The Kings season thus far has unfolded like many of my Playstation seasons: One dominant player, soild defense, a decent goaltender, and lousy A.I. Add those together and wham-o, you got yourself a contender. Or, if you play in 20-Year Dynasty mode, the chance to retire with an island and multiple Cups.

But it appears that the Kings are finally catching up to their digital dopplegangers in my game. Still near the top of the league, the early buzz on the Kings' mirrors that of the number one movie this week at the box office: Avatar. (Is that a stretch? Perhaps...)

Many people have claimed to say the Kings were destined for this kind of season this year, the same people who said Avatar was going to be great. The reality is many people had said the Kings were one season away, much like many people had doubts whether a $300 million dollar movie could break even at the box office. But now that both have bowed to rave reviews, all the know-it-alls have come out and said "Oh yeah, I knew the Kings were going to make this kind of push." I have one word for that: baloney.

With the holidays, I missed a week of the Weekend Returns. So to make it up to you, I'm gonna give you a two-fer. Keep in mind, the Kings had risen to the top of the Western Conference and has fallen slightly, losing three of four games. Without further ado...

• ESPN's Power Rankings: This week 11. Last week 7. Week before 4.

    Disappointing end to a four-game road trip as the Kings went 1-3-0 and scored just seven times. The returns of Ryan Smyth and Wayne Simmonds should help stop the bleeding.
         Week before: Welcome back, Captain Canada. No one is happier to have Ryan Smyth back than Anze Kopitar.

• FoxSports' Power Rankings: This week 9. Last week 8. Week before 6.

    The Kings did not have a good Week 13. The club dropped three of thefour games it played last week, with two of the losses coming by one goal. (Ed. note: Huh? They only played one game this past week.)
         Week before: By losing two of the three games they played in Week 12, the Kings find themselves two places lower in the rankings this week. L.A.'s offense was asleep at the wheel in the team's two defeats, only scoring two goals on 60 chances in the two losses.

• CBS Sportsline's Power Rankings: This week 9. Last week 8. Week before 2.

    Bad break, no pun intended, with Justin Williams going down as soon as Ryan Smyth rejoined him on the top line.
         Week before: A well-earned break after a 7-2-1 record in December and a gift coming with Ryan Smyth's return after    Christmas.

• L.A. Times' Helen Elliott's Power Rankings: This week 10. Last week 4. Week before 1.

    Lost three of four, scoring seven goals. Without Justin Williams, Teddy Purcell (one goal in 32 games) goes to the top line. Getting near time to make a depth move. (4)
         Week before: Earned a break after going 7-2-1 on 10-game, 17-day haul. Ryan Smyth(ribs) should be ready to return. That sound you hear is Anze Kopitar cheering.

• TSN's Power Rankings: This week 13. Last week 12. Week before 9.

    Losing four of five, mixed with a couple of top six forwards on the sidelines, keeps the Kings sliding for the third straight week.
         Week before: The overall record remains strong, but the Kings have two regulation wins in the last eight and the power play has gone 0-for-13 in the last five games.

• AOL Fanhouse's Power Rankings: This week 9. Last week 10. Week before 7.

    Their trip through western Canada hasn't been kind to the Kings, as they've scored just five goals in their past three games (two losses).
         Week before: The Kings are a strong team, but will goaltending be their ultimate downfall this season? Only three teams have a worse save percentage than Los Angeles.

• The Hockey News' Power Rankings: Last week 5. Week before 3.

Week before: Scuttlebutt is Drew Doughty just may push his way onto Team Canada's defense corps

• Sportsnet.ca's Power Rankings: Last week 5. Week before 5.

    Week before: The Kings are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and are preparing to welcome back star winger Ryan Smyth.

• Yahoo! Power Rankings: This week 8. Previous ranking 12.

    To wake up New Year’s Day and realize the surprising first half isn’t really a dream after all.

So now it's time to enter in all the numbers into the HW-1138 Portable Accounting Machine and tally the last two weeks results. And the Kings' new Hockeywood Power Number is...

8.

Not too shabby, hanging around the Top 10. You know what else is not too shabby? Posting a movie on YouTube and getting a movie deal off of it.

Federico Alvarez. a former ad guy from Uruguay made a short movie of an alien invasion, shot for $300, and posted it on YouTube. He immediately got responses from Hollywood.

"I posted on a Thursday, and by Monday I had a mailbox full of e-mails from Hollywood," he told Reuters.

He reportedly got a $30 million deal from Sam Raimi's movie company. Amazing. For the story, click here. But for the video, watch this...