LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

This will be the first-installment of my Season In Review.  My thoughts on each player's 2009-10 season and what to expect in 2010-11 from them.  I've also included my Fantasy Projections for fun .  In honor of Dean Lombardi; we'll start from the net out.  The Kings goaltending this year was great at times and terrible at others. And when I say Kings goaltending; I really mean Jonathan Quick. Terry Murray admitted to possibly playing Quick too much to secure a high-seed in the playoffs. That decision hurt the Kings more than it helped them down the stretch and ultimately cost them in the playoffs.   Read the rest after the jump...

Drew Doughty was the Kings best player during the regular season and the playoffs.  He led all defenseman in scoring in the first-round. It's unfortunate that Norris Trophy voting took place before the opening round because he outplayed both of his competitors for the award: Duncan Keith and Mike Green.  And it sounds like Doughty was playing hurt . "Doughty has been nursing quite a few injuries, actually. The biggest problem that he has right now, probably, is the sprained thumb, sprained wrist." Sprained thumb? No Big.  Sprained wrist?  No worries.  He's a gamer.  Check him out yappin during Game Three... "Keep yappin' buddy, keep yappin'. I got all day. Come down my way, come down my way. Come down here. I'll f''n hipcheck the (stuff) out of you." Canada loves Drew Doughty too.  Check out his Inside Hockey profile on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada that aired during Game Two.  Another reason why Canada's coverage is superior to ...

We'll Get Em Next Year, Smitty! Now that the season has ended so abruptly; blogging has become my way of dealing with the disappointment of losing Game One by inches, a blowout loss in Game Five and losing twice in the same series on home-ice when leading after two-periods. The blog posts should come fast and furious for the next couple week so check back often. Check out my Season Recap in Pictures at my Shuttefly site.

Far Too Much Of This From Quicker Kings players along with the coaching staff were available to the media Tuesday and Hammer got some great quotes from head coach Terry Murray on the series, the season and everything else . I thought his most telling remarks were regarding the goaltending situation . “Maybe (I) played (Quick) a little too much down the last month. But at that point, I had already made a commitment to him, and maybe had backed away, a little too far, from Ersberg being able to jump in and get some rhythm to his game and give us those solid games that would have spelled relief for Quick. And I thought about that, long before we got to the end of the year." MAYBE you played Quick too much?  MAYBE you backed too far away from Ersberg?  The season's over now.  Let's be real here.  Stats don't lie.  Read my take after the jump...

Richie Rich? Probably Not But He Should Be Back The Kings have three RFA's that they have to decide what to do with.  Helene Elliot might actually give Parse and Clune a chance.   Read her comments and my thoughts on the Kings Three RFAs after the jump...

I'd Miss Fro's Wrap-Around Attempts Let the speculation begin.  The Kings have nine free-agents going into the summer.  Six UFA's.  Three RFA's.  If it were up to Helene Elliot; she wouldn't want any of them back.   You can see what she says and what I think about the Six UFA's after the jump....

The season is over.  Inches away from a 2-0 sweep in Vancouver.  A period away from a 3-1 series lead.  Yet, the Kings are done in six games. TSN's Bob McKenzie thinks it was the Sedins.   The biggest reasons why the Vancouver Canucks are moving on to the next round: Roberto Luongo at one end and the Sedin twins at the other. From the third period of Game 4 on, the Sedins were the dominant line in this series.  The pace of the game in the third period, the Kings could not keep up with the Sedins. Let's be real here.  The Sedins were good but it was Bobby Lu who made the big saves when his team needed them.  His stacking of the pads on Frolov's breakaway in the third period of Game Four was a turning point of the series.  His glove save of Ryan Smyth in period two of Game Six was unfair.  He was truly The Captain.   On the other end, Jonathan Quick did what I was afraid he might do.  The Kings rode Quicker into the grou...

Vote For Doughty   I compiled all the love that came pouring down on Doughty after the Kings trip to Toronto earlier this year. I'd expect a whole lot more to be coming real soon after it was announced that Doughty will be one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy along with Chicago's Duncan Keith and Washington's Mike Green. If I had to handicap it; I would say Doughty's Olympic D-partner Keith is still the favorite.  But keep in mind that Keith plays with Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell.  While Drew has to deal with the stone hands of Rob Scuderi and Sean O'Donnell. Either way, great accomplishment and I hope the NHL writers realize how much he's meant to the team this year.

Check out CBC's Hockey Night In Canada panel discuss whether or not Henrik Sedin's 3rd Period goal should have counted.  Mike Murphy comes on in the final two minutes to explain what he saw. Leave it to Kelly Hrudey to defend the call...haha I thought the Kings got a huge break with the call and won the game. Bring on Game Four!

When I previewed the series , I pointed out three keys: Special Teams, Matchups and Injuries. And through the first three games ; special teams and matchups have absolutely dominated the series. If the Kings can stay out of the box; it'll greatly improve their chances of pulling the upset. OK.  So the penalty calls have actually been even whether Canucks fans want to admit it or not.  The Canucks have actually been on the PK twelve times while the Kings have been shorthanded eleven times.  The Canucks can't kill a penalty to save their lives right now.  The Kings are 7-for-12 (58.3%) on the man-advantage. Mitchell and Johnson are defensive-minded agitators that win games.  Mitchell, Vancouver's lone shutdown defenseman will be missed against the Kings depth up-front.  Johnson may be Vancouver's most valuable penalty-killers. The injuries to forward Ryan Johnson and defenseman Willie Mitchell have affected the penalty kill more than most anticipated.  ...

Simmer Is A Key To Victory   The Kings will take the series in six games.  And here's why... Both teams are more similar than any fan north of the border would ever be willing to admit. Both teams' forwards have great depth.  Both teams' defense have deficiencies.  Both teams' starting goaltenders have huge question marks entering the series. Neither teams' penalty kill has been very good this season while both teams' power play has been superb.  I could give you all the numbers but Hammer's taken care of it already . So how do they stack up... FORWARDS: Advantage- Canucks CANUCKS : The Canucks possess alot of depth in their forward core; led by Art Ross Award winner Henrik Sedin, who led the NHL in scoring with 112 points.  Henrik and his twin brother Daniel pose the biggest offensive threat to the Kings.  Vancouver's first-line of the Sedins and Alexander Burrows combined for 93 goals this season.  But the Canucks are much deeper than their...

No Player's Facing More Pressure Than Nabokov In San Jose WESTERN CONFERENCE Here's how I predicted the West at the start of the year .  I only got five out of the eight playoff teams.  And only got one matchup. Here's ESPN's 'experts' picks. TSN's experts chime in too. (1) San Jose Sharks v. (8) Colorado Avalanche Yes, the Sharks could find themselves upset again in the first-round but I think they take care of business this year.  The Avs are a good young team with surprising depth but San Jose is too loaded at every position.  The Sharks advantage in high-end talent will come up big in the end.  San Jose may struggle a bit but their talent will win out over the feisty Avs.  SHARKS IN SEVEN . (2) Chicago Blackhawks v. (7) Nashville Predators I've never believed in the Preds even when they had Peter Forsberg a few seasons ago.  I'm not going to start now.  I respect what Barry Trotz does every year getting his Preds into the postseason...

Ovechkin & The Caps should have their way vs. the Habs EASTERN CONFERENCE Here's how I thought things would shake at before the season started. I predicted six out of the eight playoff teams in the East.  Unfortunately, none of them in their correct seeds.  Although, I did predict a Flyers/Devils first-round matchup. ( 1) Washington Capitals v. (8) Montreal Canadians The Caps are on a mission.  Washington's wide-open style actually works to Montreal's advantage but Halak will have to steal this series.  Ovechkin and Co. will be too much for the Habs.  CAPITALS IN FIVE . (2) New Jersey Devils v. (7) Philadelphia Flyers There's something to be said about a team earning their playoff birth on the last day of the regular season in a shootout.  The Flyers may have a bit of momentum on their side going into this series.  Both team's have a great group of forwards but the Flyers defense is superior with Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timmonen.  The ...

To my handful of visitors out there in cyberspace... Sorry for not blogging lately.  I've been working on trying to get all my Kings photos in one spot.  And I can proudly say I've done it.  I uploaded them all to Shutterfly for your viewing pleasure.  The site: http://chasenshockeypics.shutterfly.com It's been a roller coaster ride for the Kings but bottom line... Kings are in the playoffs.  BACK IN BLACK. I plan on getting back on the blogging once all the playoff matchups are set this weekend.  So please comeback for that. Let's GO KINGS!

Bobby Lu Did Alot of This Eight Goals?!  I'm speechless! The Kings came to play.  Henrik Sedin was lost without his twin brah.  And the Kings capitalized on their chances with a little help from Bobby Lu. Jonathan Bernier played well enough for the victory (although the two goals shortside were  a bit disappointing). Roberto Luongo was bad.  In his defence, he was probably five goals bad.  Not eight.  A few pucks actually bounced the Kings way and they took advantage overwhelming the Canucks. Dustin Brown fed off all the support and love I gave him in my last blog post; Netting his second career hat trick; capping off a four point night for the Kings captain. And the Kings 5-on-3 PP!  Did anyone see how they set it up?  No more UMBRELLA!  Overload.  Overload!  Overload!  I saw good movement and some nice backdoor chances created.  Didn't score but it looked alot better than before.  I'm pretty sure Terry Mu...