Ryan Smyth

Anze Kopitar didn't paint a welcome sign for Ryan Smyth or roll out a red carpet when his left wing returned to practice Monday after missing 15 games because of a rib injury. "No, he hasn't yet," Smyth said, laughing. He still should. Without Smyth, who was injured on Nov. 16, Kopitar wasn't the same -- and wasn't in the same spots around the net. In the 22 games they played before Smyth was hurt, Kopitar had 14 goals and 32 points and inspired talk of scoring titles and most valuable player awards.

Center Colin Fraser, who unwittingly became the center of a controversy last summer when the Kings claimed they were misled about the seriousness of a foot injury he suffered before they acquired him from Edmonton, has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy by members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn. The trophy is named for the late Bill Masterton, a former Minnesota North Stars player who died as the result of a head injury he incurred during a game.

The Kings hit a snag while trying to grant Ryan Smyth's wish to return home to Western Canada when a tentative trade with the Oilers was derailed by concerns related to the post-concussion status of Edmonton forward Gilbert Brule. The Kings, surprised when Smyth asked out for family reasons, agreed to take a late draft pick and Brule's $1.85-million salary-cap hit to offset the Oilers' accepting Smyth's $6.25-million cap hit. The Kings planned to quickly trade, waive or buy out Brule to regain cap space to acquire a replacement for Smyth, who scored 23 goals last season.

They weren't exactly getting their hate on for Ryan Smyth when he took the Staples Center ice wearing an Oilers uniform. More like a faint dislike. The boos came later, and it had nothing to do with the old-school mullet sported by the former King. Smyth turned into Benedict Ryan when he scored in the second period. His goal turned out to be the game-winner as the Oilers beat the Kings, 3-0, on Thursday night. Not only was it the winner, but it also was the first goal given up by the Kings' Jonathan Quick at Staples Center this season.

After contentious negotiations, the Kings on Sunday traded Ryan Smyth to Edmonton for center Colin Fraser and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 entry draft, making the deal only after the Oilers removed oft-injured forward Gilbert Brule from consideration. Fraser, a member of the Chicago Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup team, has a manageable $825,000 cap hit and will get a chance to win a job in training camp. The Kings planned to waive or buy out Brule, who hasn't been procedurally cleared to play after suffering a concussion.

VS. EDMONTON When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Records: Kings 6-3-2, Oilers 7-2-2. Update: After sitting out two games because of an undisclosed injury, forward Simon Gagne will return to the lineup, Kings Coach Terry Murray said. He practiced without any issues the last two days. Goalie Jonathan Quick will start against the Oilers. Edmonton defenseman Andy Sutton is out, serving a five-game suspension.

Ryan Smyth had a power-play goal and two assists, Justin Williams added a goal and an assist, and the road-weary Kings ended a losing streak at three games with a 4-1 victory against the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Anze Kopitar and Wayne Simmonds scored, and Jonathan Quick made 29 saves as the Kings wrapped up a season-long, six-game trip. Kings Coach Terry Murray gave his team the day off Sunday to rest about a dozen players recovering from cases of flu picked up during the nine-day trip that included stops along the East Coast and through the Midwest.

If five games is an indication, the Kings have found something special with their new-look No. 1 line. With Ryan Smyth joining holdovers Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, the Kings are off to a quick start. Since an opening-night loss to Phoenix, Los Angeles has won four straight, the latest a 2-1 victory against the New York Islanders on Monday. "It's a great feeling, but we don't want to ride our highs too high and our lows too low," said Smyth, acquired from Colorado in an off-season trade.

No matter how many goals Ryan Smyth produces by being fearless around the net, no matter how many shots defenseman Rob Scuderi blocks with his arms, legs or newly minted Stanley Cup ring, the Kings' success this season will hinge on goaltending. It always seems to -- for better and, too often, for worse. As the Kings prepare for training camp, they know that if they can't fill the black hole that has swallowed entire decades of their existence, high-profile off-season acquisitions Smyth and Scuderi could play like All-Stars but be reduced to spectators come playoff time.

The Edmonton Oilers re-signed free agent winger Ryan Smyth to a one-year contract. . . . Detroit Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman, who underwent off-season surgeries to clear a blocked coronary artery and replace his arthritic left knee with a titanium joint, said he'll likely decide by the end of this month if he'll coach again.

VS. EDMONTON When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Records: Kings 6-3-2, Oilers 7-2-2. Update: After sitting out two games because of an undisclosed injury, forward Simon Gagne will return to the lineup, Kings Coach Terry Murray said. He practiced without any issues the last two days. Goalie Jonathan Quick will start against the Oilers. Edmonton defenseman Andy Sutton is out, serving a five-game suspension.

It's apparently up to the Kings to end the long lull in talks on a new contract for restricted free agent defenseman Drew Doughty . Don Meehan , who teams with Mark Guy in representing Doughty, said Tuesday he hadn't spoken to the Kings about Doughty since June 23. Meehan said he assumed the Kings were focusing on their trade for Mike Richards and (ultimately futile) pursuit of free agent Brad Richards , but those deals are long done. It's believed the Kings are offering up to nine years at more than $6.5 million per year.

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi, contending the Edmonton Oilers had twice misrepresented the health of a traded player, said Friday the Kings will "look at our legal avenues" for a remedy. "The bottom line for me, I would have rather invested my money with Bernie Madoff than invest in Edmonton's word," Lombardi said. Lombardi agreed to take forward Gilbert Brule in exchange for Ryan Smyth but balked after the Kings determined Brule hadn't been procedurally cleared following a concussion.

After contentious negotiations, the Kings on Sunday traded Ryan Smyth to Edmonton for center Colin Fraser and a seventh-round pick in the 2012 entry draft, making the deal only after the Oilers removed oft-injured forward Gilbert Brule from consideration. Fraser, a member of the Chicago Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup team, has a manageable $825,000 cap hit and will get a chance to win a job in training camp. The Kings planned to waive or buy out Brule, who hasn't been procedurally cleared to play after suffering a concussion.

The Kings hit a snag while trying to grant Ryan Smyth's wish to return home to Western Canada when a tentative trade with the Oilers was derailed by concerns related to the post-concussion status of Edmonton forward Gilbert Brule. The Kings, surprised when Smyth asked out for family reasons, agreed to take a late draft pick and Brule's $1.85-million salary-cap hit to offset the Oilers' accepting Smyth's $6.25-million cap hit. The Kings planned to quickly trade, waive or buy out Brule to regain cap space to acquire a replacement for Smyth, who scored 23 goals last season.

Kings left wing Ryan Smyth, among the most productive players on a low-scoring team last season, wants to be traded back to the Edmonton Oilers and the Kings have tried to oblige him. A person with knowledge of the situation but not authorized to comment publicly confirmed that Smyth, citing his family's best interests and preference for the city where he began his career, had his agent talk to Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi about a trade....

Colorado Avalanche forward Ryan Smyth has a broken right ankle and will miss up to eight weeks, the latest blow to a team that already lost captain Joe Sakic to injury. Smyth was hurt Monday during Colorado's 4-3 overtime loss at Phoenix. The club said Thursday the fracture was discovered during a follow-up MRI. Smyth has 28 points, third-best on the team, with 11 goals and 17 assists in 36 games. Sakic, who underwent hernia surgery last Friday, is expected to be out at least eight weeks.

Ryan Smyth was born in Alberta, spent 12 seasons playing in the provincial capital of Edmonton and still has a host of family members living there. Clearly, he's no stranger to the area. Yet the trips home can be a whirlwind nonetheless. "You just prepare yourself mentally for it. And physically," said Smyth, the Kings' leading goal scorer with 19 heading into Saturday night's game against the Calgary Flames. "It's nice to see family and friends. We only come up here a couple of times a year.

Drew Doughty was credited with the first two-goal game of his career Thursday, nearly 12 hours after the final horn sounded on the Kings' 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The hard-shooting defenseman fired a pair of vicious one-timers at the net in the second period of Wednesday's game in Edmonton, but each time teammate Ryan Smyth ? an Alberta native who spent 12 years with the Oilers ? was credited with redirecting the shot into the goal. "Captain Canada," Doughty said with a smile.