Alexander: It should be a fun MLB summer in Southern California

• March 29, 2023

The game itself will be better. That’s almost a sure thing as Baseball 2023 begins its long march to November, with rules changes designed to quicken the pace, encourage offense and return the sport to what it used to be.

But will the local teams be better?

The oddsmakers say no. This Space says yes. Hapless optimism, or do I sense something the wise guys don’t? We’ll see.

You might have seen our staff predictions already. Five of the seven of us who were polled agree that the Angels will get back into the postseason for the first time since 2014, as a wild-card team. I’m not ready to predict they’ll get any farther than that this year, nor am I ready to forecast that just getting back to the postseason will be enough to keep Shohei Ohtani in an Angels uniform. But hope is built on small beginnings, right?

And let’s face it. Angels fans who grumble because Arte Moreno isn’t selling the team – and there are a lot of them – need something, anything, to sustain that hope. A better, deeper roster and the opportunity to fool the experts at least a little bit is a start.

It helps that the Angels have added proven big-leaguers to replace the youngsters and fringy guys who had to step in a year ago when injuries scrambled the roster. Gio Urshela, Hunter Renfroe and Brandon Drury provide superior offensive production to last year’s replacement players, and they can bolster a lineup that could be awfully scary if Ohtani, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are all healthy and performing up to their capabilities.

There are also signs that General Manager Perry Minasian understands the critical role of not only depth but having several multi-position players on a roster, similar to the way the Angels’ neighbors one county to the north have been built. (Of course, this could be a challenge for Phil Nevin in his first full season as Angels manager, convincing players that they won’t necessarily be on the lineup card in the same spot – or at all – every day. But it’s been done.)

Pitching, for a change, wasn’t what sunk the Angels in 2022. The bullpen is potentially good and the rotation should be better than average, bolstered by All-Star Tyler Anderson and anchored by Ohtani, who I’m predicting will win the American League Cy Young Award in addition to getting serious MVP consideration again.

Bottom line: When you have two of the best players in the world on your roster, something’s got to go right at some point, doesn’t it? And as for the idea that things need to go right to keep one of those two … well, if that doesn’t spark some extra urgency organizationally, maybe there is no hope after all.

As for the team 30 miles up the 5? I’m calling my shot now.

In a year when the game returns to a classic style, get ready for a classic World Series: Dodgers vs. Yankees. And it says here that 2023 will be a repeat of 1981, which will be perfect symmetry in a season in which the Dodgers will finally retire Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34.

Yeah, I’m sort of lonely among our prediction panel. San Diego, punching way above its market-size weight in terms of payroll, received four of the other six votes as World Series winners, with Atlanta and Toronto getting the remaining two. And it’s possible I’m just being overly counterintuitive, but I’m guessing this will be a season in which the Dodgers toss the script that has sustained them for much of the past decade and find another way to the finish line, this time lying in the weeds as a wild-card team.

They’ve been the hunted for the past decade, winning the NL West in nine of the past 10 seasons and requiring 107 wins by San Francisco to beat them in the other. In that 10-season stretch under the stewardship of Guggenheim Baseball, they’ve played .612 ball, they’ve won more than 100 games four times in the past six seasons (and had a .717 winning percentage in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), and have led all of baseball in regular-season victories three times.

And all they’ve brought back in that span was one lousy Commissioner’s Trophy, in 2020, and the final game of that World Series against Tampa Bay featured the other manager’s move that backfired. More often their own pitching usage miscues have cost them, and while Dave Roberts always gets the blame, we can debate whether the manager or a front office overly active in strategy decisions should actually be held accountable.

So maybe it’s time for a different approach, tailored to the expanded playoffs and necessitated by a roster that begins the season with more youngsters and more questions. And by not extending themselves to rack up huge margins in the regular season, they can be fresher for the postseason – and by this, I mean not only the players but the manager, coaches and executives.

The Padres, as noted, have gone all-in. Their 40-man roster payroll of $275.8 million is projected to be the third-highest in baseball by Cot’s Contracts, trailing only the New York clubs (the Mets at $375.3 million and the Yankees at $295.3 million), while some $25.4 million ahead of the No. 5 Dodgers.

So let them spend. We were reminded again last year, the first of the expanded playoffs and wild-card series byes, that being hot in October is what matters. The 89-win Padres eliminated teams that won 101 and 111 games (Mets and Dodgers), 87-win Philadelphia eliminated teams that won 93 and 101 games (St. Louis and Atlanta), and then the Phillies got to the World Series … where Houston was waiting for them. End of fairy tale.

The Dodgers’ lineup, even with the star power of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, is not the same monster that it’s been at the start of recent seasons. But Andrew Friedman tends to do his best work at the trade deadline, and I’d be willing to bet that the roster will be a lot stronger after the deadline and at least a couple of the youngsters on the Opening Day 26-man will have significant impacts.

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The danger, as usual, lies in Friedman and his R&D staff overthinking things in the postseason and orderi– … er, suggesting … strange pitching strategies, such as using an opener in Game 5 against the Giants in 2021 with repercussions that affected Julio Urías and Max Scherzer in the NLCS against the Braves.

But if the front office can be persuaded to stay in its lane – I know, that’s a lot to ask – I can easily see the Dodgers getting on a roll in the postseason. And this time, it says here, the Dodgers eliminate the Padres in the NLCS and win Game 6 of the World Series in Yankee Stadium. They haven’t clinched a World Series in L.A. since 1963. Why start now?

This time, at least, they’d get a parade.

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​ Orange County Register 

US home prices fell in January for the 7-straight month

• March 29, 2023

U.S. home prices fell for the seventh month in a row in January, as the Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index is now 3% off its 2022 peak.

“2023 began as 2022 had ended, with US home prices falling for the seventh consecutive month,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, U.S. prices fell 0.2% for month and are now only up 3.8% for the year. The 20-city index is 4.7% off last spring’s high after falling 0.4% for month and rising just 2.6% over the past 12 months.

The three California market in the 20-city index have some of the largest drops off last year’s all-time highs, using seasonally adjusted data …

No. 1 San Francisco: 13.2% off last spring’s high. Down 0.8% for month, down 7.6% for the year.

No. 4 San Diego: 8.3% off high. Down 0.6% for month, down 1.4% for the year.

No. 6 Los Angeles-Orange County: 6.4% off high. Down 0.3% for month, up 0.9% for the year.

“January’s home price weakness is yet more proof of the doldrums the housing market was stuck in during the fall and winter, when buyers and sellers were forced to come to terms with a new, relatively higher-interest-rate environment,” said Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow.

Fed focus

Home prices have been falling as a result of the Federal Reserve’s historic effort to rein in inflation. That battle has caused mortgage rates to spike over the past year, resulting in many home buyers being priced out of purchasing a home.

Typically, when demand drops, supply swells and prices go down. But fewer homes are coming to market for sale because ultra-low interest rates over the past few years are causing many home owners to stay put, keeping the inventory of homes stubbornly low.

This was all before banks began failing in March, the impact of which is obviously not reflected in January’s data.

“Financial news this month has been dominated by ructions in the commercial banking industry, as some institutions’ risk management functions proved unequal to the rising level of interest rates,” said Lazzara. “Despite this, the Federal Reserve remains focused on its inflation-reduction targets, which suggest that rates may remain elevated in the near term.”

As a result, said Lazzara, mortgage financing and the prospect of economic weakness are likely to remain a headwind for housing prices for at least the next several months.

Mortgage rates are expected to be volatile for as long as the Fed has to work to pull back runaway inflation. Rates had been rising in February as inflation did not seem to be cooling as much or as quickly as expected. But when banks collapsed in March the uncertainty in the financial sector caused investors to take actions that resulted in mortgage rates ticking down in recent weeks.

“As the market comes back to life this spring, prices are likely to rise month over month, but fall year over year, compared to last year’s frenzied spring shopping season when buyers raced to lock in lower mortgage rates,” said Tucker. “Just how much prices will rise from winter lows will depend on whether mortgage rates stabilize and creep downward or stay high and volatile.”

Elsewhere

How the other 17 markets in the 20-city fared through January, ranked by their drop off their 2022 peak using seasonally adjusted data …

Seattle: 11.4% off last spring’s high. Down 1.5% for month, down 5.1% for the year.

Phoenix: 8.3% off high. Down 0.8% for month, up 0.0% for the year.

Las Vegas: 8% off high. Down 1.1% for month, up 0.4% for the year.

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Denver: 6.4% off high. Down 1.0% for month, up 1% for the year.

Portland: 6.1% off high. Down 0.6% for month, down 0.5% for the year.

Dallas: 5.7% off high. Down 0.6% for month, up 5% for the year.

Tampa: 3.5% off high. Down 0.3% for month, up 10.5% for the year.

Boston: 2.9% off high. Up 0.3% for month, up 4.2% for the year.

Washington: 2.7% off high. Down 0.3% for month, up 2.4% for the year.

Charlotte: 2.4% off high. Up 0.2% for month, up 8.1% for the year.

New York: 2.3% off high. Down 0.2% for month, up 5.2% for the year.

Minneapolis: 2.1% off high. Down 0.2% for month, up 1.8% for the year.

Detroit: 2.0% off high. Down 0.1% for month, up 3.2% for the year.

Atlanta: 1.7% off high. Flat for month, up 8.4% for the year.

Miami: 1.5% off high. Up 0.1% for month, up 13.8% for the year.

Chicago: 1% off high. Flat for month, up 4.8% for the year.

Cleveland: 1% off high. Up 0.1% for month, up 4.8% for the year.

​ Orange County Register 

OC and LA chefs nominated for James Beard Foundation Awards

• March 29, 2023

The James Beard Foundation announced its 2023 nominees for its upcoming James Beard Foundation Awards later this summer.

Carlos Salgado, chef and owner of one-Michelin star Costa Mesa restaurant Taco María, was among one of five chefs nominated for the Best Chef: California category which was dominated by Southern California chefs. Salgado has been previously named as a semifinalist for this category for seven consecutive years.

“I am honored to receive this nomination, and proud to be recognized alongside such talented chefs, especially my friends and peers here in Southern California,” Salgado said in a statement.

The other chefs nominated include Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr. of Holbox and Chef Brandon Hayato Go of Hayato in Los Angeles and Chef Justin Pichetrungsi of Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks. Chefs Kyle and Katina Connaughton of SingleThread in Healdsburg were also nominated.

Niki Nakayama, chef and owner of two-Michelin star L.A. restaurant n/naka, was nominated for Outstanding Chef, which is a nationwide category.

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No L.A. restaurant was nominated for Outstanding Restaurant, although when the semifinalists list was released earlier this year, Santa Monica’s Cassia was listed.

Greg Dulan of Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, and Dulanville was named as a nominee for Outstanding Restauranteur and Rashida Holmes of Bridgetown Roti was nominated for the Emerging Chef category.

Although no local bakery was nominated for this year’s new category, Outstanding Bakery, Margarita Manzke of République was nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

OTOTO gained a nomination for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Chicago this June. The full list of nominees can be found here.

​ Orange County Register 

Senate votes to repeal Iraq War authorization

• March 29, 2023

By Mary Clare Jalonick | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal the resolution that gave a green light for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a bipartisan effort to return a basic war power to Congress 20 years after an authorization many now view as a mistake.

Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were killed in the war after President George W. Bush’s administration falsely claimed that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

“This body rushed into a war” that had massive consequences, said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who has pushed for years to repeal the powers.

Senators voted 66-30 to repeal the 2002 measure and also the 1991 authorization that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War. If passed by the House, the repeal would not be expected to affect any current military deployments. But lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers they have given the White House over U.S. military strikes and deployments, and some lawmakers who voted for the Iraq War two decades ago now say that was a mistake.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., noted it would be the first time in more than 50 years that Congress would repeal a war powers vote, since the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that authorized military force in Vietnam was repealed in the early 1970s.

“Americans want to see an end to endless Middle East wars,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, adding that passing the repeal “is a necessary step to putting these bitter conflicts squarely behind us.”

Supporters, including 18 Republican senators, say the repeal is crucial to prevent future abuses and to reinforce that Iraq is now a strategic partner of the United States. Opponents say the repeal could project weakness as the U.S. still faces conflict in the Middle East.

“Our terrorist enemies aren’t sunsetting their war against us,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who is at home recovering from a fall earlier this month and missed the vote. “When we deploy our servicemembers in harm’s way, we need to supply them with all the support and legal authorities that we can.”

The repeal’s future is less certain in the House, where 49 Republicans joined with Democrats in supporting a similar bill two years ago. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has suggested he is open to supporting a repeal even though he previously opposed it, but Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has indicated he would like to instead replace it with something else. But it is unclear what that would be.

Kaine and Todd Young, R-Ind., who led the effort together, have said they believe a strong bipartisan vote sends a powerful message to Americans who believe their voices should be heard on matters of war and peace.

President Donald Trump’s administration cited the 2002 Iraq war resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, but the two war powers resolutions have otherwise rarely been used as the basis for any presidential action. About 2,500 U.S. troops remain in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government and assist and advise local forces.

A separate 2001 authorization for the global war on terror would remain in place under the bill, which President Joe Biden has said he will support.

The October 2002 votes to give Bush broad authority for the Iraq invasion were a defining moment for many members of Congress as the country debated whether a military strike was warranted. The U.S. was already at war then in Afghanistan, the country that hosted the al-Qaida plotters responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, something Iraq played no part in.

The Bush administration had drummed up support among members of Congress and the American public for invading Iraq by promoting what turned out to be false intelligence alleging Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. After the initial March 2003 invasion, American ground forces quickly discovered that the allegations of nuclear or chemical weapons programs were baseless.

The U.S. overthrow of Iraq’s security forces precipitated a brutal sectarian fight and violent campaigns by Islamic extremist groups in Iraq. Car bombings, assassinations, torture and kidnapping became a part of daily life for years.

Some GOP senators opposing the repeal, including McConnell, have raised concerns about recent attacks against U.S. troops in Syria. A drone strike last week killed an American contractor and wounded five troops and another contractor, then a rocket attack wounded another service member. Iranian-backed militants are believed responsible for the attacks.

Biden and his administration have argued that the repeal would not affect any response to Iran. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both said at a Senate hearing last week that American troops are authorized to protect themselves and respond to attacks, including under Article 2 of the Constitution, which gives the president the authority to protect troops.

Sen. Menendez, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said just ahead of the vote that the repeal “in no way diminishes” the U.S. ability to deter Iranian aggression.

“This is not about Iran,” Menendez said. “This is about Iraq. Saddam Hussein is gone.”

The pushback from McConnell comes amid a growing rift in the Republican Party on the U.S. role in the Middle East, with some echoing Trump’s “America First” message to argue against military intervention abroad. Other Republicans are concerned Congress is giving too much leeway to the president in matters of war.

“It’s time we take back our constitutional authority to declare war,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., after voting for the repeal. Cramer said every authorization on the books should relate to current threats.

Young said that “a lot of lessons have been learned over the last 20 years.”

He said supporting the legislation “want to ensure that the American people can hold us accountable, rather than delegating those important authorities to an executive branch and then lamenting the unwitting wisdom of the executive branch if things don’t go well.”

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe grateful for Opening Day roster spot

• March 29, 2023

ANAHEIM — The waterworks began almost immediately, as soon as Angels manager Phil Nevin let catcher Logan O’Hoppe know that the rookie had made the Opening Day roster.

Left in tears were O’Hoppe’s parents, who were let in on the moment last week from the manager’s office through a FaceTime call.

“Yeah, so O’Hoppes are criers and there were definitely some tears going on,” O’Hoppe said Tuesday. “But yeah, it’s been a little bit of a whirlwind. It’s a lot to process, but just so grateful for it all.”

Nevin pulled off his sleight of hand by saying he wanted to catch up with O’Hoppe’s father. Nevin and Michael O’Hoppe hit it off this spring.

Not quite fooled was Logan O’Hoppe himself. He is perceptive like that, despite being just 23, with his ability not to be caught off guard just one of a myriad of reasons the club thinks he will have a long, productive major league career.

“(Nevin) came in the locker room and said, ‘Come with me and bring your phone,’” Logan O’Hoppe said. “And then he asked how my dad was doing. Him and pops have developed a good relationship the past few months. So I said he was good and he had me call him up. And that’s when I had a good idea. And it was a special moment for everybody.”

O’Hoppe is not only the Angels’ top prospect, he is the No. 53 overall prospect in baseball as ranked by mlb.com and No. 42 by Baseball America.

“When I mentioned it to a lot of those pitchers, they were all excited,” Nevin said about letting players on the team know of the O’Hoppe decision. “They were happy for him and, in general, really the whole team was.

“They know what he’s put into and it just shows you what kind of guy he is. He’s walked into that room and he’s shown a lot of instant leadership qualities you don’t see from somebody who just turned 23. That’s very rare for a kid coming up from the minor leagues.”

Acquired by the Angels last August in the deal that sent Brandon Marsh to the Philadelphia Phillies, O’Hoppe did not take long to make an impression. He batted .306 with a 1.147 OPS with the Angels’ Double-A team after the trade. It earned him five late-season games with the Angels in 2022.

Now he is expected to get the bulk of the playing time at catcher, at least at the outset, while bringing up the rear in a lineup that turns over to guys like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani at the top.

“Yeah, it’s super humbling, super humbling,” O’Hoppe said. “I’d be lying If I didn’t say I looked at it and thought, ‘What the hell am I doing there?’ But no, I mean, I’m settling in now and I feel more comfortable and really happy to get going.”

SIXTH WHEEL

Left-hander Tucker Davidson has been told he will be on the Opening Day roster as right-hander Griffin Canning deals with groin discomfort.

Tucker will open the season in the bullpen, with the possibility he does not make his first start until sometime after the sixth game of the season. Tucker and Canning were believed to be vying for the No. 6 spot in the rotation.

“There is a possibility that sixth spot, maybe we don’t use it right off the bat and maybe we do,” General Manager Perry Minasian said. “If we don’t use it right off the bat, then he’s in the bullpen and provides a link there.

“So we’ll discuss that over the course of the next week and see how the games go and how everybody feels and all those things. But is there a possibility that person pitches out of the ’pen? Absolutely.”

Nevin said Canning’s injury is not believed to be serious.

WELCOME BACK

Infielder David Fletcher was available for Tuesday’s game against the Dodgers after missing a few games with a groin injury and is in line to start the regular season on the active roster.

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Nevin said on Sunday it looked as if Fletcher might need to start the season on the injured list, but he has recovered enough to alleviate those concerns.

CENTURY CLUB

Despite an erratic spring for Ohtani, where he spent some time in Arizona before departing to Japan and Miami for the World Baseball Classic, the right-hander is available to throw at least 100 pitches in Thursday night’s season opener against the Oakland A’s.

“If he looks good and feels fine up until the (100 pitch) point, I’m more than comfortable with him going there,” Nevin said.

​ Orange County Register 

Stolen African Gray Parrot reunited with family in Santa Ana

• March 29, 2023

A family on Tuesday was reunited with its African Gray Parrot after it was stolen from their front porch earlier this month, police said.

Santa Ana Police Sgt. Maria Lopez said detectives identified the suspect they believed had grabbed the bird’s cage, as seen in video footage of the March 12 incident.

Police found the stolen parrot Tuesday afternoon, said Lopez, after they searched a suspect’s residence in the 1300 block of South Douglas Street.

A woman at the residence said the parrot had been given to her by the suspect. Lopez said the suspect was not home during the search, and no arrests have been made.

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​ Orange County Register 

Fontana man sentenced to 10 years for scamming victims including businesses and romantic partners

• March 29, 2023

A Fontana man was sentenced Monday, March 27 to 10 years in a federal prison for defrauding eight women, some of whom he developed romantic relationships with, and nine businesses, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Ze’Shawn Stanley Campbell, 35, formerly of Irvine, befriended and started relationships with victims to convince them he was reliable from April 2014 to April 2020, the DOJ said in a news release.

In these relationships, he claimed to have vast wealth and several successful businesses as a means to build credibility among the victims, according to the news release. Campbell also falsely claimed to be a successful investor and that he had served as a Navy SEAL in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The lies were used to convince victims to provide him with property and money to support his businesses and medical bills, the release said. Campbell used the funds provided to him, instead, on luxury items and other personal expenses, prosecutors said.

As an example, in December 2017, a victim wrote him a check for $61,452 that was deposited into Campbell’s account. He used this money for personal reasons such as to make payments on a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz that were leased in another victim’s name.

Campbell pleaded guilty in October 2022 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi found that the losses caused by Campbell exceeded $550,000 and set another hearing to determine the restitution owed to the victims.

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​ Orange County Register 

Kings’ 12-game points streak ends with loss to Flames

• March 29, 2023

CALGARY, Alberta — It took a spectacular night from Jacob Markstrom to cool the red-hot Kings.

The Calgary Flames goaltender made 32 saves to backstop his team to a critical 2-1 victory that ended the Kings’ franchise-record 12-game points streak.

Sean Durzi had the lone goal for the Kings, who have been the NHL’s hottest team since the All-Star break. They had gone 10-0-2 in their past 12 games, outscoring their opponents 52-28. Nineteen of those goals had come in the previous three games, including an 8-2 thumping of Calgary eight days ago at Crypto.com Arena.

The Kings remain two points behind Vegas for first place in the Pacific Division. Edmonton is in third, just one point behind the Kings, after a 7-4 win in Las Vegas.

“I don’t think it was a lack of effort, certainly today,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “It was a hard-fought game, a physical game. For the most part, we did a good job. Just obviously unfortunately we didn’t convert on a few of our chances.”

Andrew Mangiapane and Walker Duehr scored for Calgary, which won its second consecutive game and improved to 7-3-2 in its last 12.

The Flames opened the night four points behind the Winnipeg Jets, who occupy the final wild-card berth in the NHL’s Western Conference.

Starting for the 15th time in the last 16 games, it was one of Markstrom’s best games of the season.

The veteran came up with several important saves to make the Flames’ 2-1 lead from the first period hold up the rest of the way.

“He was sharp. Made some big stops. He probably stole us two points,” Calgary center Elias Lindholm said.

In his sixth start since being acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 30 saves but lost for the first time as a King. He falls to 15-12-4 on the season.

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“Both goaltenders were first and second star in whatever order you want to pick,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “They both played well. Korpi made some really good saves for us. He gave us a chance to have those good looks at the other end. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t reward him with at least one to get him a point.”

Momentum swung halfway through the first when Rasmus Andersson’s goal, which would have made it 2-0, was waved off after an offside review. Less than two minutes later, the Kings tied it.

Durzi was left with open space to skate in from the blue line and he whipped a shot into the top corner.

Calgary restored its lead at 17:59 when Duehr scored the goal that would stand up as the game-winner, slipping a shot past Korpisalo from the side of the net. It was the sixth goal in 21 games for the rookie from South Dakota, who was playing on the fourth line.

UP NEXT

The Kings continue their four-game road trip on Thursday night at Edmonton.

​ Orange County Register