A goal with 1:04 remaining in the second period allowed the Kings to pull within one goal. At the end of a power play, Anze Kopitar executed a give-and-go play with Ryan Smyth. Kopitar passed, then went to the net and one-timed a shot past Hiller. The Ducks got their two-goal lead back just 24 [...]

The Ducks extended their lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal 6:24 into the second period. Selanne shot from the far edge of the left faceoff circle. Saku Koivu had position on Jarret Stoll in front of the Kings’ net and tucked the puck past Quick.

A behind-the-net breakdown cost the Kings as the Ducks took the lead 3:27 into the second period. With the puck behind the Kings’ net, both Davis Drewiske and Oscar Moller went to play it. Corey Perry beat both to the puck, and sent a quick centering pass to Ryan Getzlaf, who shot and scored from [...]

Ryan Smyth missed the last seven-plus minutes of the first period, but was back on the bench to start the second period.

Shots were 9-7 Ducks in the first period. Ryan Smyth had to leave the ice after getting hit by a shot in the first period. He returned to the bench briefly but then limped back to the locker room. I’ll pass along updates as I get them…

The Ducks tied the game with a 5-on-3 goal with 1:30 remaining in the period, after Matt Greene took a delay-of-game penalty and the Kings took a too many men on the ice penalty. After a scramble in front of the Kings’ net, Teemu Selanne knocked in the puck from the side of the net.

Jonathan Quick kept the game scoreless in the first 10 minutes as the Kings had another slow start, but the Kings took the lead with 7:19 remaining in the first period. Alexander Frolov had the puck in the right circle and tried to spin and shoot. The puck rolled off his stick, but Oscar Moller, [...]

The Kings are riding a franchise-record nine-game winning streak, but it’s certainly accurate to say they have not been dominating some of those games. Detroit controlled the first and third periods Saturday, and the Kings blew a three-goal lead in the third period against Anaheim and had to rally to win. Today, Terry Murray was [...]

After the Ducks’ skate this morning, coach Randy Carlyle talked about his team’s need to make things tougher for Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, to get traffic in front of the net and not allow Quick to see shots cleanly. That’s pretty much the goal of every team, against every goalie, but given the size of [...]

Tonight, Brad Richardson gets a chance to return to Honda Center, where it basically all started for him this season. Richardson had played 26 games before Dec. 1 but had not recorded a single point. Then, he had a second-period assist and scored the game-winning goal in the third period. That game started a remarkable [...]

Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim’s future Hall of Fame defenseman, started his NHL career during the 1991-92 season, when Drew Doughty was 2 years old. How’s that for some perspective? The defensemen will be on opposite sides tonight, but they will be on the same side, for Canada, next week when the Olympic hockey tournament starts. When [...]

Ryan Miller got a lot of attention for his flashy Team USA helmet. I got a chance to see Jonathan Quick’s Olympic helmet and ask him about the story behind it, which involves a childhood friend. You can read the story by clicking below, and also see part of the helmet. I’m hoping there are [...]

Davis Drewiske will be back in the Kings’ lineup tonight for the first time since he injured his shoulder in a Jan. 4 game against San Jose. Terry Murray often talks about the Ducks’ big bodies, and the Kings’ need for defensemen and the goalie to be ready for a physical game in front of [...]

Davis Drewiske will return to the Kings’ lineup tonight, in place of Peter Harrold, as Jack Johnson’s partner. That leaves the Kings with the lineup they practiced with yesterday, basically… Smyth-Kopitar-Brown Richardson-Stoll-Simmonds Frolov-Handzus-Parse Ivanans-Moller-Segal Scuderi-Doughty Johnson-Drewiske O’Donnell-Greene It was an optional skate this morning, and Jonathan Quick took the option to rest, but he will [...]

The Kings sniffed around Ilya Kovalchuk. You knew it, I knew it, everyone in the NHL knew it, even if the folks in the Kings’ locker room did their best to ignore it, for fear of it becoming a distraction. Given that the Kings are 2-0 since Kovalchuk got traded to New Jersey, there doesn’t [...]

Before the season, I looked at two areas as being the most important in terms of whether the Kings would have success this season. One was goaltending, and after a somewhat wobbly start, Jonathan Quick has been very strong. The other was secondary scoring. How is that working out? Well, the Kings already have eight [...]

Jonathan Quick got in his first practice with his Team USA goalie pads and blocker, and Jack Johnson also practiced with his USA gloves. The presumption has been that Quick is considered Team USA’s third goalie, behind Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas, and that Quick would be a longshot to get into an Olympic game. [...]

As expected, today was called a “therapy” day for Dustin Brown and Matt Greene. Terry Murray said both guys will play tomorrow. Davis Drewiske did skate today, but when will he play? Murray didn’t commit to Drewiske’s status for tomorrow’s game, either way, but said Drewiske is under consideration. MURRAY: “I’ve got to think about [...]

Even a franchise-record winning streak doesn’t make a team immune to changes, if a coach feels changes are necessary. Down 3-0 after one period yesterday, Terry Murray moved guys around. He basically flipped sets of wingers up top, with Ryan Smyth and Dustin Brown joining Anze Kopitar, and Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds joining Jarret [...]

Dustin Brown and Matt Greene get today off from practice, likely as “therapy days.” Teddy Purell is skating where Brown did at the end of yesterday’s game, so presumably the Kings are looking at lines of: Smyth-Kopitar-Brown Richardson-Stoll-Simmonds Frolov-Handzus-Parse Ivanans/Moller/Segal/Purcell Jonthan Quick is practicing today with his red and blue Team USA pads and gloves. [...]