The Shot That Won The Game

If you think I'm referring to Anze's game-winning goal in OT, you are incorrect. I'm talking about the shot that KingsCast bought me during the second intermission. We were in the concourse distressed about how terribly this game was turning out and decided that alcohol was the answer. Turns out we were 100% correct. The alcohol miraculously allowed the Kings to rally back for the most incredible finish I have ever witnessed in my years on this planet. I think I might have even peed my pants. I don't think I will ever witness something like this again, and to see it live amongst those in section 318 made it a million times better. But let me back track to the first crap-tastic 50 minutes of the game.

1st period: It was uninspired. Nothing was going on and I started to loudly mock the Kings predictable suckiness. As I pointed out to KingsCast during the second intermission, the Dallas' boring play definitely rubbed off on my Kings. Damnit.

I WILL point out that I was presently surprised at the starting lineup for the Kings. The D was the standard Blake and Lubo pairing, but in front were Willsie, Sully, and Moulson (who needs an awesome nickname). This was to match up against Dallas' D Boucher and Daley with Rebeiro, Morrow, and Lehtinen out in front. I thought the game was going to be exciting with Sully throwing up two hits in the first minute, but sadly, nothing worked after that and I was getting bored. How would I describe Army's and Stuart's playing in the first? Suck-tastic.

At the end of the first: Stars up 2-0 = gay

2nd period: They say that hitting can turn a game around. Well, there was plenty of hitting by the Kings, but did they turn the game around? Negative. Army? Still sucking. And you know who else was sucking in the second? That's right, Handzus. Once again guys, stop giving up the neutral zone! Be one with the neutral zone, it is your friend. And, by the way, that fourth Dallas goal was sloppy; the Kings clearly were NOT protecting Barbs. Argh!

At the end of the second: Kings have a stellar 18 shots on goal and the Stars are up 4-0. Where's Aubin?

3rd period: Hmm, Crawford must have heard me cuz Aubin was in net. Sweet, this might change something. The Kings' play was yet again uninspired; the seats were emptying and it looked like a predictable ending. Was anyone else surprised that this game actually sold out? There were so many empty seats in the second tier!

So we come upon the last 10 minutes of the game. Oh my god, is something actually happening? Are the Kings showing some life? Are the fans actually providing some energy to our ailing Kings? BAM! Brownie nets one. Then Thornton. Then the Fro. Then Anze. Then Nagy. Fuck! Modano? We move into overtime.

P.S. You know why Handzus is not my favorite player? Because he took a freaking boarding penalty to allow Modano to score. What the FUCK. You will never mean more to me than Blake. This is also why I'm unsure about Handzus.

At the end of the third: Kings have tied it 5-5 with the most exciting 5 minutes and 7 seconds of playing in Kings' history. My hands literally hurt from clapping so much.

Overtime: A VERY stressful 2:30 passes and then Anze comes out of the corner with a man on and backhands it toward Turco. Game is OVER at 2:34 into OT. What a beautiful highlight-worthy goal, Anze. I honestly had my doubts about you in the first 50 minutes of the game, but I appreciated the effort to finish the game.

Notable chants from the peanut gallery: “Go, Monarchs, Go!” And for the first 40 minutes, whenever Cammy got the puck, some dude would yell, “C'mon Squid!” hahahahahaha

After game notes: listening to Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans on the drive home. They broadcasted from the Grand Reserve Room and interviewed Zeiler for a couple of minutes. His “you knows” started to wear on my patience and then came the kicker. When he was talking about Turco's play, he actually said, “Couldn't get nothing past him.” ...Dude....Zeiler...the English language does not allow double negatives to be equated with intelligence. Are you fucking kidding me?? Who's handling player PR for the Kings? They need some public speaking courses, and some English classes wouldn't hurt either. Conclusion: John Zeiler hurts my ears.

Conclusion overall: This was the most incredible ending to a Kings game. EVER. I heart my Kings.

P.S. My bro bought a JMFJ jersey. It matches well with my Blake jersey. =D

New Face In The Crowd

Who knew Mike Smith of the Dallas Stars was funny?

Actually, your first question might be: who is Mike Smith? The answer: the 25-year-old backup for Turco. He was one of the only ones I saw at the Toyota Center ice on my break today; it was him, two Stars players, and three coaches. I was really looking forward to seeing the highest-scoring American-born player. Damn.

But let’s move back to Mike Smith and his generic name.

I love it when players show off a bit of personality on the ice (and PLENTY was shown today). After one of the coaches scored on Smith, he skated in a circle, put his stick between his legs, and started cheering. He promptly fell on his back and continued to cheer. I thought this was hilarious; that is, until Smith joined in the fun. He skated from the net to the red line, put his stick between his legs, sat down, and glided all the way to the other end of the ice. When he reached the other end he fell back and spun on his back with his legs in the air. Just imagine this with full goalie gear on. Then he started to skate around backwards and doing crossovers with big-ass pads on while shooting pucks into the net. This was some excellent entertainment until he came back on the ice without his upper-body padding on and surprised me. He had a regular stick and gloves on and started shooting around with one of the players. So did you know that Smith can actually shoot the puck with accuracy? He also took a slap A La Cammy, falling onto one knee. Although I’m sure the fall was soft seeing as how he had a mattress pad strapped to his leg. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly amused.

Anyone, please tell me more about this boy. My curiosity has piqued.

And by "boy" I really mean "guy/dude" cuz we're the same age. haha




Game update: The Kings demolish the Stars Saturday night 6-5 in OT.

Here is a picture I took during warmups. You will notice that Mike Smith is looking right at me.

Modano, Robitaille, and....Crocs???

So I went over to the Toyota Sports Center on my lunch break again and, lo and behold, the Dallas Stars were practicing. But, right when I sat down, I realized that their practice jerseys don't have number/names on them (obviously), and I wasn't going to know who was who. *Sigh* No matter, I was still able to pick out Modano and Mattias easily. As for Turco? Full face masks not only protect the grill, they also hide identities. Oh yeah, I fished out Sergei Zubov from the melee too. Thoughts on their practice? They looked fast. Their drills were clean and everyone was moving quickly and with purpose. Shit. I just hope the Kings don't get killed like the last time the Stars rolled thru So Cal. Yeah....

So this Modano kid. I caught him in the cutest act I think I've witnessed in the past...well, I don't know how long. It was more of a physical motion to another player. If you catch me around, ask and I'll personally do an instant replay for you.

Robitaille. Definitely saw him walking around looking all business-like. Awww, can't wait to finally meet him in person on Saturday!!

Crocs. This may seem out of left field. And it sort of is. I mean, I'm talking about hockey this and hockey that, and then Crocs? Yes sir, and I will say this: I don't know what I hate more, the Sharks or Crocs. Anyway, it has been brought to my attention that Peter Forsberg's company is the importer of Crocs to North America.

According to the Swedish newspaper Allehanda, Forsberg’s new airline is called Hoga Kusten. Translated, that’s “high coast” in Swedish. The airline will be operated by Forspro, a holding company that is co-owned by Forsberg. Forspro also owns the overseas distribution rights to Crocs footwear.

Holy hell. So it's Forsberg's ass that I have to kick! He's the reason those Crocs exist in this country! Ack! Peter, if you're out there and listening, please keep those ugly pieces of shit over in Europe. Please, I beg you.