LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

Darn You Sid. Why Must You Be So Good?! I should have never started drawing this picture during the Olympics... Who knew it would foreshadow the Gold Medal Game... I'm sorry Team USA.  It's my fault.

I didn't want to be right with my prediction. I thought the USA had it after Parise tied it. Anyone but Crosby...anyone but Crosby... His legend is building quicker than Gretzky's....seriously...think about it... USA played a fantastic tournament.  No regrets.  Well besides Rafalski's turnover that led to Canada's first goal.  Or the fact that Ryan Malone and Joe Pavelski failed to backcheck on Canada's second goal.  But other than that!  No Regrets! Trade Deadline is Wednesday.  NHL starts up again tomorrow...the stretch run!  How can anything follow these last two weeks of hockey.  How are players like Sidney Crosby going to go from playing with world class players like Jarome Iginla and Mike Richards to scrubs like Ruslan Fedotenko and Pascal Dupuis?  Should be fun!

Sort of.  MSNBC's Willie Geist was duped !  The victim of a prank call...

Kariya And Kopitar Would Be Awesome Paul Kariya is available.  Per Andy Strickland . Word is Paul Kariya would waive his no-movement clause if he has a chance to move to a true Cup contender.  Yes, Paul Kariya would be a perfect fit for the Kings.  Here's Why . Oh and by the way, US destroyed Finland.  Canada took care of business.  See you Sunday afternoon.  I want revenge on that crooked Canadian judge that did Apolo Ohno wrong tonight with that disqualification.

Nothing Went Right For Russia Last Night The NHL has done it's best to build up a rivalry between the league's two biggest stars. Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals last year was built up bigger than the Stanley Cup.  Pens versus Caps.  Crosby v. Ovechkin.  And then what happened?  The Caps got blown out on home-ice.  After two periods, it was 5-0 Penguins.  Pens embarrassed Ovechkin and the Caps winning 6-2 on their way to capturing the Stanley Cup. The NHL has built up a Russia-Canada Matchup.  They dedicated an entire day of programming to a Crosby v. Ovechkin Special.  This was supposed to be the Gold Medal game.  The two most highly-skilled teams in the World.  The two biggest stars of the NHL.   The matchup came a bit earlier than anyone expected but it was going to be great none the less. And then Russia took a big dump on everyone:.  A big dump of "Euro-trash" according to Mike Milbury.  Russia'...

Barry Melrose brought Tony Robbins into the Kings Locker Room during their Stanley Cup run in 1993.  Maybe Ron Wilson will give this kid a call...

Nikita Filatov Would Look Good In L.A. ROSTER ANALYSIS The Blue Jackets are loaded with young talent at all positions.  Calder Winner and Vezina nominated Steve Mason has suffered a terrible sophomore jinx.  Mason's struggles in goal cost head coach Ken Hitchcock his job in Columbus.  Many felt Hitchcock's defensive system kept alot of their young high-skilled forwards from succeeding.  The Jackets are a good team that hasn't been able able to catch a break this season.  They've got a good young core and shouldn't be looking to sell off too many pieces. POSSIBLE TARGETS 1. Fredrik Modin (UFA 812,500)- Modin would be a pretty nice pick-up but he's struggled with injuries over the last two and half seasons.  He's appeared in only 23 games this season and misssed 91 games over the previous two seasons.  He was a key contributor on the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup team posting 19 points in 23 playoff games.  Although he's gone pointless in nine pla...

Chris Drury Is A Winner I owe an apology to Brian Burke and Team USA.  I was highly critical of one selection on their 23-man roster.  Chris Drury just didn't fit in my eyes.  Drury had 22 points in 57 games for the Rangers leading up to the Olympics.  He had been relegated to fourth-line duty at times this season.  He didn't seem to earn his spot on this roster.  I felt that Blues young forward T.J. Oshie had done everything to solidify his place on this team.  I still feel that way but I understand now, after Drury's performance vs. Canada, why the Rangers captain is on this squad. He does everything and anything his team needs to win the game.  He always makes the smart play and rarely makes a mistake.  He's one of Team USA's best penalty killers; he constantly gets his stick in the passing lanes and blocks shots with the best of them.  His sprawling block attempt on Drew Doughty's point shot epitomizes the type of player Drury is....

It's Miller Time In Vancouver So my predictions were a bit off.  And I couldn't be any happier. The United States Men's Ice Hockey Team stunned an entire country with their 5-3 victory over Canada.  I'll keep it simple and point out my three keys to the game. 1.  GOALTENDING Surprise surprise.  The team that got the better goaltending won the game.  Brodeur's ability to handle the puck was supposed to be an advantage for Canada especially without the trapezoid behind the net.  Brodeur's skill (or lack thereof) ended up being his downfall on Sunday.  He made three mistakes handling the puck that led directly to goals for the Americans.  ESPN's Pierre LeBrun thinks Brodeur's Olympics should be over. On the other end, it was Miller Time for Team USA.  Ryan Miller was spectacular making 42 saves on the night.  USA wasn't great in front of him and Miller stood on his head for most of the game.  Miller showed a glimpse of why he's st...

Are they seriously going to tape delay the Czech-Russia game and overlap it with the US-Canada game? Unbelievable!

If you're any sort of hockey fan, today belongs to you. Don't move.  Don't do anything but sit in your most comfortable chair and enjoy what the NHL/IIHF envisioned when they allowed NHL players to participate in the Olympic games. PREDICTIONS Noon : Russia v. Czech Republic.  Russia 5-2 4:40 : USA v. Canada.  Canada 3-2 9:00 : Sweden v. Finland.  Sweden 4-3 Please NBC,  you've already buried these games on cable/satellite.  Don't make hockey fans suffer through another match of curling gone long and cut to the game in progress.  Please!

Kaberle A King? Could Be Nice! ROSTER ANALYSIS The vultures have been circling the Leafs for sometime.  Calgary poached a number of the Leafs attractive deadline pieces but Brian Burke has kept their biggest trading chip in Tomas Kaberle.  The Leafs are desperate for a first-round pick in the next two drafts.  Any team willing to deal their first-rounder will have Brian Burke's attention.  The Leafs have established two cornerstones in Kessel and Phaneuf; everyone else should be on the table. POSSIBLE TARGETS 1. Tomas Kaberle (1.062M, UFA 4.25M)- Kaberle is probably the most highly-debated topic in Toronto.  He has a no-movement clause that will be lifted this off-season.  He wants to be a Leaf.  Keep Him or Trade Him.  Reminds me alot of the Mats Sundin/Toronto Saga. Kaberle is a true power play quarterback who's decent enough in his own end not to be considered just a PP specialist.  He gets a bit pass happy but he's one of the best puc...

The Kings Should Welcome Sully Back With the NHL Trade Deadline just a few days after the conclusion of the Olympics; NHL GM's are laying the groundwork for their deadline deals now.  And for the first time under the Dean Lombardi-era; the Kings are absolutely buyers.  Lombardi did his best to temper fan's expectations at the deadline but what fun are trades without the speculation. I'm using sportsclubstats.com's playoff odds to distinguish who the sellers will be.  Teams with less than a 25% of making the playoffs will be discussed. A few criteria to narrow down the search: No Goalies. UFA status within the next two years. RFA status next year ROSTER ANALYSIS   The Oilers have struggled with long-term injuries to their three best players this season: Hemsky, Khabibulin and Souray.  The rest of their roster is made up of too many players with the same skill-sets that are being overpaid.  Too many undersized second line forwards.  Too many offe...

I Barely Recognized Ovechkin Minus The Tinted Shield PRE-GAME Latvia's jerseys= Harry Potter? My Prediction: Russia 10 Latvia 0 FIRST PERIOD Fedorov assists on Zaripov's PP Goal.  Russia 1 Latvia 0 Latvia takes another penalty; this could get ugly quick I think Ovechkin just took a five minute shift Radulov nets the rebound from his knees.  Russia 2 Latvia 0 Scramble in front of Russia's net on the PP. It's a shooting gallery here tonight for the Russians. Semin steals the puck and Ovechkin nets one from the slot with his skates on fire.  Russia 3 Latvia 0 SECOND PERIOD Russians are dominating the puck.  It's like watching the Red Wings x10. Huge Russian turnover; BIGGER save from Nabokov point blank. THIRD PERIOD KOGI Taco Truck Need Food...Too much hockey... Russia 8 Latvia 2 MY THREE STARS 1. Alexsei Morozov 2. Alexander Semin 3. Andrei Markov

There Was Alot Of This On Tuesday PRE-GAME NBC/MSNBC/CNBC get your programming together.  I'm here stuck watching Japan/US curling while you guys have the game on another channel. So much RED; looks like a Caps home game. My Prediction: Canada 7 Norway 0 FIRST PERIOD Sidney Crosby making his presence felt early. Drew Doughty on the PP!  Sweet! Norway's going to hold on here. Wow, 0-0.  Didn't see this coming. SECOND PERIOD Norway playing with fire; 3rd straight PP for Canada. Jarome Iginla one-timer from the high slot from Crosby.  Doughty with the second assist.  Arena explodes.  Canada 1 Norway 0 Flood gates are just about open.  Chris Pronger with a rocket from the blueline tipped by Dany Heatley.  Canada 2 Norway 0 5-on-3 for Norway.   Mike's excited. Mike Richards grabs the loose puck behind the net and stuffs it.  Canada 3 Norway 0 Doughty Hip-Check. THIRD PERIOD Luongo comes up big with a huge pad save and then Norw...

USA Defeated A Tough Swiss Team 3-1 Finally.  The Olympics have arrived.  Let the games begin.  PRE-GAME My pre-game prediction : 5-1 USA   Did Jeremy Roenick really sneak on the broadcast team?  Good Lord!   I love these Swiss jerseys.  They look like a bunch of paramedics skating around the ice.   T.J. Oshie deserves to be on this team.   FIRST PERIOD Ryan Whitney = overrated.  David Backes is a beast. Dustin Brown draws the game's first penalty. That PP was a mess & did Dustin Brown really just take the faceoff on that PP? The Swiss aren't a bad team at all. Bobby Ryan rips a shot high-glove side on Hiller.  Finally.  Thank you David Backes for your hard work.  USA 1 Swiss 0 SECOND PERIOD I told you Backes was a beast!  Backes goes coast-to-coast and drives to the net with a power move; noseplug and all.  USA 2 Swiss 0 Ryan Malone finds the loose puck as the US crashes the net on PP.  ...

My Heart Wants America; My Brain Says It'll Look Alot Like 2002 Unlike the women's bracket; there's actually a competition taking place on the men's side.  The NHL-ice surface may give a slight advantage to the Canadians and Americans. There is so much offensive firepower from teams #1-#7 that staying off the penalty kill will be important for every team.  Imagine a Kovalchuk-Malkin-Ovechkin-Datsyuk-Gonchar Power Play....WHOA! Eight of the twelve countries have NHL starting goaltenders.  Any of them are capable of stealing a game.  Once the tournament reaches the quarterfinals and becomes single-elimination; their could be some huge upsets. And without further adieu; my predictions for Men's Ice Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. GOLD: CANADA - No country can match Canada's depth at every position.  With the games in Vancouver; too much is on the line for this team to fail. SILVER: RUSSIA - The trio of Ovechkin, Malkin and Kovalchuk should b...

The Debate: Lil' Wayne or Lil' Simmer I can't decide whether or not to go with Lil' Wayne or Lil' Simmer. Not bad for a free giveaway; definitely alot better than those Smitty's and Robek Juice figures they handed out. Apparently, alot Kings fans are pretty upset they didn't get theirs.  Only 10,000 available.  I saw alot of people walking around with multiples.  Way to ruin a good thing for everyone.  I'm sure TeamLA will have some for sale next home game.  They hoard all those giveaways.

Got to Staples Center a bit late.  Was able to snap a couple photos of former Kings: Lubomir Visnovsky, Patrick O'Sullivan and Denis Grebeshkov.

Lubo Got A Bit Of Revenge Thursday Night The Kings needed the two points.  The Oilers didn't want the points; they're already looking forward to June's Draft.   Yet it was the Kings who slept walked through the first two periods and a half before deciding to play. Don't blame Erik Ersberg for that loss.  There's a reason that last night was only his sixth start of the season. The Kings went 0-for-6 on the power play.  The Kings PP was painful to watch tonight.  No movement away from the puck equals little success on the man-advantage. The last five minutes was by far the most entertaining.  The span included Deslaurier's attempt at beheading Doughty and then a spectacular glove save by Ersberg on O'Sullivan's breakaway. Kings made history again in a shootout that lasted ten rounds.  Watching the replay with my roommate (a non-hockey fan) even recognized the fact that Oilers netminder Jeff Deslauriers used the poke-check nearly every single t...

Lauri Tukonen: What Happened? Rich Clune will always be linked to Lauri Tukonen . I still remember buying a Monarchs jersey and contemplating putting Brown or Tukonen on it.  Tukonen seemed like the prototypical power forward: size and scoring touch.  Unfortunately, he didn't develop as quickly once the competition was ramped up and his stock fell pretty quickly.  He's considered a 'has-been prospect' at 23.   The Kings selected Tukonen with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 Draft.  His performance in the U20 World Junior Championships was outstanding; finishing third in tournament scoring (7GP, 3G, 7A).  He led Finland to a Silver Medal and was recognized on the Tournament All-Star team. He moved to Manchester the following season; where he had three consecutive 30+ point seasons for the Monarchs.  Tukonen battled injuries in each of his three seasons in North America.  His AHL career numbers are respectable: 185 GP, 36 G, 67 A.  Hi...

The passing of Brendan Burke last Friday came as a shock to the hockey world.  If you haven't read Brendan's story yet.  Please do.  ESPN's John Buccigross did an awesome job . Bucci was there Tuesday for the Memorial Service as well . Thoughts and Prayers to the Burke family.

Brandon Segal: We Hardly Knew You Hammer reports. Brandon Segal will be eligible to be sent to Manchester if he clears waivers at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Kind of surprising actually.  I didn't mind Segal.  I liked him in the lineup more than Ivanans.  Reminded me of Tom Kosopolous and Adam Mair.  Hopefully, he'll find a spot somewhere.  My heart goes out to the girl wearing the Kings Segal jersey last game.  Hopefully, she was a family member or girlfriend.  Although, her friend was wearing a Jones #12 jersey...Yikes!  Let the speculation begin!  Another roster move coming? ***UPDATE*** Hammer at it again . In another move, the Kings assigned Rich Clune from Manchester to Ontario of the ECHL today. It seems very likely that some type of move will take place tomorrow, so we’ll see how it shakes out in the morning. If Hammond is speculating a move coming tomorrow; it's most likely done already. Darren Dreger dropped this little nugget too . Carolin...

Kariya A King?: Has A Nice Ring! NOTE: I've been meaning to write this post for weeks.  Finally, I get some time to do it because the Blues/Wings game was on Versus and I've got DirecTV.  And of course, Kariya has himself his best game of the year.  Anyways.... Paul Kariya to the Kings makes sense on so many different levels. First off, he's my favorite player and the reason I love hockey.  It's hard to believe he's 35 years old now.  For years, I've been attending Kings games wearing a Kariya Ducks, Avs, Preds, and now Blues jersey every time his team's in town.  I've yet to put a name and number on the back of my Kings jersey because I've been waiting for this moment, this opportunity. (queue Eminem's verse now). "WHY DO THE KINGS NEED HIM?" Justin Williams's season is in doubt.  The Kings are looking for a left wing.  Dean Lombardi came close to acquiring Ray Whitney.  It's been rumored that Whitney was looking for a thre...

Homers: These Two Make My Ears Bleed What happened to the line combos tonight?  What happened to the combos that got us the nine-game win streak? The Kings looked lethargic all night.  A step slow to the loose pucks.  No effort along the boards.  And their lack of effort turned into penalties. And did I see Raitis Ivanans taking a regular shift out there?  Raitis.  Drop the gloves.  Your team is losing.  Mix it up.  It's your JOB.  I know Petey would do anything to get in the lineup. Jonathan Quick looked spectacular at moments.  And absolutely terrible the next.  The Ducks willingness to go hard to Quick's crease and interfere obviously rattled him at times tonight.  Corey Perry did the same thing to Quick that Holmstrom did to him on Saturday.  Quick needs to push back and the defense needs to body up.  Lastly, I'm not sure if Bill Ranford is working on Quick's puckhandling skills but he seems to be getting...

Here's some shots I took at yesterday's game and some shots of the Wings during warmups.

Jonathan Quick And The Kings Make History Wow.  Quick game recap before the Big Game starts.  I'm not sure how the NFL can follow up that Caps/Pens game.  Not sure what the NHL is thinking when they make their schedule and put that game on the same day as the Super Bowl but moving on... This is just going to be one long rant.  Partly because Rich Hammond wasn't able to cover the game and well it was just that exciting that I want to recap everything again. The Wings up 3-0 after one but it didn't feel like it. Filppula's goal was a fluke at best and the Kings zone coverage breakdown with just five seconds left was just bad timing.  The scoreboard read 3-0 but I was feeling like it was more 1-0.  Call me a homer. Although, I did find myself thinking, "The Wings are looking like the old Wings again.  Tomas Holmstrom looks awesome out there."  Once the Wings get Franzen back; watch out.  The Wings are making the playoffs. Second period star...

Eight Is Great: Kings Win 6-2 What a game.  Kings were great.  Then bad.  Then great again.  Ivanans and Parros dropped the gloves early and then took their rightful spots at the end of the bench for the rest of the game.  Kopitar continues to roll with another two goals.  Petey took a scary header into the boards but got up like a champ.  Drew Doughty got some revenge on Bobby Ryan.  Quick was average.  And Jack Johnson had himself a career night.  Rich Hammond's Recap . Big news broke on the Kovalchuk front.  Don Waddell released a statement .  Bottom Line: The Thrashers offered more than $101 million over 12 years to Kovalchuk.  It became obvious that something was happening soon.  At about 4:30, the news broke that Kovalchuk had finally been traded to New Jersey.  Rich Hammond provided a final recap of the Kovalchuk/Kings Recap . Atlanta sniffed around Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Wayne Simmonds, at least...

Kovalchuk Trade Talk Heating Up? First off and most importantly, the Kings beat the Rangers 2-1.  Their seventh victory in a row. Kopi scored the game's first-goal short-handed.  The second-line played another solid game scoring the second.  Quick was solid and came up huge in the last minute of play.  And the Kings won a good close hockey game.  Rich Hammond's Recap . There were rumblings in the stands that the Kings were on the verge of acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk.  The rumor was reported on an SBNation blog; I have absolutely no idea how credible the site or their sources are so I won't be posting the link here.  With that said, Bob McKenzie did his best to put that rumor to sleep. Per McKenzie You know what I think of these rumors of the LAK on verge of getting Kovalchuk? Total BS. Some interest but fit isn't right at this point. Will spend more time on bogus reports than actual trades. It's the silly season. Amateur hour. Like New Year's Eve and ...