Beware of National Coverage: Blackhawks 4, Kings 1

On the only day of the season that the Los Angeles Kings have face time on Versus, they decide to dilly dally about on the ice losing to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. The game began with a promising first period as the teams battled it out, but the Kings regressed into last season's form and they slowly deteriorated with no chance of saving themselves. They faded in the second period and were virtually non-existent in the third. On paper the sum total of 2 shots on Cristobal Huet in the third was the leading indicator that the Kings were drowning, but visually it was much worse. The team had no connection with each other, but thankfully this has become a rare occurrence this season so I'm hoping this is a slight downhill trend that will right itself soon enough.

(LAKings.com)

A positive for this game was Anze Kopitar who scored his 14th goal of the season putting him in a tie for the league-leading scorer, Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin. This was basically the only highlight of the game. It was pretty abysmal overall, which is such a bummer seeing this was the only shot for the Kings to be seen on a national (+ Canadian) scale seeing how it was the only game of the night. Alas, they couldn't transition their first period momentum into the rest of the game and Kings fans were left disappointed.

(LAKings.com)

I'm getting a little Negative Nancy, but one more thing. Jonathan Quick was not in his best form either letting out big rebounds and not covering his posts. He definitely had minimal help from the defensemen who were having plenty of difficulties of their own.

This was the first game of a 5-game roadtrip with the rest of the games in the Southeast Division. Moving forward, the Kings face the Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow and all I'm hoping for is for them to get themselves back to where they were so I can breathe a sigh of relief.

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Saved In Overtime: Kings 5, Stars 4

Last night the Dallas Stars stepped into Staples Center for the first time this season and I was pretty confident the Los Angeles Kings were going to finish the game with the W. All signs pointed to the victory but having to get the win in overtime rendered me speechless. I'm actually unsure of what to say about this game, but I'll try to get something out.

If games were only 40 minutes long, I'd say with 100% confidence that the Kings played their best hockey. Alas, they are 60-minute contests and, for this game, the Kings played their usual up and down, inconsistent hockey. The modified lines looked decent and actually performed wonderfully... but only for 40 minutes. It's a bit difficult to compliment the team on how they made the Stars looks like fools when they themselves didn't hold on to their level of play. This is definitely a bittersweet reflection.

The good: Anze Kopitar owning this game... well, the first two periods of the game by getting his first career hat trick. He is turning into the player management knew he could and has definitely been earning his paycheck. He completely controlled the game as he scored like a madman. As of today, he's tied with a certain Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals in points (8G, 8A and 9G, 7A, respectively).

(LAKings.com)

The Kings were looking fantastic going into the third period, but their hopes were fading as they watched the Stars tie up the game 4-4 forcing the game into OT. Heart breaker. I hardly have the stomach to comment on the third period, but I was happy when Michal Handzus killed the Stars just 55 seconds into OT. His slapshot blasted past Alex Auld and the game was done. I'm very happy that overtime ended in the Kings' favor but the two points don't make up for the poor third period performance. I honestly wondered why Terry Murray pulled Quick at the end of the second period with just 2.7 seconds left in the game when they were up 4-1, but I definitely understood the reasoning 20 minutes later.

The Bad: First off, one thing I can't understand is why Brad Richardson is on the ice during important times in the games. Last night, he was on the ice with just a few minutes in regulation, which is exactly the opposite of what I'd expect! Secondly, Jonathan Quick letting in the goals he did; I'm just in a little bit of shock.

The Needs to Improve: Teddy Purcell received 12:31 of ice time and ended at a minus 1. I'm sure the improvement will explode sometime this season, so I'll continue to wait. To address Alexander Frolov; his play was fine. I honestly didn't think he was any better or worse than before he was benched. I have zero words of wisdom for these two players. Just... focus?

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Kings Schedule In Depth

When the Kings schedule was released last year, I spent numerous labor-intensive hours examining and breaking down the schedule. Two days ago the Kings released the 09-10 schedule with a very comprehensive breakdown virtually eliminating any work for me; thanks guys! This season starts out with more promise than a year ago, so I feel I'm looking at the schedule with a different mindset. There are teams that the Kings could easily dominate who weren't so easy to play against last year (Minnesota and possibly San Jose). San Jose had been making zero waves this summer, so I'm not exactly sure with my assessment; all I know is the Kings are stronger now so it'll be interesting to watch.

The following is a quick scan on my part after perusing the schedule:

Oct. Sat. 3 vs. Phoenix (home opener): Talk about the most boring way to begin the season...
Oct. Tues. 6 vs. San Jose: ...Go Rob Blake...
Oct. Sat. 10 @ St. Louis: Start of the longest road trip over 11 days
Oct. Mon. 12 @ Islanders: Will Matt Moulson play??
Oct. Mon. 26 Toronto @ Anaheim: Going to the Pond for this one... will need a women-sized Leafs jersey. Wouldn't that be hysterical if I got Burke on the back of it? Hated him in Anaheim, but like him in Toronto.

Nov. Thurs. 5 vs. Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby at Staples!
Nov. Mon. 9 @ Chicago: Start of possibly the worst 5-game road trip. CHI, CAR, ATL, TBL, FLA. Zzz..zzzzz....ZZzzZzzzz....
Nov. Wed. 18 @ Philadelphia: Pronger still in orange, yikes.
Nov. Wed. 25 @ Edmonton: Battle versus Moose!

Dec. Thurs. 10 vs. Phoenix: Can't think of a more boring two-game home-stand.
Dec. Sat. 12 vs. Dallas: ...zzz...ZZZzzzzZZzz....

Jan. Sat. 2 vs. Washington: Do you think Ovechkin will try to take a run at Dustin Brown again? Ow, my ear!
Jan. Thurs. 21 vs. Buffalo: End of the longest home-stand at seven games.

Feb. Sat. 13 vs. Colorado: First game against Kyle Quincey! How many tears will Ryan Smyth shed?
Feb. Sun. 14 - Mar. Mon. 1: Olympic Break. Can't say either way if I'm excited yet. I probably will be, but I'll just be hoping the Kings are still in the hunt at this point.

Mar. Sat. 6 vs. Montreal: Kings against the smallest line in the NHL, which includes Michael Cammalleri, bahaha.

Apr. Sat. 10 vs. Edmonton: Last home game of the season; not a bad way to end except if both teams need that last few points to get into the 8-seed.
Apr. Sun 11 @ Colorado: Kings end regular season with a back-to-back, hrm.

Any games that stand out to you? Let me know if I missed something of interest...

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Unnecessary Hit; Penguins 4, Kings 1

With just a few seconds left in a game that you're winning, is it really necessary to take a shot to someone's head? Well, Evgeni Malkin thought it was. He gave the cold shoulder to Wayne Simmonds and the whistle blew to end the game. I'm not even upset about the loss. Who gives a shit when someone's head is involved? Who cares if it's the league superstar hitting a rookie's head? In this case, every single Kings fan whereas every Pittsburgh fan probably cheered the hit. But let's talk about questionable acts of unsportsmanlike conduct from the past few days (of which I'm only discussing two because I'm feeling a bit lazy).

(1) Alexander Ovechkin's celebration after he scored his 50th goal of the season. I've read many reactions both for and against. I'm on the fence since he is who he is. He loves to celebrate his teammates' goals as well as his own, but this definitely involved a bit of showboating. He received a talking to by Bruce Boudreau and everyone moves on. Don Cherry's going to have a field day with this one.

(2) Penguins' Malkin laying a hit on Kings' Simmonds with just a few seconds left in a game that the Penguins were going to win. As with Ovechkin, there have been many comments going around about this hit both for and against. Comments like "Get your head up, rookie!" But wait a second, did this person not see that all Simmonds was trying to do was poke the puck away from Malkin? He wasn't going to him to with the intention of hitting him.

Earlier in the game he and Jack Johnson toughed it out in front of the Kings net for a good chunk of time where both players received 2-minutes for roughing. This altercation is a part of the game, but anyone who says that hitting someone else in the head is "a part of hockey" has never had someone on their own team taken a hit to the head. It's not about being an objective observer of every team when you have your specific team that you love; it's about the passion that every single fan brings to the NHL, which is why there will always be cheers and jeers in every situation.

(AP/Joe Sargent)

With Jack severely outweighing Malkin (225 to 195).

In the end, there are going to be comments all over the place with a questionable play such as this one from fans from every region across the US and Canada. But the plain facts are that (1) Simmonds' head was down in going for the poke check while (2) Malkin was defending himself by bracing for some kind of hit that was never going to come. In the end his shoulder goes straight into Simmonds' head. I think the argument of whether he was hit with the shoulder or elbow (legal or illegal) is not the point. The point is that the brunt of the hit was into Simmonds' head.

Malkin is subject to a disciplinary phone call where the resulting decision is to be announced tomorrow. Am I excepting a suspension? Hell no, who has the guts to suspend Malkin? Every situation is unique but I'm not expecting a fair trial here. Everyone has a hard-on for Malkin and the Penguins, so why should anyone care about Simmonds? I'm not saying I don't think the guy deserves punishment; I definitely think he deserves some sort of supplemental discipline. I just don't think the NHL is going to do anything about it considering who both players are.

(AP/Joe Sargent)

Oh yeah, the game. Just some quick notes on an unimpressive outing:

• It was Justin Williams' first game in a Kings sweater so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for this game since the entire team wasn't looking too hot. He had 13:36 minutes on the ice and one shot on net. He also had one recorded giveaway, but it definitely seemed to have happened more than just once.
  
• Alexander Frolov was allowed out of the doghouse, but is still chained to it. He had 17 minutes with one shot and one hit.
  
• They're definitely not ready for post-season play. The fact that it took a 5-on-3 to get a goal through all the traffic wasn't impressive. Impressive was the Penguins' penalty kill units. Aggressive and quick. They took 11 total penalties (with one as a 10-minute misconduct and others resulting in 4-on-4 play) but they were successful killing virtually all of them.
  
• The Kings finally got themselves over 50% in the faceoff circle. They won 60% while the Penguins went just 40%.
• Dustin Brown made a good showing with 7 hits and 6 shots on net.

(x-posted to HLOG)

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Hot Damn: Kings 5, Capitals 4

Breakneck speed with aggressive forecheck. That's the type of game the Washington Capitals came out and played last night. And man, talk about exciting. The Caps and Kings battled it out at the Verizon Center with the latter as the victors with all the spoils in the end. I can't really say that the Kings couldn't keep up with the Caps, because they clearly could; rather, the Kings were playing another style of game to where they couldn't get the last 20 minutes to look like the first 40. After Alexander Semin scored only 15 seconds in, the Kings played like gangbusters and scored the next three goals.


I'm not exactly sure what the style-of-play identity is for the Kings. Are they a team that is slow and methodical or are they a group that adapts to whatever style of play the other team brings? I'm not 100% sold either way; I've seen the Kings play well both ways but also play horribly as well. Sometimes they play well and shittily at the same time, but that's beside the point. I'd like to have a solid identity instead of having to think every other week, "Hey guys, can you stop playing like you're in a mini-mite league?" Maybe the team's identity is being consistently inconsistent. I remember thinking that a lot last season.

I know I'm talking like the Kings did poorly last night; the true is, they didn't. The forwards were grinding it out, the defensemen were (at times) chasing the Caps forwards around, and Jonathan Quick was a stud. Absolute stud once again. The Kings let an uncharacteristic 45 shots against, but that wasn't due to them leaving their goalie out to dry. I mean, c'mon, it's the Caps. When that much firepower is looking straight at you with some pretty solid passing, I'm just glad that only four pucks got past Quick. On the other end, Jose Theodore looked terrible. What was the deal? He looked unprepared to play any team last night and completely out of position. After Anze Kopitar's second goal, he kind of stumbled backward and had to hold on to the crossbar to keep his balance. I have no idea what was going on, but I'm not going to fret over it.

One last thing: the fact that Alexander Ovechkin plays nearly all two minutes of a Caps PP is insane to me. Yeah, he's then potentially potent for a full two minutes, but at the same time he looks lacksidasical when the puck isn't near him and only springs alive when he knows the puck is going to come his way. Is that really the best way to go about it or should I just let it go because it's Ovechkin? Oh well, the only thing that matters is that the Kings came out with the two points. They've been doing well on the road, so I'm hoping that the "consistently inconsistent" thing doesn't come back on Saturday against the Devils.

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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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Thoughts On The NHL All-Stars

Super Skills:

- When they were introducing the coaches for the west, Bailey was definitely in the camera shot dancing!! Awww, I loved that!
- Obstacle Course: I LOVED the wee net they used!! I was pretty excited to see DiPi shoot the puck 180 feet across the entire rink to score on his leg.
- Fastest Skater: I thought Kopi should have had at least two skills to do. The Fastest Skater event was anti-climactic for me. I think one lap around the whole rink is a much more exciting event than skating for 4.5639327593 seconds. Shawn Horcoff is actually cute when you can't see that he has one blue eye and one brown eye.
- Elimination Shootout: Mike Ribeiro looks like Beetlejuice. Dion Phaneuf: (1) actually has some skills on the shootout, (2) unimpressive on the Hardest Shot, and (3) my new nickname for him is "Woof."
- Young Stars Game: A little boring. I thought they should have brought in Baby goalies, Dallas' Mike Smith perhaps?
- Accuracy Shooting: Thomas Kaberle was impressive. Jason Arnott went to the final and failed to beat the Leaf.
- Hardest Shot: Vinny Lecavalier surprised me with getting 101.9 mph on his shot. But of course, Zdeno Chara. What a beast (103.1 mph).
- Breakaway Challenge: Pavel Datsyuk = BORING. I thought Evgeni Nabokov gave Martin St. Louis the shaft on his shots. AO got the idea with what the league was trying to do with this event.
- If you haven't seen the YouTube clip of Chris Pronger falling on his face, it is glorious.
- I'm posting this here because Finny didn't want to post it on her blog, but Ryan Getzlaf's bald spot is growing. I hadn't seen it in awhile, but wow. I'm sure he gets teased to no end by his teammates, so I feel bad. But Getz, Rogaine actually makes its product in foam form now.
- With all the confusion of everything going on, they put up a picture of Scott Neidermayer while they were interviewing Anze. Dude....do they even remotely look alike? I was laughing for a while...and then got kind of annoyed that they let that happen.
- And speaking of confusion, with so many guys with mics around the building doing mini-interviews, goalies being mic-ed up, and commentators telling stories and whatnot, I thought it was kind of overkill to be hearing like 17 different people talking at once. What the hell am I supposed to be listening to?

I thought the whole 2 1/2 hours of the Super Skills went by REALLY QUICKLY. It might have been because I was gchatting with Finny while she was live-blogging. But everything seemed to start and end in a flash. Overall, this weekend is always fun to watch and I'm glad Anze Kopitar got the nod!!!


All-Star Game:

Some flashes of awesomeness and good times all around. Nabby didn't allow any goals during his period in net; Ilya Kolvachuk had some killer chances though. I have more to say, but I'm too tired because I'm full of Dim Sum. Oh wait, I thought it was hilarious when Commissioner Gary Bettman was booed when he was announced

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