Kings

Switching from cold, snowy vistas to the backdrop of a Pacific sunset, the NHL on Monday confirmed the Kings and the Ducks will face off in an outdoor game Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Dodger Stadium. The contest, the first regular-season NHL game scheduled for an outdoor venue in a warm-weather city, will be played on a portable rink laid out from first base to third base. Contingency plans will be made for rain or other issues. "I think that's a perfect setting for a hockey game," said Kelly Cheeseman, chief operating officer of the Kings' parent company, AEG. "With the mountains and the palm trees in the background, you couldn't ask for a more magical setting.

The Kings' offense, dormant through the first three games of their opening-round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues, awoke Monday in time to prolong their season and their reign as Stanley Cup champions. Justin Williams completed a two-goal rally in the third period with a deflection that withstood a video review, as the Kings barged past the Blues for a 4-3 victory at Staples Center and evened the series at two games each. "Now it's all tied up and best of three," said center Anze Kopitar, whose first goal in 20 games, off a feed from a hard-digging Dustin Brown, had brought the Kings even at 7 minutes 14 seconds of the third period.

Jonathan Quick bravely but needlessly took the blame for the Kings' losses in the first two games of their opening-round playoff series against St. Louis. When he backed up Slava Voynov's second-period goal Saturday with a 30-save performance in a gritty 1-0 victory for the Kings at Staples Center, he refused to take credit for hauling the Kings back into a series in which they were slipping toward postseason oblivion. “We were never out of it, just won a game,” he said, in typical low-key fashion after his fifth career playoff shutout.

An old coach named Fred "The Fog" Shero once described the relationship between Canadians and their national pastime this way: "Hockey is where we live. … Life is just a place where we spend time between games. " It could feel like that in Southern California over the next few weeks. This is hockey's time to shine with two local teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, the Kings fighting to repeat as champions and the Ducks riding one of the better records in the league. The way things have gone for the Lakers and Clippers, and with our baseball teams struggling, the sport from up north could win some new fans.

Are the Kings panicking after losing the first two games of their opening-round playoff series to the St. Louis Blues? Are they shocked to be in such a precarious spot? Coach Darryl Sutter listened to reporters' inquiries Friday and smiled. "You guys are asking questions that are sort of like end-of-the-world questions," he said. "It's really not that. " No, but if they lose Saturday, when the series shifts to Staples Center, they might be able to see the end of their reign as Stanley Cup champions.

ST. LOUIS - From being overwhelmed by the Blues' frenzied forechecking at the start to losing on a stunning misplay by Jonathan Quick at the end, the Kings know they must improve in several areas to leave Scottrade Center on Thursday with a split of the first two games of their opening-round playoff series. Speaking after an optional practice Wednesday, the morning after the team's 2-1 overtime loss at St. Louis, Coach Darryl Sutter was clear about who must step up. Asked how the Kings can counter the Blues' energetic fourth line of Chris Porter, Ryan Reaves and Adam Cracknell, Sutter was blunt: "Some of the boys that play on our fourth line have to play like big boys.

SACRAMENTO - There's an emotional risk to falling in love with a local pro sports team, because it can cheat on you. It can walk out and take up with another city. An owner sees greener pastures - more dollars - and jumps the fence. Or some out-of-town billionaire buys a team as a toy to bring home - as is being attempted in Seattle with the Sacramento Kings NBA team. In California's capital, basketball fans have been living in trauma for two years as suitors in Anaheim, Virginia Beach, Va., and now Seattle have made moves on their beloved Kings.

ST. LOUIS - Jonathan Quick's stellar goaltending was the reason the Kings made it to overtime in the opener of their first-round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues. He coolly turned away 40 shots while his teammates were outmuscled and outhustled, yielding only a first-period power-play goal to Alex Steen off a rebound. When the Kings tied the game with 31.6 seconds left in the third period on a goal by Justin Williams after they'd replaced Quick with an extra skater, it seemed Quick's excellence would be duly rewarded.

KINGS They must: be prepared for a bruising series against a team seeking to avenge being swept out of the second round by the Kings last spring; get scoring from others besides Jeff Carter; find this spring's Dwight King, the winger who surprisingly scored five goals in 20 games last spring. BLUES They must: get exceptional performances from goaltender Brian Elliott, who worked his way back from being the third man in a two-man rotation; get contributions from winger T.J. Oshie, who missed 15 games because of an ankle injury; stand up to the Kings' physicality but avoid stupid penalties.