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, Phillipe Boucher, Garry Galley, Mattias Norstrom, Sean O'Donnell, Doug Zmolek, Jan Vopat. G - Jamie Storr, Stephane Fiset.

injuries: Ray Ferraro, c (back, any day now). Phillipe Boucher, d (thyroid, when he gets bulked up again).

transactions: Recalled Jan Vopat, d, from minors.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado     52  24  12  16    64  153  126
Los Angeles  49  21  19   9    51  139  136
Edmonton     50  18  23   9    45  129  143
San Jose     49  18  24   7    43  120  132
Anaheim      51  17  25   9    43  124  151
Calgary      51  13  28  10    36  128  160
Vancouver    50  12  30   8    32  129  180

game results:

1/14  at San Jose  W 4-2
1/20  Calgary      W 4-3
1/22  Florida      W 3-1
1/24  at Anaheim   T 3-3

team news:

by Matt Moore, Los Angeles Correspondent

Woo-hoo...a winning streak, or at least a non-losing streak. The Kings have gone back to the style that allowed them to win a few games at the start of the season. Led by strong goaltending by both Fiset and Storr and backed by some timely goals and spunk, the Kings have been able to go undefeated in five games and put together a nice little four- game winning streak. This has allowed them to put a little bit of breathing room between them and their Pacific division chasers, led by the surging Edmonton Oilers, and placed them in a position to possibly get as high as the fourth or fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The new line featuring Glenn Murray, Jozef Stumpel, and Vladimir Tsyplakov has led this streak -- offensively at least. Yanic Perreault was moved off that line following an extended slump, and was actually playing more of a defensive role until Ray Ferraro tweaked his back and was sidelined for two games. Tsyplakov has continued to show that he is a pretty darn good player. He has a six-game point-scoring streak and has also shown the ability to score the big goal. His two goals in the last minute and a half against Calgary highlighted the week and pulled out a game that looked like a bad loss.

Jan Vopat, who was sent down to the minors at the start of the season, was called up to replace Phillipe Boucher. Boucher was sidelined first by the flu, which caused him to lose a whole hell of a lot of weight, and is now benched by a thyroid condition which has kept him from regaining that weight. Since being a pretty skinny guy has been one of Boucher's problems in past seasons, the Kings are holding him out until he bulks back up and is able to play with a bit more strength.

When he comes back, there will be a good type of problem. Vopat has been playing very well, more along the style that he showed last season, and has been taking regular shifts with Garry Galley. That pairing might not be the most physical line around, but they play well together and provide a bit of a spark offensively.

The other main defensive pairing has been Rob Blake and Mattias Norstrom. Blake is showing the punishing defensive and pretty good offensive style that made him one of the better defensemen before all of the injuries dragged him into the hellish pit of inconsistency. Norstrom is probably the best defensive blueliner on the Kings, a guy who can totally shut down other teams offensive stars by his great combo of size and superior skating ability. He has shown sparks of being a pretty good puck rusher, what with his awesome skating, but has been pretty much a stay at home defenseman.

In the upcoming Olympics, Blake will be representing Canada and Norstrom Sweden, and just in comparing the two, I would have to say that Sweden has the better of the two for the Olympic style of play. Sure, Blake can throw around people and smash them into little pieces along the boards, but Norstrom can do the same plus skate with the best of them. So Sweden will at least have one pretty good defenseman.

Now for the part I have been dreading. I bet LCS editor-in-chief Michael Dell (no relation to the computer billionare, or so I've heard) and computer god Zippy that the Kings would end up with more points at the end of the season than the Pittsburgh Penguins. An additional bet with Delly of the Kings finishing with more points that the Sharks was also placed, much to my delight. So far the Pens have pulled away from the Kings in the point totals, although my hopes were raised when I saw Jaromir Jagr bleeding like a stuck pig after getting whacked by a stick, but I doubt that the Kings will be able to pull this one out. But the Sharks are another story. Just as sure as Al Iafrate's knees pop like bubble wrap, the resurgence of the punks of Northern California has started to dim. Thank God, I was afraid for a little while. Following are the most recent standings:

                W       L       T       PTS
Pens            27      15      9       63
Kings           21      19      9       51
Sharks          18      24      7       43

Just hope Zippy likes Pez...

[ issues | web extra | stats | nhl archive | home | chat | mailing list | about us | search | comments ]

1998 © Copyright LCS Hockey All Rights Reserved