head coach: Larry Robinson

roster: C - Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Yanic Perreault, Jozef Stumpel, Nathan Lafayette. LW - Craig Johnson, Matt Johnson, Luc Robitaille, Vladimir Tsyplakov, Steve McKenna, Dan Bylsma. RW - Sandy Moger, Glenn Murray, Russ Courtnall. D - Aki Berg, Rob Blake, Philippe Boucher, Garry Galley, Mattias Norstrom, Sean O'Donnell, Doug Zmolek, Jan Vopat. G - Stephane Fiset, Jamie Storr.

injuries: Doug Zmolek, d (concussion, day-to-day).

transactions: Moved Frederic Chabot, g, back and forth and then back to Houston; recalled Jan Vopat, d, from Utah; Mattias Norstrom, d, suspended for at least one game by league for hit from behind.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado     46  22   9  15    59  139  113  
Los Angeles  44  17  19   8    42  122  125  
Anaheim      46  15  23   8    38  107  137   
San Jose     43  16  22   5    37  104  119   
Edmonton     45  14  22   9    37  109  133   
Calgary      47  12  25  10    34  117  142   
Vancouver    45  12  25   8    32  122  156

game results:

12/18 Toronto       W 5-2
12/20 at Calgary    W 4-1
12/22 at Chicago    W 1-0
12/23 at Colorado   L 5-1
12/27 at Phoenix    L 4-0
12/29 Vancouver     W 5-2
12/31 at Dallas     T 2-2
01/01 at Phoenix    L 4-0
01/04 at Edmonton   W 3-2
01/05 at Vancouver  L 3-2
01/08 Buffalo       T 2-2
01/10 Edmonton      L 4-3
01/12 Anaheim       W 3-2

team news:

by Matt Moore, Los Angeles Correspondent

Ugh...being a Kings fan can be so frustrating. One game they play extremely well and look like they could beat any team, then the next day they come out and play like a minor league or junior team. A lack of consistency has plagued this team since the start of the season, and it remains to be seen whether or not the team "leaders" have the ability to solidify this team in the second half of the season.

One of the worst problems for the Kings continues to be taking penalties. The two most recent games highlighted that. Sometimes it seemed like the Kings were spending the entire game on the penalty kill, stuck in their own zone with Stephane Fiset being pounded to death by shots from the point and the slot.

Now don't get me wrong, the Kings need to play aggressively to use their size advantage, but too many of these penalties have been stick fouls that take any momentum away from the team and allow the other team to wear down the defense.

Speaking of penalties, the Kings lost one of their best players, Mattias Norstrom, to a suspension by the league following a major/game misconduct for a boarding call in the January 10th game against Edmonton. I am all for players who play dirty getting suspended for injuring players, but this definitely was not one of them.

Hrkac lost his balance while heading towards the boards and Norstrom, who was going after the loose puck, wound up hitting him and really putting the hurt to Hrkac. I was surprised that they called a penalty on Norstrom, let alone suspended him, since it sure looked like an accidental injury caused by the injured player losing his balance without help from Norstrom. But what can I expect anymore from this league. A league that apparently believes that the slash is a valid tool in defense. A league that would rather give us boring play full of restraining fouls and mediocre players and yet does not seem to care when they lose those rare stars like Brett Hull or Mario Lemieux.

Maybe it is time to start watching baseball again...

(Editor's note: As you can see, Matt Moore didn't include the latest results of the bet between himself and LCS editor, Michael Dell. There could be two reasons for this: he forgot, or he's too ashamed to type `em in. We'll let you, our valued readers, decide for yourself...)

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