In-demand Futa ‘will remain a Los Angeles King,’ says Lombardi

By Mike HalfordJun 4, 2015, 1:50 PM EDT
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LA Kings VP of hockey ops Mike Futa, considered to be in the mix for Toronto’s vacant GM gig, isn’t going anywhere — at least according to GM Dean Lombardi.

“Mike Futa is still a Los Angeles King and will remain a Los Angeles King,” Lombardi said, per LA Kings Insider. “You don’t think the guy could jump ship now, right?”

Lombardi’s comment came while Futa prepped and continued scouting for the NHL Entry Draft, which will go later this month. Scouting is how Futa established such a strong reputation across the league — in his eight seasons with the Kings, he headed up a department responsible for drafting the likes of Drew Doughty, Kyle Clifford, Alec Martinez, Slava Voynov, Dwight King, Jordan Nolan, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson. (Jake Muzzin, an undrafted free agent, also came aboard under Futa’s watch.)

As mentioned above, Futa’s been tied primarily to the vacant GM gig in Toronto. But according to TSN, teams have tried in the past to lure him out of Los Angeles — Buffalo and Calgary during their GM searches — and the Kings responded with a promotion, new contract and stipulations about what jobs he could seek out.

Which probably explains why Lombardi was so adamant Futa wasn’t going anywhere.

“There’s a big challenge ahead of us,” he explained. “I don’t think [Futa’s] had time to think about it. He’s been going a hundred miles an hour.”

Minnesota leapfrogs Chicago in the Central Division

By Dhiren MahibanMar 28, 2015, 11:20 PM EDT
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Nino Niederreiter and Mikko Koivu each scored twice leading the Minnesota Wild to a 4-1 win over the L.A. Kings.

Chris Stewart added two assists while Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves.

With the win, Minnesota moves into the third spot in the Central Division leapfrogging the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago has two games in hand on Minnesota.

The Wild lead the league with a 26-6-2 record since Jan. 15 and have an NHL-best 49 points (24-5-1) in 30 games since the All-Star Break.

The loss snaps the Kings’ three-game winning streak. The Kings failed to make up ground on the idle Calgary Flames. Calgary trails L.A. by just one point for the third seed in the Pacific Division.

Dwight King had the lone goal for L.A. while Jonathan Quick was pulled after allowing two goals on nine first period shots. Martin Jones made nine saves in relief.

Dubnyk, who made his 34th consecutive start, improved to 26-6-1 since joining the Wild. The 28-year-old has allowed two goals or fewer in 26 of 34 games.

Sutter wants more from the ‘guys who haven’t scored in 10 or 11 or 12 or 13 or 14 or 15 games, whatever it is’

By Jason BroughMar 16, 2015, 3:53 PM EDT
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The Los Angeles Kings have tweaked their lines ahead of tonight’s contest versus the Coyotes, with hopes of getting some goals from a few more of their forwards.

“We’ve got guys who haven’t scored in 10 or 11 or 12 or 13 or 14 or 15 games, whatever it is, and some of them have had zero scoring opportunities for the last five as individuals,” coach Darryl Sutter said, per LA Kings Insider.

Sutter didn’t name names, but winger Dustin Brown has gone without a goal in his last 11 games, while winger Dwight King has gone goalless in 13.

This morning, Brown was skating on the first line with Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar, while King was on the third line with Nick Shore and Justin Williams. The second line had Trevor Lewis, Jeff Carter, and Tyler Toffoli, with Kyle Clifford, Andy Andreoff, and Jordan Nolan comprising the fourth.

Related: Playoff watch — what the bubble teams need to do

NHL on NBCSN: Kings look to continue surge against Colorado

By Ryan DadounFeb 18, 2015, 9:25 AM EDT
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Wednesday’s Rivalry Night coverage on NBCSN will feature a doubleheader. The second half will see the Colorado Avalanche host the Los Angeles Kings at Pepsi Center at 10:00 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game online.

With five straight victories, the Kings are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, but that’s after they dug themselves into a sizable hole. They’re still on the outside looking in when it comes to the Wild Card race and if they slip now, it won’t be long before the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars pass them.

So every game remains critical for the Kings as they look to extend their winning streak tonight. If this game is important to Los Angeles though, it’s vital for Colorado.

Editor’s Note: Pro Hockey Talk’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $50,000 Fantasy Hockey league for Wednesday’s NHL games. It’s just $25 to join and first prize is $5,000. Starts Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET. Here’s the FanDuel link.

The Avalanche are seven points back in the fight for a playoff spot and also trail hopefuls Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Dallas. That’s a ton of ground for the Avalanche to make up with less than two months left in the 2014-15 campaign. To put that into context, the Avalanche have just a 4% chance of making the playoffs at this point, per Sports Club Stats. That falls to 2.1% if they lose to the Kings in regulation time tonight.

“Every day we come to the rink, we’re focused on that next two,” Avalanche center Matt Duchene told the Denver Post. “We’ve played pretty well recently. Even that New York game, I thought we played pretty well and could have had two points there. We’ll continue to press forward.”

Like Los Angeles, Colorado has indeed played well lately. The squad earned decisive victories against Dallas and Arizona on Saturday and Monday respectively. The Avalanche even managed to prevent the Coyotes from recording a single shot on goal for an entire period, which is a rare feat to say the least.

Jarome Iginla has also stepped up with two goals and seven points in his last four contests. He’ll be countered by Los Angeles’ Jeff Carter and Dwight King, who have each registered seven points in their last four games.

This is the first meeting between these two squads in 2014-15, but they’re also scheduled to play on March 10 and April 4. The Avalanche were 1-1-1 against the Kings in 2013-14 and under the circumstances, they likely need a better showing this time around. First things first though; both squads will compete for tonight’s key points.

Carter, King stay hot as Kings’ winning streak reaches five

By Ryan DadounFeb 17, 2015, 1:23 AM EDT
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The defending Stanley Cup champions have been living up to that title lately. They’ve had a trying campaign, but Los Angeles is now on a five-game winning streak after earning a 3-2 victory against Tampa Bay.

Dwight King and Jeff Carter were once again major contributors. King had two assists, giving him seven points in his last four contests as part of the new look “70s Line.” Carter, another member of that trio, accounted for the game-winning goal.

Carter has two goals and five assists in his last four contests. He leads the team with 43 points in 56 games this season.

Los Angeles is two points shy of the second Wild Card spot, which is currently occupied by the San Jose Sharks. However, if the Kings stay hot they could do far better than a Wild Card seed. Currently just three points separate them and second place in the Pacific Division.

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