Tonight's lineup

Terry almost had it..

Frolov-Kopitar-Williams
Calder-Boyle-Purcell
Simmonds-Handzus-Brown
Ivanans-Harrold-Armstrong

Drewiske-Doughty
O'Donnell-Johnson
Greene-Gauthier

Quick

Scratches: Zeiler, Elkins, Moller, Richardson

Call up Westy for the last couple games... Lets see how well he can scrap in the big league

The Double D D-Line is IN EFFECT!!!!!!

I actually think these 2 compliment each other extremely well..Frees Drew up even more to carry the puck as Davis is a stay-at-home guy...

I'm hoping this combo continues for a long time.

I guess we'll have to wait until next year to see Corey Elkins play :(

Zeiler over Moller again.

Oscar needs to get those naked pictures of whoever Ivanans has and use them to get in games like Raitis does.

I know LAtimes is the enemy, but check Helen Elliot's article today about our wonderful owner... the wizard of oz. I guess its been 12 years since he has been interviewed about the team he owns.

Rich, any chance you can hunt him down and ask him if he even cares about our franchise?

Maybe Mark Cuban wants to buy us... he may be a whackjob but he really cares about his team.

And with the Kings' next/last game being against SJ, Moller's season is over, as TM has consistently scratched him against the Sharks.

Yes indeed, that was an excellent article (letter) by Helene Elliot of The LA Times calling out Kings Owner Phil Anschutz.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-elliott-kings9-2009apr09,0,2125983.column

Mr. Anschutz needs to sell the Kings immediately to someone who takes an active ownership interest in the team and it's success.

Missing the Playoffs for six straight years is abysmal. One Playoff Series victory since 1995 is equally abysmal.

I'm kind of looking forward to seeing the Simmonds-Handzus-Brown line. I think that's a perfect mix of grit and skill.

the nyuk, nyuk, nyuks are fighting for a division title w/the seriously player/cap depleted flames...
the nyuks shoul be playing their a+ game tonight...whereas, the kings will be just playing...hopefully, as an overmatched team, wanting to play spoiler...

Not to get too off topic here, but, I feel compelled just to send my deepest condolences and best wishes to 22 year-old Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart's family, friends, fans and teammates, and also to all who were affected by the other two members of his car that also perished.

For those who are not aware, Nick, who pitched in only his 4th major league start last night and won his first game as a pro, was killed, along with two others, early Thursday when a minivan ran a red light and struck the sports car they were traveling in.

Even though this is a blog/forum about hockey, tragedies like this, like in life, affect everyone and transcend barriers. If there is ever a reminder of how fragile and vulnerable we are, it unfortunately comes into harsh focus when something like this happens.

I know we have baseball fans on this site and I imagine many of them are Angels fans. My best wishes and thoughts are with you, too, as we all deal with this terrible, shocking incident accordingly.

oldthunder/david...

thanks for pointing out/posting helene elliot's well-written open letter to uncle phil...

he doesn't own the l.a. times...yet (fortunately)...so, he probably won't read it or respond...

but a good read and excellent points by the great elliot, nonetheless...

interview with rich: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/On-the-Furlough-Newspaper-hockey-writers-roll-w?urn=nhl,154681

So...all these line up changes. Guys in, guys out. Think any of this is coming from Lombardi? He wants to take another look at guys before the end of the season?

variable
- thanks for posting about Adenhart. I watched the game last night and thought it was a joke when the story broke this morning. The game tonight has been called off, btw.

Glad to see the Helene Elliot link posted as well. It's always been apparent that aside from making money, Anschutz derives far more passion for soccer, and even basketball, than he does from hockey.

A hands-off owner is fine, provided he gives the GM the financial tools needed to win. Lombardi is always quick to defend his boss but I suspect those statements are just DL playing politics.

Sybil-

I absolutely do think Lombardi wants to see his guys play a bit before the end of the season. I'm hoping he wants to make sure it's not a mistake to let certain players go, even though it won't be.

quisp...

thanks for the link to the story...

i have a journalism degree...and one of the reasons i don't utilize it is for many of the cut backs and unfortunate situations that have transpired throughout the industry over the last several years...

i have tremendous respect for rich and others who devote free time to procure their audiences demands and interests...

as rich stated so poignantly and accurately, covering hockey in the print media will become a dying art...if it's not already at that level right now...

look at how our city's largest paper...the l.a. times...rarely covers the sport...not even close to the commitment that the daily news and our hero hammond has invested in it...and the l.a. times has the great helene elliot - a hockey hall of fame media member...

that's the equivalent of having yr team's top goal scorer play on the third and fourth lines...oh, wait...that sounds like what our team did for most of this year...(!!!!!)...

anyway...

judging by rich's poll, his idea of making this site/blog a pay/private one seems like an upcoming reality...

and that really sums up just how sad of a situation/place the print journalism world currently lays in: to have a loyal, dedicated following such as rich does here with the daily news, and the paper STILL can't really afford to keep it around much longer...

the print journalism world has a slim to none chance of surviving even when a reporter proves that there's a great demand for the information being written and disseminated by them...

and that really, really sucks...!

Wow, that was quite the kick in the ass by Helene. Way to hold the owner accountable. Nice read, for sure.

variable -

I read more hockey news (not to mention real news) than most people, and I never buy the Daily News. Actually, I don't subscribe to any newspapers anymore. I used to get the LA Times, NY Times, WSJ, Variety, HW Reporter. Now it's all (or most of it is) on-line. Content arrives faster. I can read what I want. It takes up no space in my house. And stories, writers, subjects all link to each other with a degree of efficiency that makes newspapers utterly redundant. I do enjoy them when I'm in Starbucks and there's a pile of previously-read stray sections lying around.

However, to me that's just a matter of "delivery." Rich needs to be employed to do what he does in this medium, not the old one. The new one is better anyway.

quisp...

very true...and something i agree with...with innovations come new challenges to adapt and to thrive...

rich will...in the long run...(hopefully) be heard and followed, in spite of the platform...i'm sure...speaking somewhat unknowingly...that rich is/will pursue those digital opportunities that are available to him...

i, too, do not subscribe to any newspaper on a daily basis...i do get the sunday new york times as part of a great subscription deal i got from a friend who's a children oncologist...

but, yeah...news is still as vital as ever and as plentiful, due to the great wide internet...

my contention with it and genuine concern is journalism vs. entertainment....and how the "blogisphere" blurs that line significantly, as opinion and comment have started to slowly erode and infringe upon what is considered news-worthy and what is not...

stephen colbert was credited with coining the word "truthiness" in his assertion that what is considered to be news is somewhat less than the "truth" in its totality...

of course, you always have to be aware of the source you are getting said information: realizing it's validity and weighing it appropriately...

and as news outlets compete for every single reader and vie for the attention of a varied society, the standard of which news is being held to is in great jeopardy, as many legit news organizations tend to "dumb it down" to win over the masses for profits...

the great thing about a newspaper is (was) that it laid down it's ethics, mantra, design and politics under the jurisdiction of the "cannons of journalism", which is (was) understood to dictate ethics in reporting the news...

i'm not sure those ethics have translated very well during the ongoing digital transition...

for every genuine news story that makes the front page of the respected and reputable, there's an american idol update being widely viewed as the top story on most of our i.s.p's front pages...

knowing y source has never been more vital...

Here we go. Finally figured this thing out.
I'm hoping that Moller plays in Manchester.
Makes no sense for him being wasted in the pressboz.

hate to ask: Is this Anthony, anthonyy?

Variable--thank you for the postscript on Nick Adenhart. Personally, I follow the Kings into baseball season, and then follow the Angels into hockey season. There are many organizational similarities developing between the Kings and the Angels, as both now hoard, nurture and develop, and hopefully can eventually depend on their young players. It is an inspiring process, me as a middle-aged man watching young potential develop over time. It hurts when it fails. It hurts when it is interrupted. Perhaps that's why so many fans on this site really felt the departure of Patrick O'Sullivan, as they had been invested emotionally in his development.

Emotional shocks such as the sudden departure of a teammate can have significant effects on a team. Looking back now, I think one can wonder the emotional loss felt by the Kings' players with POS's trade. Perhaps the loss was not immediate, but was cumulative over all the road games. I would suspect that some of the Kings will not truly overcome the loss until the summer and the new year. I suspect the Angels will have a hard time overcoming their senseless loss this year.

With loss comes grief, and those famous Elizabeth Kubla-Ross stages of loss--Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance--not necessarily in that order. But with a young team often comes resilience, and that resilience may be the ultimate flower of youth. There will be renewal, with time, and I will enjoy the growth of the young Kings much as I have enjoyed the growth of the young Angels. Like the Angels, the Kings are going to be a strong, stable organization for a long time.

My heart goes out to the Adenharts for their loss, and to all in our great country who have losses every day. And tonight, I will again watch this young Kings team, and root for them to grow and, eventually, prevail.

variable -

Yes. [Rich, I know this discussion of newspapers is off-topic, but it is at least on-topic to a recent post of yours -- re the future of the paper, this blog, etc. -- and since it's not hateful in its content I am going to assume it's okay with you...if not, please don't ban; the off-season would be too dark and horrible. I would be left watching "The Big Lebowski" over and over again...]

Back to variable -

Where was I? Oh, right.

Yes.

journalism vs. entertainment. It's always been a big problem though. Back when there was no television, you had real papers and tabloid rags. TV changed things, and after awhile people of my parents' generation thought that Walter Cronkite and Roger Mudd were "good for you" and it was the responsible grown-up thing to watch the "nightly news." Obviously, over the course of thirty or forty years, the news has been replaced with various versions of "news porn." Newspapers like USA Today cropped up to be colorful (literally) TV-like bubble-gum experiences. I stopped watching TV news maybe 15 years ago because it just became too horrible to bear. Too many "personalities." And now that I have a kid, the news is the last thing I would have on the TV. I would rather my five year old watch a violent inappropriate movie than watch the so-called six-o'clock news. (in fact, he's allowed to watch neither.)

I actually think the internet, with its nest of news reporting, blogs of legitimate writers and news writers, sports writers, academics, scientists, etc., has accidentally created a nearly ideal medium for delivery of a huge amount of great content, provided, of course, that you know and trust your source.

I think of a good blog kind of like a great dinner party guest or friend/expert on a given topic. It's nice to know someone or talk to someone who you trust and who can say, oh you have to check this out, or oh you should read this immediately, or let me write down this recommendation for you, buy this album, etc.. A great blog -- like Rich's -- does that. In addition to his obviously invaluable access as a reporter, he also points us in various cool directions. Which in turn sends "traffic" to other cool places, which in turn... etc.. It's so much more vital and instant than anything a newspaper can deliver.

When I was growing up, we had hockey night in canada once a week. If you followed a team, you read the box scores in the morning, or stayed up to listen on the radio for the scores at night. You got to read one writer on your given sport, in your local town, and if he sucked, that was it for you. That's the hand you were dealt. And there was absolutely no way to know anything about any prospect or any other team without subscribing to quarteries or whatever.

Life is good now.

Rich has the best hockey site I know of. Crackpots notwithstanding.

anthony...

where has our beloved crum dungeon been...?!?

awww...all the controversial posts we've missed (?) in lieu of yr absence...

maybe you'll be happy to know...(who am i kidding...yr never happy to know anything)... there have been others to take yr place in spirit...

however...

it's just not the same around here without you...

welcome back...! (assuming, like bako did, it's really you :))

bako...

well said...now that you have mentioned it, there are some similarities in comparing the angels to the kings...

however, i guess winning recently would not be one of them...

terrible tragedy...

i don't necessarily root for the angels, but i don't dislike them...
regardless, you can't help but feel for all the parties involved when something like this happens...

quispy quisp quips...

don't get me started about local news...that topic alone would force rich to limit our character content on this blog...

great points about how the internet and its news outlets have made us more informed as a whole...i like yr analogies, as well..

and yr young son is not missing much of anything he needs to keep with him for his life's journey by not watching what he's not allowed to...there will be plenty of time for him to be exposed to that stuff when he matures...

ultimately...

i side on being thankful for most of the news sites and blogs that i read...

i think about the positives more often than not...but i do worry about the concern(s) i've already mentioned...

one of the great positives is finding this great site...which has led me to this excellent discussion...and opened me up to a community of mostly intelligent people that i would welcome to a diner at my table any time...!

Variable...

Ahhh, a Dodgers fan, I presume. I was a Dodgers fan. Then came Lyman Bostock, the 1978 World Series, and the 1979 Angels season.
Need I say more?

Quisp...

If anyone again in life asks me why I blog, I will quote what you just wrote. No one could say it better, even Walter Cronkite.

With a good blog, why does anyone ever need a book for the the living room coffee table? Just give me my computer, some expresso, and this blog...

bako...

no...not a dodgers fan...

i was a huge tony gwynn fan growing up, so i guess i still have some sentiment and allegiance to my lowly padres...

but i like players more than i like teams in baseball and football...

for the record:

not all the teams i root for are "losers" (no great history of success)...

i do root for the lakers...however, not with the same enthusiasm and spirit i did back in the magic-showtime era...just doesn't feel the same...

So Variable--

Is there a player on the current Kings roster whom you would root for, despite being traded/cut/released so now playing for another team?

bako...

i guess the obvious one would be frolov...

and the other "untouchables" - kopi/brown/drew/simmy/jj/moller/purcell/quick/ersberg are the immediate ones that come to mind...

army and o.d. for sentimental reasons...but i won't have to worry about o.d. for the time being...

maybe a few others...but it ultimately, it would be the aforementioned players...

For myself, I always root(ed) for Nichols, Sandstrom, Lang (especially Lang, since he was so mistreated by Barry Melrose), Legace, Storr, Sydor; I was more or less indifferent to Berg; I like Jokinen still. I root for Gleason and Belanger. Who else? Smolinski, Stuart, Schneider...

I didn't root for Gretzky when he left. I don't root for Blake. Or Cammalleri. Lubo and POS, I will root for. Palffy was kind of an idiot when he left, but I don't exactly dislike him. Lappy I loved as a King, but for some reason I don't root for him in Colorado. I support Andy Murray. Sean Avery, no.

Among the soon to be ex-Kings:

Calder I will root for, because I feel sorry for him. I hope he gets his touch back. Gauthier, ditto, although he never had a "touch." I do feel like he's a decent hard-working guy. I feel no ill will toward him. Preissing is pathetic but annoying. LaBarbera I support out of pity, but I'm glad he's gone. Armstrong I support.

I don't know why I'm constructing these sentences like Yoda.

I will root for Frolov and Handzus on other teams. Stoll, maybe. We'll see. Probably.

i loved tomas sandstrom...what a great player...
always rooted for hrudey...smolinski...plenty of other ex-kings...and yes...that includes the great one....

i still root for lappy...

c'mon quisp...you won't root for lappy?!?!
he's pure entertainment out there...

he's the funniest player since esa tikkanen and "tikanese"....

avery...another guy i like to see do well when he's behaving...

and zus has won me over...so i guess if he is dealt, i will be happy to see him prosper...

Harry Lumley was a personnal friend of our famly and when he was traded to Chicago after Detroit won the Cup I cried ..... ohh I'm sorry, none of you remember the "Old" days. Believe it or not but there was NHL hockey before 1965. In the early days you really did take the entire team to heart and probably because you may have known everyone on the team personally. You could actually wait for them outside the dressing room and talk with them and get autographs, shake their hands or even pat them on the back. The RedWings would enter through the Hooker street entrance at the old Olympia, stop and talk with people say hello to the new baby, etc. they were a part of everybodys family and all the owners were very knowledgeable about the game and the players. They cared where the team finished at.