In an effort to address the serious lamp-lighting deficiency that has plagued the Los Angeles Kings all season long, the club made the first major move of the NHL Trade Deadline period, acquiring three-time 30-goal scorer Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday in exchange for defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round draft pick in either the 2012 or 2013 NHL draft.
The Kings have just 125 non-shootout goals in 61 games, a League-low 2.05 per game. There is no question that they needed help up front, and they are hoping Carter can provide that.
While much of the focus leading up to the NHL’s Feb. 27 trade deadline continues to be on where Rick Nash will be dealt, another interesting rumor is beginning to take shape involving another current member of the Columbus Blue Jackets: Jeff Carter.
It’s been no secret that Carter has been unhappy since he set foot in Columbus. It’s also been made public knowledge recently that the Jackets have been trying trade the forward and the remainder of his 11-year, $58 million contract he originally signed with the Flyers.
If you didn’t catch the Kings-Blue Jackets game last night at Staples Center, Los Angeles won 3-2 thanks to a goal from Drew Doughty in the final second of the third period.
Actually, as it turns out, he didn’t.
On-ice officials reviewed the goal and found that the puck crossed the goal line with four-tenths of a second on the clock. However, upon further review by the War Room in Toronto after the game was already decided, it was spotted that at the 1.8 second mark, the clock inexplicably stopped. Therefore, Doughty’s wrister technically should not have counted.
There is no point in even attempting to explain the phenomenon known as “Tebowing.” What started out as a simple act of reverence following a win by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has quickly turned into the celebration of the times.
First there was Skier Lindsey Vonn, who Tebowed after winning a race. Then there was the CBS NFL Today group Tebowing after the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. And don’t forget about the scores of fans who have put images of themselves and their friends up on Facebook down on bended knee.
Christmas may be right around the corner, but there are no guarantees the Los Angeles Kings will be in a merry mood after their new head coach is finished with them.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi announced Tuesday that Darryl Sutter, a notoriously strict, old-school bench boss, will be taking over the head coaching duties for Los Angeles. Sutter, who is replacing the recently fired Terry Murray, will conduct his first practice as the Kings’ head coach Wednesday morning, followed by a news conference in the afternoon in El Segundo.
It’s been a bad month for professional hockey coaches in Southern California.
Less than two weeks ago, the Anaheim Ducks fired Randy Carlyle after an atrocious month of November where Ducks went just 2-11. Now reports have confirmed that the Los Angeles Kings have given Terry Murray the axe.
The cause for Murray’s termination? Well, other than the fact that the Kings came into the season with the biggest expectations they’ve had as a team since Gretzky arrived on the scene, the fact they were stuck in a four-game losing streak and currently possess the lowest-scoring offense in the NHL didn’t help his cause.
Kings fans, remember in the not-so-distant past when Jonathan Quick was only supposed to keep the crease warm until 2006 first-rounder Jonathan Bernier was ready to take the No. 1 goaltending job in Los Angeles.
Yeah, so much for that. Bernier may the be the second-ranked goaltending prospect in the world, but it’s Quick who’s breaking goaltending records. The 25-year-old netminder completed the best week by a goaltender in the history of the Kings’ franchise on Saturday when he made 28 saves in a 1-0 victory against the Dallas Stars. It was his third consecutive shutout, a first for an L.A. goaltender and the first time it’s been done by any NHL goaltender since Columbus‘ Steve Mason three years ago.
The 2011-12 NHL season is officially underway, and of the four teams that traveled to open up the season overseas, the new-and-improved Buffalo Sabres looked the most dominant.
After a decisive 4-1 victory in Helenki, Finland over the Anaheim Ducks Friday, the Sabres continued their offensive surge Saturday with a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at O2 World Arena in Berlin. Thomas Vanek, the Sabres leading goal-scorer last season, is already off to a hot start with two goals and three assists in his first two games.
Although the Los Angeles Kings made headlines over the offseason by trading for Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards, it was the inability to come to terms on a deal with young defenseman Drew Doughty that had people talking all summer.
Well, the talking can now end and Doughty can finally put on his skates and rejoin his team.
After talks that dragged on since early summer, the Kings officially signed the 21-year-old restricted free-agent defenseman to an eight-year deal Friday. Doughty flew to L.A. for the signing hours after the two sides reached agreement on a deal worth an average of $7 million per season.
As the Los Angeles Kings headed into the final month of the 2010-11 regular season, the club felt confident that wherever they ended up in the Western Conference playoff picture, they were definetly a better team than the season before.
Then Justin Williams went down with a shoulder injury.
Then Anze Kopitar broke his right ankle on a meaningless play in an otherwise meaningless game.
The Kings persevered and put up a good fight in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the San Jose Sharks, but without their two top scorers they were overmatched and eliminated in six games.
