Extra! Extra! The Kings Are Mortal!

After watching the Los Angeles Kings throw everything at the Detroit Red Wings including the fixtures on the toilet on Thursday, it was hard to get up for the game against the St. Louis Blues last night. There was basically nothing the Kings could do to match the intensity and desperation they showed on Thursday, but I faithfully watched the second game wondering what was going to happen. Let's just say the number of hits to Blues' faces matched the number of shots on Jimmy Howard.

I can't remember the last time I was brought to tears from the result of a Kings game, but my mascara was definitely being smeared from under my eyes after Darren Helm spun away from Sean O'Donnell in the corner only to beat Jonathan Quick through the legs after a poke check loosened the puck from Helm's grip. The remaining 17 seconds had my hands occupying my eye space from the sheer output of effort and sustained attack from the Kings, which is usually the complete opposite in these games. I couldn't believe how quickly I was brought to my knees after Ryan Smyth had me running down the hall screaming with his power play goal late in the third period. I was expecting nothing other than overtime to come around after the tying goal. Maybe next time I shouldn't be so expectant of an outcome.



When one is given the task of following a great act with his or her own, the pressure to "bring it" is as heavy as an anvil on the chest of the performer. For the Kings, it's a rare occurrence to have an insane effort result in a loss knowing they will have to follow it up with a game against a team possessing a boring yet (arguably) similar style of play to their own. This was definitely the case against the Blues at the Staples Center on Saturday night. The slow start let me know it wasn't going to be anything like the Red Wings game a mere two days earlier. The biggest difference was the underwhelming performance of Quick. Perhaps the sheer number of games has caught up with this young pup, but the goals against were ugly and he was yanked after letting in four unsightly ones. Erik Ersberg stepped in with a little over 13 minutes to play, which was about the time where the Kings decided they wanted to try and win. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown notched a goal apiece, but it wasn't enough to get the tie and at least one point.

There are a few things from the game I wanted to mention because I found them fascinating. The first is that apparently the Blues have one of the highest penalty killing percentages in the league. Where did that come from? The other is the annoying fact that Raitis Ivanans doesn't fight. Sean O'Donnell and Matt Greene scuffled against Brad Winchester and BJ Crombeen, not respectively, while Ivanans did nothing. The roles of the aforementioned Kings players are obvious and need not be explained. Let's fix this picture, people.

The next game for the Kings will be tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks. I'm not sure the outcome here since I predicted the Kings would go 5-2 during this seven-game home stand and that they would split the two games with the Sharks. They're already two down and another loss wouldn't look very good to the misty-eyed Kings fans who were hoping this squad could actually make the post season.

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Starting The Road Trip Off on a Great Foot!

The Kings are off to a solid start to the season going 4 and 1. I found their game on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues to be a solidly won game while the win this morning against the New York Islanders was less cohesive but still satisfactory. On Saturday the Kings played a great game all around. The passing was clean, the transitions were smooth, and the lines were clicking nicely. They won 2-1 with the Blues giving it an exciting ending to the cap off the night.

Every game brings me closer to saying, "I'm cool with Ryan Smyth." I can't deny he does what the Kings have needed for a long time, get a body in front of the freaking net, and I can comfortably say I like Smyth better than Justin Williams. I feel like I'm never going to be sold on him; what's the deal? Someone please have a discussion with me! I give a definite two thumbs up to this win with the only time the Kings faltering in their play was the incident that led to Alexander Steen's goal, which was in and out of the net so quickly that play was not halted immediately. The defense looked great and Jonathan Quick was solid.

The score was also 2-1 for today's game on the Island, but the noted difference was that both teams were allowing the play to move back and forth through both zones instead of one team asserting themselves over the other. The Kings didn't control the game until Anze Kopitar's PP goal in the 2nd period. I can definitely see Kopitar's potential beginning to show itself from his past seasons If he keeps this point and performance streak moving forward, he will definitely get noticed outside of the greater Los Angeles area. The noted player of this game was Drew Doughty wearing facial protection due to the puck-in-the-mouth incident in Saturday's game. Jarret Stoll did an awesome job on this play drawing the opposition to him while he was bringing the puck into the Islanders' zone, which left Doughty wide open for the pass. Doughty slapped the puck and got it far side on Marty Biron for his second goal of the season. SICK.

(LAKings.com)

Even though the Kings are 4-1, there are still plenty of things the Kings need to work on, firstly, their faceoffs. Here are the percentages in the circle so far:

• 44% against the New York Islanders October 12
  
• 40% against the St. Louis Blues on October 10
• 38% against the Minnesota Wild on October 8
• 43% against the San Jose Sharks on October 6
• 41% against the Phoenix Coyotes on October 3

No need to paint a hazy picture from these stats; they're poor and everyone knows it. The amount of crucial faceoffs being lost is unbelievable. If the Kings gain the possession AT puck drop, it'd definitely reduce the number of heart attacks on my part.

By the way, who scored the lone Islanders' goal? Matt Moulson of course! He was looking quite scragly with his new coif, which probably is very much needed on the east coast. The funniest part about Bob Miller and Jim Fox's discussion of Moulson was his relationship with Jonathan Quick's wife's sister. It was mentioned twice that Moulson was perhaps Quick's future brother-in-law. Now, now, let's not jump the gun.

(LAKings.com)

The stats for this game overall weren't impressive in terms of shots on and hits. The Kings had 22 shots while the Islanders had 29. Hits were 22 and 34, respectively. It's fantastic the Kings are getting the wins, but the it's the little things that add up to carrying a solidly performing roster deep into the season. The individual players still have many parts of the game to work on, so that's definitely promising. There is room for lots of growth over the entire season, and I'm (almost) happy with the current team on the ice.

P.S. I love Raitis Ivanans. He played 2 minutes and 44 seconds and absolutely pounded the HELL out of Joel Rechlicz, whoever that is.

*~*~*~*

A few more things:

• Happy birthday to Mr. Bob Miller! Still looking great!
• Check out Hockeywood, L.A. for great content on the Kings!
  

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Sofa King: Blues 2, Kings 0

According to Bob Miller and Jim Fox the Kings set the record for the most shutouts in a season last night. That's... really not something to be proud of. The Kings faced the St. Louis Blues and were shutout 2-0. Once again Jonathan Quick made some fantastic saves while the Kings offensive players came up with nothing. There hasn't really been any offensive showing or upside from any player lately except for maybe Jarret Stoll and Drew Doughty.

Speaking of the offense, the roster moves have been interesting as of late.

• Why was Teddy Purcell benched in the previous game? He's been getting chances and taking shots on the power play when others haven't.
• Why has Oscar Moller been scratched here and there? Injurying flaring up?
• How long has Alexander Frolov been playing with his injury (whatever that may be)?
• Why was Kevin Westgarth in the line up? He was basically useless.

There are about 10 games left and I'm just hoping the Kings don't crash land to 15th place in the West, but I actually don't see them ending in 14th as much of a stretch since the Blues have picked themselves back up and are in contention for a playoff spot. I just don't understand why the Kings can't have a season where they're magically contending for the 8th spot in the last month of the season. So what if they end up playing Detroit or San Jose, at least they wouldn't be in the basement. Still, it's a miracle in itself that they're not in Colorado's position. But I can't do an introspective while the Kings are still playing games. That being said, look for one once the post season comes around.

So the game against the Blues; it was looking like the Kings were going to come out the victors. They were dominating the Blues on their power plays; even when they were on the PK, they were forechecking like crazy. It honestly looked like they were going to eventually score to get the go-ahead goal so that I could sit back and relax. But it's just too bad that Chris Mason was a stonewall. He stopped all 22 shots and handed the Kings their pathetic new record. The Blues' Patrik Berglund scored both their goals and that was it. I'm always thinking that the Kings should just crash the net when they need a goal. They'd get more goals and learn to be more aggressive around the front of the net. They were looking for the pretty shots last night while Berglund's second goal was a scramble. Matt Greene played goal for a few seconds while Quick was forced out of position by all the bodies in front of the net. The result? A poke of the stick on a loose puck and the Blues were up by two goals.

That's all I got.

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Hats Galore! Kings 6, Blues 2

The Kings shake up the lines and they put on a show for the devoted LA fans. After an inconsistent couple of games, they boys come roaring back with some big roster tweaks. Teddy Purcell had been recalled from the Manchester Monarchs and placed on the right wing with Anze Kopitar and Patrick O'Sullivan. Dustin Brown was moved to the second line right wing and played without his heterosexual life partner for perhaps the first time this season. This being the case I was pretty nervous about how Teddy was going to do, but it turned out that I didn't have to worry because play well he did, albeit only getting 10:05 of TOI. I'm sure he didn't play as physical as the coaching staff wanted him to play (which had been the knock against him in training camp), but I think he did well enough in his first game up with the big boys this season. I will point out though that there were some blatant passes that he just could not get a stick on right in front of the goal. That being said, he was 100 times better there than Kyle Calder was, and I'm sure his ice time will increase steadily as long as he continues an upward trend in his performance.

On the defensive end, Drew Doughty was paired up with Kyle Quincey and Sean O'Donnell was moved over with Matt Greene. I wasn't devastated with this switch when I heard about it and I think it proved the point that the Kings just needed a little tweaking to get back to their normal form. The defensemen were in fine form and there were no complaints from me about them. And Quincey got two assists. That's right, TWO.

I was irritated with two things in this game: (1) The fact that John Zeiler sucks. Every time he was out on the ice, I thought he was going to ram someone's head into the boards, which he kind of did at one point. Once again, he doesn't hit well and is just wild out there. Have the Kings ever considered shock therapy? I heard Carrie Fisher swears by it; (2) At the end of the game, one Blues player tried to engage Raitis Ivanans in a fight but Ivanans wasn't having any of that. The situation ended with a ref holding Ivanans whilst being surrounded by 4 Blues. 4!!! Was that necessary?

Back to the good things:

• Brownie was basically awesome. He's a great all-around player and he was just doing the right things in this game and he was rewarded with a hat trick.
  
• Kopi's first goal was pretty freaking great. Teddy's pass to Sully who backhanded it to Kopi with the wide open net. Ahhhh, sweetness. There was no way Chris Mason was going to stop that one. Watch it here!
  
• The Kings capitalized with three PP goals to start off the game.
• Concurrently, the Kings were 100% on the PK.

The only negative to the game was that the boys were 48% in the faceoff circle. Booooo. C'mon, Stoll; we're not paying you to be 43% here. So the Kings trot out another solid game and I only have about a day and a half to revel in this success because the Minnesota Wild are swinging through LA on Saturday. We shall see how the boys fare against the trapping Wild.

Lastly: Here is some RARE national coverage on Brown! Please read here.

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You're My Boy, Drew; Kings 5, Blues 3

The Los Angeles Kings faced off against the St. Louis Blues last night and my boys got two more points to get out of 5th in the Pacific Division. They've also won two in a row, which may seem pathetic, I know, but really, it's the Kings. I have to take the positives where I can. This is actually going to be an abbreviated review since I have stuff to do today and don't have too much time here. Busting out the list format while dropping the wicked beats (...was that nerdy?....):

• Drew Doughty got a goal and an assist while logging in 25:09 of ice time. I don't think he needs his ego fluffed up anymore this week.
  
• Anze Kopitar finally scored his second goal of the season. He really needed this and it was an absolute beauty of a goal. To watch him take the put around the back of the net and beat Manny Legace before he could shift over the left side of the net was fantastic. He finished off the rest of the game getting 2 assists.
• Alexander Frolov, Tom Preissing, and Dustin Brown all got a goal and an assist as well.
• This was definitely a more exciting game than the last one against the Florida Panthers. The Blues were able to get on the board with 3 goals of their own, but we clinched the game with an empty-netter with less than 2 minutes to go.
• It was nice to see Sean O'Donnell sticking up for his teammates in the middle of the third period. Peter Harrold had gotten his second hit to his head of the game and O'Donnell wasn't going to let the Blues goes quietly into the night.
• I would also like to give the standard golf clap to Erik Ersberg. This was his third start and he's looked pretty damn good in all three games. Note (which I've already told 1/2 of KingsCast): if you pick up Ersberg as a goalie in your fantasy league, don't be expecting great save percentage numbers. The Kings have been letting so few shots on goal that every goal Ersberg lets in drops that percentage severely. That being said, he's pretty solid otherwise for the wins and GAA numbers.
• Last thing: three of the four goals last night were on the PP. Sweetness.

This has been a pretty good week for the Kings and I can only hope they continue the momentum through to the next week where we face the Dallas Stars twice and Nashville Predators. I would like to see Kopi and Patrick O'Sullivan get on the board in terms of goals for next week. Everyone else can continue in said fashion. Wait... I'd also like to see Kyle Calder elsewhere on the roster, like say, the 3rd or 4th line.

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Kings Shutout St. Louis Blues 4-0

The Kings traveled to St. Louis to play the Blues and I had a few concerns going into this game: (1) Matt Moulson was benched for Kyle Calder, (2) Tom Preissing was benched for Peter Harrold, (3) the Blues have the #1 power play in the league and the Kings have the #1 penalty kill. It's definitely strange to think of these two teams doing this well on the specialtly teams, but that was the case and I was really nervous because I didn't want the Kings to end this game not 100% on the PK. But if they had to be scored on, I would have accepted it coming from the team with the top PP in the league. If you're gonna take it from someone, might as well be the best.

Overall this game was pretty great for the Kings. Not only did they dominate on the scoreboard, they took over on the ice for all three periods. To cap off the they game, they get their first shutout of the season! Well, that was a small fib; they didn't completely dominate all three periods. The start of the game saw the Kings take a bit of time to figure out how to play in the neutral zone. This wasn't a new occurrence since we've seen this in their other games this season. They're able to get the puck out of their zone, but get immediately shutdown by the offense of the other team once they get into the neutral zone. One they figure out how to start a game with this problem already figured out, they'll automatically come out with more confidence.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Look at him go!

This game saw everything but the Blues scoring. There were plenty of fights and penalties on both sides. The bout between Sean O'Donnell and Cam Janssen was cringe-worthy since Janssen gave O'Donnell about 73 left jabs to the head. Eeee. Interestingly enough, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Greene, and Brad Richardson got the other fights of the evening with Raitis Ivanans only being called for roughing in one of the scrums. At the end of the evening, the Kings are still perfect on the PK and have killed off 27 of 27 penalties. Now that there is only one other team in the league who is 100% on the PK (Minnesota Wild), I get incresingly nervous with each penalty the Kings have to kill. I like the big, round number of 100%. Other things that are big and round that I like: a fresh Noah's bagel, those jumbo novelty tennis balls that you get players to sign, Kevin Smith, etc.

Kyle Quincey opened up the scoring with a lob from the blueline, which was his first while wearing the Purple and Black (or in this case, purple and white). As great as that was to get on the board, Patrick O'Sullivan's corralling of the puck and sending it past Manny Legace was exactly what I expect from him. He's getting his work done and making a difference every time he's out on the ice. But Mr. No Personality still surprises me with his lack of outward emotion when someone takes a run at him. He just blankly looks around. Do you not have feelings Sully? Anyway, the Blues then debut Ben Bishop who is a whopping 6'7" since Legace injured himself stepping out onto the ice for the start of the game. He was a giant in the net and making anyone under 6 feet tall look like a little kid. He was doing well until Jarret Stoll got a Dustin Brown rebound and wristed it to the back of the net. Easy stuff.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

They love each other lots and lots

Once again, I gotta give props to the checking line. They're looking good out there for almost every single shift. I can't say enough good things about them, bla, bla, bla, boring, boring, snore. Speaking of props, I will grudgingly give a nod to Calder. He was out there doing what he was supposed to be doing, being scrappy and helping to create some room for Brownie and Anze Kopitar. I will also say that Harrold was not horrible either. He wasn't fantastic or anything, but he wasn't tripping over the blueline, which I predicted he would do a few times. He blended in pretty well with the other guys on D, but I'd like Tommy P out there tomorrow. Wait... did he and Moulson travel with the team out on this quick road trip or not? Bah.

So this puts the Kings at 3-3-0, which I'm very happy about. I just hope they can continue this into Nashville. We all know what happened last season. I still have nightmares. But this game ends with another great stat. The Kings had 29 shots on net while the Blues only had 15. Not only are the Kings still on top with their PK, they're doing well getting pucks to the net! So good job, Kings, and congrats to Jason LaBarbera on the win and shutout!

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Kings 2, Blues 3

Pre-Game:
- Kings take on the St. Louis Blues
- Rookie Dmen Jack Johnson vs. Erik Johnson
- Erik Ersberg in net
- This is the picture of Brad Boyes that was in my Kings Game Day email. Someone tell me why his head is so small... He can't be wearing his shoulder pads in this, so what's the deal??

Has anyone seen Super Mario Bros??

1st Period:
- Blues Goal - McDonald at 1:40. Umm...ok...nothing new I guess. I can't believe the three (3) Kings just stood there while the puck slid past them; but Ersberg just watched it too! That seemed way too easy.
- The Blues are dominating this period; they've spent a lot of the first 5 minutes in the Kings zone and are putting 2 Blues down low to create a wall in front of Ersberg.
- Kings PK - Ellis and JJ are in the box. I heart my PK Beast; way to sacrifice the body!! The Kings watch the Blues not take too many shots on, but the Kings aren't able to clear the puck at all. Ellis comes out of the box and charges up the right-wing for a shorty, but Legace ain't no rookie.
- Halfway through the first - these are some sloppy breakouts by the Kings from their zone. Bleh. But I like that Ersberg doesn't let a lot of rebounds out in front of him. This is in stark contrast from what J.S. Aubin liked to do, which was let the puck rebound out far in front of him that gave the offensive player another opportunity for a shot on.
- Hey, Dallman! If you grow 5 inches, gain 20 pounds, and play hockey at an elite level, I might like you!
- Kings Goal - Fro (20)!!!! Sully gets the loose puck on the left wing and skates over the blueline while looking around, makes the pass to Blake, and Legace is looking around and around and doesn't realize that Frolov had already gotten the puck past him!! (19:12)

2nd Period:
- Kings PK - Very nice kill, very nice, boys.
- Kings Goal - Brownie (29) gets the puck on the left side at the blueline and snaps it past Legace and that's it. Kings up 2-1 at 4:32. Sweet action.
- The Kings have been dominating this period, hands down. They've cleaned up their act and are actually getting the puck out of the defensive zone like a pro hockey team should be. So this Erik Ersberg; staying squared to the shooter, gobbling up rebounds, snatching pucks out of mid air? I am impressed.
- Blues Goal - Tkachuk gets the puck in the neutral zone, goes high on the short side and it's tied up at 11:53.
- Wow, the Kings 4th line is providing the exact pressure they needed after the Blues tied it up. Giuliano and Ellis are cycling the puck well and actually get some chances at the net.
- Awesome = Ivanans getting clean hits off all over the ice. Crappy = Lubo getting hit and slow to get up.
- This was a great period compared to the first; it was fast-paced and the Kings were able to dominate the neutral zone at times. I thought the 4th line did a very good job of providing the support the top two lines needed. After seeing Ivanans out on the top line for a bit of the first period, I think he only got one or two chances in this period. But it seems like his play became more noticeable when he was with Kopi and Brownie just because he knew he couldn't just skate around looking for guys to throw around. Side note: Willsie with Kopi and Brownie is no good.

3rd Period:
- Most eventful thing in the first 5 minutes is Erik Johnson getting some shrapnel to the face. He was able to skate off the off on his own, so he seems okay. The Blues are playing a little better in the first part of this period than they were in the 2nd. So the play between both teams seems more even than it was in the first 40 minutes.
- There are some great passes to the front of the net on two different plays, but Cammy and Brownie are unable to convert on both of their chances. They seem to have been a little too close to Legace which made for an awkward angle for them.
- Halfway through the period - The play from both teams is more wide open now; the plays are being broken up back and forth from both teams.
- Kings PK - This is the Kings' fourth penalty they have to kill; the Blues have taken no penalties at all. This is actually a rare sight to see brownie in the box (for elbowing no less). Ellis is a pure grinder; he did a great job on his shift on this PK. I give this kill a B+.
- Blues Goal - Ryan Johnson takes full advantage of a broken play at the Kings blueline. The puck trickles through the legs of Ersberg and the Blues are up 3-2 at 13:06.
- 4:25 left on the clock - Brownie just completely upends McKee up over the Blues bench and McKee is out of the play. That was awesome.
- Kings PP - This is the first power play for the Kings with 2:09 left in the game. Blake gets his stick snapped and the Kings are up 2 men!!!
- After a whistle with less than a minute to go, Blues Brewer goes after Brownie for something, but, really, Brewer was the one that was punching Brownie on the back of the head before that whistle! But what pissed me off was that Brewer tried to grab at Lubo when the ref was taking him off! What the fuck did Lubo do to you, you ass?!?! Don't touch my point man!
- Brownie gets 2 minutes for high sticking and 5 for fighting, and the Kings are only up 4 to 3 now. The Kings were only able to get 2 shots on in the last 40 seconds and the Blues come out the victors.

Game:
- Kings 2, Blues 3 (Shots on were 32-31)
- I've resigned myself to the fact that the Kings are just gonna lose and keep losing. But that doesn't mean I can't take positives out of the remaining games:

• Handzus won 5 faceoffs and lost only 1! Has that ever happened before??
• I enjoyed seeing Ivanans in a different role tonight by being put on a line with Kopi and Brownie.
• Ellis has shown why the Kings plucked him off waivers, but, Steph, he won't be my favorite on the PK. That role belongs to Jeff Giuliano. =)
• Ersberg impressed me with his puck control between the pipes. I actually hope that Cloutier becomes his backup while Barbs recovers.
  

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Stepping up: Kings 5, Blues 1 (PT)

Player Transactions:
- Jaroslav Modry was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 3rd round pick in the 2008 entry draft.
- Peter Harrold was recalled from Manchester.
- Lauri Tukonen was reassigned to Manchester.
- Erik Ersberg was recalled from Manchester.
- Kings claim Matt Ellis off of waivers from the Detroit Red Wings.

Pre-Game:
- I made a sign for Army since he always looks out at the fans and acknowledges them during warmups. I thought he'd appreciate the message. I must say, he is a COMPLETE HAM and LOVES the attention. Oh yeah, I got a puck from him too. Score!

Cheeseball

1st Period:
- The Blues came out hard and had a really aggressive forecheck. Clouts fumbled the puck with his first shot on, which didn't help my confidence in the turn out of the game. And it didn't help that the Kings didn't get their first shot on until the clock said 15:33.
- The Blues also dominated the neutral zone more than the Kings did, and there were some big turnovers by the Kings. They were soft on the passes, soft on the hits, and many of them seemed to constantly be out of position.
- Good note: Handzus is using his body more. I always thought he was a little soft and hesitant to take the body, but he wasn't too bad in this period.
- To continue the pathetic...ness of this period, with 5:25 left, the Kings have only 5 shots on net. And these last 5 minutes were uninspired. The Blues were dominating and were clearly working with each other to set up in the neutral zone and enter the Kings zone like a line should. Kariya and McDonald were pretty feisty and jumping on any loose pucks. It seemed like whenever the Kings got the puck, their reactions were delayed. They were sometimes successful with the first pass out of their zone, but that second pass was more often than not foiled by a Blue. But even when they were able to get that second pass, they just dumped it in and went for a line change.
- This period was crap-tastic. Way to NOT show up guys!! The Kings had only 5 shots on to the Blues' 13.

2nd Period:
- The Kings are on the PK which they kill very nicely. I was actually pleasantly surprised!
- Kings PP - Kings Goal - Kopi (26) took a shot and Sully got the rebound and moved around a sprawling defender with superb patience and put it in the slot. Kopi came in and simply backhanded it past Legace (6:34).
- Kings Goal - Less than two minutes later Frolov (17) passes the puck to Sully from inside the Kings blueline in between his legs, Sully takes it up the right side through the whole neutral zone. He gets pinched on the right side inside the blueline and drops the puck off to Cammy who takes it all the way to the net but then passes back into the slot where Fro got the shot on (8:19).
- Kings Goal - Less than 3 minutes later Fro (18) nets his second of the night!!! Sully now has 3 assists (10:55). Umm, can we say studly??
- The Blues call a predictable timeout and I can catch my breath and reflect on what just happened in the last 10 minutes.
- What pissed me off: Clouts was basically taken out twice by two different Blues players. The first run-in was blatant and Clouts was slow to get up and collect himself. That drew ire from the crowd and we were pissed. The second time, Brad Boyes just completely jumped over Clouts' head and took him down again! JJ had had about enough of that and went after Boyes, thank god. That resulted in a goalie interference call (11:50), which should have come with the first run in!!
- Kings PP - Kings Goal - They convert this opportunity to shut the fucking door in the Blues' face. Sully (15) nets a sweet goal! Kopi was at the right half-boards where he passed to Stuart on the point. Stuart takes a long bomb and goes wide to the left of the goal. The puck bounces behind the goal to the right where Sully picks it up and puts it past Legace who couldn't get to his left fast enough. But I don't think he would have caught it anyway since Sully put it top shelf.
- Blues change up their goalie; Chris Beckford-Tseu. I have NEVER heard of this kid before.
- The Kings are now up 4-0 and the bodies are being thrown a little harder, the passes are landing correctly, but wouldn't you know it, we're still losing faceoffs!
- I want to highlight Jack Johnson. I was very impressed with his play in this game. He's making smart decisions with the puck, he's making sure he's where he's supposed to be on the ice. Did he just decide to mature overnight with Modry leaving? I was honestly a little sad when the crowd booed Modry when it was announced that he was traded. Do the people not realize that he was a consistent Dman? He didn't take the body like the other Dmen, but he always seemed like he was in the correct areas.
- Even Dallman is making a small showing. But you know who still sucks? BRIAN WILLSIE. He's turning the puck over and not helping to complete plays when momentum is going in their favor.

3rd Period:
- Kings Goal - Okay, I will say that I am not sure Frolov (18) got this goal. It was given to him to get the hat trick, but I....have a feeling that it should have been Cammy's. They video reviewed it and I...don't...think I....agree with the outcome. So Cammy got in front of the net and essentially waited for the puck to come to him. Once he got the puck, he shoved it 5-hole past the netminder. As it was going in, Fro poked his stick in just add some insurance. I mean, it looked like he got some wood on it, but....I think it went over the line before Fro's stick got there.
- The crowd was demanding the hat trick from the officials. Fro, you know I love you, but I don't think that was yours. So you should just score another goal to really ensure that you got the hat trick!
- Right after this goal, Salvador and Scott Thornton start going at it; it's number 27 against 27. That's going to Thornton just because I feel like giving him the win. He definitely made a good showing for this game.

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Someone is about to get domed.

- It's basically at this point where I think: Fro, Cammy, and Sully have been absolute studs in this game.

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

STUDS

- The Blues decide they need to attack and start pushing the Kings out and are preventing the Kings from getting in front of the Blues' goal. So it's here where I notice that WILLSIE is on a line with Brownie and Kopi.....REALLY, Crow??
- Kings PK - Handzus causes a turnover and makes up for it by taking a penalty! Clouts had to come in and save Handzus' ass by making a point blank save. Grrr..... But, this is a great PK. The Kings are making very smart moves and are holding onto the puck instead of dumping it every time they got a chance. The Blues got some shots on, and there was one shot where the whole arena thought it went in; even the light was going off. After a review, it was deemed no goal.
- Kings PP @ 11:31 - I think the Kings weren't too aggressive on this opportunity because they were up 5 to nothing. They were cycling and were looking for the more finesse shots than anything else.
- Kings PK @ 15:19 - Handzus takes another tripping penalty. This was just ridiculous; he did NOT need to do that. Yeah he lost the puck, but there was a defender there between the puck and Clouts. This was just a dumb move by the mullet-less man. Blues Goal - Martin Ruchinsky (15:58). Damnit, no shutout for Cloutier!

Game:
- Kings 5, Blues 1
- After an abysmal first 20 minutes, the Kings decide they want to win! That must have been one hell of a pep talk by the Kings' coaching staff. They looked like a different team at the start of the second period.
- Studs of the game:
** Sully - 1G, 4A, +3, 2 hits, 4 missing teeth
** Frolov - 3G, +3, 6 shots on net
** Cammy - 3A, +3, 5 shots on
* *Cloutier - 32 saves, another W

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Roadtrip Game 8 - Kings 2, Blues 4

Pre-Game:
- The Kings have been doing really well this road trip, but I can't wait for them to get back to Staples. I'm wondering if Blake and Nagy will be re-activated off the IR before Friday's game in time for the trade considerations. I will be shocked if Nagy isn't moved by the deadline. He hasn't given us anything recently. Yeah, he got a hat trick in the New Year's Day game, but honestly, what has he done lately?
- The Blues...the Blues...I dunno. Let's drop the puck!

1st Period:
- Kopi gets a breakaway right off the faceoff and draws a penalty. Kings PP - Boyle shoots the puck between his legs trying to fool Legace. This kid's got some moves that you don't think he'd bust out and I'm pleasantly surprised. Ratti and King drop the gloves and after some slugs here and there, Ivanans just muscles him to the ice.
- Kings PK - The Blues are ranked 30th in the league on PP. I can see why; their entry into the offensive zone is pretty sloppy and they can't finish their passes.
- Kings PP @ 11:14 - Hmm, Cammy on the point. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Some shots on net and we move along.
- Kings Goal - Fro is on fire! Sully backhands the puck to the net from the right circle, Frolov (15) (at the left circle) reaches around the defender for the rebound and shoots it past Legace at 13:19.
- Kings PP - They have a sweet entry into the zone, but that's all that was cool about it.
- Kings PK - Dallman can't do his job and takes a penalty. There's a rush to the net and all the players start to scrap and Barbs' body is along the goal line. It's deemed no goal. Ahh Barbs, what a stud! He's made solid saves and I'm not too nervous for the next 20 minutes.

(AP)

Well...at least Kopi still rocks...

2nd Period:
- Blues Goal - The puck takes a funny bounce up high and goes in behind Barbs 33 seconds in. This reminds me of what happened to Loungo a couple of days ago where the puck just flopped high up over his head and it ended in a goal. Pretty crappy, but a goal's a goal, right? Hmmm, why the hell did McDonald get the goal? If he touched it, then goal would have been waived!
- Sully and Fro get a rush but Legace makes the save and freezes the puck. Could have been 2-1?
- Kings PP - Moulson gets the blade of his stick snapped off and they get a man advantage. Uhh...boring PP.
- Kings Goal - Kings enter the zone and Kopi takes the loooong way around the back of the net. Legace is caught out of position, Moulson and Brownie get in the open crease, Brownie gets a pass from Kopi and pushes it in the net at 4:07.
- Kings PK - Uhh, uneventful. Why does it seem like we're either on the PP or the PK at all times.
- Blues Goal - A big pass out of their zone, a shot on and Rucinsky gets the rebound at 9:01 after the first shot hits the post. We're tied 2-2.
- The play is opening up and both teams are getting chances on net and the puck is all over the ice. The Blues are getting some chances for some big garbage goals but they're not taking advantage.
- Kings PP - 0 for 5

3rd Period:
- Kings PP - The Kings only have 7 shots on going into this power play. So...let's stop passing so much and get the puck to the net, okay? ...0 for 6.
- The pace has slowed down and...I'm a little bored actually... I know these guys realize that they're tied with a little more than half the period to go. I'm hoping that it doesn't stay like this just so both teams can secure a point.
- Blues Goal - Bitches!! JJ gets a penalty right after the goal and...wait, what?? A 10-minute misconduct?? (8:29)
- Kings PP - 0 for 8
- Blues Goal - Bullshit. Blues up 4-2 (13:25).
- I can't believe the Kings are down. There are less than 5 minutes left and the Kings are doing a good job with keeping the puck in the Blues' zone, but the Blues are all collapsing down low and the Kings can't get a good shot on. I honestly can't believe we're losing. Is it because I'm tired?

Game:
- What the hell just happened...
- Kings 2, Blues 4
- Just to reiterate how much I hate Handzus in the face off circle, he won 4 and lost 13. What the shit is that???
- Wow, Ivanans only got 2:10 on the ice.

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