Prediction time

1. 7th
2 Kopitar 47
3.Brown 103
4. Ersberg 27
5. Penguins win cup, SJ loses

Rich, can you get a feel for what you feel the team's own expectations are for this year? Where, in your opinion, do the players see themselves finishing? What would DL and coach Terry Murray say?

I know this is a so-called building year but I see a lot of positives as well. Is it s situation where they are expecting to stink but want the experience? If they aren't battling for a playoff spot it will be a disappointment?

What sense do you get for the players, coaches and management?

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
10th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Brown. 42
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar. 94
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
LaBarbera. 27
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit vs Montreal and Red Wings Repeating

1. 10th (black hole, baby)
2. Frolov - 37 (i'm banking on him being healthy the whole season)
3. Kopitar - 95
4. LaBarbera - 21 (By virtue of playing more games than any other goalie)
5. Detroit, Pittsburgh - Detroit

1) Kings will finish 13th in the Western Conference
2) Anze Kopitar will lead the kings with 36 goals. Dustin Brown and Sully will be close in the 30s.
3) Kopitar will lead the kings with 81 points.
4) Erik Esberg will lead the kings with 25 wins.
5) Detroit will win the cup versus the Canadiens.

1) 8th (By a hair and being a hardcore fan for the last 16 years of my young life)
2) POS. 35
3) Kopitar. 95 points
4) Ersberg. 23W-10L-5T SV% .913 GAA 2.87 (I have a lot of faith in Ersberg)
5) Detroit vs. Pittsburgh REMATCH! Winner...PIttsburgh

My darkhorse prediction is Dallas vs. Philadelphia eventual winner Philly.

1 - the Kings finish last in the western conference. 50 points.
2 - Brown will lead the Kings in goals with 38.
3 - Kopitar will lead the Kings in points with 85.
4 - Ersberg will lead the Kings goalies, playing 45 games.
5 - Stanley Cup finalists - New York Rangers and Anaheim. I think Anaheim gets its 2nd cup this season.

As offensive as this may sound, if the season played out this way, I wouldn't be upset. The only way forward is "newness". The Kings, if they struggle this season, should not let it affect the goal of amassing quality at every position.

I can't wait to see what this looks like in April.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
11th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Kopitar, 41
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar, 85
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Ersberg, 29
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Montreal beats SJ

1) 7 2) Kopi 41 3)Kopi 81 4)Laba 37 5)Kings Monthreal Kings.
GO KINGS .

1. I picked the team to finish 10th. If one of the goaltenders steps up and has a banner season, they could finish higher, and if not, they could be in the cellar again.

2. Kopitar will lead the team in goals, I'll say 43 sounds like a reasonably conservative prediction.

3. Kopitar again will lead the team in points - 43 goals, 52 assists for 90 points. Wouldn't be surprised if it's more.

4. Ersberg will win 29 games this season.

5. Stanley Cup final will be San Jose vs. Montreal, with the Canadiens bringing the Cup back to Montreal for their centennial season. Carey Price wins the Conn Smythe Trophy.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? 11th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many? Brown-36
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?Kopitar-84
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?Labarbera-20
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit vs. Philadelphia, Detroit in 5

1) Kings finish 12th in the west
2) Dustin Brown with 36 Goals
3) Kopitar with 81 points
4) Erik Ersberg with 21 wins
5) Red Wings vs Rangers, Rangers win in 6.

1. Kings finish in 8th place.
2. Kopitar 44 goals
3. Kopitar 96 points
4. LaBarbara, 25 wins. Ersberg will not be far behind.
5. Finals: Penguins vs Sharks, Penguins prevail.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western
Conference?
8th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Brown 40
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar 105
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
30 (just stay healthy)
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Pittsburg over Detroit.
Montreal will fight for it but this is sids year

1) Kings will finish 11th.

2) Kopitar will lead with 41 goals.

3) Kopitar will have 92 points, just a little short of 100.

4) One area I have no answers for. I think Ersberg will have more wins, but that means Labarb would be doing shitty and I don't want that to happen for the teams sake. So hopfully Labarb has more wins. 28 wins with a toss up of goalie.

5) Montreal-Dallas......Dallas winning it all.

Clarification - my goalie numbers are for games played, not wins. I think the goaltender wins catagory is impossible, but I'll throw out 20 for Ersberg.

cheers.

Conference
-9th
Goals
-POS 37
points
-Kopi 92
wins
-Ersberg
31
-Stanley Cup
Wings - Hossa, Zettenberg, Datzuk - OH MY

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
They will finish 11th.

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many? Brown with 36.

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar with 84

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many? Labarbara with 48 gp and wins with 19.
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit vs Montreal, Detroit in 6 games.

Cristobal.

If you think the Kings are 21 points worse than they were last year, you are nuts. If Ersberg gets 20 wins that is forty points right there. I think LaBarbara and eventually Bernier can manage another 5 wins at least.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? - 8th

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many? Kopitar 53, followed by Brown and Sully

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many? Kopitar 100, followed by Frolov

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many? Bernier will be called up and win the most games, who knows how many

5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...

Kings over Capitals

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?

7

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?

Frolov 32

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?

Kopitar 78

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?

Labarbara 21

5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...

Capitals and Stars, Stars win it all

1- kings finish 11th, 5 points out of the playoffs (tight race for 8th)
2- brown with 42 goals
3-kopitar with 88 points
4- ersberg wins 24 games out of 40 played, labs gets 10 wins in 30 games before being traded, bernier gets called up and wins another 5 games out of 12 played.
5- deteoit vs montreal, montreal in 7, Price solidifies the second coming of Roy and gets the conn smythe

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
The Kings will finish 12th, but will be in the playoff hunt until the last couple of weeks.

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
This is a breakout season for O'Sullivan. He has to earn that contract he just signed. He'll lead the team with 42 goals

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar will continue the progression into becoming a dominant center in the NHL. He'll break 90 points for the first time, finishing with 94.

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Uggggh! Ersberg will be the #1 guy by mid-November. He'll win 37 games.

5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
As much as it hurts to say it, Detroit will beat Montreal to win the cup.

1) 13th
2) Kopitar 41
3) Kopitar 95
4) LaBarbara 21
5) Detroit over Montreal

This year is going to be BRUTAL! Tavares here we come!

I was going to say the same thing PaulCat.

This team, on paper, is at least 15 points better than they were last season. What that translates into, I'm not sure, as the West is strong as usual.

As for Anaheim, they are too fragile to win another cup and go through the playoffs in the West once again.

Kings will finish around 10th, falling off late.

Brown will lead them in goals with around 40.

Kopitar will lead them in points, with around 100.

Goaltending is extremely difficult to call, as I think Bernier will be up here by Christmas, and one of LaBarbara or Ersberg will be gone. So I'm not even touching that one.

You have to like Detroit, and yes, even Pheonix (they really improved over the summer) from the west as a serious Dark horse. Even Chicago is much improved. Edmonton came on really strong at the end of the season, but they lack the goaltending.

So...Detroit vrs. Washington, with Detroit repeating.

Anthony,

You have come a long way since the summer. I like your predictions. If the Kings get 9th, I will be thrilled. 11th is more realistic but anything can happen.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
13th Place
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Anze Kopitar- 38 goals
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Anze Kopitar- 91 points
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Jason LaBarbera- 19 wins
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit vs. Montreal with Montreal hoisting their 25th Stanley Cup in their Centennial season.

Rich, are you going to kick down some predictions yourself?

8th
Kopitar 48
Kopitar 101
Ersberg 29
Detroit and Penguins again, Detroit wins in 6.

The thing no one is talking about this year and how it could affect the standings is the new scheduling format. Playing the West less and the East more could be a good thing.

9th
O"Sullivan 38
Kopitar 89
Ersberg 24
Pitt over Calgary

Alright, my turn:

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
W/o Bernier: 11th
W Bernier: 7th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
I'll be the first to call it. O'sullivan: 41
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar -85
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
W/o Bernier: Labarbera-32
Bernier: 33
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Yawn. Detroit - does it matter ? some team destined to lose in the east. For the sake of preditcing all these things with 100% accuracy I'll say Montreal.

There, are you actually gonna bring these back up to see if anyone got any right at the end of the season ? Please do.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
Tied for 8th in pts with St. Louis.
Do not make playoffs due to 2 fewer wins than Blues.

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Alexander Frolov w/ 43 goals

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Anze Kopitar w/ 96 pts

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
With new "team defense" system in front of him, Labarbera w/ 32 wins

5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...

New York Rangers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks win in 6

Kings finish 10th in the West

Kopitar will lead the Kings with 44 goals

Kopitar will lead the Kings with 102 points

LaBarbara will lead the Kings with 24 wins

Montreal will beat Dallas in the Stanley Cup Finals

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? 15th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Frolov - 44
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar - 101
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Ersberg - 17
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Caps vs Hawks, Hawks in 6

The east appears far weaker than the west this season. Detroit and Montreal are the best teams respectively, but best doesn't mean SC finalist and winner. I would go with a Detroit, Chicago, San Jose, Calgary for the final four in the west and Washington, Philly, Montreal and Tampa Bay in the east. But it's preseason and who konws how it's going to play out. We'll see. It should be fun. Though I pick the Kings at the bottom of the west, I think they'll battle every night and be lots of fun to watch. Nothing changes in net though and though I'd like to see them improve, I think 9th or 10th place is probably the worst place to finish, no playoffs and no elite draft picks, we know it oh so well, but it bites so hard. Go Kings Go!

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
8th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Brown, 39
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar, 92
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Ersberg, 38
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit over Washington

OK, time to go on the record everyone...

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? 10th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many? Brown 29
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?Kopitar 87
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many? Ersberg 24
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit/Rangers

Everyone who thinks Kopitar will have 70-80 points I hope you're wrong.

If O'Sullivan/Brown are on his line, and both do well, he should rack up assists, and his own progression should put him around 40-45 goals, so I am hoping for a season similar to Malkin's last year (47 + 59 = 106)

That doesn't seem like too much to ask..

Hopefully Brown/Fro/POS will all break 30 goals, and someone in there with 40 or more...that would be swell!

The kings will finish in 8th place

Brownie will get 42

Kopi will get 96

Babs will get 10 wins before he is replaced or shot and Ersberg will finish with 28

Dallas & Pittsburg in the finals, with the Pens takin the cup home.

Cristobal, are you sure that you are a KINGS fan? Just curious...

when are you going on the record RICH??

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
The Kings will Finish 10th In the West

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Anze Kopitar will lead the Kings with 34 goals

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Anze Kopitar will lead the Kings with 88 points

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
LaBarbera will with the most games with 27

5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
San Jose VS Montreal
San Jose Victor.

For the record, I hate San Jose with the fury of a thousand wombats.

Kings finish 11th in the West.

Brown will lead the team with 39 goals.

Kopitar will lead with 92 points.

Ersberg will lead with 31 wins.

SC finalists will be Detroit & Pittsburgh again.
Detroit will win again.

1) 11th
2) Brown, 40
3) Kopitar, 88
4) LaBarbera, 26
5) Pittsburgh def Anaheim

I hate the Ducks!

8th
POS 35
Kopitar 92
Bernier (He will be called up) 30
Pittsburgh defeats Detroit

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
15th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Brown - 33
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar - 80
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Labarbera - 27
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Wings over Habs.

1)8th
2)Sully, 42
3)Kopitar, 97
4)Labarbera-Ersberg tied at 23
5)Kings beat Penguins
(going through Detroit in round 1 and San Jose in round 2)

Gotta aim high! And it's sports...it happens.

_42

1) 8th
2) Kopitar 45
3) O'Sullivan 75
4) Ersberg 39
5) Pittsburg vs Dallas= Pittsburg

There's some optomistic people on here lol...

Kings finish 11th.

Brown leads with 35 goals.

Kopi finishes with 77 points.

LaBarbara finishes with 21 wins.

NYR win in the finals over Calgary

1)11th
2)Kopitar: 37
3)Kopitar: 84
4)Labarbera: 25
5)Montreal in 7 over Detroit

Cristobal: 50 points??? You're either trying to stir the pot (in which case you win) or you have zero hockey sense .

Lets have some faith
Kings finish 1st in the west
Kopi has 190 goals
Kopi has 349 points
Labs/Ersbe each have 41 wins
Montreal vs Kings '93 rematch
Kings win in 3 games cuz they beat Montreal
so bad they just gave Stanley to the Kings
Guy can dream can't he...
Also, Thanks Rich for all your hard work...Great reads lately!!!

Kings will finish 8th
Kopitar - 45 Goals
Brown - 90 Points
Winning Goalie - Ersberg 25
Red Wings - Penguins - Detroit Wins back to back

1) 13th ahead of Columbus and St. Louis
2) Frolov with 31
3) Kopitar with 88
4) LaBarbara with 27
5) Montreal will beat Edmonton

Here's my prediction:

"Serious Hockey"

Ugh...can't wait until next year.

1) 10th
2) Brown, 39
3) Kopitar, 92
4) LaBarbera, 21
5) Dallas and Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh wins the Cup.

Dennis - hilarious - thank you

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? Urg, 15th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Brown, 33
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopi,84
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Bernier, 12
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
St Louis over Pittsburg in 6, if the pin does not come of the grenade too early.

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
The Kings finish in the Western Conference 11th.

2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Brownie with 39 goals.

3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar with 97 points.

4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Ersberg with 31 wins

5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...

The finalists will be The Red Wings and the Canadiens.
With Canadiens winning is ^games

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? 12th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many? Dustin Brown, 37
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many? Kopitar, 84
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many? LaBarbera, 26
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner... Montreal over Detroit in 6, as Carey Price foreshadows what Bernier will do in 2010-2011!

Dustin Brown will top 350 hits, and Drew Doughty will be the runner-up for the Calder.

1)12th or 11th
2)Frolov 40 goals (if he stays healthy)
3)Kopitar 84 pts
4)Barbs 30 wins
5)Montreal

1)12th or 11th
2)Frolov 40 goals (if he stays healthy)
3)Kopitar 84 pts
4)Barbs 30 wins
5)Montreal

13th place for Kings Blues will finish 13th
Brown 35 goals
Kopitar 74 points I think he misses about 10 games this year
Vancouver-Washington Final
Canucks win first Cup
Luongo is going to go crazy this year and will definitely win Vezina and possibly Hart
He will win 48 or more games this year with
GAA right at or a little below 2.00

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
9th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Frolov - 44
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar - 88 pts
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
LaBarbera - 28
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
San Jose vs. Montreal - Montreal wins it

Might as well throw my bid in.
1) 12th in Conf,
2) Brown, 35 (Kopi 32, Fro 31, Sully 28)
3) Kopi, 84 (Fro 75, Brown 67, Sully 64)
4) Ersberg, 23 (Labs 15)
5) Wings over Flyers

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
10th - it'll be close to a few others though.
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Dustin Brown, 39
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Anze Kopitar, 85
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
LaBarbera, 25 - Ersberg second only because he doesn't get as many starts.
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Detroit vs. Washington, Capitals win in 7 - Detroit beat Dallas in the Western Conference finals, Washington edge out Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals.

Player to watch: Oscar Möller.

) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference?
7th
2) Who will lead the Kings in goals? How many?
Sully 44
3) Who will lead the Kings in points? How many?
Kopitar 96
4) Which Kings goaltender will win the most games? How many?
Bernier 23
5) Pick the Stanley Cup finalists, and the winner...
Kings vs Islanders Kings in 5
Then Santa comes visiting with a group of playboy playmates and drops them under my tree..all for me!

1) Where will the Kings finish in the Western Conference? DEAD LAST
2) KOPITAR 32
3) KOPITAR 87
4) LABARBERA 32
5) MONTREAL/DETROIT - MONTREAL

- Kings will finish 7th in the West
- Brownie will lead the team with 38 goals
- Kopi will finish with 90 points
- Ersberg, 25 wins
- Sharks win The Cup, defeating Montreal in 6 or 7.

I think the Kings will finish 13th, ahead of St Louis and Nashville. For the Cup, I'll go with Detroit over Philadelphia.

Sadly, the Kings, with 27 of their last 41 games on the road, will finish 15th in the Western Conference. (and 28th overall in the NHL.)

Patrick O'Sullivan will lead the team in goals with 37, while Anze Kopitar will lead the team in points with 83. No Kings goaltender will have 20 wins, but four Kings goaltenders will have at least 1.

Virtually impossible to predict the winner of the Stanley Cup, but it will be a team that has solid goaltending, solid specialty teams, and the ability to overcome a key injury or two. Maybe Anaheim.

Prediction - if the Kings have pride they will play with passion and thus exert power... :P

Prediction - if the Kings have pride they will play with passion and thus exert power... :P

Prediction - if the Kings have pride they will play with passion and thus exert power... :P

Kings will finish 8th place in the West.
Kopitar will lead the team in goals, 37, and points, 98.
Ersberg will replace LaBarbera as number one and have 35 wins.
Cup Finals will be Dallas and Washington, with Dallas coming out on top.
Yeah. I said it.

Kings will finish 8th place in the West.
Kopitar will lead the team in goals, 37, and points, 98.
Ersberg will replace LaBarbera as number one and have 35 wins.
Cup Finals will be Dallas and Washington, with Dallas coming out on top.
Yeah. I said it.

Kings will finish 6th in the Western Conference
Brown will lead the team in goals with 42, Kopitar in points with 96
Labarbara will win the most games with 37
Stanley cup winner will be Anaheim over NYR

Let's see. I believe my prediction back in August was something like 85 points. I'll stick with that. Since 93 points is usually the border between playoffs and not, I guess 85 ought to be good for 11th in the West.

Goals: Brown 38
Points: Kopitar 92
Goalie: Bernier 20 wins
Cup: Montreal over Detroit in 7. Lang with game winner in 3rd OT.

I hadn't really looked into the East too much, but Keith Jones brought up New Jersey. I think a revised prediction from the East must include them in the Stanley Cup finals. Their lineup, along with Detroit, San Jose, Anaheim, and possibly Dallas(?) looks the most NHL ready. Of course, sometimes aging players fall off form rapidly, so it could turn out much different come June.

1) This team will fall on its face or surprise everyone, I'm an optimist, I say 8th place finish
2) Frolov takes advantage of a better power play and is healthy all year 40 goals
3) Kopi keeps progressing, breaks 90 points
4) Labs wins 29, Ersberg wins 11, we have 12 OT losses to make playoffs
5) Montreal has won a cup in every decade but this one, so I'll go with history, they win in a thrilling series over Detroit (Sharks choke in early rounds as usual)