The Kings were outshot 14-7, and didn’t have a power play, but managed to come out of the period with the lead thanks to Matt Greene’s shot and Jonathan Quick’s outstanding play.

The Kings looked downright dreadful for the first eight minutes or so — they were outshot 7-0 after less than two minutes — but got outstanding play from Jonathan Quick, killed two penalties and actually took the lead. Matt Greene’s slap shot, from just inside the blue line, got through traffic and beat Mason with [...]

Sean O’Donnell was suffering from flu symptoms today and, as of a few minutes ago, was questionable for tonight’s game. O’Donnell skated in pregame warmups, and was scheduled to be evaluated again after that. O’Donnell would be replaced by Randy Jones if he couldn’t play, but at this point it seems likely that O’Donnell will [...]

If you’d like to catch up on today’s news and notes, please check out my notebook from LAKings.com… Kings notebook (Jan. 28) The Blue Jackets, as coached by Ken Hitchcock, haven’t always been good, but they’ve always been pretty good against the Kings. This will be Hitchcock’s 14th game against the Kings as Columbus coach, [...]

If there’s one constant for the Kings, it’s the presence of Jonathan Quick on the ice. Every practice, every morning skate and almost every game, for that matter. Quick’s desire to work has been well-chronicled since he arrived with the Kings, and Terry Murray has half-joked about trying to keep Quick off the ice during [...]

Davis Drewiske, out since Dec. 4 with a shoulder injury, now has a target date for a return: Sunday. Terry Murray said today that he most likely wouldn’t play Drewiske in both of the back-to-back games — Saturday at Boston, Sunday at New Jersey — but that the latter game was a possibility. Drewiske has [...]

It’s been a good road trip for Peter Harrold, whose parents were able to make a 2 1/2-hour drive to watch him play in Detroit and, tonight, will drive two hours to see him play in Columbus. Harrold is from Kirtland Hills, Ohio, which is in the northeast part of the state. Kirtland Hills is, [...]

This time yesterday, it seemed likely — or at least highly plausible — that Teddy Purcell would return to the Kings’ lineup in place of Scott Parse. That’s how the Kings practiced yesterday, and afterward Terry Murray indicated he was leaning in that direction. Today, Murray decided to keep Parse in the lineup. “I thought [...]

If you’re looking to watch tonight’s game with Kings fans (and/or the Ice Crew), there’s a watch party tonight at Pat’s Cocktails on Riverside Drive in North Hollywood. All of the information can be found here.

After today’s morning skate, Terry Murray said he had changed his mind and that Scott Parse would stay in the lineup, on the third line (with Frolov and Handzus) with Teddy Purcell as the healthy scratch. No lineup changes are expected. Today’s morning skate was optional. More from the skate to come…

When it comes to the Kings’ “new-look” lines, the line of Richardson, Kopitar and Simmonds found some early success, and Michal Handzus and Alexander Frolov have always had a certain chemistry. The line that probably has taken the longest to come together is that of Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll and Dustin Brown. Brown had an [...]

What is Terry Murray’s plan for beating the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow? MURRAY: “I’ve got to take Hitch [coach Ken Hitchcock] out to dinner tonight and I’ve got to feed him a whole bunch of beer. That’s going to be important. (laughs)” Murray and Hitchcock are friends with a shared recent history, as Murray was [...]

A couple stories here, to maybe help get you through the end of the work day… First is my LAKings.com feature on Michal Handzus. I find Handzus to be interesting because he’s a low-key guy who doesn’t get much attention, but he’s one of those players who, at the end of a successful season, you [...]

Toronto coach Ron Wilson, who will also be Dustin Brown’s coach for Team USA next month in the Olympics, delivered this gem to the media last night about Brown… “I pray to God Dustin Brown’s this good three weeks from tonight because he dominated our defense. What did it look like? They [Toronto players] were [...]

Following the theme of the day, I thought it might be interesting to get Terry Murray’s thoughts on the trade deadline. Murray has been in coaching for more than 25 years, so certainly he knows whether or not the deadline can become an issue for a team, either in terms of players getting their hopes [...]

The Kings broke an 0-for-27 stretch on the power play in the first period Tuesday when Drew Doughty scored. The Kings ended up getting only 2 minutes, 33 seconds of power-play time, but Terry Murray said he felt as though a power-play turnaround had been brewing for a couple games… MURRAY: “It’s been coming pretty [...]

Dustin Brown had what has generally considered to be his best game of the season Tuesday night. Brown didn’t score a goal. He didn’t even have a shot on goal. I think it goes a long way toward the theory that Brown often tries too hard and doesn’t let the game come to him. When [...]

In practice today, Teddy Purcell skated on the third line with Alexander Frolov and Michal Handzus. Terry Murray indicated that he was dissatisfied with Scott Parse’s play on that line last night, which was a big reason why Oscar Moller moved up to that line later in the game. It sounded as though Murray would, [...]

Since this is an interesting topic, and it’s already dominating every post anyway, here’s what I know about the Ilya Kovalchuk situation. I’ve been holding off until I could actually produce something halfway helpful. – Atlanta is, without question, now exploring options to trade Kovalchuk. – Atlanta is talking to the Kings, but certainly not [...]

Here is my game story from tonight, with stats and video. Thanks for reading! Kings beat Maple Leafs 5-3