Game 46: Kings 6, Avalanche 5

Gasp! A three-game point streak?!? E-gads!

Who knew that all it took was the return of Jack Johnson to find their identity. Not me. I half expected to see JMFJ get injured again on his first shift and limp off the ice. That's not a reflection of the Rabid Wolverine Johnson, that's the way it's been for the Kings the past two seasons.

But Jack didn't get hurt, and applied the hurt this game. He scored the second goal of the second period scoring outburst by L.A., on a wicked slapshot from the top of the circle. as well has registering 20:40 minutes and chipping in 2 blocked shots. For the first time in a long time, Doughty wasn't the leader in ice time. That went to Matt Greene, who had three blocked shots, two hits and a penalty.

With a renewed defense, grit has been the order of the week, and the Kings have responded well. The forwards, who have been forced to play more of a two-way game, are slowly finding the back of the net. Alexander Frolov had 2 goals in the second period, while Kopitar, O'Sullivan, Handzus and Quincey all had two assists.

Now the Kings are on break until next Thursday, when they are at home against the Blackhawks. When they meet, it will be a matchup of the youngest teams in the NHL, as L.A. are now tied with Chicago for the youngest team on average.

• AP: Kings chase Budaj with 3-goal spurt

“We saw we were capable of scoring tonight and everyone tried to put the puck on the net and make something happen,” Alexander Frolov said. “We have to learn how to play when we lead in the third period.”

• Yahoo: Team report

Murray put together a fourth line of Raitis Ivanans, Derek Armstrong and Kevin Westgarth in an attempt to get more of a physical force on the ice and counter a tough Minnesota lineup. Ivanans (6-foot-4, 265 pounds) and Westgarth (6-5, 245 pounds) are the Kings’ two biggest players and Armstrong is the most hard-nosed center.

They said it

“It’s a great game for a rookie goaltender to deal with what’s going on: the emotion in the game, the opposing team jamming the net and whacking away at (Quick). He’ll grow from this.” – Kings coach Terry Murray.

Looking through purple-hued goggles

• Frozen Royalty: Los Angeles Kings Almost Perfect On Three-Game Trip

On the trip, the Kings got back to many of the things that were working for them prior to their recent slump, but most importantly, they regained their lost work ethic, and as a result, got bodies in front of opposing goaltenders with regularity and they actually shot the puck for a change as opposed to constantly making several extra passes while searching in vain for the perfect play.

• Battle of California: Powder keg

The Kings have pretty much decided that grit is better than talent for now and have banished guys like Ted Purcell and Brian Boyle in favor of guys like Raitis Ivanans, John Zeiler and Kevin Westgarth.  The weirdest thing?  The grit guys played great last night.  Seriously, Kyle Calder had his best game since he joined the Kings, John Zeiler was hitting people in a meaningful way, Raitis had a couple good moves... hell, even Sean O'Donnell made a few good moves on offense. 

• Kings Royal Report: Kings Hang On

Jack Johnson scored his first goal of the season on a blistering slapshot from beyond the right circle. In just his third game back from a shoulder injury, his fifth game of the season, Johnson made multiple strong defensive plays. Johnson recorded 16:40 of total ice time, two shots on goal and was a plus-1.

From the other side of the ice, the Colorado view

• Mile High Hockey: Kings At Avalanche, Preview And Open Thread (before the game)

Tonight the Colorado Avalanche will win against the Los Angeles Kings.
How's that for a preview?

• Rocky Mountain News: Avalanche's wheels keep falling off as Kings win

"We came close, but in this league, you have to play a full 60 minutes to win games," Stewart said. "This definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth. We'll be thinking about this one until we get back."

• Denver Post: Avs finish mediocre at the break

It illustrates the unsettled state of Colorado's on-ice product when the first tendency was to call the young, rebuilding and improving Kings "lowly" — but the standings at the end of the night had Los Angeles only two points behind the Avalanche, which was sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference.

Peeping the dailies



• TSN's coverage of the game: Kings 6, Avs 5