We usually post the links on Wednesday, but there’s quite a bit happening in the Los Angeles Kings universe right now. Hence, links!
- The news of an outdoor game in Los Angeles has gone from speculative rumor to near-certainty in just 48 hours. At least on Twitter, Allan Walsh and Elliotte Friedman provided the first signs that an outdoor game was happening at Dodger Stadium. Various reports revealed the Anaheim Ducks as our likely opponent, Steve Lepore provided some background, and today, Helene Elliott confirmed further revelations. Among them: the game is expected to take place in the evening on January 25, 2014, and we could see community events and an alumni game around the same time. We’ll cover this more extensively once it’s made official, but in the meantime, mark your calendars! [LA Times]
(For what it’s worth, I attended a Dodgers game on Saturday. The stadium has gotten a facelift, and while it’s still an – ahem – charming and historic facility, the new scoreboards and the aesthetic upgrades are now much better suited for a #hockeygame.)
- We lost yesterday. Here’s Anaheim Calling‘s take on the game. I normally wouldn’t tell you to read about us losing again, but this recap is insanely detailed and shows a different perspective. So it’s cool.
- Thanks to our recent run of goal-scoring and some improved goaltending, our PDO is finally back to average. What this means is that overall, we’re performing pretty much as expected, and us outscoring the opponent by half a goal per game is NOT lucky in any way, shape, or form. Go Kings Go. [NHL Numbers]
- Gann Matsuda at Frozen Royalty has got two snippets of postgame interviews from this weekend available for your consumption. Anze Kopitar threatens Dustin Brown in response to an accidental high stick during the Edmonton game, and Rob Scuderi educates Drew Doughty on how an outdoor game in Los Angeles is possible.
- KingsVision has posted a new Stanley Cup Moment: “Watch the final minutes of Game 6 count down as the LA Kings win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.” Watch it below. Cry if necessary.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/RLnEMJRP1S4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe> - Finally: Dustin Penner has been activated from injured reserve. Jon Rosen reports and speculates that Penner would slot back in on the second line, bumping Clifford back down to the fourth line. He also has quotes from Darryl Sutter about Penner and Matt Greene, who skated on back-to-back days for only the second time. Progress! But who makes room for Mr. Penner?
You’re Darryl Sutter. Upon Dustin Penner’s return to the lineup tomorrow, who do you take out?
| Colin Fraser (33 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 25 PIM) | 13 |
| Jordan Nolan (35 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 42 PIM) | 31 |
| Brad Richardson (7 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PIM) | 5 |
| Sit two of them and put Tyler Toffoli back in. | 43 |