Tag Archives: Mike Richards

The Case For Jeff Carter > Rick Nash

February 20, 2012 By in Jeff Carter Trade Rumors, Los Angeles Kings trade proposals, Rick Nash Trade Rumors Tags: , , , , , 39 Comments

I’ve stayed pretty quiet on this whole Rick Nash to the LA Kings hubbub, partially because Scribe is spasming out far more than our quota of trade speculation posts but mostly because I haven’t really settled on a feeling about trading for Nash. My general thoughts have been that no trade will rectify what ails the Kings but also that this team needs a bit of a core shakeup. I’ve been warming to the idea of trading Brown, am 50/50 on losing Johnson and there was a moment during the Calgary game on Saturday when Kopitar had a chance to recover a puck at the blue line during a powerplay but instead stood uselessly at the right point while Williams lost the puck and the zone that made my teeth clench, my rage spike and one of the more obnoxious voices in my head yell ‘Trade his ass!’. Just a flash. I’ve since calmed. A little.

However one thing of which we can all agree, even considering Scribe’s worming into Lombardi’s mind, is that creating a big hole (read: Brown or Johnson) while acquiring a big player doesn’t help all that much. Continue reading →

The L.A. Kings Just Can’t Finish & I Am Exhausted Watching It

February 16, 2012 By in LA Kings vs Phoenix Coyotes Tags: , , , 45 Comments

It’s not a fluke. It’s not a streak. It’s not a trend. It’s our fate.

Fuck you Dean Lombardi for not drafting and developing a single top 6 forward in 5 years and 10 months.

Fuck you for not valuing offense.

Fuck you for hiring Jamie Kompon. Fuck you for ever making Terry Murray our coach.

Fuck you for making every answer you give to a question sound like a filibuster. Fuck you in general and out of principle.

I am tired of seeing us lose 1-0 and 2-1. What is this, the 9TH game where Jonathan Quick has given up 1 goal and we have lost? 22ND game where we have scored 1 goal or zero? How many times have we been shut out? You’re going to do what now? Gut that defense and goaltending so you can bring in a goal scorer at the cost of a $7.8 million dollar per season cap hit? Because you chose Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert, Derek Forbort? Because you could not land a single top free agent forward? Fuck you for being you. Continue reading →

Dustin Brown: Does He Represent The L.A. Kings’ Intended Identity?

February 13, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings Hockey Tags: , , , , , , , , 142 Comments

You can debate the importance of the captaincy in the NHL and hear persuasive arguments from each side. It is simply a question of perspective. Some place little importance in the C and proclaim it to be nothing more than a letter. Others believe the C has a limited place when the troops need rallying and leadership on the ice, especially in times of adversity. There are those who declare the captaincy to be representative of the heart and soul of the franchise. I come from another perspective – the C represents the team’s identity, what the team is or, for one still finding its place, what it wants to become. My perspective asks the following question – “when you think of the [insert team name here], what player exemplifies its identity?”

Let’s look at the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins and work backwards. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings Continue to Struggle: What I See, What I Don’t See

February 12, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , , , , , 73 Comments

First off, let me quickly say that this is my first post as a new author here at Surly and Scribe. My intent is to spur discussion, learn a lot, maybe add to the knowledge base, and offer a sometimes-different perspective.

I look at blogging as a collaborative effort. An article lays the groundwork, a discussion ensues, things are learned, positions can be altered or refined, and disagreements over facts, and yes, even mistakes can be ironed out painlessly. Or not. I prefer the former. Civil discourse is more productive and far more gratifying for me, and hopefully for you, too. I try to remember that everything I write can be viewed as a sort of Rorschach test. The same is true with comments; they say as much about the writer, as the writer says about the subject matter.  So, it’s a fresh start, tabula rasa, let’s get to it! Continue reading →

Dean Lombardi’s Big Deadline Move

February 10, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , , 36 Comments

A trade?! Not in the traditional sense. But a roster move has been made. Jarret Stoll has gone to the IR with a lower body injury, which can only mean his uterus is swollen. In his place comes Anze Kopitar’s favorite linemate, Dwight King and the guy I called for several moons ago, Jordan Nolan.

But before I get to those moves, let’s discuss how one injured forward necessitates replacement by two rookie forwards. Slava Voynov and his waiver exemptedness (I make up words when I’m upset) is AHL bound.

Carrying 8 defensemen, as the Kings have done for most of the season, is generally a silly thing to do, particularly when you don’t rotate your 6th defensemen regularly. Slava Voynov filled in admirably for Drew Doughty when wunderkind went down with a case of the contracts in preseason and then missed a chunk of games with a case of the dizzies a few weeks later.

That spot duty earned Slava the honor of usurping Alec Martinez’ role as 6th defensemen. Slava did so well in fact that he eventually earned himself Jack Johnson’s top 4 spot.

Oh how the times have changed.

I haven’t seen the last 4 games because of various circumstances, so I don’t really know what Voynov did to play himself off the roster. I can’t speak to how good Martinez has been since finally getting another chance to play after an extended forced sabbatical. What I do know is that during this time, Davis Drewiske, the home-grown boy who never complains, has played a whopping 7 games to Voynov’s 33 and Martinez’ 26. Amusingly, Davis has 2 goals in his 7 games, but come on, Scott Parse, who is as healthy as a tumor, has played more games this season than Davis, whose fiddle is quite fit. Is that dirty? It sounds dirty. Continue reading →

Kings vs. Lightning Open Forum: Who Will Suck Less At What They Suck The Most?

February 7, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Tags: , , , , , , , 34 Comments

The Kings are near the top of the league in fewest goals against. Their offense is ranked 30th.

The Lightning are near the top of the league in offense and goals scored. Their defense is ranked 30th.

Each team sucks for different reasons.

Tonight, one team will suck less.

Who will it be?

It makes me sad to say that Jarret Stoll and Dustin Penner are very close to reaching a “dead to me” status. If I am Mike Richards, I look to my left and right and wonder what the hell I did to deserve these two as my wings.

If Jarret ever wants to wear an L.A. Kings jersey beyond this season, he will get his floating and offensively challenged ass in gear. I wonder if the arthritis and/or hand injuries he had last season have taken a toll or an unspoken turn for the worst. I don’t see him even trying to get open for the shot anymore.

As for Penner, eat more pancakes. Continue reading →

I Forgot To Record The LA Kings @ St. Louis Blues Game – Open Forum

February 3, 2012 By in Los Angeles Kings hockey pregame report or preview Tags: , , , , , 46 Comments

The Kings embark on an annoyingly long roadtrip tonight, starting with a game against the St. Louis Blues.

We’ve kicked ass against the Blues this year, but we’ve kicked our own ass often enough for Coach Sutter to implement some interesting line changes tonight. The first line stays the same, the rest get a makeover.

Kyle Clifford – Mike Richards – Dustin Penner
Brad Richardson – Jarret Stoll – Trevor Lewis
Trent Hunter – Colin Fraser – Kevin Westgarth

This both concerns and excites me. Kyle Clifford has been regaining the brutally awesome step he gained last year in the playoffs. So the working theory that his ferocious and fearless play will help to elevate to completely lackluster performances of Mike Richards and Dustin Penner is good… as a theory. My breath is bated by the notion that Clifford has been working so hard in part because of the make-up and chemistry of his line with Fraser and Westgarth. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings & Jeff Carter. A Match Made In…

January 31, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , , 70 Comments

The Jeff Carter saga has been an interesting one in Columbus. After he signed a long-term, cap friendly, career contract with the team that drafted him in 2003, 11th overall, he was shown little brotherly love from the Philadelphia Flyers. In that respect, his career path has paralleled that of his friend and fellow former Flyer, Mike Richards, although the latter, as we know, had the good fortune of coming here to L.A.

That is also where the similarities end.

While Mike Richards was upset at the trade but stepped up, accepted it and has been, in all respects that we as fans have seen, a pleasure to have on the ice and off, Jeff Carter went into hibernation, would not talk with anyone (I believe for weeks) and it finally took a trip by Rick Nash and (if I recall correctly) either Scotty Arniel (who has since been fired) and/or Scott Howson to finally come out of the cupboard under the stairs and accept the fact Philadelphia just didn’t love him anymore.

Fast forward to today.

Jeff Carter has only played 30 games with the Blue Jackets. He was injured from the word “go” early in the season and on January 9 suffered another injury - a separated shoulder. He is currently week to week. Still, in those 30 games, he has 10 goals and 7 assists. He is also a -9. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks: Victory!

January 17, 2012 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks Tags: , , , , , , 29 Comments

November 10 wasn’t that long ago. But it was a different time. A different era. The same team and a different one. From our 3-2 loss against the Vancouver Canucks on November 10:

The Kings 5 on 5 failed in nearly every respect to generate quality scoring chances and getting the puck down low. Yeah, we got shots on goal but you know and I know shots from the perimeter and the point are low percentage and, unless your name is Terry Murray, you realize that an offense built around that is based on chance, hope and a prayer and is ill-equipped for scoring on any consistent basis.

I promise you, I assure you, Terry Murray will claim that we played well, we tried real hard, he liked the effort, etc. That is because Terry Murray looks at a game where there are shots on goal, despite the goal total, and there is cycling and a “heavy” game along the boards as a success regardless of the result. I promise you Terry Murray doesn’t think much needs to change on the offensive side of things. What Terry doesn’t know and will never say is that despite the 3-2 score, we were really never in it…and we can thank Jonathan Quick for only three goals against.

There was a time we could not keep up with the Canucks. We had to slow the play down to have a chance. Continue reading →

Offensive Juggernaut L.A. Kings Hogtie Local Hicks, Calgary Flames

January 14, 2012 By in Los Angeles Kings hockey post game report and review Tags: , , , , , 38 Comments

We are just going to go ahead and pretend like the 2-goal or less period of depression never happened.

We’ll conveniently forget that just 4 games ago the Kings didn’t manage a regulation goal for something like 140 minutes.

This team doesn’t struggle offensively. This team scores goals. Goals in bunches, goals every which way. Even Matt Greene scores goals, I almost rhymed right here, but that would be wrong. The best and most amusing part about the recent offensive outbursts have been that when Sutter came in he said the NHL was a “3-2 league”. Well the Kings still haven’t scored 3 goals in a game under Sutter, yet they’ve won 7 games and still only lost 1 in regulation. They’ve scored 4 goals 4 times and 5 once and 2 or less in the rest of the games since his takeover of very serious hugs.

Moving on to the game, our boys struggled a bit in the first period, looking a little lackadaisical once again at the drop of the puck. The Calgary Flames tried their damnedest to put the Kings on their heels, but unlike in the Dallas game the defense held strong. Then in the second, as is quickly becoming the norm under Sutter, the Kings came flying out of the gate. Whatever speech Sutter gives during the first intermission, he should start giving before the game.

Continue reading →

NHL Referee Stephen Walkom & Colorado Avalanche Best LA Kings 2-1 In Shootout

January 3, 2012 By in Los Angeles Kings hockey post game loss report or review Tags: , , , , , , , 35 Comments

You may remember a referee by the name of Dean Morton.

Google him, see what you find.

Tonight, a similar treatment will be bestowed unceremoniously upon NHL referee Stephen Walkom.

But first, since Scribe decided with the New Year comes a new post game style, I will follow suit… sort of. I’m a team player, but I don’t take orders kindly, so while I will follow Scribe’s endeavor to revamp our post game reports, I shall do so in my own way.

What The Hell Did I See?

For the majority of the game, I saw the Los Angeles Kings have their way with the Colorado Avalanche. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. They are without star center Matt Duchene, they are led on paper by curly-haired adolescent dufus Ryan O’Reilly and led in the locker room by the curdled milk equivalent Milan Hejduk. We kid Hejduk, we here at S&S thoroughly support the advancement for the facially and mentally handicapped. Continue reading →

Kings Beat Ducks…God, I Love Writing That!

December 23, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings Hockey, LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks Tags: , , , , , , , , , 18 Comments

In honor of Darryl Sutter’s first game, I will supplement Surly’s post game with this (quotes via Rich Hammond):

(The game) “It was a hard-fought game for us. I thought we had a good start and did a lot of good things. We can improve on some of those things, get better at some of those things.’’

The L.A. Kings controlled most of the 60 minutes. I also saw some encouraging signs. 1) The Kings weren’t a slave to the half-boards. Every zone entry did not result in the puck being sent to the point for shot through bodies and sticks. 2) The Kings were looking for one timers. I saw more one time attempts (even the shanked ones) this game than any other I recall this season and not just on the powerplay but 5 on 5 as well. 3) The forecheck was better. Not great, but better. Still want to see that F3 activate more. Continue reading →

Open Forum: Kings vs. Sharks, Measuring Stick, Butch & Sundance Reunite

November 28, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs San Jose Sharks Tags: , , , , 35 Comments

As Magic had Kareem, Gretzky had Kurri (and Messier), Lemieux had Jagr, Mike Richards is Butch Cassidy to Simon Gagne’s Sundance Kid. They were made for each other.

I have looked forward to these two playing together since Gagne’s signing. I am not even annoyed Justin Williams is not playing right wing. It takes Terry Murray longer, but he may eventually get there.

Despite Murray’s denial to Hammond, this is a measuring stick game. San Jose, Chicago, Detroit and Vancouver are always measuring stick games as to where the Kings are and to where they are going. We lost to the Sharks 4-2, Canucks 3-2, Red Wings 4-1 and Blackhawks 2-1.

Measuring stick? Yeah. We have been weighed, measured and left wanting. Want to contend? Then, we have to go through these guys to get there. If our coach doesn’t want to admit that, you and I need to so we don’t lie to ourselves about where this team currently is and is headed.

It’s round 2 verses San Jose. Continue reading →

Holy Smoke! L.A. Kings Lineup Lunacy Or Evil Genius?

November 27, 2011 By in LA Kings news, Los Angeles Kings lineup Tags: , , , , , , , , 24 Comments

Per Hammond, the Kings are skating as follows:

Well, The Great Lineup Shakeup of 2011 has taken place, with Andrei Loktionov moving to center, Jarret Stoll to wing and only the fourth line remaining intact. Here’s how the forwards and defensemen are lined up early in practice…

Brown-Kopitar-Hunter
Gagne-Richards-Stoll
Clifford-Loktionov-Williams
Moreau-Fraser-Westgarth
Penner/Richardson/Lewis

This is both fascinating and amusing because it’s as if Terry Murray reads this site and my wishes (yeah, right) but decided to mess with me and only give me part of what I have been asking for since the preseason.

I asked for Dustin Brown on Kopitar’s right wing – I got Brown on Anze’s left.

I asked for Gagne-Richards-Williams – I got 2/3 of that line and Justin Williams moves to the third line.

I asked for Stoll on the second line left wing if we are not going to go with Gagne-Richards-Williams. I got Stoll on right wing with that line.

I asked for Clifford-Loktionov-Kozun as the dream third line. I got 2/3 of that with Williams in Kozun’s place.

Last night, I mentioned in the post game article that we would probably see Trent Hunter on Kopitar’s left wing on the first line. Viola…well, kind of, we got Hunter on Kopitar’s right. That one had me laughing when I read Hammond’s post. Miss two glorious open nets, get elevated to first line duties.

Continue reading →

L.A. Kings Lines, Shot At Redemption, No Love 4 Richardson, Gagne Due & Other Tidbits

November 26, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , , , , 6 Comments

Per Hammond, here is how the L.A. Kings practiced Friday:

Gagne-Kopitar-Williams
Loktionov-Richards-Brown
Clifford-Stoll-Hunter
Moreau-Fraser-Westgarth
Lewis/Richardson

Scuderi-Doughty
Mitchell-Johnson
Voynov-Greene

Alec Martinez was in a no-contact jersey. Dustin Penner didn’t practice in the first 1/2 but woke up in time for appeared in the second.

Will Ethan Moreau stay on the 4th line? Probably. That would be very Terry Murray like. His system of accountability doesn’t apply to veteran, no talent grinders. Perhaps he believes someone of Ethan Moreau’s experience will learn from his mistake and this is the shot at redemption. History tells us different. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings vs. Dallas Stars Post Game: Ethan Moreau, You No-Talent Shit

November 23, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs. Dallas Stars Tags: , , , , , 29 Comments

Ethan Moreau is this season’s Randy Jones…at forward.

No skill.

Dense as a brick wall.

Stupid penalties by a dumb, dumb, such a dumb hockey player.

“Hey, why does the bottom 6 suck?” Exhibit A – Ethan Moreau.

Add to that flavor an inept coach who, no doubt, was thinking after Louis Eriksson’s game tying goal, “Huh. 5 player funnel and offensive attack off the faceoff…and here I thought they would dump, chase and cycle in the last 20 seconds…” and you get the reason the L.A. Kings gave the Dallas Stars not one but two undeserved points tonight.

Steve Ott. The dog shit that dog shit wipes from beneath its shoe, the perpetual menstrual cycle of a hockey player, one of the few men in this world that puts a capital C before unt, gets the game winning overtime goal. Continue reading →

L.A. Kings 20 Game Assessment & A Look Ahead

November 21, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , , 23 Comments

I consider the first 20 games a good measure for what the season may hold. The NHL schedule is 1/4 fulfilled, teams have seen enough home and road games, leaders have risen to the occasion or failed to do so, offseason acquisitions and rookies with “potential” have shown sufficient merit or lack thereof and the team’s personnel “needs” have gained clarity. While the cliché “it’s a long season” applies, games 1 – 20 offers a fair opportunity to evaluate team performance and projections.

The LA Kings sit at 10-7-3 (23 points), 6th in the Western Conference and 3rd in the division behind San Jose and Phoenix who share the same 23 point total but have 3 and 2 games in hand, respectively. Minnesota and Chicago lead the Conference with 27 points. Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets and their rapidly diminishing fan base bring up the rear.

The Kings’ season has seen three streaks – a 4 game win, a 5 game loss followed by a 3 game win.

Our offense continues to languish at 2.40 goals per game although that is an improvement over October. Our goals against is still in the top 10 (7th) at 2.30. Two unexpected surprises are the powerplay at 19% (9th in the league) while the L.A. Kings’ normally top PK has struggled at 81.2% (16th). Continue reading →

L.A. Kings vs. Detroit Red Wings: It Took Everything I Had…

November 19, 2011 By in LA Kings vs Detroit Red Wings Tags: , , , 49 Comments

When I was younger, I had a temper. Plenty of 5 minute majors. You get older, wiser, less willing to let the emotions get the better of you. Tonight was a poor example of the latter. I am not an over the top staunch patriot but there is a certain minimum level of respect I expect. When you are asked to please rise and remove any hats for the National Anthem, I expect at least that. A punk 20 something year old kid sitting in the row behind me whose ass was planted to his seat during the entire anthem while eating nachos I did not expect – and it pissed me off.

I tried to let it go.

I was angry nearly the entire game.

Thank goodness the wife and little one were not with me. She would have been upset at my reaction.

By the end of the game, it was everything I could do to not jump one row up and have a “chat” with him.

As he walked out, I behaved inappropriately. Continue reading →

Kings’ New Blood, Young Blood Spill Ducks’ Blood

November 17, 2011 By in Los Angeles Kings hockey post game report and review Tags: , , , , , , 27 Comments

Thrilling until the end.

The box score tonight tells a tale that Dean Lombardi wrote. Richards scores two goals. Gagne dominates with a beautiful goal and a better assist. Andrei Loktionov gets an assist. Slava Voynov gets a goal and an assist. Kopitar scores the game winner. Tonight was a game for the new guys in King town, capped off by the best hockey player in California.

For a while it felt like this was going to be a repeat of the first freeway fuck-off game (hash tag that FSN). Low scoring teams struggling to find the back of the net. The Ducks started off the game much stronger than last night and the Kings had to work harder for their shots. After a scoreless first period, the second saw a spike in the action. Richards broke through with a pretty lifted backhand on a breakaway, courtesy of Voynov and Loktionov. Shortly thereafter Andrew Cogliano scored when the Johnson and Doughty got caught chasing their dicks. Then on a penalty kill, Simon Gagne burst through the neutral zone with a blaze of speed, jumped ahead of everybody and with the faintest of dekes in tight put the puck past Dan Ellis to give our boys their second lead of the game. That may have been the coolest Kings goal of the season thus far.

Continue reading →

L.A. Kings Give The Vile, Abject, Repugnant, Contemptible, Wretched

November 17, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News, LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks Tags: , , , , , , 42 Comments

…abhorrent, invidious, execrable, foul, loathsome, Orange County miscreants one point. One undeserving point. When an Anaheim rat comes to my door, I don’t give it a small morsel of cheese. I take a shovel to its skull, drive a stake through its heart and hang it in effigy in my front yard as a warning to its entire species. This is our house you rodents. You leave here with nothing other than your undeserving lives if I feel the magnanimous impulse to spare it.

We controlled two periods.

TWO.

If Dustin Brown kept his damn stick on the ice after receiving the perfect pass from Andrei Loktionov, it would have been a 2-0 lead. If Justin Williams or Simon Gagne could finish tonight, it would have been 3. If that damn cross-bar didn’t save Hiller’s ass, it would have been 4. Instead, it was 1-0 and a team that possesses a killer instinct does not take its boot off the enemy’s neck with a 1-0 lead. Continue reading →

Love For Our Heart & Soul Centers, Anze Kopitar & Mike Richards

November 9, 2011 By in L.A. Kings News Tags: , , 18 Comments

The term “heart and soul” player doesn’t get thrown around too often.

You can have a skilled player, a tough one, a grinder, speedster, sniper, playmaker or other words that quantify or describe talent but the term “heart and soul”, similar to “warrior”, is reserved for a select few. Heart and soul refers to a complete player that competes on both ends of the ice, is the model of work ethic, leads by example, has the skill set and toughness to play on any line and is looked upon by the team, fans and media as the face of the franchise.

Most teams would by lucky to have one.

We have two. Continue reading →

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