The Kings had averaged one power-play goal per game over their previous five games, but the unit went 0-for-5 against Buffalo last night, including a huge 46-second, 5-on-3 advantage in which a goal would have given the Kings a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Kings had eight power-play shots on goal but did [...]

The Kings allowed two power-play goals to Buffalo last night, but that’s going to happen from time to time. The real red flag for the Kings was that the penalties that led to the power plays were often poor. Three of the penalties in particular — Jack Johnson’s elbowing (although questionable) and cross-checking, and Ryan’s [...]

Here’s what Terry Murray said today, after the team meeting, about whether he would consider making any line changes tonight… MURRAY: “I’m thinking about that. What I’m thinking is that I need more minutes from the fourth-line guys in a back-to-back situation, and probably every game. Certainly last night, we got into a lot of [...]

Terry Murray indicated that his lineup will remain the same — meaning Jake Muzzin will be a healthy scratch — but left open his forward options. Murray indicated that, in search of balance on the back end of back-to-back games, he might put a “veteran” winger on the fourth line and move up Kyle Clifford [...]

Here are some notes from last night’s game… – The Kings held the lead twice but lost to the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Friday night in Buffalo. The Kings, who had a six-game winning streak, now have a three-game losing streak. – The Kings held leads of 1-0 (first period) and 2-1 (second period) and, [...]

The sad news in the NHL world yesterday was the passing of longtime coach Pat Burns, who died at age 58 after a long bout with cancer. Burns won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003 and started his coaching career in the early 80s with the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior [...]

Here’s the morning view from Boston… The Kings, as is typical before the second of back-to-back games, have scrapped their morning skate and will have a meeting at the hotel instead.

Here are a couple of the stories from the Buffalo News, recapping last night’s victory by the Sabres over the Kings… Sabres go on a power trip against Kings Fourth line puts on first-rate performance in win

Here’s my LAKings.com game story for tonight, with stats and video included. Thanks for reading… Kings lose to Sabres 4-2 I’ll  have more notes in the morning, in advance of tomorrow’s game against Boston…

Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts… (on the power-play traffic in front of Bernier…) MURRAY: “Yeah, there was. There was the first goal. That’s the defenseman walking in with a lot of time for people to get there. Our positioning on that play just wasn’t good enough, on the coverage to the defenseman. That allows time, buys [...]

Jonathan Bernier’s postgame thoughts… (on the traffic he faced on the power play…) BERNIER: “It was a tough night. They were good. They were tipping pucks. Every shot from the point, it seemed like it was hard. I had to move around a lot. When they’re tipping pucks like that and they score, then you [...]

Anze Kopitar’s postgame thoughts… (on the losing streak…) KOPITAR: “It’s definitely not a good feeling, to say the least. We’ve got to figure out how to turn this thing around real quick, before this ends up in a long losing streak. There’s a big two points up for grabs tomorrow, and we have to make [...]

The Kings lost their third consecutive game as they went 0-for-5 on the power play and allowed two power-play goals. The Kings outshot the Sabres 35-26 for the game but were outshot 12-8 in the third period. More from the locker room later…

The Sabres took a two-goal lead with 4:39 remaining. Off a Buffalo faceoff win, Jason Pominville pushed the puck to the slot, to Jochen Hecht. Hecht quickly fired a wrist shot that beat Bernier, glove side, to give Buffalo a 4-2 lead.

The Sabres took their first lead of the game by scoring their second power-play goal of the game, 2:10 into the third period. Thomas Vanek’s slap shot found traffic in front of the Kings’ net, and Tim Connolly poked in a rebound to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead.

The Kings outshot the Sabres 15-8 in the second period, and shots are 27-14 heading into the third period.

A power-play goal by the Sabres tied the game 2-2 with 5:38 remaining in the second period. Derek Roy fired a slap shot from just inside the blue line, and Thomas Vanek provided a screen in front of Bernier and tipped in the shot to tie the game.

The Kings took the lead back 8:25 into the second period. After some pressure in front of the Buffalo net, Sabres forward Tyler Ennis tried to play the puck up the ice, but turned it over after being pressured by Peter Harrold. Wayne Simmonds was there to pick up the puck, and he wheeled and [...]

The Sabres tied the game on the first shift of the second period. Andrej Sekera carried the puck low into the Kings’ zone and sent the puck toward the net, into traffic, where it was deflected by Patrick Kaleta, past Bernier, to make it a 1-1 game 37 seconds into the second period.

Power-play minutes were plentiful in the first period, and the Kings had a 46-second 5-on-3 advantage, but Dustin Brown’s even-strength goal was the only tally of the period. The Kings outshot the Sabres 12-6 in the first.