NHL Hockey Thread... 2009/10

All of a sudden I am really thirsty for a Pepsi!

 

Hey Marshall,

Last season I pointed out Wayne Simmonds as the kid to watch.

This kid, Kyle Clifford is in the minors but is going to be awesome for Kings.

[youtube]vZoWhg2icNU[/youtube]

 

Kopitar with a hat trick yesterday! W00t!

 

^^^Rrraaaahhh!! Who's going tomorrow for $11 beers at Staples? Kings vs Blue Jays 6pm.

 

I do realize The Kings have only played 12 games....

It's safe to say they have exceeded expectations!

Best record in the Pacific division
Second best record in the Western Conference
Fourth best record in the league

League Leaders In Points
1. Kopitar LA
2. Ovechkin WSH
3. Gaborik NYR
4. Thornton SJS
5. Marleau SJS
6. Prospol NYR
7. Penner EDM
8. Heatley SJR
9. Smyth LA
10. Nash CBJ
Note: Three San Jose Sharks appear on that list! #-o

League Leader In Goals
1. Ovechkin WSH
2. Kopitar LA
3. Gaborik NYR
4. Marleau SJS
5. Kovalchuk ATL
6. Heatley SJS
7. Penner EDM
8. Semin WSH
9. Wolski COL
10.Stamkos TBL

League Leader in Assists
1. Thornton SJS
2. Prospal NYR
3. Backstrom WSH
4. Kopitar LA
5. Richards DAL
6. St. Louis TBL
7. Hemsky EDM
8. Bolyle SJS
9. Smyth LA
10.Nash CBJ

League Leader in Wins by a Goalie
1. Anderson COL
2. Quick LA
2. Andre-Fleury PIT
4. Lundqvist NYR
4. Kiprusoff CGY
6. Miller BUF
6. Bryzgalov PHX
6. Brodeur NJD
6. Luongo VAN
6. Nabakov SJS

Colorado is "Red Hot"... Right now! :?:
Pittsburgh is (pretty much) unstoppable
New York has been scoring goals
Washington has Ovechkin...
The Kings are much improved over last year
.
San Jose will be "scary good" once they gel as a team... Saw them at Staples (10/6)... Even though the Kings beat them- Those guys are talented!

One last thing:
Dustin Brown..... Enough said!

 

I'll be at the game tonight, with the rest of the bandwagoners.

Bummer, no Malkin or Talbot. Kennedy is back, though.

I see this one being high scoring.

 

The Ducks Penguins game on Tuesday was awesome...I want to see the Kings give them a beatdown.

 

at least for 1 team! :bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang:

 

Kopitar is playing out his mind. He's taken it up to another level. This is the first time since Blake that the King have a home-grown all star caliber player. It's also good that they locked him up to a LT contract last year. Smyth is playing like he's 10 years younger. He has a lot of incentive to maintain his level of play this year. If he keeps playing like this he has a great shot to be named to the Canadian hockey team and every Canuck in the NHL is going to want to be on that team with the Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.

 

Awesome game last night. I did the good-hockey-dad thing and missed the game to take my Mite to practice, but watched it on the Tivo. There was a shot of Crosby sitting on the bench near the end of the game and he just looked stunned. Kopitar has found his legs again after looking like they were filled with lead last year. Let's hope that this momentum carries on! Where's the fingers-crossed emoticon?

 

yay! not baseball! deetroooit!

 

The best Kings team in a decade?

1. They TOTALLY outplayed the Penguins (Crosby/Reigning NHL Champs/Undefeated on the road)
2. When the Kings fell behind 2 to 1 (after dominating much of the game), I was expecting them to fold. They actually became stronger with each shift
3. They LITERALLY have a dozen players that are considered TALENTED by any teams standards
4. They have 4 SOLID (NHL-Caliber) lines
5. Kopitar has taken his game to "the next level".. We all knew he could score... He is much tougher than last year! His fitness level has skyrocketed (summer wind sprints in sand/ weight lifting). Last night Kopi had a "mini-breakaway" he shot on goal (with back to the boards) knowing the defender was going to power slam him into the boards... He didn't care!
6. Dustin Brown.... Enough said!
7. Our defenders are ridiculously talented... They can also score goals!
8. Jonathan Quick... I wasn't a fan! I am now!
9. How many times did the Kings gain/regain possession last night as the result of "extra" effort? Not sure if you could see it on television. Amazing!
10. Smyth.. Stoll... Handzus... Green... Even Parse was playing out of his mind yesterday!

Win, lose or draw.. This year's team is FUN to watch! :bang:

 

Fun game to be at. Real nice to see the Kings fans just psyched on the team. Great atmosphere in the 3rd period.

Pretty pathetic, but highlight of my night had to be the "Hero of the Night" waving the "go Pens go" towel when they panned to him during the game. Classic!

 

Useless facts...

*Best 16-game Kings start (10-4-2) since 1992-93

*Tied with the 1992-93 club for the fifth best start in club history

*The Kings are 6-0-2 in their last eight games...
The last time they had points in eight straight was Nov. 2-18, 2000

*The eight-game point streak is the tied for the fifth longest in club history...

*It took Anze Kopitar 50 games to get 13 goals last season (Feb 5)...

*Kopitar, Smyth and Williams have combined 48 points in 11 games together... (58 points total)

*The Kings have killed 24 of 27 penalties in the last eight games (88.8 percent)...

*The Kings are 8-1-0 when Kopitar scores this season (47-22-8 all-time when he scores)...

I love *THIS* team...:bang:

 

when was the last time they made the playoffs?

sorry, couldn't resist!

 

Does it matter?

Every team goes through cycles of suck. The Kings lasted a little longer due to a change in philosphy by the GM.

Everytime a rival team get a little taste of success, they forget how many years of suck they had to go through to get there. Red Wings fans continually forget the 80's and Duck fans up until about a few years ago. Pens fans??? How many years of suck did it take to get fluery, Crosby and Malkin?

Luckily for the Kings, this next cycle of suck for the Ducks is going to last a long time. Thanks Burke!

 

^^Ha! The Suck Cycle - love it...hate to watch my teams go thru it, but that's classic man.

 

Bump for those LA Kings!

 

Smyth out 3-4 weeks. No big surprise given Smyth's age and the way he plays. Frolov gets bumped up to 1st line. It's put up or shut up time for Frolov. He gets to play with #1 centerman and will get lots of PP time. Time to put up some big numbers in contract year for some $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

That would be two bumps! :lol::beer: