Kings Recap-the Horror

Very few things to be happy about after last nights crap fest. May as well start with the only 2 notably positive things.

Zeiler- Yeah...this game stunk so bad that Zeiler gets the unofficial #1 Star for the Kings. Most thought he would duck Lappy and not throw down if issued the challenge but quite the opposite-he was willing to go and did surprisingly well. He got a right hand free and looked to get in a couple of good shots and post fight looked none the worse for wear as opposed to Lappy who was sporting some marks. Then again with Lappy those marks may have always been there and I just never noticed. Congrats to Zeiler though for giving us one small moment of happiness pie.

Moller- He scored the only goal so he gets Star #2 via default. Some food for thought though with 6 goals on the season Moller should probably finish around 10-15 goals on the season. Hardly Roookie of the Year material but also nothing to sneeze at given his tender age.

The Rest of the Story

Jason Labarbara-When he looks bad he looks really bad and almost conjures images of Dan Cloutier. The Avs first goal almost looked like a comedy routine. Between this play and Ersberg bungling a few games ago we've got a couple of new hilight clips for the ever expanding "Great Moments in Kings Goaltending History."

Kopitar- What happened to the energy from this guy? He showed more moxie and drive his first and second seasons then he has so far this year. Honestly, I really like the guy but where is the determination?

Brown- I am probably the biggest Brown fan there is but the Captain has got to step up. Did he throw 1 hit in the first 2 periods? If he did I certainly didn't see it. When the chips are down take the body Dustin! A young team is supposed to be resilient and show drive and spirit-I almost expected to see a white flag tied to a hockey stick on the Kings bench. Disgusting effort.

Gauthier/Harrold- Seems like the Kings always have 1 defense pairing that sends shivers up your spine; I give you this years model.

Calder- I mentioned it a post a couple of weeks ago when it comes to the player who cant handle the puck cleanly on the breakout, who cant make the pass down low to keep the cycle moving, who cant get his stick down to get off the shot-it will be Calder. End the experiment. Its over. Call up Purcell and play him in that spot. I know Calder once scored over 20 goals in a season....who the hell was the guy who was centering him because whoever it was must have been a miracle worker. Calder is Craig Johnson without the speed and about a pinch more grit. Problem with Calder-there is no NHL team that would want him so a trade is out of the question. Hopefully he has some character and might be a good influence in Manchester but Ive never heard him compared to say....Derek Armstrong in that dept.

Jack Johnson-Please come home all if forgiven. Seriously-if there were ever a case of "What If" to be made with this team this is it.

Ivanans- A long time NHL enforcer once said "you dont ask a guy to fight you, you make him fight you." If he can't pick up a fighting major in last nights game he is not an enforcer. When an opposing player showboats and openly mocks you during an ass kicking and you can't somehow manage to drop the gloves-you are NOT doing your job.

Simmonds-I still stand by my comments that he would be better served playing in Manchester but I give him his mad props for being the only guy on the team who finished the game without earning a - on the +/- finishing with a 0.

Lots of blame to go around but I am thinking maybe this is a good thing as I will be attending the game Thursday and maybe somehow by the grace of god they will decide to show up. I am thinking about making a sign "This is my sons first game-can we at least play hard for him?"

Thoughts?