Los Angeles Kings (NHL 11)

[Psyblast]

Kings ready for season
Preseason ends winless, but there's no worry in LA

October 4, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA - The Kings' number one priority coming out of the preseason was to be healthy for the opener October 9th in Vancouver.

Defenseman Davis Drewiske was dinged up early in the preseason, but is fine now, and other than that the Kings are 100%, despite finishing the preseason 0-3-1.

"We're not concerned about games that don't count," coach Terry Murray said simply.

Rumors persist that the Kings are in contact with Paul Kariya, but nothing of substance has surfaced on that front just yet.

[Psyblast]

General Motors Place	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	0	1	-	1
	1	1	1	-	3

Kings are smothered on opening night
It's a repeat of last spring as Canucks frustrate LA in 2010 opener


Just like last year's Quarterfinals, Roberto Luongo had all the answers vs. Los Angeles

Period	Time	Team	Scoring Detail	Score
1	3:09		Goal: Manny Malhotra (1) (PP) Assists: Dan Hamhuis	1-0, Canucks
2	19:56		Goal: Raffi Torres (1) Assists: Maxim Lapierre, Alexander Edler	2-0, Canucks
3	12:41		Goal: Jarret Stoll (1) Assists: Dustin Brown, Rob Scuderi	2-1, Canucks
3	15:59		Goal: Mikael Samuelsson (1) Assists: Alexander Edler, Christopher Higgins	3-1, Canucks

	@
55	Shots on Goal	24
0/4	Power Plays	1/4
8:00	Power Play Minutes	2:37
31	Faceoffs Won	20
8:00	Penalty Minutes	12:00
79	Passing %	78
9:26	Time on Attack	3:11

Record: 0-1-0

[Moses Doughty]

Sucks to lose when you get that many shots. If you need more scoring I advise calling up Voynov. Legit NHLer right away.

[Psyblast]

Scotiabank Saddledome	1	2	3	OT	F
	4	1	1	-	6
	1	0	0	-	1

Kings catch fire
Rapid fire first chases Kipper, brings Kings to .500


Kopitar and Doughty were at the center of LA's offensive outburst in Calgary

Period	Time	Team	Scoring Detail	Score
1	5:05		Goal: Dustin Penner (1) (PP) Assists: Penalty Shot	1-0, Kings
1	6:26		Goal: Anze Kopitar (1) (PP) Assists: Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown	2-0, Kings
1	6:58		Goal: Brad Richardson (1) Assists: Trevor Lewis, Willie Mitchell	3-0, Kings
1	7:43		Goal: Trevor Lewis (1) Assists: Scott Parse, Drew Doughty	4-0, Kings
1	17:49		Goal: Mark Giordano (1) Assists: Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester	4-1, Kings
2	7:43		Goal: Jarret Stoll (2) (SH) Assists: Rob Scuderi	5-1, Kings
3	2:13		Goal: Anze Kopitar (2) Assists: Drew Doughty, Ryan Smyth	6-1, Kings

	@
45	Shots on Goal	36
2/4	Power Plays	0/3
7:21	Power Play Minutes	8:00
36	Faceoffs Won	15
8:00	Penalty Minutes	8:00
70	Passing %	81
8:46	Time on Attack	6:02

Record: 1-1-0

[Psyblast]

Staples Center	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	0	2	-	2
	3	2	0	-	5

Kings hold their breath
Home opener is a success, but Kopitar's injury has LA nervous


Jarret Stoll has scored in every game for the Kings so far

Period	Time	Team	Scoring Detail	Score
1	0:27		Goal: Ryan Smyth (1) Assists: Willie Mitchell, Drew Doughty	1-0, Kings
1	4:08		Goal: Alexei Ponikarovsky (1) Assists: Wayne Simmonds, Jonathan Quick	2-0, Kings
1	16:36		Goal: Anze Kopitar (3) Assists: Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi	3-0, Kings
2	16:45		Goal: Drew Doughty (1) (PP) Assists: Jack Johnson, Jarret Stoll	4-0, Kings
2	17:31		Goal: Jarret Stoll (3) Assists: Ryan Smyth, Willie Mitchell	5-0, Kings
3	12:42		Goal: Andrew Ladd (2) Assists: Tobias Enstrom, Bryan Little	5-1, Kings
3	19:11		Goal: Nikolai Antropov (3) (PP) Assists: Tobias Enstrom, Bryan Little	5-2, Kings

	@
29	Shots on Goal	40
1/4	Power Plays	1/5
6:38	Power Play Minutes	1:57
25	Faceoffs Won	27
12:00	Penalty Minutes	18:00
75	Passing %	72
4:08	Time on Attack	8:26

Record: 2-1-0

[Psyblast]

Friendly fire shelves Kopitar
Injury bug strikes in the most inopportune fashion

October 12, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA - It's bad enough having to worry about the other team taking shots at your star players and trying to protect them and keep them healthy. During Tuesday's game against Atlanta, the Kings took a shot at one of their own - literally.

Early in the second period, Drew Doughty unleashed a mighty slapshot from the blueline on a Los Angeles power play, and it nailed Anze Kopitar, who was creating traffic in front of the net. Kopitar immediately hunched over in pain and skated off and went to directly to the Kings' dressing room. He did not return.

The verdict: a slight fracture in his left elbow. While that sounds devastating, the Kings' medical staff said Kopitar got off lucky, and could possibly play Friday against Vancouver. Head coach Terry Murray quickly squashed that notion, however.

"He's going to sit (on Friday)," Murray said. "We're not going to jeopardize him long-term just to have him in the short term. So he'll sit out a game at least, and we'll go from there."

[Psyblast]

Kings make their move on Kariya
With Kopitar out, LA wastes no time with the free agent winger

October 14, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA - It turns out the rumors were true all along.

The Kings signed free agent Paul Kariya Thursday to a one year deal worth 1.6 million dollars. GM Dean Lombardi confirmed during the announcement that the Kings had been in touch with Kariya for some time.

"We knew he wasn't done playing, he still has the passion for hockey, and the appeal of returning the west coast was strong and obviously played to our advantage. It was just a matter of getting the numbers set," Lombardi said.

The injury to Anze Kopitar provided the Kings the opportunity to ramp up negotiations and get a deal done in time for Friday's game against the Canucks, which will see Kariya debut in his familiar #9 sweater. Kariya will play on the second line with Dustin Penner and Dustin Brown, while Jarret Stoll moves up to the first line. Kariya may also see some spot power play time.

[jibbles]

Really liking this so far. Sucks that you have a star go down early in the season, but I guess rather now than in the playoffs. I like that you picked up Kariya, he still has good wheels and comes at an relatively comfortable price. He will aid you now with Kopitar out, but will also be good depth for when he returns. Good job.