The Boys are Back! (Flickr/Bridget Samuels)

Dustin Penner signed a $3.25 million contract yesterday, keeping him a King for another year! With the signing of Penner the Stanley Cup Championship team remains intact. Even though Penner had a less than stellar regular season, his impact during the Playoffs was monumental. Worthy of a long term contract, but the opportunity to remain a part of a Championship team is what Penner wanted.

Here is what Penner had to say about the deal, from NHL.com

“My mindset was, I wanted to be on a championship team,” Penner said in a conference call. “In the past, when I was in Anaheim, I kind of flew the coop early. I didn’t get to be part of a championship team the following year, which is something that delayed my signing of the offer sheet because I wanted to be a part of that. It’s a great organization here with the Kings … I wanted to be a part of that for another year.”

Penner acknowledged, “I knew there was probably other teams that would have offered me more than a year,” but reiterated he wanted to return to the same group. He made a reference to the movie “The Matrix” to describe his outlook.

“I had taken the blue pill last time,” he said. “This time, I wanted to take the red pill … I wanted to see what it was like to be back on a team that I won a championship with. It’s a great opportunity for myself, personally, to have the year I’ve wanted to have as a King. Last year wasn’t anywhere near people’s expectations, and especially my own. I look forward to having that opportunity to redeem myself further.”

Even with the signing of Penner the Kings still have some breathing room and are going after another big, name Minnesota’s own Zach Parise. The Kings are one of many teams including Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Minnesota, biding for Parise’s time. He has yet to make a decision, but has said that he plans on making his decision today! 

 So will Parise be the newest King? We will find out soon fans, keep your ears to the ground!

Penner the Hero (Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

The Los Angeles Kings will be returning the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993. What a great game, though I will be honest not the prettiest ending. Nonetheless the Campbell Trophy is ours not to touch! The final score is Kings 4 Coyotes 3 in OT!

Dustin Penner is the unsung hero of Game 5 this evening with a key assist on Mike Richards goal, and no big deal the game winner in OT, which happened to send the Kings to the Finals. BOOM!

An in-depth recap will be up tomorrow right now it is bed time in the midwest. CELLY HARD TONIGHT FANS!

The Blues struck first, but it was the Kings that came out on top 3-1 after 60 minutes of play in St. Louis. Although the Kings were 0-5 on the power play, they got their game winner from Defensemen Matt Greene shorthanded. Great action tonight, this is going to be an amazing series!

Instead of recaping the game I am going to highlight my Key Kings for the 2nd Round:

1st: Defensemen Drew Doughty

Doughty helped get the Kings get on the board and put them in a position to win game 5. In order for the Kings to have success against the Blues, Doughty needs to continue to add just a hint of offense into the mix. He has been solid on the blue line, but if he and some of the other Kings defensemen add some offense then they become a big threat to the Blues.

2nd: Forward Anze Kopitar

Kopitar had a goal and 3 assists in the first round, but this is not close to his full potential. He is a real threat if he is firing on all cylinders. Not only is he a real threat in the offensive zone BUT he is always an important aspect of the Kings D-Zone. It is great that he is a two-way player, but in order for the Kings to defeat the Blues, Kopitar needs to have a bigger impact and presence in the offensive zone!

3rd: Foward Dustin Penner

Penner had a goal in game 1 and then was relatively abscent from the last 4 games. BUT he is also a major offensive power, unfortunately he has been struggling all season. If he can pull himself out of this funk and add to the Kings offense, I honestly believe they have a definite shot to take this round from the Blues.

Tune in Monday for game 2 of this showdown, I will be wearing my lucky t-shirt (YES I have a lucky t-shirt that is a little tight in the arm pits but who cares it’s lucky!).

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 1

The Los Angeles Kings stun the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 in the series opener! From the drop of the puck the Kings had something to prove, they will not be going quietly! Winning game one was HUGE for the Kings confidence.

13 penalties were called at Rogers Arena tonight, 8 against the Canucks and 5 against the Kings… Let’s just say there was not a shortage of opportunities on the power play for the Kings. If you watched the game tonight you might be thinking holy balls we need to spend an entire practice focused on the power play. BUT 2 of the 4 Kings goals were scored on the power play so let’s stay positive!! 

Even with the late goal scored by the Canucks in the final seconds of the 2nd period the Kings did not back down. It is going to be absolutely key for the Kings to keep putting pucks on net. Roberto Luongo is NOT a consistent goaltender so if we can keep the pressure on him, the Canucks will crumble!! The Kings outshot the Canucks 39-26, if we can keep getting pucks on net THEY WILL GO IN. Watch the highlights the puck is sitting there like a present waiting to be opened on Christmas morning!!

Once again the scoring is well distributed, Mike Richards scored on the power play from a bad angle, throwing the puck at Luongo’s feet. Then during one of the Kings many power plays in the 2nd period Willie Mitchell comes up big and puts the puck past an extremely screened Luongo! With close to 3 minutes remaining in the contest Dustin Penner puts the Kings ahead for good! Then for some insurance the Kings Captain Dustin Brown barries the open netter!

It’s late but I cannot end this recap without mentioning Jonathan Quick, what a great performance in net tonight! He is really a big reason why the Kings are in the playoffs and will be a key factor to taking down the top team in the league.

Look for some Quick highlights tomorrow, I will break down why he is so hard to beat!!

The Los Angeles Kings took the first of 3 games against the San Jose Sharks last night, winning 5-2!!! BOOM ROASTED! This was a big win fans not that I need to remind you about the extremely tight race we are in with hmmm 5 teams in the Western conference!!

Let’s talk about some of the good things that happened last night… Kings win! The Kings are now sitting on the correct side of the line in 8th place, but don’t jump for joy just yet we are still tied with the Phoenix Coyotes. Which also means the Kings and Coyotes only trail the Division leading Dallas Stars by 1 point. Unfortunately I think I jinxed the games yesterday because both the Colorado Avalanche vs Calgary Flames and Coyotes vs Stars went into OT last night. OH and the Chicago Blackhawks won… What the heck! Despite everything going wrong with the other games in the Conference, the Kings did everything right! Let’s focus on that shall we…

PLAY BIG! (Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

Mike Richards started the scoring with a short handed snipe! BUT the celebration was short lived as Marty Havlat came right back down and converted on the PP for the Sharks. The Kings played a very physical 1st period and continued just buzzing the Sharks in the 2nd. Which lead to Alec Martinez breaking the tie sending the Kings into the locker room ahead heading into the 3rd. In my opinion this was the key goal for the Kings they really worked hard and wore down the Sharks and they really needed to get something out of that. Martinez’s goal was just what the Doctor ordered.

Anze Kopitar had another fabulous game with a goal and 2 assists, he now has 7 points in the last 4 games! Dustin Penner also added an insurance goal with 4:06 left in the 3rd, giving the Kings some breathing room! The Kings are playing great hockey right now from top to bottom. The added offense provided by Jeff Carter is really an important addition to the Kings, it has taken the pressure off the top line and allowed them to play their game.

The Kings have a night to rest tonight before taking on the St. Louis Blues @ Home Thursday night. NO Stressing tonight fans, let’s save that for Thursday!

Well the Los Angeles Kings are certainly in need of consistency as they head into their final 16 games. 9 of which will be on the road, making it crucial that the Kings get points to take the pressure off at home. The Kings have won 4 of their last 5 games, but need to continue to gain momentum. Right now the Kings are in a 3 way tie (San Jose Sharks & Colorado Avalanche) for 8th place in the Western Conference and trailing the Dallas Stars by 3 points for the lead in the Pacific Division.

Tomorrow the Kings will take on the worst team in the NHL the Columbus Blue Jackets, but this will not be an easy 2 points. The Blue Jackets are currently riding a 3 game win streak hoping to make it a 4th tomorrow as are the Kings.

Fist Pumps for Penner (Eric_Wendland/Flickr)

Some keys to the Kings success will be the defense continuing to lend a hand in the offense, which will obviously help take the pressure off the forwards to score. The top lines need to step up and contribute more offensively. Dustin Penner is due for a goal his last one coming against the Blue Jackets back on February 1st. Lastly the special teams need to continue to improve, if the Kings could score a few more power play goals and continue to dominate the penalty kill (4th in the NHL at 87.6%) then they have a definite chance at making the playoffs!