1. Name the last Stanley Cup winning team with a poor and inconsistent power play and 5 on 3. 2. Name a post lockout Stanley Cup winning team that relied on a cycle along the boards - to the point as its offensive system. 3. Are Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown, Jarret Stoll, Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson excellent skaters? If yes, is speed really lacking in our top 6 forwards or … [Read more...]
WILL TERRY MURRAY SWITCH THE LA KINGS’ LINES AGAIN?
March 6, 2011 By
That is what we call a rhetorical question. I won't belabor this but I am willing to go out on a limb here and say we are soon going to see an LA Kings' first line of Ryan Smyth-Anze Kopitar-Justin Williams and a second line of Dustin Penner-Jarret Stoll-Dustin Brown. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. Terry Murray is very predictable and this is the only measured response he has ever … [Read more...]
LA KINGS PLAYER PROFILE: DUSTIN PENNER AND EXPECTATIONS
March 1, 2011 By
Who is Dustin Penner? What does he bring? How will he help? Why does he fit? If you are as hockey obsessed as Surly & I, you may have read every article you could get your hands on from proclaimed (self and otherwise) experts, media, and bloggers about the Dustin Penner trade that sent Colten Popcorn Teubert, a 2011 1st round pick and a conditional 3rd to the Edmonton Oilers. But how … [Read more...]
LA KINGS POST GAME: TOO MUCH OF TOO LITTLE COSTS KINGS 3-0
February 19, 2011 By
No goals. Few scoring chances. Even less passes that connected. Too little, both early and late. I sure am glad Terry Murray benched Andrei Loktionov and shuffled the lines again. I am certain Lokti's passing ability, penchant for getting open and skill set wouldn't have come in handy. Maybe Murray expected a "heavier" perimeter game, one with a lot of checking, fighting, and good … [Read more...]
BAILEY’S BUDDY
January 31, 2011 By
Ok...I laughed. Enjoy Bailey and his new BFF. Anze Kopitar is actually a decent actor. … [Read more...]
KINGS VS BLACKHAWKS GAME PREVIEW: ONE STEP TO FOUR
January 3, 2011 By
I pain even thinking about this game. I walk into Staples tonight with my head balancing delicately between uplifted pride and sagging despair. Today I am not a man who chooses his own destiny, but rather, one who squirms in his seat, waiting for events to unfold that will determine his fate. The Chicago Blackhawks have either arrived at Staples Center for the first time in 2011 at the … [Read more...]
CHANNELING RAGE – KINGS v. PREDATORS PREVIEW
December 18, 2010 By
Every smug face at the gym today looked like Steen...and forced me to turn away or risk imminent assault. At the gas station, a fifty something year old man with a St. Louis Rams hat walked to his truck...I suppressed the temptation of spraying him with the gas pump and launching a match. I must manage this anger at the 6-4 loss Thursday night. Medicine lies in tonight's game. The Predators. … [Read more...]
KINGS SUCCUMB TO ST LOUIS BLUES AGGRESSION
December 16, 2010 By
The title says it all. The Kings battled. Tempers flared and fists flew. They took their licks and gave some back. However in the end, an inspiring and brutally hostile game by the St Louis Blues won out over the Los Angeles Kings in a struggle that could have gone either way. It started out less than perfect with the Blues controlling the majority of the first period, immediately … [Read more...]
FLAMES LEAVE L.A. FORTUNATE TO HAVE ONLY LOST 2-1
December 10, 2010 By
This game could have been 7-0. It should have been 7-0. I am not sure what Calgary thought it was doing on the ice tonight but if it was hockey they intended, they failed. I have seen spectators give more effort. By the middle of the third, after what I believe to be three goal posts and three additional glorious scoring chances up to that point, I began to feel sorry for Flames' fans. They are … [Read more...]
IT’S ALL OVER BUT THE SMILING – KINGS FINISH WINGS 3-2 IN OVERTIME
December 5, 2010 By
As defined by Merriam Webster's Dictionary, lakingsnews.com edition. Red Wings' Fan (noun): A soulless bandwagoner generally without familial or residential connection to Michigan or who is otherwise displaced due to the GM layoffs. See also, Putz. As I told Nick and Daryl on Kings' Talk after the game (right after I won the popcorn), if beating the Red Wings is the symphony, then the crescendo … [Read more...]
SCOUTING THE DETROIT RED WINGS
December 3, 2010 By
GOOSE: "That's him. Iceman. It's the way he flies, ice cold, no mistakes. He wears you down, you get bored--frustrated--do something stupid and he's got ya." Transition. That’s the Wings’ game. They wait for you to make a turnover, make a mistake and immediately swarm to your net and then make you pay. By their position through the neutral zone, they are ready to expose the opposing … [Read more...]
KINGS VS FLORIDA PANTHERS GAME PREVIEW
December 2, 2010 By
I've no patience to preview this game. I'm even considering staying home and just watching on TV... though that might have something to do with the green crap coming up my throat and the germ warfare going on in the trenches of my workplace. Then again, maybe the sickness in the throat is an evolution of the sickness in my head which has been slowly developing over 7 of the last 8 Kings' … [Read more...]
KINGS HAVE GONE FULL RETARD – LOSE TO DUCKS 2-0
November 29, 2010 By
I have little patience at the moment and the filter is gone for the purposes of this article. I despise those that spread rumors. Unfortunately, there are those within the NHL community (and the Kings are no exception) that have individuals who lie or exaggerate to drive traffic to their site or themselves. Attention whores or otherwise, doesn't matter. They don't do it for any reason other … [Read more...]
LESSONS FROM A 2-1 LOSS
November 28, 2010 By
Per Rich Hammond, the players were locked into some grueling video sessions and critique of their game. There isn't one on the squad who didn't deserve it. Last night's game against the Blackhawks showed this writer a team that was out of sync for all but 10 minutes of the third. When you consider how many posts the Blackhawks hit, we could have easily lost this one 4 or 5 to 1. The only positives … [Read more...]
SEVERAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED…
November 28, 2010 By
Surly and/or I will write about the game tomorrow. There are too many thoughts swimming in my head to do it now. Rest brings calm. Calm brings focus. Focus filters anger. But, tonight's game helped me track and answer a few questions that I have been asking since the injuries to Mitchell and Poni. Question: Why does Kopitar suddenly look lost in the offensive zone? Answer: Because he has … [Read more...]
ITS A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD ON THE KINGS POWERPLAY
November 20, 2010 By
Terry Murray has been called many things. A mad hatter, mad scientist, crazy, confused, too calm, too panicky, solid, smart, stupid. The list goes on as his personalized adjectives are a result not so much of himself but rather of the team in front of him. They play well, he gets some credit. They play poorly, he generally takes the brunt of the blame. Point shot mentality is the theme … [Read more...]
LOMBARDI IRATE & PERSONALLY ATTACKS MIKE MURPHY OVER MARTIN HANZAL’S GOAL
Here is the Lombardi quote regarding the Coyotes' 1st and eventual game winning goal that went off Martin Hanzal's stick while above the cross bar. “When the guy in Toronto making the decisions on the goals, in Ottawa and the one tonight, wanted the G.M.’s job in L.A. and was not happy about not getting it, you have to assume you are going to get those type of calls. However, we have put … [Read more...]