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Los Angeles Kings’ Playoff Success In Jeopardy After Losing Anze Kopitar

Los Angeles Kings star forward Anze Kopitar (center) suffered a broken right ankle late in the second period during a 4-1 win over
the Colorado Avalanche at Staples Center
in Los Angeles on March 26, 2011.
Photo: Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images and the Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — Going into the 2010-11 season, the Los Angeles Kings were expected to be a playoff team, as they were last season. But expectations were higher this season, their benchmark for success being to make it into the second round, the Western Conference semi-finals, and with just eight games remaining, their prospects were looking good.

But all that may have come crashing down on March 26, during a decisive 4-1 win over the hapless Colorado Avalanche, as the Kings lost star center Anze Kopitar, who suffered a broken right ankle in a freakish fall late in the second period.

He will be out of the lineup for a minimum of six weeks.

Kopitar will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination on March 28, when the full extent of his injury will become clear, and although there has been no further word from the Kings medical staff, no one should be surprised if Kopitar will be out of the lineup for much longer than six weeks.

At the 15:39 mark of the second period, Kopitar fell backwards, his right leg twisting while his skate remained firmly planted on the ice. Video of the incident, especially slow motion replay, was a gruesome sight to behold. Read more of this post

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Frozen Royalty Audio and NHL Video: LA Kings Dominate, But End Up Escaping With 4-3 Win Over Colorado

p>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

Rough, Physical Play Showing That LA Kings Are A Team, Perhaps Now More Than Ever Before

LA Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell drops the gloves with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steve Downie on
November 4, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Photo: Newscom

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — To this point in the 2010-11 season, if anything is clear about the Los Angeles Kings, it is that other teams view them as one of the best teams in the NHL, and that is showing up in terms of physical play, as many opponents are going into games against the Kings trying to get them off their game through physical intimidation.

To be sure, despite the fact that right wing Kevin Westgarth, the Kings’ heavyweight enforcer, has not been in a fight yet this season, perhaps due to the fact that he broke Colorado Avalanche heavyweight David Koci’s jaw in a pre-season scuffle back in September, teams seem to be going into games against the Kings with the intent of knocking them around, both with big hits and their fists.

“There were a few hits, a few confrontations,” head coach Terry Murray said after his team’s very physical 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 4. “A little old time hockey with the scrums that were going on. It was a very competitive game out there—two first place teams. The battle heats up.” Read more of this post

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