Oh What a Feeling; Kings Win in OT

What a fantastic time to be a Kings fan. I can honestly say without a doubt that this team has the most character and balance of any Kings team in over 15 years if not longer. Why I chose 15 years? Its a nice number.

Purcell- Great for Teddy P to contribute with the ice breaking goal. That said I still wonder why he is getting ice time on the 2nd Power Play unit. Not saying he sucks, should be traded, or beaten with a herring-just think there are other forwards in the lineup that could probably make better use of PP time.

Frolov-Said in the GDT that Frolov isn't playing poorly, but all the other forwards on the team are playing so well and so inspired that it makes Frolov's play magnified. Not too different then Jack Johnson looking like an also ran when he gets compared to Doughty night in night out. That said-Frolov game is getting better....he looks to be driving the net more frequently and going into high traffic areas.

Mega Props to Jim Fox on his call of Frolov's hooking penalty in the 1st. He took the time to explain why the refs are justified in making a call like that as opposed to whining and complaining about a ticky tack call like we certainly would have seen and heard from another color commentator across town who shall go unnamed. That said-There was a blatant high stick at the end of the 2nd on Scuderi that went uncalled as was the horrible call on Brown in the 3rd when-gasp......players actually bumped into each other. Its one thing to make that call in the first period another to make it in the 3rd in a tight game between two divisional rivals. Making matters worse was the non-call on what should have been a blatant interference call on Scott Nichol as Frolov went after a loose puck in the Sharks zone back in the 2nd.

I was pretty envious of the Sharks physical play, they were consistently taking the body all night long. I guess in the end it didnt pay off for them but I hope we say a day when the Kings can play that take the body style for 60 minutes....hopefully against the Ducks.

Ersberg-Glad to see him get the win but the Boyle goal was soft as was the 4th goal. Both goals should have been stopped IMO. That said on the 2nd Shark PP goal I cant blame Ersberg as much as the Kings PK for not boxing out the opposing players and taking the man as opposed to trying to dig out the puck from the scrum in the crease. Ersberg save% on the night was .882; Quick's save% on the season is .900; Kind of makes you think how good this team can be if we ever by the grace of god landed a truly elite top notch goalie....hopefully Quick can grow into it becoming one or Bernier can get a chance and make the most of it. That said-Ersbergs puck handling skills and decision making with the puck are certainly a notch above Quicks.

Ivanans- In the first Ivanans looked to challenge Doug Murray once or twice which is nice. Wasnt able to get him to go and Ivanans contributions are certainly debatable, but at least he was trying to make some noise.

Stoll- I have to think that Stoll is going to be a coach when his playing days are behind him. You can see by his interaction with the coach's and his demeanor in certain situations that he really has a grasp for the games technical aspects. Between him and Greene, who is a monster on D and a true warrior, the Visnovski trade looks better and better daily for the team. Stoll is now tied for 3rd on the team for pts and 2nd in goals. Which brings me to the next item...

Doughty- Doughty should get a Norris nomination this year. He is tied for 3rd as well with 24 pts and a +11 on the season. Is there any doubt that if Doughty was on the Leafs or the Canadians that he would arguably win the award? Doughty is 4th in scoring for dmen and tied for 1st in goals for dmen, tied for 5th in +/-.

There was a critical time late in the 3rd when the Kings were finally able to get possession of the puck in the Sharks and do a decent job of cycling the puck...something they weren't able to do as effectively as they did vs Calgary. You could see after that shift it switched momentum a bit. Hopefully we can see the increased forecheck and cycle tonight against the Jovanovski-less Coyotes.

Blake-Not to kick a guy when he is down but surely I cant be the only one glad that Blake isnt on our roster. He looks pretty slow out there and not sure if hes been like that all season but had a real hard time controlling the puck and keeping it in the zone on the Sharks PK.

Jones-11 pts in 14 games has him approaching Quincey like numbers. That said- he makes me nervous sometimes positionally and looks like players with speed can beat him to the outside. I would not be opposed to shuffling in Drewiske for Jones and O'Donnell as the season wears on. For big physical teams you need to play O'Donnell, for less physical team platoon Drewiske and Jones. As the year moves on this could really be a boost for the playoffs in terms on minimizing wear and tear.

How sweet to see both Kopitar and Brown end their goal droughts....and both in semi-dramatic fashion. Kopitar was rocked by a big hit and to me looked hurt-he was visibly slowed by the check and was gritting out the rest of his shift; when he gained puck possession I thought for sure he would simply dump it in and head for the bench, instead he decides to stay on the ice and scores a goal 5 seconds or lso later. I think that may be the definition of character for our Slovakian friend. As for Brown, he was playing hard and giving his all-maybe squeezing the stick a bit too tight but his OT goal had to have been sweet. Truth be told it looked like a soft goal that Nabakov should have stopped. Maybe it was the off speed/trickle off of Browns stick that made it a hard play. Which leads me to some numbers....

Sharks have given up 11 goals in 2 game against the Kings; against the rest of the NHL they've only averaged 2.31 GAA.

Kopitar hadn't scored in 12 games while Brown hadn't scored in 15 or so. In those 15 games the Kings actually went 9-5-1. How sweet is it that two of the teams top contributors can go into a prolonged scoring slump and the team can still finish 4 games over .500; with the majority of those games playing without Scuderi and Smyth no less?

Did anyone else notice in the post game celebration not only where the players jumping on Brown like they won the cup, but when they were skating to the dressing room Randy Jones was clearly animated, high fiving anyone in the proximity including Mark Hardy. It is clear to me that everyone in the dressing room has clearly bought into the team concept and I have said it before but this maybe the best group of players and characters buying into a system and team concept the Kings have ever had. All speculation on my part but even during the Gretzky era, players probably took an occasional night off figuring Gretzky would bail them out or could abandon the system entirely and simply try and get Gretzky the puck....and most of the time that probably worked. But its clear the guys on this team like each other, pull for each other, and are a tight knit bunch focused on the prize. Everyone in the Kings organization deserves credit from Lombardi, to T Murray, and the players themselves. I have said it before and I will shout it from the rooftops, the franchise is as strong as it has ever been-from scouting to development to management etc etc; This is a special time to be a fan.

Last item-it really bothers me that the Teams stellar play has to take place in a season where there in an Olympic break. As well and as consistent as the team has played the last thing I want is long rest breaks that could kill momentum or even worse-seeing Brown on the forecheck against Doughty. I mean of all years to have 2 prolonged breaks in the schedule for long suffering Kings fans I have to ask....Why Now?

Quick to the Punch Pt 2; Kings beat Flames

A few notes and a few off the top of my head. Lets do it.

I said when Smyth and Scuderi went down that we should be happy with .500 hockey. Without looking at the results of those games I sure they did just that if not topped by a game or two. Sure Smyth aint back yet but you could see what Scuderi brings to the table in the final minutes of the 3rd. He reminds me of a better version of Aaron Miller. Some complained about his contract but you could see when the game is on the line Scuderi is about as good as dman as you will find in the league.

The Cycle- I am loving the work of our forwards on this team. Cant recall the last time we had so many players not only with good speed-but can and willing do the dirty work to cycle the puck. Parse, Richardson, Simmonds, Fro, Stoll, Williams-all are very good and adept at the cycle and last night they created a lot of chances off of it as well as visibly wore down the Calgary D. Even Moller looked like he was willing and able to work the puck low. Hate to say it but-this is another sign that doesnt bode well for Teddy P.

Parse-Really love what this guy brings to the table. Watching over the last couple of games you can see he plays with some intensity and grit that was never really reported in past scouting reports. Looks to me like he is really making the most of his call up. Would be very surprised to see him get sent down at this point. Looks as well like the chemistry is starting to blend with his line mates as well. And the fact he played hockey in Nebraska gives him brownie points.

Lets give some props to DL-last nights win would not have been a win without some of his acquisitions.

Looking at the trade of Visnovski for Stoll and Greene for instance. I liked Vis but the character that both Stoll and Greene bring is off the charts. We knew Greene is a 5th/6th dman who will occasionally scrap but his play on the PK is vastly underrated. Stoll won a ton of faceoffs, led the team in hits, scored the GW goal, and threw some nice props to the fans in his 1st star selection speech. Which brings us to Williams.

Maybe this is the flogging of a dead horse but Williams brings so much more to the table then Patty O. He can throw a check, take a check, make a pass, drive the net, work the cycle, etc etc. When that trade went down I thought the 2nd rd pick we made to get the deal done was too much but watching him play makes me think it was well worth it. And he certainly looks like the product of an illegitimate child of Dale Hunter and Bono.

Quick- Is he lucky or good or some combo of both? There are some games when any of those pucks would have trickled over the goal line....Im glad last night wasnt one of them. How rare of feat is it to only get 16 or so shots against Kiprusoff and still come away with a win?

Now some negatives or criticisms- Jack Johnson was pretty much solely to blame on the Glencross goal. For a guy who is as strong and well conditioned as he is, it looks like he is able to get out muscled and at this point in his development and it kind of makes sense. He was probably the strongest guy in college hockey and was used to being able to rub people out and use brute strength to make the plays-but in the NHL there are so many strong players that he needs to make an adjustment on how to play the bigger, stronger man. Do I bench him? No, I dont think so as overall the team is playing well. But-if he continues to make the occasional gaffe I certainly would think having him sit for a game to watch from the pressbox wouldnt be a bad thing-particularly since his spot would be filled with a competent Davis Drewiske.

Kings PP- The puck movement on the PP Goal was jaw dropping. I dont recall the Kings ever moving the puck like that....even going back to the Golden days. I hope we see more of that in the near future because it was brilliant.

Doughty- Gotta love the fact even Canadians are starting to talk about Doughty beating Phaneuf for a spot on the Olympic team. Mentioned earlier that Doughts play certainly makes every Johnson gaffe a bit more pronounced. The Poise on this kid is unbelievable. Funny to think as unhappy as we were when we lost the lottery and the Stamkos sweepstakes-Doughty may very well be the best player in one of the best draft years in recent memory. We can now switch our "would have could have" focus to last years draft and "what if" our way to think what may have been had we been able to pick 3rd and get Matt Duchene.

Can someone slap the director of the broadcast? I kept waiting for a replay of the Greene penalty in the 3rd but alas it was to no avail. I will give him props though-it was great hearing the refs/players on the live mic during the Richardson scrum. Ive said it 1000 times-if the NHL had some balls they'd mic every player and offer up everything warts and all with an alternate audio feed.

Im still flabbergasted reading some of the comments on LA Kings Insider critical of Terry Murray. I am not saying the guy is Scotty Bowman but I think there should be little doubt this is a well coached team. I mentioned before the season started that Terry Murray has always had teams that had huge point gains in the 2nd season with him as coach and it looks like it will ring true again knock on wood.

What a telling week and month this will be for the team. San Jose, Phoenix, and Dallas all in a weeks span with a Canadian Roadie after that with Van, Edm, & Calgary again, a long break(great for Smyths return hopefully) with the Yotes, 2 against the Wild, and Calgary one more time for good measure. Seeing Calgary so many times makes me long for the good ole days of the Smythe division when our division rivals were Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Hating Joel Otto and Jim Peplinski, Messier, Craig Muni, Garth Butcher, Jim Sandlak, and Winnipeg who never really had the hatable players but always seemed to have a rookie goalie you never heard of who managed to play like Terry Sawchuk every time we played them and Burton Cummings singing O Canada. Good times.

As always look forward to your thoughts.

Quick to the Punch; Kings Beat Ducks

Always fantastic to beat the Ducks, one of the most satisfying things Kings fans can wallow is it not?

Lets get right to it.

Quick-The 3rd Ducks goal was a scary as was the final 3 minutes or so. That said-Quick is 3-0-0 against the Quacks and nothing matters more then the W at the end of the game. Was Uber Surprised at the praise heaped on him at the end by Bryan Hayward whome Ill speak more about later. In the last 4 games Quick has a 1.99 GAA and a .93 SV%. Id like to say he found his grove but the last Ducks goal shows there is still some work to do but all in all-Touche Senior Quick.

Simmonds-As well as Quick has played the last couple of Games Simmonds has bar none been our best forward. His hunger for the puck and wont call it willingness-but eagerness to battle for the puck is amazing. Was reading on another forum where someone thought Simmonds may be a future Selke candidate. Im not sure how realistic that may be as much as we'd love to see it BUT- Simmonds with 8 Goals and 8 Assists on the Season is on pace to go at least 20/20 and at current pace would finish the year with 46 pts. The Perry penalty at the end of the game was a bad one to take but I can only speculate since the Ducks broadcast decided it wasnt worth of replay. I dont know what diet Simmonds has but I wish someone in the front office would put Frolov on it.

Richardson-I said between the 2nd and 3rd periods that Richardson looks like a much better player then Frolov right not. Making the case more was Richardson's goal which was scored with him in front of the net willing to take the abuse NHL players take standing in front of the oppositions net. It wasn't just that goal though-you can see over the last 10 or so games that Richardson's heart and effort have been there consistently. Hayward mentioned that when Corey Perry finished as the OHL's scoring leader Richardson was #3 in same said category. It still is the ultimate slap in the face that the Kings had not one-but two chances to draft Perry and instead took Tambellini and Boyle. On the bright side-had we drafted Perry we probably wouldn't have finished as low as we did 2 seasons ago and never been in the Position to draft Doughty.

Randy Jones- I'll be honest in that while sometimes I Jones tends to make me nervous in his decision making and I see him as a 5-6 dman he then manages to make the big play that wins the game for us. 8Pts in 10 Games is not too shabby and there are probably some teams who passed over him on the waiver wire that are kicking themselves right about now. That said- if & when Scuderi gets back our DCorp is going to be in fantastic shape.

Kopitar-The Scoring is not there but he is still driving and forcing opposing teams to adjust coverage. I'd like to say lets move Simmonds or Richardson to that line but why mess with a good thing when those 2 are playing well?

Brown- Don't know how many caught it but there was a moment when Brown was standing next Wizniewski and Wiz gives him a little shove and Parros then comes over-but instead of trying to rough Brown has a huge grin and says something to Brown as to which Brown gives him a big smile as well. Not sure what to make of it other then to think Brown & Parros were probably semifriendly during Parros's days on the Kings. I still like big George but you can tell much like Ivanans that they dont really like to fight they just know its their job. That said-while Brown is in a scoring drought there is nothing wrong with his play as he is still driving the net and creating chances. Would like to see him go back to throwing his huge checks though.

Frolov- Back to the game against the Hawks I was watching him and couldnt figure out if he was indeed loafing out there are that his skating style simply gives the appearance thereof. That said last night, I noticed A)he was frequently the last guy on the back check and B)his unwillingness to go into the middle of the ice. There was one play where the puck fell right in front of the crease and Hiller but Frolov took a bit of a detour going to the front of the net and couldnt pick up the trash.
I am a Frolov fan, he appears to be a nice guy without any baggage but its time to make that "trade for trade sake" move with him. Here is what I see happening- Frolov and picks gets traded for a guy with a big contract who is under performing which is always risky, Frolov gets traded straight up for a player in a similar situation with impending UFA status, or Frolov gets moved for picks and a player well below Frolov's skill level aka Paul Gaustad or some other type player.

Hayward-I noticed going back to last season that Hayward during Kings/Ducks game has really turned down the blatant homerism....so instead of being 11 on the 1-10 Homer Scale he turns it down to 8.5 or somewhere in the general neighborhood.

I said when Smyth and Scuderi went down that we should be happy to play .500 hockey until they get back and in November we went 7-6. Being realistic without our top shutdown Dman and without Kopitars Jari Kurri in Smyth-that's the hand we have to play. Provided an outright collapse-this is what we need to stay in the hunt. The Good news in December is that there are a couple of bad teams we will be facing in Minnesota, Edmonton, & St Louis-the bad news is we play a lot of divisional foes and Calgary not once, not twice, but 3 times.

As always look forward to your thoughts.

Hips Thoughts- Oilers/Nucks/Turkey

Didn't take notes so off the top of my head here are my thoughts.

Scoring without question is an issue right now and if you want to give me a
"thank you capt obvious" retort feel free to do so. That said-

Where is the pressure in the front of the net and why are forwards so unwilling to go there on a consistent basis? And on a same scoring related note-why arent we taking more shots from the middle of the ice like Souray did on the lone Oilers Goal? When we speak of getting back to basics-isnt this really what we mean?

Quick- Quick played a solid game, but he still looks like he is not in the groove he was in last season. He makes me nervous anytime he plays the puck and there are issues big time with communication from Quick to his Dmen. Cant we just settle it right now and set a rule that says Quick should never handle the puck? Unrealistic sure but wouldnt having one less bungled and botched play from goalie to defenseman have a calming influence?

Frolov- I will not jump on the Frolov bash brigade but Brown set him up with a beautiful pass right in the wheelhouse in a prime scoring area only to have Fro arrive at the puck completely unprepared to take the shot and not even close to being in the shooting position. Begs the question of Why? Brown's pass was perfect-a goal scoring winger could not have asked for anything more for a setup pass and why Fro wasnt ready to crank it at the net kind of baffles me. That said- 2 games in a row with Frolov goals albeit last nights EN was a gimme, maybe a good sign nonetheless.

Simmonds- Simmonds has impressed me every game, he never takes a night off and is always willing to get his nose dirty. Throw him on the 1st line and see what happens.

Purcell- I like Teddy and really wanted this to be a break out year but it just doesnt look like its happening. His hustle was there a couple of plays but I just dont know if that is going to be enough to make that line click.

Lotki- Bummer to get injured in first NHL game but late November and December are rarely lucky times for the Kings. Welcome to the big club kid.

Handzus- Edmonton's announcers totally overblew the hit on Hemsky. I dont think Handzus intentionally went after him nor intended to hurt him. Looked like a play that is instinctive in the a player with puck possession attempts to go around the net and the defensive player simply tries to take him to the boards. If it was any Edmonton player the same play would have been made.

Souray- He has a bloated salary if Im not mistaken but he could play on my team anyday. He can hit, shoot the puck, play the pp, and a very good fighter with leadership qualities. Once again he may have a huge contract but he brings much more to the table then a Jeff Finger or Mark Streit for instance.

Nucks- Have both Sedin's in the lineup and if memory serves Kings generally dont play well on turkey day. Would be quite a coup to win back to back in Canada but that may be asking for too much. Nucks are a tough team as well....if Im the Coach I certainly try to play as physically as possible against the Kings. Bieska, Glass, Rypien, O'Brien...and thats not even including Hordichuk and that punk Alex Burrows. If ever there was a night for Ivanans to prove himself-it is now.

Chicago- Already one of the best teams in the conference, Marian Hossa played his first game of the season as the Hawks pounded the Sharks in their own barn. Was very surprised to see the Sharks being down at home 7-0 and no one on the roster tried to even get a scrap going. My question-isthis a sign of some trouble with Unity on the Sharks roster or merely a sign of today's NHL?

As always, look forward to your thoughts.

Flyers Squeak by Kings 3-2

Even in a tough loss......I thought the Kings played well. Generally....39 shots on goal will be enough to win the game but tonight it just didn't happen. The effort was there and if they can give that type of effort the rest of the season I don't think anyone should complain.

Some player thoughts.

Drewiske- there was a fantastic play he made in the second where he chipped the puck to Brown and as two flyers went after brown, Drewiske saw a chance for a potential breakaway and immediately moved into the open for the breakaway pass. As he gets more acclimated to play in the NHL-he is going to be a solid defensemen. The ability to make the right play and read the play is as important as skating and puck handling for Dmen....and he has been very impressive.

Brown- I'm really not sure what happened to him as of late. Is he nursing an injury or have the coaches put a leash on him? He threw the late hit on Richards-but also hasn't nearly been the ferocious check throwing monster he was earlier in his career.What's lost here is the element of Brown throwing the huge hit buys him time and space-without that element he is not going to get as many chances to score or make a play.


One Glaring problem I saw last night-why was no one shooting from the prime scoring area? And with Smyth on the shelf-do we have anyone willing to do battle in front of the net or go into the middle?

Doughty- someone in another thread said Doughty on the PP is a trainwreck. Megan Fox-shes a trainwreck. The Beatles-complete trainwreck. Lebron James- utter hopeless trainwreck. Add your own trainwreck here.

The play that led up to Doughtys PP goal was Doughty himself diving to swat the puck from a Flyer who was going to clear-on the dive he not only gets to the puck first-but moves it nicely to the player on the point who then passes it up to the winger. The Kings got back in position, the puck gets moved to Doughty were he fires and scores. If the definition of Trainwreck is "NHL Annually Nominated Norris Trophy Candidate" then by all means he is a trainwreck.

Frolov-Frolov doesnt look out of place on the 1st line and his work on the boards and puck positioning is outstanding. That said-Im not sure he has the awareness to parlay puck possession into hitting the open man on the pass. He was great bullcharging the puck straight to the net but sadly, it looked like the Flyers knew he was going to do it and had an answer for it everytime it was attempted. It didnt help that Boucher played a fantastic game-maybe on other goalies not playing as sharp or not as skilled this is a move that will start to payoff down the road.

Is it just me or does Scott Hartnell sport a huge head? He made JJs head and face look small....which really speaks volumes.

Mike Richards-what a stud. He may be the next Mark Messier as far as leadership skills and Captaincy skills go. I wont make an obvious comparison here but you can figure out where Im going with this.

I was unable to fully concentrate on the game as I was sending out some resumes, but those were a few of the notes I was able to take. Philly is a very good team...lets give them some credit as well.
Nothing to be ashamed of in a hard fought game. Only bummer here is they dont play the Ducks. Would have loved to see how Pronger and former teammates faced off.

On that same note- a few people on the hockey fight sites are saying that the Ducks/Tampa game tonight has all of the elements of a great physical game. Given the way Tampa played the Kings I hope they bring that same game. There was some talk of Artuychkin not being well liked in the locker room-so who knows that may be worth the watch.

One other note- The Pens/Sens game tonight has 2 teams that have combined for 34 fights on the year. That should be a pretty good matchup as well.

Kings End Road Trip in OT Style

Well after the debacle in Atlanta, I think we can all agree ending an east coast 5 game swing with a winning record is a great feeling. What may be one of the best feelings came when down by 2 goals, I still had a gut feeling the Kings were going to pull this one out.

Some thoughts-

Only 1 King finished the game with double digits points and that was none other then Randy Jones. Looks to be a very solid pickup so far. Of course had the short handed 2 on 1 ended up going back up ice instead on in the Panthers net we have been calling for his crucifixion.

Its once again a testament to the teams character to end up a long road trip with this type of efforts. After being down by 2 goals-they just dont give up. On that same note- Had Florida scored one more to make it 3-0 we would have been calling for TMs crucifixion for his not calling a TO to settle things down when they obviously looked a bit rattled.

Quick-He is still one of the NHLs elite, arguably not yet one of the upper echelon but I like the kids fire. On the 3rd goal he was upset and went right to the ref to discuss it, and after getting great results with the same action during the Tampa game-I really like his fire and his game. How many former Kings goalies would d have simply shrugged?

Wayne Simmonds- His scoring has cooled of late but he never disappears. He has been looking angry as of late so was nice to see him drop the gloves. McArdle is a tough kid and once again how can you not love the grit that Simmonds shows. He still needs to fill out a bit...hard to believe he is only 21. Remember it was Simmonds & Moller's great preseason last year that pretty much cost Brian Boyle his shot at starting the season with the club and almost without question made him expendable. Im not sure if I can hijack my own thread but Simmonds already has higher career point totals(Simmonds 34 to Boyles 13....another testament to the Al Murray years......ugh.)

Some thoughts from the first 2 periods-Florida was amazing at Blocking Shots. Kings had chances that simply were blocked outright and the shots they did get were all from the point and high and/or at a bad angle.

Florida is a bad team though. When Steve Reinprecht is the leading scorer you know you are a bad team. To put it into perspective, Reinprechts 14 points would have him 8th in scoring on the Kings. Would love to acquire Nathan Horton though. Maybe Frolov and picks for Horton? Frolov and Frolik really do deserve a shot to play on the same line.

Scott Parse is really growing on me. Not sure what happened in Tampa when he logged only 5 minutes in Ice Time but in his short stint he has clearly made Peter Harrold even more of a footnote.

I know its still very early in the season but if I were a betting man I would say this is the latest into the season since Gretzky, when the Kings had the leading scorer.

Floridas Coach had to be steaming at the holding the stick call on Kreps in the offensive zone. Horrible penalty to take at any time but in the offensive zone at that point in the game.....ouch.

Jack Johnsons Shoot Out move is sick. Im not sure if there is a better Dman in the league in Shoot Outs with the exception of Joe Corvo. Only difference here is that JJ occasionally plays defense and takes the body.

Lets hope Smyths injury is of the minor variety. If he and Scuderi are out for any period of time will be this season first true test of where the team is.

Some critical thoughts here- whats up with all of the 2 on 1s on the PK? Dont recall the last time we saw as many SH chances as tonight.

After logging 30 minutes in the last game-Doughty logged almost 28 minutes tonight. Guess Terry Murray
wanted to give his some rest. Doughty logged an assist and I should probably simply cut and paste the next part but Doughty is a phenom. His skating and decision making along with puck handling, passing, and shooting are off the charts.

The Coyotes lost tonight and for a blast from the past- Labarbara gave up 4 goals on 19 shots. I saw the last one and it was classic Labarbara where a Bolts player threw the puck in the crease, it went into Labarbaras skates and he ended up kicking it on his own. Good Times.

Kings now hold a 6 pt lead over the Yotes and the Stars. Bad news is they played 3 more games. Can you believe Dallas has 6 pts this season in OT losses? Here is some food for thought though-as the season goes on can Marc Crawford or Dave Tippet get more from their teams? In particular-I see Crawford wearing out his welcome quickly.

Making matter better is the Ducks lost again. I said at the start of the year they werent going be good-but I had no idea they were going to be this bad. With the Ducks luck they finish 4th worse, win the lottery and select #1 overall or-dont win the lottery select the 4th, and the player they select ends up being the best player anyhow. I hate the Ducks.

Next up-the Flyers and there always classy fan base.

Kings catch rare break in Tampa- day after thoughts

After some time to digest last nights victory here are some thoughts.

As disgusted as we all felt after the horror in Atlanta, last nights win showed this team has a ton of heart and character. Think about it, back to back games after getting their behinds kicked and then to face what was arguably the most physically played, physically demanding game of the season so far.

Kings teams in the past would have most certainly used this as an excuse to take another night and go through the motions, as a matter of fact my memories of Kings teams on East Coast swings in the 2nd night of a back to back has always been one of losing. Come to think of it, my memories of Tampa are always of us losing dating back to Robb Stauber unable to stop a penalty shot as well as my ill-fated road trip to Florida with Sean53 after the Allison trade to see the team play both Tampa and Florida miserably.

Was Reading Kings Insider where some people commented "Im still not impressed" to which I reply with "How long have you been a fan?" Really, with all of the stars and planets historically lined up against the Kings this victory should be savored like beating the Wings at home in the Joe.

Quick- I am still not sold that this is a turning point for him but he came out and he responded. The Malone goal may have been played better but stoning every Tampa shooter in the Shoot Out was a thing of beauty considering the Kings history of mediocre goaltending.

And while scoring has been tough lately-the willingness of every guy putting it on the line and giving 110% was a fantastic display of something we haven't seen in years. From Simmonds and Handzus to Richardson-players were really giving it their all. When was the last time we saw so many Kings players taking a hit to make a play?

I still think Adam Mair would be a nice addition to the team. I still think Derek Armstrong would be a nice addition as well.

Some other thoughts...

I had memories of Montreal watching Simmonds take an elbow to the head and then get called on a penalty for having the temerity to discuss it with the Bolts player. Very poor call. Reminded me of last years call in Montreal where Komisarek went after Brown after the whistle only see Brown somehow get a double minor and the Habs get a PP.

Ivanans-he is what he is but looks like he has a bad habit of fighting down to the level of his opponent. 2 Games, 2 mediocre bouts. Not that his role but his Puck Awareness has to be one of the worst in the league. How many times does the puck have to land at his feet and his not noticing the fact?

Richardson- He had over 15 minutes of ice time and while I love his compete level he left the zone early a couple of times that directly led to some Bolts chances.

Frolov- He dodged a real bullet last night when he made the same ill advised pass into the middle in lieu of getting the puck deep. It was basically the same play that got him benched earlier in the season and the same play that got us into trouble in Atlanta. I love the guy but someone else said it best in that for this team to be successful we need every guy on the roster visibly showing effort and making the right play- I said it in my season preview post and I stand by my words that I see him wearing a Detroit jersey sometime before his career is over.

Props to Rich Tocchet. After the game he would have been totally justified to go ballistic on the officials. On the replay after Quick's final game winning save during the shootout you could see Tampa players starting to jaw at the officials before Tocchet calmly called them to the bench and into the dressing room. You could see him saying things like "its over get inside" and "good work guys lets get dressed" and what not.

“There’s nothing you can do. It happens,” Tocchet said. “We had a couple chances in overtime, but it’s a tough one.”

I am not sure there are that many coaches in the NHL who after a loss in that fashion could seem even keeled-the fact it comes from Tocchet is even more surprising giving his style as a player. One could only imagine what the reaction would have been from Marc Crawford.

Final Thoughts- A win over Florida on Monday will have us finishing the road trip 3-2 which is acceptable to me given the troubling Chicago and Atlanta games. Florida is below .500 but also a team that will probably come out gunning. It will be yet one more final test of character as previous Kings team would easily use the "last game of a long road trip" as an excuse to mail in the effort. While given the season so far I don't think we will see that monday-its still not beyond the realm of possibility. Let's hope injuries to Scuderi and Handzus are minor. It's nice to know that if Scuderi cant go that Drewiske will be able to fill his spot. Seems it wasn't all that long ago that in injury to a defenseman late on a road trip would have see us being forced to use Doug Houda, Mark Visheau, Steve McKenna, or Arto Blomsten.

As always, look forward to your thoughts.