– After significant flip-flopping, the Kings’ goals were awarded to Michal Handzus, John Zeiler, Brad Richardson and Justin Williams. Jarret Stoll had two assists and Williams had one assist for the only other two-point night for the Kings.
– Jonathan Bernier played the entire game in goal, stopped 21 of 23 shots and shut out the Avalanche in the final 34 minutes, 54 seconds.
– The Kings outshot the Avalanche 42-23.
– The Kings went 1-for-10 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. The Kings didn’t score on either of their 5-on-3 opportunities, including one that lasted a full two minutes.
– There were two fights in the game, with the Kings’ Kevin Westgarth battling David Koci and the Kings’ Jordan Nolan battling Cameron Gaunce.
– Andrew Campbell had a plus-3 rating for the Kings. Davis Drewiske was a minus-2.
– Drewiske led the Kings with five shots on goal. Peter Harrold played a team-high 23 minutes, 1 second, while Williams led all Kings forwards at 20:45. — The Kings won 29 of 60 face-offs.
– A reminder that the Kings play two games against Phoenix tomorrow. The 7:30 p.m. game at Staples Center will be streamed live on LAKings.com, while a 7 p.m. game at Phoenix will be broadcast on 1150-AM and affiliates.
– My quick recap of tonight’s game can be found here: Kings beat Avalanche 4-2.
I give props to Williams 1G 1A.Stay healthy my man
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Pat Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:09 pm
@murf, yes its good to be healthy. I wish Parse scores 30 and i think Richardson will be close to 25. I saw Scott Parse on some youtube videos back in his juniors, wow he is a natural scorer.
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murf Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:51 pm
@Pat,I hope Parse does well on 2nd line it’s going to be tough for Richardson for the 4th there stacked with talent ready for the spot
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Pat Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:12 pm
@murf, hopefully Parse will light it up. Williams sounds to be back, he needs to be healthy. Looks like the scoring is layered out in all lines. Very deadly!!!
VanKingsFan Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:00 am
@murf, Richie just might turn it on and steal that 2nd line LW spot from Parse…
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They didn’t score on the 2 man advantage? Im shocked.
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OneTimer Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:00 pm
@Trey A,
I’m shocked too. I’m shocked you would even bother to point this out – seeing how tonight’s roster was missing 5 of our top 7 forwards, and our 3 best powerplay QB’s.
But … maybe you hadn’t noticed.
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DougS Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:15 pm
@OneTimer, Trey A
Also, when the team as a whole outshoots the opposition by 2-1 and gets solid goaltending to go with it, I think that a certain amount of slack may be cut.
Sounds like the Kings put together a pretty good game, no matter how you slice it up.
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KC23 Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:53 pm
@OneTimer,
Very true, but to be fair, I’m sure the Av’s didn’t put out their top PK guys either. Morale of the story … you can’t really draw any conclusions from preseason no matter how much we might want to.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 11:41 pm
@KC23, Yes, they did. I was there tonight. Hannan, Quincey and Foote all played, along with Duchene, Hejduk, Mueller, Stastny…The Av’s played a lineup full of Veterens actually.
USHA#17 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 6:29 am
@OneTimer,
For the less well healed its hard to tell given that power play unit names are not mentioned in the summaries.
1 for 10 however is a notable number, even in preseason.
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OneTimer Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:11 am
@USHA#17,
Agreed. Maybe the Av’s “better” line up made that 1-10 difference, and I also take back some of my “snippyness” on Trey’s comment. (Sorry Trey, et al.) I guess I just take small issue when fans point out the negatives, and in a WIN nonetheless, and drag this team down with “old stuff” (and an obvious one at that) from PAST seasons.
It’s 1 preseason game after all, but it’s also:
A new season,
A new roster,
A new reason to expect great things.
Pass the kool-aid please.
puck73 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:58 am
@Trey A, Maybe you didnt know, but Drew, Jack, and Kopi didnt play last night and trust me, without them, our PP is going nowhere.
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I know if you’re reporting on the game, continual changes in giving proper credit for goals make it harder to report. But a part of me likes it when it’s hard to figure out who scored. It means that the TEAM, in the truest sense, is scoring.
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What was harrolds +/-? Anybody know?
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Good Game… Drewiskie had a tough game although both goals Bernier probably would want back. And man, we took shot after shot. the Avs had a tough time moving the puck out of the zone all night…
One thing that was evident… the Kings drove the net… and carried the puck in. this is going to be a fun season…
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kings4queens Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 12:47 am
@Mickey,
I think that was the focus of their camp, to drive offensively, and they obviously “got it” at some point. And they really did it once they got their bearings.
The really exciting thing is that this team was minus Drew, Jack, Willie, Scuds, Quick, Kopi, Smyttie, Brown, Simmonds, Schenn, Clifford, Moller.
These young guy that played tonight, should be really proud of themselves for the win! I can’t wait to see all of those other guys tear it up tomorrow at Staples Center.
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thoughts on parse?
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Hey Rich, I was looking at some photos from todays game at sports.yahoo.com/nhl, looks like Zus was wearing the C. Will that change tomorrow? Will Murray select game-accordingly?
Thanks… Just a thought
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AZ King Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:11 am
@Harry,
Zues was the only one on this squad who wore a letter for us last year (he had the “A” while Greene was out). So if I had to guess, I’d say that’s why he had the “C” tonight.
I’m sure Brown will were the “C” for his squad tonight.
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Harry Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:59 am
@AZ King, I am aware of that. I know he was the Alternate Captain while Greene was out. I thought since it’s pre-season, and it’s not the entire roster on the ice, that will change game day.
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So, I was at the game tonight. I moved to Denver about a month and a half ago. Please excuse the length of this post, but if anyone wants to read it, below are MY opinions from tonights game.
You want info? You want info? Oh, I got your info right here.
First off, your seriously going to complain about a PP that was basically run by the likes of Handzus, Stoll and Williams? REALLY? Seriously? Yeah, right…ooooookay.
To begin with, playing for the Av’s tonight…Duchene, Stastney, Mueller, Quincey, Hannan, Foote, Andersen (started, played about 30 minutes), Hejduk, basically, they played a BUNCH of not only their regulars, but guys they are expecting to make the team (according to my friend I went with).
For the Kings:
Handzus, Ponikarovsky, Stoll, Williams, Parse, Elkins, Holloway, Richardson, Westgarth, Zeiler, Azevedo, Nolan.
Hickey, Drewiske, Campbell, Martinez, Mullen, Harrold
So, as you can see, the Kings did play some regulars on offense, but basically NOBODY on defense. The Av’s played a ton of regulars.
Observations:
I will be downright shocked if Hickey doesn’t make the club out of camp. He is just plain smooth out there. He doesn’t seem to panic with the puck with guys barrelling down on him, but the best part of his game is his outlet pass. It’s PERFECT. The third goal of the game (Richardson’s) was a direct result of a nice play by Hickey, skating the puck out of the zone on his own, making is PERFECT cross ice stretch breakout pass to Williams just as he was entering the Av’s zone. The pass beat 3 Av’s and immediately created a 2 on 1 where Williams made a sick backhand flip pass to Richardson who was driving the net. He deeked the goaltender, and buried it.
Zeiler: Played like a man possessed tonight. He was directly responsible for drawing 6 minor penalties tonight, while taking NONE of his own. Per usual, he hit everything that moved. Best part, he got Adam Foote to take 5 penalties…all for retaliating AGAINST Zeiler. All Z did was take it, not react, and skate back to the bench laughing while the Kings went on the PP. Not his fault that the team on the ice lacked any finishers (God, if only Stoll could hit water if he fell out of a boat).
Westgarth: He is a man-child out there. Had one fight where he absolutely beat the living **** out of the guy he fought, who looked to be just as big as he was. McCloud took two runs at Bernier (shocker…will somebody PLEASE just cripple this fool?). So what did Westgarth do? First chance he got, he made sure McCloud knew, yeah, don’t do that if you want to live. Not just once, but three times on three separate whistles. Finally Foote and another guy stepped in to try to stop it. Good God he’s big…but better yet…HE CAN PLAY HOCKEY!!!!
Nolan: Me likey. He’s big (like really big), but he looks a bit like a condor out there. All arms and legs right now. He needs a bit more weight to his frame, and man, is there room to add it. BUT, he can skate, and he can play. Almost scored a goal on a nice centering pass from Bud Holloway. Andersen made a nice toe save on it. He too got into a great fight (I actually called it the period before, as this particular Av was mouthing off to anyone who would listen…only problem was, he picked the wrong guy to mouth off to). This fight was more of a draw, as Nolan has some learning to do in the fighting area. He won’t ever be a top 6 type of guy, but I have no issues seeing him get 7-9 minutes a night playing on the 4th line. He will eventually be on this team, just not yet.
Drewiske: Hello, who are you? Where have you been? He did get beat REALLY BAD on the Av’s first goal. I think it was him at least. Whoever it was, looked like they forgot how to skate. Other than that…he was hitting, and using his size to his advantage. He looked like he belonged out there…made me smile. Looks like he took to heart what the coaching staff has been saying for months. Your big, your strong, now start acting like it.
Martinez: Hardley knew ye.
Mullen: Eh
Campbell: I was intrigued. He’s big, he’s still a bit lanky, but, from what I have heard (how bad his skating is), I didn’t see that. He kept up with the play, read the play well, and really battled well in the corners, rarely losing the puck. Does a good job of reading the play coming at him. His outlet pass however is garbage…back to Manchester for you kid, but you have improved indeed.
Harry: Either he got stronger, or grew a bigger pair. He is what he is. A 6th/7th d-man, and I have no problem with that.
Ponikarovsky: F-me he’s HUGE! Seriously…you read the stats and you see how big he is, but until you see him live, you don’t realize how big he really is. He looked tenative at times, but you can tell, he has no issues with corner play, nor going to the net. I can see why they liked him. At the 3 million, he should do just fine.
Williams: He was himself. Some shifts, he looked horrific, and then others, he was magic.
Parse: Hello Scotty, welcome to the NHL. You see that zone where your goaltender is? Yeah? Thank you for learning to play there, because you continue to do that, you will play a WHOLE lot more. He was dangerous tonight, creative, AND he backchecked!!!! No stupid blind passes (that I saw). All in all…I was pleased.
Stoll: I think the groin is okay. He made one move in the 3rd where he blew right around Quincey driving to the net and just about buried it at full speed. Man, can he fly!
Elkins: If he were to center the 4th line, I would have no issues with this. He’s reliable, plays hard and heavy, can read the play and the flow of the game. You can’t ask for more than that from a 4th line center. Now, will he? I doubt it…there is too much talent in this system.
Bernier: Wasn’t spectacular. The 1st goal beat him short side, and would quantify as a bad goal, although it was a heck of a shot. The 2nd, deflected off of a stick from the Kings forward going out to the point to try to block the shot. Other than that, most of the saves were fairly easy for him. The defense, along with the plethora of PP’s that the Kings had really helped to keep the shots against and quality shots against down.
A few side notes:
-Remember when we used to complain about how small this team was/is? Yeah…um…no more. Even the kids imposed their physical will all over the ice. Seriously, they did what they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted. The Av’s had no answer for the Kings size and physical play. Oh, they tried, and all that got them was more bruises.
-As we were leaving the arena, my friends two little girls were taking pictures and I was standing their just holding their beanies for them. All of a sudden I hear, “A Brownie jersey, NICE!” So I turn around, who is standing there, none other than Derek Armstrong. Now, I didn’t recognize him at first, but he came up and asked, “Are you from LA?” I said, “Yup, I just moved here about a month and a half ago.” He then said, “That’s cool, you like it? I used to play for the Kings.” That’s when I finally recognized him (you can’t mistake that flavor savor). Before I could say anything, he put his hand out to shake mine, and said, “I’m Derek Armstrong, it’s great to meet you.”
That dude is just downright awesome…’nuff said.
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Pumpernicholl Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 12:25 am
@mrbrett7, Major kudos. Outstanding recap. And man — Derek Armstrong? What is he doing wandering around Denver? Is he in hockey, in any capacity?
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kings4queens Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:30 am
@mrbrett7,
Thanks for the recap. It seems to me that the Kings sent everyone but their “core” players and they tore it up anyway. I, too, noticed that Colorado had their #1 goalie and most of their best players on ice, and it took some time for our guys to get into the grove but they did it! Our depth is frigging crazy!
And as far as Army goes, I bet it’s hard for him because he loved this team so much. Matt Greene has been his replacement. Probably really sad for him. Best wishes Derek Armstrong.
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DougS Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:59 am
@mrbrett7,
Great recap! And the chance to meet Army sounds it like it was some sweet icing on the cake.
I went to most of the morning sessions on Saturday, and my reactions to Nolan and Ponikarovsky were similar to yours. Surprised by how tall Nolan is, but he needs to fill out. With Poni, Handzus and Simmonds, the Kings will skate not so much a 3rd line as a forest. It will be impressive to behold, I do believe.
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King123 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 2:58 am
@mrbrett7,
thanks man. that’s awesome. glad to hear our boys are looking dangerous.
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KC23 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:23 am
@mrbrett7,
Nice recap and cool story about Armstrong. I thought he was playing still?
It is still just an early pre-season. No reason to get to high or low at this point. Long ways to go.
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number 6 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:27 am
@mrbrett7,
From nyc, thanks for the recap. Really well explained and very encouraging.
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Kevin Y Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:26 am
@mrbrett7,
Great stuff there, man. And nice story on Army. Wasn’t really the best player on those transition Kings teams, but he was a great guy.
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AK47 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:00 am
@mrbrett7,
Of course he’s awesome, he’s from Ottawa baby!!! Ottawa-native Derek Armstrong
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vladimir Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:14 am
@mrbrett7, Can You move to Phoenix for 1 night ? Thank you .
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sstephen17 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:26 am
@mrbrett7, Thanks for the recap and opinions. I’m going to the game tonight at Staples and now I’m even more excited since so many of the top players on the team are playing.
[Reply]
Mickey Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:33 am
@mrbrett7, I agree with most of what you saw. Although the first goal was more of a 3-2 and the shot was from an angle. The only downside to the gaol was Drewiskie and the other D, let the Avs skate in.. they applied pressure a bit too late. But in the end Bernier should have had it.
Westgarth looked good and hands down won his fight. Nolan impressed me. He has some spped for a guy his size, and handled the puck pretty good. His fight was not a draw entirely, but it leaned it way.
But in all honesty, this was mostly Manchester playing mostly the Avs… and we won that game hands down.. good puck control, movement, and carry it into the zone…. take the hit and keep moving. Sure beats dump and chase.
On a side note. We were sitting in the Blue Sky bar waiting for a friend, when this man appraches on and comments on our old school purple and gold Jerseys (had the kids in there jerseys as well). He asks how long we have been kings fans, etc. etc… “Oh, by the way, my name is Phil Anschutz”. Next thing you know, he takes us over to his table to meet his family, and chat hockey.
Very nice guy…..
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andy Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:53 am
@Mickey,
Uncle Phil? Tell us more! Did you get an invite to see his private art collection? Did you ask him any tough and annoying questions? Maybe tell him to do more interviews?
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rontheking Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:58 am
@mrbrett7,
Great report! Thank you thank you! Awesome man!
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:23 am
@mrbrett7,
Thanks for the great report!
Does this mean you’ll be there for ALL the Kings-Avs games this year?
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mrbrett7 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 11:20 am
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy, Yup! I already have my tickets for the game on the 23rd. I can’t remember when the other game is here (later in the year), but, I will be going to that one as well.
I’m sure I will be coming back to LA sometime around the Holiday’s, but will probably try to time that trip around the Kings schedule, and get to a game at Staples as well.
Tried to order the package yesterday, and was told I can’t order it until around October 1st, so I need to wait for that.
Oh, and your all welcome for the report. Obviously just all my opinions, but that’s 28 years of experience watching this team right there…so take that for what it’s worth.
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For those interested today’s bleacher report has two Kings listed in the top 10 list of players expected to have breakout years.
Simmonds and Bernier. The report raved about Bernier.
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Dan H. Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:04 am
@USHA#17,
Yeah one of my fantasy draft magazines mentions Quick as someone who did good last year but his job isn’t safe because of some kid named Bernier. They raved about his stats last year and said Quick needs to really be on his game to keep from being unseated as our #1
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Goofy Ecklund spouting rumor of Jack Johnson PLUS a draft pick to Buffalo for Drew Stafford. That’s not a rumor, that’s a steal for the Sabres … what a joke that website is!
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slovenian fan Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:52 am
@Cowboy Bill,
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Bossy22 Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:19 am
@Cowboy Bill,
Read the same rumor, but it read as if there was another forward ” with speed ” coming from buffalo. Let’s see….the number 3 overall pick for a number 15 overall, Stafford has yet to put up the numbers he was drafted for, not even a 20+ goal scorer for 2 seasons…not sure who they would package with Stafford???
Bottom line is, get used to the Jack Johnson trade rumors!!! Like Stafford in this rumor, both are RFA next season, and are looking for contracts that come with their hype, and names. Not what their preformance dictates. Could be a long season of JJ possibitities….
Here’s a question….out of all 4 LA King RFA’s next season, who would you trade rather than sign, to stay within the cap, and become a top contender?
Doughty………….
Simmonds…………
Johnson………….
Bernier………….
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Dan H. Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:22 am
@Bossy22,
Simmonds is the easy choice there. He’s scrappy and does well in corners but there are guys that can do that and pot the 15 that he’ll get. He’s a valuable player but if you’re talking ease of replacement he’s the one and Bernier and Doughty are obviously the hardest to replace.
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Jester's Dead Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:52 am
@Cowboy Bill,
It’s probably Dean just trying to establish a market value for JJ. My guess is these rumours will continue since Dean will probably get a lot of different opinions to try and price him. People tend to be all over the place when trying to put a price tag on Jack
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8ball Reply:
September 24th, 2010 at 2:22 am
@Cowboy Bill, is it cowboy bill flett? i hope so.
nobody care’s but iv’e been a frustrated K’s fan
for so long. i once saw a film-clip of K’s forwards banging away at rogie when he played for
montreal. lonsberry was one for sure. dead cold.
4-5 shots. point-blank-stopped ‘em all.
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First of all, good win boys keep it going. Second how can anyone complain from a win. I mean really? Are we now going to start critiquing every little move even in wins? Come on… Third this team won, shut up! Fourth in the almost 30 years I’ve been following the Kings, I can’t remember if I’ve been this impressed by how focused, commited, and determined to “win at any cost” this team has. I was at practice Saturday, and it brought tears to my eyes realizing the potential this team has now and in the future. Fourth and finally, enjoy the ride people, it’s going to be fun, and I’m looking forward to spending it with all you great fans.
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All right, I’m ready for the regular season opener!LOL
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MIKUS UPDATE!!
Juraj Mikus has surfaced! Signed by Dinamo Riga of the KHL. A new, interesting place to play — for those still following the saga.
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:27 am
@Purple Ghost,
Mikus in the KHL = Instant KHL credibility…
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Final cuts are going to be tougher than ever this year because the kids are starting to grow up. A sure sign of actual depth in the organization.
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I love our team this year. Dean… you are God-sent to us. It would be nice to see we win the Cup this year, I’m tired of hearing the Ducks have one and we don’t. It’s the only thing that is missing now. GKG!!!
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I am so happy for Westgrath. Me included did not know if he was big or tuff enough to handle the NHL heavey weights. Looks like he is good to go. Way to go Westy, you truely took care of business. Keep up the good stuff and keep protecting our players. Your are the man. Go kings.
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I am so embarrassed by this question Im writing under a different name… So I tried getting advance purchase tickets for the game tonight… I don’t see anything available on ticketmaster. Is there advance sales for tonight’s game? Is it sold out? (no way… say it ain’t so… preseason sell-out in Los Angeles??) Any help would be awesome; I have never attended the preseason, tho I’m normally at 20-30 home games…
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Rich, do you know if the stream from tonight’s game will be available outside the US? I’m from Sweden, and I’d hate to get up at 4 am to find out that I can’t see the stream.
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Rich Hammond Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:19 pm
As long as you get view things on LAKings.com, it shouldn’t be a problem.
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Henrik Reply:
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Excellent, thanks!
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