Los Angeles Kings (blargh!) @ Edmonton Oilers (21-21-4, 13th in West)
6:00 PST, FSN West?*
[Earl has a post below about how Pronger and Niedermayer are douche bags or something. I don't know, I just kind of skimmed. Also, do the Ducks ever not play? Jesus.]
Last year, in one of my early posts as your humble Kings correspondent, I wrote this about Mathieu Garon:
Flash forward to last week, where this was written in something called Canada East Online:
'I thought going to LA would be my chance,' Garon said. 'They changed the coach and the GM. I was not the guy any more. I knew I would not get a chance, so it was best for me to get out of there.'"
That's the worst part: I knew this would happen. Mathieu Garon is a very good goalie who tended to get hurt at inopportune times. If we had just re-signed him instead of "Je m'appelle Suck" Aubin, the Kings would be in much better shape. Part of me is happy for Garon because he seems like a good guy, but another part of me wants to just fucking strangle Dave Taylor for that trade 3 summers ago. To recap:
-Kings trade Radek Bonk and Cristobal Huet for Mathieu Garon
-Garon gets two seasons to prove himself, gets hurt twice when he has the starting job wrapped up, and is then let go for nothing
-Huet wins 50 games for the Canadiens and becomes the toast of the town
-Bonk scores 62 points
-Rudy Kelly throws himself off a bridge
***
Don’t expect too much from either Purcell or Harrold tonight (if they play). Remember that they both have a fairly limited upside and they shouldn’t be expected to win games by themselves. Both are older than Kopitar, Johnson, Brown, and O’Sullivan, and there is a reason they’re just getting their shot now. I know, I think they’ll be productive members of the Los Angeles Kings for a few years to come as well, but it may be two years before we see it. Don’t get too excited just yet.
Prediction: Garon plays awesomely and the Kings lose, 3-1. After the game, Garon separates his shoulder lifting his bag and never reclaims the starting job. Goal by O’Sullivan.
*I guess Bob and Jimmy said in their last telecast that they won't be making the Western Canada swing and it's not showing a Kings game on FSN West on my TV's program guide, so the game might not be on local TV tonight. NHL.com, however, says the game will be on. Will the game be on tonight? Dun-dun-dun!
Dallas Stars (25-17-5, 3rd in west) at Anaheim Ducks (24-17-6, t-4th in west)
Since the Ducks acquired Chris Pronger in the summer of 2006, they have played a total of 150 games -- 129 regular season plus 21 playoffs. In the 95 games that have featured both Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, they are 45 games above .500. In the 55 games that have only featured one of them, they are 2 games above .500. Of course there are some factors to consider (Pronger missed time while Giguere and Beauchemin were injured, and Scott missed the whole hangover thing), but still the record when both are available is impressive:
Both Chris and Scott:
95 gp, 63-18-14, .737 win%, 3.01 GF, 2.09 GA, PP 20.6%, PK 85.2%
Only one of them:
55 gp, 25-23-7, .518 win%, 2.60 GF, 2.76 GA, PP 17.6%, PK 81.9%
...or, I guess, Helene Elliot: Ted Purcell and Peter Harrold have been called up. Cammalleri was retroactively placed on the IR.
Also, this made me laugh (courtesy of Inside the Kings):
"Brian Willsie woke up Sunday morning with a sore lower back. He wasn't in discomfort during the Dallas game and can't point to any specific play where he got hurt. He just woke up with the injury."
(Scene: Willsie shows up to practice, ready to work on his game.)
Crawford: Sorry, Brian, you can't practice today; you're hurt.
Willsie: What? No I'm not.
Crawford: Yeah, you hurt your back last night while you were sleeping. You can' t play.
Willsie: No, really, my back feels fine.
(Suddenly, Todd Bertuzzi appears behind Willsie and hits him in the back with a baseball bat. Willsie falls to the floor and clutches his back)
Willsie: Ahh, what the fuck!
Crawford (calmly): See, you're hurt. Now get your stuff out of your locker, Purcell needs to use it.
The San Jose Sharks 3-2 come from behind win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night was broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada. The first photo is Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray waffling Darcy Tucker with a huge hit in the first period. The second photo is GM Doug Wilson's HNIC post-game interview, and the bottom two photos are a few of the 40-50 fans who gathered at the Zamboni entrance to watch.
If there is a better link to HNIC highlights online, please add it in the comments section. Notes and game photos will be added here soon.
San Jose Sharks (25-12-6, 2nd in west) at Anaheim Ducks (23-17-6, t-5th in west)
I'm way too fascinated by the mechanics of the Ducks' post-Niedermayer, post-Weight improvement (first 34 games: 15-15-4, 2.38 GF, 2.82 GA; last 12 games: 8-2-2, 2.67 GF, 1.50 GA). It's not just that the Ducks have improved, but really, what is happening behind the scene in order to generate better results?
The table below only covers even-strength play (5-on-5, or 4-on-4, or with a goalie pulled, or whatever), and here's what it contains. In the columns to the left are the even-strength results for the 34 games before Scott Niedermayer joined the team; the columns to the right are the same results for the 12 games since. In each set, you can see the even-strength minutes, the goals-for per 60 minutes, the goals-against per 60, and the goal-differential per 60. The very last column shows the improvement, and everything is sorted by the second-to-last column (goal differential since Scott's return).
Here's the key point, or at least the thing I wanted to emphasize. If you look at the "Change" column, note that every single Duck has improved his even-strength results since Scott's return, but check out the bottom line: Not only is Scott the worst even-strength performer since his return (by the goal-differential metric), but he's the only one not to be an improvement over previous results.
When Eastern conference teams visit the Shark tank, you always see your share of their jerseys. When that team is the Maple Leafs and they have not been in San Jose since 2003, well you get tons of Leafs diehards. I think I saw a Leaf jersey of every player who has played in Toronto in the last 50 years. The most random and entertaining had to be the Potvin, Clark, and Sittler. The Toronto media must be going crazy after the Leafs went 0-3 in California. It doesn't help when you get blown out by LA and Anaheim and lose a 2-0 3rd period lead tonight. Mats Sundin looked frustrated and I even saw him push away a linesman as the final horn was blown. It will be interesting to see if he waives his no-trade clause to go to a contender. If you believe the rumors, Toronto is ready to clean house both player-wise and the front office.
Speaking of rumors, there was word of Cujo deciding between the Sharks and Flames for his comeback. Ron Wilson and Sharks insiders seem to dispel these rumors and had some entertaining quotes regarding this. I tend to believe them as Doug Wilson's MO seems to be quiet and under the radar. If you look at recent history, he seems to make moves that noone else is expecting. Remember early on when Mark Recchi was put on waivers? The Sharks were mentioned as front runners for claiming him. Of course that didn't happen either. It will be interesting to see who the Sharks are rumored to be interested in come the trade deadline. Don't expect them to be coming to San Jose.
Detroit Red Wings (33-8-4, 1st in west) at Ottawa Senators (28-10-4, 1st in east)
A lot of people will look at today's hockey schedule and note that the top two teams are meeting up today. While that's certainly an intriguing angle, I prefer to see two teams that really, really wish they could have won a critical game four last spring when Anaheim's best player was serving a one game suspension.
Los Angeles Kings (blech) vs. Dallas Stars (25-17-4, 2nd in Pacific)
1:00 PST, FSN West
(Note: This is not me being facetious, although I do make a few jokes. I am 100% convinced this is true.)
The Kings would definitely make the playoffs if they played in the Eastern Conference. They’ve played 3 Eastern Conference teams this season: in those games, they’ve scored 6, 8, and 5 goals. They just match up a lot better with teams like
- Kopitar. Anze Kopitar is a rare beast in the NHL, with a rare game that can be difficult to defend. Teams in the Pacific (especially Phoenix, oddly enough) have figured out the best way to defend him, but teams in the East who are experiencing him for the first time don’t know what’s going on. “Wait, why is he going behind the net? That doesn’t make se- oh shit, how did he do that!” In the 3 games we’ve played against the East, Kopitar has 7 points. Does that mean that if the Kings played 72 games in the Eastern Conference then Kopitar would score 168 points? Yep, guaranteed.
-Defense. The Kings don’t play any. Right now they’re getting killed in the goals allowed department (hey, they’re only tied for last) because they’re turning the puck over in the neutral zone. This is because of the tight team defense played in the Western Conference. If the Kings played in the East, this wouldn’t happen and everyone would be happy. Well, I guess just me, but I’ll settle for that.
-General Shittiness. Personally, I feel the East is far inferior to the West. (We just don’t notice it as much as in other sports because the two sides barely play each other.) Look at Ottawa last year: they were dominant, cruised through the Eastern playoffs, and then got butt-fucked on national television by the Ducks. The Kings are in last place in the NHL, but look who they have to play 8 times a season: the Ducks (the scariest team in the NHL if Selanne comes back, and maybe even if he doesn't), the Sharks (if only we could play them in the playoffs!), the Stars (honestly, it’s fucking magic, there’s no other reason they’re still this good), and even the Coyotes have been playing excellent hockey of late. How the fuck are the Kings supposed to win when they’re playing those teams? In contrast, look at the second worst team in hockey, the Tampa Bay Lightning: they play
Let’s see if we can make this happen, Bettman. The Kings have been a solid franchise, we’ve paid our dues, now let’s get some kind of reward: move us to the Eastern Conference and let us make the Stanley Cup finals, where we'd get our asses kicked by a team like Dallas. I’d settle for that.
Prediction:
(Also, not to whine or anything, but because I missed their little winning streak and the last game because it was on the radio, I haven't seen the Kings win a full month. Awesome.)
Brian Willsie scored the 100th point of his career last night. Good for him.
Los Angeles Kings (eep) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (16-19-8, 13th in East)
7:30 PST, no television^
Hey, Anze Kopitar made the All-Star team! Congratulations to Kopitar on the 1st of his many, many All-Star games. He is the only representative of the Kings which, let's face it, is entirely appropriate. I haven't written as much about Kopitar as I'd like* because I run the risk of making everyone sick, but he has been better than he was last year when you consider that every team is gunning for him. Good for him.
Also making the squad from California: Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Pronger, Evgeni Nabokov, and Joe Thornton. I encourage the All-Star coach (who the hell coaches these things again?) to put Getzlaf, Kopitar, and Stastny on a line. I guarantee three goals or your money back. (Give me money and I'll prove it.)
Not making the team: Pascal Leclaire. Instead, Manny Legace will join Nabokov and Luongo for the All-Star festivities. I know statistics like Goals Against Average and Save Percentage are flawed, but is better in both, plus he has played on a shittier team, plus he does all this with fake vampire teeth in his mouth. I'm not a Columbus blogger or anything, but that seems ridiculous to me.
First off, a hearty congratulations goes out to the BoC All-Stars, all named today (I guess Californians were saving their votes for the presidential primaries): From the Sharks, C Joe Thornton and G Evgeni Nabokov. From the Ducks, C Ryan Getzlaf and D Chris Pronger. And from the Kings, everyone's favorite raccoon C Anze Kopitar. Pretty much all of these were fairly expected selections, but congrats nonetheless.
Secondly, Ducks fans can check out Finny @ GWAP's rundown of the annual State of the Franchise address, which has become quite the event since it incorporated Brian Burke's big mouth. He had a quote that I won't disagree with, but I'm still surprised the guy had the guts to say it publicly: "Getzlaf is better than either Perry or Penner, and maybe better than them combined -- and I'd say the same thing if Perry or Penner were standing here now." I usually tend to agree with Burkie, and this is no exception, but I wonder if this will get brought up during next summer's extension talk with Corey Perry.
And just for kicks, here's a link to today's PuckToon from AOL Fanhouse. Enjoy!
It's funny timing that Rudy Kelly rightfully called for Marc Crawford's heavily jelled head; you see, I had something of a vision today. And, sadly, instead of stumbling on time travel or something sweet like that, I instead think of puzzling and corny sports analogies.
But, at least I'm willing to share my gift/curse with the masses. So here goes:
Marc Crawford needs to acknowledge the fact that he's the NHL's equivalent of former Dallas Cowboys coach and current halftime show star Jimmy Johnson. It will be good for him, good for the NHL's tragically inept Versus coverage and it would certainly help the Los Angeles Kings. A strange thing happened, though, when I started think about Marc Crawford's striking similarities between Jimmy Johnson.
It started off, as much of my humor often does, with weak humor related to a certain characteristic. In this case, it was the comical nature of these guys' hairstyles. Indeed, the most often-used punchline for both coaches involves Dippity Do.
But the analogy goes deeper than that. Look, I'm not saying Crawford will become the next Don Cherry, I'm just saying he'd be a good replacement for Versus's current breathing hair joke, Brian "unironic mullet" Engblom.
This might venture into the realm of insanity. Thought an earnest warning was in order...
How the early 90s Cowboys were the late-90s Colorado Avalanche, or "why booze and cough medicine don't mix."
Marc Crawford as Jimmy Johnson
They both have the aforementioned hair. Both are known for handling the egos of superstars. And...
Bob Hartley as Barry Switzer
Both also left behind coaches who won championships, some might say based simply on the fact that they inherited the previous coach's star players. Some might say a charismatic, trained ape could do their jobs. Starting to make sense, now eh? (No, then drink some NyQuil and leave me alone)
Troy Aikman as Joe Sakic
The soft-spoken, very likable leader who sticks with the same franchise until the bitter end and is slightly under-appreciated. All Sakic needs is 5 more concussions and a public obsession with WingStop and we've got a perfect match.
Peter Forsberg as Michael Irvin
I struggled for a bit to make the other two triplets fit, and then I felt like an idiot: of course Foppa equals Irvin. I mean, shit...who else is going to be the fucking Playmaker? Plus, they both have that gritty "willing to go down the middle" attitude and an injury history in Philadelphia.
If only Irvin was a Swede without a spleen and Foppa got caught with groupies and drugs.
Oh well, close enough right?
Patrick Roy as Emmitt Smith
Years ago, I would have assumed that Smith was too normal to be associated with the best goalie of the last 25 years. Then I saw the ties he was wearing on ESPN. Now I can totally imagine Smith mocking Thurman Thomas by saying, "I can't hear you...my SuperBowl rings are plugging my ears."
Beyond odd-ball tendencies, the two are an obvious match because they both won 3 championships and broke the all-time records for their given positions.
God, the similarities are everywhere: their greatest competition always came in the form of the conference championships rather than the big games (The San Francisco 49ers = Detroit Red Wings/Dallas Stars); their teams were magnets for bandwagon hoppers...the list goes on and on.
Of course, there are a few hard sells.
Ray Bourque as Deion Sanders
OK, so they were both huge pickups who went after championships once they left bad teams. And, yes, the two defensive players were known as much for their scoring prowess as they were for defense.
But, uh, I kinda doubt anyone will call Bourque "Neon."
Still, Marc Crawford should look over this analogy as resounding proof that he will find a loving, comfortable home in a TV studio. And hockey fans will be happy too.
As long as Howie Long is not involved.
Marc Crawford should be fired. The reasons for this are three-fold:
1) This team has under-achieved.
There’s absolutely no reason a team with Anze Kopitar, Alex Frolov, Dustin Brown, Mike Cammalleri, Michal Handzus, Kyle Calder, Patrick O’Sullivan, Rob Blake, Lubomir Visnovsky, Jack Johnson and Jason Labarbera should be in last place in the entire NHL. Look at the talent on the teams just above us; hell, look at the talent on Nashville, the team that just decimated us. Guys like Tom Preissing, Brad Stuart, Rob Blake, and Lubo were all capable if not excellent defenseman under different coaches: now, all of a sudden, they're responsible for the 2nd worst defense in hockey? That doesn't compute. If it’s not the talent, it has to be the coaching, and that ultimately falls completely on Marc Crawford. It may not be fair, but that’s how it works.
2) This team has looked listless.
It’s not just that the Kings have been losing, it’s that they’ve been coming out unfocused and lazy. It wasn’t that the Kings got 3 goals scored on them early yesterday* that upset me so much, it’s that they looked like they didn’t care. Jack Johnson let David Legwand skate right by him on that third goal and made a half-hearted stab at the puck before Legwand slid it underneath Labarbera’s pads. I mean, what the fuck. If your team is getting beat for goals when they have everyone back, that’s a problem with coaching, and that ultimately falls completely on Marc Crawford.
3) This Quote
“This is the first game in months where we played poorly.”
Psst! Umm, Marc, do you mind if I tell you a secret? You guys JUST HAD AN 8 GAME LOSING STREAK!!!!!!!! Did you play well in this game? Or what about this one? I remember this one, you guys played great there. I mean, it's not like the Kings are losing games because pucks are bouncing off posts and people's asses and into the net. We're not outshooting teams, or beating them in the corners; we're sucking, and we have all season. That quote is the most delusional thing I’ve ever read, and I’ve read Mein Kampf. Seriously, how can you allow a guy this removed from reality to still walk freely in society, let alone the Kings’ dressing room?
Look, since Marc Crawford took over the reigns as head coach, the Kings have a .39 winning percentage. That’s atrocious. Maybe Lombardi wants to wait until the end of the season in order to give Crawford 2 full seasons to make his case (or ensure that we get a high draft pick). Whatever, this season’s over anyway. But he needs to be fired because he’s exactly the wrong coach for this team. The Kings need a guy who will preach defensive basics while staying positive in the locker room. They don't need an offensive coach because they're talented enough to score anyway; they need a coach who will keep them honest defensively. Marc Crawford would be a great coach for a playoff team, because he can keep them focused and prevent them from getting a big head. But he’s not right for this team. I feel kind of bad advocating someone losing their job, but Marc Crawford needs to be fired.
*By the way, did you know the Kings have allowed more goals in the 2nd or 3rd than they have in the 1st? I thought it would be the other way around.
I just got done watching the surprisingly funny sitcom 30 Rock, so I thought it would be fun to compile a pro and con list for the Stars’ highest scoring forward Mike Ribeiro. (I'd love feeedback on anything I miss, since I'm merely hitting the highlights)
The reason is pretty obvious: the Stars recently announced that they signed Ribeiro to a 5 year, $25 million contract.
So, much like Tina Fey sizing up her hapless boyfriend (starring the Irish guy from Oz, excitingly enough), I will examine why the Stars long-term relationship with MR will be both good and bad.
Pro
The contract isn’t in the Mike Richards/Rick Dipietro marriage contract ballpark, so that’s good.
Con
Still, you have to wonder if he won’t pull a Brad Richards or Miikka Kiprusoff and crap the bed after getting a cushy deal. Especially since he's not exactly going to break slumps with gritty goal scoring or a momentum turning Jarome Iginla-style fight.
Pro
$5 million a year isn’t a bad value for a player who leads your team in scoring. Especially since the team in question manufactures goals about as well as people harvest crops in the movie Idiocracy (translation: not well).
Con
Ribeiro is different from the Stars forwards in a lot of ways, but the same in the worst: he’s completely impotent in the playoffs. In 24 playoff games spread out between 3 postseasons (two with
Pro
He’s about to turn 28, so this contract covers his prime years.
Con
His career high is 65 pts, during the 2003-04 season. Even if he's on the best points pace of his career, you'd be foolish to expect much more than a 70 point per season average, and that's if he's healthy. For a player who has sort of a "sexy" feel to his game, his stats aren't exactly of the bombshell variety.
Pro
With Modano’s career winding down, Ribeiro will carry the torch as being the creative forward teams game plan against when they face the Stars and for good reason: he’s a smooth, imaginative player who can make defensemen look absolutely silly.
There's never a bad time to show this photo. Con
His name will always be tarnished for the awful display he made during that infamous 2004 playoff series against the Boston Bruins. His embellishment was seizure-like; something that even the most secular hockey fan has to believe has some sort of negative karmic impact.
Can the Stars go to war with this guy?
One bad omen: his contract strikes an eerie resemblance to that of oft-maligned Pens d-man Sergei Gonchar.
So, much like any contract extension, Stars fans should be guardedly optimistic.
After signing Ribs (I’m just going to assume that’s his nickname. That or Ribby. Rib-eye? Ribbed for her pl…OK I’ll stop…) to a reasonable contract and beating the Wild for their first win of 2008, things are looking good.
But they’d have to consult their friends in
Toronto Maple Leafs (16-18-8, 13th in east) at Anaheim Ducks (22-17-6, 6th in west)
So even passing readers should know that I have an unhealthy addiction to Sammy Pahlsson. From poetry to trophy talk to analysis to fantasy fun to putting him in every game prediction, I think I've made clear my position: Pahlsson is god.
So of course I'm going to be a little reticent to acknowledge when some kid comes and plays the murderer's minutes, and does it capably. Of course I'm glad it's been working out for the point-desperate Ducks, but if Ryan Carter can be a shutdown wizard in Pahlsson's absence, it takes a bit of the luster off the SuperSwede.
Grudgingly, I'll hand it to Carter, though; he's worked himself in nicely on the stopper line between Travis "the omen" Moen and Fun Bobby Niedermayer. In the last three games, he has averaged more than 13 even-strength minutes a game, fulfilling all the necessary Pahlsson functions:
One tendency I particularly like out of Carter (because it's something I notice also in Pahlsson's game) is his willingness to shoot the puck immediately in nearly every circumstance. It's not necessarily a play that results in a goal-for, usually, but rather it's almost a defensive mechanism. It reduces the risk of a turnover, while forcing opponents to start from their own net.
- Winning faceoffs (or at least losing them well)
- Shadowing key opponents
- Throwing his body around
- Keeping the puck in the opponent's end
Los Angeles Kings (15-26-2, yarr) vs. Nashville Predators (20-19-2, 4th in Central)
7:30 PST, FSN West
The Kings have always had a little history with the Nashville Predators; it’s never just another game when they play. I don’t know why, maybe it just feels that way because Nashville's roster is filled with douche bags, but I remember both previous
Lubo, in a rare instant where he's not turning the puck over.
Giuliano has been watching Frolov play too much.
Nashville Predators (20-18-2, 12th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (21-17-6, t-6th in west)
It’s certainly been a weird sort of year for the champion Ducks. If you wanted to overgeneralize this season, you could say the team started the year minus Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne, and suffered both offensively and defensively because of it.
Since Scott’s return, the team has certainly performed better standings-wise, but it’s clear where the improvement is kicking in—on the defensive end. In the 34 games prior to Scott’s return, the Ducks allowed 2.82 goals per game; in the 10 games since that number has dropped to 1.60. A lot of that can be attributed to the penalty kill, which allowed 41 PPGs in the first 34, and only 4 in the last 10.
However, the offensive end still remains stagnant; as a matter of fact the Ducks were scoring more goals before Niedermayer (2.38 goals per game) than since his return (2.20 goals per game). Does this mean that the team still needs a return out of Selanne (who per the OC Register has begun skating)?
On the surface, it seems to be so. I do want to caution, however, against attributing too much of improved results to the returning player. Yes, the Ducks are a better team with Niedermayer in the lineup, but if you look at the numbers, it’s not necessarily Niedermayer that seems to be driving the results.
The two tables below show the top-six defensemen before and after Niedermayer’s return. The tables show games played, even-strength (EV) minutes, EV “plus” events per 60 minutes, EV “minus” events per 60 minutes, the resulting EV goal-differential per 60 minutes, shorthanded minutes, and shorthanded goal-differential per 60 minutes.
Before Scott's return:
Player | GP | EV Min | EV Plus/hr | EV Minus/hr | EV Diff/hr | PK Min | PK Diff/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F. Beauchemin | 34 | 659 | +1.55 | -2.55 | -1.00 | 157 | -10.32 |
C. Pronger | 34 | 600 | +1.80 | -2.10 | -0.30 | 175 | -5.50 |
S. O’Donnell | 34 | 467 | +1.29 | -1.80 | -0.51 | 154 | -6.23 |
K. Huskins | 29 | 432 | +3.06 | -1.67 | +1.39 | 60 | -6.97 |
S. Hnidy | 32 | 381 | +1.73 | -1.57 | +0.16 | 38 | -3.15 |
M. Schneider | 19 | 328 | +2.93 | -1.65 | +1.28 | 9 | -6.65 |
Player | GP | EV Min | EV Plus/hr | EV Minus/hr | EV Diff/hr | PK Min | PK Diff/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F. Beauchemin | 10 | 179 | +1.34 | -2.35 | -1.01 | 36 | -5.07 |
C. Pronger | 10 | 170 | +2.11 | -0.35 | +1.76 | 42 | -1.44 |
S. Niedermayer | 10 | 168 | +2.15 | -2.87 | -0.72 | 27 | -4.42 |
M. Schneider | 10 | 155 | +1.94 | -0.78 | +1.16 | 12 | +0.00 |
S. O’Donnell | 10 | 132 | +2.74 | -0.46 | +2.28 | 38 | -1.56 |
K. Huskins | 9 | 115 | +2.61 | -1.57 | +1.05 | 4 | -16.90 |
I think Patrick Marleau and Ron Wilson need to go on an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch or something to work out their "issues" (or hell, call a freakin' marriage counselor or something). I noticed yesterday that Captain Patty wasn't on the ice for a good portion of the third period, though he did go out to congratulate Evgeni Nabokov once the game ended, killing any sort of injury theory.
No sir, our dear captain's ass was benched for the better half of the third period. In fact, according to the NHL's play-by-play log (since they got rid of the damn shift chart thing that was pretty awesome), the last time Patty was on the ice was during the BJ's second goal. After that, he might as well have been warming his mitts in Ralph Wilson Stadium, it's better than sitting his ass down in Ron Wilson's Doghouse.
Two schools of thought on the second goal: it's hard to blame Patty since he's got a broken stick, but at the same time, the iso-cam showed him hustling back to get a stick, but then kinda floating into the play. It's hard to judge whether or not he was just being lazy/stupid or if he was taking the winger's position at the point -- we'd need an overhead cam to get the whole picture for that.
The Kings opened up the game last night by giving up 2 goals. That makes sense.
They then rallied and outplayed the Flames for a period and a half, yet still trailed 3-1. That’s not surprising.
Dustin Brown played wonderful, continuing his excellent play of late; then he got hurt. That’s perfect.
The Kings then took the lead, aided by their excellent power play and the wondrous creative skills of Alex Frolov. That’s awesome.
Frolov then immediately took a penalty and the Flames scored. That sucks.
Then, when the game was on the line and no mistake could be afforded, Brian Willsie took a penalty. That’s just classic.*
Then, the Kings’ penalty kill was terrible and the Flames took the lead. That’s boilerplate.
Then, the Kings lost. That’s typical.
So, the Kings trailed early, outplayed a playoff-caliber team for at least a period, clawed their way back to take the lead, and then immediately gave up the lead and ultimately lost the game. Yep, that pretty much covers this season.
Los Angeles Kings (15-25-2, thud) vs. Calgary Flames (21-14-7, 5th in West)
7:30 PST, FSN West
The Alexander Ovechkin rumor mill has begun! Will he actually going to be traded? Of course not, he’s Alexander Ovechkin! Still, that’s not preventing some people from speculating on where he might end up if he were traded. The Kings make an attractive option because of our plethora of young talent and this idea that L.A. needs an attraction in order to draw fans. (You know what's a big attraction? Winning.) John Buccigross, the earnest sports writer over at ESPN.com, came up with this trade:
To Washington
Who wouldn't want that on their team?
Of course, this would never happen and it’s kind of stupid to even talk about, but hey, this is a blog and this is what we do. What do you guys think?
***
Anaheim Ducks (21-17-5, 7th in west) at Phoenix Coyotes (20-18-1, t-11th in west)
Since Scott Niedermayer's return, the Ducks have an impressive 6-2-1 record, but it's been a tense and tedious stretch; 7 of the 9 games featured three or less combined goals. Still, hockey is only boring when you're losing, I guess. At this point the focus needs to be standings points, and in that regard it's been a success.
Ryan Smyth is out 8 weeks with a broken ankle. It's nice to know that when you're a good person, good things will happen for you... or, well, at least bad things will happen to people you don't like. I may have to be stopped if Patrick Roy gets hit by a truck in the next few days.
Chicago Blackhawks (19-17-3, t-11th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (20-17-5, t-7th in west)
I hadn't watched any part of a Kings game for the past week because I was out of town. During that time, the Kings went 3-0, including a 9-2 beatdown against Chicago on Tuesday. I finally drove home today, arriving just in time to catch the last few minutes of tonight's game against Columbus. I waited until there was a stop in action on the radio, ran inside, turned on my TV... just as Michael Peca deflected in the eventual game-winner. Son. Of. A. BITCH.
To Boston: D Shane Hnidy and a 6th-round pick
To Anaheim: F Brandon Bochenski (Link)
While there are some salary cap and tag implications created by this move, I think the gains are pretty small. Basically, this is a trade to get a guy who could crack Anaheim's lineup for a guy who probably could not.
The thing about Hnidymayer is that he's fairly frustrating to watch on defense; one second you think that he's in good position to defend a play, the next second he's got his arm wrapped around some forward begging the referees for a holding call.
Still, there's a lesson to be learned about Hnidy: he's not going to be a good top-four option on defense, but he can be a capable bottom-pairing guy. In Hnidy's first seventeen games for Anaheim (played largely without Mathieu Schneider or of course Scott Niedermayer), Shane played some 214 minutes of even-strength hockey, on the ice for 2 goals-for, 9 goals-against. Additionally, he played some 28 minutes shorthanded, on the ice for 3 goals-against there. Basically, he was a bleeder.
In his most recent sixteen games, though, with an available Schneider, Hnidy has found a way to be more effective in lesser minutes: in 177 even-strength minutes, Hnidy was on the ice for 9 goals-for and only 1 goal-against. In 12 shorthanded minutes, the opposition power play went scoreless.
I think some of this shift-in-results has to do with on-ice adjustments; Hnidy had to figure out his role on the Anaheim blueline and play towards that. Also, though, there's a lesson about adding personnel to a roster: when you add top talent to the top of your roster, it allows secondary players to fall into more appropriate roles. Boston may have gotten themselves a useful defenseman in this trade, but it probably depends on who they've got playing in front of him.
I can't say very much about Bochenski yet, but going on the basis of balance, the re-Niedermayered Ducks are in more need of a secondary scoring forward than they are another sixth defenseman. Kudos to Brian Burke for negotiating this trade in a basically no-trade environment.
Now we will see if the Sharks have finally turned the corner or will the season of inconsistency continue. After a 10 game road winning and compiling a ridiculous 16-3-2 road record overall, the Sharks come home for 14 home games in the next 18 games. Can they continue to play the patient style that has worked so well on the road? If you listen to Ron Wilson, his reasoning for the Sharks shaky home record is that they want to entertain us the fans and if something doesn't go right, they fall apart and put pressure on themselves to do more. I don't see a big difference in style of play between the road and home, but the players themselves seem to think they relax on the road and play a simple game. This is an important stretch of games as when this stretch is over, there will be 10 days left till the trade deadline. If the Sharks continue this inconsistency, moves will be expected. There are only so many "team meetings" that can be called and Doug Wilson can only talk to the players so many times. It is up to the players now.
Random Thoughts:
-The Winter Classic was a fun event to watch. Too bad the conditions didn't help out the players. Towards the end of the game players seemed to be pushing the puck as snow flurries made stick handling difficult unless you are Sidney Crosby. Is this kid really only 20 years old?
-The Sabres need to bring back their old "retro" jerseys (hint to the Sharks also). I kept expecting Pat LaFontaine to skate out there.
-The Red Wings are playing great (even without Zetterberg) I don't see anyone catching them for the President's Trophy. Watching their Power Play looks like they have a 2 man advantage all the time.
-Ducks traded Shane Hnidy for Brandon Bochenski. Does this clear room for the return of Teemu?
I am not a capologist so I will leave that last point to Earl Sleek to tell us if that does anything to clear cap space.
