LA Kings’ Dustin Penner: The Irony Of It All

May 27, 2012 by Leave a comment

Los Angeles Kings left wing Dustin Penner’s resurgence
during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, capped by the
overtime game-winning goal in the Western Conference
Finals, is not only a major shock, but ironic as well.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — No one is going to easily forget that Los Angeles Kings left wing Dustin Penner was invisible for much of the 2011-12 regular season, scoring a measly seven goals with ten assists for 17 points in 65 games.

Penner’s time with the Kings started off poorly, as he was a non-factor from the moment he joined the team after a trade deadline deal on February 28, 2011.

A veteran forward with size and skill, Penner was expected to give the Kings’ struggling offense a boost, but he scored just two goals and tallied only four assists last year, after joining the Kings, and he chipped in with a goal and an assist in the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks.

Those are some rather lousy numbers in 19 regular season games with the Kings, to say the least, especially for a player who ended up scoring 23 goals and contributing 18 assists for 39 points in 81 regular season games last season (with the Edmonton Oilers and the Kings). Read more of this post

Filed under Audio/Video, News, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Los Angeles Kings Left Wing Simon Gagne Is Healthy Once Again

May 25, 2012 by 3 Comments

LA Kings veteran left wing Simon Gagne, shown here during a workout on
March 15, 2012, returned to practicing with the team on May 25, 2012.
(click to view entire image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — As you walked into the Toyota Sports Center, the practice facility of the Los Angeles Kings in El Segundo, California on Friday morning, there was a strange, yet vaguely familiar sight on the ice.

That was the sight of the number 12 on the back of a jersey during a full practice, something not seen since late December.

Indeed, veteran left wing Simon Gagne, who suffered a concussion back on December 26, 2011, was finally back on the ice with his teammates, skating in a full practice for the first time since suffering the injury. Read more of this post

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Phoenix Coyotes Reaction To Game 5 Loss Was A Disgrace

May 23, 2012 by 34 Comments

COMMENTARY: The Phoenix Coyotes, seething after Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown flattened Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival late in the overtime period, lost their composure, and, as a result, the game, and the series. They embarrassed themselves, and their organization, after the game, with perhaps the most ridiculous excuses one could possibly imagine for losing a playoff series.

Logo courtesy National Hockey League

LOS ANGELES — After watching and listening to the reactions of some of the Phoenix Coyotes after they lost in Game 5 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals, a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, one would get the idea that the entire world, outside of the Phoenix metropolitan area, was against them.

That was just one of the common refrains emanating from the Coyotes dressing room after the game—they were livid about the officiating, especially after Kings right wing Dustin Brown laid out Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival at the Phoenix blue line at late in the overtime period.

On the play, Brown was skating across the blue line, and had Rozsival lined up for a hit. A moment after the whistle blew for an offsides call, Brown nailed Rozsival, his shoulder slamming into his chest, while his left leg Read more of this post

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Don’t Expect Much Improvement In TV News Coverage Of Los Angeles Kings Over Long Term

May 21, 2012 by 12 Comments

COMMENTARY: The Los Angeles Kings are more popular than ever on local television news broadcasts, which should be music to the ears, and candy for the eyes, of long-suffering hockey fans in the area. But the local television news outlets are, evidently, horribly unprepared to cover the game. The result is unfathomable mistakes, and shoddy reporting. Even worse, Los Angeles area hockey fans should not get their hopes up for much improvement down the road.

Coverage of the Los Angeles Kings’ 2012 playoff run by local TV media has been plagued by careless mistakes, so the team decided to help them with the basics.
(click to view entire image).
Photo: Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — Back in 1999, when the Los Angeles Kings played their first-ever game at Staples Center, a 2-2 tie with the Boston Bruins on October 20, 1999, I remember getting there very early so that I would have time to take the grand tour, so to speak.

After walking past the Chairman’s Room on the Event Level, I turned into the tunnel leading to the ice surface, nearest the Kings dressing room, and as I turned, I saw KNBC-TV’s (Channel 4 here in the Los Angeles area) Fred Roggin doing a live spot on one of their evening news broadcasts.

At first blush, one might think, “hey, it’s great to see Staples Center and the Kings getting some positive media coverage on local television for a change.”

Alas, that was not my first, or even my second thought. Rather, my first and only reaction was, “we’ll never see him here again, unless the Kings win the Stanley Cup someday.”

To be fair, I have not attended every single game since that night, so perhaps Roggin has been at Staples Center to cover a Kings game since then. However, I can say that I have been a member of the Kings credentialed media since 1997, with the exception of a couple of seasons, and I have never seen him at a game. Read more of this post

Filed under Exclusives, News, NHL Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Frozen Royalty’s Gann Matsuda Breaks Down LA Kings Loss In Game 4, 2012 Western Conference Finals

May 21, 2012 by Leave a comment

Following post-game interviews after the Los Angeles Kings’ 2-0 loss in Game 3 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday, May 20, I appeared on Inside Sports’ From The Arena post-game show hosted by Charles E. Smith, Jr. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings Are Flying High, While Trying To Keep Their Skates Planted Firmly On The Ice

May 20, 2012 by Leave a comment

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — It’s so close, they can almost touch it. But just the same, they would rather keep it at a distance, at least until they earn the right to talk about it openly.

“It” is the Stanley Cup, the most revered and coveted trophy in professional team sports, and with a win today in Game 4 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Coyotes, the Los Angeles Kings can advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for just the second time in franchise’s 44-year history.

The Kings have a stranglehold on the best-of-seven series, having won the first three games, and can complete a series sweep of the Coyotes, who have been badly outplayed in just about every aspect of the game in Games 1-3.

For a team that has breezed through the Stanley Cup Playoffs with an 11-1 record so far, Read more of this post

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