Anze Kopitar

TCL Round 1 Staff Predictions: Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings

April 11, 2012

( 1 ) VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs. ( 8 ) LOS ANGELES KINGS

The Vancouver Canucks aren't exactly the most liked team in the NHL, especially after the antics of both their players and their fans in last year's playoffs. Add to that their injuries and woes this season (despite finishing first in the West), and you'll have a hard time finding too many people openly cheering for them to go too far this year. But it's hard to deny their depth and their talent. Luongo not playing well? No problem, you've got Schneider. Daniel Sedin still out with a concussion? Plenty of forwards to try and ease the pain. But on the other side of the ice is a hungry Los Angel...

Kings Win 5th Straight, Slide into 8th Place

March 21, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

Anze Kopitar and the Kings win their fifth straight for the first time this year. (photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Needless to say, the Kings offense is certainly clicking at the right time. With a 5-2 win over division rival San Jose Tuesday night, Los Angeles improved their record to 9-3 since the addition of Jeff Carter and vaulted themselves back into the playoff picture for the first time in over a week. With nine games left in the season, the Kings are tied with Phoenix for the eighth seed with eighty-four points.

Mike Richards (who, after an extended post-Christmas slump) netted his third goal of the month...

Kings Batter Slumping Red Wings 5-2

March 14, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

With two wins in a row and twelve games to go, Los Angeles sits in tenth place in the Western Conference. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NHLI via Getty Images)

Less than a week after surrendering a late 3-2 lead against these same Detroit Red Wings, the Kings came out of the gates firing and dominated play for the majority of the clock’s sixty minutes. Five different Kings recorded the team’s five goals en route to a resounding 5-2 win Tuesday night at the Staples Center.

An injury-plagued Detroit team may have been just what the doctor ordered for L.A. The Red Wings are still playing without key contrib...

Carter, Kings Defeat Ducks 4-2

March 4, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

If there was ever a time for the league's lowest scoring team to finally get consistent offensive play, this is it. (Photo by Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images)

It took three games, but new addition Jeff Carter finally found his scoring touch in Los Angeles. The twenty-seven year old winger netted two pivotal goals on five shots and the Kings defeated their ‘Freeway Faceoff’ opponent Anaheim Ducks by a 4-2 score.

Carter had previously recorded fifteen goals on the year, all of which of course were collected with Columbus. In his final game as a Blue Jacket two weeks earlier, Carter scored a hat tric...

Kings Regain Winning Ways, Defeat Tampa Bay 3-1

February 8, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

Kyle Clifford puts the eventual game-winner past a struggling Dwayne Roloson. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Following two losses in the first two games of their road-trip east, the Kings looked everything but confident heading into a nationally televised game in Tampa Bay. However, any offensive rust was shaken off rather quickly and a defensive performance like no other propelled the team to a 3-1 victory earlier tonight.

The Kings notched only one goal in their previous 120 minutes of play, but recorded three tallies on a mere twenty shots against a struggling Dwayne Roloson en route to their twe...

Offense Abysmal in Kings 3-1 Loss to Colorado

January 22, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

Matt Greene (presumbly) wonders when this offensive slump will ever end. (photo courtesy of NHL.com)

The Kings fell to the visiting Colorado Avalanche by a score of 3-1. J.S. Giguere stopped twenty-five of the twenty-six shots he faced and Peter Mueller had the go-ahead goal in just his fifth game back from a career-threatening concussion. It was his third goal of the season after two earlier in the week. Mueller had previously been sidelined since 4/4/2010.

In the losing effort, birthday boy Jonathan Quick was not bad, but clearly frustrated after being dealt his twenty-first loss of the season. The goaltender dre...

Tired Kings Lose in OT, 2-1

January 16, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

Originally chosen by the Kings 30th overall in 1996, Josh Green scores against his former team to give his current one a 1-0 lead. (photo courtesy of NHL.com)

Playing in their second game in less than twenty-four hours, the Kings looked like the very personification of road-weary. Any spark—any offensive pushed was muffled just as quickly as it started. The team managed only 21 shots on goal en route to a 2-1 overtime loss in Edmonton last night.

Justin Williams earned a high-sticking minor in the extra frame which led to a goal by Taylor Hall to seal the victory for the Oilers, only their second win of the m...

Darryl Bests Brent in Sutter Battle, Kings Win 4-1

January 15, 2012

Ty Fisher

1 Comment

The Kings are now 7-1-3 under Darryl Sutter. (photo courtesy of NHL.com)

If one were to get caught up in all the subplots surrounding last night’s game between Los Angeles and Calgary, one might forget that there actually was, you know, sixty minutes of hockey to be played. Yes, one Sutter (Darryl) went toe-to-toe with another (Brent) and Mike Cammalleri scored in his much ballyhooed return to the Flames, but it was Darryl and the Kings who came out on top by a 4-1 score.

After a scoreless and offensively challenged first period for the Kings, they would quickly grab two in a three-minute span. Mike Richards ...

Back-and-Forth Battle Ends in 5-4 Shootout Defeat

January 13, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

The Kings missed out on an extra point with the loss, but potentially losing Anze Kopitar could be far worse. (photo courtesy of NHL.com)

In what could be billed as the most entertaining contest of the season, the Kings fought with an extraordinary intensity but ultimately came up short, losing in a shootout to the Dallas Stars 5-4.

A back-and-forth game saw a shootout determine the winner deep into the night. Jarret Stoll, Dustin Brown, and Trevor Lewis were all denied on their attempts while the Stars’ Loui Eriksson connected on his to earn the squad the extra point.

Although he faced sixteen shots in...

Kings’ Offensive Comes Alive, Scores 5 in Win over Caps

January 10, 2012

Ty Fisher

0 Comments

Jack Johnson after scoring his second period goal and shortly before "Tebowing" in celebration. (photo courtesy of NHL.com)

There is no doubt that Jonathan Quick is the MVP of the Kings’ season at the halfway mark. His numbers have been terrific and his play has consistently been unparalleled. Thus, it only makes sense that his team would break out of their prolonged offensive slump and erupt for five goals (not to mention one of which was scored on the power play)…all with their starting goaltender riding the pine.

Back-up Jonathan Bernier was given the spot-start and also an atypical amount...