Marco Sturm is officially back in the Kings’ fold, as he was activated from injured reserve today. Sturm has four goals and four assists in 15 games with the Kings and will be back in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 18 in a first-line role with center Anze Kopitar and right winger [...]
Archive of entries posted on February 2011
Wednesday skate update
Kevin Westgarth will be in the Kings’ lineup tonight at Anaheim, leaving Peter Harrold, Alec Martinez and Alexei Ponikarovsky as the healthy scratches. Terry Murray said Ponikarovsky would be back in the lineup tomorrow night against Minnesota. Otherwise, there are no lineup changes/surprises. The Kings will be on the bus from El Segundo to Anaheim [...]
Undisputed: Wayne Simmonds
The latest in LAKings.com “Undisputed” video series takes a behind-the-scenes look at winger Wayne Simmonds…
What can Brown do for Kings?
How will the season finish for Dustin Brown? He is on page for 28 goals and 57 points, which would be the second-highest totals of his seven-year career — he had 33 goals and 60 points in 2007-08 — but of late, he has bounced from first line to third line to second line, and [...]
Stoll line getting a different look
For all the line-combination changes the Kings have made this season, the most consistent trio has been that of Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams. Put together early in the season, they have been split up a couple times but had played 14 consecutive games together, until this week. The latest line changes have [...]
Parse `needs to back off’ from skating
When last seen in El Segundo, in the first week of February, Scott Parse was skating fiercely in practice — and after — and apparently making good progress in returning from his November hip surgery. When the Kings returned from their road trip, though, Parse was not on the ice Monday or Tuesday. After practice [...]
Drewiske back in, for Martinez
After 19 games as a healthy scratch, Davis Drewiske is back in the Kings’ lineup, scheduled to play tomorrow night in place of rookie Alec Martinez, Drewiske hasn’t been in a game since Jan. 6 against Nashvile. Martinez, meanwhile, will sit for the first time since being called up from the AHL on Nov. 23. [...]
Tuesday practice update
The Kings will make at least one lineup change tomorrow, with Davis Drewiske returning — in a pairing with Matt Greene — and replacing Alec Martinez. Jonathan Quick will start in goal against Anaheim and Terry Murray did not announce his fourth line, but based on practice it seems to be a choice between Alexei [...]
Evening viewing: the climb into MSG
To break things up a little, here’s one of Dustin Brown’s videos that he shoots on his BlackBerry and posts online. In this case, it’s the walk up from the bus to the rink level at Madison Square Garden. (If you look closely, you can see Brown — showing himself to be a professional athlete [...]
Will latest first-line mix boost Kopitar’s numbers?
The assists are coming for Anze Kopitar, but the goals aren’t really following? Will Marco Sturm help Kopitar’s production? Kopitar has five points in his last five games, but has only one goal in his last 15 games and two goals in his last 25 games. He did manage one during the most recent road [...]
Getting back into the swing of things
From a scheduling standpoint, this week isn’t an easy one for the Kings to navigate. At the end of a six-city road trip, and after three games in four days, the Kings did not practice yesterday, then held a brisk 35-minute practice today. They’ll be back on the ice tomorrow for what figures to be [...]
Loktionov `only a phone call away’
As you might have heard, Andrei Loktionov didn’t make it back to California with the Kings. In fact, Loktionov was in the lineup for Manchester on Sunday after his latest 12-game stint with the Kings. After practice today, Terry Murray took his third — and, in fact, fourth — turn at explaining why Loktionov didn’t [...]
Sturm ready for return to lineup
The wait is finally over for Marco Sturm, who is on track to return to the Kings’ lineup for Wednesday’s game at Anaheim after missing 12 games because of knee tendinitis. When the Kings left, on Feb. 9, for their latest six-game road trip, it seemed as though Sturm’s return was only days away. Turns [...]
Monday practice update
Marco Sturm has yet to be officially activated from injured reserve, but after practice today, Terry Murray confirmed that Sturm will play against Anaheim on Thursday. Murray hasn’t yet disclosed his goalie plans for the week, and said he would talk with both goalies tomorrow. The Kings will make a slight change this week. They [...]
Monday practice; new lines
The Kings are on the ice for practice, with another set of forward lines. As expected yesterday, Andrei Loktionov’s departure has coincided with Marco Sturm’s return to action… Sturm-Kopitar-Simmonds Smyth-Stoll-Brown Richardson-Handzus-Williams Clifford/Ponikarovsky/Lewis/Westgarth
Manchester Monarchs update
It was a true weekend split for the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, who lost 5-4 in overtime to Springfield on Friday, beat Portland 5-4 on Saturday and lost 4-2 to Bridgeport on Sunday. The Monarchs remain in first place in the Atlantic Division, three points ahead of Portland with 21 games remaining, but Portland also has three four [...]
Loktionov back to Manchester
Andrei Loktionov has been assigned back to the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. Loktionov had three goals and two assists during his most recent stint with the Kings, but given Terry Murray’s recent comments, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Loktionov. The move also potentially opens a roster spot for Marco Sturm.
Tracking the playoff race
The Kings will be back on the ice for practice tomorrow at 11:30 a.m., preparing for Wednesday’s game at Anaheim. It’s been well-documented how tight the Western Conference playoff race is this season, but given the break in the schedule, it seems like a natural time to take a more in-depth look at what could [...]
Postgame notes (Jan. 19)
Some notes from last night’s game… – The Kings had their point-streak ended as they lost to the New York Islanders 3-0 on Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum. – The Kings had tied a franchise record, set in 1974, by recording at least one point in 11 consecutive games (8-0-3). The Kings nearly went one [...]
The view from New York (Long Island version)
The Kings had their seven-game unbeaten streak against the Islanders snapped, and also lost to the Islanders for the first time in regulation since 2003. Here’s a sampling of how the game was covered by the New York print media, followed by some additional postgame quotes from the Islanders’ locker room… Islanders stop red-hot Kings [...]
