Another Lackluster Performance

Looking back on this game as a whole, I think the best part for me was the pregame interview with Cammy. When Patrick O'Neil asked him about the lines and what they might look like, he got a huge smile on his face and said that things would be looking a bit differently. In reference to the Coyotes, he said, “We might throw the shocker at them.” And he thoughtfully added a little WINK on the end of that sentence. OK CAMMY. Do you even know what The Shocker is????? hahahah, WOW! I think I might have fallen off the couch laughing.

Note by commentators: Brownie leads the NHL in hits. =) Ahhh, that's what I like to hear. I'm not an advocate of violence, but a good solid hit will from my team will ALWAYS put a smile on my face.

So this is Cammy's idea of what The Shocker is: 1st line of the night: Kopi, Brownie, Nagy. 2nd line being himself, the Fro, and Sully. Somehow, his version of The Shocker isn't quite as scandalous as the known version. Oh Cammy, you and your 5'9” frame kill me.

This game really didn't hold much excitement so this review will be reduced down to a list:

1) Zeiler definitely put up a hard hit and drew a cross-checking penalty. Wow....good job... The thing to note is that this was the longest delayed penalty I've ever seen (as agreed upon by Jim Fox).

2) Brownie – HIT!

3) 2 shots on that PP? Umm...

4) Jim Fox - “Can't get caught sucking down low.” Umm...

5) The first period had a lot of coast-to-coast playing with not much going on. Not surprisingly the Kings had 10 giveaways compared to Phoenix's 3.

6) During the first intermission – Video montage of Gretzky. Aww, I LOVE Gretzky!

7) Airborne was on HBO and I started flipping at the commercials. If you've never heard of Airborne, let me say that it is horrendously awesome and everyone should check it out. If not for the stellar acting of 1993, then for the terrible ice hockey moments scattered throughout the movie.

8) In the second period they kept the camera on Anze on the bench for a minute or two. So what exactly was he sniffing (smelling salts?) and why was he shooting water everywhere BUT in his mouth?

9) Lone goal by Doan. Damnit, Vish and Blake for giving them a 5-on-3.

10) Is this post interesting anymore, because the game sure wasn't. *sigh*

11) Crawford decided that the DAM line needed to get back out there and actually start producing. This resulted in a much-needed push, so good job for that. Yet the constant stoppages by Bryzgalov were killing any momentum the Kings were trying to build. Oh yeah, the Coyotes picked him up off waivers this morning. (More on this later). Side note: Cammy, nice roller hockey turn on the skates. ha

12) So I've said it before, but I feel I need to reiterate this point: The Kings need to stop passing so much when desperate times call for ACTION. NOT PASSING.

13) After not taking advantage on 5 PP opportunities in these 60 minutes, the Kings continued their losing streak (3) and gave Bryzgalov a shutout. What did they end with? A whopping 3 or 4 shots on net in 5 PP chances? Cool.

14) On a happier note: I will give a props to the goaltenders for the night, Barbs and Bryzgalov. I thought both played well and saw them both as walls in front of their respective nets.

15) After the game Kings Talk with Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans brought up a interesting/comical/terrible point. A caller asked if the Kings would have picked up Bryzgalov if the opportunity had presented itself. Nick (or was it Daryl, they kind of sound alike) said this most likely would not have happened due to the number of goalies the Kings have (Barbs, Aubin, and Cloutier – with Bernier on the rise) AND the amount of money that is tied up by these guys. Do you realize that (according to the math done by Earl Sleek over at BofC) the Kings would have just needed to pay out the remainder of his salary worth $900,000? Wait, what's that? We're spending $3.1 MILLION on Cloutier so that he can continue to be a losing goaltender even at the minor league level? That's fantastic, guys. Money well spent.