I’ll just report this one as it came to me… “Kings forward Justin Williams today underwent successful ankle surgery. The expected recovery time is 12 weeks. The surgical procedure was performed by Dr. Ken Jung of Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.” I suppose, in a literal sense, the ankle is a part of the leg, but I’m [...]

Need to catch up on today’s news and notes, and get ready for the game? Here’s my notebook, from LAKings.com, followed by a game preview from NHL.com. Dec. 28 notebook Kings vs. Wild game preview

Just to put a final point on the day’s discussions of Teddy Purcell and the first line, Terry Murray this morning talked about the need for that line to play a certain way, and the way in which Ryan Smyth can help them play that way. It’s the “net presence” that is often talked about, [...]

Canada won easily again in the World Junior Championships, with a 6-0 victory over Switzerland. Brayden Schenn had one assist for Canada, which plays Slovakia tomorrow. The United States is also 2-0 in the tournament so far, with victories over Slovakia and Switzerland. The U.S. plays Latvia tomorrow, then it’s Canada vs. the U.S. on [...]

There’s really no need to further chronicle Teddy Purcell’s season, other than to say he has one goal in his last 32 games and has played on each of the Kings’ four lines, has played left wing and right wing and been a healthy scratch. That’s quite a full half-season, although probably not in the [...]

Jarret Stoll, recovering from a strained groin, participated in this morning’s optional skate, but when asked if he thought it was possible that he could play Wednesday or Thursday, Stoll said, “That’s pretty close. Probably not, no.” But Stoll said he felt good on the ice this morning, and Terry Murray said it’s possible that [...]

It’s been quite a day for Scott Parse, who played for Manchester yesterday, learned he was being called up by the Kings, flew West and arrived after midnight and was on the ice for the morning skate today. After the holiday break, Terry Murray had been fairly clear and pointed in explaining why Parse didn’t [...]

Terry Murray said Justin Williams is visiting the team doctor today, and Murray estimated Williams’ return at three months, meaning it’s possible Williams could play again this season. There should be an update later. Scott Parse will be in the lineup tonight, giving the Kings forward lines of… Smyth-Kopitar-Purcell Frolov-Handzus-Brown Parse-Richardson-Simmonds Ivanans-Moller-Segal Jarret Stoll participated [...]

Scott Parse is on the ice this morning, with approximately half the team, for an optional skate. Jarret Stoll also made it on the ice, albeit in a gray jersey (with everyone else in black)

Handed a rare opportunity, with a 6-on-3 advantage and 46 seconds remaining in the third period Saturday, trailing 3-2, the Kings had to do one thing first: win a faceoff. They did. They had to do one more thing: get the puck on net. They didn’t, at least on their first two shots, as Jack [...]

In the immediate aftermath of Justin Williams’ broken leg, coach Terry Murray went with Wayne Simmonds on first line, then thought better of it in the third period and elevated Dustin Brown. Today, and presumably in tomorrow’s game, Teddy Purcell got the call to skate with Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smyth. I asked Murray today [...]

Here’s what Terry Murray said after practice today regarding the status of both Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll… (on Williams…) MURRAY: “He’s going to see the doctor tomorrow. He’s just kind of staying at home and trying to get through today until the doctor is able to evaluate him. I can’t speculate, but I will. [...]

Terry Murray said he’s going with Teddy Purcell on the first line for two reasons: one, he doesn’t want two players (Smyth and Simmonds) on the first line coming right off injuries, and two, he believes Purcell needs to be in a top-six role in order to have a chance to be effective. No official [...]

The Kings are skating, up front, as follows… Smyth-Kopitar-Purcell Frolov-Handzus-Brown Richardson-Moller-Simmonds Ivanans-Harrold-Segal Corey Elkins is on his way back to Manchester, but these lines will probably change again tomorrow, as I’m expecting at least one Manchester call-up. Jarret Stoll is not on the ice. More updates after practice…

Kings practice starts at 12:30 p.m. today, so we’ll be able to know who Justin Williams’ replacement, at least in the short term, will be, but who do you think it should be? Who should be the Kings’ first-line right wing?(answers)

Here are some Coyotes quotes, as provided by the team, after last night’s game. Those who watched the game probably know that the Coyotes held a lengthy pregame ceremony in honor of Shane Doan, who played his 1,000th NHL game. It was noted, after the game, that the long ceremony might have been a bit [...]

Here is my game story from tonight, on LAKings.com, with video and stats included. Thanks for reading! Coyotes defeat Kings 3-2

Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts… (on Williams’ status…) MURRAY: “I haven’t been told, other than that it’s a broken leg. I can’t play doctor. I can’t predict. I have no idea. We’ll take him back on the flight with us tonight, he will see our team doctor and we’ll get the word out tomorrow.” (on the [...]

Dustin Brown’s postgame thoughts… (on the game…) BROWN: “It’s one of those things where everyone needs to focus on what they need to do. Short shifts are especially important after a layoff like that, and keeping it simple. Tonight, there were a couple instances when we made it really hard on ourselves. They had us [...]

Anze Kopitar’s postgame thoughts… (on Williams’ injury…) KOPITAR: “It’s pretty frustrating to see a guy go down like that. It’s tough, but we definitely cannot take that as an excuse. We’ve got to battle through everything right now.” (on the game…) KOPITAR: “As bad as we played in the first two periods, we were still [...]