Cardiac Kings sit alone at the top; ‘Nucks up next

What a weekend it was for the Los Angeles Kings.  If one word could describe the game situations from this weekend it would be “cardiac”.  Kings fans were at the edge of their seats during the weekend games played against Phoenix and Dallas. The outcome: first place in the Western Conference.

The playoffs are a reality, the Kings are for real and the league needs to respect and understand that.  Last season to this season has been quite the turn around, and the future looks bright.  Dean Lombardi has done a fantastic job in preparing for this season and acquiring the pieces to put the puzzle together as a whole. His decisions in the progress and development of certain players has been outstanding.  The coaching staff has put together a line up from the team Lombardi has given them to work with that is golden.

Battling through injuries, suspensions and the  game that is called hockey has been a challenge over the years for the Kings but now it is all paying off.  To think that this success is short lived is, well for lack of a better word, insane. The Kings are proving that they are for real this year. It has, without a doubt, been well worth the wait.

After weeks of hoping Jonathan Quick would gain some sort of consistency to his game, it seems that he finally has.  Over the course of his last three starts, Quick has gone 3-0-0, with a 1.58 goals against average and a save percentage of .941. Quick was named the NHLs 1st star of the week today. That will say a lot and hopefully go a long way for the 23 year old.

The Kings will look to continue this hot streak as they will be in beautiful British Columbia. The Vancouver Canucks will welcome the LA Kings to GM Place in hopes to cool off the red hot Kings.

The Canucks are a dangerous club, especially when you have to line up against the twins. Henrik and Daneil Sedin are a very lethal one-two punch for the Canucks. They have already beat the Kings twice this season. and the Kings

A huge test for this Kings club as they attempt to stay on top of the Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Kings have recalled (emergency re-call) forward Corey Elkins from the Manchester Monarchs, however Elkins did not make the practice in time and will not be part of the actual line up until tomorrow at the earliest.

Tonight’s line up (subject to change):

Frolov – Kopitar – Williams
Purcell – Stoll – Brown
Parse – Handzus – Simmonds
Harrold – Richardson – Moller

Scuderi – Doughty
Johnson – Jones
O’Donnell – Greene

Quick

The Kings are up against back to back games during this western Canada trip.  The Oilers are up next in a game that most likely will see Erik Ersberg get the start, however, with Terry Murray this year one will never know until it becomes official from the mouth of the coach.

Quick will be making his 32nd start of the season. Although his numbers are not amazing he has been playing some outstanding hockey and Terry Murray’s decision to go with Quick is the smart one.  Now we all hope it is the right one.

A few players to keep an eye on tonight:

Justin Williams – seven points in his last seven games played
Jarret Stoll – identical to Justin Williams numbers
Dustin Brown – four points in his past four games played
Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson – the two young stud blue liners are a huge part of the Kings success so far this season. Also making quite the case for their countries teams in the Olympics.

The Kings are hot, red hot that is. How much fire will it take to melt the Canucks? We will find out tonight.