Frozen Royalty Audio: LA Kings Finally Break Through 3-Goal Wall In 4-3 Win Over Phoenix

December 27, 2011 by Leave a comment

LOS ANGELES — It took them 15 games, but the Los Angeles Kings finally scored three goals in a game on Monday night, defeating the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-3, in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans at Staples Center.

The last time the Kings scored three goals (in regulation time or overtime, not in a shootout) in a game was on November 22, a 3-2 victory at St. Louis. From that point forward, until Monday night, the Kings never scored more than two regulation/overtime goals, earning a poor 5-7-2 record over that span, two of the wins the result of shootouts. 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 by 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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Los Angeles Kings Should Take The Great One’s Advice About Shooting The Puck

November 28, 2011 by 2 Comments

Los Angeles Kings rookie forward Andrei Loktionov will move back to center on November 28, 2011, when the Kings host
the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center.
Photo: David Sheehan

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — Some years ago, in the not too distant history of the Los Angeles Kings, there was a player who once graced the hockey world with his wisdom, not to mention his nearly infinite talent.

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” he said.

That player was none other than The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, who holds or shares 61 National Hockey League records, and is fourth on the Kings’ all-time scoring list.

Coming from Gretzky, who was not only the best player to ever play the game, but, arguably the smartest, those words carry several tons of weight.

Each of the Kings players should probably be forced to write those words on a chalkboard 100 times each after falling back into their bad habit of trying to pass the puck into the net, time and time again. Read more of this post

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Making Do Without Doughty: Los Angeles Kings Open 2011 Training Camp

September 18, 2011 by 7 Comments

TRAINING CAMP COVERAGE: Frozen Royalty’s coverage of the Los Angeles Kings’ 2011 Training Camp begins with details on who might get ice time as a replacement for holdout defenseman Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar’s ankle and how it held up on the first day, more on Dustin Penner’s conditioning, and on Dustin Brown trying to build chemistry with new line mates. Includes 15 audio interviews from Day 1 of training camp.

LA Kings left wing Dustin Penner lost more weight during the 2011 off-season than originally believed.
Photo: David Sheehan.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The Los Angeles Kings hit the ice for the first time during their 2011 Training Camp on Saturday, September 17, and, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, or vacationing in a desolate, primitive area, isolated from the hockey world, you know that defenseman Drew Doughty is in the midst of a contract dispute with the Kings, and is now a holdout.

Indeed, the 21-year-old defenseman was nowhere to be found when the Kings hit the ice at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California, their practice facility.

With no end in sight in the Doughty saga, the story was not just his absence, but who might fill his skate boots should he continue to holdout.

“The plans [for training camp] do not change at all,” said head coach Terry Murray. “We’re going to miss Doughty. I wish he was here to be a part of it. He’s a very important player, he’s a big part of the locker room, and a fun guy to be around. He’s a great player for us, but the plans do not change for the training camp. We have to get ready for the start of the year.” Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings Defenseman Prospect Jake Muzzin Likely To Be Waiting Awhile For His Turn

July 21, 2011 by 17 Comments

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Last season, defenseman prospect Jake Muzzin came out of nowhere to make the Los Angeles Kings’ 2010-11 opening night roster, despite having playing in just one regular season game and 13 playoff games at the American Hockey League level in 2009-10.

Defenseman prospect Jake Muzzin speaks to
the media during the Los Angeles Kings
2011 Development Camp at the
Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California,
July 11-12, 2011.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

Prior to that, the 6-3, 213-pound native of Woodstock, Ontario was a standout with the Sault Ste. Marie (Soo) Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for four seasons, scoring 15 goals and adding 52 assists for 67 points in 64 games with 76 penalty minutes.

That was when he caught the eyes of the Kings scouts. The result: the Kings signed him as an unrestricted free agent on January 4, 2010, to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Muzzin was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round (141st overall) in the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft, but had surgery to repair two herniated discs in 2005, and played sparingly in 2006-07—just 37 games.

Not wanting to take a risk on a young player who already had major back problems, the Penguins did not sign Muzzin to a contract, nor was he selected in the draft by another NHL team. Accordingly, he became an unrestricted free agent during the 2010 off-season. Read more of this post

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2010-11 Los Angeles Kings Year-In-Review: Defense And Goaltending Was Their Strength

May 16, 2011 by 10 Comments

2010-11 YEAR IN REVIEW: Part 2 of a series.

LOS ANGELES — Although their offense left much to be desired during the 2010-11 season, the Los Angeles Kings were one of the best defensive teams in the league.

After being a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy last season, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was not bad in 2010-11. Nevertheless, after such a solid 2009-10 season, his play this
season was still a major disappointment.
Photo: David Sheehan

Solid goaltending from Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier, strong play on the blue line by their defensemen most of the time, and contributions by the forwards to the defensive effort combined to put in the Kings among the top ten defensive teams in the National Hockey League, ranking sixth, allowing an average of 2.39 goals per game.

Indeed, defense is a team effort, but in Part 2 of Frozen Royalty’s look back at the players, coaches and front office during the 2010-11 season, it’s time to focus on the defensemen and goaltenders.

LEGEND: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; P = Points; PIM = Penalties In Minutes; PP = Power Play Goals; SH = Shorthanded Goals; GW = Game Winning Goals; OT = Overtime Goals; S = Shots; TOI = Time On Ice/Game; SFT = Shifts/Game; FO% = Face-Off Winning Percentage

Jack Johnson

2010-11 Regular Season: 82 GP, 5 G, 37 A, 42 P, -21, 44 PIM, 3 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW, 0 OT, 153 S, 23:11 TOI, 25.9 SFT

2009-10 Regular Season: 80 GP, 8 G, 28 A, 36 P, -15, 48 PIM, 3 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW, 0 OT, 130 S, 22:36 TOI, 24.4 SFT

2010-11 Playoffs: 6 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, -2, 0 PIM, 1 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW, 0 OT, 16 S, 22:48 TOI, 28.5 SFT

2009-10 Playoffs: 6 GP, 0 G, 7 A, 7 P, -5, 6 PIM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW, 0 OT, 15 S, 23:41 TOI, 25.5 SFT

Jack Johnson got off to a solid start this season, taking up the slack from Drew Doughty (see below) during the early going. His skating and puck-handling abilities shined through often, even though he was never the key guy you wanted on the ice in key defensive situations, as his team-worst -21 rating indicates. Read more of this post

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