Half-Season Ticket Holder Buddy always said that I have a face for radio. But until today, I never understood what he meant. I was a guest of The War Room with Mick Kern and Peter Berce on XM's Home Ice Channel this morning chatting about Los Angeles Kings ice hockey and colossal meltdowns. Luckily enough, the Kings decided to lose a 4 goal lead the night before. What a coincidence! The segment is below.
It was only the 4th home playoff game for the Los Angeles Kings in the last 8 years... so the novelty hasn't worn off like it has for other teams. The Kings organization and their fans still get excited about making the playoffs so they try to create a great atmosphere. There was music...
This was the USC Trojan Marching Band's 2nd appearance at a professional Los Angeles sporting event..
the other was during the Angels-Mariners game in Naked Gun.
There were games...
Worst. Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson themed moon-bounce. Ever.
There was fan interaction...
Really 98.7 FM? There are sponsors for fan-created signs now?
As Jibblescribbits said.. "Corporate sponsored individualism. Nothing screams "LA" louder than that."
There were legends of the past...
Funny enough, the original logo for the NBA also had Jerry West wearing the Kings 3rd jersey on it.
And then the game started!
And Dustin Penner is an awful, horrific hockey player.
Kings 5, Sharks 6 (OT)
Sharks lead series 2-1
Kings should be leading series 2-1
Click Here to Read the Rest of The Royal Half Game 3 Recap!!!
Game 3
Staples Center, Los Angeles
Series tied 1-1
"Nice game, lil' guy. Now back to the press box for you.
Westgarth's gotta get his skate on."
"Staples Center is a jewel of an arena. Yet as hockey venues go ... well, if HP Pavilion can be a Metallica concert when the puck drops, Staples is more of a Kenny G experience."
-Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News
This can only end ugly. Los Angeles Sports Fans don't act well when their passion for their favorite team is called out. The Royal Half, Half-Season Ticket Holder Buddy, Indiana Matt, Jersey Brian and Twitter Doug will all be there tonight.
This is what we've been waiting for all season. Don't disappoint us, Kings.
The first week of the NHL Playoffs are in the books and by the looks of it so far... this is gearing up to be another excellent post-season. There have been big upsets and even bigger disappointments. As a coach, the playoffs are when you need your players to dig down deep and put everything they've got out on the ice, each and every night. Sometimes a player will come out of nowhere and step up their game... and other times they fall apart. I almost feel like I'm the coach for the pun headline writing team at NHL.com. And now that the playoffs are here, I sit back at my desk, looking over gameday reports and worry if my team is going to be able to pull through. And then... it's gametime... and I know that we got this.
At the start of this series, TSN Analyst and Former King, Ray Ferraro, said the only way the Los Angeles Kings could beat the San Jose Sharks was if the Sharks' bus got lost on the way to the rink. Don't believe me?
Has anyone seen this bus? Cause I think it's lost.
I never realized how much Drew Doughty looks like former King and NHL Hall of Famer Paul Coffey out on the ice. No really... Drew Doughty looks like Paul Coffey out on the ice.
That's freakin' eerie.
Sure, Paul Coffey couldn't clear the front of the net if he was a Zamboni... but Coffey was one of the premiere offensive defenseman of his generation, and definitely up there in terms of all-time. So when Drew Doughty gets 4 points in an impressive 4-0 victory over the favorite San Jose Sharks... whose record for points in a playoff game by a Kings defenseman did Doughty tie? Well... his own from Game 3 against the Canucks last season... but also Paul Coffey's.
You don't know how long I've waited for current Kings players to match the stats of 90's Kings players.
Seriously, doesn't Doughty look just as stylish as Coffey does here?
Who the hell are those other geeky looking dudes?
Kings 4, Sharks 0
Kings Tie Series 1-1
Click Here to Read the Rest of The Royal Half Game 2 Recap!!!
For me, this is the most accurate way that the people of Northern California have ever been depicted on television.
Okay, maybe this one is better.
I dare you to not spend the rest of your day watching AmbiSoul's rants on YouTube.
I dare you.
The only thing worse than checking a dude's face into the boards which gets you a 1 game suspension?
The judgemental stare of Rich Hammond.
Jarret Stoll is out for Game 2. I'm okay with his suspension. That was an ugly, ugly hit and if the NHL did nothing it would set a bad precedent for the rest of the playoffs. Bobby Ryan can thank Stoll for that. But because of the Stoll suspension, for a brief few moments, it was almost Johnny Zeiler time for the Los Angeles Kings. So instead, Oscar Moller gets the call... and he must be incredibly excited to know that the only reason he's playing in Game 2 of the NHL Playoffs is because of an administrative error.
I really struggle to understand why Coach Murray won't take Oscar Moller serious as an NHL forward.
Apparently, Dustin Penner has gone from a healthy scratch in Game 1 to back on the 1st (?) line for the Kings, with Michal Handzus and Dustin Brown. I think I know what is wrong with Penner. After spending 3 seasons in Edmonton, he's just not used to playing in mid-April. Or maybe he's had his mind on other, more personal matters.
Usually, Penner is a caddy for his GM come this time of year.
Game 2 is tonight at 7pm. I'll probably be watching live. So use the comments below to scream once Moller gets his hat trick.
Well that was the team that each and every Los Angeles Kings fan was hoping they would be after the devastating injury to Anze Kopitar. They were physical, they moved the puck around and they looked good doing it.
Justin Williams may be at 80%... but he's still 100% good looking.
The game that Justin Williams pulled off tonight was as close to amazing as you can get in the 1st game of a playoff series. Just 4 weeks after dislocating his shoulder in a game against Calgary, Williams went out there Thursday night in San Jose and showed the hockey world that you better not count the Los Angeles Kings out just yet. With Williams scoring a goal and an assist, I am completely perplexed about how he came back from his injury so quickly.
Oh. Well that makes sense then.
Kings 2, Sharks 3 (OT)
I think it's really cute how Los Angeles Kings fans across the board are predicting a 1st round upset over the San Jose Sharks. I mean you can't blame them really… that's what a fan does… they support their team with blind faith through thick and thin. But here's my problem with predicting the Kings to beat the Sharks in the 1st round of the NHL Playoffs… if by some miracle they do win… you get to brag about what a soothsayer and hockey scout genius you are. If they lose, then you get to brag about how you believed in your team no matter what. It's a win-win situation really. It takes a real fan to look at their team with realistic expectations… and predict that they are going to lose.
Sharks in 4.
The Sharks boast an impressive roster of offensive talent. Remember how everyone was making a big deal about how the Kings have 6 forwards with 20+ goals? (It's really 5 if you don't count Dustin Penner who showed up here with 21 and now has... 23). Well San Jose has 7 dudes with 20 goals.
And what do the Kings bring to the table for this 1st round battle? Justin Williams at 80%!
That's right, bitches!! Might even be 83% by 7pm tonight!!! Woo-hoo!
I'm pretty sure when Dean Lombardi sat down 5 years ago and laid out all the boxes he had to fill in order to rebuild this awful franchise he never imagined that his playoff hopes would hinge on whether or not to call up a 19 year old rookie. Lombardi was faced with the dilemma of losing a year off of Brayden Schenn's entry level contract by bringing him up for a 4 game series with the Sharks. But instead he has sent him to a place where he can actually go deep in the playoffs... Manchester. The Kings burned the 1st year of Oscar Moller's contract in 2008 by keeping him on the roster… and look how well that has turned out. There is no guarantee if Schenn will be a super stud or not. He showed some skills in the first 8 games of the season but nothing is a given in the NHL. Right, Lauri Tukonen?
"Hey guys. I'm here to replace Kopitar. If he were playing in the AHL."
The best part of this playoff series will be the hot California on California action that will pit a team from the Bay Area against a team from Los Angeles for the 1st time since 1969.
A tv show about a dude in California that is addicted to sex?
I had no idea Jarret Stoll had sold his life rights.
Of course there is a part of me that desperately hopes the Kings pull off the upset of the year. I've been a fan of this team too long to not have the ability to have some blind faith. But I've also been a fan of this team long enough to know the true meaning of disappointment. At the end of the day you have to look at it this way I guess… the Los Angeles Kings went 8 years without making the playoffs. Now they are there 2 years in a row… and not even as the 8th seed! It's progress for sure.
I don't care if Williams is back.
We aren't updating the shirt.
If you haven't ordered your 2011 Playoff Shirt… hurry up. You may not have long to wear it. I may not be able to watch live tonight, but feel free to chat it up in the comments. And away we go…
I don't view The Pensblog so much as a member of the Bloguin Family but rather the Emperor of the Bloguin Family. So you should really go over to Rinkotology.com and sign up for their awesome Stanley Cup Playoff Fantasy League. I've done it before and it's a lot of fun. It's simple, you pick one player from each playoff team to create your fantasy team. The longer that player lasts... the more points you earn. They are also debuting a new game for the 1st Round, where you pick the most clutch player (ie, someone who gets Game-Winning Goals and Assists) from each team. Here's a hint... whatever you do, don't pick a Los Angeles King.
They are giving away $3700 in cash prizes, including a $1000 grand prize. So head over to Rinktology.com before 5pm Eastern time tomorrow, April 13th, to register your team. And tell 'em that The Royal Half sent ya. They hate us over at The Pensblog and that will really piss them off.
As a Los Angeles Native, it is my duty and my honor to hate on our neighbors to the north. Sure, Big Sur is lovely, but if it were up to me, I'd break California in half at Fresno and make it two states. You couldn't find two groups of people more different than Northern and Southern Californians. Sure, they may say that those of us from Southern California are self-absorbed and self-obsessed... but at least we look good while doing it.
This is pretty much everyone from Northern California.
The folks from Northern California are incredibly righteous and they play frisbee golf... so it's amazing that they've actually been an able foe in terms of intra-California professional sports playoffs. This is the first time since 1969 that a hockey team from the Bay Area has played against a team from Los Angeles in the NHL playoffs... (no, I'm not counting the Sharks-Ducks series from 2009... I said "Los Angeles")... so I thought I would take a look back at the great professional sports playoff battles between Northern California and Southern California.
A brief visual history of the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Click here to check out the Best of NoCal vs SoCal in professional sports playoffs!!!
