Cloutier is a Stain

According to reports being released today, Dan Cloutier is trying to find a doctor that will deem him unfit to play. Bottom line, if he can find a doctor that will say this, the Kings won't be able to buy him out. It must also be known that he's already had two doctors tell him that he's cleared to play.

What does this mean?

1) He won't become an unrestricted free agent for the 08-09 season.
2) The Kings will have to pay him $3 million for next season instead of the buyout rate of $1.03 million per year for the next two years.
3) Cloutier will not play in a Kings jersey but will remain on the long-term injured list.

This just makes me wonder, why would you want to still be a part of an organization whose name you've dragged through the proverbial mud? Is the money really that important to you? More so than your dignity? He said during the year that he wanted to see what it would be like playing for another club, but it seems that he's going back on his statement for some unknown reason. Hearing this news pains me, it really does. One party is trying to cut the cord, but the other side is holding on for dear life (it seems). Ottawa has successfully let go of Ray Emery. Look at how easy that was! Waivers, buyout, happy. For the Kings it's more like "waivers, buyout, ... wait..."

But there's good news for Clouts, I hear there's a new Russian league looking for players and they're willing to pay big bucks. If they're willing to let Chris Simon play over there, imagine the possibilities for you!

x-posted to HLOG

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Year-In-Review – 5 – Dan Cloutier & Daniel Taylor

(AP)

Clouts... I don't even know anymore...

What can I say about Dan Cloutier that hasn’t already been said by everyone else? Does anyone in So Cal really want to read about him anymore? Let me see if I can keep this short and simple…

…..

Okay, after staring at the blinking cursor for about a minute wondering what to write, I’ve come to the conclusion that Cloutier just needs to leave. He wore out his welcome a long time ago and was NOT a consummate professional in my eyes, even though he was getting paid like he was actually a professional athlete. After Barbs was injured and Aubin took the reins, the Kings decided to try and give Cloutier another go with the big boys. Okay, I’ll admit that he played well in a couple of games. But that’s it. A couple of games isn't gonna cut it. Especially not in LA where goaltending has been such a sensitive issue.

Everyone knows he came out with a less-than-stellar interview earlier in the year and then reiterated (and elaborated) on his treatment from the Kings organization, which immediately responded with their side on the matters Clouts spoke about. The relationship between him and the fans is not so great (even though I’ve heard he’s really nice in person), which isn’t surprising seeing as how much baggage Clouts has amassed here and in terms of his numbers on the ice. During his time spent in Manchester after recovering from surgery, he recorded 4 wins, 9 losses. Playing in a Kings jersey, he tallied 2 wins, 4 losses, and 1 overtime loss in 9 games. Obviously not stellar and after his interview with the Vancouver Sun I felt like he was just this gigantic elephant in the room. Since we didn't hear anything come out after the interview, I'm thinking that the situation was dealt with behind closed doors, which seems to have been the case since the team ended the season without another incident of that nature occurring again. But since he expressed interest in playing for another club (and, more importantly, not under 25 years of age), I don't see him returning to the bright lights of Hollywood and that's fine with me.

(AP)

Taylor has yet to show us what he can do

At the very end of the season, Clouts was out for a couple of games with another injury, which brought out Daniel Taylor from the ranks within the Kings’ system. He spent some of the season with the Reading Royals getting 3 wins, a 2.63 GAA, and a .917 save percentage. He also played in Manchester for 23 games where he went 13-5-2-4 with a 2.40 GAA and a .921 save percentage. He then was recalled to the Kings and actually came in relief for a game where he, unfortunately, was scored on on the first shot he faced. In that one game he faced 10 shots, let in 2, got a .800 GAA, and a 6.00 save percentage. I'm not gonna hold too much against him for those stats with the Kings since he didn't start that particular outing and it was only one game!

He is currently with the Reading Royals in their playoff run. They've advanced to the second round and so far, in the playoffs, he has gone 5-3-0-0 in 8 games getting a 2.66 GAA, and a .899 save percentage. I see Taylor perhaps making a semi-permanent home in Manchester next season since he won't be able to outplay Barbs, Ersberg, or Bernier at the training camp. I don't want to say I'm discounting him, but I just don't think he's ready with those aforementioned 3 going for the #1 and #2 spots with the Kings. If my presumption is correct, then one of those 3 will go to Manchester and either Taylor or Quick will play backup goaltender. And then either Taylor or Quick will go to Reading...OR to the Ontario Reign. The addition of another ECHL affiliate makes for perhaps an interesting twist to who will play netminder there and in Reading since Ontario, CA is MUCH closer than Reading, PA. I'm definitely curious to see who will be on that roster.

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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 5 - Kings 5, Red Wings 3 (PT)

Pregame and Player Transactions:
- JS Aubin was waived and cleared to Manchester
- Dan Cloutier was placed on re-entry waivers and was cleared
- Rob Blake has been placed on IR
- Dustin Brown and his wife have a new baby boy, Jake. He will be back with the Kings when they play Pittsburgh on Saturday.

1st Period:
- Detroit Goal - Would you have it any other way? Samuelsson takes a shot at Barbs and he stops it but it trickles through his legs and Kopecky pushes it across the line 49 seconds in.
- Kings PP - Boyle is taking advantage of his special team minutes. The rest of time is uneventful.
- Kings PP - Holmstrom gets 2 for unsportsmanlike. The Wings are being really chippy on this kill for them and it really didn't look like a PP for the Kings.
- Halfway through the period and the Red Wings are definitely setting the pace of this game and I just hope the Kings can keep up for the full 60 minutes.
- Kings Goal - Kyle Calder (7) gets the puck past Osgood at 10:17 who thought he had it completely covered.
- Harrold got hit hard by a wing; that one looked like it hurt. There's a little scrap after the whistle from that hit and Harrold is recovering on the bench. This basically pisses Ratti off for the rest of the game.
- Kings PK - Stuart gets called for interference. Giuliano loses his stick and then JJ breaks his stick and the fans are going nuts! But they were able to get it out and the Kings quickly recover and kill the rest of the penalty. Barbs ends the PK with a solid save.
- Oh man, there's DAN CLOUTIER sitting on the bench chewing his bubble gum.

Is that a gigantic scar on his face or is the glass just dirty.

- 3 minutes left Cleary shoots and Barbs' stick shatters into three pieces and Calder gives him his stick!! The Kings do a good job in keeping the puck more in the neutral zone and the Red Wings' zone. But he makes a solid save and the play is whilsted down.
- Detroit Goal - Zetterburg scores on the short side on Barbs at 18:51. This goal was lame.
- Kings 1, Detroit 2: shots 9 to 12

(Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Look at that big-ass rookie

2nd Period
- Kings PK - Two minutes in Ratti takes a crappy holding penalty. Nice kill though.
- The Kings are keeping up the pace and they aren't allowing the Red Wings to completely dominate the game as they could.
- Kings PP - Kopi straight gets tripped up and the Red Wings aren't letting the Kings get down low with the puck. Eh, the Wings predictably kill it.
- Detroit Goal - Zetterburg takes the puck completely around the whole net and Barbs can't get to the opposite post fast enough (13:05).
- The Kings can't get the fucking puck out of the fucking zone. Get your heads on straight! Get the puck out of your zone!!!
- Minute to go, the Kings get stripped of the puck and instead of taking a straight shot on Barbs on a 3-on-1, the Wings pull a Kings move and pass about 3 times and they lose their opportunity.
- Kings 1, Detroit 3; The Kings aren't letting Detroit get too many shots on goal, but Detroit is still controlling the flow of the game.

(Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Osgood was seeing a lot of this

3rd Period:
- Kings Goal - Sully (13) goes far, far side top shelf and it's an early goal 39 seconds in. That was a sexy goal.
- Ratti - HIT!!
- Kings PP - Kings Goal - Fro (14) gets a cross-ice pass from Calder with Army screening at 6:15. Game is tied!
- The game is a lot more wide open after this goal than in the first two periods. The Kings are taking back some of the neutral zone that the Wings were dominating earlier.
- Man, these line combinations are all over the place; Moulson, Boyle, and Cammy right now.
- Kings PP - Calder seems to be getting under the skin of his former teammates, which leads to a penalty against Lebda.
- Kings Goal - Stuart (5) takes a long bomb from the blue line and it gets past Osgood. This is the 3rd unanswered goal for the Kings at 13:07.
- Kings Goal - Kopi (22) gets the backhand in the low, low slot and it gets it behind Osgood!! Make that 4 unanswered goals at 14:39. I honestly can't believe the Kings have scored 4 goals in this period. Unbelievable. I guess miracles really do happen.
- Kings PK - Detroit pulls Osgood and they're on a 6-on-4 til the end of the game. The buzzer goes and I think I just peed my pants.

Game:
- Kings 5, Detroit 3
- I am officially recanting my comment about putting Cloutier in net since we were gonna lose anyway.
- This was an amazing end to this game. This third period was the best hockey that I've seen the Kings play even in the games where they've won. Even when Detroit got desperate at the end of the game, the Kings maintained their control in their zone. I'm in disbelief. But what is going to annoy me is that news articles tomorrow are gonna say how the lowly Kings beat the Wings. Stop calling us "lowly" and "the worst." I think this roadtrip has shown what they can put together.
- Yes, we're still last in the standings, but we just schooled the Detroit Red Wings.
- Another 2 points!!

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Breaking News - Player Transactions

Kings waive Aubin and Cloutier was put on re-entry waivers

This is a tragic day for all Kings fans. Nothing more tragic could have happened in the realm of player transactions. Nothing. Aubin was shipped off to greener pastures and Cloutier will be in a Kings sweater once again.

Has DL just completely tossed the rest of the season ensuring us the best chance at Stamkos? If so, consider me tossing my cookies.

Yet history has shown that this could not be too far from the truth. Pittsburgh, in wanting to draft Lemeiux, proceeded to stopping winning their games in order to get this player who they so coveted. This translated into Cups for the Penguins in ‘91 and ’92. It wasn’t until later that the draft lottery was introduced to prevent teams from doing what the Penguins did. Even so, the team in last place STILL has the best chance at getting the first pick. Stamkos anyone?

Perhaps a trade that is made in the next two weeks will bring in a higher 1st round pick and we could get Luke Schenn. I’m SURE DL saw the chemistry between Hickey and Schenn at the WJC. They were paired up and read each other well; Schenn’s size and Hickey’s awesomeness were obvious.

But really, I just want us to stop sucking and having other teams and their fans seeing us suck. Fortunately, the Kings are on a great roadtrip (well, who knows what Detroit will bring tomorrow) and I’m not sure how bringing in Cloutier will help the Kings. At Manchester they are currently tango-ing with three netminders: Dan Taylor, Erik Ersberg, and Cloutier. With Cloutier healthy and back in the rotation, this causes one of the younger goalies to not get as much time on the ice as he could/should. Aubin is currently providing jack squat for this squad and, I will admit, that he would probably be better served elsewhere. What could make this more typical of the Kings is if some team picks up Aubin and he starts to play well.

Will Cloutier get us a better shot at Tavares? 2009? My word, that’s so far away. Is this what DL’s thinking? Give Cloutier some minutes, solidify our picks (Stamkos, Schenn/Doughty), AND give us a glimmer of light for the 2009 draft? How long is this rebuild?

Since Cloutier is signed through the end of NEXT season, will he stay on while Bernier develops at Manchester? Will one season be enough to instill Bernier with confidence in himself? (I actually think that question is a no-brainer. Scratch that.) Again, will having Cloutier here better our chances for Tavares?

Sidenote, but not off-topic: The Kings should just start Cloutier in net against the Red Wings, because, really, we aren’t gonna win anyway.

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Part I - Coaching

For starters, I’m just going to state that these are my personal opinions on two issues I want to address: coaching for Part I and GM for Part II. I am just a fan looking at the sport/organization from an outside perspective and who does not have the inside scoop whatsoever.

With all the drama-mama that’s been going around the league about who might be getting fired and why, I figured maybe I should toss in a thought or two. At the top of the headlines, the Leafs are currently getting blasted by the fans and even by those within the organization on how things are being handled. I’m sure there’s been enough talk leaking out of people's mouths so that I don’t have to reiterate what’s been allegedly said by whoever to whomever.

Part I - Coaching

On the home front, I really didn’t look at a front office shakeup being a possibility for my Kings. Maybe I’m just biased, but I believe in what Dean Lombardi’s doing. Do I agree with Crawford changing up lines like the Mad Hatter on crack? To be honest, I don’t really know, but I’ve definitely noticed it. Don’t get me wrong, we ALL have; but that’s his job, right? To tinker and tinker until something clicks. But at the same time, we’re 27 games in and it’s getting a little ridiculous. Fro is now on IR and Cammy is floundering. He’s getting shut down left and right and now I’m wondering if he actually got 10 goals in 10 games at the start of the season.

After last Saturday’s game against the Avalanche where they lost 5-2, I left Staples feeling dejected and angry at the same time. What the hell is going on? Why are the Kings falling apart? They had a great first period! Now I can’t speculate about what’s going on in the locker room, but I’ve read people’s opinions that seemingly blaming everyone in the organization. But from being on sports teams for many years, I believe that no matter how much the coach is trying to show the athletes the way, if they don’t take a stance and actually execute the plan, the results aren’t going to be there. Not surprisingly, this has caused me to absolutely despise clichés. “Buy into the plan,” “we need to play with more heart,” and my personal favorite to hate, “take it to the next level.” I’d like to punch whoever made that up in the FACE. Maybe it’s because I heard it too many times without a substantial result, but I’m hoping that Crawford doesn’t become a victim of cliché bashing.

I was taught never to question the coaching staff; they have an overall year-long plan of what they want to do and what paths they have to take in order to do so. With the Kings being a professional sports team with millions of dollars being spent every year, the pressure for results is extremely high. Any year-long project is at risk of being cut short if it becomes stagnant for too long. We can see from this season already that some teams have made this leap (Atlanta, Dallas, Capitals) while others have been holding on for as long as possible (Leafs, Phoenix). But let's face it, Gretzky owns the whole state of Arizona and isn't going anywhere.

Now I don’t like to constantly bash on my team, but I do angrily question what’s going on with them sometimes. But I’m not going to stand on a soapbox and demand that that Crawford be fired because you can’t deny him his efforts. If he decided he wanted to get fired, he would have kept all the lines the same and not tried to find some hidden chemistry that he believes is there. But I’ll reiterate the fact that athletes need time to gel with one another. But I do like to muse about what Crawford could do to run this team into the ground and not just into the bottom of the standings.

What could have been:

Scene: Crow sits down at his big oak desk and ponders how exactly he’s going to ruin this team. “Hmmm… I think I’m going to keep Cammy, Kopi, and Brownie together all year. After all, they’re pretty DAM good. (see that? see what I did there?) I think we’ll be able to ride that line for a while before people see I’m not doing a DAM thing. I’ll just let the other lines flounder around. Maybe I should have Vish center the 3rd line and I’ll bring up…Ratti to run D with Blakey. Wow, that’s fantastic! What else…oh! I almost forgot about the goalie situation! I think bringing back Cloutier will seal the deal. Yes, he’ll definitely be the back bone of this squad. I’m a flipping genius!”

As a note: I may like to make light fun of the players here and there, but don’t question for one second my complete loyalty to the Kings. No team can come in and take my attention and loyalty away. Ahem..cough cough DUCKS FANS cough.

Also, just to let you know, I’m not some beer-guzzling dude who thinks the new Reebok jerseys are too small because of my beer gut and who thinks I know what’s best for my team. Rather, I’d like to think of myself as a cute beer-sipping chick who will patiently wait for my team to get their act together without publicly bashing them to anyone who will listen. I’m not going to pretend I know what the best course of action is; I’m not making the millions of dollars to make these types of decisions. But even if they were to offer me the cold hard cash, I wouldn’t know the first thing about building up or saving a professional sports team.

Check out Part II - GM

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BREAKING NEWS

Following last night's game, there have been several transactions that have taken place. Without too much commentary, here they are:

Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today that:
1) Forward Gabe Gauthier and Goalie Jonathan Quick (under emergency conditions) were recalled from the Manchester Monarchs.

2) Forward Matt Moulson has been sent back to the Monarchs.

3) Alexander Frolov has been placed in IR retroactive to November 21.

http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/

Carla Muller over at hockeybuzz.com breaks down the goaltender situation at Manchester really quickly.
Cloutier W-L-SOL of 3-7-0, 3.10 GAA and 88.8% Save Percentage
Quick W-L-SOL of 1-2-0, 2.67 GAA and 90.9% Save Percentage
Ersberg W-L-SOL of 4-3-1, 3.05 GAA and 88.8 Save Percentage

My own thoughts:
- So we can all thank our lucky stars that Coultier hasn't been called up.
- Crawford decided to keep Klemm over Matt Moulson??

From an update by Matt Kredell from Inside the Kings, the reason why Matt Moulson was recalled to Manchester wasn't because of his performance but more of what Crawford needed in making line combinations. I'm glad they addressed this fact because I didn't see anything wrong with his playing.

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Another Lackluster Performance

Looking back on this game as a whole, I think the best part for me was the pregame interview with Cammy. When Patrick O'Neil asked him about the lines and what they might look like, he got a huge smile on his face and said that things would be looking a bit differently. In reference to the Coyotes, he said, “We might throw the shocker at them.” And he thoughtfully added a little WINK on the end of that sentence. OK CAMMY. Do you even know what The Shocker is????? hahahah, WOW! I think I might have fallen off the couch laughing.

Note by commentators: Brownie leads the NHL in hits. =) Ahhh, that's what I like to hear. I'm not an advocate of violence, but a good solid hit will from my team will ALWAYS put a smile on my face.

So this is Cammy's idea of what The Shocker is: 1st line of the night: Kopi, Brownie, Nagy. 2nd line being himself, the Fro, and Sully. Somehow, his version of The Shocker isn't quite as scandalous as the known version. Oh Cammy, you and your 5'9” frame kill me.

This game really didn't hold much excitement so this review will be reduced down to a list:

1) Zeiler definitely put up a hard hit and drew a cross-checking penalty. Wow....good job... The thing to note is that this was the longest delayed penalty I've ever seen (as agreed upon by Jim Fox).

2) Brownie – HIT!

3) 2 shots on that PP? Umm...

4) Jim Fox - “Can't get caught sucking down low.” Umm...

5) The first period had a lot of coast-to-coast playing with not much going on. Not surprisingly the Kings had 10 giveaways compared to Phoenix's 3.

6) During the first intermission – Video montage of Gretzky. Aww, I LOVE Gretzky!

7) Airborne was on HBO and I started flipping at the commercials. If you've never heard of Airborne, let me say that it is horrendously awesome and everyone should check it out. If not for the stellar acting of 1993, then for the terrible ice hockey moments scattered throughout the movie.

8) In the second period they kept the camera on Anze on the bench for a minute or two. So what exactly was he sniffing (smelling salts?) and why was he shooting water everywhere BUT in his mouth?

9) Lone goal by Doan. Damnit, Vish and Blake for giving them a 5-on-3.

10) Is this post interesting anymore, because the game sure wasn't. *sigh*

11) Crawford decided that the DAM line needed to get back out there and actually start producing. This resulted in a much-needed push, so good job for that. Yet the constant stoppages by Bryzgalov were killing any momentum the Kings were trying to build. Oh yeah, the Coyotes picked him up off waivers this morning. (More on this later). Side note: Cammy, nice roller hockey turn on the skates. ha

12) So I've said it before, but I feel I need to reiterate this point: The Kings need to stop passing so much when desperate times call for ACTION. NOT PASSING.

13) After not taking advantage on 5 PP opportunities in these 60 minutes, the Kings continued their losing streak (3) and gave Bryzgalov a shutout. What did they end with? A whopping 3 or 4 shots on net in 5 PP chances? Cool.

14) On a happier note: I will give a props to the goaltenders for the night, Barbs and Bryzgalov. I thought both played well and saw them both as walls in front of their respective nets.

15) After the game Kings Talk with Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans brought up a interesting/comical/terrible point. A caller asked if the Kings would have picked up Bryzgalov if the opportunity had presented itself. Nick (or was it Daryl, they kind of sound alike) said this most likely would not have happened due to the number of goalies the Kings have (Barbs, Aubin, and Cloutier – with Bernier on the rise) AND the amount of money that is tied up by these guys. Do you realize that (according to the math done by Earl Sleek over at BofC) the Kings would have just needed to pay out the remainder of his salary worth $900,000? Wait, what's that? We're spending $3.1 MILLION on Cloutier so that he can continue to be a losing goaltender even at the minor league level? That's fantastic, guys. Money well spent.

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Sweetest Word

Original post date: Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Photo courtesy of Google Images

What's the sweetest word in the English language?

"Waivers."

'Nuff said.

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