Saturday’s game was a painful victory for Kings center Michal Handzus. He was credited with two blocked shots, but there had to be a handful of other blocks/deflections that Handzus managed to play through in a gritty effort. Handzus also got credit, from Terry Murray, for smashing Tampa Bay’s Steve Downie after Downie had delivered a hit to Wayne Simmonds in the first period. Here’s what Handzus said this morning about Saturday’s game and tonight’s game…
Question: How tough was that last game on you, physically?
HANDZUS: “Sometimes there are games when everything hits you. It was good that we won. … It was pretty physical. There were a lot of battles and a lot of stuff along the boards. I thought it was an exciting game for us. On the bench, you could sense that everybody was battling for each other.”
Question: Things like the hit on Downie, are you looking out, in advance, for that sort of thing, or is it just an instant reaction?
HANDZUS: “I think it just happens. It was the first period, the first 10 minutes, and you’ve got to set a tone a little bit. Obviously we were in the other team’s building, so you don’t want to get pushed around. A lot of other times, Simmer and other guys step up for me, so I have to do it for other guys too. If the time is right, there is no way you can hold back.”
Question: How important is it, mentally, to finish the trip well tonight?
HANDZUS: “It’s a huge game for us. We are 2-2 on the trip, so if we could get one more win and get over .500, it would be good for us, especially with two games that we didn’t play well. If we can finish it over .500, that would be great. We just have to play it like the last game, be tough and really strong and play our system.”
How about “Gluez” instead of “Zues”? He holds this team together with all the little things he does…and it’s just so cool that he and Fro and Simmonds just seem like the “odd triplets”, a stoic eastern euro, an enigmatic russian and a brother man! Noice!
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Zeus was great that game, never could have seen that blind-side hit on Downie coming, but I loved it. Zeus came to play!
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Zeus is definitely the “unsung hero”! He has really turned it around since his first season coming off his injury. It IS an unusual, scrappy line….like the “RAT PACK” of Hockey!
Zeus sacraficed himself the last game and was one of the factors we got 2 points! Thanks, ZEUS!!!
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Off topic….just wanted to let everyone know it looks like I will be keeping an eye on Geordie Wudrick for the rest of the season. He just got traded to my hometown Kelowna Rockets! This is the first time I’ve ever had a Kings prospect on my team and I’m very excited to watch him play and develop!!
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Hey tantrum4, thank you very much for the info! I am very high on Geordie Wudrick and I hope to see him on the Kings active roster for years to come! I was hoping to go to his hometown, Abbortsford, B.C. and watch the Heat play when I was up in Vacouver last month, but unfortunatley did not have time.
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Vancouver, sorry.
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Since we do not have access to WHL, OHL or QMJHL, down in the United States, that would be awesome if you could keep us posted on how he is doing. Having said that, we do get to see the Memorial Cup on the NHL Network, so hopefully Kelowna makes it there this year.
P.S. Please tell your Kelowna Rockets to take it easy on the Hitmen and one of our goaltending prospects, Martin Jones!
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I would like to know how Wudrick plays in the dirty, tough areas, if takes bad penalities, is he tough and physical, does he stick up for his teamates, what kind of teamate is he, does he fight, does it take a lot of penalities, what kind of character does he have, etc. I know when he was drafted, he said that creates room for his teamates while going to the front and using his big body. I am really high on this kid. He seems like a great person!
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On Topic: KQ Agree, not to mention how important he has been to the development of Simmonds.
Off Topic: Tantrum4, I think there are also 3 players from Southern California on the team. How are they doing?
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Would love to see that hit on Downie by Zeus….has anyone seen it posted anywhere?
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I know Rich must be mistaken. Nobody would dare lay a nasty hit on the Kings players with Ivanans in the lineup!
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How dare Lombardi spend money on a great character player who knows all the little things it takes to win hockey games, even if he isn’t scoring 50 goals per season.
Handzus was a great addition to this team, and I for one hope they actually re-sign him when his contract is up…he’s earned it.
RNR…the little I’ve seen on Wudrick, he needs to learn just how big and strong he is, otherwise, he will never make it. If he does though, he could be a beast in about 2-3 years.
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RocknRoll 80s said “Since we do not have access to WHL, OHL or QMJHL, down in the United States”
Sorry to burst your bubble Anthonyy (or his twin), but here in Washington State we have 3 WHL teams and 1 down in Portland, OR.
Ever heard of the Seattle Thunderbirds, Everett Silvertips, Tri-City Americans, or the Portland Winter Hawks?
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Hey, Seattle…where does Tri City play? I used to live in Eugene, and go up to Portland to see the Winter Hawks play, but never knew where Tri City was from…
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Tri-Cities is composed of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland and the Americans play in Kennewick. All three cities are located at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia River.
Hope that helps!
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Zeus does sooooo many great little things..
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Hawkings -
To answer your question regarding the three players from Cali on our team, they are all huge parts to our team. Shane McColgan is a 16 year old rookie who’s leading the team in points with 23 in 22 games. Mitchell Callahan is actually my favorite player on the team, not a big guy, but one of the leaders physically and chips in with a few points here and there. He has 16 points so far, but the thing I like about him the most is he will fight ANYBODY! I’ve seen him scrap guys 6’4 and 6’5 and hold his own. The third guy is Adam Brown, and he’s a 17 year old rookie (just turned 18 last month), and he’s our starting goalie with a record of 11-9-1 so far. He’s also Matt Duschene’s cousin. We had Colin Long last year who ended up with 100 & 92 points in his last two years here.
Keep the great players coming California!!!!!
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Coming in with a late post just to reiterate how much of a stud Handzus is. Since day 1 with the Kings he has sacrificed his body and blocked shots like a fiend.
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