FINAL: Kings 3, Stars 2

yeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! thats all i can type right now!

I believe,

I believed since game 2! Kings haven't let me down since (cept for the Vancouver game)

I really want to believe. But something tells me that Ersberg is going to get speared in the ribs or get a groin injury or a broken finger in his catching glove.

That's just the luck this team has.

Then, there will be a fight over which under-achieving goaltender to bring up from Manchester, whether to play them an so on and so on.

Eazy mf'n E or Eric Ersberg its all the same, comin str8 outta the SWE

Iceberg has been the difference. Instead of losing one goal games we're winning them. Bring on Nashville

i've said it before and i'll say it again

i will believe in this team when they string together consecutive wins over the following :ducks/dallas/detroit/avs/san jose

if they beat those five teams in a row i will begin to believe

(even if they get a stupid loss to a lower team because they took the night off or something)

i always believe....and the weird thing is that we haven't really gotten a ton of offense. that's what has me worried a little but also relieved to know that it's just a matter of time and we are still winning close games

I've believed since preseason. Checking out the training camp, some preseason games and reading what you report on.

THings are different. There's a shining beacon of hope and unity with this team, finally. I love it. Even if things get dark at some point I don't think it will be viewed as something that can't be used to take this team to the next level. Everyone seems very in tune with pulling lessons from mistakes and very quick to apply them to the next game.

kings are on a role.they haventlet me down and with our new goile we have a chance to proof something

This is my opinion and you all know the saying about those, but has anyone seen Anze Kopitar's picture on a milk carton? The star from last year is missing and needs to be found. As far as I'm concerned, he's the least effective player on that line. Say what you want about Calder, but the guy hustles and between he and Brownie, they make things happen. The guy wearing #11 has got to be a stand-in because the real Kopi doesn't play like that. Also, Boyle is about as effective as a garden hose on a barn fire. This kid has got size, strength and pretty decent skills but he seems lost out there most of the time. The first two periods were fairly solid but the third left a lot to be desired. The lack of success on the PP could have cost them.

Stanley Cup fever grips LA. When is the parade scheduled?

I refuse to dwell on negative things abt this team.
Kings have youth,speed,talent, a coach they like, who treats them with respect, and a greatly improved Defensive team. As for Anze, if he had someone running interference for him, like McSorley did for Gretz, he wouldn't be having the problems he is now.
Go Kings!!

I will believe even more if i dont have to watch Rinkside...It was great watching tonight!!!!

Anon .. I totally agree with you. Anze should be the one demoted to the 3rd or 4th line. He is playing with little grit, gets knocked off the puck consistently (and on to his ass), is making bad choices (pass rather than shoot), is causing multiple turnovers a game. I am not buying the increased attention or him facing the top checking lines. The true greats in this league deal with those factors every night and still find ways to make plays, skate hard, get their shots and don't make as many mistakes. He needs a good butt-kicking.

As for the Kings as a whole, they were lucky tonight. The got off to a good start in the first period but were sluggish in the 2nd, playing undisciplined hockey. Dallas is not playing well now and as Matt George alluded to, the great teams will take advantage of these opportunities. Having said that, I am happy with the progression of this team and the strides we have made.

I am really starting to believe in this team and that they are developing into the kind of team they need to be to make the playoffs. Are they going to be that team this year? I don't know, but if they play this way against the teams they need to get past (Nashville, Calgary, Chicago, and Vancouver), then they'll possibly be in the conversation. Of course, the Kings are 0-3-0 combined against those teams, and all three losses came in the midst of the five-game losing streak. That's why I'm really looking forward to this weekend's game against the Predators.

Ersberg has looked absolutely sharp in goal, yet Murray still refuses to officially declare him #1. As a team, they have played great hockey and had the shot advantage in most of those games (I think they were outshot tonight). Ersberg is looking like a #1 goaltender and is holding his own against Turco, Vokoun, and Giguere. Not exactly a bad collection of goaltenders.

These past ten days, a 4-0-1 streak, it feels really good to be a Kings fan right now. I think the fans and players have a confidence that we haven't had in a while. I can't speak for everybody, but I think we feel that the Kings might actually be on their way. Right now, Dean Lombardi looks like a very smart man.

Of course, I STILL believe in this team. I believed last season, and the season before, and seasons eternal since I was 7 years old. That will never change. The Kings are my team.

Sure is nice to get a few wins in a row. Pretty much everyone is playing well, although I have to admit I'd really like to see Brownie, Sully, and Kopi back together for a stretch.

I'm trying not to get too excited about this because they are still young and there is still a lot of hockey to be played. However, I am excited that these guys are playing at such a high level so soon which means that we do have a future with a lot of these guys.

I'm starting to believe in the system that Murray and staff is putting into place, and Lombardi's plan to build a perennial winner from the ground up.

We still have a long way to go, but pieces are forming. I especially like our shots against. Worst to first is unbelievable.

As for Ersberg, his GAA is tops, but with an above-average SV% these games wouldn't even be tight. .904 isn't going to do it in the long run.

As for Kopitar, 13 points in 15 games. Not everyone can have 27 points in that same span. His goal scoring will pick up, but he's making plays. Someone count his first vs. second assists and that will tell a better story.

i believe the kings as an organization are headed down the right path. do i believe the current team is a playoff team? for that i need a little more proof. if the kings are a legit playoff team, then these last 4 wins are all games that the kings should win more often then not. at least we know this team is better than the dregs of the league. a true test this team will be when they play playoff teams.

but it sure has been fun watching them win.

oh, and play Iceberg in the coming back-to-back games.

I'm on my second gallon of kool-aid. Love the new defense, don't have to read Anthony every entry now, and Brown is hitting stride! Still think it's going to be a dogfight to get into the 8 spot, but the Kings are turning the corner.

the kings have a chance to show the hockey world that they are not to be messed with.as they showed a good team like dallas who are just in a slump.the kings have good players who will be stars but until then they have to play of there momentum.if ersbirg plays like hes been playing we will win a lot of games.lets just see what happens vs nashvill and lets hope arsbirg is the wall of our net

If the Kings continue to get competent goaltending for the rest of the season (which obviously won't come from Barbs), they will probably make the playoffs.

If they don't continue to get it (meaning Ersberg gets hurt & none of the prospects are ready), they won't even come close.

I keep being cautiously optimistic because it's only been 15 games and the wheels can come of the bus so quickly but......

Even though the Kings have gone through personnel changes, it's hard to even compare this team from last year's in every way, especially in the work ethic and the focus. Not that last year's team didn't work hard but it seems their energy was wasted on a fragmented philosophy. It's really clear with this team that they are all playing with the same intent.

Credit goes to Terry Murray all the way. I guess I can give DL some for hiring him.

I'll say it again. Win or lose Ersberg is THE goalie. He is steady as a rock and he won't win every game but he is poised and it's rubbing off on this team.

I said it from the start not sell this team short. Drew is one of smartest and most talented D Man for his age that 1`ve seen.Keep it going boys! What a team.

I'm going to be cautiously optimistic here-We must not forget how excited everyone got after shutting out the Blues 4 zip. After that, everyone was ready to have TM's head on a platter when the team lost four in a row. This is a young team and there will be ups and downs throughout the season. However, I do believe (barring any catastophic injuries) that as the season progresses, this team will continue to improve, and with that might be able to slip into the playoffs. Only time will tell. December will be the crucial month-the measuring stick as to whether the team can pull this off. As for Kopi, I'm not the least bit worried. He may not be scoring goals, but because he is the target of other team's D, he opens things up for guys like Brownie and Calder, and whoever else they put with him. Continue to play soundly in your own zone and the offensive game will follow.

I believe in the team but am cautiously optimistic. At least we are beating teams when we should. In other words teams that are are in slumps or downside like Dallas, Florida and St Louis. Great news. Those team usually used us to break a losing streak.

We compete w/ good teams like Detroit and Anaheim and just come a little short. So lets keep this up and build on it. If we can beat Ducks and Caps coming up I will feel real good.

Hey Rich, when was the last time the Kings were over .500 15 games or later into a season??? Heck, when was the last time they had a winning record; October 2006???

Caps will be a good test. If we can keep up with them (unless Theodore is in net, in which case anyone should beat them on any given night), I will be a big believer in this year's Kings. I think we've proved we can compete with Anaheim and Detroit and Dallas and San Jose (although SJ beat us twice), it's time for us to win some of these games. Taking both of the games against Dallas is a great start.

you may all be wondering when the stanle cup is coming to LA.i dont think it will be this year but soon.we have the 2 most youngest tham in the NHL.i have been a kings fan for some time now and even when the team was playing bad i never gave hop.for all you kings fans out their just remember one thing,its coming,the stanle cup is going to come to its rightful place.right hear in LA.and when that happens i will see you right out side of staple center for the party that will end at night but never in our harts

I believe this team, these wins are not a fluke in my opinion. I also believe that the best chance they have to win is with Ersberg in net, period.

I am more than pleased with the efforts of both the coaching staff and the players. We are far beyond anything I and many imagined. I am convinced we cam beat any club at the 500 mark or below with regularity. But we still have a long ways to go. Right now we have to play almost perfect hockey to win. Any mistake can cost us a game. Pretty soon (next Year) I think, we might be good enough to beat any team at any time(with making mistakes). Our offense is next to show up. When that happens, we should be hard to beat. I want to say again, I'm extremely pleased so far.

WE NEED ONE MORE GOOD DRAFT. We must work on some O.

Happy that we're consistently beating bad teams/teams playing badly; it means we're not one of them. We're in the middle somewhere, and that's good. At least we're not 3-9-3 and already out of it. And just staying in the hunt is good for a lot of reasons.

But tonight I've had enough of Calder of the top line. He has terrible hands. At least twice 2nite he was in a threatening position with the puck and nothing came of it. What exactly is his role on that line? To stand in front of the net and get garbage goals? A fine skill-set, and someone far better at it than Calder, Holmstrom of the Wings, even HE doesn't play on the top line. That line needs a sniper. Frankly, that line needs Moller, not Sully. Moller is a shooter, just let him get open and Kopi'll get him the puck and BROWN will get the garbage goals.

And don't even get me started with Calder on the PP! For gods sake, at least put Boyle out there, now That's a screen.

I am not going to count my chickens before they hatch.
The kings were up 3-1 and could have put the stars away, but they suddenly changed their game and became timid. I don't think they have the killer instinct. And that I guess comes from inexperience. They should not be affraid of success. This team should take advantage of it.

Roger

I think the more important thing is that the Kings are starting to believe in THEMSELVES.

Kopitar can play better and he knows it. He is not using his size to his advantage. He is not fighting for puck position. He is giving up on plays way to easily. He has got to do a better job. I hope he is reading your blog Rich.

Roger

Another great win for the Kings tonight, probably the most impressive of the four in my mind. While I'm encouraged by this little run and a lot of the tendencies they are developing, we have to keep our wits about us and remain realistic. This team has a long way to go before it even reaches playoff contender status; but at least they're four wins closer.

Btw, if you're TM, which game of this weekend's back-to-back do you give to Labs...or do you go for broke and run Double E in both of them?

Time for TM to make a statement.

I second the Duck Hunters motion. Also, note that Boyle had 5 hits and won 4 of 6 FOs, with no penalties in a tightly called game in 9 minutes. His D is not perfect, but improving. He more than anyone, I can not wait to see with 50 games under his belt. The kids are allright.

I believe they're far better than the last two, possibly three, seasons.
I believe they're mediocre at best, and probably slightly overachieving.
I believe they will still finish 9th-12th in the west.
I believe next year they will finish in the bottom half of the top 8.
I believe 2010-2011 is the year they will compete for #1 in the Pacific and 1-5 in the Western Conference. If they find a true franchise goaltender in their own system or manage their assets well enough to acquire one.

Oh, please, please keep all this stuff archived for the dog days of winter... there is NO WAY this team can keep this up...

That being said, I'm not a Dallas fan, so power to the Kings... that was impressive tonight.

Lets not get too ahead of ourselves. Even if the Kings do fall out of it, lets all stay positive. This stretch has shown us that the Kings at least know how to win, and with experience, they will do just that.

With that said, making the playoffs this year would be HUGE. Kopitar, Brown, these guys have never been to the playoffs. Most of the team hasn't. But if they don't make it, lets hope they'll at least be in the hunt. Then they'll know they can win and they'll be that much hungrier next year, when the rookies have grown.

Speaking of rookies, I wonder how much growing Doughty has in front of him. He looks like one of the better defensemen IN THE LEAGUE and he is only 18! Oh my God! Best player in his draft class by far.

GO KINGS!

this is a fun team to watch and i believe, but anze does need to step up and he will, its just a matter of time before he reestablishes himself as an elite goal scorer..

this was a good win, anze was still one of the best skaters on the ice

go kings go

It's still early but the Kings are learning how to play hockey, play it together and play it well. This is a very good young team that has a tremendous amount of potental. We still have a very long ways to go. However, you look at most of LA's losses and for the most part they've been pretty close (Vancouver not withstanding). They've found a goalie in "The Iceberg" that is playing exceptionally well and deserves to be No.1. The Kings defense absolutely amazes me to watch, actually the entire team is fun, one of the most entertaining Kings teams in years. The Quincey pick-up, Zeus, Greene, Stoll, etc. It's not just one or two players, Moller, Simmonds, etc. It's the entire team, this is fun bunch to watch that is only going to get better.

Playoffs? I don't see why not. If they continue to play defensively the way they have been playing, this team is going to be going places very soon. Keep it up!

Go Kings!

If we were in the Eastern Conference I think the playoffs would be a realistic goal. Unfortunately the Western Conference is too stacked for us to have a realistic shot at the postseason this year. I hope I'm proved wrong, though.

Even if we don't make the playoffs this year, some of our young guys are making great strides in their development. I love the way Terry Murray will put some of our youngest players on the ice in the last few minutes of close games.

VisionQuest probably has it right. Hopefully we'll finish within spitting distance of the playoffs this year, then fifth or sixth in the West next year, and then really make some noise after that.

Mark, you're not the only one who thinks Drew Doughty has been one of the better defensemen in the league so far. When I look back in Kings history, I can't think of too many defensemen who did what he's been doing every night.

Still haven't been able to get home an watch highlites... damn life...

but I am SO THRILLED THE KINGS HAVE WON 4 IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did that happen at any point last season? I don't remember any streaks past 3 games, but I could be wrong.

Either way, it's very exciting, and I look forward to paying back Nashville and puttin a big hurt on Anaheim!

GO KINGS GO!!!!

first off, its midnight and just got home from working one hell of a long day including the ucla mens basketball game.

second, props to the kings for winning their 4th game in a row. i did not see the game tonight, so i can't comment on any of the play. i read the recap and all of your comments.

i agree with many of you who are holding judgement about this team. i am too. 7-6-2 is fantastic compared to last year and the year before. not necessarily the overall record, but how they are playing. all of a sudden we are winning one goal games. we are not playing scared. worried about whether the goalie is going to make the save. they are simply just going out and playing harder than their opponent. someone said dallas was not a good test because they are weak this year. whether a team is good or bad, "crappy" teams don't win back to back home and home games if they are not good. no team is that lucky. the kings have found the right system and players and are making the most of it.

i feel bad for the haters out there, and we all know who you are (an..., cr...), who really want the kings to fail so they can blame dl or tm for how they have f'd up the team. they'll probably start complaining about tm suits next.

i am a macro kind of guy. i tend to look at the big picture. its more realistic. big picture, dl's moves are working. tm's coaching is working. if you want to micro-analyze every little thing, sure you'll find something wrong. jessica alba is probably the hottest chick on the planet, but if you look real,real close, i bet she has one small pimple on her cheak. does that make her ugly? f no.

its early. there are still 67 games left. but i am stoked at the level of play i am seeing out of these guys.

go kings...

watch the game highlights of tuesday's game and pay attention to their comments regarding frolov. i know he hasn't been taking advantage of his breakaway/penalty shot chances, but it was awesome that he scored the winner in the shootout. solid game last night, way to play in a tight game.

We're not going to be at the bottom this year at least it seems. The stats so far are pretty impressive, but it's too early to tell much yet. What I CAN tell is that Ersberg is doing a great job and should keep the #1 spot.

I just got home from the game and it was great....The only thing is that the Stars fans were for the most part Pricks. I must have heard 20 times that purple is
"gay". I dont remember it being like that in LA, My wife was so worried that I was going to get into a fight because everytime the KINGS would score,I would stand up and cheer. And boy would I hear it.
There was on "Big Girl" after the game that came up to me and said purple is the gay color of Ft Worth, I shut her up when I said that Green is the fat girl of So Cal. She Shut up fast.
Well they looked great, except Kopi man looks like he is just skateing around out there....And Brian Boyle man that guy is one of my favorite players and I just wish he would use his size and play a lil bit more like Brown he would be awsome, I just have a feeling that TM will send him packing I hope not but that is what I think will happen.
I wish I would have seen more then 5 KINGS fans.....But after we win it all we will have our out of town fans.
GO KINGS

Rich, I have some good shots from warm up and the game just dont know how to post them...If you want to let me know cmbondphotography@msn.com let me know if you all want any of them.

Based on their defensive stats, yes, I'm starting to believe. It's only 15 games, but they're one of the best defensive teams in the league so far. Hard to view those stats in anything but a positive light.

Then again, this IS the Kings we're talking about.

I wish people would stop worrying about Kopi. He is ten times better in the defensive end than he was last year and I haven't seen him turn the puck over in his own end in a while now which is something that he was close to leading the league in last year (despite all his offense). He is taking a step back from offense to make sure he is solid on D and is still averaging almost a point a game. That's what leaders are supposed to do, particularly when that's the team's focus right now. I'll predict now. He'll still get twenty goals while racking up around 70 assists this year. AAANNNNDDD his plus/minus will be in the positive side this year which would be a monster of an improvement from last year.

Right on with your post duckhunter.

I can't believe the difference between this years team and last years. They play with confidence..that's something we didn't see last year. Also, I can't believe how good we've become on faceoffs. Boyle, Zeus, Stoll...they've been incredible. We lose very few key faceoffs. Even Kopitar has gotten better on the draws.

Doughty is just an incredible talent. I still wonder what DL would have done if we would have gotten the 1st overall pick? I still think he would have gone D.
He's playing the swame kind of minutes that the best D'men in the league are playing. I wonder how high his ceiling will be? I've compared him to Bourque and Leetch and I see no reason to back off those comparisons.

I don't know whether we'll make the playoffs..although I think we can...but no matter, we couldn't have asked for anything more coming into the season. They compete each and every night. I was listening to the Dallas announcers and they had nothing but praise for this team. It's great to hear from other teams.

I believe Vision Quest hit the nail on the head.

In the meantime, I'm having a hell of alot of fun watching these young kids play, learn, and grow together.

Cristobal? Anthony? Why so quiet? Yes, I'm calling you two out.

The Kings beat the Stars, in Dallas no less, and people are still unsatisfied with their play thus far. Wow. How many times did the Kings beat the Stars last year? Once? Hats off Kings and TM, you're doing great.

I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but results like we are getting now were what I was expecting----A
young, large, talented, good-skating team that works it's tail off, and gets some good results.

I never bought-in to the feeling that we were going to
suck for this season. I don't know about the POs, but we are improving A LOT this season, and the POs are at least possible, IMO.

And for this team I use the word, "Its", because the guys are NOT playing like a bunch of individuals, they are PLAYING LIKE A UNIT--A REAL TEAM.

The system Murray/Harpo have instated is a good one, that the players understand and can function effectively within.

Right now, our DEFENSIVE positioning is better than our OFFENSIVE positioning, but it will come, I believe.
"D" ususally comes before "O" when building
most teams anyway.

Kudos to the coaching staff, Mgmt, and ofcourse, ALL THE PLAYERS, for the great work so far.

YES, THEY CAN!!
=======================================================
--Sergeir Prozacutov

BTW, how come Cristobal never has anything to say when the Kings are playing well?

everyone who says dallas is a bottom feeder is completely off base. they will be one of the better teams in the conference, and it started the first game against the kings. why you ask? because they got zubov and lehtinen back playing together for the first time on tuesday (when i found out lehtinen was playing, i got pretty worried. those guys are the stars that do the things nobody sees on the stat sheet, mainly defensive responsibility.

imagine what the kings would look like without o'donnell and frolov for a large span of games. with that said, i really do think the last two wins have been impressive, and their significance shouldn't be downplayed. florida and st, louis? those are games we should win. but dallas is solid, and i'm glad we got the wins against them.

I just took a peek at the standings for the 1st time this year.
We're 10th in the west with 16 points. . The Ducks are 5th with 19 points. We've played 2 less games than they have.
Oh the possibilities!

I think the only time I looked at the standings last year was when we were battling it out with Tampa Bay for last overall.

THANK YOU KINGS .GO KINGS GO .

Win or lose I will always cheer for and believe in this team because I am a Kings fan. But it sure has been far more exciting this year than it has been in recent years.

Ersberg # 1 in NHL .

I'll tell you what I do believe in... Drew Doughty, if he can stay healthy, is going to be the greatest defenseman in Kings history. PERIOD.

In NHL history.

Kings look very much improved however:

The only disturbing issue of last nights play was the 5 on 3 we had for almost 2 min and could not score! There is no way you should not score. Granted the 3 d-men for Dallas were excellent, but all they had to do was stand there while we passed the puck back and forth to the same guys to try to score....Kopi should be moving constantly thru the middle back and forth over and over again to distract one of the 3 defensemen so there is not only a screen, but traffic in the front of the goalie. Kopi is best in FRONT of the net...he just stayed in the corner! They have to move their bodies more with
5 on3's not just the puck.
Anyone else agree?

In my opinion Blake and Norstrom are the top two defensemen in Kings history. I can't think of any other exceptional defensemen that we've had for more than a short period of time (such as Larry Robinson and Paul Coffey).

As long as Doughty stays healthy he'll be at least #3 on my list of all-time Kings defensemen.

Doughty is a STUD!!! Ersberg IS our #1! TM knows it deep down inside. He is just afraid to go back and admit he was way wrong about Babs. It's okay Terry we all already know it to be true;-P

Doughty played 40+ minutes some nights in the Ontario Hockey League. The more minutes he plays, the better he plays. Ol' Jack Johnson had better get used to playing second fiddle in the band.

Am pleased as anyone on this board. But let's be cautiously optimistic, ok? We're only 15 games into this season. But the future DOES look good. One thing for sure is that this team actually enjoys each other and is playing like a group. Haven't heard about locker room cancers or such. Winning cures lots of problems. How will they respond when they hit a snag or slump, as every team does? How will they respond? TM's been here before. That's good. And name someone on this board that doesn't think Dustin Brown isn't walking the walk as Captain?

Some things, though, need to shake themselves out first:

1 - Ersberg needs enough wins under his belt to claim #1 status. Or they ride the hot goalie, which is Iceberg for now. Doesn't matter. Just win, baby.

2 - We need some scoring by Frolov and Kopitar. Should eventually happen. And if Boyle could just get it in his mind he's a power forward, not a finesse forward, he will turn into a monster. Hit first, think later. Moller, Simmonds and a rejuvenated Handzus have all been surprises. Stoll has 6 goals. Who knew? But there's no problem with scoring by committee.

3 - Someone needs to figure what to do with Gauthier. However, overall, the D has been a very pleasant surprise. Who would have thought O'Donnell would quietly have an effect? Name someone on this board that is actually missing Rob Blake right now? Probably no one. That Doughty would play so good so early? That Quincey would turn into a great waiver wire pickup from the Wings? He looks like he's here to stay. (Being 29th in the NHL last year essentially bought us Doughty and Quincey thru draft + waiver position.) Green has played steady, tough D. Great pickup by DL. Preissing has been serviceable too. Nothing spectacular. Which is okay. And...We have at least 5 other young D men ages 18-23 in the pipeline. That's good.

4 - Stay healthy. Period. And let's get JMFJ back as soon as his body is healed.

5 - Lastly, the long home stands are basically over. It'll be time to hit the road. Let's see how the kids play. Then check back after Jan. 1 for a report card.

"TeamHasHoles said:
I'll tell you what I do believe in... Drew Doughty, if he can stay healthy, is going to be the greatest defenseman in Kings history. PERIOD.
November 14, 2008 9:46 AM

stepa said:
In NHL history.
November 14, 2008 10:18 AM"

Bobby Orr? Who's that?

Thanks for the extra dose of optimism! I love what I'm seeing out of Doughty so far, and I love the trend. Can't wait for JMFJ to come back either... we'll be even stronger.

Crash Davis,

Gauthier has been very good for the Kings and I love seeing him tag people with punishing checks EVERY GAME. I'll take some of the small mistakes he makes. Greene has been as average as it gets. He's not a 3 million dollar defenseman and it's hard to see, from the outside, why he's an alternate captain. I guess that's because he was named before O'Donnell got here.
Ersberg has given up more soft goals than deserved goals, but he's winning. He also makes the stops (many) that should be goals. The Kings are playing worse than they were with Labs despite the wins and its with Labs in net that the team truly reveals where they are at.
Doughty is an incredible player as evidenced by his composure under pressure and his hockey intelligence. He's not near the level of D. Boyle, Zubov, or Lidstrom yet, though. But he will be, and he's not far. Could you imagine coming on to this team at 18 and trying to do what he is? Amazing.
I'm really liking Stoll, and Racheal, too. He's been dedicated and hard working. He makes me think of Band of Brothers whenever I see him. He's got that WWII GI look and Racheal is a credit to the franchise as she seems very giving and classy from the intermission glimpses Ms. Androl has done.
By the way, does anyone else think Heidi Androl was a little flustered talking to Doughty after the 1st Dallas game?

Even without Kopitar or Frolov tearing it up, the Kings are decent. Wait til Kopitar starts scoring...

Simmonds was great last night. If he wasn't one of the 3 stars it was an oversight. Great pressure, great defending, but absolutely superb on the fore-check. I'd love to see Moller-Kopitar/Frolov/Handzus-Simmonds on some more power plays. Not enough Stoll on the point during the PP, either. It's proven effective a few times. Why doesn't Murray do it more often?

One concern is the inability to pull away from teams. The Kings really should have BURIED Dallas in both those games. Part of playing against division rivals is demoralizing them. But the play of this team is totally unexpected. Love it.

Don't forget Steve Duschesne Jon G.

These guys are about where I figured they'd be. Ersberg let in another questionable goal last night but he did well enough to get the win. He's playing well. With the few shots he gets he shouldn't be giving up more than a couple a night. I love how he controls rebounds or doesn't give any. He's a talented kid who I hope keeps getting better.

I'm holding to my prediction that they finish 20-22 overall in the league. That would be a satisfactory improvement over last year.

Dan H,

Steve Duchesne was a good one, as were Larry Murphy and Jay Wells, but in my opinion none of them were really exceptional. I'm thinking of guys who receive consideration for year-end all star teams and who play for their national teams in the Olympics. I guess Lubo would be in that group, but I think Doughty will be better than Lubo.

Lubo deserves to be up there as best king defenders. doughty's not there yet.
we never got to find out how good blake -zhitnik and sydor could have been together.
I think doughty could be the best king d-man ever because he's so good at 18, but he's not even fran kaberle yet.
kings fans are too accustomed to the thomas zizkas and aki bergs. its out of the ordinary to see a defenseman to come in and run the show at the back like doughty is. it's damn lucky he came along when he did, that's for sure.

Lucky Lombardi? everyone needs luck on their side.

We should sign Doughty now, to a 6-8 year extension. I want him locked down before JJ. I want them both, but if I had to choose in a money game, I'd rather have Doughty.

some of you are the biggest bandwaggoners I've ever seen, give it a break, let Doughty play a season before you judge him.

team is playing well but Dallas locks awful