A Russian jet transporting the Lokomotiv ice hockey team from Yaroslavl to Minsk crashed into the Volga river bank moments after takeoff on Wednesday. A total of 43 passengers died in the accident, and two others endured critical injuries. Among those killed were former L.A. Kings forward Pavol Demitra and former Kings prospect Jan Marek. Russian player Alexander Galimov and a crew member survived the crash. more ›

There are TWO news items today in the world of Jews and Hockey. First, the Los Angeles Kings on the heels of Armenian Pride Night, Asian Pride Night, Canadian Pride Night, Czech and Slovak Pride Night, Native American Pride Night and Russian Pride Night, are scheduled to hold Jewish Pride Night at the Staples Center game this evening against the San Jose Sharks. more ›

Every year at Holiday time the LA Kings Ice Girls put on their shiny snow bunny outfits. more ›

Hockey fans from all corners of the Greater L.A. area -- and beyond -- headed to L.A. Live this past weekend to take in the inaugural L.A. Kings Hockey Fest 09. The three day event kicked off on Friday night and included a variety of events throughout the weekend featuring both current and past Kings players. more ›

The start of ice hockey action in L.A. usually serves as reminder to Angelenos that although the weather might still be nice outside, summer is indeed over. This year, however, the L.A. Kings have something special in store for fans and they don't have to wait until fall to enjoy it. Action begins this evening when Live frontman Eddie Kowalczyk performs an acoustic set at Nokia Theatre to help kick-off L.A Kings Hockey Fest. The inaugural three day event at L.A. Live celebrates everything relating to Kings hockey and the sport itself. more ›

It was a party atmosphere at Staples Center on Thursday night, with Bailey the mascot and all of the new LA Kings Ice Girls dressed in Halloween costumes. Unfortunately, the Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo wasn't in the mood to give the Kings any "treats" and stopped every shot they sent his way. Even after Alexander Frolov was awarded a penalty shot, the Kings luck didn't change as the puck slipped off his stick and skidded harmlessly wide of Luongo's net. more ›

The Los Angeles Kings hosted a street party to welcome the 2008-09 NHL hockey season on Sunday at Staples Center. It was their first home game and the first chance for fans to see some new faces in the line-up including first-round pick Drew Doughty, rookie Matt Moulson and newcomer Jarret Stoll. The team also introduced their new "Ice Crew" of hot females who scrape excess snow off the ice during breaks. The San Jose Sharks, including ex-King Rob Blake, spoiled the homecoming and shut out the Kings 1-0 after two LA goals were called back by the referees, more ›

There's a new hockey player in town. He's 6' 1, 219 pounds, 18 years old and from Canada. Meet defenseman Drew Doughty, who was the Los Angeles Kings' 1st round choice and 2nd overall in the 2008 NHL draft. more ›

Kansas Jayhawks over Memphis Tigers 75-68 (OT). The Jayhawks were down nine with 2:12 left to go in regulation to tie it on a Mario Chalmers three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to go. Kansas shut down Memphis in overtime to win their third National Championship, their first since 1988. more ›

Memphis Tigers defeat UCLA Bruins 78-63. Memphis was too much for UCLA. While the Bruins kept it manageable for most of the game, the Tigers turned up the gear in the final five minutes to send the Bruins home. Darren Collison scored only two points before fouling out in the second half, and the Bruins couldn't get the ball to Kevin Love. Memphis will face Kansas Monday night in the championship game. more ›

• 45-year-old murder suspect Hovik "John" Mankyan, who engaged police in a lengthy standoff on Good Friday in Palmdale, is reportedly "clinging to life" in the hospital. Mankyan, who is wanted for a 2004 North Hollywood homicide "ingested poison and severed arteries" prior to surrendering.
• Honors on Ice: The Anaheim Ducks will honor SWAT officer Randal Simmons, who died in the line of duty, with a moment of silence before tonight's matchup with the Kings. James Veenstra, the officer who survived the violent standoff, will throw out the first puck.
• Design, engineering, aesthetics...oh, and bulletproofing. Today's Times looks at the need for buildings in some parts of LA to be built "drive-by proof."
• So punk rock: 52-year-old Rocco Bannich (aka Rocco Roll of 70s band The Absentees) was sentenced 55-to-life yesterday for shooting at three Long Beach SWAT officers. The maximum sentence was imposed because of his "complete lack of remorse."
• Who's to blame: Cab companies? Car rental agencies? MTA officials? The Daily Breeze looks into the gap between the Green Line and LAX, and why over the past decade those trains haven't gotten any closer to the airport.
• Hey yooooouuuuuu guuuuyyyyysss! A rally was held today in Sacramento by environmentalists and activists demanding that "the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to be more aggressive about requiring automakers to produce a larger number of electric vehicles." Paging Ed Begley Jr...
• And to make a textbook case of the adage "from the sublime to the ridiculous," an Aliso Viejo woman is getting attention for being the first Mary Kay rep in the OC to earn herself a pink Cadillac Escalade for her makeup schilling skills. Now how much mascara does she have to sell to get a tank of gas for that thing?

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the first game in LA Kings history. Your Los Angeles Kings celebrated by losing 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. Though if you live in LA and are reading this, you’re probably a Detroit fan anyway. Seriously, were there any Kings fans at the game last night? The Kings loss was its fifth in a row after winning the season opener against the Ducks in London. The lone... more ›

Hello hockey fan(s?).The Anaheim Ducks are fresh off an exciting two game series against the LA Kings in the great city of London, England. Today, they find themselves in Detroit Michigan, another city replete with history and gore, er, I mean lore. more ›

If you watch television or read the newspaper today, or if you did those things yesterday, it seems to us that something is missing. The newspaper will tell you about holiday sales, the television will show you stories about Christmas trees that catch fire, or recipes to make low-fat desserts, but there's very little, if any, stories about Jesus, the reason for most of our celebrations this time of year. We don't expect the... more ›

LAist is on a cross country road trip. Because our neighbors to the north didn't want to feel left out, we drove across the border and partied with Torontoist and later went ooot for karaoke. Some differences between LA and Toronto: the traffic in LA is lighter, it's cheaper to eat out in LA, they can name more LA Kings than we can.... more ›

Luc Robitaille is a name that is synonymous with the LA Kings. Even during his tours with Pittsburgh, New York and Detroit (where he won his only Stanley Cup) he would return to LA and know that this was where he belonged. Now he truly belongs... as one of the All-Time greats in King and NHL history, as he passed Marcel Dionne to become the Kings greatest goal scorer in franchise history. more ›