Michal Handzus has been selected to represent his native Slovakia in the Olympics, making him a three-time Olympian (2002, 2006).
Raitis Ivanans was not selected for Latvia.
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LA Kings Insider LA Kings Official
I guess Latvia didnt need the scoring depth.
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Good for Zeus!
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Good for Zues, now the King of Olympus can be the King of the Olympics.
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Like most nations they will probably not go with too many pure “enforcers”.
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Hey Rich is it true that we Time warner subscrbers will lose Foxs chanells on Jan 1st?
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Sorry for the spelling .
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@hockeyfanb4gretzky: That’s a possibility. TWCable is in negotiations with a number of local channels including the Fox Sports and they aren’t going well. I believe the deadline to reach a new deal is New Years day. The TWCable website has more info.
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Cable sucks. It’s bad enough that Dircetv has a pissing contest with Vs but to cut out as much as Cable sounds like in a bargaining tactic sucks for consumers.
VS is a channel that 2 people watch when the Tour De France is on and then they get hockey once in a while during the week. That was a horrible deal by the NHL.
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So is Ziggy Palffy. It’ll be nice to see him play again.
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I read fox news is not part of that Time Warner deal
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Can we demand that Zus play wearing hinged titanium tubes around his legs and feet, plus a bulletproof bubble of Lexan like the sphere runners betwen periods?
Zus, go, have fun, and do not get hurt!
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Ivanans is having a bad year, even by his standards. Tough break to get left off the Latvian team.
Glad to see Rasputin get the recognition though. I am really hoping that we stay injury-free this Olympic games.
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Barry’s Mullet
Zeus????
Dude, you’re embarrassing yourself.
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Why criticize Handzus? It shouldn’t be done. He’s a defensive forward and does a great job. And then also chips in an important goal from time to time! Good 3rd line center. He’ll help Slovakia.
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Handzus’ goals are clutch!
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My understanding is that Fox is demanding to be compensated for allowing cable companies like Time-Warner to broadcast their channels for free and the money they’re requesting is far greater than TW wants to pony up per subscriber. I’m bummed because I subscribe to TW and I’d prefer not switching to DirectTV or Dish Network, but as a consumer what can I do? I live in Orange County and all of the bars and pubs bleed for the Ducks. Ugh.
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Irish Pat
Somebody should pick a bar and get everyone in OC to go and make it a Kings bar. We need to have watch parties down here. I live in Orange, and am not drivin gto Hermosa Beach, and hate being the only 2 kings fans in a bar watching the game.
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Congrats Zus!
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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Broadcasters-woes-could-spell-apf-2851780791.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=
Check this article out.
If TWC gives in, it’ll only be a matter of time before Fox forces the other providers to pony up as well.
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Sorry guys…I usually don’t like to pick on one player and at times Zeus has a good game but ONE goal in 20 doesn’t cut it for me especially when we can’t put the puck in the net. If we were a serious contender for the cup and we had TWO solid scoring lines and needed a shut down guy like Zeus that would be wonderful but were not and we desperately need secondary scoring! Goaltending is solid for the first time in ages… Defense is solid and only going to get better. Scoring is the problem.
I’ve watched this guy struggle his first season here after surgery and that was understandable. Last year he played some great hockey but this year he’s taken a step back when the team has improved and the team needs to take the next step forward and $4m season for a 3rd line center who scores 8-10 goals and 25-30 points a season (thats $135k per point…do the math) He needs to go! He has one year left on his contract and no way the Kings resign him even at $2m season.
Stoll is really the 3rd line center which leaves that 2nd line center spot open for a Schenn, Moller, Richardson or some FA…someone who can take the pressure off the 1st line and pass the fu_kin puck!
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And wasn’t Belanger Zeus’ guy on that 4th goal last night? Center stays with center, especially when you are in “shut-down” mode.
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Michelle,
If you know of a bar in the OC that regularly shows Kings games please let me know. I live in Anaheim in the apartments next to Angel Stadium which as you know is a stone’s throw away from the Honda Center. Needless to say, EVERY single bar, pub or restaurant shows the Ducks, but doesn’t show the Kings. Again, I say ugh.
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I agree that Zeus’ scoring is down this season,, but he is your 3rd line checking center. You can’t demand goals from him without demanding goals from a lot of other guys first. That’s like being pissed off at guys on the 4th line not scoring. That’s not their main job..it would be nice for them to chip in every now and then, but you can’t expect them to carry the load. All of our scoring woes can be blamed on our top 6 forwards. They need to produce the offense. Guys like Kopi and Fro are supposed to be stars..They need to start producing like stars.
Kopi is the one that bothers me the most. I love the guy but his production, or lack of production, is the reason we’re struggling so much. He’s supposed to make players around him better. He’s certainly being paid like a guy who should be.
I have complete confidence that he’ll turn it around and lead us to where we want to go.
As for Frolov…I think I’ve seen enough..or I should say not enough.
When did he become such a lame offensive threat with the puck? How does a 30 goal scorer become so inept at scoring?
He had a golden chance to score last night and for some insane reason, he passed up a shot in the slot. There is definitely something wrong with him and his game.
It’s no wonder he got left off the Russian Olympic team. Perhaps he should have tried out for the Russian figure skating team. His chances would have been better.
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Ivanans not on Latvia’s team? Why, are they out of their minds? How do they expect to win the Olympic Gold without his offensive awareness and blistering slap shot?
Wait, how did Latvia get in the Olympics anyway?
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nyking, you’re correct. It’s a sign that we have a more well-rounded team when Zeus is not being relied on as a major scorer. Very surprised to see any hate directed towards him.
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nykingfan
Its the chicken or egg theory. Is Kopi struggling because something is wrong with him or because he is the only one with the talent to score at will just like he was at the beginning of the season, so that now all a team has to do is shut him down and hope to score one more goal than we do. That wasn’t working so well for our opponents up to now, but I think with all the injuries and the rest of the league catching up, the Kings and us fans are in for a reality check unless the they can find another gear.
Simply looking at the standings we can all see there’s so much parity in the league right now its easy to figure out why or how to play your opponent…simply shut down the other teams top line or top player(s) and you have a good chance of winning. Kopi and the Kings right now have to work so hard to score goals…errr just like last season.
This was not the case 10 years ago. Your 3rd and 4th lines contributed regularly and you couldn’t concentrate on just shutting down one line. With the salary cap now, teams can’t have or afford more than a 5 or 6 really good talented players and the Kings are a perfect example of this. They have Kopi, Smyth, DD and Frolov and you try and surround them with hard working muckers and checkers and you get the modern NHL and 2-1, 3-2 games every night. Add to this that we know have 30 teams in the league and you have thinned out the talent pool so much that most teams 4th lines would still be in the minors right now.
This is just one theory but when you watch Kopi and the Kings in general 2+2 is starting to equal something other than what it should, which tells me there are more intangibles at play here than one might think. Of course you can throw that theory right out the window when you look at the Flyers, they have as much talent as anyone and they suck right now?
Bottom line, the Kings are still young and improving, and when you have so many minor league players on your team its going to catch up with you sooner or later.
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LMFAO Dom.
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Terrible.I don’t no what came over me.
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I see what you’re saying Barry, we’re scoring 2 goals a game, but they’re coming from guys not on the top line. Kopi has so much more that he can give. We all saw the talent and potential he had as a rookie and then onto his 2nd year. Even the guy we saw at the beginning of the year.
When Washington loses someone other than Ovechkin, he elevates his play to another level to help them win. I’m not saying Kopi’s an Ovechkin, but he has to be that same type of dominant force for the Kings. I was a little disappointed that he couldn’t elevate the level of his play when Smyth went down. We won, but it was because we got secondary scoring and great goaltending.
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I think it’s telling that Kopi, Frolov, and Brown are all regressing under the same coaches. Along with JJ. And, Doughty’s defending. And our team-defense.
I’m more than happy to blame it solely on Kompon, but this also may be what you get when you demand “dot-to-board” play, and dumping the puck, and shoot at everything. HArd work is essential, but so is skill and creativity.
I see nothing from Kopitar lately, no skill from Brown, and nothing to compliment Frolov’s talents. It’s a shame the same people constantly blame the players for playing within the system. If it all comes together in the end, the results may be outstanding, but the players need to be confident that they are actually capable of performing at an elite level, rather than just as average NHL grinders.
One other note — Aren’t Kopi, Fro, and Brown just as protectable as Doughty??? I’m tired of seeing liberties taken with these guys. We need a Boogaard if Ivanans can’t “enforce”. McSorley never would have allowed it.
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Why are some Ducks games on KDOC which is an ATSC (local over the air) channel while no Kings games are broadcast on a local over the air? Quality wise ATSC is as good as if not better than cable or satellite. FSW doesn’t have all the Kings games. The lack of consistency – having all the games on one channel and breaking them up between various channels that some people may or may not have – just drives people to seek out less than legit streams on the Inet. FSW – it was fun while it lasted but you are yesterday’s news. I hope TW does not cave.
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