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.
When one thinks about free agent signing busts, the name Ladislav Nagy should come first. He was signed for just one year at $3.75 million; he played in 38 games tallying 9 goals, 17 assists for 26 points. He started off the year within the pool of free agents that Lombardi signed but ended the year with the strangest neck injury. Apparently there’s always been this mild sort of hype surrounding Nagy in that he had potential, which he could never quite grasp year after year. But the dude is 29 now, if he hasn’t achieved said potential by now, I don’t see him doing it when he’s in his 30s. So he came into the season with the aforementioned hype and inconsistently delivered while in the lineup. The only game I can really remember him being in was the New Year’s game where the Kings blew out the Blackhawks 9-2. Nagy tallied 5 points and was a stud; but that was it.
Aww, Lubo's in the background!
His season was cut short due to his mysterious neck injury that seemed to come out of nowhere. I’m not really sure what to make of it because there was no real explanation for it. What I did know was that it occurred about a month or so before the trade deadline passed so that he couldn’t be traded. I’m not sure what exactly his appeal would have been to other teams had he not been on IR, so I can only speculate on what "could have been." His presence in the latter half of the season was basically nil, so I’m fine with him slipping out of LA unannounced.
Brady Murray made an even shorter appearance with the Kings this year than did Nagy. He played in 4 games (1 goal) at the beginning of the season with the highlight being when they played the St. Louis Blues and he "faced" his father, Andy Murray. I have hardly anything to say about this kid except that he’s been a part of the Kings organization for a long time. I’m not sure what his projection is slated to be but I do know that he won’t be on the big club’s roster next year.
Wasn't that nice of the photographer to get both in one shot.... *yawn*
Pre-game: - It's raining in LA - Will I find comfort at Staples? - Great to see KQ with her silver boots. Good times!
1st Period: - Calgary gets 2 goals before we get 4 minutes into the game. I was honestly just praying that Barbs wasn't going to be pulled. - The energy is high, which is a good thing to see, but we're getting out-muscled. I felt like every time the Flames got the puck they had a little more hop in their step than the Kings. They break out faster, they skate faster. I probably don't really need to write this, but Iginla is A LOT faster than Modry. haha WOW. - Phaneuf scares me.
Can you just keep Stuart in there for the whole game?
2nd Period: - Kings Goal - Fro (7) grabs the puck from Kiprusoff who was caught behind the net and wrapped it around into an empty net at 6:14. - The Flames are blocking passes in the neutral zone relegating the Kings to their own zone. - Flames Goal - Iginla (32 wow) snaps it past Barbs. - Brownie and Dion are eyeing each other. I thought there'd be a fight or something before the end of the game, but I was incorrect. Damn. We need a spark. We need ....goals.
There's Handzus losing another faceoff.
3rd Period: - Kings Goal - Stuart (6) gets a PP goal at 2:08 and brings life back to the Kings. - Shots are even at 25. - Kings Goal - Nagy (9) wrists it in at 4:48 with assists going to Fro and Vish. See?? That's what happens when you take the puck to the net!! FINALLY! - We're tied 3-3 - Flames' Dustin Boyd and Robyn Regehr collide right inside the Kings blueline and their play is broken up amidst laughter from Staples and probably the Kings too. - Behind the Kings net Calder gets high sticked in the face and nothing is called. He skates to the bench with BLOOD ALL OVER HIS FACE. About 20 seconds later the other ref or a linesman sees Calder BLEEDING on the bench and whistles the play dead. Corey Sarich gets a double minor for high sticking. - Brownie gets hit at the end boards and goes to the locker room, but he only misses one shift and was back out being his old self. - Stuart sucks. I really don't know how else to put it. Scratch him. Trade him. Keep him off the ice. - Kings Goal - Kopi (17) nets a power play goal at 10:12 but is immediately pushed into the crossbar by a Flamer. - Fro is called for tripping and the Flames are on the PP. - Flames Goal - Huselius scores at 13:05 by getting a clean cross-ice pass from Iginla. - We're tied 4-4. - The stress is high and it's coming down to just a couple of minutes. BRIAN WILLSIE gets called for holding and knows he just lost the game for us. - Flames Goal - Langkow scores at 14:55. Damnit Willsie!!
Kiprusoff looking smug after completely knocking Thornton over for no reason.
- Crow pulls Barbs in the last minute and there are some chances, but the puck is moved into the Kings zone and Vish is there trying to evade Huselius. Wouldn't you know it, Huselius strips Lubo of the puck and scores on an empty net. It's like taking candy from a baby.
End of Game: - Kings 4, Flames 6 - There was hope. There really was. - My brother's thought after the game: "Keep Kopitar, Brown, Frolov, and Johnson. Trade everyone else."
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.
Pre-Game: - Had dinner with KingsCast at the Royal Room. Thoughts: It was a little dark in there. It gave it a kind of "I'm too cool for school" ambiance. The food was good and you could definitely share one order of something with someone else. - Sharks activate Cheechoo and the Kings scratch Cammy (ribs), Willsie (sucks), and Dallman (sucks and broke his foot). This is gonna bring some poor soul up from Manchester. - Sharks start Carle, Rivet, Cheechoo, Thornton, Roenick (to resounding boos), and Nabokov - Kings start JJ, Modry, Thornton (the not superstar one), Handzus, Giuliano, and Barbs - No matter how much the Kings suck, the opening on-ice video and music presentation can always inspire me into thinking that the Kings could actually pull something off. - When Crow's name was announced, the entire arena filled with boos. Really not surprising.
First Period: - There were a couple of good hits thrown up in the opening minutes; Lubo is able to break through SJ's sloppy D. - After a whistle Lubo and Goc get into a short but sweet slap fest and both get sent to the box. I think Goc wanted some cookies but Lubo wasn't willing to share. Each get 2 minutes for slapping. - Did anyone else notice JJ taking a face off? - Hey, guys, we're 3 minutes into this game and it already looks lifeless. - JJ - HIT - Preissing and Stuart - you guys could probably do better. - Giuliano is forechecking like crazy 5 minutes in, but one guy working on his own isn't gonna get it done. - A Shark almost gets annihilated by Blake's ass. =) - Let me just remind everyone that Kopi's got some sweet ass moves. - Goc just can't seem to stay away from Lubo. He's all over him and it looks like it's gonna be a long night, for Lubo, and hey, for us as well! - Sharks Goal:Milan Michalek slaps it past Barbs at 9:02. - At one point Kopi, Sully, and Brownie charge across the blue line and Kopi throws it up at Nabby who makes a solid glove save. Lesson from this moment: don't put it on Nabby's glove side. - Sharks Goal:Joe Pavelski at 12:17 on a backhand from Marcel "I want some cookies" Goc. - This marks SJ taking 9 shots resulting in 2 goals, which brings Aubin in net. Umm...
I'm sorry we suck so badly, Barbs.
- JJ breaks out and chases the puck into enemy territory. Even though Nabby makes the save, it was nice to see him being aggressive on those kinds of plays. - JJ - HIT - 5:30 - It appears that the Kings are shutting down SJ's offense and are taking some control of the neutral zone. This causes the Sharks revert to a dump-and-chase. - 3:01 - Aubin! WOW! Good save! - So the Kings don't have control of the neutral zone anymore and are lacking everything. This is where I wonder, "Hey guys, you're playing 5-on-5, right?" - Sharks penalty on Rob Davidson for too many men. Sully tries for a sweet wraparound but can't stuff it past Nabby. JJ fans on a shot and a Shark grabs it for a break away. Score remains 2-0 because he shoots it high and wide.
End of the first period: - You guys should really stop going glove side on Nabby. He's kinda grabbing everything. - Nagy looks like he's figure skating out there. - Sharks are up 2-0 - The smoking balcony is cold and filthy. Hear that KingsCast? Gross.
2nd Period: - Kings are on the PK at 2:41, then it's 4-on-4 at 3:57, and then the Kings have a 5-on-3 for a little bit. The Kings were able to kill the first part of the first penalty against them; it was kind of boring, not gonna lie. - But on that 5-on-3, way to NOT take advantage of that. - Who is this Brad Stuart kid? What is your function? Conjunction junction? - Kings Goal: Fro, way to take it to the net. Nabby blocks the shot but the rebound goes right to Blake (3) on the outside who slaps it home at 6:18. - Sully - goes for a softy hit - Brownie - HITx2 - Fro gave Matt Carle the behind - There are some sloppy plays on display; one might even question if these are even "plays." - JJ - HIT - Ratti - HIT (Playing without the face shield; he's ready to be the resident pugilist again.) - 10 minutes left - If the Kings were on a PK, I'd praise them for their hustle. But they ain't. - Blake - HIT - 6 minutes to go - Anze takes it up himself, through the neutral zone, across the blueline where he gets shut down. Good effort but no help from the teammates. Story of the season. - Nagy loses the puck and gets leveled. Hey Sharks, don't you know this guy was injured? Leave him alone, jerks. - 4:17 - (I am not creative so I'm going to use some well-know imagery here) The Sharks cut through the neutral zone and across the blue line like a heated knife through room temperature butter. We really should work on every aspect of our game. - JJ & Thornton have some shit they need to work out, which draw penalties at 16:04 (JJ for cross checking and Thornton for roughing). - Nagy is getting picked on hardcore. Rivet gets 2 minutes for elbowing, a 5 minute match penalty, and gets ejected for cross checking Nagy in the throat. Nagy sits 2 minutes for cross checking Rivet. - I shouldn't have to say what you already know; the Kings need to stop passing so much. Period.
End of the second period: - Stuart needs to be benched or something. He's sucking some major ass out there. - Sully, being the stud that he is, is not playing up to par...gotta work on that. - The second half of the period had an overall lack of focus and control from both teams.
3rd Period: - Began this period with 2:something left on the match penalty and the Kings don't take advantage. Fro even got a good pass but hesitated a little too long and lost the shooting lane. Bah! - A good opportunity came when Fro took it to the net at 17:20. Nabby stops it but has no idea where it is; he regains composure and stops any stuff attempt by the Kings. - Giuliano has a spirited but unsuccessful forecheck. - Sharks Goal: Milan Michalek tips it in at 3:24 in. - At 5:23, the blade of Blake's stick somehow finds Ehrhoff's mouth and is called for high sticking.
There was a lot of this business going on.
- Giuliano gets rooooooooocked - Question of the night: who do I trust less, Stuart or Vish? - Side note: it might be worth going to Staples just for the highlight montages on the jumbo tron. They assure me that the Kings can't really suck this much. - For a team at the bottom of the standings and who has said they're "desperate," they sure aren't playing "desperate hockey." - 4:55 left - the shots are surprisingly even at 30 a piece. - Holy hell, Carle gets called for slashing at 19:27, which leads to a Kings Goal by Vish (3) from the blue line.
End of the game: - Kings 2, Sharks 3 - Has Crow just told Zeiler that he's not allowed to shoot the puck at the net?He's basically the "dump" of the "dump and chase" school of thought. - What is with the Kings' inability to connect the stick to the puck??? Everybody's fanning out there! - 8 losses in a row. So when's the bleeding going to stop exactly?
Just in case you've never seen the inside of the Staples Center
So I turn the TV on to FSN for the start of the Kings game. What do I see instead but a WSU/WASH game in the last 5 minutes, which they've decided to show until the end since it's tied 35-35. What the hell!! I have to wait for this to be over before I can see my Kings whomp on the Sharks? With each minute that ticks by, I get angrier and angrier. Let's see how I pass the minutes by:
7:39 – 2:08 left in the game. Switch back to Mr. And Mrs. Smith since it's on another channel. Might as well ogle at Brad Pitt for a bit.
7:45 – 15 seconds left on the clock. Things that I'm missing: any pre-game interviews, any game analysis, ANYTHING!! Switch to Wedding Crashers, which is on another channel.
7:53 – The clock has been at 9 seconds for too long. Get it over with! Ok, it's FINALLY over, now go to the game!!! What? Post-game interviews??? CRAP!
7:56 – I'm so fucking pissed. FSN, I'm so mad at you right now.
1st Period: We come into the game with 9:14 left in the first and Brownie (9) has just scored a goal. Wow, I'm even MORE mad at FSN now. - Calder is on the first line? Well, it doesn't really matter since Crawford is changing up the lines on every shift. I could be out there for 30 seconds and I bet no one would know. I'd put up a hit on Setoguchi and skate away while saying, “That's for colonizing my ancestors...and scoring a lot of goals.” - On Marleau's penalty, Blake took 3 shots on, which made me happy since he hasn't really been doing that this season because it's been the norm up until this year. What's the deal? - Zeiler – Way to completely miss that attempted hit. Good job. - Side note: Calder now as 5 titanium pins in his thumb to match the pin that's already in his shoulder. - Kopitar (9) scores on the PP from awesome passing from Brownie, to Vish (who fakes a shot, only to pass), to Kopi who one-times it past a stiff-looking Nabokov. Sick.
End of 1st: I'm still pissed at FSN, but the Kings are up 2-0 so I guess I should relax a little. - Looking at the stats, the Kings have only one hit to the Sharks' 4? And 5 shots compared to the SJ's 7? Those numbers have got to come up.
2nd period: Fun fact: Rob Blake has 215 shots on goal, which is the most by any NHL defenseman. AWESOME. - I thought the PK from Nagy's penalty was good; they were clearing the puck and shutting down the Sharks. - In always hoping their passing improves, I thought at 10:38 in, Moulson's turn around pass to Blake was a nice setup. Even though it was blocked, it still brought in a shooting opportunity. - Nagy was awarded a penalty shot and tried to go 5-hole on Naby, but was denied. No worries, they're still up 2-0. - Side note: Ivanans now has 4 plates in his left cheek courtesy of Rob Blake.
End of 2nd: Hmm, it appears that Handzus is actually being effective and making a noticeable difference on the ice. - The Kings were outshot 13-6 this period. Crap guys! What do we gotta do to get the puck to the net more? And by “we” I mean “YOU.” - Even though the shot total wasn't ideal, I thought the Kings transitioned their energy well from the first to the second period. - During the intermission, they showed a clip of Cammy while in London. The season opener was a while ago, and they're just now showing this? Anyway, since I am pretty critical on speaking skills and the ability to talk without using “umm,” “like,” and “you know” in everyday vernacular, I have something to say about Cammy. I am SO GLAD that the Kings have captains who are competent in their speaking abilities. Blake, Thornton, and Cammy are well-spoken and I definitely appreciate that.
3rd period: Off the bat, the energy levels are still there making this a very hectic period. - Sully – HIT! (and appears to not be wearing his teeth tonight) - Zeiler falls. Hmm, why is that not surprising? I see this guy as being like a spastic younger sibling in that he just gets out there and starts running around. But, I mean, it's his job as being part of the energy line, right? But lately, with Crawford changing up the lines like there's no tomorrow, who knows what Zeiler is supposed to be doing....besides falling down a lot. - The Kings are still skating with energy and hustle, which is actually causing me to feel a bit stressed even though they're still up by two goals. - Goal for Sharks by Milan Michalek. Damn, Barbs almost got a shutout. - At the end of the game, Joe Thornton almost scores on his own goal from the Kings end but hits the post. Oh well, I'll take the one goal win.
When Barbs was being interviewed after the game, did anyone else think the guy sitting behind the glass to his left looked like Newman? Seinfeld anyone?
Aww, Lubo's in the background!
Wasn't that nice of the photographer to get both in one shot.... *yawn*
