In discussing, earlier, the play of the third line this season, Kyle Clifford is not a player to be forgotten. Clifford made a big splash last season as a rookie, when he played a fantastic physical game and also showed some potential on offense. By the playoffs, Clifford had even moved into a first-line role [...]

With the Kings looking to build some momentum at home, the Chicago Blackhawks might not be their first choice to come to town. The Kings are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games against Chicago, with the lone win coming in a shootout. Yes, the Blackhawks are at the end of a long road trip and [...]

There continues to be slow, steady progress for injured players Dustin Penner and Alec Martinez. Penner, who will miss his seventh consecutive game tonight with a hand injury, could possibly be cleared for full-contact practice when he sees a doctor tonight. Martinez, who has been out since a big shoulder-to-boards check against Minnesota on Nov. [...]

So often in the NHL, winning — particularly on offense — is attributed in large part to how much success a team’s third line can generate. In the Kings’ case, that’s bad news. Their top two lines, centered by Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards, respectively, can generally compare favorably against any team’s top two lines, [...]

The Kings had a full morning skate today, after which Terry Murray said there would be no lineup changes, including Jonathan Quick staying in goal. Dustin Penner is scheduled to evaluated by a team doctor tonight, but Alec Martinez is not yet close to playing. More notes and quotes to come, including a lengthy look [...]

Earlier, the subject of the consistent first line was covered. Justin Williams would like to see some consistency in his offensive game. Starting out on the first line, with Anze Kopitar and SImon Gagne, Williams had two goals and five assists in his first five games, but Williams has now gone 13 games without a [...]

The Chicago Blackhawks are in Los Angeles tomorrow, making something of a reunion for Colin Fraser, who won the Cup with the Blackhawks two seasons ago. It’s always a fun question: What did Fraser do with his day with the Cup? FRASER: “First, I played street hockey with my buddies, right outside my parents’ house [...]

Over the past couple years, it’s been something of a running joke, Terry Murray’s tendency to change line combinations. It gets more attention than it should, because there’s no coach in the NHL who doesn’t change lines when things aren’t going well, but the Kings players have had a good nature and joked about it. [...]

The Kings are back on the ice this morning with the same lines/pairs they started Wednesday’s game with. Alec Martinez is on the ice in a no-contact jersey but Dustin Penner is not on the ice. Penner and Martinez had a lengthy workout yesterday. More updates to come… Gagne-Kopitar-Williams Loktionov-Richards-Brown Clifford-Stoll-Hunter Moreau-Fraser-Westgarth Lewis/Richardson Scuderi-Doughty Mitchell-Johnson [...]

Jim Fox, the real “insider” today, headed to El Segundo and reports that the only players on the ice were the injured Alec Martinez and Dustin Penner. Rest day for everyone else. Practice is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. tomorrow. Hope everyone is enjoying a great Thanksgiving Day! Kings Vision put this together, with the Kings [...]

Some notes from last night’s game… – In a rarity, the Kings took a lead into the third period but didn’t the win, as the Dallas Stars rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. – The Kings led 2-0 going into the third period. Since late in the 2008-09 [...]

The Kings had recorded four consecutive victories over the Dallas Stars and had won in seven of their previous eight trips to Dallas. They came close Wednesday, but the Stars pushed ahead of the Kings in the Western Conference standings with an overtime victory. For coverage of last night’s game, check out the blog from [...]

Here’s my LAKings.com game recap for tonight, with stats, video and pictures included. Thanks for reading… Stars 3, Kings 2 (OT) A very happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there! For those inclined, the Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow at noon at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo.

Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts… (on Moreau’s late penalty…) MURRAY: That’s all we talked about on the bench, through the third period, was, `Watch your sticks.’ You can’t be reaching in. You have to be moving your feet. You can’t put yourself in that kind of a position off a faceoff. You know the referees are [...]

Rob Scuderi’s postgame thoughts… (on the game…) SCUDERI: “We gave them a point, with a good lead. Not to say that they didn’t make plays, but it’s something that we haven’t done here in a few years, is cough up leads in the third period. Certainly we might look back on it, later in the [...]

On the broadcast side, things are back to normal tonight, as Bob Miller and Jim Fox have the call on Fox Sports West. The action will also be on 1150-AM and affiliates, and all the game updates will be here as well… OVERTIME In goal: It’s still Quick vs. Lehtonen. Stars 3, Kings 2: The [...]

This is the third of six meetings this season between the Kings and Dallas Stars, with the Kings having won the first two (one in Dallas, one in Los Angeles). The Stars, one of the NHL’s hottest teams through early November, recently went through a five-game losing streak but got back on track with a [...]

The Kings took a positive step Tuesday when they went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. That ended an eight-game stretch in which the Kings allowed at least one power-play goal in each game, and allowed a total of 10 in the eight games. Overall, the Kings rank 14th in the NHL in penalty-kill percentage, at [...]

My LAKings.com feature for this week is on Mike Richards, particularly focused on the impact Richards has made on the Kings’ special-teams units this season. After that, check out a highlight video of Richards’ play from this season… A special kind of player —–

The latest attempt to pair Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson on defense lasted three games, and now it’s finished. A handful of times over the past couple seasons, Terry Murray has hoped this pairing would last, in 5-on-5 situations, but it has yet to find long-term success. At the start of last night’s game, Doughty [...]