Kings News

"The Kings' on-ice struggles have been obvious. It seems they're also floundering financially. While announcing season-ticket prices for the 2008-09 season -including increases of five to 16 percent in most of Staples Center- the Kings claimed Wednesday to be losing millions of dollars a year. That's bad news for the team and for the NHL, which shut down the league in 2004-05 for a crippling lockout that it claimed would bring financial stability to its 30 teams. Not so, at least for the Kings."

"Rites of an NHL spring: Playoff hockey, draft speculation and season-ticket pricing announcements. Make that two out of three for the Kings, as their long-suffering fans surely know, having been on the outside looking in at the playoffs. The Kings, despite finishing next-to-last in the NHL, will raise season-ticket prices for next season in some sections, the team said Wednesday."

"But Emery, who turns 26 in the fall, has done little to build up goodwill around the league. He's only played 134 NHL games and he's coming off a pedestrian 12-13-4 record with a 3.13 average and .890 save percentage. Here's the usual trade suspects: Tampa, Los Angeles, St. Louis."

"Unless the Los Angeles Kings, who are always in the market for goalies, want to take a shot at Ray Emery, I don't see many trade partners for Ottawa bench boss Bryan Murray. Emery's contract ($6.75 million US over two years) isn't as big an impediment as his laissez-faire attitude to rules and practice schedules."

" Kings fans are going to hate this. Ducks fans won't be thrilled, either. Jeremy Roenick, whom you might remember as an absolute bust two years ago in an LA uniform, has a new lease on life in San Jose. And he may be in as good a position as he's ever been to finally take a sip from that elusive Stanley Cup. "

"The promise of what was billed as the most important day for the Kings' franchise didn't materialize as Tampa Bay won the NHL draft lottery Monday. The Kings will select second at the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held in Ottawa, June 20-21. Atlanta picks third, St. Louis fourth and the New York Islanders fifth."

"Tampa Bay celebrated a victory Monday, when the Lightning won the lottery and the right to the first overall pick in the June 20 entry draft. The Kings will select second, and might benefit just as much."

"DiPenta marked his first game since Feb. 2 with a rare goal that sparked the Ducks' 4-3 win Saturday at Staples Center as they also put the wraps on another year without a postseason for the Kings."

"Unrestricted free agents are defensemen Rob Blake, Jon Klemm and Kevin Dallman and forwards Brian Willsie and Jeff Giuliano. Scott Thornton is one as well but this was billed as his last game in the NHL. It's hard to envision the Kings reconnecting with goalie Dan Cloutier after he torched the organization in an interview with the Vancouver Sun newspaper in March."

"The goalie situation should improve, as LaBarbera, Ersberg and top prospect Jonathan Bernier will be in the mix, but for the fourth straight season, the Kings will enter training camp without a clear No. 1 goalie."

"Intrigue and moral victories, of sorts, apparently exist in the final days of the NHL season. There was some of the first in the San Jose camp. And a bit of the second for the Kings, who handed the Sharks their first loss in regulation since Feb. 20, winning 4-2 on Thursday night in front of 17,759 at Staples Center."

"At some point, a regulation loss was inevitable. And though players could find an upside to the end of their streak of 20 games in which they picked up 38 points - "You want to be confident, but you don't want to be overconfident, thinking you're invincible," right wing Mike Grier said - the nature of the Sharks' 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday didn't sit well."

"Head to head: The Sharks are going for the sweep of their four games in Los Angeles after winning 5-2 at HP Pavilion on Tuesday for their first victory this season against the Kings on home ice."

" Joe Thornton got his 300th point as a Shark on Tuesday night, an assist that came on what turned out to be the winning goal in San Jose's 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at HP Pavilion."

"The Sharks have two regulation losses and one shootout loss to the Kings in the previous three games at HP Pavilion. San Jose has won the three games at Staples Center."

"These seven players have spent hard time in goal for the Kings during this not-so-magnificent season. Not only did Dallas defeat the defense-challenged Kings, 7-2, on Saturday afternoon, but the 17,849 on hand at Staples Center watched the Kings tie an NHL record."

"The Dallas Stars earned their breaks Saturday, and made sure they didn't need any more than they received. Dallas took advantage of a 3-for-7 day on the power play and a gift goal to start the second period, and then protected that lead with ferocity to finish with a 7-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center."

"Loui Eriksson had two goals and Mike Ribeiro and Stephane Robidas each had three points as the Stars beat the Kings 7-2 at Staples Center on Saturday afternoon. The Stars snapped a five-game losing streak and remained in fifth place in the Western Conference."

"Todd Bertuzzi went on the legal offensive to defend his actions in the 2004 on-ice attack against Colorado's Steve Moore, alleging his then-coach Marc Crawford should be held partially responsible for the incident."

"The Kings and Ducks have battled, since 1993, for points in the NHL standings and for the hearts and minds of Southern California hockey fans. Now, in a way, the rivalry has reached the courtroom. Lawyers for Ducks winger Todd Bertuzzi have succeeded in having Kings coach Marc Crawford named as a third party in a lawsuit. "

"NHL forward Todd Bertuzzi has launched a lawsuit against his former Vancouver Canucks coach, Marc Crawford, that could see him liable for millions in damages for the player's notorious on-ice assault on Steve Moore."

"It is four years later. Van Hellemond is gone, Bertuzzi is with his third new team in as many seasons, Moore will never play again. The coach in question, Marc Crawford, is in Los Angeles. But the case crawls along as so many do, never quite going away, enriching lawyers and fanning faint hopes that this might be one of those rare occasions when justice is done."

"NHL star Todd Bertuzzi has filed court papers claiming his former coach, Marc Crawford, should be held personally liable for any damages a court might award to Steve Moore, the one-time NHL player whose career ended after Bertuzzi broke his neck."

"Todd Bertuzzi has filed a lawsuit against former Vancouver Canucks head coach Marc Crawford, alleging his negligence contributed to Bertuzzi's infamous sucker punch of Steve Moore in March 2004, according to court documents obtained by CBC News. Bertuzzi was an all-star forward for the Canucks when he hit Moore from behind 8:41 into the third period of a 9-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 8, 2004 in Vancouver."

"Instead of a playoff race, the Kings have seemed better suited for a soap box derby this season. After a rolling start, it has been all downhill. For one rare night, however, the Kings stepped on the gas from start to finish against the Phoenix Coyotes, scoring three goals in a six-minute span of the second period Thursday night to supply goaltender Erik Ersberg with some much-needed wiggle room in the 4-0 victory at Staples Center."

"One more injury, and it might be time for Rogie Vachon to come out of retirement. The Kings have exhausted just about every other option in goal. On Thursday, they turned to rookie Daniel Taylor, who was recalled from the American Hockey League after Dan Cloutier was diagnosed with a groin strain. "

"Erik Ersberg is showing the Los Angeles Kings he is ready for the NHL. Anze Kopitar had a goal and two assists and Ersberg made 38 saves as the Kings earned a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night. Ersberg earned his second career shutout in his 10th NHL start, all in the past month. Ersberg also shut out the Ottawa Senators 2-0 on March 6. "

"Qualifying for the playoffs has felt like a formality for the Ducks, who had talked more about readying their game for the postseason even though they hadn't secured a spot. Now it's official. The Stanley Cup champions can start having some thoughts about a repeat. The Ducks are in the playoffs for a third consecutive season, clinching a spot against their rivals, the Kings, in a 2-1 shootout victory Wednesday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 17,331 at the Honda Center."

"If you are waiting in line at Honda Center, standing by on the phone, or clicking and refreshing to get Ducks playoff tickets this Saturday, you owe Jonas Hiller. If you're Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Ducks' veteran goaltender who missed his third straight game because of lingering back spasms, you can definitely thank your rookie backup for making your rehab go by faster. Even during a stellar 35-save performance Wednesday, Hiller received plenty of adulation for allowing the Ducks to clinch a playoff spot in a 2-1 shootout win over the Kings. "

" Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller was born Feb. 12, 1982, in a small community in Switzerland called Felben Wellhausen. Just 24 days later, Kings goalie Erik Ersberg was born in Sala, a small town in central Sweden. "

" In a wonderful sense of timing, the speakers at American Airlines Center blared The Smiths hit "Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before" as the Dallas Stars slinked from the ice Saturday afternoon after a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings."

"The Los Angeles Kings scored three goals in the final 3:01 of regulation, as the Stars' 2-1 lead quickly turned into an ugly 4-2 debacle at American Airlines Center on Saturday afternoon. The Stars, losers in seven of their past eight games, again came undone in the waning minutes of the third period."

"One point is better than none, but for the Coyotes' fading Western Conference playoff hopes, was it enough? The Coyotes dropped a 6-5 shootout to the Los Angeles Kings before a crowd of 14,852 at Jobing.com Arena on Thursday night."

"Another King, another season-ending injury. This time, it was rookie defenseman Jack Johnson, who suffered a non-displaced fracture to his right foot. The injury occurred in the first period of Tuesday night's game, a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center."

"The hits just keep on coming for the Kings. Not only does the team have the worst record in the NHL, they now have lost the services of rookie defenseman Jack Johnson for the season. During Tuesday night's game against division-rival San Jose, Johnson took a puck off his right skate in the first period. He suffered a non-displaced fracture. "

"The Sharks won for the 12th time in 13 games Tuesday night, beating the Kings, 2-1, at Staples Center. They also extended their league-leading road winning streak to nine games."

"The Sharks held on for a 2-1 victory on goals by Joe Thornton and Patrick Rissmiller to pad their lead over their Pacific Division rivals and pull to within five points of Detroit in what has become a two-team race to finish with the NHL's best regular-season record."

"Then along came Erik Ersberg, the slightly built 26-year-old rookie from Sweden who has performed quite well in his first six NHL starts and given a much-needed dose of optimism to this last-place team."

"The Kings may be buried at the bottom of the Western Conference, but they've been a thorn in the side of the Sharks. Los Angeles is 3-0 at HP Pavilion, but San Jose won in both previous visits to Staples Center. The teams haven't met since Dec. 26."

" After struggling to kill penalties for much of the past two seasons, the Kings recently have seen a significant improvement in their ability to shut down opposition power plays."

"Former Kings defenseman Jaroslav Modry has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Los Angeles chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn."

"Curtain calls are usually saved for baseball. But Saturday night, Wild captain Marian Gaborik received a standing ovation in the waning minutes, a token of appreciation from the sellout crowd for his 200th career goal. Gaborik's tally iced the Wild's 2-0 shutout over the Los Angeles Kings and ended Minnesota's five-game losing streak."

"Gaborik scored his 200th career goal Saturday night, and it could not have come at a better time. His hard wrist shot late in the third period sealed the Wild's 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, ending a five-game losing skid and giving Minnesota a piece of first place in the NHL's Northwest Division."

"Opening the NHL regular season in Europe is like eating a particularly fattening fast-food dinner: fine every once in a while, but not a good habit to fall into. The strains of intercontinental travel and an earlier start to training camp are among the reasons the Ducks and Kings won't be going back when the NHL opens the 2008-09 season in Europe, deputy commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged Wednesday night at Honda Center. "

"This one will sting, especially if the Predators wind up falling just short of the postseason. With all kinds of incentive to win on Thursday, the Predators instead lost to the NHL’s worst team, falling 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings in front of 15,853 at Sommet Center."

"Dan Cloutier's two-year career with the Kings, pockmarked by injuries, poor performances and all-around frustration, reached a low this week when the goaltender ripped the organization in a published article. Cloutier lobbed wide-ranging accusations against the Kings, most notably that they encouraged him to play while hurt, misled him about playing time and forced him and his pregnant wife to live in a hotel. "

"Vancouver tied the score with just under three minutes remaining in regulation, and Ryan Kesler tipped in Willie Mitchell's slap shot in the opening minute of overtime, lifting the Canucks to a 2-1 victory at Staples Center."

"It's been a tough two seasons as a member of the Kings for goaltender Dan Cloutier. He was brought in to fill a huge void in goal, but Cloutier started the season on L.A.'s minor-league affiliate in Manchester. Despite a 2-1 overtime loss Monday at Staples Center, the veteran put in perhaps his strongest effort as a member of the Kings."

"Instead, in the first of a four-game road trip, Vancouver earned its third straight win, 2-1, before 14,653 at Staples Center."

"Goalie Dan Cloutier, whose National Hockey League career crumbled soon after leaving the Canucks, played one of his best games in two years for the Kings and was within three minutes of his first shutout since 2004. But Kesler, who suddenly looks as much a Rocket Richard Trophy contender as a Selke candidate, tied it with 2:41 remaining and won it, 2-1, 46 seconds into overtime when he deftly deflected Willie Mitchell's point shot after some good stickhandling by Burrows."