News & Views on the Los Angeles Kings and the National Hockey League by Gann Matsuda
February 26, 2011 1 Comment
LOS ANGELES — After dominating the first fifty minutes of their matinee contest against the Colorado Avalanche at Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 26, scoring four times, the Los Angeles Kings let down in a big way and came within a hair of coughing up their four-goal lead. Read more of this post
February 7, 2011 Leave a comment
LA Kings defenseman Alec Martinez has moved up from the AHL to become
a fixture on the Kings’ blue line.
Photo: David Sheehan
Indeed, the Kings were expected to be among the top teams in the Western Conference. But after a stretch in November when they lost seven out of eight games, and an even more brutal stretch from late December through most of January when they lost ten out of twelve games, the Kings are struggling just to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot in the hyper-competitive Western Conference, even though they are 5-0-1 in their last six games, and 6-3-1 in their last ten.
Perhaps as big a surprise has been the play of young defenseman Alec Martinez, 23, who not only failed to make the Kings roster out of training camp, but was also a big question mark in terms of ever making the jump to the National Hockey League level. Read more of this post
January 11, 2011 4 Comments
POST-GAME: Includes audio of National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman’s press conference during the first intermission.
LOS ANGELES — If you have ever read the directions on a shampoo bottle you might see the phrase, “wash, rinse, repeat.”
That phrase comes to mind after watching the Los Angeles Kings get off to a solid start against the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs on December 10 at Staples Center, only to come out flat in the second and third periods, dropping a 3-2 decision. Read more of this post
December 8, 2010 3 Comments
LA Kings defenseman Alec Martinez (second from left) participates in a drill during practice on December 7, 2010 at the Toyota Sports Center
in El Segundo, Cailfornia.
Photo: David Sheehan
Several months later, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi predicted that his fourth round (95th overall) pick in the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft had a solid chance to win a job with the Kings. Read more of this post
December 5, 2010 1 Comment
LOS ANGELES — Anze Kopitar scored at 4:04 of overtime to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Western Conference-leading Detroit Red Wings in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans at Staples Center on December 4.
Kopitar, defenseman Alec Martinez and right wing Justin Williams each scored a goal and added an assist in the game. Read more of this post
November 27, 2010 2 Comments
EL SEGUNDO, CA — When Terry Murray was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings on July 17, 2008, his highest priority was to teach his young team how to play defense, something that seemed like a foreign concept to the Kings in the seasons just prior to his arrival.
Two years later, Murray’s mostly young charges had improved their defensive zone play in dramatic fashion by emphasizing coverage of the “home plate” area in front of their own net. That new focus, along with improved goaltending, resulted in a dramatically reduced number of shots against, far fewer quality scoring chances by opponents and, as a result, a lot less pucks ending up in their net.
That focus was on point to start the 2010-11 season, one that saw the Kings jump out to a 12-3-0 start. But their defensive focus went by the wayside in mid-November, and the Kings have been in a deep slump ever since, losing five of their last six games while allowing one glorious scoring chance after another and giving up goals in bunches. Read more of this post
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