For a repeat offender like Denis Gauthier, I have to admit that I was expecting a longer suspension.  The Los Angeles Kings defenceman came under fire after taking a pretty nasty hit on Montreal Canadiens d-man, Josh Gorges. 

The league has suspended him for five games without pay – he will forfeit $56,451.61 of his salary to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The Kings can put him back in the lineup on February 14, 2009 for the game against the Edmonton Oilers.

image: TSN

The Detroit Red Wings won a hard-fought battle with the Los Angeles Kings.  The teams took turns answering each other’s goals, held on through overtime and finally, the contest was decided in a shootout with the Wings taking the victory.  Here is the scoring summary:

• DET: Zetterberg, H. (05:54 in 1st), Hossa, M. (PPG, 09:24 in 2nd), Filppula, V. (18:06 in 3rd)
• LAK: Moller, O. (PPG, 10:46 in 1st), Calder, K. (01:16 in 2nd), Frolov, A. (00:46 in 3rd)

The Pittsburgh Penguins went head-to-head with the Boston Bruins and came out victorious (2-1) after Evgeni Malkin scored in a shootout.  It was the first time that the Bruins have played at home and I`m sure they are wishing that Pens netminder, Dany Sabourin, had not had such a stellar night - the goaltender saved 35 of 36 shots on goal.  Here’s the scoring summary:

• PIT: Satan, M. (18:51 in 1st), Malkin, E. (00:00 in SO), Malkin, E. (00:00 in SO)
• BOS: Kessel, P. (PPG, 13:53 in 2nd)

Watch the video highlights:

The Dallas Stars had the same 2-1 result against the New York Rangers.  Former Rangers pest, Sean Avery, relished in the victory over the team he left after 1.5 seasons (the crowd greeted him with a chorus of boos).  Here is the scoring summary:

• DAL: Morrow, B. (PPG, 05:28 in 2nd), Modano, M. (08:03 in 3rd)
• NYR: Naslund, M. (PPG, 00:58 in 1st)

Watch the video highlights:

The Montreal Canadiens continued their winning streak by beating the Florida Panthers 3-1.  Habs captain, Saku Koivu opened scoring in the second while netminder, Jaroslav Halak made some incredible saves.  I am hoping Montreal is on their way to having a great season.  I would love to see this team contending for the Stanley Cup.  They were so smart to pick up Alex Tanguay, who, so far, has been incredible for the team.  Here is the scoring summary:

• FLA: Ballard, K. (07:20 in 3rd)
• MTL: Koivu, S. (02:07 in 2nd), Bouillon, F. (10:53 in 3rd), Plekanec, T. (SHG, 19:38 in 3rd)

Watch the video highlights:

The Colorado Avalanche enjoyed a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the night’s highest scoring game. 

• COL: Smyth, R. (11:28 in 1st), Hejduk, M. (04:01 in 2nd), Jones, D. (05:16 in 2nd), Smyth, R. (16:32 in 2nd)
• LAK: Moller, O. (PPG, 06:19 in 1st), O’Sullivan, P. (03:02 in 2nd), Doughty, D. (02:25 in 3rd)

Watch the game highlights:

Anze Kopitar will be staying with the Los Angeles Kings for another seven years.  Reports say his contract is worth $47.6 million dollars.  This means the Kings, who drafted him 11th overall in the 2005 Entry Draft, have him locked up until the 2015-2016 season.  That’s pretty incredible considering the fact that only one player has been offered a longer deal (Wayne Gretzky was given an 8-year contract back in 1988). 

When asked about the deal, Kopitar said: “This is really exciting and a little overwhelming to be honest.  I am happy to be a part of this organization for the next eight years (he’s got a year left on his current contract). I can focus now on hockey-only and on doing what I want to do, which is to bring the Stanley Cup to L.A. I am also excited to remain with a great group of players who have gotten the same commitment from our organization. We are looking forward to growing together and to building something special here.”

I know I would be overwhelmed.  It’s not like LA has the biggest fan base so I think you’ve got to really love the city, team and sport to want to stay there.  I know some of you are going to disagree with me but after vacationing in Los Angeles and Anaheim this summer, I really got a sense of how undervalued the teams really are.  Not that I’m going to become a Kings or Ducks fan any time soon but I didn’t kind of feel sorry for them but I digress… 

image credit: TSN

The Los Angeles Kings were busy yesterday.  They were able to renew their contracts with forward Matt Moulson, goaltender Erik Ersberg and defenceman Joe Piskula to one-year contracts.  Forward Gabe Gauthier was given a two-year deal.  None of the financial terms have been disclosed.

image credit: TSN 

This just sucks!  Ryan Smyth was finally back on the ice for the Colorado Avalanche and tonight he was practically killed by Jack Johnson (Los Angeles Kings).  It’s a scary hit and, as Don Cherry says in the video, there needs to be more protective foam covering that spot on the glass. 

Watch the hit:

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is horrible.  I think was was watching Sportsnet oin Valentine’s Day and viewers voted for the Los Angeles Kings to finish last in the league but they didn’t seem to have a problem dusting off my Calgary Flames.  Ouch!!!  The Kings beat the Flames 6-3!

Flames netminder, Miikka Kiprusoff, continued to suck major ass last night with what I calculate as an embarrassing .76 save percentage (saving just 19 of 25 shots).  Meanwhile, Jason Labarbera saved a whopping 39 of 42 shots on goal (.928) for the Kings!  For the game summary, click here. 

Check out that picture above.  That was the story all night - Kip face down with a fellow Flame looking down thinking “what the hell???”  He’s also in the best position to be sucking balls, which is what he’s doing a lot of these days…  Sheesh.  I love him, I don’t care what you say, but my gawd!  What is wrong with him?!?!?

image by GettyImages

After sustaining an ankle injury during a game on January 15, 2008, defenseman Rob Blake has been knocked out of the lineup.  The Los Angeles Kings captain was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the left ankle. He will be out for about two weeks. 

In other Kings news, goaltender Dan Cloutier has been recalled by the club from the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get much worse for the league’s worst team…

Mike Cammalleri and Derek Armstrong of the L.A. Kings made an appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly.  Here’s a video of the interview:

American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood, was spotted at an L.A. Kings game.  My son was drooling.  He loves Carrie and he loves hockey so it’s like a dream come true - enjoy the pics

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