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head coach: Larry Robinson

roster: C - Jason Morgan, Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Yanic Perreault, Jozef Stumpel, Nathan Lafayette, Roman Vopat. 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: Luc Robitaille, lw (groin/abdominal surgery, end of regular season); Frederic Chabot, g (tweaked knee, 2-4 weeks); Nathan Lafayette, c (concussion, whenever).

transactions: Sent Vitali Yachmenev, rw, back down to Long Beach (IHL). Brought Jan Vopat, d, and Roman Vopat, c, up from the minors.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
x-Colorado   77  37  24  16    90  217  192  
Los Angeles  75  34  30  11    79  210  204 
San Jose     76  31  37   8    70  190  205  
Edmonton     76  30  36  10    70  192  208 
Calgary      75  25  36  14    64  200  222  
Vancouver    76  24  39  13    61  212  258  
Anaheim      76  24  40  12    60  187  241  
x - Clinched playoff spot

game results:

3/24  at San Jose      W 4-3
3/26  San Jose         L 5-2
3/28  at Calgary       L 5-2
3/30  at Toronto       W 3-2
4/01  at Buffalo       L 4-0
4/02  at Philadelphia  L 3-0
4/04  at Washington    L 3-2
4/06  at Colorado      W 3-1

team news:

by Matt Moore, Los Angeles Correspondent

I don't know any other way to put it, but the Kings got into a rut where they played like total and complete crap. How else can you describe a team that got shutout on two consecutive games, with the one to the Sabres being somewhat understandable since they do have Dominik Hasek, who does that to a lot of teams.

But the shutout by the Flyers? Jeez, the Flyers shouldn't (and usually don't) shut out anyone.

So it was a lousy two weeks for the Kings. Entering it they were in position to make a run at the Blues and the fourth spot in the West. Now they have to put the brakes on a skid that has pretty much assured that they will finish in the fifth spot. Thank God the other teams behind them have sucked it up so much worse or else I would be worried that the Kings would fall even lower in the West.

The main problem of the Kings right now is that only one line and one defenseman are consistently showing up every night. The line of Stumpel, Tsyplakov and Murray have continued to shine, although not as brightly recently. With the disappearance of the other players from the scoring picture this line has struggled, with them being lucky to knock in a goal a game.

Rob Blake though, has continued on his great play. He leads the league's defensemen with 22 goals, and is still dominating people in the defensive zone. If he doesn't win the Norris it will be a crime...

The Kings surprised everybody by not pulling any trades at the deadline. They were expected to go after another scoring winger and a playmaking defenseman for the power play. Of course who the hell isn't looking for that? Every team needs more scoring and more talent on defense, and very few teams have that to trade. And the ones who have that are teams like Colorado or Detroit, who are not going to trade away anything good. So the Kings weren't too surprising in not doing anything, since they are dark horses for the Cup this year anyway. Why take a chance and ruin the future of the team by making a trade now?

One person in particular who has been sucking it up has been Yanic Perreault. Sure, he has 25 goals. Sure, he's fifth in team scoring. But where has he been since those two weeks where he scored almost all his goals? And he isn't a player who can make up for his offensive shortfalls by playing great defense. Look for the Kings to try and shop him around in the off season, since he sure isn't going to lead them to the Stanley Cup.

Bet update:

I bet Michael Dell and Zippy that the Kings would beat the Pens in points at the end of the season. Dammit, it looks like I'm screwed. I am only going to be saved by the fact that the Kings will finish ahead of the Sharks. Losing to Dell is a lot like being kicked in the sunshine. But I'll be a man. I'm already buying the rice and potatoes for Delly to pay him off with. And I hope Zip like Pez. It'll be PEZ PEZ PEZ for him...but here are the standings anyway:

Team            W       L       T       PTS
Pens            37      22      17      91
Kings           35      30      11      81
Sharks          31      37      8       70

So, to sum it all up: Dammit, I'm going to lose. But I think the Kings might have convinced Dell that they don't suck as badly as he thought they did.

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