The Kings held on, despite losing Jack Johnson to injury, and earned two points in Edmonton. Last time here, Matt Greene was the unlikely hero. Tonight, it was Sean O’Donnell. More from the locker room ASAP…
LATEST NEWS- West Finals Game 5 Notes: Kings vs. Coyotes
- LA Kings Infographic
- Kings know they have to refocus
- Learning the Game: Mo Williams
- The Key Three: May 20
- Today's Tune-In Information
- West Finals Game 4 Notes: Kings vs. Coyotes
- WCF: Game Four Live Chat
- King, Nolan have formed their own support group
- Lewis continues to play huge role for Kings
RULES FOR BLOG COMMENTING
- No profanity, slurs or other offensive language. Replacing letters with symbols does not turn expletives into non-expletives.
- Personal attacks against other blog commenters, and/or blatant attempts to antagonize other commenters, are not tolerated. Respectful disagreement is encouraged. Posts that continually express the same singular opinion will be deleted.
- Comments that incite political, religious or similar debates will be deleted.
- Please do not discuss, or post links to, websites that illegally stream NHL games.
- Posting under multiple user names is not allowed. Do not type in all caps. All violations are subject to comment deletion and/or banning of commenters, per the discretion of the blog administrator.
SOCIAL MEDIA
LA Kings Insider LA Kings Official
Another gutsy win boys, one we really needed!
[Reply]
Glad we got it.
[Reply]
Gut check win!
[Reply]
Take it and run. Quick is the man.
[Reply]
<3 Quick
[Reply]
Good teams find a way to win…great goal by O’Donnell!
[Reply]
#1 in the West! F–Yeah!
[Reply]
Great win boys. One game to go before much needed break. Keep it up!!
[Reply]
BTW, we are tied with PIT but WAS will take over top spot in a minute with 48 points
[Reply]
Nice win against a team that was on a roll
[Reply]
Yeaaaahhhhh, baby! Brownie totally sold it. Nice play! And who said no chance to win?
[Reply]
damn WAS
[Reply]
Quick won this game for us, lucky two points tonight, the lack of energy was very apparent, hurry back Simmonds, we need your spark.
[Reply]
Regulation win on the second game of the back to back.
Hell Yeah.
Unsung heroes picking up the slack.
[Reply]
Well, we were 1st overall for about 3 minutes. 6-1 WAS F.
[Reply]
Yeah OD summed it up – this team can with without their A game… actually, considering half of the team was Manchester, they won without their B game. Quick rocked!
[Reply]
This TEAM is growing up right in front of our eyes. Like in past years, we just expect the Kings to blow the lead. But something special is happening. Man, this is fun.
[Reply]
Quick – first star and well deserved
[Reply]
Quick is our #1. PERIOD! He is pulling games out for us! Gutsy frikkin win boys!
Hopefully JJ is just sore. Rich is going to be busy letting us know about all the behind the scenes stuff going on.
I think I’ve learned to not question TM lately. His crystal ball is better than my Magic 8.
[Reply]
We will take top in west! WHOOOOO HOOOOO!
[Reply]
At least we don’t have Craig Anderson in net. This guy has been awful lately.
[Reply]
1st on the west and tied with the pens for second in the league… i like the sound of that… and almost half way through the season too!!
i hope our boys can heal quickly… thats a lot of injuries but i guess we all get a great xmas gift in some much needed days off for the kings to heal up.
way to go KO KINGS GO!!!!!
[Reply]
NHL on the fly guys power ranking shat on the Kings for only having a +3 point dif. saying that SO wins are not indicative of a superior team… What a cad piece! Good teams win one-goal games! It builds character and cohesion!!! I’ll take first in the west and +4 (now)!!!
Keep it up Kings!
Elkin looked good too! better than Purcell anyway
[Reply]
I’m sure JMFJ would have played this out had it been playoffs. Just precautionary.
[Reply]
How did Oilers won 5 straight? They can’t even beat banged up Kings. Oilers are BIG JOKE!
[Reply]
Don’t hear the doubters out tonight. Didn’t someone say we should trade Quick last night? HA! Great effort, good win. OD with the game winner AND POS BENCHED in the 3rd period. How you liking that Anthonyy?!
[Reply]
Souray being interviewed says Edm took some shortcuts and that’s why they lost. He says they’ve been playing better than that lately…
[Reply]
Great game by Quick and gritty effort.
[Reply]
Reno, excellent calls today man.
I just took the Kings at +105. That is a good call.
[Reply]
TOTALLY owe this one to Quicker. He won it for us. WTG JQ!!!!
[Reply]
Top in West, but SJ has 2 games and Chicago 4 games in hand.
[Reply]
Hopefully the US Olympic team won’t have the burned out Anderson either. Good job JQ!
[Reply]
YEAHHHH! Chalk up another win on that board!
[Reply]
Mesquite Smokie formerly Kevin
Only +105, I got them at +125
[Reply]
I feel like I need to plug my ears and close my eyes so I dont have to get all bummed about JJ being out. I am scared to know what the injury is.
[Reply]
Umm.. about what I wrote earlier? About O’Donnell getting a night off?
NEVER MIND!
[Reply]
Hell yeah!!! We needed this. lets ride the momentum into Calgary. Go boys, go!!! Champions find a way to wins in the midst of adversity. Bring on the cup!!!! Sorry I’m just excited. Great win. I do believe…
[Reply]
And another positive – that ends the road games in Edm and Vanc for the season. Finish up 2 games at Calgary in the next 2 weeks and then done with them as well. Im very optimistic going forward! (As long as we dont start an injury bug with another letter since there are no more S’s.)
[Reply]
Quick #1 as he should of been in the Dallas game as well.
Now we need a miracle in Calgary, but we’ve had several so maybe not so much a miracle any more.
Any word on Simmons surgery?
[Reply]
Enjoy this win everyone. A wounded Calgary awaits. Their coach called them out in the media tonight and I’m expecting a pretty merciless Flames team on Thursday. We’re gonna need to be rested and ready. a HUGE test on Thursday.
[Reply]
Quick just won himself 2 things..
a spot on the USA team and he won the game for the Kings, single handedly..
Hopefully the Jack Johnson injury isn’t too big, he was having a good year.. Call up Voynov?
[Reply]
absolutely unbelievable …. thank you quick …… better do something lombardi …. this lineup is garbage with all these injuries ….. we should have lost 10-1 ….. please do something dean
[Reply]
IMHO…our best win of the year! With only half the roster.
I also think it is about time we ALL acknowledge BR’s contribution during this Kings impressive run! I must admit I thought he had failed as a king, but he is showing and proving the doubters wrong. Good move from DL!
[Reply]
And still undefeated when leading after 2 periods!
[Reply]
Quick on Olympic team but Miller will be starter
[Reply]
I am not worried about games in hand at this point. The Kings are collecting points, and that is all I care about. Keep it up boys!
[Reply]
R.E.M.
I only got to take them at about 4:15pm. I was at work til about 3:30 and had to get back a ticket my friend placed for me the night before. I told him to take LA but he inadvertantly took VAN (-170). I am kinda glad he did. I won that bet too.
[Reply]
As already mentioned, I concur that Elkins did a great job for his 1st NHL game. Solid play. He stepped it up. I thought Parse had some moments as well tonight and I REALLY like Ritchie and Brown together! They look like they have chemistry. Hope to see more of that Thursday.
[Reply]
No panic. Kept composure. 15-0-0 after leading 2nd period well earned.
[Reply]
I am so glad it is almost Christmas break. WE NEED IT…
[Reply]
Our role players are starting to contribute and be bonafide role players!!! Are we watching the growth of a cup contender? A little more grit and face-off % and we’re at the gates!
[Reply]
quick deserved this one he was solid and calmed the team down when they where running around in our zone.
[Reply]
Here’s my prediction of what TM will say about JJ’s injury:
“It’s a lower body thing. He hurt it somehow at some point in the game. He’s gonna see the doctor tomorrow. Until then, he’s day-to-day.”
[Reply]
Anderson is playing himself off that Olympic team
[Reply]
sasKing
We know he hurt it from Souray slapper
[Reply]
I want to see Elkins center Richardson and Brown.
[Reply]
sasKing are you sure youre not TM in disguise? If not, you have a job as a GM waiting for you.
[Reply]
Go back to Oilers site and keep complaining.
[Reply]
Seeing that he was injured blocking a S. Souray slapper and did not return, I’d have to speculate a broken foot. Of course, I’m hoping for the best. Great gritty win tonight!
[Reply]
Quick standing on his head and more than a few shots hitting the post or trickling just wide….Kings need to leave town QUICK because that win was sick!
Just like Vancouver has our number it seems we have Edmonton’s. Nice win on a back to back with half our team on IR. One more win on Thursday and you can have next week off.
[Reply]
It feels so good to beet the Oilers. Growing up I remember a battle of the Smythe when we knocked them out of the playoffs (Ranford got put in against us as backup). They say it isn’t a rivalry until you meet in the playoffs. For me, Oilers are our rival (Ducks just suck).
[Reply]
Mesquite Smokie formerly Kevin
I wonder why they dropped so much.
I know there was talk about Ersberg in net earlier before Rich confirmed Quick.
[Reply]
The shot looked to hit him in the foot as he knelt, exposing the outside of his foot. Took it like a champ, but that’s how bones get broken. Could be bad.
[Reply]
2nd night in a back to back without Smyth, Stoll, and Simmonds and they still knock out a win. This is a special team….after tonights win no one should be knocking T Murray or Lombardi.
[Reply]
There were plenty of excuses available:
back 2 back games
travel
lose an hour in time zone
lose a player to injury
playing the hottest team in the league
playing against a great skating team on the 2nd night
having so many injuries
Tonight will be the night we look back upon as an inflection point in the season.
Boy, you could tell Greene’s legs were gone, but you could also tell he was pushing every ounce of energy left out of them.
DD had some great hits on their speedy guys.
Richardson is filling in for Simmonds pretty well.
Let’s hope Sjohnson is okay.
[Reply]
And all those POS fans who thought that was a terrible trade – time to bury that carcass. “POS stapled to the bench” in the 3rd period.
[Reply]
I love that one Sas. That is perfect.
What a canned response.
[Reply]
This has to get Quick on the US Olympic team. He won this game for us.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Ersberg will start against Calgary. With the injury bug hitting us badly, who knows who is next and if you ain’t playing, then you don’t get hurt. Just in case, give Quick a rest.
[Reply]
Mesquite Smokie formerly Kevin
You should get at least +150 for Thurs. And Murray is gonna bust the Kings ass before the break so should be a good play.
[Reply]
I was originally bummed when I saw the sched. with no Kings games for 8 days, but now, I’m so glad. They need the rest and some injuries to heal. 1 more game guys and then enjoy your time off!
[Reply]
Where’s clippers?
[Reply]
I hope the break doesn’t slow them down. You can’t simulate this in practice.
[Reply]
I just went to Oilers site and left poop there. Lol, joking it’s just a sad thing to do ….
[Reply]
That’s my only worry. Too many days off is not good. But they’re so hurt, it might be better to gain some rust than to lose those games that would’ve been played.
[Reply]
Plus, they’ll be coming back with RS in the mix!!! Here comes the scoring for Kopi again!
[Reply]
Sparky…way to early for the “C” word!
[Reply]
Where do u guys watch the games when we are in Canada?
[Reply]
Richardson is Simmonds’ mini-me.
[Reply]
Holly-
I agree. I think Elkins played well enough to center Richie and Brown. I’d like to see it too.
[Reply]
Do you guys really think that od scored that goal on his owwn!!!Mikus strikes again!!!!!!!!!Has that jedi mojo going on all cylinders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Reply]
Give Elkins a couple games in the show and let him get used to the speed and I think he’ll be all right. He looked lost out there at times, but I think he has the potential to be a solid 4th liner. Played well to enough to get my vote of confidence.. Once we’re healthy again, the staff is going to have to make a decision between Purcell and Moller… I wonder who’s going and who’s staying (sarcasm, obviously Purcell is going, the guy is so weak)
[Reply]
Why doesn’t TM push Kopi to second line and bring Zues to 1st, this will boost the second line and Kopi some motivation and wake up call.
[Reply]
As a long time Kings fan, I am conditioned to expect the wheels to fall off… and amazingly, the wheels have ALL come off the Kings wagon (one injury at a time) and yet the guys are still winning by PUSHING AND PULLING the wagon like a sled. Damn impressed by their grit.
[Reply]
Watchin Oilers post game, Pat quinn is such a sore loser
[Reply]
CHI has STL tomorrow, but than BOS, DET, and SJ. Could drop a few points there and at that point Chicago will have exhausted each of its games in hand.
[Reply]
Pat Quinn was PISSED!!! Boy did he let his team have it in the media conference. Hasn’t been angry all year, but he’s angry now. His words.
BOY that felt good to hear.
He also said he didn’t like the way we played, but we’re in first place and we won tonight. He said maybe they should adopt our style. LOL! Priceless!
[Reply]
TM said he is holding a mini-training camp during the days off. Hopefully that will keep the healthy players going, and the time off will help the injuries. Here’s to one more win before the break…We gotta beat the Calgary Candlesticks!!!
[Reply]
goldielocks: Probably having a beer with Anthony and POS.
[Reply]
quick is awesome, but when is he gonna record a shutout? Our D needs to improve i think before quick can get a shutout.
[Reply]
lol… goldie.
The 8 day break will get the Kings back Smyth. I see Simmer coming back just after the new year. Stoll might be back for Thursday against Calgary. If it is just a bruise, JJ WILL be back for Calgary, if not he won’t be back til after the New Year and if it is REALLY bad, he won’t be back til after the Olympic break.
Lokti and Bugsy will probably head back to Manchester soon, only cause by the time they heal up we might have all the rest back up.
Parse should stay up. He has been a huge blessing. Oscar will go back. Elkins was an emergency call up and most definitely will go back.
This looks like we will probably be healing all the way to the Olympic Break. The way we have been winning is nothing short of spectacular.
I see at most a #4 seed. I don’t think we can hold the #1 spot the rest of the way. I do see a playoff spot. If we do, we have to hope we don’t see Vancouver or the Red Wings in the first round.
As of Monday the Kings were 12:1 odds to win the Western Conference. I think we can do it. It will take a bit of work and we HAVE to win games against Vancouver and Detroit if we want to make sure we can. We are currently 0-2-1 against Vancouver and that just won’t cut it. So far, the Kings are just 0-1-0 against the Wings but it is only one game. They have to step it up.
Good Win guys. Nice way to get some scoring from the outside by just shooting the puck. Have to work on making the changes a bit more crisp, even after traveling across time zones. It will eliminate some of those odd man rushes that have killed us of late.
[Reply]
Hey R.E.M. still want to trade Quick to Montreal.
[Reply]
goldielocks — were you asking about this clippers?
clippers of the nhl says:
December 15, 2009 at 1:41 PM
plaxer x and anybody else…… when i say crappy vet temporary band-aid im not talking about spending money …. im talking about getting a cheap vet like we did with randy jones … somebody easily expendable once we get healthy or for depth purposes …. because right now with simmonds out especially, we are going to lose every game
[Reply]
Dominick
Right now I definately would. You can’t go by one game. But if you are looking for me to give Quick credit, he definately stood on his head and stole points.
BTW, Gainey would never trade Price straight up for Quick, he is not that stupid.
But Frolov and Quick for Price, that would be interesting.
Frolov would fit in well with the Habs.
[Reply]
REM & KEVIN
I believe the line had dropped due to a lot of sharp money being put on the Kings. I got them at +150 yesterday though they opened at +160. Got them today at +110.
The early bird get’s the worm in sports betting. Getting that extra 5-10% is key to making a profit
[Reply]
That was basically the same game we played against Vancouver last night only Edmonton doesn’t have a Roberto Luongo.
Here’s a great quote from the post game via Pat Quinn as he shakes his head in disgust and true wonderment:
“I don’t even like the way they played(Kings)….but they’re in first so, maybe we should adopt their style”
Classic line as his head was about to explode during the interview.
[Reply]
Nice win boys. I had my doubts for Quick starting back to back, but what the hell do i know.
I’m confused as to why the canadian broadcasts arent in HD. youd think if any games would be in HD, it would be these. is this how they watch games up in “hockey country”?
also, the Edmonton broadcasters were MUCH more tolerable than the vancouver ones. I’ll even go so far as to say I like them. Vancouver’s guys made me cringe with their digs at the kings, much like when I endure the Ducks’ Hayward.
[Reply]
Ya R.E.M, where’s all the Quick bashing tonight? Bandwagoner…
[Reply]
tantrum4
If Quick is lucky he’ll avoid any bashing before the 8 day layoff
[Reply]
R.E.M.,Quick’s done it for a lot more than “one game’.
[Reply]
And tantrum4
You should thank me for waking Quick up after last nights loss
[Reply]
Dominick
And with a 2.60 GAA and .903 SV% there are plenty of games he hasn’t done it.
How about 4-1 lead earlier this year in 3rd to Dallas only to allow them to tie the game.
Or a 4-0 lead to SJ and they tied it within minutes.
[Reply]
I could do better than that if you want to start pointing the finger.
[Reply]
clippers may show up after he check out the game highlight. LOL!
[Reply]
For those who have criticized Sean O’Donnell, normally it’s not the goals he scores that are important (although that was nice today). He is a solid defenseman, and he taught Drew quite a bit last year.
His +/- rating is really good—tied for 3rd on the Kings.
Wayne Simmonds . +13
Drew Doughty . . +10
Sean O’Donnell . +9
Jarret Stoll . . +9
Ryan Smyth . . . +5
Justin Williams . +4
Anze Kopitar . . +4
Scott Parse . . . +3
Good job, guys!
[Reply]
Quick was the NHL’s 1st star of the week. His save percentage was .945 during our 8 game point streak. The most important stat in this or any sport winning. I heard a quote from Kevin Weekes a couple weeks ago “stats are for losers, the only stat that matters is winning” and Quick is winning.
[Reply]
Seattle,
One name, two words: Pascal Leclaire. Just saying . . .
[Reply]
This is the kind of game the Kings used to lose.
And Quick has had quite a coupla weeks. Very well deserved praise for him.
We need to find another defenseman fast if JJ is hurt. Wish Hickey or Teubert was ready.
[Reply]
Kopitar had ZERO shots?!?!
[Reply]
Way to go Boys, great win! They are going to need those eight days off…Go KINGS!!!
[Reply]
I don’t watch the NHL channel that often because of the bias against the Kings and tonight was no exception. Despite winning their 22nd game and 47 points to lead the west, the mentally challenged commentator (not the host) whose name isn’t even worth mentioning says the Kings are only 13th in the league on his list because of so many shoot out wins….
The Kings are tied with Pittsburg in points and this genius still won’t give the Kings credit.
Of course they spent a lot of time analyzing why the Flyers are piss poor this season…
[Reply]
He didn’t score a goal, but Greene was my hero tonight. He saved a goal by clearing a puck that got behind Quick and absolutely crushed fools every chance he got.
JJ, way to get in the shooting lane, hope its not serious. Good all around effort by a team that has gone through half the Manchester roster. Keep grinding boys, one more before the break.
[Reply]
KingFan4ever,
I dont get it either. Since when is winning games in OT/SO no big deal? if we go 82 games and win them all in a shootout does that make us a bad hockey club? idiots…
in my opinion if all our shootout wins say anything, it says we have spectacular goaltending.
[Reply]
Cross Check – great quote.
I can’t stand some of the negativity and criticism here. We are winning for crissakes. I don’t care of we are only +3 or 4 in goals, I don’t care what Quick’s save percentage is – we are freakin’ winning and we are winning with a skeleton crew. Last year, if we had this many injuries in one span, the team would have just crashed and burned. They wouldn’t be grinding out games they didn’t play their best and, if this was last year, they certainly wouldn’t have gone 8-1-1 in a 10 game stretch.
I am as cynical as the next Kings fan in expecting the other shoe to drop, but the bottom line is we are winning and winning a lot. I, for one, am going to enjoy the ride as long as possible and not bag on the team for meaningless stats.
Quick is the man, Kopi will catch fire again, Smyth is hungry, and the team is going to really catch fire soon. If they are winning looking this bad, wait until they are firing on all cylinders.
Let’s take care of Calgary and then get some much needed rest.
GO KINGS!!!
[Reply]
KingsFan in OC
Finally, someone who gets it!
[Reply]
Yeah, it’s a beautiful quote. Thx for sharing.
[Reply]
King of Jawas,
That just tells you that if the Canadiens and the Flyers started playing in the KHL, they would still get more positive coverage than the Kings. According to Einstein McAnalyst over there on the NHL network, since there is no SO in the playoffs, those wins are not an “accurate gauge” of how good LA is. Like you said. If they made the game all SO and the Kings won them all, they would still find some excuse to not validate it.
Absolute morons.
[Reply]
The reason this years Kings win, is they are a much improved defensive team.
Tell McAnalyst, good defensive team has the best chance of winning playoff overtime hockey. We take our chances.
Brown and Richardson are playing well together and Quick had another good game. I really like this Los Angeles Kings team.
Hope everyone enjoys the day off tomorrow and the Kings take care of the Flames Thursday.
Go Kings Go!!
[Reply]
Post Game article from http://www.lakingsnews.com.
Enjoy.
[Reply]
Speaking of not being given due recognition:
Before tonights game:
Kings 45 pts SJ 45 pts
Kings 21 wins SJ 19 wins
Head to head Kings 2wins 1OT loss
Yet the Sharks were placed ahead of the Kings in the standings.
How is this possible? Granted SJ had 2 games in hand but those mean nothing unless points are earned.
[Reply]
Just went to the rules and answered my own question;
The first tie breaker when teams are tied in points is the fewer games played equates to a higher win percentage. (so they say).
[Reply]
R.E.M. Aka Corey Price’s Mother.
Where do you keep the dead horse you beat to death? Or are you still beating it?
grab a cup of reality.
[Reply]
goldie and jet ….. sorry but if u think one lucky win where the kings got toally dominated and should have lost 10-1 is something to cheer about, i feel sorry for you …. with this lineup kings will lose every game (unless they get lucky like tonight) …. fortunately only one more game to go …. after christmas hopefully will get smyth back for coyotes , so hopefully we can start outplaying our opponents again at that time instead of relying on luck like tonight …. gotta love quick r.e.m. – who the hell is price …… i mean i know who he is of course but hes never done anything …. stats alone dont make a good goaltender …. stats are for stat geeks … just watch individuals play and thats how you know if they are good or not …… yes sometimes quick comes out too far with all 10 guys in the zone and gives up an easy empty netter on rebounds or defelctions off to the side ….. but his positives far outweigh that lone weak spot in his game ….. i only complain about it because i want him to be perfect and have no weak spots ……. plain and simply, quick has been outstanding ….. he stops tons of quality chances per game …. quicks athleticism is great, doing the splits and stuff, miixing it up a bit, sometimes butterfly othertimes pokechecking, and hes a big goalie ….. anyways i just think the guy is great and id never trade him for anybody – let alone some nobody like price ……..anyways heres hoping we can get healthyplayers back after this calgary game- at least one at a time, because otherwise, if this lineup remains like this for any extended period, we will be in 9th place before u know it ……………. oh and where am i ……. im on the moderated list so it makes it almost impossible to respond to anyone or anything in a prompt fashion …. so this is my delayed response to tonights game ……… so anyways im happy we won of course , but im still stuck in reality where i know we really got our asses handed to us tonight ….. thank you mr. quick …….. and to all those broadcasters who say the kings have so many shoot wins and stuff ….is 5-3 record in shootouts really all that earth shattering ? no the reason we are at the top of the west right now is because, when healthy, the kings are one of the best teams in the league ………. obviously with all the injuries we have now we are one of the worst in the west ….. but if we have everybody healthy going into the playoffs (if we make it) then i like our chances against anybody …… weve got a really good team here when healthy …. the improvement of simmonds richardson and stoll from last year has been simply astounding ….. well anyways sorry about the length of this …… later folks
[Reply]
Cynic-
He seems to play well with the guys who are high energy and aggressive. Segal, Meckler, Westy (who I would have debated the classification of being “high energy” before, but he’s actually stepped up his game a lot this season), Clune… It’d be neat to see him on a line with guys with that aspect who have already established a bit of a scoring touch. I mean, his centering Ivanans seemed to pull one of the best games we’ve seen from him. Imagine if he weren’t being weighed down by that!
[Reply]
The analysts on the Canadian broadcasts and the NHL network make up their own stats.
the guys in Vancouver were saying if they adopted the 3 points for a win, 2 for a shootout win etc then the cannucks would be in the 5th spot or something.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
[Reply]