A mere hours away from gametime, a few Los Angeles Kings Hockey Bloggers have been responding to the great RudyKelly's Game 6 Questionnaire. So I figure... if I can't be as funny as RudyKelly... I can at least copy him, right?

Am I disappointed with the way they've played this series?  
Game 5 was a blowout that can happen in any series (See Detroit losing 5-2 at home to Phoenix today as an example.) The only game I've been disappointed with was the 3rd period meltdown in Game 4. If Luongo doesn't make that amazing save in Game 1, this series could have been over by now.

Do I wish the Kings had called up Jonathan Bernier?  
No effin' way. This is Quick's season. Bernier gets his chance next year.

Do I wish Randy Jones were shot into the Sun?  
I don't know if that technology is available but I would rather have Peter Harrold out there, yes.

Is Randy Jones the reason the Kings have lost any one game?  
Yeah, right. I wish you could pinpoint playoff losses on one player.

Is Terry Murray just an average in-game coach? 
Average in-game? Sure. But look at the work he has done over two seasons to see how good of a coach he is; Kopitar's transition to a defensively responsible player as well as the leaps forward Wayne Simmonds and Brad Richardson have taken this season.

Does he deserve anything but adulation for his overall performance this season? 
Don't forget that the Kings finished 9th overall in the league. Why shouldn't Coach Murray get consideration for the Jack Adams Award?

Has this been the best season since 1992-93?
Yes.

Do I have any regrets spending countless hours writing about a hockey team on the internet? 
It was a hell of a lot easier when this team sucked, I'll tell you that.

Do I want the Kings to win tonight? 
Want? Of course. Need? Yes.

Will I be devastated if they lose? 
No. I've been a Kings fan for 20+ years. I'd be devastated if they won the Stanley Cup.

Am I proud of this team? 
Yes. And seeing the way Staples Center has lit up during this playoffs makes me even prouder of its fans.

Would I change anything about this season?
Not one thing. Sports are the ultimate reality show... you don't get to change a thing.

So there you have it. If you so desire, you can answer Rudy's questions in the comments. I'm leaving for Staples Center in a few minutes to watch Game 6 of Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's win or go home. And whenever I see a team in that situation, I can only think of this.

Go get 'em, boys. Take those Twinkies down.

I kind of had a hockey panic attack leading up to start of Game 6. The nerd hockey blogger in me wanted to stay home alone to watch the game so I could study every possible frame and have a live chat with Blogger Buddy™ Benched Whale. But the other, more outgoing and less nerd-hockey-bloggerier part of me realized that it's been 8 years since the Los Angeles Kings have been in the NHL playoffs, let alone an important Game 6. And that in sports fandom, having a shared experience with complete strangers over your favorite team can be something really special. So after receiving some sage advice, I headed to my favorite Los Angeles Sports Bar, Capitol City, to watch Game 6 of the Kings and Vancouver Canucks. And if I had know if was going to be this piece of shit… I would have stayed home.

Kings 2, Canucks 7

So I was able to watch the Kings get their ass whooped with a few friends and a few fellow Kings fans. And I fully understand what the expression "misery loves company" truly means after last nights experience. But the highlight of the night had to be this.

Dear Penthouse, so there I was in a sports bar... and in walked 4 Canucks fans.

It's one bad game out of a possible 7. There is no need to panic... there is certainly no need to bring Jon Bernier up from Manchester to start Game 6. All that's needed is some motivation for the Kings to come back to Los Angeles and play their hearts out on Sunday to force a Game 7. Oh look!

You are a superstar, O'Brien.

Shane O'Brien, it's okay if you want to pretend you are Tie Domi after a big win in a fight… but make sure you actually have a big win in a fight first. But most of all… don't make Murray angry!

“Are you talking specifically about O’Brien acting like a clown after the fight?” Murray said... But you don’t need to rub it in at the end of the fight, skating around with your hands in the air acting like the clown that he is.”

RudyKelly at Battle of California lists 10 things that are worse than Ryan Smyth. (Listen... I'm the biggest Ryan Smyth fan around… but he's injured or something. He's playing like total ass.) And Benched Whale doesn't hold back with their headline "Canucks Destroy The Kings." Whatever, Benched Whale... I thought we were friends!

The Kings have everything to prove on Sunday at 6pm. They can show how mature of a team they are by forgetting this debacle and coming out to play like the team they know they can be. The Royal Half will be there… and oh my fucking god this could be the last Kings game of the 2009-2010 season.

You would think that the biggest news in the Los Angeles Kings' world today would be the important Game 5 against the Vancouver Canucks that goes down tonight at 7pm. But no, instead everyone is talking about the announcement that 20 year old Drew Doughty has been nominated for the Norris Trophy, the annual award for being the NHL's best defenseman... also known as the Nicklas Lidstrom award.

Yup, this guy is one of the NHL's best defenseman.

Drew is the youngest to be nominated for the Norris since this guy was in 1968.

I have a feeling that Drew read Boys' Life growing up. And still does.

And of course, Drew Doughty is the first Kings defenseman to be nominated for a Norris Trophy since this guy won it in 1998.

Wait... are they saying "BOOO" or "DREEW"???

I thought that I would take a look back at some of the things I said about an 18 year old Drew Doughty during his first season with the Kings... back at the old Royal Half Blogspot blog. (Mainly because I've been too lazy to transfer everything over to here.) To see what this humble blogger said about Drew Doughty from the early days... check it out after the jump!!!

I really don't know if I can handle too much more of this. It's been 1 week since the Los Angeles Kings started their first playoff series in 8 years, and I've travelled 2000 miles, seen 3 of the 4 games in person and have been in a constant state of panic and excitement the whole time. Being at the Staples Center last night was a mixture of leaping up and down while slamming my hand on the glass partition behind me… followed a few minutes later by slumping down in my seat while pulling my hat down over my eyes. Then, I'd repeat these motions. Then I'd repeat them again. That is the rollercoaster ride I was on last night. Playoff hockey is the greatest and worst thing you could ever wish on someone.

I think Friday night the Kings should start the game by doing this to Sedin.
(Awesome image from The Internet Trashcan)

Kings 4, Canucks 6, Series: Best of 3

What can you really say? That Kings team was as dominate as I've seen them be all season during the first period and a half. Instead of coming out hitting like they did last game, Vancouver was the hittee this time and again the Kings dared the Canucks to take a penalty. But then in the 3rd... the youth and inexperience caught up with the Kings and the Canucks showed just how good they could be. I seriously cannot wait for Friday night. To get an idea of what the pre-game festivities looked like last night at Staples Center... check it out after the jump!

Take a few minutes to think back about the past 4 years of being a Los Angeles Kings fan. And you tell me if you thought that they'd be playing in a Game 6 of a First Round playoff series. And you tell me if you ever thought Staples Center would sound like this:

Game 4 recap to come tomorrow. I can barely stand right now.

"Are they saying LUO-ongo or BOO-ongo?"
"Sigh... they are saying BOO-ongo."
"Shit."

Game 4 is tonight at Staples Center. It's just a little past 12:00pm here in Los Angeles and all I want to do is go downtown and stare at Staples until they open the doors. Some of my good friends are fans of teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Indianapolis Colts. I don't know how they make it through the post-season each and every year. It's only Game 4 and I'm nearing a heart attack.

Before Game 3 the other day, the Kings Marketing Department played a message from Bob Miller, the play by play voice of the Los Angeles Kings since 1973, just 6 years after the Kings came into the NHL. So to say he's seen it all is close to being 100% true. He is the Ambassador of the Kings... and when I watched this video again this morning... I totally got choked up.

There is some great blog coverage going on during this series, so I want to make sure you check it all out.

Dear Los Angeles Kings Marketing Department,

I'm sorry for everything I've said over the past 3 years. What you put together last night at the Los Angeles Kings first home playoff game in 8 years was simply perfect. I apologize for being such an asshole, especially this past season. Go Kings Go!

Sincerely,
The Royal Half

Sure, I might have seen Kings playoff hockey in person on Saturday in Vancouver. But seeing the Kings first playoff game in Los Angeles in 8 years is something that Kings fans have been waiting for… well... for 8 years. And when I first arrived at the arena I have to admit, I was a little concerned that the Kings Marketing Department wasn't going to rise to the challenge.

All right. Balloons!

I'll take "Things that look wrong for $1000", Alex.

And inside the arena, there was a soft attempt at adding some spice... using bunting!

That or a Harry Potter convention at Staples the night before got really crazy.

But then, Half Season Ticket Holder Buddy and I made our way up to our seats… for the first time past April 15th in 8 years… and I saw the sign.

And I knew this was gonna be awesome... but I had no idea it'd be THIS awesome.

Holy Shit that was awesome.

Kings 5, Canucks 3

See how the first Kings playoff game in 8 years unfolded.... after the jump!

Us sports fans can be a little wacky sometimes. If someone takes a 2 day cross-country trip to go a friends wedding or their sisters high school graduation... people don't think twice. But if you want to travel up to Vancouver for Game 2 of the Los Angeles Kings versus the Vancouver Canucks in their first round series... and go to the game with a complete stranger that you've only talked to via various blog, twitter and email conversations... then all of a sudden I'M the crazy one?

THE ROYAL HALF GOES TO VANCOUVER!

And that's exactly what I did this past Saturday as I boarded a plane in Los Angeles, had a quick layover in Phoenix (Frequent Flier Mile Ticket, you know?) and landed in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. My Blogger Buddy™ Benched Whale had graciously accepted my offer of attending the game together and having her show me around town. Then... a few enlightened moments later... she be-friended me on Facebook to make sure I wasn't some creepy, 55 year old dude. (Luckily, I'm only a 33 year old creepy dude. A veteran leader, if you will.) Feeling confident that I didn't look like I was going to do anything crazy to her over the course of the weekend, we solidified our plans. I bought decent seats to Game 2 off of Stub Hub and I was on my way.

To read all about my crazy adventure as the sole Los Angeles Kings fan in a blue and green sea of Canucks fans... check it out after the jump!

In a few hours, I will be boarding a plane and heading north to Vancouver, British Columbia to watch Game 2 of the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks with Blogger Buddy™, Benched Whale. If Saturday's game is half as good as the other Game 2's tonight... then it will be the greatest game of all time. I haven't been this excited about a playoff hockey game... since last night's Game 1.

If you don't already follow The Royal Half on Twitter... now would be as good a time as any to start. I'll be trying to share my experience as a Kings fan in a foreign land as best as I can... or at least better than I did before. You can find The Royal Half Twitter here. Fuck it, if you really want to go all out... then join The Royal Half Facebook page.

Will someone explain to me how in the heck Handzus is an emotional low?

Somehow I feel like this isn't the first time a man in a green suit has had his balls in Jack Johnson's face.

Well, that game was totally awesome. The Los Angeles Kings came out strong in during the first period in their first playoff game in 8 years... played a bit uneven for the remainder of the game... and if it wasn't for an amazing save by one of the world's best goalies... all we'd be talking about today is the Kings stunning win over the Vancouver Canucks.

So instead we are talking about a Game One loss.

Kings 2, Canucks 3 (OT)

Check out the full Royal Half Recap of Game One.... after the jump!!!