Drew Doughty

2013 Playoffs Round 2 Preview

May 14, 2013

The first round of the 2013 NHL playoffs are in the books, eight teams have been sent packing to hit the links while eight teams remain to square off in the conference semi-finals. (Photo Credit: Torch Creative)

The first round did not disappoint hockey fans who have come to expect physical, fast, dramatic hockey in the playoffs and year after year they are not disappointed.

One year after the Los Angeles Kings became the first eight seed ever to win the Stanley Cup both seven seeds and both six have managed to advance to the semi-finals. The Eastern Conference Semi-final match-ups pit the Pittsburgh Penguins (1) against the Ottawa Senators (7) and the Boston Bruins (4) face off with the New York Rangers (6), while the Western Conference will feature the Chicago Blackhawks (1) who will try to hold off the Detroit Redwings (7) and the defending champion Los Angeles Kings (5) will face their fellow Californians, the San Jose Sharks (6).

Two series start today:

Kings Battle For Fourth Seed

April 21, 2013

Shane Brennan

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Preview: Tonight is the Mullet Game for the Kings (25-14-5; 55 points): business in the front; party in the back. Vancouver’s 2-1 SO win last night over Detroit launches the Kings into the playoffs. The question now is where do they land and who will they face. Tonight’s game (along with the two against the Wild and one against the Red Wings) will determine their seed as they most likely battle the Sharks for home-ice advantage between the four and five seeds.

Los Angeles still has a lot of business in front of them but fans should celebrate the playoff berth. The opening two weeks of the season saw some awful hockey, inconsistent play by ...

Kings Fall Apart

April 9, 2013

Shane Brennan

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It's hard to win when you allow four goals in the final period. The Kings gave up four consecutive goals in the final twenty minutes resulting in a 5-1 loss to the Stars in Dallas. On the bright side the Columbus Blue Jackets blanked the fifth place San Jose Sharks, 4-0 tonight.

The Kings finish the night in fourth place in the Western Conference as the shortened season races toward its finish line.

Drew Doughty's power play goal 1:13 into the game seems like an eternity ago. After Doughty's tally the Kings fell victim to a Stars' strategy that stifled the Kings. Anze Kopitar fed Doughty who banged in his fourth goal of the season past Kari Lehtone...

Blackhawks Down: Chicago drops second straight to visiting Los Angeles Kings

March 26, 2013

Matthew Miller

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Dustin Brown scored his twelfth goal of the season with under two minutes remaining to hand the Chicago Blackhawks (24-4-3) their fourth regulation loss of the season in a wild affair that saw the Blackhawks surrender three one-goal leads.

The victory put Los Angeles (18-12-2) ahead of the idle St. Louis Blues for sixth place in the crowded Western Conference race, and moved them within striking distance of division-leading Anaheim. The Kings currently sit ten points back of a suddenly struggling Ducks team with sixteen to play. With two of those remaining games coming against Anaheim, it’s not inconceivable to think that last year’s Stanley Cup Champio...

Struggles Mount, Pressure Increases for Kings

February 9, 2013

Ty Fisher

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Photo courtesy of sportsnet.ca

It would have been foolish to assume that the Kings wouldn’t hit a speed bump or two over the course of their road-trip. The second game of their trip, following a relatively easy win against lowly Columbus on Tuesday night, saw the defending champs stroll into Nashville looking for another victory to add to their win total. They didn’t get it.

Despite outshooting the opposition by more than sixteen, the Kings’ offense struggled mightily to register a single goal before bowing out with a final score of 0-3. Predators’ goaltender Pekka Rinne recorded his first s...

Game Preview: Kings Vs Anaheim Ducks

February 2, 2013

Shane Brennan

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Preview:

The Kings (2-2-2; 6 points) make the short trip to Anaheim to play the Ducks (4-1-1; 9 points) tonight at 7. The Ducks beat the Minnesota Wild last night,3-1, thanks to the Kyle Palmieri, Teemu Selanne, and Bobby Ryan line which generated all three goals. The Kings lost 2-1 to the Predators Thursday in a shootout and have gotten points their last four games.

It's been an unimpressive start by the Kings who have failed to score and create constant pressure. The Ducks are a formidable opponent with a self less, high powered offense but have holes on the defensive end that the Kings will have to exploit to win. A win against a local rival with a less than daunting pe...

Devils Stave Off Elimination, Defeat Kings 3-1

June 6, 2012

Ty Fisher

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Hey, it's a series! And hits like this will continue. (Photo courtesy of Christian Peterson/Getty Images)

Despite the sheer dominance the Los Angeles Kings have shown over the previous three contests, one sort of expecting these road-weary Devils to show some fight at some point. Tonight they did. The teams combined for four goals, all of which were scored in the third period. The final tally was recorded by rookie Adam Henrique, who only has two series-clinching goals on his short resume prior to tonight’s game. His short-side snipe with less than five minutes to go sealed the victory and saved his team from a...

Stanley Cup Preview: Game 3

June 4, 2012

Shane Brennan

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The third installment of the Stanley Cup Finals makes its way into the Staples Center tonight. The Kings had little time to celebrate their 2-1 overtime victory Saturday night, Darryl Sutter rushed his team out of the locker room and onto the team plane in order to get back to Los Angeles as quickly as possible. Up 2-0 in the series, the Staples Center will be packed with raucous fans hungry to get a step closer to the first championship in franchise history.

For the Devils it's time to get desperate. Tonight is ultimately a must-win scenario for New Jersey, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team to go down 0-3 and rally back to win the Cup. The trip out west could be to...

Series Preview: (2) Blues vs. (7) Kings

April 28, 2012

Ty Fisher

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Just as everyone expected, the Los Angeles Kings quickly dispatched of the President’s Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in five games. Also (and just as expected) was the latter squad’s complete no-show on offense, perpetual state of disarray on defense and lack of physicality in nearly every single one of the five games. What took place last week was a meltdown of an unacceptable degree. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

However (!), just because Vancouver lost the series does not mean Los Angeles didn’t deserve to advance. Vezina Trophy candidate (and deserving winner) Jonath...

Who Are You Rooting For?

April 27, 2012

Shane Blackburn

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As a hockey fan first, and an Islander fan second I am still able to watch and enjoy the playoffs even though the Islanders are not involved. Now my question to all the Islander fans who read this blog (don't worry I'll give my answer too) is who are you rooting for in the second round of these playoffs. Whether it be your second favorite team, or your significant other's team or just a team you've always liked but won;t admit to it who are you backing? (Photo Credit: The Business of Sports)