# 2009–10 Los Angeles Kings season

The 2009–10 Los Angeles Kings season was the team's 43rd season (42nd season of play) in the National Hockey League (NHL). For the first time since the 2001–02 NHL season, the Kings qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

## Preseason

The Kings were busy at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, making five trades. The Kings chose Brayden Schenn as their first-round pick, fifth overall. The Kings finished the pre-season with a record of 4–3–1. Defenseman Sean O'Donnell received a five-game suspension during the preseason after an incident involving New York Islanders forward Matt Martin. O'Donnell missed the final three pre-season games, and will miss the first two games of the regular season.
Luc Robitaille was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, 2009. Robitaille, who currently serves as the President of Business Operations for the Kings, was joined by Brian Leetch, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Lou Lamoriello in this year's class of inductees.

## Regular season

The Kings observed a 17-day break in the schedule in February due to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Five players currently under contract for Los Angeles were selected to represent their countries during the tournament. Drew Doughty played for Canada, Michal Handzus played for Slovakia, while Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick all represented the United States.
The main highlights for the club included them breaking an eight-year playoff absence by qualifying as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. They finished the season with 101 points, the third highest point total in franchise history. They also set a franchise record with a nine-game winning streak from January 21 through February 6. They registered two other eight game stretches without a loss. On the road, they established franchise records for road wins in a season (24), road points (51) and the first ever 5–0–0 record on a five-game trip in franchise history.
Individually, goaltender Jonathan Quick established single-season records for victories with 39 and games played with 72.

### Divisional standings

Pacific Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 264 | 215 | 113 |
| 2 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 50 | 25 | 7 | 225 | 202 | 107 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 241 | 219 | 101 |
| 4 | Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 238 | 251 | 89 |
| 5 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 37 | 31 | 14 | 237 | 254 | 88 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference :
| R | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 51 | 20 | 11 | 264 | 215 | 113 |
| 2 | y – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 271 | 209 | 112 |
| 3 | y – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 49 | 28 | 5 | 272 | 222 | 103 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 50 | 25 | 7 | 225 | 202 | 107 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 24 | 14 | 229 | 216 | 102 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 241 | 219 | 101 |
| 7 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 47 | 29 | 6 | 225 | 225 | 100 |
| 8 | Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 244 | 233 | 95 |
| 8.5 |||||||||
| 9 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 225 | 223 | 90 |
| 10 | Calgary Flames | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 204 | 210 | 90 |
| 11 | Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 238 | 251 | 89 |
| 12 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 37 | 31 | 14 | 237 | 254 | 88 |
| 13 | Minnesota Wild | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 219 | 246 | 84 |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 32 | 35 | 15 | 216 | 259 | 79 |
| 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 214 | 284 | 62 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Won conference (and division)

## Schedule and results

2009–10 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Playoffs

* The Los Angeles Kings qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2002, clinching the sixth seed with 101 points.
2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Legend:  Win  Loss

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Anze Kopitar | 82 | 34 | 47 | 81 | 6 | 16 |
| Drew Doughty | 82 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 20 | 54 |
| Dustin Brown | 82 | 24 | 32 | 56 | −6 | 41 |
| Ryan Smyth | 67 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 8 | 42 |
| Alexander Frolov | 81 | 19 | 32 | 51 | −1 | 26 |
| Jarret Stoll | 73 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 13 | 40 |
| Michal Handzus | 81 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 4 | 38 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 78 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 22 | 116 |
| Jack Johnson | 80 | 8 | 28 | 36 | −15 | 48 |
| Justin Williams | 49 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 3 | 39 |
| Brad Richardson | 81 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 37 |
| Scott Parse | 59 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 22 |
| Randy Jones | 48 | 5 | 16 | 21 | −3 | 28 |
| Sean O'Donnell | 78 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 70 |
| Rob Scuderi | 73 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 21 |
| Matt Greene | 75 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 83 |
| Davis Drewiske | 42 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −4 | 14 |
| Oscar Moller | 34 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −6 | 4 |
| Teddy Purcell$^‡$ | 41 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
| Fredrik Modin$^†$ | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −2 | 14 |
| Peter Harrold | 39 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 8 |
| Richard Clune | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 26 |
| Jeff Halpern$^†$ | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 12 |
| Brandon Segal$^‡$ | 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| Corey Elkins | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Jonathan Quick | 72 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
| Jonathan Bernier | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 0 |
| Marc-Andre Cliche | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Trevor Lewis | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Alec Martinez | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Andrei Loktionov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brayden Schenn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Raitis Ivanans | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −8 | 136 |
| Erik Ersberg | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Jack Johnson | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −5 | 6 |
| Drew Doughty | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −5 | 4 |
| Michal Handzus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −5 | 4 |
| Dustin Brown | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −7 | 6 |
| Anze Kopitar | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| Fredrik Modin | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 |
| Alexander Frolov | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −5 | 0 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| Ryan Smyth | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Brad Richardson | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −7 | 2 |
| Sean O'Donnell | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| Justin Williams | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Jarret Stoll | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −4 | 4 |
| Matt Greene | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| Rob Scuderi | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 6 |
| Jeff Halpern | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| Raitis Ivanans | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Jones | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Scott Parse | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Richard Clune | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 5 |
| Peter Harrold | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Jonathan Quick | 72 | 4258 | 39 | 24 | 7 | 180 | 2.54 | 1927 | 1747 | .907 | 4 |
| Erik Ersberg | 11 | 551 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 2.40 | 234 | 212 | .906 | 0 |
| Jonathan Bernier | 3 | 185 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.30 | 94 | 90 | .957 | 1 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | Min | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV | Sv% | SO |
| Jonathan Quick | 6 | 360 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 3.50 | 181 | 160 | .884 | 0 |
| Erik Ersberg | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9.23 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Kings. Stats reflect time with the Kings only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Bold/italics denotes franchise record. Underline denotes currently with a minor league affiliate.

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Alec Martinez | 1st career NHL game | October 3, 2009 |
| Davis Drewiske | 1st career NHL goal | October 6, 2009 |
| Justin Williams | 200th career NHL assist | October 12, 2009 |
| Dustin Brown | 200th career NHL point | October 19, 2009 |
| Anze Kopitar | 1st career NHL hat trick | October 22, 2009 |
| Terry Murray | 400th career NHL coaching win | October 22, 2009 |
| Scott Parse | 1st career NHL game | October 24, 2009 |
| Scott Parse | 1st career NHL assist | October 24, 2009 |
| Scott Parse | 1st career NHL goal | October 24, 2009 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 100th career NHL game | November 9, 2009 |
| Drew Doughty | 100th career NHL game | November 11, 2009 |
| Michal Handzus | 700th career NHL game | November 11, 2009 |
| Brayden Schenn | 1st career NHL game | November 26, 2009 |
| Brad Richardson | 200th career NHL game | December 12, 2009 |
| Corey Elkins | 1st career NHL game | December 15, 2009 |
| Corey Elkins | 1st career NHL goal | December 17, 2009 |

### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Jonathan Quick | NHL Second Star of the Week | October 12, 2009 |
| Anze Kopitar | NHL First Star of the Week | October 26, 2009 |
| Jonathan Quick | NHL First Star of the Week | December 14, 2009 |
* Drew Doughty was named as one of the three finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy awarded to the outstanding defenseman in the NHL. The award will be handed out at the 2010 NHL Awards Show on June 23. Doughty became the second youngest player in NHL history to be nominated for this award, with Bobby Orr being the youngest ever. Doughty would be the second ever member of the Kings to win this award; Rob Blake is the only other member of the Kings to win this award.

## Transactions

The Kings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 27, 2009 | To New York Rangers Brian Boyle | To Los Angeles Kings 3rd-round pick in 2010 |
| June 27, 2009 | To Calgary Flames 3rd-round pick (74th overall) in 2009 | To Los Angeles Kings 3rd-round pick (84th overall) in 2009 4th-round pick (107th overall) in 2009 |
| June 27, 2009 | To Atlanta Thrashers 4th-round pick (117th overall) in 2009 4th-round pick (120th overall) in 2009 7th-round pick (203rd overall) in 2009 | To Los Angeles Kings 4th-round pick (95th overall) in 2009 |
| June 27, 2009 | To Florida Panthers 4th-round pick (107th overall) in 2009 5th-round pick (138th overall) in 2009 | To Los Angeles Kings 3rd-round pick in 2010 |
| July 3, 2009 | To Colorado Avalanche Kyle Quincey Tom Preissing 5th-round pick in 2010 | To Los Angeles Kings Ryan Smyth |
| March 3, 2010 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Teddy Purcell 3rd-round pick in 2010 | To Los Angeles Kings Jeff Halpern |
| March 3, 2010 | To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional 7th-round pick in 2010 | To Los Angeles Kings Fredrik Modin |
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Kevin Westgarth3 years
Scott Parse1 year
Joe Piskula1 year
Jack Johnson2 years, $2.85 million
Teddy Purcell1 year
Drew Bagnall1 year
Davis Drewiske3 Year, $600,000
Jonathan Quick3 Year, $1,800,000
Miscellaneous
PlayerDateTransaction
Jean-Francois BerubeSeptember 16, 2009Returned to Montreal Junior Hockey Club (QMJHL)
Nicolas DeslauriersSeptember 16, 2009Returned to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
Martin JonesSeptember 16, 2009Returned to Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Brandon KozunSeptember 16, 2009Returned to Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Linden VeySeptember 16, 2009Returned to Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
Tyler MaxwellSeptember 16, 2009Released from tryout
Milan DoczySeptember 16, 2009Released from tryout
Radko GudasSeptember 16, 2009Released from tryout
Justin AzevedoSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Corey ElkinsSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Bud HollowaySeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Dwight KingSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Andrei LoktionovSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
David MecklerSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Juraj MikusSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Oscar MollerSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Patrick MullenSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Jordan NolanSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Scott ParseSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Michael PelechSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Slava VoynovSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Geoff WalkerSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Jeff ZatkoffSeptember 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Colten TeubertSeptember 20, 2009Returned to Regina Pats (WHL)
Dennis McCauleySeptember 20, 2009Released from tryout
Drew BagnallSeptember 22, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Gabe GauthierSeptember 22, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Brandon SegalSeptember 22, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
John ZeilerSeptember 22, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Sean O'DonnellSeptember 23, 2009Suspended by NHL for 3 Preseason games and 2 Regular Season games
Andrew CampbellSeptember 24, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Marc-Andre ClicheSeptember 24, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Kyle CliffordSeptember 24, 2009Returned to Barrie Colts (OHL)
Joe PiskulaSeptember 26, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Jonathan BernierSeptember 28, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Thomas HickeySeptember 28, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Kevin WestgarthSeptember 28, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Brayden SchennSeptember 28, 2009Returned to Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Richard CluneSeptember 30, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to September 26
Dwight KingOctober 2, 2009Reassigned to Ontario Reign (ECHL)
David KolomatisOctober 2, 2009Signed to a Professional Tryout Agreement with Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Jordan NolanOctober 2, 2009Released by Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Michael PelechOctober 2, 2009Signed to a one-year contract with Manchester Monarchs (AHL) and assigned to Ontario Reign (ECHL)
Richard CluneOctober 9, 2009Activated from Injured Reserve and assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Oscar MollerOctober 17, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Oscar MollerOctober 20, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Scott ParseOctober 23, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Alec MartinezOctober 29, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to October 5, 2009
Trevor LewisOctober 30, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Alec MartinezNovember 19, 2009Activated from Injured Reserve and assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Ryan SmythNovember 23, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to November 17
Andrei LoktionovNovember 23, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Brandon SegalNovember 23, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Brayden SchennNovember 26, 2009Recalled under Emergency circumstances from Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) and signed to an Amateur Tryout Agreement
Andrei LoktionovNovember 26, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve
Dwight KingDecember 1, 2009Reassigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL) from Ontario Reign (ECHL)
Oscar MollerDecember 6, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Brandon SegalDecember 9, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 2
Corey ElkinsDecember 14, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL) under Emergency Circumstances
Wayne SimmondsDecember 16, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 11
Alec MartinezDecember 16, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Ryan SmythDecember 18, 2009Activated from Injured Reserve
Corey ElkinsDecember 18, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Alec MartinezDecember 18, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Oscar MollerDecember 18, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Scott ParseDecember 18, 2009Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Corey ElkinsDecember 23, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Oscar MollerDecember 23, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Wayne SimmondsDecember 26, 2009Activated from Injured Reserve
Brandon SegalDecember 26, 2009Activated from Injured Reserve
Jarret StollDecember 26, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 15, 2009
Scott ParseDecember 28, 2009Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Corey ElkinsDecember 28, 2009Loaned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Justin WilliamsDecember 28, 2009Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 27, 2009
Jarret StollJanuary 4, 2010Activated from Injured Reserve
Alec MartinezJanuary 6, 2010Recalled from Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Randy JonesJanuary 6, 2010Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 16, 2009
Alec MartinezJanuary 9, 2010Assigned to Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Randy JonesJanuary 9, 2010Activated from Injured Reserve :

## Draft picks

Los Angeles' picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 5 | Brayden Schenn | C | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 2 | 35 | Kyle Clifford | LW | Canada | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 3 | 84 (from New Jersey via Calgary) | Nicolas Deslauriers | D | Canada | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 95 (from Atlanta) | Jean-Francois Berube | G | Canada | Montreal Junior Hockey Club (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 96 | Linden Vey | RW | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 5 | 126 | David Kolomatis | D | United States | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) |
| 6 | 156 | Michael Pelech | C/LW | Canada | Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL) |
| 6 | 179 (from Chicago) | Brandon Kozun | RW | United States | Calgary Hitmen (WHL) |
| 7 | 186 | Jordan Nolan | C | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 7 | 198 (from St. Louis) | Nic Dowd | C | United States | Wenatchee Wild (NAHL) |