I Think I Have An Ulcer: Red Wings 4, Kings 3 (SO)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Whenever the Kings play the Detroit Red Wings, there is always a feeling of dread that accompanies that thought. But, first off, I must say how glad I am to have watched this gave live instead of at home on the Rinkside View, which is horrific! In my very quick (a.k.a. lazy) search, I couldn't find any Rinkside View images. It's just as well; it's horrible and should be stricken from the record.

Getting to the actual game, the closer it got to the puck drop, the more worried I was getting. We were facing the Cup champs who had added Marian Hossa, you know, just as an addendum. My thought at the first faceoff? "Wow, let me go pee my pants actually." I think the most surprising move that Detroit made was putting Chris Osgood in net instead of Ty Conklin. First off, I'm always surprised when teams put their number one against my team; and secondly, I really wanted to see Conks play. I've seen Osgood play my team enough times; put in Conks next time!

(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Yes, Moller is the real deal

Even though there was a concerted effort from the Kings, the top guns were definitely not performing at their top speed. Anze Kopitar has been lacking in the points production and creativity. Dustin Brown had 23:05 of TOI, 6 hits, no points, but was a +1. Patrick O'Sullivan had 18:39 of TOI but was pretty quiet as well. My offensive guns were lagging a bit in this game, but I'm so happy that we have enough depth to where this isn't a problem in the early goings. At the same time, I could only imagine how much better everything could be if all of our lines are rolling together consistently.

In looking at the other lines, I'm not sure which line had more punch, the 2nd or 3rd. I'm going to argue that it was the 3rd line in that all three players were working their tails off whereas one third of the 2nd line was a bit invisible. As much as I love Alexander Frolov on the 3rd line and what he's doing, I'm sad at the same time. He's not really scoring at his regular clip and his offensive opportunities have been severely limited. I'm not surprised; it's just a bit hard to see him in a role change since I know he has the capability to put numbers up. That being said, he did score on Osgood, which I was extremely happy about. Question: What if Terry Murray tried Fro up on the top line with Kyle Calder/Matt Moulson on the left wing of the 3rd line? Worth a shot?

Jarett Stoll ended the night with a -1 but his contributions were shown elsewhere. He was 75% in the faceoff circle winning 15 and losing only 5. He was definitely fighting hard for every single faceoff he took, which was very nice to see; not that I'm saying he takes draws off sometimes. It's just that it's Detroit and there is a very, very large microscope on every single Red Wings game. When I watched the NHL Network's highlights after I returned to my humble abode, I thought they spent an ungodly amount of time reviewing this game. But then I remembered that it was because they were playing the Red Wings. Would they have spent that much time on the Kings if they were playing, say, the Florida Panthers? I think not.

Another player who had a great game was actually Kyle Quincey, our waiver wire acquisition from the Red Wings. He was playing a physical and intelligent game, and everything he was doing looked great. There's no one play I can thing of right now, but he just had a solid outing and I'm very happy with him. Speaking of, I'm also very happy with Sean O'Donnell. He's only done good things out there since he's joined the Kings. When I find myself surprised that he's still a physical player, I just remind myself that he used to play for the wretched Ducks. Getting back to the happy, I was super happy to see Brad Stuart again. B-Stu! Someone in my section yelled out that he sucked and I looked at KingsCast and said, "Actually... he doesn't..." *pout pout pout*

(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Are these guys really that good? I mean, c'mon.. really... hello...??

This brings us to: Denis Gauthier. Ahhh, Gauts. You're on the left side with the center of the ice wide open with less than two minutes to go in the 3rd period and your team is up by one. Why in god's name did you pass up the middle? This turnover cost us the game. It literally did. How many people expect their respective goalie to stop a Valtteri Filppula breakaway? Yeah, I didn't expect Jason LaBarbera to stop that either. There were at least two other options to make with that pass, instead you go with the third and incorrect choice. I know he feels horrible about the pass; his actions after the goal was scored weren't lost on me. But still, the game was at an elevated stress level for me as it was, and watching Filppula snag the puck and charge toward Barbs was a downright heart breaker.

The Overtime frame was five minutes of ridiculousness. I'm sure the acids in my stomach were taking over and churning and churning and churning because I had a tummy ache for the rest of the evening. Ugh. So OT ends and they scrape the ice for the shootout. This was about the time where I knew we had lost. I was predicting that it was going to be Brownie, probably Moller, and Calder for the Kings and Henrik Zetterberg, Hossa, and Pavel Datsyuk for the Red Wings. I'm not sure if I got Calder right since we didn't even make it to the third round. Osgood essentially shoved his pads down Brownie's and Moller's throats while Datsyuk and Zetterberg gave Barbs a good ole "hello nurse" with their respective dekes.

Not surprisingly the Kings end with less than 20 shots on, while the Red Wings had 37. All in all, I thought the Kings played really well against the Red Wings. There were some great plays throughout the entire game with virtually none in the first period. Actually, the first half of the first period saw almost no offensive jump from either team, but the teams busted out some sick moves here and there by the end and got the energy in the arena up. In the end, it was a good game for both sides. I just wish we had came away with the two points.

12 comments:

Brad October 28, 2008 at 9:07 AM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brad October 28, 2008 at 9:44 AM  

side note, new hat and tie.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/hamburgerbrad/hfc.jpg

Connie October 28, 2008 at 10:43 AM  

Yes, I think you are still angry. There were definitely a lot more Wings fans in the lower bowl. I think in that type of situation you have to just step back and reflect on how they played overall against the defending Cup champions. I thought they did a commendable job with one unfortunate pass. We still came away with one point so the experience wasn't a complete wash. Still, I can't wait for Jack to get back on the ice...

Nice, both items looks very nice.

Steph October 28, 2008 at 11:54 AM  

Conks played the previous night against Chicago, so that's most likely why you saw Osgood yesterday - the Wings actually seem to be playing Conks more than I would have expected though (three starts already) so there's a good chance you'll see him later on!

They interviewed Kyle Quincey during the intermission and he was adorable, saying he missed the Wings and all but he was so excited to get so much playing time and all (and that he still gets starstruck watching Nick Lidstrom, how cute!) - I think it's awesome and really sad at the same time to see what a really good player he is. He never really got he chance to show how consistent he could be here :( I miss him! He looks great out there for you guys though! And little Oscar Moller scored for me!

Connie October 28, 2008 at 1:08 PM  

Thanks for that bit of info! How are you feeling about Conks? Is he getting the job done for you? How did you feel about Osgood letting in 3 goals on 15 shots? I was pretty surprised by that.

I’m really happy with Quincey. =) I think he's fitting in very nicely here. Dude, I was super starstruck watching your boys warmup. You’d better watch the next couple of Kings games to get your Moller fill because I’m not 100% sure he’ll be staying up with the team for the entire year...

Brad October 28, 2008 at 1:11 PM  

I apologize for my earlier outburst. Oscar Moller, as always, is the man and I desperately hope he stays up the whole year.

Connie October 28, 2008 at 2:18 PM  

No worries, Brad. Everyone needs to vent once in awhile. I've definitely done my fair share, so I understand. I was pretty emotionally invested in the team last year, much to my disappointment, but I think my feelings are going to be a bit safer this season. Keep the faith alive.

Stephanie Karin October 28, 2008 at 5:30 PM  

I feel pretty good about Conks! He scares me sometimes, he's a little flaily and he likes to fall down a lot and go on little adventures away from the net, but he's looked pretty good. He actually has a better save percentage than Osgood right now (and speaking of that I'm not really CONCERNED about Osgood's performance but....uh yeah, he and our defense both could step up a little and I wouldn't mind.)

So glad you and your team like Quincey (and his dreamy eyes haha!) and are taking care of him for me! I've been trying to watch your games to see him and Moller but they're always so LATE :P

Connie October 28, 2008 at 10:12 PM  

I'm glad Conks is working for you! Well, I think it's time you invested in DirecTV and a DVR. =) You won't know how you got by in life once you have those two things.

KQ949 October 29, 2008 at 8:52 AM  

I have a new sucky....it is now official...I have announced it to my family....so when I yell sucky, they will know! Den-EEE GOAT-EE-YAY (BOO!).

Also, may I use this platform to officially thank Brian Willsie for allowing us to steal Doughty? That kid is scary! I love the Donut!

Looking forward to lots of games in November! Still HATE rinkside view!

Brad October 29, 2008 at 9:19 AM  

and to think, some people actually wanted Stamkos in LA. ha!

Connie October 29, 2008 at 1:20 PM  

KQ – Please, use this platform. You comments amuse me to no end. =) And I’d like to thank Brian Willsie for leaving.

Brad – When I think of Stamkos in LA, I think of the defense not having Doughty. THAT is scary.

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