Well, it's finally over. A 10 game, 23 day long road trip all across this great country of ours and our neighbOUr to the north. Let's take a final look at the Road Trip Tallyboard...

One regulation loss in 10 road games. Not too shabby!

After finishing 6-1-3 during their 10 Game Road Trip from Hell, the Los Angeles Kings have really cleared up some of the logjam in the Western Conference Playoff Race.

Or not.
I haven't seen this much action in the 70's since The Wonder Years. 

But the Los Angeles Kings weren't the only thing coming into Anaheim on fire... Indiana Matt has been tearing it up. In regards to the dicey goaltending situation for the Ducks, Indiana Matt thought that sensitive would be the most obvious route. 

I feel that Jonas Hiller finally had a mirror installed in his Orange County home and that is the cause of his recent dizziness.

The horror, the horror.

And since he's a notorious gamer, how could Indiana Matt resist? 

Now, after a tough stretch on the road, the Kings gear up for easy homestand against the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks and the Dallas Stars. That right there are 10 gimme points for the Kings, no problem. Screw first in the Pacific, we are coming for your ass, Vancouver!!! 

Big game Thursday night against the Wild. A win here puts the Kings only 6 points out of 11th place in the West! Damn, we are in a tight spot!

"Hey, Stolly, you know all about tight spots, right. You playa!"

"Guilty as charged!"

"A-ha-ha-ha! What a gigolo!"

Check out The State of Hockey News for all of the news... about the state of hockey... in Minnesota. 

As we head closer and closer to the NHL playoffs, it gets tougher and tougher to truly know whether your favorite Western Conference team is actually in the playoff race or not. For instance, the Los Angeles Kings jumped from 9th place to 7th place Tuesday night in the West while one of the 4 teams they are tied with dropped from 8th to 11th... even though the Dallas Stars have the same amount of points as the Kings. Confusing, right? We introduced The Royal Half Playoff Tracker 3000!!! to help simplify the Western Conference race... but it's becoming painfully obvious that no matter how advanced the technology of the Playoff Tracker 3000!!! is... it's just not enough. So now, presenting The Royal Half Los Angeles Kings Playoff Threat Level Meter!!!

The goal is simple. You want to be as hot as possible heading into the playoffs. Tom Webster was the only coach that has consistently led this franchise to a high conference finish and made it deep-ish into the playoffs, reaching the 2nd round in 2 of his 3 playoff appearances. Plus, he had a great right hook.

Andy Murray led this franchise to 2 things... either an 7th seed in the playoffs... or 20th overall in the NHL. (Okay, fine, Coach Andy Murray's 1st season with the Kings had them at a 5th seed in the West.) Sure, Barry Melrose led the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in his first season as a NHL coach. But I think we all know that was a one-time fluke.  Larry Robinson was a decent coach on some god-awful Kings teams and Marc Crawford... well, I think we all know how that turned out. So what Playoff Threat Level are the Los Angeles Kings at right now?

If the Los Angeles Kings beat the Ducks Wednesday in Anaheim to finish off their 10 Game Road Trip, then this team could be 6th place in the Western Conference. Playoff Threat Level Tom Webster... here we come!!!

So... are the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL Playoffs or not? Let's look at the Western Conference standings.

Well that's no help. 

Maybe the official Royal Half Playoff Tracker 3000!!! can shed some light on it. 

Well, can anyone tell me at the very least if the Kings have earned points in the last 8 road games?!?

Whew.

Kings 3, Rangers 4 (SO)

We are still a year away from the Presidential Primaries in the United States and who even knows when they elect a Prime Minister in Canada?! But since Drew Doughty has finally decided to start playing like the Pure-Blood Canadian Hockey Superstar he is, Indiana Matt thought we should break out a brand new Doughty t-shirt.

And since we didn't want to leave Ithaca, New York's own, Dustin Brown, out of the race... Hail to the Captain!

Check out The Royal Half Gift Shoppe for all your Los Angeles Kings-related T-Shirt needs!!!

I'm not saying that Columbus is a non-traditional hockey market... but in Ohio, they have a different definition of what constitutes a puck bunny.

It might be in the Eastern Time Zone, but Columbus will always be Midwest to me.

Does it really say "Hardcore Hockey" on the walls of a professional locker room?
I had no idea the Blue Jackets were owned by the ECW.

"Drew, this is an exciting game for me. I played college hockey just an hour or so from here."

"Hey Alec, that's really cool. What's college hockey?"

Kings 4, Blue Jackets 3 (SO)

Click Here to Read the Rest of The Royal Half Recap!!!

Forget about the Grammys! It's another exciting edition of Pundays, where we take an in-depth look at the best and worst of the NHL.com front page pun headlines. And this past week featured the first of what I'm sure will be many pun-filled headlines announcing a NHL trade.

You better believe that re-acquiring Francois Beauchemin was a bold move by the Anaheim Ducks.

Now that the Ducks have strengthened their blueline, you might say they are back in… oh, for chrissakes!!

I'm sorry for taking the Lords name in vain, I know this is a family-friendly blog. Please accept my sincere apology.

Click here to check out the best and worst NHL.com pun headlines from the past week!!!

Everyone has been talking about how this 10 Game Road Trip for the Los Angeles Kings could be a bad thing. But I disagree, I mean how bad could it be to have the young Canadian boys of the Kings get an opportunity to learn a little bit about the history of this great country of ours? On Saturday they got the chance to see the monuments of Washington, DC...

Shoes! The backbone of US History.

And on Sunday, the Kings got the chance to see the birthplace of Democracy, Philadelphia!

I think that may be the 1st Wells Fargo bank, not the Wells Fargo Center.

The Kings are in the middle of a 10 Game Road Trip that could determine their playoff fate and they have to play the mighty Washington Capitals and the 1st place Philadelphia Flyers on back to back nights. Why, that's enough to make any mild-mannered person scream!

Don't make Kopi angry.

Kings 2, Birthplaces of Democracy 0

Click Here to Read the Rest of The Royal Half Recap!!!

Oh man, the Los Angeles Kings are in Pittsburgh for their only meeting of the season with the Penguins. I can't wait to curl up on the couch and watch this game so I can see world-class player Sydney Crosby at his best. Oh, what's that?

Well, that's no big deal really... I mean the Penguins do have the former Conn Smythe winner and elite center Evgeni... a what???

Well, at least I get the chance to see Chris Kunitz again. You see, I don't like very many players who were once Ducks, but for some reason I always... you've gotta be kidding me, right? RIGHT?!?

This was the closest image I could find for "injured penguin" that was also the same height as Kunitz. 

Well, if I'm not going to get a chance to see that high-powered Penguins offense I've heard so much about, at least I can see what all the fuss is about that agitator, Matt Cooke. I bet it's more hype than anything and in the end the guy has a lot of respect for his fellow players.

Fine, at least I get to see the cool black and yellow uniforms that the Penguins look so sharp in...

You know, forget it. I'm just going to go see if my favorite late 70's musical, The Wiz, is playing anywhere on cable instead of watching a bunch of no-name Pittsburgh hockey players.

Kings Offense 1, Penguins Offence 2

Click Here to Read the Rest of The Royal Half Recap!!!

You know what Twitter is right? It is the form of social media that is used strictly for peer to peer interaction and to share information freely across the internet. It was the first source of knowledge when a plane landed in the Hudson River. It's what allows Howard Stern to take you backstage right before he goes on Dave Letterman. And over the past few months it's the form of media that has been so embraced by the National Hockey League, that you, the fans, can now feel like you are in the locker room, understanding the trials and tribulations of being a hockey player firsthand. And others just use it to make money. 

RT @whatchutalkinabout: just met Messier. he went a little Mr. Horton on me.

So now that all 30 NHL teams have verified, active Twitter accounts and the NHL is making social media an active part of its marketing effort, the individual NHL team Twitters are left wondering... so, um, how should we use this thing? The Los Angeles Kings are firmly in that camp. Should they use Twitter to highlight when a famous celebrity is taking in a home game?

Or should they use it when they want to highlight a player in the system that the fans may not know about?

Should they use it to promote barely-legal drinking?

Or to update you on the most important, fast-breaking Los Angeles Kings news?

Or maybe for corporate synergy?

But maybe, like most Twitter accounts, it should just be used for inner reflection... to understand one's place in the universe... and to spread that knowledge.

So what starts happening when NHLTeams are able to connect directly with fans… but don't like what the fans are saying? Why am I asking all these questions? Because I want to know why the hell on January 27th, 2011, the official Los Angeles Kings Twitter tweeted at me twice… and then within a few minutes… any trace of the tweets... had disappeared.

Click Here to Read the Rest of a Royal Half Investigative Report!!!

Coach Murray has broken this 10 Game East Coast Road Trip into 3 segments. But I don't think that really showcases exactly how this team has been playing... so The Royal Half Statistical Bureau has broken it down even further.

The Los Angeles Kings Record with Marco Sturm rumored to be traded to the Kings:

4-0-1

The Los Angeles Kings Record with Marco Sturm actually traded to the Kings:

1-2

The Los Angeles Kings Record with Marco Sturm as a dressed forward for the Kings:

6-10

The Los Angeles Kings Record with Marco Sturm as an injured forward for the Kings:

5-1-1

Now numbers are not my speciality... but when I look at those records with and without Marco Sturm in the lineup it only means one thing. LEAVE THE LITTLE RUSSIAN KID WHERE HE IS!!!

"So Lokti, if Sturm comes back, you'll probably have to go back to Manchester."

"Da."

"And let's be honest... if Dean Lombardi makes an actual impact trade... one of us would be going the other way."

"Da. I just hope not with Islanders. That place... very depressing."

"Naw.. knowing Lombardi, it's probably Boston or New York. I heard Savard and Drury might be available."

"When will Mr. Dean learn to stop trading for injure players?"