What did Anze Kopitar do right after he suffered his devastating injury in March? Bet you can’t guess, although it’s a topic/location close to the hearts of many blog readers… My LAKings.com feature for this week takes a look at Kopitar and how he recovered from his broken leg and ankle-ligament injury to return. Thanks [...]

Some notes from last night’s games. First, in Phoenix… – Dustin Penner scored with 49 seconds remaining as the Kings beat Phoenix 3-2 at Jobing.com Arena. – The Kings got goals from Penner, Ethan Moreau and Tyler Toffoli, and three assists from Trevor Lewis and one assist each from Patrick Mullen and Toffoli. – Jonathan [...]

Here’s my LAKings.com recap of tonight’s two exhibition games. Thanks for reading… Kings split exhibition games against Coyotes The Kings are scheduled to resume training camp tomorrow with a goalie session from 10-10:40 a.m., followed by regular practice starting at 11 a.m.

Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts… (on Slava Voynov’s game…) MURRAY: “I thought Voynov had a very good game. He’s got great awareness on the ice, with and without the puck. He wants to make plays. I wish he would sometimes shoot the puck a little bit more, at times, but he’s got great composure. He came [...]

Dustin Brown’s postgame thoughts… (on the exhibition opener…) BROWN: “We’ve been out there practicing hard, but there’s nothing really quite like getting hit and getting rubbed out, I guess. The physical side of it makes it a lot more taxing. Like I said, we’ve been working hard in practice but you don’t have that grind, [...]

Here’s a rundown of how things are going at Staples Center, with the Kings playing the Phoenix Coyotes… THIRD PERIOD In goal: It’s the Kings’ Martin Jones against the Coyotes’ Louis Domingue. End of period: The Kings outshot the Coyotes 9-7 in a scoreless third period. OVERTIME End of period: Shots were 40-22 in favor [...]

Here’s a rundown of how things went in Arizona, with the Kings picking up a 3-2 victory at Jobing.com Arena. Dustin Penner scored in the final minute to give the Kings the victory. THIRD PERIOD In goal: It’s the Kings’ Jeff Zatkoff against Phoenix’s Jason LaBarbera, who entered the game in the middle of the [...]

First, an important note about the live stream of tonight’s Kings vs. Phoenix game from Staples Center. It can be viewed at the link below, but note that it can only be viewed within the Kings’ coverage area. Meaning that if you regularly see the Kings on your cable/satellite provider, you should be able to [...]

The Kings and Phoenix Coyotes are playing split-squad games tonight, and the game at Staples Center will be webcast on LAKings.com with a radio call on 1150-AM and affiliates with Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans. I’ll have updates here, as well as from the game in Phoenix. At Staples Center, Jonathan Quick is scheduled to [...]

When the Kings determined that Simon Gagne wouldn’t play in tonight’s exhibition game, who did they turn to as a replacement? Brad Richardson, of course. Nothing new there. During his three years with the Kings, Richardson has basically filled every position possible, from first-line center to fourth-line winger and everything in between. Entering training camp, [...]

Here’s the update from Colin Fraser, who has yet to participate in a full practice after undergoing foot surgery during the offseason, as part of his highly disputed trade from Edmonton. Fraser has been doing conditioning skating since Saturday but said he’s making progress… FRASER: “It’s good. It’s coming. I’ve skated for four days now, [...]

Mike Richards pulled on his official Kings jersey for a press conference in July and for some official team photos last week, but tonight he will wear it for real for the first time (at least as “real” as things get in exhibition play.) Richards will play against the Phoenix Coyotes tonight on a line [...]

A few notes… – As expected, Simon Gagne will not play tonight, but Gagne did make it through the entire skate and is expected to be fine going forward. – The first set of roster cuts is expected tomorrow, with 7-10 players getting trimmed and camp going from three groups to two. – Colin Fraser, [...]

Simon Gagne, who missed practice yesterday because of flu symptoms, is back on the ice for today’s morning skate. Gagne is trading drills with Brad Richardson as the left winger with Mike Richards and Dustin Brown, but Terry Murray said yesterday that Gagne won’t play tonight, meaning his game debut as a King is probably [...]

Last night, I posted the links to the videos of the first rookie game between the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes, played last week in El Segundo. Tonight, here’s the second game… Kings vs. Phoenix, first period Kings vs. Phoenix, second period Kings vs. Phoenix, third period And, for some more fine work by the tireless [...]

Most NHL goalies, if ever in need of a second career, could take up professional poker. Asked a question about playing time — “When are you starting?” or “Who is starting tomorrow?” — many will give you the most innocent, sincere looking reaction and say, “I don’t know.” It’s not their fault. Many coaches like [...]

For those interested in tomorrow’s exhibition games, here’s an update as to how the Kings are expected to skate in both games against the Phoenix Coyotes, followed by Phoenix’s traveling roster (the Coyotes also play tonight in Anaheim). There are a couple changes based on Simon Gagne missing the game due to flu symptoms today. [...]

As long as Drew Doughty remains unsigned and out of training camp, the Kings’ highest-profile defensive pairing will be that of Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi. Those two have been partners, off and on, for the past two seasons and, according to Terry Murray, this is a big season for Johnson to take a step [...]

Simon Gagne did not practice today because of flu symptoms, but everyone else is expected to participate. The Kings shook up the practice groups a bit, with the group that is traveling to Phoenix for tomorrow’s game getting the first ice time. The group scheduled to play at Staples Center tomorrow is on the ice [...]

In Terry Murray’s first season with the Kings, it was “home plate,” five dots spray-painted on the ice, in front of the goal crease, to designate the area that Murray wanted the team to better protect. This year, it’s tires, placed around the ice and, right now, in front of Jonathan Bernier to assist in [...]