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Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
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This is a screen grab from Fox Sports
Here is huge Kings fan and heavy metal star Rob Zombie. He was at the game against the New York Rangers dressed as, what else, a zombie. Actually, I think he's had better costumes when he plays in concert...But I think he'd be a little more obvious. To his left, is his wife, the adorable Sheri Moon. Sheri is the muse of Zombie, and she is ultra-hot. Like her husband, she is also a zombie... She been killed twice, in fact.
The Staples Center crowd went absolutely ballistic when the announced goaltender was Mathieu Garon. I guess L.A. fans aren't stupid, as some would lead you to believe. Garon played admirably last game, when he faced the Stars. The fans have been supportive of Garon this season, moreso than Cloutier.
The relative ease that Kopitar skates on the ice makes all the differeance to his linemates. He had a sick move early in the period, that was similar to his first goal as a King. He wound up assisting on Sopel's goal a few shifts later.
The crowd isn't as New York-centric as I was expecting. But there are plenty of jerseys around Staples Center tonight. This is the first time in three seasons that the Rags have appeared here in L.A. But early in the game, New York is playing like they've never been here.
The line of Kopitar-Cammalari-Brown is full of energy. Anze is something to watch, but is really impressive in person. He skates, unhindered, through the defense.
In the second, the Kings pick it right back up and scroed early. Frolov scored, ending his 5 game scoring drought. He needs to pick it up. Tonight, he has a goal and an assist.
In a halloween-realted note, Kings fan Rob Zombie was spotted in the crowd, along with his lovely wife, Sheri Moon. I actuaqlly have a Rob Zombie sighting of my own, during a Kings-Red Wings playoff game, but I'm not sure it would be appropriate in a family-oriented blog such as this one. I can say that we didn't make eye contact, as we were both staring straight ahead. But I could tell it was him. Who else dresses like a dezinen of the dead?
After peppering Lundqvist with 21 shots in the first, they played possum in the second. New York almost evened the shots. But Sean Avery's goal in the last minute of the second stole the thunder the Rangers built all period.
That Jagr shot to the back of Avery's head was craptastic. Every time the Rangers touched the puck during the penalty, the fans booed lustfully. It was almost as if Blake was back on the Avs. When the Kings killed the penalty, the fans went crazy, and continued through the end of the game. At the end, the SC erupted with... streamers? Seriously, streamers came shooting out like the Kings just clinched the division. This team is so desperate for a winner.
But for the first time since the Coyotes game, the Kings are hitting on all cylinders.
For the eighth time this season, the Kings outshot their opponents. Seven of those eight games, they lost. How is that possible? I mean, usually, if you shoot more at your opponent, the chances of you scoring increases, right?
The Kings are still getting used to working in Crawford's system, and his line tinkering seems to be for a reason. Can anyone emplain to me why Dallman is taking faceoffs? He lost all the faceoffs he took, again. But right now, the Kings are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. They have lost their last 5 home games.
Hopefully, they will find their footing when they come back home on Monday against the Rangers.
This must be the low spot for the club. Being shut out by the Blue Jackets, after doubling their shot total for the game. In fact, the Kings are averaging 32 shots a game, up from 29 last year. The Jackets? They are at the bottom in the league, averaging 26 shots a game. However, they only needed 14 on Friday.
True to Crawford's word, Cloutier has started three games on this road trip. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Garon will be in goal Saturday vs. Dallas. After that? I'm going to say Garon gets his first back-to-back start, this time against the Rangers. It's realistic that he could win both of these games, but it wouldn't be an accurate gauge of his talent.
Has the team given up on Cloutier? Would they rather have Garon between the pipes? Can a team throw a mutiny to get rid of a goalie? Has Crawford lost control of the team? Can I ask any more questions?
To keep doing something and expecting a different result? Coach Crawford keeps wheeling goaltender Dan Cloutier out. And even though he faced 29 shots, he let in 3. Cloutier now has the worst goals against average in his career this season. But is it his fault? Only one of the goals was on the power play, and the team seemed to be locked in and focused more this game than the last one, when Cloutier was forced to face several 5-on-3 shifts.
The Kings are in a rebuilding mode. They are hoping forwards like Cammaleri, Frolov, and O'Sullivan start lighting the lamp regularly. But Crawford had defenseman Kevin Dallman out there taking faceoffs, and he lost all three. Meanwhile, O'Sullivan logs the least amount of ice time once again, second only to Ivanans. Patrick must really be in the doghouse with Crawford if he can't crack the Kings' top three lines.
The sign of a true fan is someone who stands by their team, through thick and thin. This season, we're quickly finding out who the hardcore hockey fans are at the Staples Center. Here's a shot of Jesse James, owner of West Coast Choppers, with his lovely wife, actress Sandra Bullock, at the Kings game against the Anaheim Ducks this past Sunday.
Jesse has been a long-time Kings fan. It was James who got the Kings to agree to redo one of their Zambonis, which he unveiled to a Staples Center crowd last December.
In Hollywood, where stars only make appearances at sporting games if they could steal a few seconds of camera time in between plays, it's refreshing to see James keeping it real by coming out to see his team take on cross-town rivals. Let's just hope his blushing bride isn't a Ducks fan. By Bullock's response, I'm not so sure.
...but they're getting great frequent flyer milage this week. After Wednesday night's game at Minnesota, they travel to Columbus then jet on down to Dallas.
Could it be that the Kings were exhausted by playing the second of back-to-back games? A very hard-fought game against the Ducks, which wound up being tied and decided by a shootout. They were expected to fly to Colorado and play the Avs, who had a day to to prepare.
Cloutier played a decent first period. Unfortunately, there were two more after that. Some say the team looked like they quit. I think they were just exhausted.
Who were the wizards who came up with this scheduling??? 5 games in 7 days. How dumb.
The first period was a well-played one, with goals by Lubo and Cammy to go up, 2-0. However, the Ducks came back to tie it, and won in the shootout. Those are the facts, and they are indisputable.
Here's the good news: Kopitar had a hand in both Kings' goals, adds to his rookie mystique. Armstrong and Avery both hit Pronger every chance they got. And O'Sullivan continues his evolution of becoming the player he is destined to be, a geat two-way player. Even though the Kings lost, I think there's a lot to take away from this game.
Next game is against the Avs, and Cloutier should be in goal. It's about time Dan starts silencing his critics.
Just an observation, but do you think the Kings would do better on the road this week? Five games in seven days...
This image was captured from Fox Sports.
Anze is showing why so many Kings fans are excited. In this clip, Kopitar knocks in a goal, on an airborne puck. It's pretty impressive. Check out the slo-mo replay. You can see that he had the presense of mind to wait until the puck was waist-high before knocking it in.
The funny thing about this clip is the interview with Jim Fox later on. Fox looks like a member of the Lollipop Guild standing next to Anze. Keep in mind, Kopitar is standing on skates, but still....
"So Anze, what do you think of the flying monkeys' chances in the third period?"
Actually, I've got nothing but love for Jimmy Fox. His insight during Kings games is far more entertaining that trying to listen to Mychal Thompson wax poetic on Laker broadcasts. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. Jim Fox is the Southland's most underappreciated color commentator, and you can take that to the bank.
(Think that's enough brown-nosing to placate Fox, so he doesn't pummel me the next time he sees me?)
One last note: just in case all three of my readers aren't doing anything after Sunday's game against the Ducks, the Kings are holding their third annual Freeze The Disease Pro/Celeb game, benefiting children and young adults suffering from cystic fibrosis. One of the highlights is bound to be hockey legend Gordie Howe, who will be behind the bench as a special guest coach.
For more information about this event, you can call call (818) 353-8687 or visit the website http://www.freezethedisease.org/
Sure, it was nice to see the Kings get a win over the hapless Coyotes. Yes, it was nice to see Garon get the call, then turn around and serve up a shutout. Yes, it was nice that we scored four (count 'em, 4) power play goals.
Keep in mind that the 'Yotes are a team that the Kings should beat. Beat badly. Which they did. It's not time for Garon to assume the throne over Cloutier just yet. Starting Sunday, L.A. has to play 3 games in 4 days. That is going to be rough on the boys. And conceivably, the Kings could go 1-4 in the next 5 games. Columbus, Anaheim and Minnesota are tops in the league in power play percentage.
Rob Blake continued his strong play from against the Wild Thursday night against the Coyotes. He had two assists, and is settling into game shape. O'Sullivan had a couple chances, and he is settling into his role. Even Sean Avery played well, barring his game misconduct in the final seconds of the game.
Here's a stat that I don't think I've seen in a long time: As of Thursday, Los Angeles is second in the league in shots on goal. All those calls of "shoot the puck" during the Andy Murray Walking Dead regime seem to have stuck this year. But with the good comes the bad, L.A. is also second in penalty minutes.
After six games, the rookie winger that the Kings traded Pavol Demitra for finally tallied a score. For some fans, it took far too long. Then again, when you're only on the ice for 10 minutes, what can you do? Only three other L.A. skaters (Kostopoulos, Ivanans and Thorton) had less playing time Wednesday. O'Sullivan has been averaging a little over 11 minutes a game, languishing on the third-fourth lines, with the occasional appearance on the power play.
Flat out, O'Sullivan needs more time. This kid scored 47 goals down in the minors last year. But, a poor preseason showing seems to have landed Sully in the doghouse with Crawford. If Patrick is going to be effective, he needs more time to gel on the top lines. They've unleashed Kopitar, and they need to do the same with O'Sullivan. He's got the talent, he just needs time to adjust and spread his wings.
As for the guy they traded to acquire O'Sullivan? Demitra set up the game-winning goal in overtime. The Kings played hard, and outshot the Wild. But in the end, it was Pavol who sent the Kings to the locker room, with a four-game losing streak in tow.
Duh. Not surprising there. According to ESPN.com, L.A., Chicago and Colorado have played to small crowds this year. The announced crowd for the Kings last Thursday was 14,167.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Hawks had 8,008 fans show up... in the 20,500 seat United Center. The Denver Post reported the Avs broke their streak of 487 consecutive home sellouts on Monday, when they came up a little over 300 at the turnstiles. That streak started back in 1995!
Bettman was quoted in the L.A. Times, saying not to worry. Two to three weeks into the season is nothing to get worried about. Well Mr. Bettman, I would have to disagree with you. You better pray that attendance improves, or else you are going to find out that even though the fans came back last season, they aren't stupid.
Even though hockey in SoCal is treated with as much respect as lawn bowling and beer league softball games, there aren't any other fans more rabid than Kings fans. How else could the team almost sell out their season tickets allotment? But the tide is slowly turning. Fans will voice their displeasure by just not going. And all the Luc Retirement Ceremonies in the world won't change that.
Now is the perfect time to panic, because the second-largest market will be without a competitive team. The Ducks don't count, because they are in Orange County. They might as well be in Montana, because TV stations and newspapers in Los Angeles really don't care about anything on the other side of the Orange Curtain.
Pretty standard questions, considering it's a chat room interview. You can view this here.
One cool thing was how he signed off.
Got to run to practice, everyone. Thanks, it's been a pleasure. Go Blue, go Kings.
It's nice to know we actually have some kids who are anxious to play in L.A. Johnson has been on record, saying that he's looking forward to playing with Blake. Maybe we'll get a peek at him toward the end of the season.
As much as this pains me to say, the Kings are really not going to contend for anything this year, except maybe the first pick in the NHL draft.
So, since we're all in agreement, let the kids play on the same line! Kopitar, Cammallari and O'Sullivan should be getting plenty of playing time together, since we are building around this nucleus, and not Armstrong, Conroy and Blake. Against the Red Wings, Crawford had these guys paired up on some of the PP opportunities. This should continue.
And speaking of the Kings power(less) play, the Kings lead the league in PP opportunities. In 6 games, L.A. has had 53 chances with a man up. The Kings have responded with 6 goals in those 53 chances. That's less that 10 percent of the time, we score with one or more man on the ice! Pathetic!
Because we can't score on the PP, teams are going to take runs at our top players. Other teams' thugs are going to try and goad Avery into fighting. At 53 chances for a PP goal, L.A. is getting NO respect from the league. And it's just going to get worse. Because guess what? The Kings are near the top of the league in penalty minutes as well!
With Garon in goal, everyone in the Kingdom was convinced that L.A. would post a win against the Stars. After Cloutier's weak performance on Thursday, Crawford stated that he'd go with Garon. Well, so much for that idea.
Garon allowed 2 goals on 7 shots in the first period, proving one thing... The Kings really have lousy goaltending. After all, Cloutier let in 2 goals in 11 shots on Thursday. Garon didn't make many fans cheer Saturday night.
In fact, the entire Kings team didn't provide many sparks Saturday night. The team played sloppy, which was a little disheartening. Also, Patrick O'Sullivan was a healthy scratch. Some fans have wondered why he was scratched, and I honestly think that he's on his way down to Manchester.
This team is not going to compete for the playoffs. Everyone should know the Kings are focusing for the future.
What do you expect? This is a rebuilding team, and L.A.'s finicky fans won't tolerate a loser. The announced crowd was 14,167, but there was less than that.
When Bettman decided on this lame plan, did he take into consideration that fans really don't want to see so many divisional contests during the season? I like going to the occasional Kings-Ducks game, but I'd rather go see clubs that have history behind them. How many times can I get excited about going to a Sharks/Kings tilt?
L.A.'s fans have far too much entertainment competing for their dollars than other regions. And even though the Kings' season ticket holders are at 90%, how many of those were just for the Luc retirement game?
Mark my words, 14,167 won't be the smallest home crowd for long.
Being a goaltender has got to be the worst job in the entire world of sports. No other position has so much riding on the success of the person behind the mask. Cloutier hasn't convinced many fans that he's deserving of the number one job. The fact is the Kings played poorly last night, with no real standout players. You can't fault the goalie for the loss. But some people will try.
Cloutier let in a soft goal with 19 seconds gone in the first, and the boo birds were out in force. Some started to chant for Garon, the club's leading goaltender last season. But Crawford stood firm, and Cloutier played throughout the whole game. According to Crawford's post-game comments, Garon will be in goal for the Kings. If Garon wins, all hell is going to break loose in the Kingdom.
Three games is not a good barometer of how good a player is. But I think if Garon plays well, it will force Crawford to rethink the situation sooner rather than later. Bottom line, Crawford will do what is best for the club, and he doesn't strike me as someone who would put a prior relationship with a player before the good of the club.
After playing a small part early in the season, Patrick O'Sullivan picked it up Thursday night, logging in his most ice time this season. He also had some great shots early in the game. He led the club with 5. He's settling down and learning his role. He'll be lighting the lamp soon enough.
So, the Kings' last two opponents have been earmarked for the bottom of each of their respective conferences, so these are games that L.A. should win. But the first-period-power-play-goal drought continues. Four more opportunities, four failed attempts.
But you can see Crawford's system in place. Gone is the old dump-and-chase method, and now the guys are much fluid in their attack. They are using their *gasp* speed. They are setting up the PP 50 times better so far. Guys are penetrating, rotating, moving! Also, the Kings are shooting more. Tonight, they have outshot the Isles, almost 2-to-1.
Where is O'Sullivan? 9 minutes? It pains me to say this, but I think Patrick will be sent down soon. I think Crawford loves to deal with the hot hand, which explains why Kopitar had double the minutes. O'Sullivan had a chance on the power play in the third period, but just seemed out of sorts out there. I think Crawford is smitten with his new phenom winger, but I also think he may hold on for a while to see if O'Sullivan can settle down and start producing.
What do the Kings' first periods of Friday night's game against the Ducks and Saturday night's game against St. Louis have in common?
Give up?
No, it's not the fact that the Kings outshot their opponents, two shots to one. Although, that's a pretty impressive stat.
No, in the first period of each game, the Kings had four power play opportunities. And each game, they came away with no goals.
In what has become an almost unbearable cross to bear, the Kings simply cannot score while they have an extra man on the ice. It's gotten so bad, some fans jokingly ask if the Kings could decline the penalty, like in football. In the past three seasons under Andy Murray, the Kings scored on the man-advantage 14.2 percent of the time, near the bottom of the league. Last season, the Kings were tied with Chicago and Columbus for the worst power play. That fact was probably one of the major reasons Murray and his staff was let go.
It is early, but things are looking up for Los Angeles. Young players, untouched by Murray's poisonous offensive philosophy, are being more aggressive, taking more shots at the net. Not only that, but they are crashing the net to follow their own shots up. That is a recipe for success.
However, the Kings still were 1-for-15 on the power play, against a toothless Blues team, which had the league-worst goals scored average last season.
L.A.'s hockey season started Friday, with the Kings visiting the new Honda Center. The result was about what I expected. Ducks win. But, the Kings made a game of it early.
L.A. came out of the chute, guns blazing. They outshot the Ducks, 22-10, in the first period. They wound up with 44 shots on the game. They lost by one. Scoring three goals against a Stanley Cup contender? Not too shabby.
Anze was impressive, with his first two NHL goals coming in the second. He was on fire, just crashing the net and taking shots. His first goal made Giggy look foolish.
Cloutier looked average, really not much of an improvement over Garon or LaBarbara. He didn't show me that he was worthy of that bizarre extension the Kings signed him to. My guess is Garon gets the nod Saturday.
Avery had no penalties? Huh? Who is this imposter? Could we be seeing a new leaf turned by Sean?
Special teams? *sigh* Not too special.
For the first game of the season, with an overhauled roster and two rookie forwards, I think the Kings did just fine. O'Sullivan seemed a little nervous, and wasn't on the ice a lot, but he's got a lot of expectations he has to fill. After all, he was traded for Pavol Demitra. The sooner he slows down and realizes his talent, the better he'll become.
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