Some notes from last night’s games, plus a bonus video at the end…
– The Kings have tied a franchise record with their eight-game winning streak (also done in 1991-92 and 1972-73). The Kings are also 10-1 in their last 11 games.
– Anze Kopitar has an eight-game point streak (seven goals, eight assists), which ties his career-high (also done Nov. 28-Dec. 12, 2007). Kopitar’s four-point night (two goals, two assists) tied a career high (Feb. 16, 2009). The Kings have a 17-3-0 record when Kopitar scores a goal this season.
– Jack Johnson reached career highs with three assists and four points.
– Michal Handzus (one goal, two assists), Wayne Simmonds (one goal, one assist) and Alexander Frolov (two goals) also had multi-point games.
– Jonathan Quick has won eight consecutive games, a record for a Kings goaltender (previous mark was seven, held by Robb Stauber and Kelly Hrudey). Quick is 13-3-0 in his last 16 games. Quick leads all NHL goalies with 33 wins, two short of the Kings single-season record (Mario Lessard had 35 in 1980-81).
– The Kings have 73 points, their second-best mark after 57 games. This team is also the fastest in team history to reach 35 wins.
– The Kings went 2-for-2 on the power play. After an 0-for-27 stretch in their previous six games, the Kings are now 7-for-18 on the power play in their last six games.
– The Kings improved to 22-0-0 when leading after two periods.
– The Kings are 3-0-0 against the Ducks this season and 12-4-1 against the Pacific Division.
– Drew Doughty played a team-high 25 minutes, 15 seconds. Anze Kopitar led all Kings forwards at 22:15.
– Kopitar and Handzus tied for the team high with five shots on goal each. Brandon Segal had a team-high five hits and Matt Greene had a team-high three blocked shots.
LOVE THE HIT! rich this is confirmation that you secretly love the kings, only a true fan would post this hit because it shows you total contempt for the ducks!
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I love Rich for including that video! It’s like it is Christmas, and Rich is playing the role of Santa. Gifts for all King’s fans!
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Thanks Rich
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HAHA! Love that clip Rich! Doughty for Norris!!!
PS, dont mean to correct you Rich, but I think you meant Fro had 2 assists, not 2 goals.
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What a great clip. I was on my feet when that happened live. He made Ryan surf the glass sideways.
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What I love about that hit:
1): The SOUND–smack!
2): The fact that it was a clean hit;
3): The fact that he gets sent flying through the air like a hot dog wrapper;
4): The fact that he gets right up after the hit and continues in the play… NOT INJURED!
5): The fact that the Staples crowd goes WILD!
Thanks, Rich!
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I’ve put it on a loop and running it all day.
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Love that hit!!!! He didn’t back down after the 1st hit Doughty is awesome!!1
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“This team is also the fastest in team history to reach 35 wins.”
-Incredible.
Jonathan Quick will soon be the the winningest goalie (in a single season) in Kings history.
-Incredible.
The other 8 game winning streaks ended like this:
1972–73 – Winless in their next 6 games.
1991–92 – Lost 6 of the next 8 games.
-Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself…
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Man that hit was some old time hockey. Watching the fans go nuts at Staples was awesome.
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waveinair-ummmmm……..thanks? That’s a very interesting stat, and now I’m more worried about the game on Sat against Detroit of all teams. Not to mention that the Ducks will be looking for revenge this upcoming Monday. I really hope the streak continues, but that stat has me worried.
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THIS KID IS SPECIAL!
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Don’t look now, but the Kings are only 6 points away from their total from all of last year! What a dramatic turnaround.
Even after they gave up the lead yesterday, I found myself believing that they would get it back. I certainly wouldn’t have believed it last year. I love the commitment to cycling the puck in the offensive zone and the commitment by the whole team in getting in front of the net on a consistent basis.
I loved Richies game last night, and I thought Zus was a force in front of the net.
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You could hear the crowd buzzing for a few minutes after that hit. I loved him before, but Doughty just became my favorite player on the team! That hit was the icing on the cake!
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Can’t wait to see it in the Hits of the Week video on Monday!
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wavesinair says:
February 5, 2010 at 10:31 AM
“This team is also the fastest in team history to reach 35 wins.”
-Incredible.
Jonathan Quick will soon be the the winningest goalie (in a single season) in Kings history.
-Incredible.
The other 8 game winning streaks ended like this:
1972–73 – Winless in their next 6 games.
1991–92 – Lost 6 of the next 8 games.
-Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself…
I’m sure there was a Kings team in the past 42 years that would have got to 35 wins faster had there always been shootouts.
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Also, I hope we don’t diminish Mario Lessard and his 35 wins in an era where he had to ‘settle’ with ties instead of shootout wins.
It would be a shame if Bob Miller does not credit Lessard from that aspect win Quick achieves this.
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Has anyone ever put together a list of Kings look-a-likes?
1. Drew Doughty – Mark Ruffalo
2. Alexander Frolov – Jack Johnson
3. Jack Johnson – Alexander Frolov
(These two only look like each other when they are in full game uniform, including helmets)
4. Ryan Smyth – Dana Carvey
5. Jon Quick – Ryan Noble (singer of Link 80/Desa. Obscure, I know)
6. Rob Scuderi – John Malkovich (by his own admission)
7. Sean O’Donnell – A caveman
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As far as slumps go, streaks are married to slumps, and vice-versa. The key is the overall; is it 9 wins/3 losses, or 3 wins after 9 losses? In this case, don’t forget the 3 game losing streak before the 9 of 10 wins. That overall trend is great.
I’ve graphed the seasons of professional teams before, in multicolored wall graphs. They are beautiful, actually, if you are a sports fan and know the teams creating them. Baseball is the best sport; basketball and hockey are the next best sports.
Trends become easy to see. The most important trend is the overall curve, and those of the teams competing for the division title/playoff berth. One can see how one team’s streaks affect another.
This year, the most important streak to remember is the Detroit win streak that brought them even with the Kings. Since then, the Kings have taken over the Detroit streak, and Detroit has dropped off.
It’s time-consuming; I did it before computers and drew each win-loss by hand. But it’s illuminating, and the take-home is that the Kings are a relatively balanced team home and away (can win either place), and are true playoff contenders.
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I wish it was Moller lol.
How long before Doughty gets an A… only problem is who do you take it away from ?? Maybe have 3 Ass. captains
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If someone would have told me at the start of the season that Richardson and Simmonds would be playing on the 1st line with Kopitar and kicking a**, I would have asked for a puff of whatever they were smoking. These guys have really taken their game to the top throughout the entire season, but they seem to be a great fit on Kopis wings.
And as for Drew, he is a superstar. Please sign him to a lifetime contract now….why wait.
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Sebastien:
And now we all just take a puff of whatever we are smoking and enjoy watching it.
If doughty doesnt get considered at least for the Norris, something is very wrong.
Jack is REALLY coming on strong lately, points are coming around (6 in the last 5, also +1 in the last 5).
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Although shootout wins play a big factor in racking up wins, Lessard didn’t have to face complex offenses and hulking players in the modern game. So I say it’s a wash.
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Kingsfan4ever:
Not so. Its simple numbers really. Every team in the league in the post lockout NHL are reaching higher and higher win numbers.
Did you realize Andrew Raycroft holds the Toronto Maple leafs record for most wins in a season? Andrew Raycroft! Its all because of the post lockout no ties rules
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Good Lord! Can we stop with the asterisk talk? We all know things were harder back before shootouts. I am sure you also had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow. Jeez! How about just enjoying what this team is doing right now? Carpe-frickin’-diem. The game changes and evolves. We don’t need lectures on how it was harder back in the day and this record and streak shouldn’t count for as much. Other sports have changed too. The NBA put in the three point line – what would Elvin Hayes or Oscar Robertson been able to do with the three pointer? The NHL is no different. Move on.
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I love that when Ryan went to try and “get” DD for that hit, Drew ignored him as if his efforts were completely irrelevant and there was nothing he could do to take DD off his game. It had the look of a man ignoring a petulant child.
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Jammers – I will go back to a former King:
Daryl Sydor = Adam Sandler
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I think the asterisk is important. It’s disrespectful to the teams of the past to pretend their achievements have been eclipsed just we like comparing apples to oranges and then pretend that we’re not.
The kings are on what would be considered an 8 game “unbeaten” streak in the past. I have to believe the kings have an unbeaten streak of greater then 8 games in their history and perhaps since 1991
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How many ties for Lessard?
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STP – I also agree that Rich is a CLOSET KINGS FAN
In hindsight I think one of the best moves TM has made is to seperate Kopi and Smyth. Kopi perhaps was too dependant on Ryan for points/goals. He is really stepping into his own with Richie and Sim dog on his wings.
Go Kings!
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Lessard 80-81
35-18-11
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Mbar says:
February 5, 2010 at 11:17 AM
I love that when Ryan went to try and “get” DD for that hit, Drew ignored him as if his efforts were completely irrelevant and there was nothing he could do to take DD off his game. It had the look of a man ignoring a petulant child.
Getzlaf was slashing Doughty right there i front of the official. I couldn’t believe he didn’t get called.
Also, with 2 min left Getzlaf took the penalty on Brown and which was obvious and then subsequently started verbally abusing the official bad. Then he started squirting water at a fan sitting next to the penalty box.
And don’t even get me started on this guy and his antics after Game 6 last year vs Detroit in the playoffs.
I can’t wait for Simmonds to put on some pounds and really pound this guy down the road.
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Mbar – I agree with not wanting to disrespect teams of the past, but I am merely saying let’s not diminish what this current team is doing. Yes, it is different if you call it an unbeaten streak and I would be okay with that if that is the terminology. My point was that all sports evolve and change and, therefore, is difficult to compare different eras.
You are not disrepecting the past by celebrating the present.
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Randy Jones = a sack of Bandini
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all this talk about how nasty chicago is as a team…oh wait we are 5 points behind them.
kings have a better superstar, a better defenseman, and a better goalie. its no surprise to me that they are this close in the standings.
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R.E.M…
There were loads of missed calls last night, including two right before Ducks’ goals. Parros slapped Moller’s stick away from him as he was trying to pick it up from the ice, and he couldn’t get back on that play. I’ve seen that called as interference before. Then, Stoll got tripped just in front of the Kings’ net before their fourth goal.
Didn’t end up mattering, but it could have been costly. For the most part, officiating was good, but you’re right, they really missed a few big ones.
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Lets look at this from another standpoint
The Oilers just ended a 13 game winless streak, which is the common reference by most major media outlets. Why weren’t they calling it ‘a 13 game losing streak’?
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Mbar,
But it still goes both ways. In the past they could end with a tie and everyone walks away with a point. Now you have to still win the game or you don’t have an unbeaten streak. How many of those older teams would have gotten beat in the SO before? I’m sure a lot of those unbeaten streaks wouldn’t be as long as they were if they had to compete in a SO. There’s too many variables that change in hockey over the years so there is no use comparing the two, and the asterisk is pointless or else there would be an asterisk next to every record in every sport.
No matter how you look at it, it’s a hell of an accomplishment and should be enjoyed. Go Kings!
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I’m going to allude to the previous post regarding jinxes and sit in my corner and quietly exclaim “yay” while knocking on wood… oh, and go kings go…
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REM -
How do you know Lessard would have won a single shootout? Maybe he still would have had 35 wins and a bunch of extra losses? The stat goes both ways my man..Quick only has 5 shootout wins this year and I’m pretty sure he will get more than 35 (only needs 7 more) regulation or overtime wins by season end.
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KingMe20
I was so ticked with Blake’s trip on Stoll. And then Foxy after the goal was scored said Stoll ran into his own man, JJ. And then FSN and the commentary never went back to show Blake’s trip. Kings played much better than what was indicative by a 6-4 score.
Last nights game reminded me of the 1st meeting vs SJ (2nd Kings game of season).
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Practice lines as I type…
Richie/Kopi/Simmer
Smyth/Stoll/Brown
Fro/Oscar/Segal
Ivan/Parse/Purse
No Zues – Therapy day?
Harry back at D
*Lots of smiles and hard work. Looking really in synch.
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quick has 8 shootout wins, not 5
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Zeus spent half the night camped in front of the night .. and then took Jacks shot with 30 seconds left.
My guess would just be bumps and bruises. “Therepy day” like you said
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tantrum4
I’m sure Vachon in 76-77 with his 33-23-12 record would not have won a shootout either, right?
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First he goes after Ryan, then he goes after Getzlaf. AWESOME!
Rich knows his audience – he knows what we want to see. Thanks Rich!
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“I’m sure there was a Kings team in the past 42 years that would have got to 35 wins faster had there always been shootouts.”
There might have been, but this is the kings franchise. I’d bet not!
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OK! Enough on the asterisks! Quick will be the new single season game winning goalkeeper for the Kings shortly. He will continue to play WINNING hockey for a long time. Remember, W’s are the only stat that really matters.
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REM -
You never know..and that’s the point. Anything could have happened. He might have won 10 shootouts, he may have won 5 or 3 or 2 or zero. And since you don’t know, you can’t assume what he would have done and add it to his totals. We actually KNOW what Quick has done so far and that’s what matters when it comes to stats…
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Is anybody else getting pissed off at the way foxy calls the game, he’s so scared off upsetting players (on either team) that his calls do not reflect the screw ups.
Tell it like it is Foxy, we can handle it!
Go Kings.
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Doughty has looked like a Norris candidate to me this year. The guy is solid on defense, has 42 points and a +15 rating.
The ‘kid’ is unreal….
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R.E.M. Murray-
Agree with you on the Getzlaf garbage. As I said after the last game, Getzlaf seems to think that the rules should be altered when he perceives himself as a “victim”, but has no sense of it being a two-way street. He seems to be a real whiner, and often acts like a classless jerk when he doesn’t get his way. I guess he never progressed from the terrible-two stage as a child. Too bad, because he is certainly a terrific player, at least when he cares to be. I was curious also about the non call when he was involved with Doughty. But then again, I wondered why the refs were tolerating his ongoing verbal tantrum.
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I love that nickname for Purcell “Purse”. Very fitting.
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Well rich if your don’t secretly love the kings
you show how much you care about the fans .
Thank you .
Just wish vidio wasn’t in “flash” damn Iphone!
I’ll just wait till I get home to see it.
Love your work rich
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The kings would be the #2 seed in the East….
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VanKingsFan
Maybe #1 in the East if the Kings had an Eastern Conference schedule
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Just to counter the getzlaf hate on… that was a hell of a play him and Perry pulled when they got the puck to Beleskey
Look forward to more of those two in the Olympics!! Unfortunately I must go against all reason, and hope that they dominate!
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Rich
Do you know what the Kings longest unbeaten streak is?
This would give us a truer sense of where this run ranks in franchise history.
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van your not a closet GetzLaugh fan are you?
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OK nevermind here it is
http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=21960
Under streaks
2/28/1974 – 3/24/1974 (9-0-2)
Kings need to win three more games (non shootout), then we can discuss
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process:
I dont mind him… I would love to have him on my team. And he is Canadian, so with the Olympics coming up I have to maintain a spot for him in my cheers
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Jammers-
Nice Link80 reference
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People need to back away from Randy Jones…he was worth everything the Kings gave up to get him (nothing, off reverse waivers), and the Kings needed him when they did get him. No harm, no foul. The Kings will replace him as necessary.
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KingMe20 I couldn’t believe they didn’t call the Unsportsmanlike when Parros sent Moller’s stick FURTHER AWAY from him AS he was going to get it. Here’s the rule from the NHL Rulebook
56.2 …A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who deliberately knocks a stick out of an opponent’s hand, OR WHO PREVENTS A PLAYER WHO HAS DROPPED HIS STICK or any other piece of equipment FROM REGAINING POSSESSION OF IT. (emphasis added)
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Kopi’s sick goal and Doughty’s amazing impromptu hip check that destroyed Getz (not to mention the other action) probably made this the best highlight reel game of the year.
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That is right your a Canuck right? Meh USA All the way
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Who would have thought Blue Line Stauber would have won 7 in a row? That guy was the anti-beta blocker. My BP shot up every time I saw him leave the crease. Exciting to watch but wow…talk about abnormal goaltending methods.
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Of those stats, this one stands out as AMAZING:
“The Kings improved to 22-0-0 when leading after two periods.”
The Kings are not unbeatable, but that is just an incredible stat. Wow.
I also like this one, for being one of the absolutely toughest divisions (probably THE toughest this season):
“12-4-1 against the Pacific Division”
If you put all the teams in the league in one table, the Kings are currently in fourth place behind only Washington, San Jose and Chicago. In the Eastern conference the Kings would therefore also be at worst fourth, at best second. And considering San Jose is one of the three teams ahead of the Kings, while Phoenix is tied with us for points (lagging behind due to less wins) – that just goes to show our division is not an easy place this season, yet 12-4-1…
It’s good to be a King.
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On the Foxy comment – the only thing that I dislike about him is the way he says:
“As good as anybody”
All the time… That statement is meaningless, it’s a filler statement when your not sure what to say.
Doughty is as good as anybody in the league playing defense…. No he’s better than most D-men in the league!
Kopitar can pass as good as anybody…. no he can pass better than most… Figure it out Foxy.
I tried counting how many times he says that in one night and my power went out at 21 times. in the third period.
I hear it everywhere and it just bothers me because it means nothing, it can be a slam just as much as praise. Example – He can score as good as anybody. Compared to Ovi… Well that’s a complement, but as well as Ratias… Them are fighting words.
Sorry, I’ve wanted to get that off my chest for some time
Back to the winning…
Go Kings
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VanKingsFan-
You can’t just evaluate via numbers. You have to take the eras into account. It’s not Quick’s fault for playing in this era as much as it was Lessard’s for playing in his. Ted Williams hit 61 homers in the sixties but against today’s pitching? Who knows?
So quantifying it merely by numbers is futile. My point basically is that Lessard had to play to ties so indeed he had a harder time reaching 35 wins but he didn’t have to face today’s players playing in today’s speed. Quick is 5-2 in shootouts. If you convert those 7 games into ties, his record would be 26-16-7-3 (W-L-T-OTL) and he would still be on pace to break Lessard’s record.
I was being honorable to both eras by saying it’s a wash.
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Rich, thanks for that clip.
Drew is playing fearlessly, with all kinds of confidence.
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This whole numbers thing is like comparing apples and oranges. To me it’s just like Montreal and there 20 something Stanley Cups. They have played since the early 1900s when hockey didn’t even have a goalie. Then it was the Original Six, not counting the teams that dropped off the face of the earth (Ottawa Senators, Seattle Metropolitans, etc.). Then they basically had a monopoly on players.
Then came expansion, ok, they played well, but the game was much different. I can just see Jacques Plante playing in goal right now. he would be creamed. The Oilers of the 80′s, they would be crushed. It was a whole different game.
Goaltending has changed. You don’t even see stand up goalies anymore. I can only imagine what the next style of goal tending would be.
Remember the two line pass? That was put in to stop the dominating Montreal Canadiens, now it’s gone again.
So this whole Lessard/Quick thing is silly.
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Guys no one is trying to take away from Lessard.Quick will hopefully have 40 wins this season and all this debate will be moot.lol
Lessard was a great goalie,but did he win 35 in his rookie season?
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What I love about Dewey’s hit on Ryan is that right after that, he saw that Getz smashed Richie into the boards and Dewey went right after Getz…
I would have love to hear what Getz said to Dewey after that…”Uh, Drew, what are you trying to do? We’re going after the gold in 2 weeks and you’re trying to put my f***ing head throught the glass!”
Bonus Question: How many Ducks have the name “Ryan”…we only have 1.
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