Frozen Fury XII: Good Times Galore

Here is my short-and-sweet and late recap of Frozen Fury from last Saturday, September 26th where the Los Angeles Kings dueled the Colorado Avalanche. Frozen Fury X and Frozen Fury XI both ended in shootouts with the teams splitting wins, but this year the Kings managed to get the win in regulation. The game ended 5-3 with an empty netter by Wayne Simmonds with about one second left in the game.

But before I get to the game, I wanted to mention the players at Luc Robitaille's Charity Poker Tournament held the Friday night before the game. A few observations:

• Matt Duchene was born in 1991 and is no where CLOSE to being allowed at the poker tables, but that didn't stop him from joining the players at the tournament. If you don't believe me, check out the picture I took with him up on facebook.
• It appeared that Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi are okay with wearing pleated pants in public.
• Anze Kopitar wasn't looking too raccoon-eyed, so that was a nice change.
• Alexander Frolov had the girls lined up behind him. I noticed he was sans wedding ring and so did Marie!
• Jack Johnson was in a full pin strip suit and is so thick that he was like a mack truck walking around the tables.
  

Back to the game: overall the experience and game were up and down. The crowd walking into the Grand Garden Arena seemed more aggressively drunk than usual and the first period was worry inducing in that the Kings looked disorganized while the Aves skated with spunk. This poor showing took the life out of the not-exactly packed arena, but the noise returned when the Kings started getting the pucks past brand new Aves goalie, Craig Anderson. At the other end of the ice, Jonathan Quick wasn't looking spectacular by any means, but this didn't have me completely worried because of the predictability of an inevitable slow Kings start. There also was a definite lack of fights and more emphasis on actually playing like cohesive units, which caused the entire vibe of the game to be somewhat different than last year.

Standouts were definitely Jack Johnson, Simmonds, and Smyth. They were noticeable on the ice by actually being in the right spots and helping to create plays. One standout for not doing much of anything was Teddy Purcell. Talk about disappointing! Oscar Moller gets sent to Manchester and you don't show up? Yikes. Also I didn't EXACTLY agree with Kopitar getting first star of the entire game. Yeah, he scored on his penalty shot but didn't stand out more than any other player. In sum, it was still good times; loved to see the excitement coming from the players and fans.

Check out KingsCast for their three-part video series at the event! Here's the first!

*~*~*~*~*

How was Vegas you ask? Ummm, it was Vegas in that nothing really has changed except more construction has occurred since I had been there one year prior. The most notable part of the weekend was the drive back to Los Angeles. There were a grand total of 4 flipped cars on the road, 3-5 randomly stopped cars along the way, 3 Deloreans on the side of the road as well, traffic up the ying yang, and 100+ degree temperatures almost the entire way back. We are flying next year, no question!

*~*~*~*~*

Last update: Rich Hammond has officially started writing for the Kings at LA Kings Insider. Same content, different house.

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AO is Rediculous

Tonight Alexander Ovechkin has tied the league record of the most goals in a season by a left wing. Who did he tie, you ask?

LUC ROBITAILLE

Lucky posted that record in the 1992-1993 season (63-62-125). AO scored his 63rd in the third period of the game on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. This victory over the Canes has kept the Caps' playoff hopes alive. Washington now has two (2) more games to play. Maybe if AO is kept off the score sheet for the next two games, Lucky can quasi-keep his record! Am I pulling at straws? I don't care. It's the little things that are still keeping me alive. Not afloat. ALIVE.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)CONGRATS, AO!

Hey, Frenchman, yeah, you with those ridiculous-looking pads, why couldn't you be this good when you were with the Kings? I'm just asking. I feel I deserve some answers.

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Part II - GM

Part I - Coaching

Part II - GM

The reason why I decided to write about these topics is because of a recent column I read at hockeybuzz.com by Carla Muller. She wrote about an article she came across on foxsports.com mentioning rumors of Luc Robitalle filling in Dean Lombardi’s shoes as GM. My stance on most issues is mild at best (because I don’t want to foolishly make an uneducated opinion), but I definitely would not be an advocate for this happening. As as fan who is taking in (as much as possible) everything the Kings organization are putting out to the fans, I’m liking what I see. This is specifically referring to Robitaille becoming President of the business operations. But let me look at DL for a second.

If you check out his Wikipedia page, it appears that DL knows what the hell he's doing. He built up the Sharks into what they are today, a hated contender in the Western Conference. The players that he drafted before the lockout developed and made up the power house that they were 2-3 years ago causing them to be constant thorns in my side. I was a personal witness to many of their games, not that I enjoyed it, but I couldn't deny them their efforts. Now I don't know what DL is like in person, he could be a douche or he could be the kindest man ever, what I do know is that he's already building this team to something.

If you look at a previous post, you can see that there is a core that's being formed involving specific players. And what I think is promising is that this core does not include Cammy or Fro. These two are expected to be the veterans once this Core 4 begins to dominate. There is a lot that's going on within the team roster right now, which doesn't include the players developing in Manchester (and Bernier out in Lewiston). From an interview at Inside The Kings, DL said he drove 6 hours to see how Bernier was doing out in Lewiston. 6 hours of driving! If you don’t think that’s dedication, then you need to open your eyes. Lombardi has a plan and it’s not some one-year plan either. If you take him out of the equation, what’s going to happen to the developing players that are in the system? Are they going to be brought up prematurely or moved to some other team? My “Baby Bernier Watch” is on here for a reason. It’s not because I think he’s a cutie pie, which I’m sure every girl will tell you that he is. It's here because I believe he has the potential to rock the net when he’s good and ready to play a full season for the Kings. But I will not be hesitant to say that the players have to f-ing protect their goalie. The games at the beginning of this season were lost not because of Bernier’s poor playing; it was because he wasn’t protected! I can’t tell you how difficult it was to watch the defensemen not blocking shots for him or not cutting off the passing lane for him. Overall, they just were not acting like a cohesive unit. You can’t throw a 19-year-old goalie out there and expect him to be like Roy in his prime! It doesn’t work like that! Sorry, I think I stepped on my little soap box unknowingly...

In moving from DL to Robitaille, I think Lucky is doing a FANTASTIC job on the business relations end of the spectrum. He is one of THE faces of the LA Kings and I would be shocked if he didn’t stick with this job for a number of years. He is one of those franchise players that needs to be in this type of position, which enables him to be accessible to the fans while working toward the betterment of this organization. I don’t think he would be the best fit as a replacement GM. I don't know all of the inner workings of what GMs have to do, but I will say that I think Lombardi knows exactly what he's doing and how the Kings should be building. And I am a complete advocate in keeping Robitaille as the public face of the organization to the 20 million people living in Los Angeles. You can’t deny the draw that Lucky has; in knowing this, why would you put him in the GM position to face the wolves. He's already doing a hell of a job wooing the crowds now. I think maybe it's the fact that he's the highest scoring left-wing in the entire NHL. But what do I know, I'm just a girl.

Conclusion: I want to see what DL has up his sleeves and I love seeing Robitaille in this position, which keeps him visible to the fans. I’d rather not see a front office shakeup right now, but if that’s what the Higher Ups want…

Follow up: 12.07.07 : I found this over at The Hockey News, an article titled "All The Kings Mistakes." Could this guy have presented more lopsided stats? In order for me to even consider this guy as reliable, he probably should have presented the numbers in a more complete manner. He is basically letting you all know what he thinks of DL. Below was copied and pasted from this article.

Here’s a list of L.A.’s top five scorers so far this year and five of their worst regular roster players (from a statistical perspective). Some were brought in by Lombardi, some by former GM Dave Taylor, Deduce the trend.

Best

Anze Kopitar, 29 points (drafted by Taylor)
Mike Cammalleri. 25 points (drafted by Taylor)
Dustin Brown, 24 points (drafted by Taylor)
Alexander Frolov, 20 points (drafted by Taylor)
Lubomir Visnovsky, 16 points (drafted by Taylor)

Worst

Michal Handzus, 5 points, minus-11 (signed by Lombardi)
Rob Blake, minus-11 (signed by Lombardi)
Brian Willsie, 4 points, minus-7 (signed by Lombardi)
Patrick O’Sullivan, minus-7 (acquired by Lombardi)
Brad Stuart, minus-10 (signed by Lombardi)

Now, the resurgent Flyers:

Michael Richards, 31 points (drafted by Clarke)
Daniel Briere, 30 points (signed by Holmgren)
Joffrey Lupul, 17 points (acquired by Holmgren)
Mike Knuble, 16 points (signed by Clarke)
Jeff Carter, 15 points (drafted by Clarke)

Let me ask you this, Mr. Ryan Kennedy. Where are the plus/minus numbers for the first and third group of players? What are the point totals for all of the players in the second group? Where are the guys that Taylor signed and Lombardi drafted (P.S. These guys are kinda kicking a lot of ass right now). When you're trying to present an argument or trying to raise some eyebrows, why don't you give up ALL of the numbers. Thanks.

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Hockey and High Heels

Original post date: Sunday, October 28, 2007

What a fantastic day; spending 8 hours at the Staples Center today was exactly how I wanted to pass this Saturday by. Hockey & High Heels was the event that brought us out and it couldn't have been better. Yes the flyer geared the event to women wanted to know more about the game, but it evolved into something better. The 24 or so women that made it out all already had a love for the game so it was a great way to bring this unique group of ladies together. I will say that one thing that caught me (and KMS2) off guard was that many of the women brought their own equipment for the on-ice time. Not gonna lie, it was a little intimidating, but this really was a fantastic group of women to spend the day with.

We first took a tour of the locker room. One thing that killed me was the heat. All of their equipment was hanging up in their stalls being dried out by the heat funneling into the room. It was like an oven in there, but understandable considering the need. The second thing that killed me. Crocs. In the room just outside the locker room were more stalls for the players. The boys had their own matching shoes and Crocs. And we all know how I feel about Crocs! On another note, Handzus. Dude, you need some new equipment. Your gear is kind of...old and gross. And I don't know if I really needed to see Brownie's jock. But it was hanging there for all to see!

One highlight was definitely skating on the ice with Daryl Evans and doing all of the drills. There was one drill he was showing us and I piped up and said, “You're funny, Daryl.” (as in, there's no way I'm gonna be able to do that) Whereupon, he came over and tapped me on the helmet with his stick. I think that was the point where I fell head over heels, as well as on my ass. On more than one occasion. I DID perfect my stop though, but stopping to the right was a no go. As Zoolander so eloquently put it, “I'm not an ambi-turner.” But I now understand why the players are DRIPPING with sweat during interviews and stuff. It gets HOT out on the ice with all that equipment on. Sure you can take your gloves and helmet off for a bit, but all of the equipment is actually keeping your body heat close to you. It was something I've never thought about before, but you learn something new everyday.

Right when I got off the ice, I was interviewed by a guy with Kings radio or something (can't remember). But I was glad it was only for audio because I was sweating so badly. haha KMS2 and I got interviewed by Heidi Androl a little later on camera. I don't know if it'll actually be used, but we'll let you know. It was cool to meet her and actually talk to her. Something I found amusing is that KMS2 is right-handed and holds a stick left-handed whereas I'm left-handed and hold a stick right-handed. When we noticed that at the same time, we said we just used our brother's' sticks when we were kids, which caused us to basically be mirror opposites in that respect.

The tour of the Staples Center was next and was pretty cush. There were definitely places that I saw which I will probably never see again. Cigar room? Don't actually WANT to go in there. But everything else was pretty much awesome. Can someone tell me what the Executives Wives Room is for?

Luc definitely brings an energy to the room. I can't believe I was in the same room with the all-time points-leading left winger in the NHL.

Notable swag from the event:
- Puck signed by Luc (given to me by KMS2). I LOVE IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
- LA Kings scarf
- Hockey & High Heels by Lisa Ovens (who is adorable!)
- 2008 calender that everyone got. Love the pictures, love the layout. My only critique is that the crown on the front is a little small. I thought there was a lot of unused space on the cover.
- Bailey doll that I got from Daryl Evans during the second intermission when I went up to section 318 to look for KingsCast. Definitely did NOT see Kingscast (thanks Keith and Chris), but Daryl and I had a good chat.

Shout outs:
Lisa Ovens – It was so great meeting you and look for my email with pictures! I hope we can meet up again in the future!
Daryl Evans – He has such a great personality and the ice time was ridiculously awesome. I definitely appreciated his taking the time to hang out with us.
Hillary Hodding – Thanks for organizing such a great event! Please do it again every year.
Finny – It was cool meeting you (even if you were wearing your Ducks jersey). =) I'm glad we got to marvel at how fucking huge Penner was.
The Kings players – After having a great day at the Staples Center it was fantastic to end it with a win over the Oilers. 4 in a row! (And don't worry, I didn't step on the crown in your locker room.)

Quick game notes:
- The first penalty against the Oilers. I don't think the Oilers killed that penalty at all; I saw it more as the Kings wasting time. They weren't able to get a shot on Roloson and I wasn't impressed by their play for those two minutes. But things looked up after that and I was able to relax a bit.
- Sully's second goal. Fucking ridiculous.
- That Jack Johnson is one SMART player. I've been VERY impressed by his play on the ice. Not to say that I've seen any play OFF the ice.... So anyway, I like that he's noticeably thinking out there instead of blindly hitting guys.
- During the third period when one of the Oilers took down Blake, I stood up and screamed, “YOU FUCKER!” When I sat down right after, I realized that it was kind of loud. I definitely got some stares and heard someone make a comment. But honestly, I didn't think my section was gonna be that quiet after that hit! Whatever guys!

Conclusion: my day couldn't have gone any better.

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Modano, Robitaille, and....Crocs???

Original post date: Wednesday, October 24, 2007

So I went over to the Toyota Sports Center on my lunch break again and, lo and behold, the Dallas Stars were practicing. But, right when I sat down, I realized that their practice jerseys don't have number/names on them (obviously), and I wasn't going to know who was who. *Sigh* No matter, I was still able to pick out Modano and Mattias easily. As for Turco? Full face masks not only protect the grill, they also hide identities. Oh yeah, I fished out Sergei Zubov from the melee too. Thoughts on their practice? They looked fast. Their drills were clean and everyone was moving quickly and with purpose. Shit. I just hope the Kings don't get killed like the last time the Stars rolled thru So Cal. Yeah....

So this Modano kid. I caught him in the cutest act I think I've witnessed in the past...well, I don't know how long. It was more of a physical motion to another player. If you catch me around, ask and I'll personally do an instant replay for you.

Robitaille. Definitely saw him walking around looking all business-like. Awww, can't wait to finally meet him in person on Saturday!!

Crocs. This may seem out of left field. And it sort of is. I mean, I'm talking about hockey this and hockey that, and then Crocs? Yes sir, and I will say this: I don't know what I hate more, the Sharks or Crocs. Anyway, it has been brought to my attention that Peter Forsberg's company is the importer of Crocs to North America.

According to the Swedish newspaper Allehanda, Forsberg’s new airline is called Hoga Kusten. Translated, that’s “high coast” in Swedish. The airline will be operated by Forspro, a holding company that is co-owned by Forsberg. Forspro also owns the overseas distribution rights to Crocs footwear.

Holy hell. So it's Forsberg's ass that I have to kick! He's the reason those Crocs exist in this country! Ack! Peter, if you're out there and listening, please keep those ugly pieces of shit over in Europe. Please, I beg you.

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