Los Angeles Kings (22-15-3) 47 pts @ 
Minnesota Wild (20-17-3) 43 pts Game Time: 5:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM EST
Location: Xcel Energy Center | Saint Paul, MN
TV Broadcast: Away Team: FS-W (HD)
Home Team: FS-WI (HD) & FS-N (HD)
Radio Broadcast: KTLK AM 1150
XM Radio Channel: XM 237
Online Radio broadcast stream: KTLK Online Stream Remember, DO NOT post links to Live Game Streams in the GDT or on LGK. 
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LetsGoKings.com LA Kings News LA Times: Kings News Page LA Daily News: Kings News Page TSN: Kings Page CBS Sportsline: Kings Page LA Kings Insider - Rich Hammond 
Kings @ Wild Game Notes (Not Available Yet) Last 10: Los Angeles 5-5-0; Minnesota 6-4-0.
Season series: Third of four meetings this season and the second in four nights. Eric Belanger scored twice to lead Minnesota to a 4-3 win in Los Angeles on Monday. That tied up the season series after the Kings doubled up the Wild 6-3 on Oct. 8, with Ryan Smyth lighting the lamp twice.
Big story: In today's NHL, it doesn't take long at all to go from the penthouse to the outhouse. It wasn't long ago when the Kings surged to the top of the Western Conference -- now, amidst four consecutive losses and a stretch where they didn't play for eight days, they have slipped to eighth place, just two points ahead of Dallas for the postseason cutoff. This will be their second game in as many nights, as they try to push back in the right direction.
Team Scope:
Kings: Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this skid for Los Angeles has been that all four losses came by a single goal and were games the Kings could have won with a break here or a bounce there. Dustin Brown was awarded a penalty shot in the second period of Wednesday's 2-1 defeat, but the puck rolled off his stick as he moved in on Miikka Kiprusoff and he never got a shot on the Flames goaltender.
"It's the second half now. These are almost like playoff games," veteran defenseman
Sean O'Donnell said. "You've got to make the other team earn their goals and get their chances. We're still learning. We've made some great strides. We're going in the right direction. And we're doing good things. We still make great plays. The last (step), going in the right direction, is not beating ourselves."
Wild: Thursday's game represents a second chance for Minnesota to set the franchise record by winning its 11th game of the month. The Wild missed on their first opportunity and saw a three-game win streak end with a 4-2 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday.
"We weren't great, we did some uncharacteristic things but the guys still played extremely hard," coach Todd Richards told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Who's hot: Rookie forward Scott Parse scored the Kings' lone goal Wednesday, his second straight game with a tally. ... Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson has goals in three consecutive games. He has scored in both games against Los Angeles this season.
Stat pack: Jonathan Quick should be back in net for the Kings after Erik Ersberg gave him a rare breather Wednesday. Quick leads the League in both games (36) and minutes (2,164) played.
Puck drop: The schedule-maker didn't do Los Angeles any favors sending them to Minnesota the day after a game in Calgary, while meanwhile Minnesota begins a stretch in which it plays six of its next seven on home ice. The Wild are 12-4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center this season, so this would be a quality win if the Kings could earn it.
Some of the following quotes are provided by Rich Hammond of the LA Kings Insider. For more quotes, please visit his blog.
"I thought we did some good things, and there is some improvement left too,’’ Kings center
Anze Kopitar said. "It's one of those games that could go either way, and we're definitely not satisfied with that, just playing good. We need points.’’
"Just keep playing them,’’
Murray said. "We're talking, we're reviewing, we're practicing, we're giving them the opportunity. Five on five, power play, 4 on 4, penalty killing. It does go to the hands of the players sometimes, too. We've all been there, as players, where you go through tough times, but it eventually comes back to the player, that you've got to work your way through it and find a way to get the job done. Everyone is aware of Kopitar and the line. Five back, and matchups and all that, but that's the territory that he's got to deal with.’’
"That's one of the dirtier hits in the game,’’
Murray said. "That's been addressed at the league level, and that's why the referee called a game misconduct.’’
"We're going down for the puck. I'm reaching around, trying to get the puck,’’
Kopitar said. "He doesn't even think about the puck. You be the judge if that's a dirty hit.’’
"I was saying, `Happy New Year,’"
Murray deadpanned, as he stood stone-faced after the game.
"I'm going to be honest -- I couldn't sleep last night,"
Doughty told reporters Wednesday morning at Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome. "It was a pretty tough nap for me last night. I was up; I was sleeping; I was back and forth. I was pretty nervous. I really didn't know what my chances were, although I knew I had an outside shot. When I got the call, I was still half-asleep. It was pretty early for me. I was waking up, and I actually had a voice mail (from 2010 Canadian Men's Team Associate Director Doug Armstrong) at first," Doughty said. "I was still sleeping and I didn't hear my phone ring. But when I woke up, I was definitely pretty happy. I woke up (Dustin Brown), my roommate, and told him, and then I started calling everyone in the family. Making it is definitely a big surprise, but I'm just so excited."
"I've got to experience playing with him over the course of this year, and he's nothing but raw talent," said Kings forward
Ryan Smyth. "Obviously, he plays well in his own zone. Everybody thinks he's really offensively skilled, which he is, but he's determined to play well in his own zone. And when he sees the chance to jump up in the play, he will. He'll make a huge impact on that team."
"It's definitely important for all of us,"
Doughty said. "The Kings had been struggling for quite a few years now, and getting those wins and being at the top of the conference for a little bit was definitely a confidence booster for all of us. It helped all of us grow, and become more confident players out there."
Los Angeles Kings (subject to change) 
Frozen moment from the previous game. Minnesota Wild (subject to change)
#15 Brunette - #9 Koivu - #20 Miettinen
#51 Sheppard - #25 Belanger - #11 Nolan
#48 Latendresse - #16 Ebbett - #14 Havlat
#22 Clutterbuck - #21 Brodziak - #24 Boogaard
#6 Zanon - #3 Zidlicky
#7 Stoner - #5 Johnsson
#34 Hnidy - #55 Schultz
#32 Backstrom
#37 Harding
Los Angeles Kings
Randy Jones (Headache/Sore Neck on 12/15/09) day-to-day
Andrei Loktionov (Dislocated shoulder 11/25/09) IR
Jarret Stoll (Groin injury on 12/14/09) IR
Justin Williams (Broken right leg/ankle on 12/26/09) IR
Minnesota Wild
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (Concussion/headaches on 10/04/09) IR
Brent Burns (Concussion on 11/19/09) IR
Robbie Earl (Flu-like symptoms on 12/18/09) IR
Chuck Kobasew (Knee injury on 12/27/09) IR
Petr Sykora (Concussion on 11/09/09) IR
Legend:
OT: Overtime
SO: Shooout
12/28/09 - Wild @ Kings (Wild win 4-3)
10/08/09 - Wild @ Kings (Kings win 6-3)
Kings All-Time Record against Minnesota (15-11-8) All-time Series Results 
Leading Scorers: Forwards: 
Kopitar, LA - 39 points (16 G, 23 A, +0) | Koivu, MIN - 38 points (10 G, 28 A, +3)
Defensemen: 
Doughty, LA - 26 points (9 G, 17 A, +6) | Zidlicky, MIN - 22 points (3 G, 19 A, -6)
Probable Starters: (subject to change) 
Quick, LA - 36 GP Record: 20-13-3 GAA 2.63 SV% .903 | Backstrom, MIN - 33 GP Record: 18-12-3 GAA 2.49 SV% .910
Players you might want to keep an eye on: 
Scott Parse, LA - 14 points (6 G, 8 A, +5) | Martin Havlat, MIN - 22 points (7 G, 15 A, -12)
Former King: 
Eric Belanger - 21 points (8 G, 13 A, +1)
Goals Per Game: LA – 2.80 (T-10th in NHL)
MIN – 2.58 (22nd in NHL)
Goals Against Average:
LA – 2.85 (T-17th in NHL)
MIN – 2.78 (15th in NHL) Power Play %: LA – 19.2 (13th in NHL)
MIN – 17.4 (20th in NHL)
Penalty Kill %:
LA – 79.4 (22nd in NHL)
MIN – 83.4 (11th in NHL) Shots Per Game:
LA – 28.9 (23rd in NHL)
MIN – 29.0 (22nd in NHL) Shots Against Per Game: LA – 27.2 (2nd in NHL)
MIN – 27.8 (5th in NHL)
(As of 12/31/09) Pacific Division Standings:
1. San Jose Sharks (25-8-7) 57 pts
2. Phoenix Coyotes (25-13-3) 53 pts
3.
Los Angeles Kings (22-15-3) 47 pts
4. Dallas Stars (17-11-11) 45 pts
5. Anaheim Ducks (16-16-7) 39 pts
Western Conference Standings:
1 Sharks 57
2 Blackhawks 55
3 Avalanche 52
4 Coyotes 53
5 Flames 49
6 Predators 49
7 Canucks 47
8 Kings 47
------------------
9 Stars 45
10 Red Wings 44
11 Wild 43
12 Blues 39
13 Ducks 39
14 Blue Jackets 38
15 Oilers 36
Canadiens @ Panthers 2:00 PM PST | 5:00 PM EST
Sharks @
Coyotes 4:00 PM PST | 7:00 PM EST
Canucks @
Blues 4:00 PM PST | 7:00 PM EST
Islanders @ Senators 4:00 PM PST | 7:00 PM EST
Predators @
Blue Jackets 4:00 PM PST | 7:00 PM EST
Avalanche @
Red Wings 4:00 PM PST | 7:00 PM EST
Ducks @
Stars 5:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM EST
Rangers @ Hurricanes 5:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM EST
Devils @
Blackhawks 5:30 PM PST | 8:30 PM EST
Oilers @
Flames 6:00 PM PST | 9:00 PM EST
**(Some images and sources are courtesy of
RinkRat,
NHL.com,
lakings.com,
TSN.ca,
gettyimages.com,
ESPN.com and
Yahoo.com)**
Special thanks to the following people:
KingsWord for providing a ton of images.
RinkRat for allowing me to use the images he shoots.
Blueline for his format and images.
Len-Det64 for providing additional images.
Watti for some GDT images + Photoshop tutorial.
TooCool
***GDT - Los Angeles Kings @ Minnesota Wild - 12/31/09*** (5:00 PM) 
Linear Mode
