Yesterday’s Western Conference games, from the Kings’ standpoint… Colorado 4, Minnesota 3: LOSS. I don’t think this one was going to make a huge impact either way, but it did allow Colorado to pass the Kings for third-most points in the West, while Minnesota stays a safe distance back (10 points, one game in hand). [...]

At the time of his injury, in mid-November, Ryan Smyth probably had an inside track on securing a spot on Team Canada for the Olympics. He was off to a fantastic start, he has represented Canada in the last two Olympics and, after all, the guy’s nickname is “Captain Canada.” Well, now he has been [...]

After I settled on Anze Kopitar, Ziggy Palffy and Adam Deadmarsh as the Kings’ top center/wingers of the 2000s, it was time to pick the top two defensemen. One of the choices was easy for me; the other, a little tougher. Who did I pick? Find out here… Hammond’s All-Decade Team Also, the following link [...]

Somewhat remarkably, the Kings managed a 9-5-1 record without Ryan Smyth, and now they’ve got him back to (presumably) boost the top line. Here’s what Smyth said today, after his first official practice since his Nov. 16 injury… (on being back on the ice…) SMYTH: “It felt good to be out there with the guys, [...]

I’ll look forward — as I’m sure many of you will, as well — when these daily injury reports aren’t necessary. But obviously there’s a lot of news today, and after practice Terry Murray addressed the status of all of his injured players except Ryan Smyth, who is now off injured reserve and considered ready, [...]

I must admit, I did a double take when I saw Wayne Simmonds come out of the locker room this morning. I thought maybe he would skate at some point, on his own, but I don’t think anyone expected to see Simmonds participating in full practice drills one week after his knee procedure. As far [...]

After practice today, Terry Murray said that Smyth, Simmonds, Johnson and Segal all should be ready to play Saturday. Murray said Jarret Stoll is still having issues with his groin strain and that Randy Jones is still having problems when he attempts to exercise at a high level. More on all of this later, including [...]

Here’s how the Kings are skating this morning, with only Jarret Stoll missing among the walking wounded… Smyth-Kopitar-Williams Frolov-Handzus-Brown Purcell-Richardson-Simmonds Ivanans-Harrold-Segal Jack Johnson is also in practice. I haven’t yet seen Randy Jones. More updates to come…

As I get ready for the return of practice, here’s the third set of Open Forum questions and answers…

The third day of the Kings’ winter hibernation was fairly kind to them, I think. Here’s what happened yesterday… Chicago 3, Detroit 0: WIN. The Blackhawks are still ahead of the Kings (and everyone else in the conference), but the Red Wings now remain six points behind the Kings, with only one game in hand. [...]

Getting back to the Open Forum, here is the second set of questions and answers…

TSN’s Bob McKenzie, a man legitimately in the know, is reporting that free-agent junior prospect Jacob Muzzin will sign an entry-level contract with the Kings after Jan. 1. It’s all unofficial because, according to McKenzie, Muzzin wants to wait until after the new year (for contractual purposes) but other teams have apparently been told that [...]

On Day 2 of the Kings’ winter break, how did things go for them? We’ll continue to look at the games involving Western Conference teams, and how they impact the Kings. Of course, when it’s West vs. West, it’s more subjective, but I’ll tried to determine which result would be “better” for the Kings. Here’s [...]

As always, the“open forum” is generating some great questions, so please feel free to keep asking them. I’ll tackle the first set of questions and answers here. Thanks again…

Given the break in the schedule, plus the fact that we’re nearly halfway through the season, it seems like a good time for another Open Forum session. For our new friends who don’t already know the drill, feel free to ask any Kings-related question that you might have, and I’ll do my best to answer [...]

The debate about the Kings’ “all-decade” center yesterday was really interesting and fun. Today, it’s the wingers. Who would you pick as the top two Kings wingers of the 2000s? Click below to find out my choices: Hammond’s All-Decade Team And also, you can check out the choices of Bob Miller, Jim Fox and others… [...]

As you know, yesterday was the first of six days in which the Kings are idle while other Western Conference teams  have a chance to pick up points. Here, we’ll track how things are going for the Kings during the break. Yesterday, St. Louis lost to Tampa Bay, Chicago beat Boston and Vancouver beat Washington. [...]

Given that there’s an eight-day break in the schedule, and that the 00s are coming to a close — they never really did come up with a catchy name for this decade, did they? — how about taking a look at the best Kings of the decade? That’s what we’re doing at LAKings.com, with several [...]

Corey Elkins, Alec Martinez, Oscar Moller and Scott Parse have been assigned to Manchester today which, if nothing else, gives them a chance to get in a couple games while the Kings are off. It’s not known how many of those players will be coming back after the break. Also, Ryan Smyth has been activated [...]

Corey Elkins took some good-natured ribbing from teammates after last night’s game, when he faced the media just two games into his NHL career. Of course, Elkins had just scored his first NHL goal, when he made the wise decision to go to the front of the net — that should make Terry Murray happy [...]