*THE FOLLOWING BELOW IS NOT WRITTEN BY THE ROYAL HALF,
BUT RATHER PUMPERNICHOLL, OUR MASTER RECAPPER*

KINGS 3, BLACKHAWKS 1
 

Down 2-0 in the series, the Los Angeles Kings were facing their toughest challenge of the postseason. The President's Trophy-winning Chicago Blackhawks had just blown them out in Game 2 and were in complete control. With a win on Tuesday night, the Hawks could put a stranglehold on the series.

The news didn't get any better in the hours leading up to the game as leading scorer Mike Richards was again ruled out with a likely concussion. Coupled with Anze Kopitar's ineffective play and Jarret Stoll's recovery from his own concussion, the Kings were suddenly a bit thin at the center position.

But as long as Jeff Carter stays healthy, the Kings should be OK.

I hate living in a world where Jeff Carter is now only the second most attractive player in the NHL. twitter.com/PumperNicholl/…

— PumperNicholl (@PumperNicholl) June 5, 2013

So smile pretty, folks, as we look back on the night that was at Staples Center.

Click Here to Read the Rest of PumperNicholl's RECAP of Game 3 vs the Blackhawks!!!

From the official TRH Ombudsman, Jack A. Wilson... presenting the hit heard 'round Los Angeles last night.
 

VIVA CARTER!!!

FIRST.... read today's GAMEDAY PREVIEW for tonight's Game 3 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Exclusively on LAKings.com.

This will make much more sense once you've read the GAMEDAY PREVIEW.

THEN...  it's a brand-new Game 3 Edition of All The Kings Men Podcast!!! Jesse Cohen and I chat with Keith from KingsCast about everything but the LA Kings being down 2-0 in their 3rd Round series with the Chicago Blackhawks. You can check out the brand-new episode of All The Kings Men Podcast here, subscribe to it on iTunes or listen below:

AND FINALLY... the LA Kings have updated their 2012 handy-dandy infographic so that you can better understand how everyone screws up information related to and regarding the Los Angeles Kings. And the 2013 edition has a pretty cool new addition...

*THE FOLLOWING BELOW IS NOT WRITTEN BY THE ROYAL HALF,
BUT RATHER PUMPERNICHOLL, OUR MASTER RECAPPER*

GAME 1: KINGS 1, HAWKS 2
GAME 2: KINGS 2, HAWKS 4
 

Ho hum, the Los Angeles Kings are back in the Western Conference Final.

Just four wins away from capturing the greatest trophy in sports – The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl – the Kings first had to face off against the President's Trophy-winning Chicago Blackhawks, a team that has given them fits over the past few seasons.

It was going to be a highly contested series that could go the full seven games, or just as easily result in a sweep for either team. One of those strange series where the teams were so evenly matched that no result would be surprising.

However, I liked the Kings chances against the record-setting Blackhawks. As long as Jonathan Quick kept his team in the game and could get inside the Hawks' heads, and leading scorer Mike Richards stayed healthy, I saw no problem for the defending champions...

...oh god.
 

Let's just get this over with.

Click Here to Read the Rest of PumperNicholl's RECAP of Game 1 & 2 vs the Blackhawks!!!

FIRST.... read today's GAMEDAY PREVIEW for tonight's Game 2 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Exclusively on LAKings.com.

This will make much more sense once you've read the GAMEDAY PREVIEW.

FINALLY... make sure you all check out the great coverage of this Kings-Blackhawks series from the guys over at The Committed Indian. They also create a printed newsletter for every Blackhawks home game and yours truly was featured in today's edition. 

You can see a bigger version of the interview here.

Make sure you read the complete Committed Indian for today's Game 2. They have made it available for free for the readers of The Royal Half. You can download it here. And if you'd like to subscribe to The Committed Indian, it's super easy and cheap.

FIRST.... read today's GAMEDAY PREVIEW for today's Game 1 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Exclusively on LAKings.com.

This will make more sense once you've read the GAMEDAY PREVIEW.

ALSO... recently if you've accessed The Royal Half on a mobile device, you've might have gotten a notification about... well... notifications. So here is an explanation about what that is all about.

If you're a fan of The Royal Half, you'll be overjoyed to learn that we've come up with a way to make you aware the second a new piece of content is posted on our blog.  Bloguin has teamed up with Notice Software to bring you Alert Rocket push notifications that will send your mobile device updates with every new TRH post. Getting this new feature on your phone takes all of about 20 seconds and we're here to walk you through the steps.

#1 - Visit our site on your mobile device and click the OK button when the widget pops up on your screen.

#2 - Click the view button to download and install the Alert Rocket app onto your phone.

#3 - Open the Alert Rocket app to view your push notification subscriptions.  You can click on a subscription to change its settings.  We recommend setting quiet times so that the alerts don't pop up at inopportune times.  That is, unless you enjoy waking up at 3am to read PumperNicholl's latest ramblings.

That's it!  Now you're all set up and will start receiving updates with each story we post.  This feature will be rolling out across the Bloguin Network, so be sure to check out all your favorite sites and sign up for alerts.

AND FINALLY... the last time there was any significant game played between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks:

We here at The Royal Half are an equal-opportunity blog. So when several Chicago Blackhawks fans took umbrage with One Girl, One Puck's and Battle of California's recent previews of the Los Angeles Kings Western Conference Final opponent... we listened. Presenting, without commentary, a completely sane and non-reactionary counterpoint to recent LA Kings Bloggers positions on the Chicago Blackhawks. Take it away, Second City!

Los Angeles: Where Everything Is Terrible

by Andrew Cieslak, Andrew Burner & Kelly Reardon
Photoshops by Monocle Man

Click Here to Read the Rest of Why Los Angeles Is Terrible by a Bunch of Chicago Blackhawks Bloggers!!!

It's another brand-new 3rd Round Preview Edition of All The Kings Men Podcast!!! Jesse Cohen and I chat with Sam Fels from The Committed Indian about what he loves and hates about the Los Angeles Kings. Then, LA Kings Insider and The Simpsons lover, Jon Rosen, joins us for an in-depth discussion about the role of local media in sports as well as updates about the LA Kings from Chicago. Also be sure to check out Jesse chatting with LA Kings Broadcaster, Jim Fox. You can check out the brand-new episode of All The Kings Men Podcast here, subscribe to it on iTunes or listen below:

THEN... I was on the Sirius XM NHL Radio show, The War Room, last Wednesday to chat about the LA Kings Game 7 victory over the San Jose Sharks. It's always fun chatting with Mick Kern and Peter Berce. Check it out below.

AND FINALLY... we've got a bunch of new product up in The Royal Half Gift Shoppe. So make sure you support your favorite hockey team by wearing your favorite Royal Half T-Shirt!!!

We even have a special-edition T-shirt for our new Chicago friends... by bringing an old design out of storage and making it relevant again!

Collect and trade all the T-Shirts, only at The Royal Half Gift Shoppe!

It's a brand-new edition of All The Kings Men Podcast!!! Jesse Cohen and I chat with Jon Hoven from Mayors Manor about the LA Kings impressive win in Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks... but mainly Jesse talks about how great Jon Quick is while I impress him with literary references. Plus, we are joined by PumperNicholl for his first last ever appearance on the Podcast! And both him and Jesse say dumb stuff about the LA Kings winning the upcoming series with Blackhawks. You can check out the brand-new episode of All The Kings Men Podcast here, subscribe to it on iTunes or listen below:

AND... I forgot to post this the other day... but before Game 7 between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks had even begun... I was a winner.

Two of the most well-groomed men in the business.

@brodiebrazilcsn I’m coming for that perfectly coifed head of yours, Brazil.

— The Royal Half (@theroyalhalf) May 13, 2013

RIP, Brodie Brazil's playoff beard.

It is that unfortunate time: #byebyebeard twitter.com/brodiebrazilCS…

— Brodie Brazil (@brodiebrazilCSN) May 30, 2013

Hey @csnauthentic, I'm coming to work like this tomorrow. #byebyebeard twitter.com/brodiebrazilCS…

— Brodie Brazil (@brodiebrazilCSN) May 30, 2013

*THE FOLLOWING BELOW IS NOT WRITTEN BY THE ROYAL HALF,
BUT RATHER OUR RESIDENT CREEPER AND OPPONENT-PREVIEWER, ONE GIRL, ONE PUCK*

I'm currently writing this mere minutes after the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Final. Why? Well, because there will never be a better time for me to write about the vile scum of the the Chicago Blackhawks. After a series of crying, diving, and just general shit bag behavior against the Red Wings, I have never felt this level of disdain for the Hawks before. Long ago (2010), I rooted like hell for that team. I wanted the city of Chicago and their fans to finally win something for a change. I loved that team with all it's Kris Versteeg-ness and drunk idiots. What a great team that was.

Over the past few years though, that temporary insanity has dwindled, and the mere mention of the Hawks right now is forcing bile up my throat. Fuck this team. I've had the pleasure of watching a Red Wings team basically expose everything a team needs to do to beat these guys. Unfortunately, the Wings came up just short, but now the defending Stanley Cup Champions will finish the job. So without further yapping, let's look at the exact way to beat the reigning President's Trophy winners (which is like a better version of the Stanley Cup anyway... right Vancouver?)

#NeverForget

Click Here to Read the Know Your 3rd Round Opponent for for the Kings vs Chicago Blackhawks!!!