I came of age during Gretzky's Black and Silver era while unaware of concept of seasonal change. Two things that have stemmed from that period are my ability to recognize Bob Miller’s voice in a second and my never-ending devotion to my favorite player, Rob Blake.
The Kings just can't catch a break. Two empty netters from the Chicago Blackhawks in the last 1:10 of the game doesn't do anything for the Kings' confidence. The game was 2-0 for the longest time with goals from Patrick Sharp and Martin Havlat. The Hawks definitely had more defensive spark compared to the Kings, but it also helped in that the Kings took a total of 8 penalties, which included a 10-minute misconduct by Davis Drewiske. From the looks of the situation, Drew Doughty was taken down in front of the Kings bench and Drewiske was yapping away to draw the penalty.
The poorest stat from this game was that the Kings only had 15 shots in the entire game, which wasn't surprising at all considering the way the first and second period were panning out. They had 5 shots on net in each period, the Blackhawks ended with 32 shots, and I just wasn't impressed with anything in this game. Things finally picked up when Doughty scored on the PP at 16:54, but nothing else happened for my boys.
Good: Kings scoring on the power play. Bad: Needing a power play in order to score.
The empty netters were soul deflating for me. With a little over a minute remaining, the Kings pull Jonathan Quick and Sharp inadvertently got his second goal of the game when he cleared the puck from his zone, which would have been whistled for an icing. The crappy part was that it actually hit the post of the Kings' net and bounced to the other post and went in. Heartbreak. To make it worse, less than a minute later Havlat got a breakaway on the still empty net and that was all she wrote. The Kings are toast at 70 points and the Blackhawks gained two more points to stay in fourth place in the standings.
In going back to the Evgeni Malkin hit on Wayne Simmonds, as predicted Malkin was not suspended. Instead he received a slap on the wrist and was fined. I just love how people are so caught up in whether the hit was legal or illegal. That's not the fucking point, you nut jobs. To reiterate, the point is that the brunt of the hit was on Simmonds' head. There's no arguing that. But whatever, everyone has a hard-on for Malkin and the fine was clearly just chump change for him. The Penguins played on NBC this morning and both they and the NHL are happy.
Watching Chicago play on TV and in looking at their place in the standings, you get the sense that they're this "team on the rise" (thanks MSM); but when they get to Staples Center, something happens and they forget what it's like to play hockey. For this reason, I went to Staples with a bit of confidence that the Kings could come out with a win. Not too surprisingly, they dominated the Hawks in a 5 to 2 victory last night and now the Kings are on a modest three-game winning streak, but this could completely fall apart on this upcoming road trip that begins in Montreal on Saturday.
Jarret Stoll continues to impress by winning 15 faceoffs and only losing two (88%). Derek Armstrong has also been strong here and in this game he won 5 and lost one. I've been pretty happy with Army with every game he's played in this season, and he didn't disappoint in this game either. Actually, come to think of it, I wasn't really disappointed with anyone's play; although, there was one player who made very noticable errors, but I let them slide due to the rest of the team's play. The kid I'm talking about was Jack Johnson; basically, he is totally awesome but (at the same time) really rusty right now. Granted, this was his third or fourth game back and you can tell he'll need a couple more games to get back into it. The errors he made were pretty painful in that he just couldn't connect the blade to the puck in key situations and subsequently lost the momentum of the shift. The whifs and missed passes were hilariously bad, but it's not like I'm chastising him or anything. His spin-o-rama move at the beginning of the game was momentous, and I'm not mad in any way. Side note: it was a bit odd when we didn't see Drew Doughty out for every other shift; Jack had 22:49 of TOI but Doughty still had 22:04. I definitely appreciated the sheer potential this D core will get to.
One gripe that I had was concerning the three stars at the end of the game. I would like to know how in the world the media thought Brian Campbell deserved the 3rd star of the game. The only thing I remember him doing all game was making error after error after error. At one point, he slipped on the wet ice and I looked at Marie and asked her how much the Blackhawks just paid him to fall right there. I don't think he deserved the third star and that's that.
I don't have anymore time to write more. This'll have to do until Saturday's game! Hasta!
The Chicago Blackhawks were in town and the Kings welcomed them with open arms, which they promptly used to squeeze the Hawks into submission. The Kings opened up the game with something that happens about once every month, score a goal in the first few minutes of the first period! A bit of confusion in front of the net concluded with Jarret Stoll being awarded the goal with Michal Handzus and Alexander Frolov assisting on the play. I think I'm getting use to hearing Handzus' name being announced over the loud speaker.
Besides the fact that the Kings won the game, there is a stat that must be put in the spotlight here. The Kings dominated the Hawks in the faceoff circle. It wasn't just a beating, it was a pounding of the epic sort. Stoll won 10 faceoffs out of 14 for a percentage of 71. Anze Kopitar beat Stoll by winning 15 and losing only 5 for a 75 win percentage! The third was Derek Armstrong with a 73 win percentage by getting 8 and losing only 3.
(Images courtesy of IMDB)
Dude Stoll, it's okay if you aren't 100% in the circle...you're doing fine...
The first period seemed to promise 40 more minutes of play from two teams who seemed evenly matched, which wasn't really the case as the Kings proceeded to slowly take the game from the Hawks. That doesn't mean there weren't close calls. The Kings have been averaging a league-leading 24 shots against, which the Hawks were able to get by the end of the game. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is when it's rare for a team to get that many shots past the defenders and onto Erik Ersberg. The little one was seeing a lot of rubber flying his way, but he looked pretty great once again. He did end with two pucks getting past him, but it's not bad when you think about the 5 that got past Christobal Huet. The Kings threw their own 28 at Huet who looked a bit odd in neon-red pads. What nutjob approved that color?
After Stoll's game-opening goal, Fro notched one of his own in the second period. In the third period Army got his second goal of the season by driving the net and being the role player that he's become. Sweet action. This turned out to be the game-winner when the door was closed byKyle Calder of all people. Here we were sitting in our section talking crap about Calder all through the game and then he scores. What a buzz kill.
What Kopi visualizes as he approaches the faceoff dot...
The Blackhawks attempted an early salvage of the game when they pulled Huet with just under three minutes remaining. With this, Patrick O'Sullivan roofed an empty net goal and the arena started to empty out. Oddly enough, Sully played two more minutes than Kopi, but when looking at the stats, I can see why. The time that Sully was on the PK shoots his number past Kopi in that aspect, which is fine. We really don't need Kopi getting hurt by blocking shots.
Army, just because you're not scratched doesn't mean you can go kicking people...
All-in-all, I thought this was a well-rounded game. The 1PM start didn't seem to hurt the Kings in any way. The minutes played by everyone seemed to work well, sans Calder getting 15:00 of TOI. Honestly, is there no one else who can play the top line left wing?? He's not creating anything and when he does get the puck he either makes a shitty pass or waits too long to take the shot, which causes him to take a no-angle shot. Hence, he sucks. P.S. He also needs to be taken of the PP. Not just on the first or second unit, but both. He should be on the bench during those minutes. I'm completely confident that Oscar Moller could eat up those minutes without any problems.
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Pre-Game: - The Kings host the Chicago Blackhawks and I'm pretty excited to see Kane and Toews. During the pre-game warmup, I'm at the Chicago end right up against the glass taking pictures, and all of sudden, a puck hits me in the hand. After the initial shock, I realize that it somehow got through the netting and glass and, wouldn't you know it, I just got a free puck! Sweet!
Definitely still frozen when it hit me on the hand.
- The Kings start JJ, Blake, Brownie, Kopi, Nagy, with Barbs in goal. My thought before the game was, "What the heck is Nagy doing on this opening lineup?" I would eat my words by the end of the game. - Crow is announced to resounding boos still.
1st Period: - First 12 seconds = BAD - Hawks Goal - Lapointe gets it past Barbs at 2:54. Boo. - Three minutes into the game and Chicago already has 7 shots on and the Kings have registered zero. - Brownie draws a hooking penalty and the Kings are on the PP. Kings Goal - Preissing (5) gets a rebound off a shot from Nagy at 4:02.
The first of many celebrations
- Tuomo Ruutu and Manchester Boy draw penalties at 5:07, interference and high sticking, respectively. - Vish pushes Toews into the boards and he goes to the bench in visible pain. He doesn't return for the rest of the game. - So this is where they announce that they take an assist away from Toews on their goal and change up assists for the Kings' goal. Are they hot-boxing the scoring booth or what? - Koci takes down Sully and Giuliano gets rocked. Zeiler's energy is definitely missing from the Kings' physical play. - Hawks Goal - On the PP Little Patrick Kane gets a pass down low and then immediately passes it across the crease in front of Barbs, Sharp gets it, and snaps it in at 11:01. I was disheartened at this point, except for the fact that I have Patrick Sharp on one of my fantasy teams. - Kings Goal - The Hawks fail to clear it and Nagy (6) gets it in at 11:14. The Kings now have 2 goals on 5 shots. - Kings Goal - I HEART SULLY. The Kings are on a PP; the passing is crisp and they look good. At 13:24 Sully (10) gets a pass from Brownie on the left side, takes to Khabibulin, and backhands it in (GWG). - Kings Goal - Nagy (7) gets on the board again at 15:35. The InvisiblePair puts something together getting assists for themselves. - Goalie change for Chicago.The Wall is taken out letting 4 goals in on 10 shots. Lalime is in and is about to get annihilated. - Kopi gets ROCKED and his helmet and stick go flying. He's recovering on the bench and is out on the next shift. Whew. - The Kings set up this beauty of a play but Modry fumbles at the end. Kopi tips the puck out of his zone, Brownie gets it in the neutral zone and banks it off the boards in front of the Hawks bench, Sully gets the pass and gets across the blue line. He hesitates to pass, but when he does, Modry is there to fumble it and the chance is lost. - Handzus still sucks at taking faceoffs.
End Of The First Period: - Kings 4 - Hawks 2 (Shots 11-19) - The Kings decide they want to continue their streak and try for 3 in a row. - Mr. Inconsistent has already netted two goals. Invisible Pair has 2 assists and 1 goal collectively. - My Sophomore Stud has a PP goal. - I wasn't in the arena for the announcement of the scratches, but I'm assuming they are Cammy (still with the ribs), Dallman (sucks and broken foot), and Klemm (just plain sucks). - So I have to introduce the "Munchie Man" to you. This guy sells candy in the sections by the press box and is loud and proud. To get people's attention he yells things like, "Munchies!! Who's got the munchies!?!" and "Get your munchies here! The Southern California cuisine!!" If you see this guy, say hello because he's super nice.
2nd Period: - Kings Goal - Fro (5) scores at 28 seconds in. The Kings are working it; everyone's moving and making a difference. - I'm still waiting to see something exciting from Kane. - Ratti and Koci get in a fight and I'm pumped. Ratti is definitely excited to throw down. It ends after some solid fisticuffs and they both receive 5 for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct. - Kings are on the PP a minute later. There was a guy sitting behind me who kept yelling to give it to Stuart. I was definitely thinking, "NO! DON'T GIVE IT TO STUART!! HE SUCKS!!" - 7:55 left - Kopi gets slammed into the boards in front of the sin bins and JJ takes the puck all the way to Lalime by himself. - The Kings are setting everything up nicely and getting pucks to the net. Problem is, they can't finish most of these plays. Doesn't matter that it's 5-2 Kings right now. Finish your plays! - At 13:46 the Kings are on the PP again. I kept my eye on Calder for this PP; I just felt like something was going to happened, and I wasn't wrong. Lalime didn't like Calder's screen and so he shifted to the right side of the net. He got Nagy's pass, moved it to Fro (6) who was open on the left side of the crease, and it's 6-2. This set up was so clean that a goal was predictable. - The rest of the period is much the same. The Hawks get a couple of good shots on Barbs, but Barbs is SOLID tonight; he looks focused and his movements are controlled.
End Of The Second Period: - I can confidently say that the Kings have played a full 40 minutes. - Kings 6 - Hawks 2 (Shots 22-26)
3rd Period: - Kings Goal - 28 seconds in and Nagy (8) gets his hat trick on a pass from Fro. I thought this was a good rush into the Hawks zone by Army, Nagy, and Fro. Fro (at the goal line) passes it back to Nagy with Army supporting the play the whole way. Yeah, secondary scoring!
Hats everywhere!
- So Koci is PMSing tonight or something. He gets a 10-minute misconduct in the first minute. - Kings Goal - At 5:18 Brownie (19) takes advantage of Chicago's utter breakdown in the neutral zone. He grabs up the puck, stickhandles it, and throws it behind Lalime. Too easy. Kings up 8-2. - Tempers are flaring up and Chicago is not happy. Adam Burish gets 2 minutes for high sticking, 2 minutes for roughing, a 10-minute misconduct, and a game misconduct. To this I say, "Later, Slut." Preissing gets 2 for roughing too. - Kings Goal - The Kings have a 5-on-3 and Vish (4) gets a goal from passes from Calder and Fro at 7:40. - It's here where I sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the game. IT'S OVER. - Sully gets a 5-minute match penalty in the last minute of the third. A Hawk limps over to the bench doubled over.
Did this rush lead to a goal? I dunno, probably.
End of the Game: - Kings 9 - Hawks 2 (Shots 26 - 34) - The Kings absolutely dominated the neutral zone. They didn't allow the Hawks to put anything together after their second goal in the first period. - The energy in the arena was high and so were the Kings goal total. - Ratti definitely made it known that he would F you up in a second if you even held his gaze for too long. - Interesting stat: Chicago came into the game tonight with the #1 PK in the entire NHL. The Kings converted 7 PPs into 5 PP goals. Things that make you go "hmm."
What a way to ring in the new year.
P.S. Did anyone catch this AMP Energy commercial during the Winter Classic? It has Ryan Miller and J.S. AUBIN throwing Yo Mamma jokes at each other. I think I might have died when I first saw this. Not only has J.S. been playing decently lately, but he's doling out Yo Mamma jokes?? Yo-Mamma-ween? AMAZING.
