Is the Kings’ second line starting to come around offensively? It’s a bit difficult to judge the Dustin Penner, Mike Richards and Jarret Stoll line in total, because often Darryl Sutter has been using that trio as his top defensive line against the opposition’s most-talented forwards as much as possible. Still, that line includes three [...]

It was an optional practice for the Kings today — the Florida Panthers, who played yesterday at Washington, didn’t skate — with 13 skaters and goalie Jonathan Bernier. Kyle Clifford, Davis Drewiske, Colin Fraser, Matt Greene, Trent Hunter, Trevor Lewis, Andrei Loktionov, Alec Martinez, Willie Mitchell, Dustin Penner, Brad Richardson, Slava Voynov and Kevin Westgarth [...]

Some notes from last night’s game… – The Kings got their first victory on their season-long road trip, as they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 on Tuesday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. – The Kings have a 15-0-1 record this season when they score at least three goals in a game. The [...]

Yesterday morning, one of the local Tampa papers did a huge — and very well-presented — sports front-page package about how the Lightning were “back.’’ The timing was understandable, given that the Lightning were 6-0-1 in their last seven going into last night’s game. Appeasement of the home fans didn’t last long. By the third [...]

Filming starts in El Segundo next week, for the new feature film titled, “The Los Angeles Kings and the Quest for the Third Goal.’’ It’s tough to say what is more remarkable: the fact that the Kings are undefeated in regulation (15-0-1) when they score at least three goals in a game, or the mere [...]

Darryl Sutter’s postgame thoughts… (on the game…) SUTTER: “It was a solid game. A good first period. As the first went along, they came at us a little more, and I thought we had a really good start to the second, and that kept us there again.’’ (on responding to Stamkos’ goal…) SUTTER: “You’ve got [...]

Kyle Clifford’s postgame thoughts… (on his goal…) CLIFFORD: “Scuds made a great heads-up play there. He’s a great D-man out there and he’s got great vision. It was just a great play by him.’’ (on whether he had been working on his shootout moves…) CLIFFORD: “A little bit, I guess. [laughs] We joke around a [...]

Anze Kopitar’s postgame thoughts… (on getting three goals…) KOPITAR: “Usually when we do get three, we’re pretty safe with Quickie back there, obviously. He kept us in the game in the first period. They came hard after we scored, and he definitely gave us a chance. I’ve said it many times, that’s all you want [...]

Rob Scuderi’s postgame quotes… (on his pass on Clifford’s goal…) SCUDERI: “I knew he was coming out of the box, but it was more of an area pass than anything. Cliff did the rest. He was real smart, by going to the middle of the ice. I kind of threw it out there, but I [...]

They’re calling it “Hockey Night in Tampa Bay” here at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, as the Kings take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. All the action is on NBC Sports Network and on 1150-AM and affiliates, with all the game updates here as well… THIRD PERIOD In goal: It’s still Quick vs. Roloson. End [...]

This is the only meeting of the season between the Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning enter the game with a season-best seven-game point streak, as they are 6-0-1 since Jan. 15. Tampa Bay is coming off a 6-3 victory over Florida on Saturday, a game in which Martin St. Louis recorded a [...]

Lost, and understandably so, in all the talk about the Kings’ scoring woes is the fact that the power play has actually been quite effective over the past month. Starting with the Jan. 9 game against Washington, the Kings are 10-for-35 on the power play in their last 11 games, an outstanding percentage. They’re also [...]

The Kings, as has been well-chronicled, aren’t getting the puck in the net once they get it into the offensive zone. But does the problem start earlier than that? That’s what Darryl Sutter suggested today. Sutter indicated that a significant issue — as discussed after the St. Louis game — is the ability to make [...]

Based on the fitness testing the Kings did at the start of the All-Star break, I’m told that the best-conditioned player, all around, was Jonathan Quick (and no, I don’t have the full list, and I don’t know who was last). In a way, that’s not particularly surprising, since a goalie always needs to be [...]

An important reminder for those back in Southern California… Tonight’s game is on the NBC Sports Network — the channel formerly known as Versus — and will not be televised on Fox Sports West. Doing the call will be Tampa Bay’s regular play-by-play man, Rick Peckham, along with longtime analyst Brian Engblom. Of course, Engblom [...]

If, as expected, the Kings stay with the same lineup tonight that they used in Raleigh, that means Alec Martinez stays in and Slava Voynov stays out on defense. It’s an interesting decision by Darryl Sutter. In nine games after returning from injury, Voynov had only one assist, but he showed good poise and rarely [...]

Jonathan Quick was the first goalie off the ice after the Kings’ morning skate, so he is tonight’s likely goalie. It seems that no lineup changes will be in store tonight, as Davis Drewiske, Slava Voynov and Kevin Westgarth are the extra skaters. More notes and quotes to come…

This is the third day in Tampa, which, in the never-stop atmosphere of NHL travel, seems like a lifetime. Yesterday it was hot, and this morning it’s cooler with some rain showers. Some of us are still recovering from an amazing night at Bern’s Steak House. The Kings are scheduled to be on the ice [...]

Mike Richards has 14 goals in 45 games this season, a respectable total, but what an odd season it has been for Richards. In an 11-game stretch from early November to early December, Richards had nine goals in 11 games, a torrid pace. Then, Richards suffered a concussion and missed eight games. Upon his return, [...]

To borrow from Harry Doyle… In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the comments, you have, the Kings still aren’t scoring. The Kings are still last in the NHL in goals per game, at 2.09, and 29th-place Minnesota has actually been pulling away of late. In the last week or so, Darryl Sutter has [...]