What to Look for Tonight

The Kings are back on the ice tonight for the first time since Tuesday in Minnesota. They practiced on Thursday and Friday and now face off against the Ducks tonight. The two days of practice probably mean more than we would normally think. Jeff Carter has played 3 games for the Kings already but has not had much time to practice with his new team. When Carter was first acquired he was thrown right into the fire. Carter was also used on the power play and penalty kill, which he had no time to learn about the Kings strategies on the special-teams. With the two days of practice Carter will have learned more about where he needs to be in certain situations and what Darryl Sutter wants him doing. I believe Carter and Mike Richards will feed off of each other and will both get each other going and will start to produce from their line. I spoke to Carter after practice at Friday, and I told him I was looking for him to score the first goal in tonight's game. His response? He laughed and said "Ok, good choice." Sure that's nothing major but that shows the obvious that he really wants a goal and it may also mean that he believes tonight is the night he scores his first goal as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Another thing to look for will be Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Brown has been on fire lately as he has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 5 games, including points in 3 straight games. Let's hope he can continue his point streak and help his line produce some more points. Anze Kopitar scored a goal last game, which is his 1st goal in his last 10 games.Hopefully that goal is a sign of good things to come from Kopitar. With Brown's increased production it can rub off on Kopitar and get his play going again. Let's look for Brown to continue his hot streak and also for Kopitar to get back to the Kopitar we expect. The Kings have played well the last 3 games even though they are 2-1 in their last three. The last two games they have had presence in front of the net, which usually equals goals. So hopefully that continues tonight. After some well deserved time off Quick will be back in net tonight. Let's hope the Kings can continue scoring tonight, can carry the momentum over from Tuesday, and can start a winning streak that will put them back into the playoffs.
-AllThingsKings

Kings in Good Position?

Anze Kopitar celebrates after scoring a goal.

If the Playoffs were to start today, the Kings would be on the outside looking in. The players would be preparing to move back home for the off season and the management would most likely be going through changes. And the fans? Well we would all be disappointed, to say the least, and asking for Dean Lombardi to be fired. Many people may ask that Darryl Sutter be fired in favor of an offensive minded coach. If the playoffs started today, the Kings would be sitting in 9th place and would miss the playoffs by 1 point. Well luckily for the Kings, for the management, and for us fans the playoffs do not start today.

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The Goalie Situation

Jonathan Bernier watches as starter Jonathan Quick prepares for a game.

The Kings have two great goalies in Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier. Bernier, the backup, believes he is ready to be an starting goaltender in the NHL. Whether it be with the Kings, or any other team in the NHL, Bernier wants to start.

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Kings Score 4 in Win Over Wild.

Dwight King watches his shot as it finds its way past Niklas Backstrom and into the goal.

On the second night of a back to back for the Kings, they seemingly had no problems scoring tonight. On Monday night the Kings only goal came with less than 4 minutes remaining in the game. Tonight it only took the Kings 44 seconds to score against the Wild.

Why Can't the Kings Score?

Simon Gagne celebrates with Dustin Brown after goal scored on opening night at Staples.

It's no secret that the Kings have had trouble scoring this year. The Kings are averaging a league worst 2.06 goals per game this year and currently sit in 10th place in the western conference. The Kings currently have two top line centers in Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards. The Kings also have Justin Williams and Dustin Brown as two of their top six forwards. The Kings traded for Dustin Penner a year ago today, and signed Simon Gagne as a free agent this past off season, thus completing the Kings top six forwards; on paper.

Kings Still Can't Find the Back of the Net - Game Recap

Fresh off of a hat trick from captain Dustin Brown that led to a 4-0 victory over Chicago Saturday night, the Kings traveled to Nashville to take on the Predators. Would the Kings continue scoring goals? No, the Kings did the opposite and returned to looking like the team that averages a league worst 2.06 goals per game. The Kings lost to the Predators by a final score of 2-1.

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Hey Mr. Carter, Tell Me Where Have You Been?

Jeff Carter and Mike Richards take the ice as teammates for the first time since May 5, 2011

Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were both traded on June 23, 2011 from the Philadelphia Flyers. Mike Richards was the captain of the Flyers at the time. Richards and Carter were both huge reasons as to why the Flyers even made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010. In two blockbuster trades in the off-season, the Kings acquired Mike Richards, and the Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Jeff Carter. The two were obviously very shocked and hurt that they had been traded. Mike Richards eventually came to acceptance and has shown to actually enjoy living in Los Angeles and playing for the Kings. Richie got off to a hot start with the Kings before being sidelined with a concussion and has yet to return to pre-concussion form. As for Jeff Carter, he was also very upset, but never really came to accept the fact that he was a member of the Blue Jackets. He was hurt twice early in the season and clearly did not want to be a member of the Blue Jackets. He was playing for one of the worst teams in the NHL and he no longer wanted to be there and it seemed like the Blue Jackets no longer wanted him. Exactly 8 months after they were both traded from the Flyers, Carter and Richards were reunited once again. On February 23, the Blue Jackets agreed to send Jeff Carter to the Kings in exchange for Kings D-man Jack Johnson and a conditional first round pick. Both Richie and Carts are very excited to be playing together again because they know the damage they can do together on the ice. The Kings got their top-six forward they had been searching for, and Carter got out of Columbus just like he clearly wanted. Now let's hope the goals start pouring in the net, and Carter and Richards get each other going again.
-AllThingsKings

My First Post. Kings Win 4-0

Dustin Brown, after scoring his 3rd goal, celebrates around some hats.

So I'm just learning here, so pardon me if the posts are somewhat bare. Last night was the first game with Jeff Carter as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Jeff Carter has one of the best wrist shots in the game, and he was added simply because the Kings can not score. With the Kings ranked 30th in the league in scoring it is no wonder they were in the market for a top-six forward who can put the puck in the net. Like many were hoping would happen, the Kings went off and scored some goals. They scored 4. But none of them came from Carter. Dustin Brown, who earlier in the week was rumored to possibly be traded, recorded a hat trick for the Kings. Dustin Brown had 4 points by scoring 3 goals and an assisting on Willie Mitchell's goal. Was this our captain responding to the rumors that he was being shopped around? Not according to him, as he had this to say, "As a player, you definitely think about it when your name is out there. But, I don't think its a motivating factor. It's definitely in the back of your mind. Maybe its a coincidence."  Brown played a hell of a game and deserved a night like this. The Kings finally scored some goals, and Quick returned to form and recorded his 7th shutout of the year. The Kings won 4-0 and are tied with Colorado and Dallas for the 8th and final playoff spot in the west. Hopefully the Kings can continue to score some goals night in and night out, as they are only 5 points behind Phoenix and can still win the division and capture the number 3 seed in the west. The Kings have 20 games remaining and this is certainly a playoff push. We'll see what the Kings can do to try and make the playoffs.
-AllThingsKings