Bam Bam Down!

I had no idea that Raitis 'Bam Bam' Ivanans had signed with the Calgary Flames until Jim and Bob announced the scratches prior to the Kings/Flames game on Sunday night.  For some reason I thought either he was still an unsigned free agent or that he had moved onto the KHL, since some shunned ex-NHLers thinks it's the fashionable thing to do.  I was a little disappointed that he was out of the lineup with a "head injury" because I bet he would have wanted to duke it out with the new Kings enforcer, Kevin Westgarth, or rather I wanted to see if Westgarth could throw down with Bam Bam. I did wonder for a second how he could have already gotten injured so early in the season.

Then this morning I got an email from a former coworker with a link to this video clip of Bam Bam's first fight of the season and after watching it I found out why he was out with a head injury.



Poor guy, he was doing pretty well till he took one right in the kisser (at about the 30 second mark).  I don't think I've ever seen Ivanans get dropped like this before.  Hopefully, Flames fans know that while Ivanans can be a liability out there since he doesn't provide much offensively, he is very capable of holding his own in scraps....this was just one of those unlucky moments.

Kings 2, Oilers 3 (SO)

In the past two games, the Kings have recorded 77 shots on goal and only 2 goals. Ridiculous.

Today the Kings looked pretty good. They had lots of movement, tons of scoring chances, and did a great job of crashing the net and playing a very physical game. However, throughout the game the Kings kept making poor passes. The majority of drop passes didn't connect and the receiver had to back track to collect the puck, thus slowing down the rush. A lot of passes were not tape to tape and the puck would get lost in a player's skate. N(ot that I want to blame any one specific player, but Jack Johnson made a lot of sloppy plays. ) It was incredibly frustrating watching them play very well only to have to regroup and restart the rush because of a bad pass.

I have to give huge props to Raitis Ivanans for completely destroying Zack Stortini. The Kings had an announced sellout and the crowd went absolutely nuts when the fight was going on and gave Ivanans a huge ovation. When video of the fight hits the interwebs, be sure to check it out.
Update: Here's the video of the fight. It looks pretty even until Ivanans clocks him with a semi-uppercut to take the upper hand.

AP Photo
Still trying to figure out how this hit wasn't a penalty...
Moreau hit Brownie late and he left his feet.

Despite the relatively poor passing, I couldn't understand how the Kings were losing through almost the entire game. They completely dominated the second period and had numerous scoring opportunities. Similar to the Calgary game it just wasn't their night to get the puck past the netminder. Thankfully the Kings notched the tying goal with under a minute left in regulation, which was unbelievably amazing. It was so awesome to finally see them get another goal after peppering the Oil with so many shots and it was such a relief to know they were at least going to get a point. I thought the Kings had a chance to win it in shootout now that the Shootout King (Garon) is no longer with Edmonton, but it just wasn't meant to be. I'm beginning to think the Kings should play all of their games on the road. Well, at least they're still in the playoff hunt.

Final note of the game: I know it's great when people get introduced to hockey, but sometimes I wish they would stay out of the arenas till they actually know a thing or two about the game. What bothers me a lot about sitting near people who don't know anything about hockey,is having to hear all the dumb sh*t they say. The guy next to me asked his friend how many quarters there are in the game. (You, dumbass...they're called periods.) He also kept saying he's not sure if he'll be a Kings fan or a Ducks fan. (Don't even get me started.) And towards the end of the game he kept saying the other goalie is really good. (Roloson?? Gimme a break.)

If you don't know what's going on, just keep your trap shut.

Mr. Quickie Gets the Shutout!

Terry Murray definitely listened to the most recent episode of Kings World Podcast and took advice from myself and Connie because we got our wishes: Barbs out, Quick in, Zeiler out, and Preissing in. The result was beautiful! What, you say? A win against the struggling Blue Jackets is nothing to write home about? I don't give a flying you know what about what anyone says about discounting tonight's win because the Kings needed this W and, let's be honest, so did I.


Because the Midwest can't do anything right, this game started at 4pm my time and silly me forgot to set the game to record. I only watched the third period, but it was enough to show me that the Kings were doing a lot of things right tonight. They limited Columbus' scoring opportunities, protected Quick and his crazy rebounds, and were able to easily move the puck around.

I'm very pleased with the firsts that occurred tonight: Bam Bam's first goal of the season, Harrold's first goal of the season, and Quick's first NHL shutout. I'm not a big fan of Peter Harrold and I was this close to writing a post about why he shouldn't play tonight even though a lot of friends and family would be in attendance. But I am all for him taking Zeiler's spot and he did fantastic job at it, notching his first of the season, a beautiful finish off a perfect pass from Kopitar, and finishing the game with a +2. Well done, Harrrold, way to play the puck and not ignore its presence on the ice. It's rather impressive when two guys both score goals while only registering less than 8 minutes of playing time; it's good to see the fourth line contribute.

Yeeeaaaah, Bam Bam!!!

Next up: Christmas!
After that: Home-and-home against the Phoenix Coyotes.
And then after that: Another faceoff against Columbus.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Will the Flames be Doused in the SoCal Storm?

Sorry, I just couldn't resist a cheesy title. I mean seriously, how often does it rain down here and even worse, how often does it pour??

The Kings and Flames meet up tonight for the second time this season. That would be the 21-14-7 Calgary Flames, the team I predicted to win the Cup (I know, big statement, right?) against my feeble little Kings who have a downright embarrassing 15-25-2 record. OUCH! We have the fewest wins, the most losses, and are just 3 goals away from being the team with the most allowed goals. However, in all that dim light we are just 2 points away from tying Tampa Bay! And, we have 2 of the 3 top HOT players (Nagy and O'Sullivan) listed under Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey for the past 2 weeks. What are the odds of that happening...

What are the odds that we'll win tonight? How about the odds that a goalie is pulled? Or the odds that Patrick O'Sullivan nets another point? Or the odds that Stuart will turnover the puck again? What is it with that guy and his slow reflexes? He chases the puck down with no one even near the circles, puts his head up, looks, looks, looks, looks, looks, and then by the time he realizes he should actually play the puck, the opposition strips the puck away. I'm beginning to like him less and less with every game I watch, but Preissing is still in the lead for my least favorite free agent signing.

I'm convinced that we'll win this game if Ivanans gets a fighting a major. Why? Well, was it just a coincidence that we ended our losing streak the first game Ivanans got into a fight since being deemed inoperable thanks to Blakey? Or that we annihilated Chicago when Ivanans got another fighting major? Yep...I think there's a pattern.

Speaking of Blake, $5 says he's gone before the trade deadline. The LA Times and ESPN Rumor Central both have him saying that he'll waive his no-trade clause if need be. Hmmmm, sounds like someone has a case of the grumpies. I know Blake, you thought coming to LA was the best idea ever because of your fond memories of working with Crow and your dreams of becoming the next Mario Lemieux by being Jack's surrogate father. Hah, little did you remember that Crow just ain't that hot and poor you didn't realize how much more of a man Jack is than Cindy Crosby. Blake, I will not be sad to see you go. (Sorry ckim) But Blake, when I eventually move to Manhattan Beach, maybe we can go surfing together, ok??

Oh, and a final non-hockey note, someone please tell me you watched Friday Night Lights tonight! Oooooh Tim Riggins.....you studly devil.