Los Angeles Kings Have Good Reasons To Be Optimistic Heading Into Tough, Crucial Road Trip

March 6, 2012 by 4 Comments

Los Angeles Kings right wing and team captain Dustin Brown issued a challenge to his teammates heading into their crucial
four-game road trip, starting on March 6, 2012, at Nashville.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — As the Los Angeles Kings begin a tough, four-game road trip tonight in Nashville, they find themselves in ninth place in the Western Conference with 72 points, one point behind the eighth-place San Jose Sharks, and three points behind the Dallas Stars for the Pacific Division lead.

The Nashville Predators, currently fifth in the Western Conference with 83 points, are playing extremely well, especially at home, where they have earned a 21-7-5 record this season.

In fact, the Predators have not lost in regulation time in their last twelve home games, earning a 10-0-2 record during that stretch, their last home loss coming on January 5, a 4-1 loss to the Stars.

“[Nashville] is a tough place to play,” said Kings head coach Darryl Sutter. “They haven’t lost since Christ was a child.”

Moving right along…the Kings suffered a 2-1 loss at Nashville on February 27, a game in which they felt that they played well. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings: Jeff Carter Having Desired Impact While Darryl Sutter Criticizes Anze Kopitar’s Play

March 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar has struggled for
much of the season, no doubt. But his game has
slipped even further in recent games.
Photo: David Sheehan

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — During the Los Angeles Kings’ 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on March 3, newly-acquired sniper Jeff Carter scored his first two goals (and points) as a member of the Kings.

Since his arrival, the Kings have won three out of four games, and have scored four goals in each of those wins.

Carter has displayed speed, and the willingness to shoot first, and ask questions later, something the Kings have desperately needed.

“He gives you a different look, in terms of speed, and the skill set he brings,” said head coach Darryl Sutter. Read more of this post

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No Time To Waste For Los Angeles Kings To Solve Offensive Zone Problems

March 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

What impact has newly-acquired forward Jeff Carter had
on the Los Angeles Kings’ offensive attack in his
first three games with the team?
Photo: David Sheehan

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — With 18 games remaining in the Los Angeles Kings’ 2011-12 season, the numbers are certainly not their friend.

Last season, the eighth place Chicago Blackhawks earned the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 97 points, and if you look at that as a benchmark of sorts for this season, it doesn’t take much to figure out that the Kings are in deep, deep trouble in terms of earning an invitation to the National Hockey League’s post-season party.

Although it does not appear that it will take 97 points this season, as the teams ranked from sixth to 13th in the conference have been up and down in recent games, for argument’s sake, if they all continue at their current pace, the Phoenix Coyotes would finish atop the Pacific Division with 96 points, which would rank them third in the Western Conference.

The Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings are likely to battle it out for the conference championship, with the St. Louis Blues right behind them, possibly sneaking into the top spot in the conference. In any case, those three teams would take the first, second and fourth spots in the West. Read more of this post

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Author, Hockey Writer Brian Kennedy Reads From His New Book, My Country Is Hockey, on February 9 in Pasadena, CA

February 6, 2012 by Leave a comment

To download a printable flyer,
click on the image above.

PASADENA, CA — Author Brian Kennedy, a freelance hockey writer who covers the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks for Inside Hockey, will read from his new book, My Country Is Hockey (Edmonton, Argenta Press, 2011), at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, on Thursday, February 9, 2012, at 7:00 PM.

The book explores the deep roots of Canada’s hockey obsession, which has become an integral part of the national mythology. Among the topics Kennedy takes up are the violence in the game, French-English rivalries, the modern definition of childhood, and Canada’s relationship with its closest neighbor, the United States. Read more of this post

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Brian Kennedy’s My Country Is Hockey Is A Revealing, Insightful, Must-Read Book

December 21, 2011 by 1 Comment

Photo: Argenta Press

MONTEREY PARK, CA — Here in the United States, especially for those of us who did not grow up in the Northeast, or in states like Minnesota, where kids have the opportunity to play hockey on a frozen pond, or where road hockey games have been popular for many, many years, that innocent and pure part of the game remains a mystery.

Author and scholar Brian Kennedy, Ph.D., a native of Montreal, an Associate Professor of English at Pasadena City College, and a freelance hockey writer who covers the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks for Inside Hockey, previously wrote two books, Growing Up Hockey: The Life and Times of Everyone Who Ever Loved The Game, and Living The Hockey Dream: Interviews and Personal Stories From NHL Superstars and Other Lovers of The Game, in which he gave readers a good look into how hockey is so deeply rooted in Canadian culture and in the psyche of Canadians.

But in his new book, My Country Is Hockey: How Hockey Explains Canadian Culture, History, Politics, Heroes, French-English Rivalry and Who We Are As Canadians, Kennedy goes for the jugular in that regard, taking great pains to point out how hockey is inextricably intertwined with just about all things Canadian, heavily influencing Canadian thought, behavior, politics, and so much more, while also looking at how the purity and simple joy of the game is being lost. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings: Players Counter Claims That System, Coach Stifle Offense

December 8, 2011 by 51 Comments

Defenseman Drew Doughty was among several Los Angeles Kings players
who discussed the team’s system, and their struggling offense.
Photo: David Sheehan

ANAHEIM AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — Following a 3-2 loss to the struggling Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center in Anaheim on December 6, if you traversed the various web sites, Facebook and Twitter, one would get the distinct feeling that the Los Angeles Kings were already doomed, and that all hope for them to qualify for the playoffs was lost.

But one look at the standings reveals that the Kings are just three points out of first place in their division, and from third place in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference. Read more of this post

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