing those close games, and they got a nice goal to win it. It was a good play, an honest goal, so you can't really complain too much."

Kings goalie Erik Ersberg: "It's a little bitter when you end up losing the game, but we got one point and I'm happy with my performance,.''

Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom: "You look at this team and how (the Kings) played today, its a really great hockey team, a lot of talent, a lot of skill players. They made it really tough for us. You look at the standings and its hard to believe they are down there."

-- Erik Ersberg made his first NHL start, and became the 10th goalie (corrected!) to start a game for the Kings since Dec. 23, 2006. Dan Cloutier started that game, and was followed by Barry Brust, Mathieu Garon, Yutaka Fukufuji, Sean Burke, Jonathan Bernier, Jason LaBarbera, J.S. Aubin, Jonathan Quick and Ersberg.

-- The Kings lost their fifth consecutive road game and are 0-2-2 in their last four overall.

-- LW Michael Cammalleri scored a first-period goal. Cammalleri has three goals and six assists in his last five games. Cammalleri also recorded his 200th career point.

The Kings next play on Tuesday, at St. Louis. I'll attach the Associated Press game story...

With 1:15 remaining in overtime, Skoula gave up the puck to Gaborik in the corner, then circled to the front of the Kings' net. He sneaked behind both Kopitar and Visnovsky, then Gaborik threaded a pass between the two Kings. Skoula, alone in front, made a quick move on Ersberg and slipped the puck past him. The Kings deserved at least one point out of this game, and got it, but also lost a golden chance for a nice road victory and fell to 0-2-2 in their last four. A very nice night for Ersberg, despite how it ended. Notes and quotes to follow a bit later...

Tied 1-1. A solid game all around, particularly for Erik Ersberg. Considering it's his first NHL start, ``solid'' is quite an understatement. He's been very strong. The Kings have done well in general and will take a 22-second power play into overtime.

Five minutes into the second period, in a delayed-penalty situation, the Wild took advantage of a scramble. Burns' low shot was deflected in front by Gaborik and over Ersberg's shoulder to tie the game. Given how poorly things have gone for the Kings in second periods of late, and given their tendency to give up goals in bunches, the next few minutes should be interesting. The Kings are going on the power play.

Just as he did last night, Michael Cammalleri opens the scoring with a goal with 2:07 remaining in the first period. Cammalleri camped out down low and did a good job of picking up the loose puck behind the net, making a quick move to his forehand and sneaking the puck inside the near post. It's been a good, entertaining period, and most impressively for the Kings, Erik Ersberg has looked strong, showing no nerves or rust.

They're about ready to go in Minnesota, and Erik Ersberg will make his first NHL start in goal for the Kings. Brian Willsie sits out as Raitis Ivanans rejoins the lineup. It's Niklas Backstrom in net for the Wild.

This is something I've seen come up in reader comments throughout the last year, and I think it's especially relevant right now. The question is, what would your reaction be if this turned into a premium site, that you had to pay to view? Or, perhaps, if some content was free but other content was premium?

Let me make it clear, this is NOT something that's in the works. It's simply a way for me to gauge whether or not it's even feasible, based on the responses of the people who have supported this site greatly. Please answer honestly, and thanks for providing me with this information...

(To clarify, the point of the poll is to basically determine if you would be open to the concept of paying for content. I can't promise exactly what that content would be. But for those who want an idea, let's say...full practice reports, with audio and/or video; live game updates, including full locker-room reports from home games and notes and quotes from road games; breaking news as it happens, particularly with the draft and free agency; extensive Q&A interviews with important team figures; podcasts, etc.)

Here's a bit more of the aftermath of the Johnson-Smyth incident from last night, as reported by Rick Sadowski of the Rocky Mountain News (you might remember his coverage of the Kings at the Daily News, way back when...)

Joe Sakic: “It wasn’t a dirty hit. (Smyth) hit the corner of the glass and that’s a dangerous spot. It’s just unfortunate where it was.”

Jack Johnson: ``It’s just unfortunate that (Smyth) hit the turnbuckle,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to hurt anyone out there. Obviously I feel bad. I just hope he’s OK and can get back to his (Stanley) Cup run.''

You can read Rick's full game story here.

Also, Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla essentially calls out Avalanche fans for the way they booed Johnson and wanted him to be attacked after the incident. It's a great read, whether you agree with it or not, in which Mark talks about the bigger picture, the culture of violence within the sport.

Following up on the Jack Johnson hit, which caused Colorado's Ryan Smyth to leave the game on the stretcher -- plus the ensuing incident involving Johnson, Ian Laperriere and Rob Blake -- here's what the Associated Press story had to say, with locker-room reaction...

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Johnson felt bad about the check that sent Smyth sprawling to the ice.

However, he knew what was coming next. Clean hit or not, a fight had to happen. It's part of hockey's code.

But there's honor among fighters, and Laperriere extended Johnson the courtesy of deciding when the brawl would occur.

"He came up to me and said, 'Do you want to get it over with?'" Johnson said. "I said, 'Sure.'"

The fight never took place as Rob Blake stepped in and played the role of peacemaker, quickly breaking up the fracas. He didn't want to see his young defenseman get hurt by the fists of Laperriere. Not for what he thought was a clean hit.

"Unfortunately, Ryan got hurt on the play, and nobody wants to see that," said Blake, a former Avalanche player. "Jack is a young guy and I think we need to let the situation go."

That was difficult for the Avalanche.

"It doesn't matter if it's clean or not clean, it's a big hit on one of our big players and he got injured and someone had to do something," Laperriere said. "I felt like it had to be me. Jack knew exactly that someone had to come."

He knew all right. That's why he was willing to drop the gloves and take his lumps.

"The kid knew exactly where I was coming from," Laperriere said. "He wanted to fight and Blake came right in there. I have so much respect for Blake. I knew he wasn't going to punch me."

Andrew Brunette put one into an empty net with 49.2 seconds left to clinch the victory for Colorado. The Kings fell to 0-2-1 in their last three, and take a quick look at how they've come. In the first and third periods of those three games, the Kings have outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 8-4. In the second periods of those three games, the Kings have been outscored by a combined margin of 11-3. I usually don't put much stock in stats such as that, but it's more than a little curious, isn't it? Clearly, that's where tonight's game got away from them. Now, the Kings head to Minnesota for a game tomorrow.

I'll post any notes and quotes that I come across tonight.

With 10:47 left in the game, Rob Blake was stationed behind the net and tossed a puck out front. It went off Theodore and in the net before anyone could touch it, so the teams are even on fluky goals tonight. It seemed the Kings might have been helped there by Colorado's eagerness to go after Johnson, rather than defend the play tightly. It's hard to think the Kings will beat Theodore twice more, but they're skating better, so we'll see.

Joe Sakic scores, just over five minutes into the third period after weaving his way through traffic a bit and shooting through some traffic in front of the net. Also, it seems that Ryan Smyth being taken off on a stretcher was for precautionary reasons only. Jack Johnson is being booed by the Colorado fans, but they're famously homerish, as I recall. It's hard to say Johnson did anything wrong with his hit.

With 28.5 seconds left in the period, Colorado's Ryan Smyth took a very unfortunate hit. Jack Johnson delivered a check, one that wasn't particularly vicious, but the hit took place right where the benches end and the boards begin. Smyth appeared to be out cold for at least a few moments, then was awake and moving his arms and legs. (I did see him moving his legs a bit, when I went back to replay it). The medical staff is securing his neck and putting him on a stretcher board at the moment.

After an odd sequence, Colorado took a two-goal lead with 9:27 left in the second period. Svatos got slammed into the boards, courtesy of a little shove from Jon Klemm. The puck found its way out to Salei, who fired another long-range shot through traffic to the top corner of the net. The delayed penalty on Klemm was erased with the goal, and the Kings, who seemed to have some momentum in the early minutes of this period, can't have this period end soon enough.

The goals are coming fast and furious. Ryan Smyth threw a harmless puck toward the front of the net, but it went off the side of Rob Blake's skate and into the net, 6:46 into the second period.

The goals are coming fast and furious. Ryan Smyth threw a harmless puck toward the front of the net, but it went off the side of Rob Blake's skate and into the net, 6:46 into the second period.

At the 4:56 mark of the second period, new addition Ruslan Salei took a shot from just inside the blue line. Ryan Smyth, allowed to camp out in front for a moment, tipped the puck past Dan Cloutier.

Michael Cammalleri scored on the power play, 3:37 into the first period. The Kings moved the puck nicely in the Colorado zone and Cammalleri got off one of his traditional quick-release shots. Theodore made the stop, but Cammalleri jumped on his own rebound and directed it into the net.

The second period just got underway, and it's a scoreless tie in Colorado, although the Kings have hit goalposts twice in the last minute. Both teams are staying out of the box, although the Kings are on the power play at the moment. The Kings were outshot 9-3 in the first period.

This is what the Monarchs' roster will look like going forward, and in the playoffs if they make it. Manchester is currently four points behind fourth-place Springfield in the Atlantic Division. AHL teams are also allowed to add junior players and players signed to amateur-tryout contracts.

Goaltenders: Erik Ersberg, Jonathan Quick
Defensemen: Drew Bagnall, Peter Harrold, Jon Klemm, Jeff Likens, Troy Milam, Richard Petiot, Joe Piskula
Forwards: Brian Boyle, Marc-Andre Cliche, Paul Crosty, Gabe Gauthier, Trevor Lewis, David Meckler, Matt Moulson, Brady Murray, Teddy Purcell, Matt Ryan, Lauri Tukonen, Kevin Westgarth, John Zeiler

In addition, forward Petr Kanko, Patrik Hersley and goaltender Daniel Taylor are listed as ``in residence,'' meaning they're eligible to fill a roster spot if needed, if a player on the roster is hurt or in the NHL.

Peter Forsberg will not make his Colorado re-debut -- it's Saturday, so I feel like creating a word -- today against the Kings. Forsberg participated in the Avalanche's morning skate but said he wanted to get in at least one full practice with his new team. Colorado's deadline-day acquisition, Adam Foote, was in the lineup Tuesday and will be tonight (thanks, Mike)

Some other notes, looking ahead to tonight:

-- The Kings are 1-2 against the Avalanche this season. A common thread? Special teams. In three games, the Kings have scored one power-play gaol in nine chances against Colorado, which has a below-average (ranked 19th) penalty-kill unit. The Kings have killed 10 of 11 penalties against Colorado, which has the worst power-play unit in the league. Generating power-play chances will be key for the Kings, especially against Colorado goalie Jose Theodore, who has put together three consecutive strong performances.

-- The Kings have beaten the Avalanche in Denver in four of the last five games.

-- Colorado started the season 15-3 at home, but is 3-8-2 at home since Dec. 27 and has lost four in a row at home. Since the franchise moved from Quebec, it has never had a five-game losing streak at home.

-- Dustin Brown has one goal and two assists in three games vs. Colorado this season.

There's no good way to do this. Those who know anything about the newspaper industry know that times are quite rough. Newspapers everywhere are dealing with the constant threat of layoffs and cutbacks, and on Friday the Daily News got hit hard. Those who are interested can read more about it at dailynews.com:

We lost 22 fine journalists on Friday, and I'm sad to tell you that Matt Kredell was among them. It's quite a blow for us. It was a business decision, one the people who own our newspaper felt needed to be made, and unfortunately, Matt got caught in a numbers game. Matt spent nine years working his way up the Daily News ladder, and covered pretty much everything for us, from high school soccer to the NBA Finals. It's rough to see him go, especially since I've seen, firsthand, how hard he has worked covering the Kings this season. He often worked extra hours, because he wanted to provide the best Kings coverage he could.

This job that we do, it might seem like fun and games...and often it is, but it can be rough. Matt wanted me to relay to you how much he enjoyed doing this blog, in particular, and how much he appreciated all the comments and support from you, the readers. His departure is significant, and it will be felt for a long while.

To that extent, others will have to step into the void, and right now that means me. This was never MY blog. It belongs to everyone, most importantly those of you who read it and make it as successful as it is. So that's why I'm more than willing to step back in and keep things running. It's shaping up to be a big, crucial summer for the Kings, and I'm enthused about bringing you the best possible coverage. We'll do our best, under some unusual and difficult circumstances, to maintain the high level that you have come to expect. I thank you in advance for your patience and, as always, for your great support.