Kings 5, 'Hawks 2

Note to non-Blackhawks fans:

Shouting "Blackhawk Down" more than once during a game is incredibly lame.

AP Photo

Silly boys, you're playing hockey not basketball

"First Class" = Most Irritating Phrase Ever.

I'm easily irritable and usually I keep things to myself, but there's one pet peeve I can't hold in anymore. I cannot stand it when players, coaches, analysts, etc. use the phrase "First Class" when describing a certain player, coach, organization, etc.

The most recent offense I witnessed was committed by Rookie Non-Sensation Steve Stamkos when he was interviewed by FSN's Patrick O'Neal at intermission during the Kings/Lightning game. In that one interview Stamkos described the Lightning as a First Class Organization and then, just minutes later, described Rookie Phenom Drew Doughty as a First Class Player. How original! And guess what? I learned so much more about the Lightning organization and Doughty from that phrase!

Of course, Stamkos isn't the only one guilty of using the most irritating and nondescript phrase ever. I've heard plenty of people in the hockey world use it, and I would probably hear other sports figures use it too if I actually watched another sport. I realize interviewees want to appear composed, competent, and polite, but can they stop acting like they're reading verbatim from the Public Relations Master Handbook? It's like there are only a handful of phrases they're allowed to use.

In my opinion, "first class" means nothing. It's like the adjective "nice". When I went through Sorority Rush Recruitment and we had to talk about every single girl who went through Recruitment, we weren't allowed to use the adjective "nice" because it doesn't mean much and doesn't help other people who haven't met her know anything else about her. That's exactly how I feel about "first class". Every single player, coach, organization, etc. has probably at one point or another been described as First Class. Heck, I'm sure even Sean Avery has been described as a First Class Player, albeit, probably from Brett Hull, but nonetheless, it doesn't help someone unfamiliar with the situation know anything more. What does "First Class" tell you? He's....polite? nice?

I feel like "First Class" is the go-to phrase in an interview. Can't think quick enough on your feet? Just say he's a "First Class Player"! Can't put your finger on the best descriptor? Just say you play for a "First Class Organization"! I would much rather hear someone talk about how an organization will go out of their way to help rookies transition to the NHL. Or how an opponent is an outstanding player who works incredibly hard to be the best and is one of the most competitive people to play against. "First Class" does nothing for me....it's almost as bad as describing someone as a real "stand up guy". Ugh, don't even get me started.

x-posted to HLOG

Kings World Podcast - Episode 24

Connie and I review the past two weeks' worth of Kings games and try not to dwell on the bounty of negatives. It was a little more difficult picking a player for "The Best Week Ever" but we both finally agreed upon someone deserving of the title.

Next week we'll review two games and recap the All-Star weekend.

Don't forget to check us out at our website, Kings World Podcast and on Myspace and Facebook.

Kings 2, Stars 3 (SO)

I've been marinating this shootout loss for an entire day trying to decide if the Kings really did play alright or if my expectations are really high. Throughout the game Jim Fox kept mentioning that the Kings were playing much better and I just couldn't figure out what he was smoking. I thought the Kings played like crap!

The first two periods were God awful from both teams. The game was boring and messy and given that it was scoreless for almost two and a half periods, it seemed like both teams were just waiting for the other to score. The Kings continued to have problems establishing offensive pressure and, once again, the power play was embarrassing.

Whatever happened to those days when the Kings put up double digit shots in the first period and limited the opposition to under 25 shots through three periods? During those days the Kings did a lot of things right. They cleared the zone, made tape-to-tape passes, stonewalled teams on the penalty kill, and converted on power plays. Not so much anymore.

The first Kings goal was the perfect example of everything they need to do to be successful, but rarely ever accomplish. The play started down low with Doughty, who passed it out of the zone to Calder, who skated over the blueline and crisply connected to Brown who finished it off with a sweet shot past Turco. Tic-Tac-F'ing-Toe. It was a very simple play, executed perfectly.

The Stars woke up after the Kings got ahead and my prayers to escape the game with 2 points were stomped on when the Kings found themselves down by a goal. I gotta hand it to the Kings who persevered and tied the game with 16 seconds left. I thought the Kings had a chance to win it in shootout, but, "Damn, Ribeiro!!" I hate it when the Kings play against that sneaky little pisser. I'm partially satisfied seeing the Kings take one point, but I still don't think they played very well yesterday. The offense is just not there anymore and I find it hard to believe that the Kings can win enough games to stay in the playoff race by only scoring a couple goals. They can't continue giving shitacular performances and expect to win.

Last season the Kings had a meltdown in December and this season the Kings are on a verge of melting down one month later. If they don't win at least one of the next two games (both on the road), this season is D.O.N.E.

Baby Bernier Back in LA

Awww, Baby Bernier has been recalled from Manchester.

courtesy of Let's Go Kings

I'm sooooo hot. I'm also a goalie.

I highly doubt he'll be in LA for too long (since Ersberg is sidelined with a minor day-to-day injury), but there's definitely a comforting feeling just knowing he's in the LA lineup. It's probably because he's super hot. Or, maybe it's because he's supposed to be the face of the LA Kings in net. I don't know, one of the two. You can choose.

Dear Kings, Did you really just lose to Tampa Bay?

That game was terrible. It's time to write some letters:

Dear Kings Offense,

Where are you?

Love,
k.m.stiles



Dear Teddy Purcell,

You should try passing to your own teammate.

xoxo,
kms



Dear Patrick O'Sullivan,

Are you still playing with the Kings?


Regards,
kmstiles



Dear Hot Swede Erik Ersberg,

Don't yell at yourself too much. You look like Dominik Hasek and that's not attractive.

Best,
kms2



Dear Denis Gauthier,

You should consider taking lessons from Drew Doughty.

Yours truly,
k.m.s.


Dear Kings Power Play,

You do realize the other team is short-handed, right?

Sincerely,
kms2

Kings 1, Devils 5: Soooooooo Terrible

At least I don't have to live in Jersey

Where to begin...

they couldn't connect passes, they coughed up the puck so often it looked like they didn't even want it, they hung Quick out to dry, they took way too many penalties, the refs made some BS calls against the Kings (and let a lot slide for the Devils, or maybe it's just that I was at the game and didn't see any replays of the 'offenses'), the Kings failed to win key faceoffs, Harrold look like poopoo, they made Weekes look like an All-Star, and to top it all off, Matt Greene looked like a noob when he tried to battle Mike Rupp in the waning minutes of the game. If you're gonna fight, at least look like you have a slight clue as to how to fight. It just ended up being the final kicker to an embarrassing loss to the New Jersey Devils.

The highlight of the night was definitely a hit by Brown where it looked like he was going to get rammed into the boards but somehow got the Devil turned around and laid a pretty nice hit on him. As my FI put it, "You can go pick up your manhood from Dustin Brown". I'll post a clip of it if I can find it.

On the positive side, LA Live is looking pretty good. I couldn't believe how crowded it was and there are heaters on the outer walls of the buildings!! What?! Haha, as if it's that cold in LA that we need to have heat coming out of the buildings. So awesome.

Kings 4, Ducks 3

For all the things the Kings did to completely turn their game around from two nights ago, they really tried their hardest to totally blow it by handing the Ducks 6 power plays. 6! Including one for too many men on the ice and another for puck over the glass/delay of game. This is the second time in as many games where the Kings allowed a power play goal due to a delay of game penalty. Focus, guys, focus!

I think he's baaaaaaaaaaack!

However, the Kings did do a lot of things right, especially finding the back of the net. So here they are again at 0.500 with a record of 17-17-6. They're doing a pretty good job of staying average. If only they can display some consistency and string together some wins. But I guess it could be worse; we could be the Islanders.

P.S. I'm really not a fan of this Ryan kid. He really stinks of....what's the word? Hmmm...I think "douchiness" will do just fine.

P.P.S. Total ice time for my two favorite players:
Kyle Calder 5:38
Jon Zeiler 4:10

According to Inside the Kings, neither guy played in the third period...Gee, I wonder why.

Book Review: 'Game of Shadows'

I just finished reading Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports, by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. If I had to describe this book in one word it would be, Wow.

This book goes into a whole lotta detail about the guy, Victor Conte, who started BALCO, and the weird twisted six-degrees-of-separation-cobweb of steroid users, makers, and distributors. Barry Bonds, of course, is stage center in this book, but also implicated in the book are a lot of other professional athletes, mainly track and field stars.

It's an easy read but incredibly fascinating and chock full of information, including grand jury testimonies that were supposed to be sealed. It makes you think twice about being a sports fan and how much you can trust the athletes that are so adored.

Kings1, Ducks 3

What the hell did I just watch?

I don't know how I made it through the entire game but it was so painful watching my Kings doing...nothing. It's a good thing Anaheim wasn't on top of their game or else the Kings would have gotten blown out while they glided along the ice, thumbs up their butts, watching the other team skate circles around them. Ersberg was easily the best player for the Kings tonight and even he wasn't stellar, just wasn't tested much. This game was downright terrible.

Getty Images
It was messy, slow, and boring.
That's what she said.

Kings World Podcast - Episode 23

The first Kings World Podcast episode of 2009. We do a quick review of the games from the past two weeks, touch upon the departure of LaBarbera and the emergence of Quick, and discuss the upcoming games, including a home-and-home against a Perry-less Anaheim.

All comments, questions, and feedback regarding the podcast may be directed to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

Enjoy and thanks for listening!

We Like Our Goalies Young

We also like it when our goalies give us a shot at winning games, something LaBarbera only did less than a handful of times this season. Who would've thunk it that Ersberg's injury would essentially be the final straw for LaBarbera; instead of Barbs stepping up and solidifying his hold on the number one goaltending spot, he let it slip away and gave rookie Jonathan Quick a chance (actually multiple chances) to show off his skills and prove he's ready for the NHL.

(Photo by Bernstein Associates/Getty Images)

With several strong performances in net from Quick, a healthier Ersberg, one highly touted goalie (Bernier) in Manchester and two additional promising goalies (Taylor and Zatkoff) in the pipeline, it was obvious from the start of the season that if Barbs didn't drastically improve his play in net his chances of returning next season would soon decrease to zero. Seeing that Barbs was only signed through this season (and not for a hefty price tag at all) and that it was highly unlikely he would be re-signed, unloading him and getting anything for him at this point is a bargain and a very smart move. Lombardi is pretty good at drafting players so I wouldn't be surprised if he snags a gem in the 7th round.

Photo Courtesy of kms2

He's tall...and really, really nice

See ya, Barbs. Good Luck with the Canucks this year and in the AHL or KHL after that.

x-posted to HLOG

Jon Zeiler: The Great Divide Between Siblings

My brother and I usually have very similar tastes: huge crush on Dustin Brown, love of Japanese food, music, TV shows, movies, etc. The one thing we severely disagree on is Jon Zeiler. I've made it well known on this blog that I absolutely detest Zeiler and see him negatively contributing to the Kings. On the other hand, my hermano loves this guy because he goes out on the ice with the sole intention of hitting the opposition. Zeiler's role is the exact reason why I can't stand him since his only purpose is to take runs at people; with the hockey goon gradually being phased out of the league, what's the purpose of playing someone who has a lack of hockey skills and admits that his goal is to hit people when the end result most of the times is that he eats glass.

Regardless, my complaints about Zeiler in the presence of my hermano falls on deaf ears. When Zeiler finally returned to the lineup after a short stint on the sidelines, during which Peter Harrold, his replacement on the fourth line, proceeded to notch 2 goals in 2 games, he attempted to fight the crazy, lunatic, something wrong in the head, Avery-in-the-making Daniel Carcillo. My hermano loved the photo below that the AP snapped and he came up with the caption all on his own:

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!!!!"

The funniest thing about this photo is it looks like Johnny Z had the upper hand in the fight when in reality, this move was a total fluke in the fight and occurred after Carcillo pounded Zeiler. I have no idea how Zeiler was able to flip Carcillo like this and I guess it's another anomaly I won't ever be able to understand in Zeiler's hockey career. The other shitty thing about Zeiler is that once Carcillo had his back on the ice, he still continued to throw punches, not exactly conforming to the gentleman's code. Alas, despite my attempt to clear my brother's head, I don't think he'll ever stop supporting Zeiler. And to irritate me even more, I don't think he'll ever be permanently placed on the sidelines. I guess we'll all have to suffer watching Zeiler attempt to become 'The NHL's Next Biggest Pest'. Actually, that should be a TV Show starring Zeiler, Carcillo, and Tootoo and Sean Avery as the judge.

LA Times: Drew Doughty

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!

In today's LA Times there's a great article about Drew Doughty. It's about his transition into the NHL and how the team made sure he had great people around him off the ice to take care of him. He rooms with Brownie on the road and lives with Matt Greene. I still don't know much about Greene but the article presents him in a good light as Greene talks about wanting to make sure Doughty is taken care of as he was by Jason Smith in Edmonton. It also seems like he's helping Doughty mature:

I have a five-second buffer that I employ with him. Just think before you talk.

Brown is also helping Doughty adjust to life:

There are just these random chirps that don't make any sense, Brown said, laughing. When you're joking around, his big comeback is, 'You're stupid.' It's like 10-year-old humor.

So he's still a little kid at heart. At least he's making a big difference on the ice and the team has his best interest in mind. It's always nice to hear about the young guys being taken care of.

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!

Is It All Downhill From Here?

Friday's game against Buffalo was atrocious. I had to turn it off because it was so painful.

I missed the first two periods of today's game against Detroit but I was pleasantly surprised to see them tied 3-3 heading into the final period. I was even more surprised to find out that rookie netminder Jonathan Quick was in net and had been there the entire game. Was LaBarbera's outing the previous day terrible enough to warrant him a spot on the bench the following day? Earlier in the season, even with Ersberg backing him up, Murray played Barbs game after game despite being shaky in net. While I was pleased to see Murray not play favorites and insist that Barbs is definitely, without question the Number One goaltender, I was still questioning if it was the smart move to start a rookie against one of the top teams in the league.


I can't judge how the team played the entire game, but in the third, despite taking a one-goal lead from Brownie off of a sweet pass from Stoll, the Kings didn't deserve the win. After getting that fourth goal the Kings stopped trying to play offense and instead tried their hardest to clog up the neutral zone and stop the Red Wings from tying the game. Not only did the Kings fail to prevent the Wings from forcing extra time, they found themselves completely helpless against the Stanley Cup Champs, falling to them 4-6.

Quick had some bad rebounds and allowed a short side goal that he should have stopped. Quincey was cheating and found himself at the top of crease not doing much to prevent a pass through the crease or tie up Hudler and not allow him to score so easily. For the second half of the period the Kings were scrambling and always looked a step behind the quick, smart, fluid Red Wings.

The Kings are in the midst of a four game losing streak and now the goaltending position is in the hot seat again. I'm not convinced Quick can pick up the pieces and be the Kings' best defender when LaBarbera is struggling, which recently has been too often. I've been waiting for the Kings to get past the 0.500 mark and prove to everyone that they are a winning team, but lately they haven't shown it and their record continues to get worse. Will the Kings finish the season hovering around 0.500, figure out how to be more consistent and be a winning team, or continue this downward spiral and finish in the bottom quarter of the league?

Kings World Podcast: Episode 21

I'm back this week on Episode 21 of Kings World Podcast. Since Connie and I missed a week we had tons of games to review and preview. Instead of reminiscing over the past 5 or 6 games, we only touch upon certain parts of those games as we discuss what the Kings are doing right and what they need to improve upon. We look forward to a busy week for the Kings (finally some road games and some are against the Eastern Conference!) and close out the episode with the usual shoutouts.

Comments can be emailed to kingsworldpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com. And join our Facebook group!

15-Dec-08: Kings v. Sharks

Los Angeles Kings: 13-12-4...not bad, I'll take it.
San Jose Sharks: 24-3-2....WHAT?! Are you kidding me!?

I've barely been paying attention to the standings. All I know is that the Kings are usually somewhere behind the 8th spot in the Western Conference but they're playing well enough to put them out of the cellar. But what in the world are the San Jose Sharks on this year?! When the Kings opened the season with a home-and-home against the Sharks and looked like absolute poo-poo in those games, I figured it was just because the Kings were terrible and I was going to have a horrible season and be done with my boys come the middle of December. But seeing how the Kings have held strong at 0.500 (although I would love to see them breakaway far past that marker), and it's the middle December and I definitely have not put them out of the playoff race, all is left to say is, "ok, I'll admit it. The Sharks are good this season." And it sucks that they're this good this season. Why? Because the Kings aren't that good and until the Kings are that good, no other California team should be that good. But whatever, I'll put my pity party on hold.

Photo by Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images

Stretch it Bam Bam. Stretch it good.

If the Kings can play on Monday like they did against Minnesota (minus the Harrold penalty with three minutes to play with the Kings holding onto only a 2-0 lead for dear life) and like they did against Columbus and St. Louis, then they should have a pretty good chance at winning the game. BUT, if the team comes out like they did against Colorado, stanking like pure ass, then it's all over for them. Bottom line, the Kings are inconsistent from period to period and game to game, and I never know which team will take the ice. I know they can play like an elite team, it just depends on whether or not that team shows up. The Sharks need to be put down and I hope my Kings are the team that starts their downfall.

Neck Beards = Grossness

Who knew that Kyle Orton's neckbeard, Kyle Orton's nasty, grimy, disgusting, severely unattractive neckbeard, would make its way to the NHL and to the LA Kings.

Patrick O'Sullivan has been sporting one and recently I noticed that Kyle Quincey started too. Do guys think this is an awesome look? They do know that it's disgusting and won't get them the ladies, right? I assume they're doing it to be funny. And tonight, in the game against Columbus, there are a lot more unshaven guys than usual. Most notably, Frolov has unfortunate stubble and Handzus let his beard grow past the stubble stage.

Is it possible that this year's playoff beard fad will be the neck beard? Ooohhh, that won't be pretty.

Kings 2, Flames 6. Woof.

Wow...what happened?! Judging by the boxscore, since I don't have Center Ice and I don't have much luck listening to Kings games on the radio, here's what I can deduce:

• Ersberg finally got lit up
• Boyle and Army were each a -3 and Ivanans was a -2; well done 4th line
• Former King Craig Conroy had 3 assists; he's really good at playing the Kings
• Curtis Glencross (WHO?!) had 1 goal, 2 assists and was a +3
• Dustin Brownie had 7 shots and 0 goals; and
• Kopitar got another last minute goal

Yikes, that's gotta hurt! I don't know what else to say but that finally a team found a way to exploit the Kings' weakness. So, how much longer till the Kings recall Purcell, Lewis, and/or Moulson?