Sports
Kings' top line is one of the NHL's best scoring trios. So why don't they have a nickname?
What’s in a name? Sometimes a lot.
No one, after all, has ever given a nickname to a bunch of guys who hit .225 or a team that finished in the middle of the standings. But do something special and with flair and people start calling you Magic, The Hammer or The Great One.
Hockey was once at the forefront of this naming ritual, with the tradition of stamping memorable monikers on the sport’s most productive scoring lines dating to the 1920s and the New York Ranger threesome of Bun Cook, Frank Boucher and Bill Cook, collectively known as the “A Line” after the subway line that ran under Madison Square Garden.
The names could sometimes get creative, as with the Vancouver Canucks’ “Mattress Line,” which included two twins (Daniel and Henrik Sedin) and a king (center Jason King) and the Buffalo Sabres’ “French Connection” of French-Canadians Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert. Or sometimes ridiculous, as with the “Trio Grande Line” of Clark Gilles, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, which took the New York Islanders to four straight Stanley Cup titles.
Which brings us to the Kings’ current top line of left wing Andrei Kuzmenko, center Anze Kopitar and right wing Adrian Kempe. It has set no records and won no Stanley Cups; in fact, it hasn’t even clinched a playoff berth, although that will happen shortly.
But since coming together a month ago, when general manager Rob Blake acquired Kuzmenko from the Philadelphia Flyers at the trade deadline, the threesome has become one of the hottest trios in the NHL ahead of the Kings’ showdown with the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
After getting six or more goals in a game four times in the first 60 games, the Kings did it four times in the next 13 with Kuzmenko. Scoring overall has risen nearly a goal a game and the team has lost just three times in its last 15 games, putting it on pace to open the Stanley Cup playoffs at home, where they have the best record in the Western Conference.
And that has sparked a question: what should the line be called?
“Hadn’t even thought about it,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said.
“It’s not really on the front burner,” added Glen Murray, the Kings director of player development “I haven’t really thought about it a lot.”
OK, so maybe it’s not a burning question. But there are some candidates just the same.
“AK,” Kopitar said. “That’s what I’m going for.”
Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko celebrates after scoring against the Winnipeg Jets on April 1.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
That one is solid because it works on two levels, using each players’ initials but also highlighting the fact they all have a strong shot.
Patrick O’Neal, who hosts the “LA Kings Live” pregame and postgame shows on FanDuel West, likes Special K. Simple but elegant.
Then there’s the “AAA Line,” inspired by each player’s first initial and the fact that, like the auto club, the line is dependable and the Kings trust it will get them where they want to go.
The odds that any of those will catch on are long since the prevalence of assigning nicknames to top NHL lines has faded in recent years, robbing the game of some of its fun. With line pairings jumbled and players traded so frequently in modern hockey, it has become difficult for fans and the media to develop an association with particular combinations. At the same time, the rise of data and analytics has shifted the focus from the collective performance of a group of players, such as a line, to the performance of individuals.
Murray, who skated on the Boston Bruins’ imposing “700-pound Line,” a name inspired by the collective weight of the three players, said the absence of nicknames doesn’t necessarily represent progress.
“It’s too bad,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with coming up for a name for a line that’s just been put together.”
Hiller believes nicknames can be useful in developing an identity and esprit de corps for young players, who are typically lacking both. But it’s not really necessary on a line centered by someone such as Kopitar, who is fourth among active players in games played.
“For some young players, maybe,” he said. “I’ve seen it when three young players get together and they have energy and stuff like that. But I’m not sure there’s too much that’s going to get Kopi going in a different direction at this stage of his career.”
In any case, it wasn’t a nickname that turned the Kings’ line around but rather the addition of Kuzmenko on the left side.
“It took a few games to kind of understand how Kuzy plays. But they’re dangerous,” Murray said. “This guy is Uber talented. He can make plays all over the ice and it’s fun to watch. The enthusiasm that Kuzy has for the game, it just oozes out and it goes in Kempe and Kopi.”
Into Blake as well. Rumors ahead of the trade deadline linked the Kings to a number of high-profile targets including Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell. Chicago’s Ryan Donato and San José’s Luke Kunin. So when Blake settled on Kuzmenko, who scored 39 goals in his rookie season with Vancouver in 2022-23 then spent the next two seasons shuffling among four teams, the news underwhelmed.
Kuzmenko, however, has overdelivered, collecting four goals and six assists in 15 games. As a result, the trade has proven to be among the most consequential in the Western Conference, reinvigorating a team that saw a season-long five-game losing streak end in Kuzmenko’s debut.
“The way he celebrates his goals, it’s like the last one he’s ever going to score,” Murray said of Kuzmenko. “It gives you a little energy, right? They know they’re going to be a threat.”
The question now is what should they be called?
“The playoffs are coming up,” Murray said. “Having this new line, coming up with a unique name for it, I think it’ll just come one day.
“I love it. It makes it fun, too.”
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
-
Idaho3 minutes agoBrush fire prompts GO NOW evacuations near Mesa in Adams County
-
Illinois10 minutes agoIllinois waives tax penalties for 11 counties hit by storms, including Stephenson and Winnebago
-
Indiana12 minutes agoAttempted murder suspect arrested in Indianapolis for Bloomington shooting
-
Iowa17 minutes agoIowa WWII veteran approaching 100th birthday honored in Cedar Rapids
-
Kentucky22 minutes agoExantus may be subject to involuntary hospitalization due to Kentucky law
-
Louisiana33 minutes agoParasitic stomach illness that can cause explosive diarrhea rises in Louisiana
-
Maine40 minutes agoIs prison in play for Graham Platner?
-
Maryland43 minutes agoOffice building in Glen Burnie evacuated after shift in parking garage floor
