Until this season, the Los Angeles Kings ice hockey team were really only known for one saga: the infamous big-money acquisition of Wayne Gretzky, a move that shocked the sport and tore the heart out of a city and a country in the late 1980s.

THE 20th Winter Olympics opened in Turin last night with a glittering, star-studded ceremony but new doping fears as well a betting row have snatched away the spotlight.