2001 - The Kings name Mattias Norstrom (Kings all-time scoring) as captain in succeeding Rob Blake. Norstrom became the 12th captain in team history. Norstrom served as Kings Captain until 2006-07 when he was traded to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 27, 2007 with Konstantin Pushkarev and Los Angeles' 3rd (Sergei Korostin) and 4th (later traded to Columbus - Columbus selected Maxim Mayorov) round choices in 2007 Entry Draft for Jaroslav Modry, the rights to Johan Fransson, Dallas' 2nd (Oscar Moller) and 3rd (Bryan Cameron) round choices in 2007 Entry Draft and Dallas' 1st round choice (later traded to Phoenix - Phoenix selected Viktor Tikhonov) in 2008 Entry Draft on Feb. 27, 2007. (Kings All-Time Trades)    [Back]

1947 - Former King defenseman from 1971-72 Doug Barrie (Kings all-time scoring) and former King forward Don Luce, who played for Los Angeles from 1980-81 are born. Barrie played just one season with the Kings, scoring 3-13=16 in 38 games with Los Angeles. At the end of the season, Barrie joined Alberta of the WHA and never returned to the NHL. Barrie skated in 158 games with the Penguins, Sabres and Kings, scoring 10-42=52. Luce appeared in just 10 games as a member of the Kings organization, scoring one goal. He also appeared in four postseason games following the 1980-81 season, adding two assists. Following the season, he was traded to Toronto by Los Angeles for Bob Gladney and Toronto's 6th round choice (Kevin Stevens) in 1983 Entry Draft on Aug. 10, 1981. Luce's last season in the NHL was the 1981-82 season with the Leafs, he retired having scored 225-329=554 in 894 games with the NY Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Kings and Leafs. He also won the Bill Masterton Trophy (1975) and played in NHL All-Star Game (1975).

2008 - Kings sign Martin Jones to a three-year entry level contract after the Calgary Hitmen goaltender impressed Kings management during his tryout during Training Camp. Jones played for the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) during the 2008-09 season, taking them to the Ed Chynoweth Cup finals after posting a 45-5-4 regular season record including seven shutouts. Jones' playoff record was an outstanding 14-3-1, but the team could not beat the Kelowna Rockets for the championship.   [Back]

+ Click for larger photo

1992 - The Kings sign Warren Rychel (Kings all-time scoring) as a free agent. Rychel played in three seasons with the Kings, scoring 16-16=32 with 655 penalty minutes in 157 games played. He also added 6-7=13 with 39 PIMs in 23 games during the Kings run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993. His 655 PIMs with the Kings rank 15th on the Kings All-time list.

1996 - Rob Blake (Kings all-time scoring) is named the Kings Captain succeeding Wayne Gretzky. Blake becomes the 11th captain in Kings' history. Blake served as Kings Captain until Feb. 21, 2001, when he was traded to Colorado by Los Angeles with Steve Reinprecht for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, a player to be named later (Jared Aulin, March 22, 2001) and Colorado's First round choices in 2001 (Dave Steckel) and 2003 (Brian Boyle) Entry Drafts. Blake would return to the Kings as a free agent on July 1, 2006 and served as Kings Captain during the 2007-08 season.

2009- Forward Ryan Smyth makes his Kings debut in a 6-3 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes in the opening game of the 2009-10 season. Smyth, who was traded to the Kings by Colorado for Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing, notched two assists in the game.   [Back]

1990 - The Kings open the season with a 4-1 win at the Forum against the N.Y. Islanders, win No. 1 of 46 that season and No. 1 of 26 wins on home ice for the year. Both the 26 and 46 wins are both still franchise records.  Wayne Gretzky scored two goals and had the assist on Tony Granato's goal to give Granato his 100th NHL point and move Gretzky to within 18 points of 2,000. Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille each tallied an assist while Scott Bjugstad completed the scoring for Los Angeles. Kelly Hrudey stopped 28 of 29 Islanders shots for the win, inadvertently knocking in the puck for New York's only goal which was credited to Derek King.

1996 - Stephane Fiset (Kings all-time goalies) makes his Kings debut on Opening Night at the Forum against the Islanders and records a 1-0 shutout win. Fiset would post a 13-24-5 mark that season, with a 3.19 GAA, four shutouts and a .906 SV% in 44 games. For his Kings career, spanning 1996-2001, Fiset appeared in 200 games, going 80-85-22 with a 2.83 GAA, 10 shutouts and a .906 SV%. Fiset suffered a knee injury in an exhibition game with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on Sept. 22, 2000, and he missed a majority of the 2000-01 season. He was traded to Montreal by Los Angeles for future considerations on March 19, 2002 and officially announced his retirement on Sept. 9, 2002. Fiset posted a 164-153-44 mark in 390 games with a .899 SV% and a 3.07 GAA from 1989-2002, playing for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche, Kings and Montreal Canadiens. [Back]

1983 - Despite an NHL rule change adding overtime periods in an attempt to produce a clear winner, Kings open the 1983-84 season with a 3-3 tie vs. the Minnesota North Stars at the Forum (Kings Opening Night History). The Kings would finish the 1983-94 season with a 23-44-13 mark and fifth place in Smythe Division. Marcel Dionne scored career goals No. 545 and 546, moving past Montreal Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard to take fifth place on the all-time goal scorers list. "I idolized him because he always played hard." Dionne said of Richard. "Looking back at his career, it's not fair to compare players from his time with ours today. Wayne Gretzky will break all the records that all of us are setting. But I'm pleased that I'm the first French-Canadian to pass Richard. I watched him and admired him very much."

1989 - The Kings open the season with a 4-2 win over Toronto at the Forum. Each team debuted a new head coach, with Tom Webster taking the reins for Los Angeles ( Coaches' Photo Gallery) and Doug Carpenter behind the bench for the Maple Leafs. Bob Kudelski, Ken Baumgartner, rookie Hubie McDonough and Luc Robitaille (Kings all-time scoring) each scored goals and Kelly Hrudey (Kings all-time goalies) stopped 28 of 30 shots for the win. Wayne Gretzky moved to within 13 points of Gordie Howe's all-time record with one assist on the night. Defenseman Larry Robinson had two assists, playing in his first game with the Kings after 17 years in Montreal where he won six Stanley Cups. The Kings would finish the season with a 34-39-7 mark for 75 points and fourth in the Smythe Division. (Kings Opening Night History)

2005 - The Kings open the new season in Dallas and after building a 4-0 first period lead, fall 5-4 to the Stars (700K) to drop their opening night record on this date to 1-1-1. Jeremy Roenick, injured in the preseason but able to play, had two goals, while Sean Avery and Dustin Brown each tallied one goal for Los Angeles. Jason Arnott had four points for Dallas while between the pipes Marty Turco got the win and Mathieu Garon took the loss. The Kings would finish the season with a 42-35-5 mark, for 89 points and fourth place in the Pacific Division. (Kings Opening Night History)   [Back]

1988 - Wayne Gretzky (Kings all-time scoring) debuted as a King and scored on his first shot on goal at 12:54 of the first period against goalie Greg Stefan of Detroit, in addition to assisting on three other goals including two by Luc Robitaille (Kings Opening Night History). The Kings went on to hammer the Red Wings, 8-2, in front of the first sell-out crowd in franchise history. "If we win 8-2 every night, I'll be satisfied," Gretzky said. "Playing was easy. I was nervous when I went out there and was introduced. I didn't want to fail." Tim Tookey, Bobby Carpenter, Dave Taylor (who assisted on Gretzky's goal), and Bernie Nicholls also found the back of the net for the Kings, while Gerard Gallant and Steve Yzerman scored for the Red Wings. The Kings finished The Great One's first season in Los Angeles with a 42-31-7 mark, good for 91 points and a second-place finish in the Smythe Division.

1992 - Kings open the season on the road with a 5-4 overtime win at Calgary. Tomas Sandstrom (Kings all-time scoring) nets the game winner at 3:40 of overtime, scoring on his own rebound. Tony Granato sent the game into overtime with just 39 seconds left in the game, after the Flames had gone ahead a minute earlier. Both Kelly Hrudey for Los Angeles and Mike Vernon for Calgary faced 37 shots, but Hrudey came out with the win with 32 saves. The Kings finish that season with a 39-35-10 mark, good for 88 points and a third-place finish in the Smythe Division. (Kings Opening Night History)

+ Click for larger photo

1993 - Kelly Hrudey (Kings all-time goalies) stops Pavel Bure on a penalty shot in the season opener but the Canucks win, 5-2. Jimmy Carson, who signed a two-year contract extension with Los Angeles the following day, scored first, while Pat Conacher gave the Kings a two-goal lead in the second. Vancouver came back to score five unanswered goals, four in the third frame and two from Bure. That season, the Kings struggled to a 27-45-12 mark and a fifth-place finish in the Pacific Division. (Kings Opening Night History)

2005 - The Kings won their home opener, 3-2 over Phoenix (700K), giving Coach Andy Murray ( Coaches' Photo Gallery) his 179th Kings coaching win to pass Bob Pulford's long-standing team record. Wayne Gretzky, returning to Los Angeles for the first time as coach of the Coyotes, accidentally played Frederik Sjostrom despite originally listing him as a scratch which caused Phoenix to lose the extra player. "It happens all the time, I mean I'm sure it's happened to me before," Murray said, sympathizing with Gretzky. "I mean, you're so used to writing the same names down. I'm afraid I might make that mistake." Luc Robitaille and Pavol Demitra scored for the Kings while Alexander Frolov tallied the go-ahead goal. (Kings Opening Night History)

2006 - Kings' 19-year-old rookie Anze Kopitar makes his NHL debut in Anaheim in the season opener. He scores his first two NHL goals in 2:12 of the second period against J-S Giguere but the Ducks edge the Kings, 4-3 ( 700K). "They're a Stanley Cup contender, and for us to play well like that against them is good for our team," Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier said. "Our goal this year is to throw a lot of pucks at the net every game and shoot from everywhere." The Kings would finish the season with a 27-41-14 mark and a fourth-place finish in the Pacific Division.  (Kings Opening Night History

2009 - Forward Ryan Smyth scores his first goal as a member of the Kings in Los Angeles' 6-4 win over the San Jose Sharks. It was Smyth's second career game with the Kings.   [Back]

1970 - The Kings purchased left wing Bob Berry (Kings all-time scoring) from Montreal. Berry went on to play 539 games for the Kings and ranks third on the Kings all-time goal list for left wingers with 159. Berry would also coach the team from 1978-81, posting a 107-94-39 record leading the team to the playoffs from 1979-81, posting a 2-8 mark in 10 games over three first-round playoff appearances. The Kings also came to terms with Eddie Joyal, who signed a one-year contract with the club after playing in Los Angeles for three years. Joyal went on to play two more seasons with the Kings, bringing his scoring with the club to 204 points (105-99=204) in 319 games in Los Angeles.

1975 - The Kings open the season in Montreal and lose, 9-0, in the worst opening-night loss in club history. Canadiens' goaltender Ken Dryden stopped all 28 Kings' shots for the win, stopping a penalty shot by Kings defenseman Bart Crashley. Los Angeles netminder Rogie Vachon faced 48 shots from Montreal, with Yvan Cournoyer scoring one and Jim Roberts, Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire and Bob Gainey netting two apiece for the Canadiens. Despite an ominous beginning, the Kings would bounce back to finish the season with a 38-33-9 mark, good for 85 points and a second-place finish in the Norris Division.  (Kings Opening Night History).

2008 - Dustin Brown is named Team Captain, becoming the youngest Kings captain in team history and the first American-born King to be so honored. “Dustin has impressed me a great deal with his leadership,” said Kings head coach Terry Murray. “He comes to the rink each day prepared and his on-ice work shows a great deal of focus. He has total commitment to this team." (All-Time Team Captains) Anze Kopitar, in his third season with the team, and Matt Greene, acquired in June along with Jarret Stoll from Edmonton, are named Alternate Captains. 700K

2009- With a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild at STAPLES Center, the Kings scored at least six goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 1997-98. In that season, the Kings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 8-2 on Nov. 11, and then beat the San Jose Sharks two days later by the score of 6-3.   [Back]

+ Click for larger photo

1986 - Jimmy Carson (Kings all-time scoring) plays his first game as a King in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues at 18 years, 2 months, 19 days, which at the time, was the youngest King ever (current record held by Aki Berg). Marcel Dionne, who had two assists including one on a goal by Luc Robitaille, recorded his 1,600th NHL point to become only the second player to reach the milestone (the first was Gordie Howe). Bernie Federko netted two second period goals including the game winner as the Blues overcame a 2-0 Kings lead.

1993 - Tomas Sandstrom (Kings all-time scoring) ties a club record with six assists vs. Detroit in a 10-3 victory. In that same game, defenseman Dominic LaVoie had a hat trick in his first game as a King. The Kings scored seven goals in the third period, tying a club record. In addition to LaVoie, Wayne Gretzky had two goals, Darryl Sydor, Warren Rychel, Shawn McEachern and Luc Robitaille each had one tally on the night.

2002 - The Kings retired "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 to the rafters (Kings all-time retired numbers) before the Kings season opener when they beat the Coyotes, 4-1. 'There will never be another Wayne Gretzky," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said after the game. "You can't say enough about his impact." Eric Belanger, Ziggy Palffy, Mathieu Schneider and Ian Laperriere all scored for the Kings, while Felix Potvin stopped 25 Phoenix shots for the win. Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer and the Kings' fourth all-time leading scorer served as the head coach of the Coyotes from 2005-09. (Photo Gallery).  [Back]

1973 - Bob Miller announces his first game for the Kings, a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Miller's home-town team.  Chicago goalie Tony Esposito turned away 25 Kings shots, while Kings netminder Rogie Vachon had bad luck and turned some key rebounds on which the Blackhawks were able to score. Darcy Rota, J.P.Bordelau and Dennis Hull all scored for Chicago. Bob Miller "The Voice of the Los Angeles Kings," has announced every Kings game since then and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

1987 - Jimmy Carson records his first NHL hat trick as the Kings beat St. Louis, 4-2, at the Forum. Carson scored the first two goals of the game in the first 1:32 of the contest, scoring just 42 seconds in off an assist from Steve Duchesne and then at 1:32 off assists from Luc Robitaille and Mark Hardy. St. Louis then scored twice to tie the score early in the second before Carson completed his trick with the game-winning goal at 7:15 of the middle stanza, a power-play tally off assists from Dave Taylor and Robitaille. Jay Wells scored in the third period to complete the scoring. Robitaille finished with three helpers. 

2003 - Cristobal Huet (Kings all-time goalies) records his second career shutout as the Kings down the Penguins in Pittsburgh, 3-0, spoiling the NHL debut of Penguins goalie and first round draft pick Marc-Andre Fleury, who faced 48 shots. The Kings out-shot Pittsburgh 49-13, despite missing injured forwards Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller and Mattias Norstrom. Eric Belanger had a shorthanded tally on a Penguins power play turnover from Dick Tarnstrom 39 seconds into the game, while Trent Klatt scored on the power play in the second.  "That was pretty impressive," Klatt said of Fleury. "He's only 18 years old? That was pretty good." Esa Pirnes had a penalty shot for the Kings, but was denied by Fleury. Huet was playing instead of Roman Cechmanek, who was scheduled to start the next set of games for Los Angeles. [Back]

1980 - Right wing Jim Fox (Kings all-time scoring) scored his first NHL goal in an 8-1 win over Detroit at the Forum, beating Red Wing netminder Gilles Gilbert to light the lamp. Fox finished his Kings career with 186 goals. The eight goals ties a club record for the most goals in a season-opening game for the Kings. Dave Taylor scored twice, including the game-winning goal at 11:51 of the first period as the Kings scored seven unanswered goals to break open a 1-1 tie in the rout. Dean Hopkins, Greg Terrion, Jerry Korab, Mike Murphy and William Harris also scored for the Kings.

2008 -  The Kings sign center Anze Kopitar to a seven-year contract extension through the 2015-16 season, the second longest in club history. Wayne Gretzky signed an eight-year contract in 1988 (after the first year the contract was extended from seven years to nine years).( 700k). Later that night, the Kings dropped their Season Opener at San Jose, 3-1. Alexander Frolov tallied the lone goal for the Kings. (Kings Opening Night History).  [Back]

1938 - Kings Hall of Fame announcer Bob Miller is born in Chicago, Illinois. Miller has been the Kings announcer since calling his first game on Oct. 10, 1973 against his home town team, the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1998, to commemorate his 25 years of loyal service to the organization, Miller was honored by having the STAPLES Center press box named after him and was presented with a “lifetime contract” by the club, and in 1997, Miller was named as one of the six inaugural members of the Kings Hall of Fame during the organization’s 30th Anniversary celebration. The Kings are 10-7-4 all-time (as of Oct. 12, 2010) on Miller's birthday. (All-Time Broadcasters)

1972 - Rogie Vachon (Kings all-time goalies) stops the Islanders Billy Harris on a penalty shot, but the Islanders win the game, 3-2.  Bob Berry had both goals for Los Angeles, but the Kings could not hold New York as Vachon allowed an unassisted game winner from Germain Gagnon with 69 seconds left to play. Harris had the Islanders' first two goals, exchanging tallies with Berry through the game to twice take away a Kings lead.

1977 - Kings open the season and debuted new head coach Ron Stewart ( Coaches' Photo Gallery) with a 2-0 shutout win over Cleveland with Rogie Vachon in net. "I was pleased with our effort. Rogie [Vachon] came through with some big saves and played a hell of a game," Stewart said. Marcel Dionne, coming off of a stellar season in which he led the team in scoring, had the first Kings goal while Ernest Hicke had the second. Hicke came over from Minnesota, one of a number of new players for Los Angeles. "We have a lot of new players on our team and it takes awhile for them to adjust to our system,"said Vachon. " I was ready to play, but we have to work hard because there's a lot of pressure on our new coach." (Kings Opening Night History)

2003 - Kings forward Esa Pirnes (Kings all-time scoring) is awarded a penalty shot for the second straight game...and for the second straight game he failed to score. On this date he was stopped by Chicago's Jocelyn Thibault. Two nights earlier he was stopped by the Penguins Marc-Andre Fleury. He became the third player in league history to be awarded penalty shots in consecutive games. Despite Pirnes being unable to find the back of the net, the Kings won, 4-2 against the Blackhawks. Trent Klatt had two second period goals 33 seconds apart to give the Kings a 3-0 lead, while Roman Cechmanek made 32 saves on the night for the win. Mark Bell and future King Kyle Calder each scored power play goals to cut the Kings' lead to 3-2, while Lubomir Visnovsky and Jaroslav Modry had the other tallies for Los Angeles. [Back]

1984 - Garry Galley (Kings all-time scoring) scored his first NHL goal against Vancouver in a 6-5 overtime loss. Dave Taylor tied the score at one in the first period after Vancouver had jumped on the board just 29 seconds into the game. John Kelly and Marcel Dionne then scored to put the Kings up 3-1 but Vancouver answered as LA survived a wild first period with a 3-2 lead. Galley tallied his power-play goal just 47 seconds into the second to extend the lead and Doug Smith then scored to make the lead 5-2, but Vancouver scored four unanswered including Gary Lupul's goal in OT for the win. Galley played over 1,000 NHL games and 361 as a King. Galley finished his career scoring 125-475=600 with 1,218 PIMs in 1,149 games with the Kings, Capitals, Bruins, Flyers, Sabres and Islanders from 1984-2001.

1989 - Steve Kasper (Kings all-time scoring) scored the game-winning goal with one second left at Vancouver as the Kings defeat the Canucks, 6-5. Wayne Gretzky had three assists that night, including one on Kasper's goal, to move within one point of breaking Gordie Howe's NHL point record. "I saw Steve coming behind me and I just left it for him, and he put it between his legs," Gretzky said. "I think there was eight seconds left when Larry pushed the puck to me. There was time for the play." Greg Adams scored twice for the Canucks to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead, but Bob Kudelski and Craig Duncanson tied up the game. Igor Larionov and Steve Taylor traded goals near the end of the second, but Kudelski and Taylor tallied again to give the Kings a 5-3 lead. Petri Skriko and Larionov again tied the game, sending it into OT where Kasper took it home for the Kings. Gretzky was expected to tie Howe's record in the Kings' following game, against his former club the Edmonton Oilers. "I think they all want to see me break it," Gretzky said of the Oilers. "But they want to see me do it on Tuesday." Howe was attending all of the Kings' games until Gretzky broke his record. "If I thought it was going to happen tonight, I would have worn a suit" said Howe.

2000 - Ian LaPerriere (Kings all-time scoring) registers his first career hat trick and the first ever hat trick at STAPLES Center in a 5-0 victory over Boston. Kings goalie Steve Passmore, making his Los Angeles debut, recorded his second career shutout. Kings forward Ziggy Palffy scored in his 400th NHL game, while Eric Belanger added a tally of his own on the power play. Steve Reinprecht and Jaroslav Modry each recorded two assists in contribution to the win.

2008 - Kings claim defenseman Kyle Quincey off of waivers from Detroit to fill the roster spot vacated by Jack Johnson, who suffered a shoulder injury vs. the San Jose Sharks the night before, an injury that was expected to sideline him 2-3 months. Quincey, who played for the Red Wings during the playoffs in 2007-08, was given a Stanley Cup ring when the Kings visited Detroit during the 2008-09 season. Quincey proved a valuable addition to the Los Angeles blueline, scoring 4-34=38 in 72 games with the Kings his first season. [Back]

1967 - Center Brian Kilrea (Kings all-time scoring) scored the first Kings goal ever as the Kings beat fellow NHL Expansion franchise the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2 at the Long Beach Arena in the first game ever for the Kings franchise. There were 7,023 fans on hand at the Long Beach Arena, as the Forum did not open until late December. LA trailed 2-0 after Philadelphia's Bill Sutherland and Ed Hoekstra tallied goals in the first period, but Kilrea tallied in the second and Los Angeles rallied for three third period goals to win. Kilrea's first goal of the night was scored 3:20 into the second period off assists from Jacques Lemieux and Ted Irvine, beating Flyers netminder Doug Favell for the first goal in Kings history, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Bob Wall then tied the score off assists from Bill Flett and Bryan Campbell at 3:36 of the third period and Gord Labossiere tallied the first game-winning goal in Kings history with his goal at 13:18 off assists from Flett and Dale Rolfe. The Kings added insurance with Kilrea's second of the night with 16 seconds remaining. Favell made 31 saves in the loss while Wayne Rutledge earned the first win in Kings history, stopping 11-of-13 shots for the win.  

2008 - Forward Wayne Simmonds scores his first NHL goal against Jean-Sebastien Giguere as the Kings defeated the Ducks, 6-3.  Patrick O'Sullivan, who had recently signed a contract with the Kings, scored along with Matt Moulson, Tom Preissing, Jarret Stoll and Alexander Frolov. Jason LaBarbera was the winning goaltender for Los Angeles, stopping 23 of 26 Anaheim shots.   [Back]

1974 - The Kings help open up the new Capital Center in Landover, Maryland and play to a 1-1 tie against the Washington Capitals. Rogie Vachon turned away 27 Capitals shots for the win, while Ron Low was bombarded with 34 Kings shots. The Kings out-shot Washington 16-4 in the third period but could not get a game winner. Dan Maloney scored the lone goal for Los Angeles off a pass from Terry Harper just three minutes after Yvon Labre made it 1-0 Washington in the second. Sheldon Kanneigeiser led the Kings in penalties, getting a minor in each of the three periods. The Kings led their division with six points, earned in four road games to start the season.

1989 - Wayne Gretzky (Kings all-time scoring) records point No. 1,851 at Edmonton to pass Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time leading scorer. His historic point was a goal late in the third period to tie the game against future Kings goaltending coach Bill Ranford. Gretzky then won the game in overtime, 5-4, for the Kings. After nearly a two-minute standing ovation, Gretzky said he was happy that he broke the record in Edmonton because "because both teams have played a big part in the points I got in my career." Bernie Nicholls had two goals and Steve Duchesne had one to complete the Kings scoring. [Back]

1982 - Viktor Nechayev (Kings all-time scoring) became the first Soviet trained player to play in the NHL. He went scoreless in a 4-1 win at New York vs. the Islanders. He was an experienced domestic player in the USSR and later skated in the minors and the German Bundesliga. The native of Kuib-Vost in the Siberian region of the USSR, Nechayev was a fine goal scorer for the Binokar and Izhorets teams but was too far away from the capital to get much attention from the top Soviet teams. He caught the eye of a few European scouts when he helped the USSR win the 1974 World Junior Championship and was chosen 132nd overall by the Kings in the 1982 Entry Draft. Nechayev scored a goal in his three-game trial with LA but general manager George Maguire questioned his attitude before dispatching him to the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL then the IHL's Saginaw Gears. He then spent the 1983-84 season with Dusseldorfer EG of the German league before retiring.    [Back]

1992 - Jari Kurri (Kings all-time scoring) scores his 500th goal against the Boston Bruins to become the 18th player in league history to reach the milestone as he found the back of the empty net with 53 seconds left in the game. The Kings nearly lost a 7-2 lead as they allowed four unanswered Bruins goals at the end of the second and beginning of the third, but rookie Jim Hiller had two goals including the game winner to bring Los Angeles their third consecutive win. Luc Robitaille had a goal and two assists, while Darryl Sydor, Marty McSorley and Tomas Sandstrom rounded out the Kings scoring.

2008 - Kings sign defenseman Matt Greene to a five-year contract extension that will keep the blueliner in Los Angeles until 2013-14. Greene was acquired by the Kings on June 29, 2008 (All-Time Trades) with center Jarret Stoll for Lubomir Visnovsky, and on Oct. 8, 2008 he was named one of the club’s assistant captains.    [Back]

1977 - Rogie Vachon (Kings all-time goalies) and the Kings play to a 0-0 tie at New York with the Islanders. This was the seventh 0-0 tie in club history, and Vachon's second shutout in three games. The Los Angeles netminder turned away 41 New York shots for the shutout, including a four minute stretch where the Kings were on the penalty kill. "The Islanders came at me in a hurry and that got me into the game immediately," said Vachon. "They didn't stop, they kept shooting the puck in. They were coming so quick, I was wondering if they had six or seven guys on the ice at the time." This was the first scoreless tie in the Islanders history.

1983 - Kings Defenseman Larry Murphy (Kings all-time scoring) was traded to Washington for Brian Engblom and Ken Houston (Kings all-time trades). In three seasons with Los Angeles, Murphy posted 52-155=207 in 242 games. The former Kings first round pick in 1980, Murphy went on to play 22 seasons and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004. [Back]

+ Click for larger photo

1986 - Kings rookie Luc Robitaille (Kings all-time scoring) scored twice, including the 5,000th goal in franchise history. The Kings beat Edmonton, 7-6. Robitaille also assisted on Bryan Erickson's game winning goal with 2:53 left in the game to clinch the victory. "I had so many chances tonight," Erickson said "Some of them I just missed, and he [Oilers goalie Andy Moog] made a couple of great saves and I hit one post. But the goal sure came at a great time " Larry Playfair and Jimmy Carson scored the other goals for Los Angeles. Robitaille lived with Kings legend Marcel Dionne his first season with the Kings, as the veteran and fellow French speaker took the rookie under his wing. Dionne also arranged for Carson, another Kings rookie, to live with a family next door. "I wanted to take charge of these guys," Dionne said "I talked with (assistant coach) Mike Murphy and (Coach) Pat Quinn and their parents. I wanted to help them their first season."

1988 - Wayne Gretzky (Kings all-time scoring) returns to Edmonton for the first time since the trade and picks up two assists in an 8-6 loss to the Oilers. "That was very, very hard for me," Gretzky said of playing in Edmonton. "I'm just really glad it's over with because everybody's talked about it for so long." The Oilers took an early 3-1 lead, dooming the Kings to struggle from behind the rest of the game. Oilers captain Mark Messier had two goals for the team while five other Edmonton players rounded out their scoring. Bernie Nicholls had two goals and two assists for the Kings with Marty McSorley (who came to the Kings the previous August with Gretzky), Steve Duchesne, Paul Fenton and Luc Robitaille each contributed single tallies.

2007 - Rookie defenseman Jack Johnson (Kings all-time scoring) scores his first NHL goal ( 700K)  at Vancouver against goalie Roberto Luongo. The goal sparked the Kings to a 4-2 victory. Michael Cammalleri tallied an NHL leading eighth goal that night, while Alexander Frolov had the game winner to make it 3-1 Kings in the second. Los Angeles netminder Jason LaBarbera made his case as the Kings No. 1 goaltender, stopping 26 Vancouver shots including a near equalizer from Brendan Morrison with just over a minute left in regulation. "All his saves were huge," Cammalleri said. "It's been well documented we've had our troubles starting from the back end the last few years. But like a lot of the guys that have played with Barbs before, I'm not shocked. This guy can play."  [Back]

1983 - Bernie Nicholls (Kings all-time scoring) had his first career four-goal game (adding an additional two assists for six points on the night) in a 7-2 win over Edmonton. The Kings entered the game with a 0-4-2 record, but proved that they were not down for the count as Nicholls scored the first two goals for Los Angeles within three minutes, late in the first period. Kings goaltender Mike Blake had the win, despite Edmonton out-shooting Los Angeles 38-29. "It felt great, especially since we won." Nicholls said. "Lately. I've scored a couple of goals in games we lost. We were all psyched up and I was confident we were going to win."

+ Click for larger photo

1999 - The Kings opened STAPLES Center before 18,118, including NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, playing the Boston Bruins to a 2-2 tie. It was the Kings home opener as they started the season with seven road games while waiting for the STAPLES Center to be completed. Boston's Anson Carter scored the first goal in the new building while the first King to score was Rob Blake (Kings all-time scoring). Jozef Stumpel had the tying goal, while Ziggy Palffy tallied two assists. The goalies were Stephane Fiset for Los Angeles and Rob Tallas for Boston. (Photos)

2003 - Goalie Roman Cechmanek (Kings all-time goalies) records his first shutout as a King by blanking his former team the Flyers, 4-0 at STAPLES Center. "I feel more comfortable," Cechmanek told the Los Angeles Times. "Different city, different life. Everything's easy for my family. Everything's better
than in Philly." Defenseman Martin Strbak (Kings all-time scoring) had his first two goals as a King in the victory, while Jaroslav Modry and Alexander Frolov each contributed goals of their own.  

2008 - Drew Doughty 700K and Oscar Moller 700K (both 18 years old) score their first career NHL goals vs. Colorado in the Kings 4-3 loss. The last time the Kings had two players score their first NHL goal in the same game was 19 years earlier (Oct. 8, 1989: Craig Duncanson and Mikael Lindholm). Doughty, 18 years, 10 months and 12 days was the second youngest defenseman to ever suit up for the Kings and the fifth youngest player overall. Defenseman Aki Berg was the youngest player at 18 years, two months and nine days. Moller is the 15th youngest player to appear in a game for the Kings. Both rookies were playing in their fifth NHL game. Moller also earned an assist for his first career multi-point game (1-1=2).    [Back]

1971 - Rookie goalie Gary Edwards (Kings all-time goalies) records his first NHL shutout, turning away 34 shots, to lead the Kings to a 7-0 win over the Flyers at Philadelphia. Bob Berry and Real Lemieux each scored twice, while Juha Widing, Eddie Joyal and Ralph Backstrom each tallied once. The crowd at the Spectrum Center was so upset about the loss that several fights broke out in the stands. The Kings scored one goal in the first, two in the second period and three in the final frame against Flyers goalie Doug Favell.

1997 - Kings goalie Freddie Chabot (Kings all-time goalies) records his first NHL victory after eight years as a pro netminder in a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders at the Forum. New York's Kenny Johnston tied the game in the third period as Tom Chorske knocked Kings defenseman Doug Zmolek into Chabot, causing the puck to slide out from under Chabot's glove and into the net. Luc Robitaille came through for the Kings, scoring at 13:09 of the third period. "My thought was this can't happen," Robitaille said. "There's no way we're going to lose or tie this game on a goal like that. We kept going, we missed a few and it finally went in." The Kings had lost to Edmonton on a fluke goal their previous game as goaltender Stephane Fiset's stick was caught in the net. Chabot stopped 26 shots for the win.

1998 - In his first start as a King, goalie Manny Legace (Kings all-time goalies) stopped 49-of-50 shots as the Kings tie the Panthers in Florida, 1-1. Legace was recalled from the Kings IHL Affiliate Long Beach Ice Dogs because both regular Los Angeles netminders, Stephane Fiset and Jamie Storr, suffered groin injuries in the previous game, a 5-5 tie against Colorado. Luc Robitaille had the Kings lone tally, while Dave Gagner scored for the Panthers. Just before overtime the Panthers had out-shot the Kings 46-17, and the 50 shots they had in the game was two shy of a club record 52, set against the Kings in 1993. [Back]

1977 - Right wing Dave Taylor (Kings all-time scoring) scored his first NHL goal in a 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins. Taylor went on to score 431 goals as a King and play in a club-record 1,111 games. Goaltender Gary Simmons, playing for the Kings since Rogie Vachon was out injured, was pulled in the third period, allowing Mike Murphy to score his second goal of the night, but the Kings could not get an equalizer before the buzzer.   [Back]

1979 - Marcel Dionne (Kings all-time scoring) scores four goals at McNichols arena against the Colorado Rockies in a 7-4 victory. Dionne gave the Kings a 6-4 lead in the third period just 20 seconds after Nelson Pyatt had brought the Rockies within one goal of Los Angeles. The Kings took 31 shots on goal, nine of them coming from Dionne's stick. The center, nicknamed "Beaver" by his teammates, scored his first tally at 7:13 of the first from a sprawled out position 10 feet in front of Colorado's goalie to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. His second was assisted by "Triple Crown" linemate Charlie Simmer, then Dionne went on to score two more. "You get goal hungry and I was tonight," said Dionne. "We needed a win badly." Dave Taylor, Mike Murphy and Robert Palmer finished out the scoring for Los Angeles.

2001 - Adam Deadmarsh (Kings all-time scoring) had a career-high five points, two goals and three assists, as the Kings won 7-1 at Columbus. Among his points was the 300th of Deadmarsh's career and with this game he became the 13th King to record four points in one period with a goal and three assists in the first period. The Kings scored five times in the first period, while Ziggy Palffy had two goals and an assist on the night and Jozef Stumpel contributed three assists to the win. "The guys that had to step up got the job done for us," Kings head coach Andy Murray said.

2009- Center Anze Kopitar notched the first hat trick of his career in the Kings' 5-4 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars at STAPLES Center. Kopitar scored his third goal of the game midway through the second period to give the Kings a 4-1 lead and the team seemed destined for an easy win against their division foe. Yet 3 third period Dallas goals tied the game and sent it into overtime, before center Michal Handzus scored the game-winner 55 seconds into the overtime period. [Back]

1982 - The Kings acquire center Terry Ruskowski from Chicago for Larry Goodenough and a third-round pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Ruskowski served as Kings' captain during part of his tenure in L.A. Ruskowski played in 226 games with the Kings from 1982-85, scoring 37-88=125 with 360 PIMs. For his career, he appeared in 630 games with the Blackhawks, Kings, Penguins and North Stars, scoring 113-313=426 with 1,354 PIMs from 1979-89. (Kings all-time trades)

1999 - Kings goalie Stephane Fiset (Kings all-time goalies) stopped Mike Ricci on a penalty shot and 29 other San Jose shots as the Kings beat the Sharks, 4-3. Bryan Smolinski had a power-play goal in the first period to start the scoring, assisted by Garry Galley. Tallies from Dan Bylsma and Luc Robitaille put the Kings up 3-0 halfway through the game, before Ricci put one in for the Sharks. Donald Audette kept the Kings' two-goal lead with the eventual game-winning tally three minutes later, before Gary Suter and Patrick Marleau scored two unanswered goals for San Jose. There were 14 penalties called in the third period.

2001 - The Kings acquire center Jason Allison and winger Mikko Eloranta from Boston for Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray (Kings all-time trades). "I think I landed in a great spot," said Allison. "I'm pumped up, and happy to be part of this team." Both players met the team in Tampa Bay as the Kings were playing the Lightning that night. Allison appeared in 99 games with the Kings from 2001-2003, scoring 25-77=102 and added 3-3=6 in seven playoff games. Eloranta played two seasons with Los Angeles, scoring 14-21=35 in 146 games with the team.

2008 - The Kings and Ontario Reign of the ECHL reach an official partnership and affiliation agreement. As part of the new agreement, AEG, the parent company of the Kings, acquired a majority interest in the Reign, while Barry Kemp and his company owned a minority interest in the Reign and continued to operate the ECHL team. The Kings sent several prospects to Ontario in 2008-09, including goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, defenseman and first round draft pick Colten Teubert and forward Bud Holloway.  [Back]

+ Click for larger photo

1989 - The Kings streak of consecutive games without being shutout is stopped at 273 (261 in the regular season) as Calgary's backup goalie, Rick Wamsley, shuts out the Kings 5-0 at the Forum. The Kings last game without a goal was March 12, 1986 against the Detroit Red Wings. The record, which the Kings fell just short of breaking, was 264 regular season games set by the Flames from Nov 12,1981, through Jan. 9,1985.

1998 - Defenseman Doug Bodger (Kings all-time scoring) plays in his 1,000th NHL game, the first of four Kings to reach the milestone during the 1998-99 season (Gary Galley, Russ Courtnall and Ray Ferraro). The Kings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 as Sandy Moger scored the game winner from 50 feet out against Carolina goalie Trevor Kidd. Luc Robitaille broke a 1-1 tie in the second period with a tally of his own from Ferraro, before setting up Glen Murray's go-ahead goal 3:40 later.

2002 - Alexander Frolov ( 700K) scores his first NHL goal, a game winner, Adam Deadmarsh has a hat trick and goalie Felix Potvin plays in his 100th game as a King as the Kings win 6-2 at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. Deadmarsh, Brian Smolinski and Frolov all scored for Los Angeles in the first period to give the Kings a 3-0 lead, while Derek Armstrong made it 4-0 in the second. The Rangers scored two goals, but two extra tallies by Deadmarsh clinched the game for the Kings. The Kings went on a month long road-trip starting with this game, returning to Los Angeles just three times in 31 days as they covered 15,000 miles and played in 15 contests in 14 cities. "I don't think if there's been a tougher trip in NHL history," Kings coach Andy Murray said.

2005 - Kings' rookie goalie Jason LaBarbera ( 700K) ties a club record by starting the season at a perfect 5-0. His 3-1 win over Anaheim matched Daniel Berthiaume (Kings all-time goalies) as the only goalies in Kings' history to start a season at 5-0. Berthiaume started the 1990-91 season at 5-0. No Kings goalie has ever started a season at 6-0. Michael Cammalleri, Luc Robitaille and Craig Conroy each scored for the Kings. The team's 7-2-0 start was their best since 1990-91, when the Kings finished 46-24-10 and won a division title before losing in the second round of the playoffs.  [Back]

1990 - Wayne Gretzky records his 2,000th point with an assist on a goal by Tomas Sandstrom in Winnipeg at 14:32 of the first period in a 6-2 loss against the Jets. Sandstrom's goal cut the Jets' early lead to 2-1, but the Kings were unable to make a full recovery. "It happened early; the goal got us back in the game but it didn't break their back," said Gretzky. The last remaining record for Gretzky to break was the league's goal scoring record, as at this time he was fourth on the list behind Gordie Howe (801), Marcel Dionne (731) and Phil Esposito (717). Gretzky would break Howe's record on March 23, 1994 when he scored goal No. 802 against the Edmonton Oilers.

1996 - Stephane Fiset (Kings all-time goalies) of the Kings and Trevor Kidd of Calgary play to a 0-0 tie, the ninth 0-0 game in Kings' history. Fiset stopped 35 of the Flames' shots, while Kidd turned away 26 from the Kings. Fourteen penalties were given out in the game and the Flames had five power plays, while the Kings had three. [Back]

1979 - Right wing Mike Murphy (Kings all-time scoring) scored four goals and added an assist to lead the Kings to a 7-5 win over Toronto. For Murphy, this was his fourth career hat trick and second four-goal game (his first was also against Toronto). The Kings had scored 39 goals in their first eight games of the season, with the Triple Crown Line of Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor accounting for 27 of those tallies. Murphy had two goals and two assists going into the game. Dionne and Simmer each scored for Los Angeles, while Lanny MacDonald and Ron Ellis had Toronto's tallies. [Back]

1975 - Marcel Dionne (Kings all-time scoring) recorded his first hat trick as a King in a 6-0 win vs. Washington. Dionne finished his Kings career with 24 hat tricks, a club record. Goaltender Rogie Vachon posted his 29th career shutout, his 16th with the Kings, as Los Angeles tied Montreal for first place in the Norris Division. "1 want to play well for this team," said Dionne. "My main concern is to have Los Angeles in the playoffs. (Mike) Murphy and (Tom) Williams dug hard for two of my goals. You have to get the puck at the right time to get a hat trick. I feel good and I'm skating well."

+ Click for larger photo

1995 - Goalie Byron Dafoe (Kings all-time goalies) faces 58 shots in Toronto in a 2-2 tie with the Leafs. Future Kings netminder Felix Potvin faced 29 Kings shots in the game. After Los Angeles winger Vitali Yachmenev got the scoring started at 2:29 of the third, Todd Warriner and Wayne Gretzky exchanged goals before Toronto's Sergio Momeso tied the game at 13:07. All four goals were scored within 11 minutes.

1997 - The Kings are held without a shot in the first period at Florida, marking the first time ever the Kings have not had a shot on goal in a period. The Kings and Panthers skate to a 2-2 tie. After going down 2-0 in the second, Craig Johnson scored for the Kings at 11:04, while Joezef Stumpel tied the game with seconds left with an assist from Luc Robitaille. Stephane Fisset faced 26 shots, but the Kings registered just 12 shots on goal in the game, the fewest in a game in club history. [Back]

1984 - The Kings post their first win of the season for new coach Pat Quinn ( Coaches' Photo Gallery), beating the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3, after starting the season at 0-6-3. The Kings won despite having only 14 shots on goal, just four in each of the last two periods, half of which made it into the net. Jim Fox had a goal and an assist in the game, while Doug Smith, Garry Galley, Phil Sykes and Dave Taylor each scored for the Kings as well. Taylor's tally was a shorthanded shot by Marcel Dionne that banked off of Taylor's skates and into the net past Winnipeg netminder Brian Hayward. "We want to get a whammy going like they had on us," said Fox. "It was getting to be a jinx. Even stronger than a jinx. It's hard to find the right word."

2002 - Felix Potvin (Kings all-time goalies) records a shutout in his 100th start as a King and leads Los Angeles to win in Atlanta, 4-0. For Potvin, it is his 10th shutout as a King. Mikko Eloranta and Lubomir Visnovsky scored two goals apiece, while Los Angeles' leading goal scorer Jason Allison left the game early on with a knee injury. Visnovsky, in his third year in the NHL, had his first multi-goal game, tallying three points as he assisted on one of Eloranta's goals.  [Back]

1971 - Fred Glover is named head coach of the Kings replacing Larry Regan ( Coaches' Photo Gallery) after the Kings got off to a 2-7-1 start. Glover became the fifth coach of the Kings. The NHL Head Coach of the Year in 1968-69 while heading up the California Golden Seals, Glover took over for Regan who had been acting as both coach and General Manager. "Before the season began Larry [Regan] suggested that he couldn't do justice to both jobs, coach and general manager," said Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke. "I urged him to give it a try. I am now convinced that the dual job is too big for one man." Glover coached the Kings for one season, from Oct. 30, 1971 - April 28, 1972, during which time the team posted an 18-42-8 record.

1975 - Rogie Vachon (Kings all-time goalies) records his 30th career shutout with a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh. Vachon is the Kings all-time leader in shutouts with 32.  "I don't think Pittsburgh likes me anymore," said Vachon. Los Angeles center Marcel Dionne had a goal and two assists on the night, earning his fifth first-star title in five home games. "Marcel is just amazing and everything is falling into place. The forwards were playing well and the defense was playing well. The defense has come a long way. It gives you confidence." Dionne also tied a club record with 11 shots in the game, the previous record had been set in 1974 by Bob Murdoch. Mike Murphy also had a three point game with a goal and two assists.  [Back]

The Kings all-time record on Halloween is 6-9-1 and 1-3-1 at home.

1967 - Eddie Joyal (Kings all-time scoring) is awarded the first penalty shot ever by a King. He missed against N.Y. Ranger goalie Eddie Giacomin as the Kings lost to the Rangers, 6-1 at home. Ranger Rod Gilbert scored his 100th NHL point against Kings goalie Terry Sawchuk as Los Angeles suffered just their third loss in club history. The team's record went to 5-3-2 all-time after this game.

1972 - Butch Goring (Kings all-time scoring) recorded his second career hat trick as the Kings beat Vancouver, 4-1 at the Forum. The win was a club-record fifth straight victory for the Kings, who moved into second place in the Western Division. Veteran Ralph Backstrom assisted on each of Goring's goals, while Los Angeles goalie Gary Edwards held the Canucks scoreless through nearly 54 minutes until Bobby Lalonde managed to get one into the net. Vancouver had just 17 shots on goal in the game.

1997 - Yanic Perreault records his first career hat trick in a 5-1 win at Detroit, ending the Red Wings six-game unbeaten streak and four-game win streak. Perreault's three goals were a natural hat trick as no one from either team scored in between his two second period tallies and his final goal in the third. Vladimir Tsyplakov had three assists on the night. Los Angeles netminder Stephane Fiset made 27 saves, while Detroit goaltender, in the game for regular Chris Osgood, turned away 21 Kings shots.   [Back]