Thanks to everyone for the great questions -- feel free to continue posting them -- and thanks, as always, for the support. I don't always get a chance to respond to your kind messages and e-mails, but please know that they're much appreciated. Here's the first set of open forum questions and answers...

Here's what Terry Murray said after last night's game regarding the line changes he made during the game. The pairing of Frolov and Kopitar seemed to go well, and Murray discusses why he shifted things to put Brown with them. He also expressed some displeasure with the delay-of-game penalty that Jarret Stoll took late in the second period, which led to the Ducks' first goal...

MURRAY: ``I liked what Brownie did on his first goal. That was a real strong play, just an individual effort. As soon as that happened, I put him up with Kopitar and made a few changes on the lines. There were a lot of things that happened in the game that were reasons why I went back to different lines than I started with. I didn't like Stoll's over-the-glass penalty that put us down 5-on-3. I thought there was plenty of time to get that puck and have some composure as a veteran player and just clear the zone. We finished off with three lines, and those three lines played hard. We'll take away a lot of areas that we can talk about, as a team, in the meetings (Friday).''

Drew Doughty and Erik Ersberg have been selected to play in the YoungStars game as part of the All-Star weekend in Montreal. This year, the YoungStars game will feature freshmen vs. sophomores in a 3-on-3 format.

I highly doubt that this will discourage any Internet gossip-mongering, but Dean Lombardi said yesterday that the Kings aren't close to any type of significant trade. And when the Kings do start seriously looking, it will be up front, not in goal. This answer was prompted by a question to Lombardi about the trade deadline, and how he might approach it, since the Kings seem to be stuck in that not-great-but-not-awful situation...

LOMBARDI: ``You're always looking. The one is showing up, I guess, particulary if the goaltending continues in this route. Having cut down on the goals against, it isolates your holes. I think it's fairly obvious, because we're third from the bottom in goals for, so it's safe to say that you're looking to address that need. I think I have, in my mind, how we'd like to address it. We still have some people out there who are developing, so we're getting a feel for how high we think they can go, as they go through the learning curve. But right now, every discussion we're having is just very general. I'm not avoiding your question, but there's really no question to have to answer at this time, just to be totally honest. There hasn't been a bonafide guy, or a talk about moving anyone yet. It's just a function of so many people being in the playoff hunt. When that breaks, people either decide, `OK, we have to regroup and get draft picks,' or their economic circumstances dictate that they have to move some salary. Everybody said, `Once Sundin signs, that's going to be the kicker,' and I never bought that. I think I was right. Nothing has changed in my dialogue since he signed. As a practical matter, nothing is even close to being proposed that addresses some of things you probably feel we should address.''

This is a bit of a delicate subject because a) I wasn't in Ottawa for the World Juniors and b) I don't have any contacts in Sweden, but something didn't quite sit right with Oscar Moller's shoulder injury. He got hurt in a game against Russia, then came back and played two games. He returned to the Kings, had one practice, felt some discomfort and had the shoulder tested. Tests revealed the clavicle fracture, which will keep Moller out at least three weeks.

The question is, did the Swedish officials even X-ray Moller's shoulder? He wasn't around yesterday, so I couldn't ask him, but Dean Lombardi didn't seem to think so. It's an interesting question...how much do these teams/countries owe it to the NHL teams to protect players? You might remember Thomas Hickey's ankle injury last season. Hickey, up in Seattle, played through a ``high ankle sprain,'' and then the Kings found out he actually had torn ligaments. They were none too happy about that discovery.

Anyway, here's what Lombardi said yesterday about Moller's injury...

LOMBARDI: ``The injury, that sort of thing is going to happen. It could happen anywhere. The problem is, (Swedish officials) didn't x-ray it. He played through it, obviously, and if this was the end of the year, he could probably keep playing, but there's a problem with the procedure there. That's what is troubling to me about it.''

Since it's almost the midway point of the season, and a Friday, it seems like a good time for an ``open forum'' session. Go ahead and post any Kings-related questions you think I might be able to answer, and I'll be glad to take them on.

I also have some stuff to post from the past couple days, so we'll try to make it a productive day on the blog today all around.

Also, a couple quick things...

By the end of the game, the Kings were rolling three lines, with guys moving around, but it was Frolov-Kopitar-Brown for a large part of the game, with a O'Sullivan-Boyle-Purcell line also getting quite a bit of time. Neither John Zeiler nor Kyle Calder played in the third period and Terry Murray indicated after the game that he wasn't happy with the penalties, particularly Jarret Stoll's delay of game.

I'll have more on this stuff tomorrow, but here are a few locker-room quotes...

KINGS GOALTENDER JONATHAN QUICK:
(Re: Ryan's goals): "The first one [goal] I probably wasn't too strong positionally, but he made a good shot. We gave him a little bit of an opening and he took advantage of it and the second one I didn't handle as well as I wanted to. The third was one was just a great move."

(Re: game recap) "We took some penalties that worked against us and gave them momentum that ended up turning into their first goal. They carried that into the third period, but we were lucky enough to stay with it and battle back. We got the big third period power-play goal."

KINGS FORWARD ALEXANDER FROLOV:
(Re: game recap): "We knew we were capable of winning this game. We played a really good, solid team game. We just gave up a couple goals at the beginning of the third period, but we didn't stop and kept working and scored a goal."

(Re: playing with Kopitar and Brown) "They are great players, they know where you are all the time and can feed you. You just have to get open and they get open all the time for you."

(Re: game recap) "It was an even game and we knew we were playing great and that we deserved to win. We just had to do what we should, like put pucks in the net and score big power-play goals."

(Re: sellout) "It was a full house and fans were cheering for us. We appreciate their support. When we go into the games we always feel their support and play as hard as we can and battle for them."

· Jonathan Quick has a 1.16 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in his last six appearances (4-2-0).

· Kings All-Star Dustin Brown (1-1=2) had his 10th multi-point game of the season. The Kings are 8-1-1 in those games.

· Anze Kopitar (1-1=2) had his ninth multi-point game of the season. The Kings are 8-1-0 in those games.

· Kopitar now has 20 points (6-14=20) in 19 career games vs. the Ducks. He also has 20 points vs. St. Louis for the most against any opponent.

· Alexander Frolov (1-1=2) had his seventh multi-point game of the season. The Kings are 5-1-1 in those games.

It's a final...quotes and notes from the locker room to follow...

The Kings reclaim the lead with a power-play goal 7:43 into the third period. Teddy Purcell took the shot from the left circle and Alexander Frolov, well positioned to the left side of the net, jumped on the rebound and beat Hiller to give the Kings the lead. Kyle Quincey also got an assist.

Bobby Ryan completed the hat trick with one of the better goals you'll see. Ryan put a spin move on Peter Harrold, got to the front of the net alone and beat Jonathan Quick to tie the game 1:35 into the third period.

The Ducks pull within one goal, 16 seconds into the period. Ryan Carter took a shot, and Jonathan Quick looked right for the puck. It was actually sitting outside his left pad, and Bobby Ryan pushed it into the net to make it 3-2.

The Kings' inability to stay out of the penalty box finally hurt them. After killing off three penalties in a 10-minute span, the Kings finally cracked when Bobby Ryan scored an outstanding power-play goal with 45.9 seconds left in the second period. Ryan went high, at a tough angle, to beat Jonathan Quick.

The Ducks were unable to clean up the front of their net, and Anze Kopitar picked up his own rebound and beat Jonas Hiller at the 8:58 mark of the second period.

Wayne Simmonds scores 37 seconds into the second period, on a shot that appeared to be deflected right after it was taken, and Ducks coach Randy Carlyle had seen enough. It's Jean-Sebastien Giguere out, Jonas Hiller in, as the second period just gets underway.

Six seconds before the end of the first period, Dustin Brown picked up the puck at his own blue line, skated through the neutral zone and got just enough space on Ducks defenseman Brendan Mikkelson to get a shot off. Brown shot to the far post and beat J.S. Giguere to give the Kings the lead going into the first intermission.

As expected, Oscar Moller, Derek Armstrong and Tom Preissing are scratched for the Kings. In goal, it's Jonathan Quick vs. Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Well, now we know what happened to Oscar Moller in the World Juniors. He fractured his clavicle in the game against Russia. Typical of a hockey player, he returned for the rest of the tournament and practiced Wednesday with the Kings before tests revealed the injury. Moller will be out until at least the all-star break and then will be evaluated again.

Without Moller, the Kings will play tonight with the same lines they practiced with yesterday, and Jonathan Quick will be in goal.

Oscar Moller isn't at this morning's skate, so there will be an update on his status soon.

Thanks to Paul from Oxnard for pointing this out...the NHL Network show ``Voices'' will profile Nick Nickson today at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific time). The show profiles radio play-by-play guys from around the league, so Nick gets his shot today.

I'm heading to the skate momentarily, so we'll see what the Kings have in mind for Oscar Moller, plus any other late developments before tonight's game.

This week's Sports Illustrated includes a great story on the Sean Avery train wreck, starting with his days in junior hockey through the Dallas fiasco. It's definitely worth a read, even if you're completely sick of Avery and the whole story, and I also mention it because the best quote of the story belongs to Dean Lombardi, who gets in a great jab at Brett Hull.

``Brett Hull criticized us when we traded Sean, saying our team was bad for Sean and bad for the game," Lombardi recalls. "Freedom of expression. How does [Hull, the Stars' co-G.M. with Jackson,] like it today? They spent $15.5 million to protect the right of free speech. Adams and Jefferson would be proud."

As previously posted, goalie Jonathan Quick made it through practice today and showed great improvement after yesterday's flu symptoms. Quick is scheduled to start tomorrow night against the Ducks. Quick's major ailment yesterday seemed to be a bad sore throat, but he said he felt much better today. I joked with him and told him he couldn't handle our rough Southern California winters... Here's what Murray said about Quick today...

MURRAY: ``He's going to play. I didn't know, before practice, how he was going to be. I wanted to see how he went through it. He looks strong and he feels much better. He ate this morning and at the end of the day he feels real good, so he will play.''

Below, you'll find Terry Murray's response to my question about Alexander Frolov, and the best way to utilize Frolov's game. Frolov's most consistent line this season has been with Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds, and Frolov had scored a team-high 16 goals. Now, Frolov swaps centers and skates with Anze Kopitar, which should give Frolov and the Kings a different look. Here are Murray's thoughts about Frolov and his game...

-----

Question: Having watched Frolov up close for a few months now, have you developed a sense for what type of linemates work best with him, or what his best role would be?

MURRAY: ``I was asked a question at the beginning of the season about Fro and his offensive production, his goal scoring. `Are you concerned about it?' I don't remember exactly how the question was asked, but my answer was, `I want him to become a checker.' When he ends up playing with Handzus and Simmonds, I like the line. I think that they complement each other, they work hard for each other, they have big bodies that match up against the top lines on the opponent's team and, as a result, we're also seeing good scoring chances. Frolov has put some numbers up on the goal-production side. He leads our team in that. So I like that part of his game. We need it to be there every night. It's a very important line to play on, and match up against the top lines. To bring that effort and that compete level every night, that's what I'm trying to push, and certainly Fro is one of the veteran guys that needs to lead the way in that area. He, I hope, understands the importance of his example as a veteran player, to show that attitude game in and game out, and every day in practice.''

If, as expected, Oscar Moller plays tomorrow, Terry Murray will need to find the right spot. The Kings seem prepared to go forward with a Frolov-Kopitar-Simmonds line, while O'Sullivan-Stoll-Purcell also seems to make sense. Calder and Brown have been playing together quite a bit, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Moller-Handzus-Brown, given that Moller had been in a ``skill'' role before he left for the World Juniors. We'll see. Here's what Murray said about where Moller might fit in...

MURRAY: ``I'm going to sit down with the other guys and talk about it. He came away from (the tournament) healthy and feeling good, feeling real positive about how everything went in the tournament. So we'll take a look at it and talk about it, and go through the line combinations and see where he fits.''

Here's what Terry Murray said today about the new lines he unveiled in practice today, and the need for improved offense...

MURRAY: ``We had some different lines out there today. We'll take a look and see how it goes. The second half of the third period against the Flyers, I had Simmonds up with Kopitar and the result was good. Change is necessary right now. We need to try to find ways to score goals. We talk about it quite a bit. Some things are looking pretty good, when it comes to the offensive part of the game, but there's a need to put a real focus on it, so we'll see how things go tomorrow. Not only tomorrow. We need to do things right in practice. The offensive part of the attack, we had several drills here today that pushed that part of the game. We'll continue to build on that, not getting away from the defensive part, but adding the offensive part more consistently.''

Who knows if it will work, but putting Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov is one thing the Kings haven't tried this season, so why not give it a go? As you'll read below, it's something that has barely been tried at all since Kopitar joined the Kings. After practice today, Kopitar talked about his new linemate -- Wayne Simmonds is expected to be the other winger -- and gave his thoughts about the Kings' recent offensive slumber...

-----

Question: When's the last time you regularly skated with Frolov, other than some random power-play time here and there?

KOPITAR: ``They put us on a line together when I got here, in my first training camp. We went through all the exhibition games together and then a couple games into the season, they split us. Since then, I don't think we've played together on a consistent basis.''

Question: Kind of weird, isn't it? Especially given how often lines change in hockey?

KOPITAR: ``Yeah. In the last two years, I think I've played with every winger on this team except Fro. It's a little funny, but change is always welcome, and we'll see how we do tomorrow.''

Question: Any thoughts on how your styles might mesh? He's a guy who can do a lot of different things out there.

KOPITAR: ``He's a guy who can hold onto the puck for a long time. He's always making plays. If he doesn't have to dump the puck, he won't dump it. He's going to make plays. It seems like he never panics with the puck. He's a really good player with the puck and really good around the net, so I'm really looking forward to playing with him.''

Question: Obviously it's too generic to ask, `How do you score more goals?' but what are the little things you can start doing to generate some momentum on offense?

KOPITAR: ``Last game, we didn't have enough shots. We didn't make that goalie face too much. We've got to make plays. It seems that maybe we're a little scared to make plays. We have to shoot the puck and be hungry on the rebounds and everything. Then obviously, you have to pay the price to score goals. You have to go to the front of the net. That's what we've got to do, and keep bringing it every night.''

If it wasn't already apparent, we're having some blog server issues today, so my apologies for that. I'll try to post as much stuff as possible today and dodge the outages the best I can.

Some quick stuff from today...

-- Today's line shakeup could be tweaked again tomorrow, since Oscar Moller is expected to play. Looking at the way the Kings skated today, I'm not really sure where he might fit in, although that spot currently occupied by Kyle Calder, with Michal Handzus and Dustin Brown, might seem to make the most sense.

-- Jonathan Quick will start in goal tomorrow. He's feeling better and made it through the entire practice today.

-- Brad Richardson participated in a regular, full practice today. It would seem that he's still a couple days away from being activated, but when he's ready to go, the Kings will have to make a roster move.

I've got some stuff from Terry Murray about the changes, etc., and some stuff from Kopitar about the offensive woes and about skating with Frolov for the first time since...well, ever. Kopitar said he and Frolov skated together early in Kopitar's first training camp, but never during the regular season. That seems about right, according to my memory as well. Hopefully, the blog will remain stable enough for me to post more stuff...

Here's how the Kings are skating today. I'm not really putting these in any particular order, because I really can't decide...

Frolov-Kopitar-Simmonds
Calder-Handzus-Brown
O'Sullivan-Stoll-Purcell
Ivanans-Boyle-Zeiler
Armstrong-Richardson-Moller

O'Donnell-Doughty
Quincey-Greene
Gauthier-Harrold

Quick is also on the ice.

Dustin Brown has been named to the Western Conference All-Star team. It's the first time Brown has been selected, and he will play in the game Jan. 25 in Montreal.

Late practice start today (noon) but I'll be out there to get some news and notes...

The Kings held the Ducks to 25 shots, a respectable total, but the Kings recorded only 18 shots themselves, including only three in the third period. That's not going to lead to many victories.

Special teams carried the night, as the Ducks went 2 for 5 on the power play and the Kings went 1 for 4, with Kyle Quincey scoring their only goal on a nice shot through traffic to tie the game in the second period.

Erik Ersberg stopped 23 shots in his first game since Dec. 15 and Jonas Hiller stopped 17.

Peter Harrold and Patrick O'Sullivan each had four shots for the Kings, while Quincey also had a team-high four hits.

Rob Niedermayer tosses the puck into an empty Kings net in the final seconds, and the Ducks will get the home victory...

The Kings had nearly killed off a penalty when Drew Doughty took another one, one you don't see very often. In an attempt to clear the puck from just inside his own blue line, Doughty rocketed the puck over the glass at the far end. That's a delay-of-game penalty, and the Ducks scored only 18 seconds into the ensuing power play, with 10:15 remaining in the third period. Samuel Pahlsson deflected a shot from Scott Niedermayer into the net.

The Kings take advantage of a 5-on-3, as Kyle Quincey threads a slap shot through traffic to beat Jonas Hiller and tie the game 1:14 into the second period.

The Kings have been outstanding on the penalty kill of late, but the Ducks needed only seven seconds to score on their first power play of the game. Bobby Ryan set up shop about eight feet from the net, took a centering pass from Ryan Getzlaf and blasted a shot from one knee to beat Erik Ersberg with 2:28 left in the first period.

As expected, the Kings recalled Oscar Moller after his stint with Sweden's junior national team. Because there was an open roster spot, the Kings won't need to make a corresponding move. Moller is expected to practice tomorrow and probably will play Thursday against the Ducks.

Jonathan Quick came down with flu symptoms today and will not start. Erik Ersberg will start, and I believe Quick will be available for backup duty but I'm trying to confirm that.

EDIT: It's now confirmed...Quick will be able to serve as the backup goalie.

Here's a good story about Oscar Moller's reaction to winning a silver medal with Sweden at the World Junior Championships. Not surprisingly, Moller wasn't happy in the immediate aftermath of the loss to Canada.

``I am angry, I am sad, I am disappointed, I'm mad,'' Moller said. ``I am all of these things right now. I really can't even put it into words how I feel right now. I think that anyone in this position would feel this way.''

If you're a Kings fan, that's a good quote, because you want players who are angry about losing. That's something I've wondered about previous Kings teams. Were they mad enough about losing?

Moller unsatisfied with silver

Oscar Moller is scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles from Ottawa today, so it's likely that he will return to the lineup for Thursday's home game against the Ducks.

Kings defensive prospects Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert took home gold medals tonight as Canada beat Sweden 5-1 in the finals of the World Junior Championships in Ottawa. Oscar Moller won silver for Sweden and Viatcheslav Voynov won bronze when Russia beat Slovakia 5-2 in the third-place game.

Those players join a list of current Kings who won medals in the World Juniors. Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds were on last year's gold-medal-winning team for Canada. Patrick O'Sullivan won gold (for USA in 2004), as did Alexander Frolov (Russia, 2002) Denis Gauthier (Canada, 1996). Silver medals went to Kyle Calder (Canada, 1999) and Jarret Stoll (Canada, 2002). Bronze medals went to Jack Johnson (USA, 2007). Stoll also won bronze in 2001.

Also, Jonathan Bernier won gold with Canada last year and Trevor Lewis won bronze for USA in 2007.

After practice today, coach Terry Murray said Jonathan Quick will start in goal tomorrow against the Ducks. Here's what defenseman Sean O'Donnell told the Kings' website about Quick's recent play.

``He has been great,'' O'Donnell said. ``He has come in and played five or six games now and after that first game -- which was in Detroit, and that is a tough place to play and I think we let him down in the third period -- but since then I think he has only give up a couple of goals and less than two in each start. All you want from your goalie is to make the stops you are supposed to make and give your team a chance to win. Making the unbelievable saves that he has been making is just a bonus.''

More notes from the Kings...

KINGS NOTEBOOK (JAN. 5)