2011 Holiday Season Has Los Angeles Kings Looking To Darryl Sutter As Their Savior

December 25, 2011 1 Comment

Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi (left)
and newly-hired head coach Darryl Sutter (right), shown here
during a December 21, 2011 press conference.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

EL SEGUNDO AND LOS ANGELES, CA — On this Christmas Day 2011, families around the world are celebrating the holiday season, while young children, who have been dreaming for weeks about what Santa Claus might bring them, are, hopefully, waking to find that their dreams have come true.

For the Los Angeles Kings, they are hoping that Santa will bring them the extra goal or two per game that they have sorely missed all season long. They are also hoping that they have found their savior in new head coach Darryl Sutter, the 53-year-old native of Viking, Alberta, who was hired on December 20, replacing Terry Murray, who was fired on December 12, after the Kings slipped and slid their way through the last few weeks. Read more of this post

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LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi Lays Responsibility For Terry Murray’s Dismissal On Players’ Shoulders

December 13, 2011 2 Comments

As expected, the Los Angeles Kings have fired head coach Terry Murray (left), shown here with head athletic trainer Chris Kingsley (right).
Photo: David Sheehan

LOS ANGELES — With his team failing to live up to lofty, but well-deserved expectations, Los Angeles Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi made the move that has been all but expected since late Sunday night.

On Monday, he fired head coach Terry Murray, and named assistant coach John Stevens as interim head coach.

Murray, 61, earned a 139-106-30 regular season record with the Kings after joining the team in 2008-09. He ranks third in franchise history in wins, fourth in games coached, and first in winning percentage (.560). He also reached the 100-win mark faster than any head coach in team history, and his 2009-10 and 2010-11 teams tied the franchise record for most wins in a season (46). Read more of this post

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Terry Murray Likely To Take Fall Soon For LA Kings’ Failures, No Matter Whose Fault It Is

December 12, 2011 17 Comments

LA Kings head coach Terry Murray is likely about to take the fall for his
team’s failure to execute their game plan on a consistent basis.
Photo: David Sheehan

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — After all but one other player had disappeared from the main dressing room area to shower and change clothes, Los Angeles Kings right wing and team captain Dustin Brown sat dejectedly in his locker, slouched down, probably brooding about his team’s performance, or lack thereof, in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on December 10, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

This is not a first for Brown, who has been seen doing the exact same thing in seasons past.

But this time, something was different. Read more of this post

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LA Kings: Injuries To Mitchell, Richards Give Drewiske, Penner Another Chance

December 3, 2011 Leave a Comment

Left wing Dustin Penner must find his game quickly and start pulling his weight on the scoresheet with the Los Angeles Kings facing some rather strong adversity with the loss of defenseman Willie Mitchell and center Mike Richards to injuries.
Photo: David Sheehan

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — While earning a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on December 1 at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings paid a heavy price, and will face heavy adversity for the first time this season.

During that game, the Kings lost veteran defenseman Willie Mitchell during the first minute of the game. He was joined in the trainer’s room by center Mike Richards, who took a blow to the head late in the second period from Panthers’ forward Sean Bergenheim.

Mitchell (lower body injury) is expected to miss at least the next two games, while Richards, who has what is officially being called an upper body injury, has been placed on injured reserve. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings: Dustin Penner, Slava Voynov Are Both Anxious Get Off To Strong Start

October 21, 2011 1 Comment

After being sidelined by leg injuries, LA Kings left wing Dustin Penner is working to get off to a strong start.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After being the target of heavy criticism for his poor play and physical conditioning late last season after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings left wing Dustin Penner dedicated himself to improving his strength and conditioning during the off-season.

Even then, Penner had fans up in arms about his alleged poor conditioning after a photo appeared on Twitter back in August that “proved” he was badly out of shape.

The photo turned out to be totally misleading—an understatement of epic proportions, as Penner’s dramatically improved strength and conditioning had already been well-documented.

After all that, Penner was looking forward to getting off to a strong start, but you may know what author John Steinbeck wrote about the best laid plans…

Indeed, instead of starting off on the right foot in the Kings’ season opener against the New York Rangers in Stockholm, Sweden on October 7, and against the Buffalo Sabres on October 8 in Berlin, Germany, Penner was sidelined for those games by multiple injuries. Read more of this post

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2011-12 Los Angeles Kings Could Contend For Pacific Division, Western Conference Titles

October 6, 2011 Leave a Comment

2011-12 LOS ANGELES KINGS PREVIEW: The 2011-12 National Hockey League season begins tonight with the first three games of the season. Even though the Los Angeles Kings have another day before they begin the new season, let’s take an in-depth look at the team and their outlook for 2011-12.

Logo courtesy LA Kings/NHL

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After a few seasons of rebuilding from scratch, followed by a couple of years of building upon that foundation, the Los Angeles Kings are at a unique point in their 44-year history, one in which they are on the verge of becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, not to mention a perennial winner.

In other words, after five seasons, the Kings are right where Dean Lombardi hoped they would be when he laid out his plan for the franchise after taking over as President/General Manager of the team in April 2006.

But that was five-and-a-half years ago, so let’s review, shall we? Read more of this post

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