Kings look ahead for October 19-25

October 20, 6:39 PMLos Angeles Kings ExaminerJonathan Moncrief

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Oscar Moller only stayed for two games
Courtesy: LAKINGS.com

The Los Angeles Kings return home this week from their longest road trip of the regular season. Here’s a look ahead at the schedule of games and practices for the club this week, as well as a look at the other league games this week as well.

MONDAY OCTOBER 19

KINGS defeated Dallas 4-1. The victory allowed them to finish the road trip at 3-3-0. Last season, the Kings won their third road game of the season on November 26. Goals were scored by Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth, Justin Williams, and Wayne Simmonds.

Other games: San Jose defeated the New York Rangers 7-3, and Edmonton edged Vancouver 2-1.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 20

KINGS have an off day. They arrived home late Monday night, early Tuesday morning, and there was no practice scheduled for Tuesday. What is unknown, at the moment, is exactly what the over/under on the number of phone calls and meetings made about the status of Alexander Frolov. I’ll be at practice Wednesday morning and will file a report on the situation later in the day.

Columbus @ Calgary – Two teams that I feel have all of necessary ingredients for a Stanley Cup run meet in Alberta. For the Blue Jackets, this is the first of a four game western swing which will see them play Thursday in Edmonton before spending the weekend in SoCal against the Ducks (Saturday) and Kings (Sunday). Both teams have five wins so far this season. This matchup features the best penalty killing unit in the league (Columbus at 95.8%) versus the second best power play in the league (Calgary at 34.7%).

Other games: Atlanta @ Montreal, St. Louis @ Pittsburgh

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21

KINGS practice in El Segundo – If you read the previous day’s notes, you’ll understand why this practice maybe the most attended (at least by media folks) of all so far this season.

Vancouver @ Chicago – Last year, the Blackhawks beat the Canucks in six games to advance to their first conference finals appearance since 1995. While Chicago has continued to play well at the start of this season, with a 5-2-1 record to sit atop the Central Division, the Canucks have struggled to a 3-5-0 mark. The Canucks are looking for their first road win of the season, after failing to tie Monday’s game at Edmonton at the buzzer.

Dallas @ Anaheim – Two Pacific Division rivals square off at Honda Center. If last season is any indication, the games this year will be tight: the Ducks won once in regulation, the Stars won twice in regulation, and the other three went into overtime or a shootout. Only one of these games were decided by more than one goal.

Other games: Nashville @ Boston, Carolina @ NY Islanders, Buffalo @ Florida, Colorado @ Minnesota

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22

Dallas @ KINGS – The Stars complete their two game sojourn in the Southland when they face the Kings at Staples. In Monday’s 4-1 victory, the Kings top line of Kopitar, Smyth, and Williams, combined for 13 shots on goal and registered three goals and three assists. Kopitar and Smyth both entered Tuesday’s play tied for third in the league in scoring with 13 points each – only Alex Ovechkin and Joe Thornton have more.

Washington @ Atlanta – Speaking of Ovechkin, he and “The Flying Ovies” head down to Atlanta to face fellow Russian scoring threat Ilya Kovalchuk and the Thrashers. Atlanta has played just five games so far this season, fewest in the league entering this week, and are 4-1-0. One reason why the Thrashers have started so well has been the addition of Rich Peverley. After struggling in Nashville, he was acquired through waivers last season, scoring 13 goals in 39 games. This season, he has four goals and three assists so far. Look for both teams to light the lamp a lot here.

Boston @ Philadelphia – A preview of the Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the Bruins and Flyers will play inside the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. It’s been 35 years and five months since the Flyers beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. On Tuesday, the Flyers acquired winger Stefan Legein from Columbus in exchange for defenseman Mike Ratchuk.

Other games: NY Islanders @ Montreal, New Jersey @ NY Rangers, Nashville @ Ottawa, San Jose @ Tampa Bay, Columbus @ Edmonton, Detroit @ Phoenix

FRIDAY OCTOBER 23

KINGS practice in El Segundo – Figure this to be a conditioning practice today. The reason is that they will have played the Stars the previous night, and have games on both days this weekend. Even though they are a young team, figure Terry Murray not to run them ragged today. They travel to Phoenix in the afternoon to prepare for Saturday’s contest.

Carolina @ Colorado – The Hurricanes are struggling so far this season with just two wins in their first seven games. The Avalanche are obviously the lead story in the league this month, posting an impressive 6-1-1 start. But anytime you put these two franchises on the ice, those of us old enough to remember will always think of the classic Hartford-Quebec rivalry that spans back to the WHA.

Minnesota @ St. Louis – This week, the Wild named Mikko Koivu as their captain. He has certainly completed the emergence from his big brother’s shadow, and enters the week tied for third on the team in points. The Wild are hoping he can lead them in an upward direction, with just one win in their first seven contests, which is puzzling since they are in the top ten in both power play and penalty kill. The Blues are hoping to get Brad Boyes and David Backes going. Their top two scorers last season have combined for just two goals so far this season.

Other games: Florida @ Pittsburgh

SATURDAY OCTOBER 24

KINGS @ Phoenix – Three weeks ago on this night, the Kings opened the season at home with a disastrous 6-3 loss to the Coyotes. Since then, Phoenix has showed how much that performance was not a fluke. The Coyotes are 5-2-0 entering the week, and have allowed just 10 goals so far this season, and are the only team with a GAA under 2.00.

New Jersey @ Pittsburgh – The Penguins enter Tuesday with 14 points, tied with the Rangers for most in the league. The Devils enter the week over .500 at 4-3-0 on the season, and have just completed a stretch of five games against all five Southeast Division clubs (4-1-0). Last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Carolina was the 102 nd shutout in Martin Brodeur’s career, placing him two shy of Terry Sawchuk’s record.

NY Rangers @ Montreal – The high-flying Rangers, having scored a league-leading 35 goals so far this season, visit some old friends in Montreal. Former Rangers Scott Gomez and Paul Mara will face their former team for the first time, on a night where every team in the league is in action for the second time this season.

Other games: Boston @ Ottawa, Washington @ NY Islanders, Florida @ Philadelphia, San Jose @ Atlanta, Toronto @ Vancouver, Buffalo @ Tampa Bay, Dallas @ St. Louis, Carolina @ Minnesota, Nashville @ Chicago, Detroit @ Colorado, Edmonton @ Calgary, Columbus @ Anaheim

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25

Columbus @ KINGS – Please note that the start time for this game is at 6:00 local time at Staples Center, in the first of two Sunday games at home.

Other games: Edmonton @ Vancouver, San Jose @ Philadelphia

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Moller sent back down

After helping in a pinch due to some illnesses ranging from the flu to ‘loafingitis’, Oscar Moller was returned to Manchester in the AHL on Tuesday.

Moller was recalled on October 17, after Brad Richardson was forced to miss the game at Columbus due to flu-like symptoms. He played in that game and in Monday’s win over Dallas, in part due to the benching of Frolov. Moller has scored three goals and two assists in five games in Manchester, but did not tally a single point in his two games with the big club this season.

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For more info: The Kings return to Staples Center to host the Dallas Stars on Thursday, October 22. For tickets to this important Pacific Division tilt, click here... For tickets to all Kings games in the 2009-10 regular season, including many specially priced partial and full season ticket plans, click here to visit the team's ticket site or call (888) KINGS-LA... We'll post the 'Kings Look Ahead' articles every Sunday/Monday until the Olympic break, and then we'll return to the 'Rooting Interest' format from last season. You should also look for at least one weekly feature-style article on a current player, past player, or a member of the Kings coaching/executive staff.  My apologies for not posting this story until today, as I had a recent illness to contend with... All 82 games this season can be heard on the Kings radio flagship station, KTLK 1150-AM. The club also recently announced that in addition all 67 scheduled television broadcasts will be available in High Definition on both Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket... to get my latest takes on all things Kings, hockey, sports, and life in general, follow me on Twitter by clicking here.