Kings vs Blue Jackets: Still A Long Way To Go

When you're in a slump, one way to get yourself out of it, at least mentally, is to change your routine. Michal Handzus shaved his beard. Jarrett Stoll was showing off a new scar from getting hit between the eyes with a puck. Ponikarovsky and Mitchell got tired of their gym sessions and made it back into the line-up.  And Dustin Brown attempted some Doughty-style turns during warm-ups.

Since my Kings were making an effort to right the ship, the least I could do was help. I ditched my customary black turtleneck. I left my "lucky" Drew letter bracelet a home. And I didn't take my usual warm-up skate photos, instead electing to stare intently at each player as they skated past, hoping to burn some good karma into their brains.

And whether it was the karma stare, the changes in routines, or just good puck luck, the Kings finally got a win.

The Kings dominated the first period, scoring 3 goals without one response from the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.  For a while during the second, it looked like we going to stay in charge for the duration.  When Columbus netted one, we didn't panic, stuck with the game plan, and ended 40 minutes of better than solid hockey with a 4-1 lead.

Then the third period happened.  Columbus' star Rick Nash finally found his game and hit us for 2 goals.  Our defensive game broke down, Quick made some puck handling mistakes and suddenly Columbus was within one goal.  Thankfully, we found our 5th gear, and Justin Williams finished the night with an empty netter to leave the final tally at 6-4.    The Kings faithful breathed a huge sigh of relief.

 

So we ended our losing streak at 5 games and got a critical win, but we're not out of the woods yet, Kings fans.  Forty minutes of great hockey is an improvement over thirty, but we need sixty minutes to be a contender.    As good as it was having Poni and Willie back in the line-up, we saw tonight that they are not the answer to all the Kings problems.   Letting teams back into the game like we did will earn us nothing but another first round exit from the play-offs, and that's if we manage to make it there.

The journey is still long, but tonight was a step in the right direction.  Now we need to take another one against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.


GO KINGS GO!

Kings vs Predators: Its' All In Our Heads

After watching the Kings slog through 5 games in 7 nights, it was nice to see them looking refreshed and happy during the warm-up skate Thursday night.  

I felt cautiously optimistic we might end this losing streak at 4 and get the ship righted.  The recent slump wasn't a slump at all, just a bunch of over-worked, over-tired players.

I really hate when I'm wrong.

This same old story of 30 minutes of good to decent hockey, followed by mental meltdowns, blown leads and lost point opportunities is beyond tiresome.  Any human that can understand body language saw EXACTLY what happened to this team when Nashville scored the tying goal in the second period.   The shoulder slumps and heads down when the Predators scored the 3-2 go-ahead goal less than 2 minutes later sealed the deal.  We were done after 40 minutes and the entire team knew it.

I'm also sick of players giving the same lame quotes after every loss:

"We need to work harder."
"We need to battle more."
"It's just a matter of bringing more focus to the little things."

Well guess what, boys,  The fans are tired of it.  Lame excuses aren't good enough any more.  That's the reason the fans booed you at the end of the game.  Maybe you should hear some other things fans are saying as well.  During an impromptu bitch session outside Starbucks after the game, here are the things some of my hockey buddies and I were tossing around -- and interestingly enough, we all agreed.

• There are 4 players that have kept up their end of the bargain this year at their respective positions: Kopitar,  Clifford, Scuderi, and Quick.  Everyone else needs to look hard at themselves in the mirror and figure out how to be better.

That means you too, Greener.  And the answers aren't down there....

• Wayne Simmonds is not the player he was last year.  Nice to see you can break someone's nose, Simmer, but goals win games.  Skate better, handle the puck better, and go get some.
•  Moving players away from their natural side of the ice isn't working.  They'll tell the coach they're willing to do it because they want to play, but they're not helping the team having to re-learn their position.
• Doughty and Johnson together is too much ego for one blue line.  One of them needs to go, and Doughty isn't the biggest ego in that pairing.  Just sayin'....
• We need a new power play coach.  With the fire power we have, there just isn't a reason we can't score with a man (or more) advantage.  Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is all it takes.

If there is a team poster boy that holds the key to our redemption, it's....KYLE CLIFFORD.  You heard me, Kyle Clifford.  Because you know what I see when Clifford plays?  I see Drew Doughty two seasons ago.  I see Kopitar as a 19 year-old rookie.  Those guys had no expectations, no pressure, and they just went out and played hockey.  Just flat-out PLAYED!  Why?  Because there were no voices in their heads making them doubt what they could do.

Looking at this team Thursday night, I saw a bunch of guys filled with doubt and fear.  Fear of losing.  Fear of actually succeeding because of the pressure that builds after the success.  Until we shake that fear and start believing in ourselves, don't look for this team to win a game, regardless of what line combinations are on the ice.

But guess what, Kings?  Even though we get frustrated and boo, YOUR FANS STILL BELIEVE IN YOU!

 
The question is whether you believe in US enough to win.

GO KINGS GO!

Kings-Blackhawks: Not Ready For Our Close-Up

After a lethargic start to the New Year against the division rival San Jose Sharks, the Los Angeles Kings had serious incentive to jump start them tonight -- a rare nationally televised match-up against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.  

The best teams find energy for big moments like this.  Right at the moment, the chance for the struggling Kings to stop their current losing skid in a very public way and prove they have what it takes to go the distance over a whole season is a pretty big moment.

Remember to keep your feet moving tonight...people are watching!

So of course we squandered a golden opportunity.

Things actually started off really well.  The Kings brought great intensity in the first period, quickly out shooting the Blackhawks and drawing first blood on a gorgeous Jack Johnson shot, tipped in by Michal Handzus for a power play goal.  Then Blackhawks sniper Marion Hossa tied the score late in the first.  The fact that Hossa's goal was yet another blow to the Kings previously unstoppable home ice penalty kill was a sign of things to come.

The energy started to drop in the second, with the Kings allowing the Hawks a second power play goal, this time to Patrick Sharp.   Ryan Smyth brought us back to life when he took a nice pass from Justin Williams and buried it to even the score at 2-2 with a little more than a minute left in the period.

The Hawks scored 5 minutes into the third (that sneaky Patrick Sharp again....) and the momentum dropped off even more.   Yet the Kings still showed signs of life on 3 power plays in a row, including one with 23 seconds of 5-on-3 action.   It took the third power play, but the puck finally found Ryan Smyth, who scored his second goal of the night to tie the game 3-3.

Don't know what Toews was explaining to Hossa, but it sure helped the Hawks kill some penalty minutes.

Everything on the score sheet indicated we were still in the game, but looking at the play on the ice it was clear the Kings were struggling to close the deal.  Then we got Toews'd with 5:27 left and never made it back, mentally or physically.

Final score: 4-3 Hawks.

Watching the Kings come out swinging and fade halfway through a game is getting REALLY old.   Perhaps what this team needs most is a case of 5-Hour Energy drinks before every game.  Heck, if it helps, I'll spring for a round of Starbucks.

In spite of the disappointment of losing and likely dropping further in the standings, there were a few entertaining activities off the ice.

• Marty Turco MUST have a rider in his contract excluding him from playing in Staples Center.   Apparently he enjoys being heckled by The Mayor because he smirked at every insult...and there were many.

• A message to the bandwagon Blackhawks chick in the Toews jersey blocking my view -- "Don't hassle with the Hossa!" is officially the dumbest slogan ever.  Putting it on a sign only made it dumber.

• How fun is it to be Stan Lee right now?  Whether you like The Guardian Project or not, he gets to go to games around the league and ride Zambonis.  It's almost a better gig than creating comic book characters.

Our worn out Kings finally get a rest, as Coach Murray already announced he's giving them the day off tomorrow.   Hopefully the boys can get their legs back under them and end this losing streak before the start of the year turns into the end of our season.

GO KINGS GO!

Kings vs Sharks: Not A Happy New Year

Starting a new year is a great opportunity to start fresh. It can also be a huge problem if you're not ready to make the jump to something new. And sometimes, it's tough because old habits die hard.

Let's just say the Kings didn't embrace their opportunity to get out of their recent slump and start a new win streak.  The biggest frustrations of our recent slide continued tonight in the 1-0 loss to the conference rival San Jose Sharks. Somehow, our early season strengths (defensive mindset and face-off wins in particular) have become weaknesses and we can't seem to buy a win.

"What am I supposed to do here again?  Oh yeah, get the puck!"

A few of my many thoughts during the game tonight:

• 6 PM starts just feel weird, even on a weekend. 

•  The people who buy tickets in the section where The Queen watches warm-ups should really not plan to use them until the game actually STARTS.  My boys need their photos taken, folks!

• The woman sitting next to me in the turquoise jacket AND nail polish just needed to go away.  I get that you're a Sharks fan, but you're not twelve, and that's the age cut-off for nails that color.

• The guy to my left started off the night complaining about how little leg room the seats have. The fact that he was extremely tall apparently never figured into the Staples Center Design scheme. He was also an apparent hockey first timer because he kept leaning forward and sticking his head right in my shots.

•  Problems with 5 on 3 penalty kills continue, at least in the sense that we're having to do them.   What happened to our D again?

• The power play is still not a bright spot.  We started the second period tied with no score, and couldn't manage to get it done.   Last time I checked, hockey lasts 60 minutes, not 40.

• Both teams looked completely exhausted.  By the end of the 3rd, everyone involved was just glad the nightmare was over.

This is Drew during warm-ups.  Should have known it wasn't gonna be a good night.

I guess if we can't START the New Year right, we can at least call this Day One of our resolution to win games, right?

GO KINGS GO!

Kings vs Flames: We're En Fuego!

After an abysmal November, the Kings have finally caught fire and have a solid win streak going with their third victory tonight against the Calgary Flames.   The Flames have been one of those teams that give the Kings problems no matter where they sit in the standings, so this win was another important test of the Kings mettle.  They passed with flying colors, folks.

Some observations and notable moments:

• Kyle Clifford FINALLY broke it open and scored his first NHL goal!  The joy on his face was unforgettable, and the whole team smiled right along with him. It will be at least a week before we wipes it off.

• Later in the first period, Cliffy dropped the gloves and went rounds with Flames enforcer Tim Jackman.  Sadly, a Gordie Howe Hat Trick was not to be, but it was fun watching the kid scrap with a dude at least a head taller!  Hats off to Jackman for being classy with the scrap and giving Cliffy a night to remember.

• Yesterday was Drew Doughty's 21st birthday, so signs were in order.

Nice try, honey...

Let The Queen show you how a REAL sign is done.....

•  Some of the Flames were kind enough to have a polite little chat with Dewey and wish him well on his big day.

Stajan: "Hey, congrats on the big day, man.  Beers on me."

• Rene Bourque is NOT one of the polite ones.  When he next returns to Staples Center, The Queen will be borrowing a goalie stick from Quick and be ready to spear him right in the nads as payback for his mean and completely uncalled for treatment of her favorite defenceman.  You shamed your family name tonight, Rene.  And payback is a b***h...just ask Bobby Ryan.

• The only bad thing about the December is the return of the tacky silver Ice Girl Santas.  There's just no reason for this kind of humiliation, is there?

The Kings end their current home stand Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, which will include the return of one of The Queen's beloved former Kings.   Does Santa have one last win for us before our pre-Christmas roadie?  Be at Staples Center to find out.

GO KINGS GO!

Make My Monday: Holiday Cheer Edition

The holidays are fast approaching, and if you're like me, a special breed of insanity takes over your life.  You're happy to be buying awesome gifts for people, you love decorating, baking holiday goodies is a blast -- but it's all work!  So you need a reality check every now and then.  Laughs always work for me, especially when they're hockey related!

If you know about "Make My Day Monday," you know Dustin Brown is the KING of do-gooders in this department.  He always posts his MMDM's on Twitter, and I always feel good reading them.  Sometimes he makes you laugh as well, like this Monday's installment....

 

 

Apparently the tally of broken ornaments was ONLY 4!  Pretty good considering Brownie's little ones are both boys and their Dad crushes big dudes for a living.

On the gift front, I've been dealing with too much mailbox traffic from the catalog fairy lately, but I did get a NHL gift flyer with some interesting ideas.  I'm thinking one of my dear friends needs THIS for Christmas....

Yeah, maybe not.

For me, nothing beats a Drew Doughty tapestry throw!  Who better than your favorite defenceman to keep your feet warm while you're watching hockey and drinking a toasty beverage?

 

Whatever your gift choices this holiday, make it Kings-themed and you're GUARANTEED to make someones Monday!  And it's more fun than lifting Christmas trees....just ask Brownie.

GO KINGS GO!

Kings vs Wings: Yes, This REALLY Happened!

A funny thing happened on my walk to Staples Center last night.  I was headed down Figueroa, minding my own business, when I noticed two men approaching me, wearing Red Wings jerseys.   I didn't try to make eye contact, because I've read that staring down animals in the wild is a good way to get attacked.

No, this wasn't one of the guys, but he sure looks like he could attack something....

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw one approach me.  I stopped dead in my tracks, which is what you're supposed to do to help the wild animal know you don't want to hurt them.

"Which way is Staples Center?" he asked.

So now I had a dilemma. These poor guys were walking the wrong way.  It was the classic case of the Devil on one shoulder and the Angel on the other,  both whispering in your ear:

Devil:  "Damn Wingnuts!  Of course they'd be this stupid.  They're probably bandwagon fans anyway, and there will be thousands of them at the game tonight.  If they're too stupid to look up directions, they don't deserve to see the game!  Let 'em keep going until they end up in Koreatown!"

Angel:  "These poor boys!  Maybe they don't have the best taste in hockey teams, but they're hockey fans!  And you've needed help yourself before visiting other cities.  The right thing is to get them turned around and on their way.  They even have time to see the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, and won't that be a fun memory for them to have of Los Angeles?"

And so as much as I found the Devil's arguments interesting, I listened to the angel, redirected the poor lost Red Wings fans the right way, and guaranteed my place in Heaven.  I was also hoping maybe, just maybe, my good deed would earn the Kings some goal scoring karma.  Especially when the guys thanked me, then finished the thanks with, "But we're still going to beat you."  And you wonder why we hate Red Wings fans?

When I arrived at Staples Center, I shared the story with some friends and made a bold prediction -- the Kings would score 2 goals since I saved 2 Red Wings fans out of the goodness of my heart.  As it turns out, The Hockey Gods heard me.

The Kings won a stunning upset in overtime in front of a sell-out crowd at least 50% composed of Red Wings fans.  And the number of goals scored in regulation? TWO.

Let's talk about some key individual performances that stood out (at least to me).

Trevor Lewis: OK, has this kid starting doubling down on his Wheaties, or is it just me?  Lewis was en fuego last night!  He skated like a demon, and he was all over the ice, but in a focused way, making some key reads on the forecheck and being in EXACTLY the right place at the right time to catch passes and start driving into the Red Wings zone.  I have never been especially high on Lewis since training camp, because he never stood out to me.  It's a great example of a guy stepping up when the coach takes a chance and gives him some responsibility.  Consider me a new Lewis fan.

Alec Martinez:  His first couple of games after being called up from Manchester were rough, to say the least. To me, he let far too many pucks slip past the blue line in the defensive zone, his puck handling was just okay, he had no business being on the power play and he didn't look all that comfortable in general.  What a difference a few games makes.  With a goal and an assist, Martinez logged his first career multi-point game last night.  Let's hope it's the first of many.

 Peter Harrold:  Who IS Peter Harrold?  I mean really?  The guy that sat virtually all of last season as a healthy scratch now has 2 points in 2 games?  I don't have the stats to prove it, but I could swear he's logged more ice time in the past week than he did the past two years.  Okay, maybe that's exaggerating, but only a little.  Wherever this current bit of hockey magic is coming from, the Kings need to find a way to bottle it, because it's the new "Kings Kool-Aid."  Davis Drewiske needs to start crushing some of that Kool-Aid...STAT.

Drew Doughty:  It's no secret I have almost unhealthy amounts of love for my Dewey.  Listening to news outlets, bloggers and fans berate him for being out of shape has been painful, and don't even get me started on the  "party-boy" rumors.  Here's the reality folks.  Doughty will NEVER be a gym rat, so get over it!   Last night, he played a career high 30:41 and looked better doing it than he has all season.  If he was that out of shape they would have carried him off the ice after 30 minutes.  More importantly, this guy has what many other players don't -- off the chart COMPETITIVENESS!  He has a passion to win.  He doesn't quit.  That, plus his incredible hockey sense, is what we're buying.  He's bringing it.  Finally.



A few more game notes and observations:

• After 2 games in row taking bench minors for too many men,  I saw more on-ice communication between lines and players than I've seen in a month or so.  The Kings started to look like a team again out there last night.  

• Anze Kopitar came up big last night, exactly when it mattered.  That's why he's "our guy."  Why no one has seen fit to give him a #1 Star of the Night after 2 game winners in a row is simply beyond me.

• interesting is a good word.   Maybe the game looks that much different from the press box than from the 7th row.

• Wayne Simmonds' game has looked terrible ever since Ponikarovsky's injury.  That 3rd line had so much chemistry coming out of camp, it may have disguised some real issues with Simmonds.  No matter which line he's played on since, he's been just awful -- lousy skating, bad puck handling, the whole nine.  He'd better turn some things around soon, or he's looking like trade bait.

• Was Davis Drewiske even playing last night?  I know we buried him on the fourth line when we moved him from defence to wing (still scratching my head over that one), but I swear I don't remember noticing him on the ice after the warm-up skate.  Too busy watching that wizard Harrold, I guess.

• While we're on the subject of weird line-up moves, is Terry Murray crazy or a genius?  It took balls to make that Harrold-Drewiske line-up decision in a match-up against the Western Conference leader.  I don't have them.  Coach Murray apparently does.  I guess that explains why I don't make my living coaching a hockey team.  A few more of those gutsy decisions pay off, and he's in the race for the Jack Adams -- hands down.

Finally, some craziness....

I was virtually surrounded by Red Wings fans in my section.  Most of them looked "normal."

One, however, was anything BUT....

"Rally Al?"  Really?  REALLY?

In spite of being surrounded by the enemy, The Mayor always protects our section with his special brand of heckling.  He insulted Todd Bertuzzi so badly the big guy finally shot him a dirty look, which I caught on camera.

That's right big guy...your team is going DOWN! Love, The Mayor and The Queen

And just in case you were wondering, my Moustache Conspiracy Theory is now proven fact -- just sayin.'

GO KINGS GO!