Calgary Flames v Los Angeles Kings Live

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After a disappointing season last year, Jarome Iginla and the Flames are hoping to get back on track to make it to the playoffs. Especially at the offensive end of the ice the performance of coach Brent Sutter's squad left much to be desired as they frequently struggled to find the net. Hoping to secure a win in the first week of play, the Calgary Flames will face Anze Kopitar and the Los Angeles Kings at Pengrowth Saddeldome on Monday at midnight GMT.

L.A. on the other hand is coming off a relatively good year, after all, they managed to rally to a sixth place finish in the Western Conference Finals before falling to the Canucks in the first playoff round. Especially Anze Kopitar played some excellent hockey in 2009-10 and recorded 34 goals and 47 assists for a total of 81 points. One key to success in this year's NHL campaign will be the Kings' ability to improve their defensive efforts. In this context, it certainly made sense for GM Dean Lombardi to pickup defender Willie Mitchell from Vancouver this summer. Similarly, the Kings are also hoping for fifteenth overall pick Derek Forbort to contribute night in and night out. Taking everything into consideration, it looks like L.A. could have a slight advantage over the struggling Flames on Monday night.

You can watch all games of the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.

Posted: 18th December 2009

Holding on to an excellent 19-8-4 record and the second place in the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames look like a team that could stay in the upper echelon of the league down the stretch. Thus, Jarome Iginla and the Flames will host the Los Angeles Kings on Friday at 2:30 a.m. GMT.

Without any doubts, very few expected the Los Angeles Kings to lead the Western Conference after ten weeks of play. After all, the team around Anze Kopitar missed the playoffs for seven years in a row and made very few changes during the off-season. Yet, Terry Murray’s squad was able to showcase exciting up-tempo hockey night in and night out and is one of the best offensive teams in the league at 3.1 goals per contest. Especially franchise cornerstone Anze Kopitar played particularly well, recording 16 goals and 37 points so far. That said, Los Angeles’ defense has been mediocre at best and allowed over a hundred already. In fact, the Kings only scored five goals more than they gave up and achieved their 21-10-3 record mainly by closing out contested games.

Much like L.A., the Flames’ front-office is very content with the performance of coach Brent Sutter’s squad in this year’s NHL campaign. Just three points behind the leading Kings, Calgary is hoping to compete for the number one playoff seed and make some noise in the Western Conference this year. Most importantly, the Flames’ defense around goalie Miika Kiprusoff only allows 2.3 goals per game and is among the best defensive teams in the league. At the other end of the ice, right wing Jarome Iginla led the Flames with 17 goals and 15 assists for a total of 32 points. Taking said circumstances into account, the encounter between Calgary and L.A. appears to be still anyone’s game. While the Flames might be better defensively, the Kings dynamic offense could steamroll any opponent on a good night. Either way, fans around the league can expect an exciting game of hockey when two of the better teams in the league face each other at Pengrowth Saddledome on Friday night.

You can watch all games of the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.