Everyone please have a safe New Year’s Eve… Because of tomorrow’s 6 p.m. start time, the Kings won’t have a morning skate. To catch up on today’s news and notes, please check out my LAKings.com notebook, and to get a jump-start on the San Jose Sharks, you can check out the San Jose Mercury News’ game story from last night’s Sharks-Blackhawks game…
Sharks regain composure to beat Blackhawks
Finally, here’s some NHL irony for you. Given that it’s a holiday, and a weekend holiday at that, the Kings had thoughts of playing tomorrow’s game in the afternoon, rather than at 6 p.m. I’m told the NHL gave it a thumbs-down, because it didn’t want other games conflicting with the “Winter Classic,” which had been scheduled for a 1 p.m. Eastern time start. Well, now the Pittsburgh-Washington game has been shifted to an 8 p.m. Eastern start time — 5 p.m. Pacific time — meaning the Kings’ game will be a direct conflict. Oh well. The Kings have announced that they will show the Winter Classic on the Staples Center scoreboard leading up to the Kings-Sharks game.
Dammit, i wanted to watch both! Oh well, ill catch an hour of the classic.
[Reply]
Happy New Year, Rich…and thanks for all you do for us die-hard Kings fans!
[Reply]
I was at the game last night and am still upset about how bad it was. I have tix for tomorrow too and am now going to miss the Winter Classic. I really hope the Kings put up a better effort than last night so I don’t regret it. Let’s start 2011 better than we ended 2010. Go Kings!
Happy New Year everyone and especially to you Rich!
[Reply]
KennyD Reply:
December 31st, 2010 at 7:50 pm
@Lilly, I be at the game to,kings and sharks,i record the winter classic on my dvr watch when i get home from the kings game,we need these 2 pts go kings
[Reply]
Happy New Year to Rich & everyone!
Looking forward to the rest of the season too!
[Reply]
ahh gee i really meant it man, anyways happy new years…
[Reply]
To all
a very Happy and Safe New Year–please be careful and safe out there-(been there done that)
A Kings Fan, year in year out and hope 2011 is the best for all of us—go-kings-go
and please take that worthless statue down before the boys win the cup—WG did nothing for LA hockey(ticket prices triple and a beer went from $1.75 to $3.25 and the stupid came out–we can talk
peace–love–and kings forever
go kings go
[Reply]
Sebastian Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 1:35 am
@takethatstatuedown, happy new year, but i have to disagree. Gretzky was solely responsible for an entire generation of Kings fans. when i was 12 years old playing street hockey i was always gretzky and did the bob miller play by play to myself as i played. im sure i am not the only fan who became a kings fan because of the great one. no shame in that.
[Reply]
A Happy New Year from here in Idaho to Kings fans everywhere!
[Reply]
happy new year to all!!!!
[Reply]
happy new year everyone!! hope 2011 will be a great year for the Kings and us fans.
[Reply]
Happy new year rich!! Thanks for what you do! And to all of u, happy new year!!!
[Reply]
30 degrees down here in Palm Springs, hey perfect weather for a Winter Classic.
Anyway, hopefully we do awesome tomorrow night, we cant start this again and the NHL must be P.O’ed about that.
[Reply]
wavesinair Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 9:19 am
@Matthew, Who would have thunk it? Better conditions in southern california than pittsburgh? Naw, not possible. Wrong!
[Reply]
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 10:51 am
@Matthew, Was around six below zero here in Colorado last night, or so the forecast said. Two nights in a row below zero. The average winter lows here on the front range are usually around 15 above.
[Reply]
Kris Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 3:32 pm
@Matthew, Better Winter Classic weather in Vegas as well. Don’t think it even reached the 40′s here today and no rain. Too bad I only get to watch the first hour of the classic. DVR is too full.
[Reply]
I have to admit I’m just as excited to see the pens/caps game as I am the kings tonight. I guess the hype worked.
[Reply]
Happy New Years to the Kingdom!! We start out the new year getting 2 points tonight on 1-1-11. I don’t feel bad about the Winter Classic conflict since I planned to not watch it anyway. If California teams were placed into consideration, then I might think about supporting it, but it is pretty obvious that we are not in those plans so let the east coast fans sit in the bad winter weather. It is alot of hype for 2 teams that already have a large fan base and don’t need help in attracting people to the NHL. We will be part of the full house at Staples tonight and Go Kings Go!!
[Reply]
holly Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 10:36 am
@DesertKing,
Funny thing is… currently it’s warmer at my house on the NH/MA line than it is in LA.
[Reply]
does anyone know why I cant get the kings/sharks games on dish network in the san jose area? its blacked out on FSW, but nothing comes up on my channel guide for the local sports network (comcast sports channel i think its called)
[Reply]
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 10:52 am
@tornado12, Didn’t Comcast and Dish Network have some sort of war over fees?
[Reply]
tornado12 Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 11:12 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, i was hoping it wasnt that..i tried calling dish but didnt get a clear answer. frustrating when i pay 90 bucks a month
[Reply]
When pigopolists attack.
[Reply]
Happy New Year everyone! We may not like Shane Doan when we play against him, but if you haven’t seen this story yet, take 5 min to read it. This is everything we always talk about why hockey players are the best and why we fans are SO loyal. And I’m not sure the link will work, but here goes… Love the game and it will love you….
[Reply]
old man Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 12:01 pm
@ForumtoStaplesFan, Thank you for the great story.
[Reply]
Rainman Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 12:20 pm
@ForumtoStaplesFan, Thanks for sharing that story which was truly awesome. I admire how humble Shane Doan is, but he really made a profound impact on this young Man’s life. The sportsworld needs more role models like Mr. Doan.
[Reply]
The other day I mentioned that Toronto maybe in the process if trading Francois Beauchemin. Here is what I read today.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were reportedly “near” a deal before it fell apart on Friday morning, according to Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun.
We have no idea if the potential trade involved Francois Beauchemin or not, but as implied by Darren Dreger of TSN, the defenseman is attracting some attention:
“Beauchemin has a limited no-trade, but he’s drawing interest. A lot more chatter now across the NHL.”
Beauchemin should move before the Feb. 28 trade deadline. With a year left (after this season) on his contract, the 30-year-old doesn’t fit well into the Leafs’ rebuilding plans – but he could be a help elsewhere.
Known for his wicked shot, positive attitude and leadership qualities, Beauchemin would likely be a valuable asset down the stretch with a legitimate playoff contender.
The team involed was the Kings.
[Reply]
wavesinair Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 1:35 pm
@Bryan, I’m sorry, WHO said the team involved was the Kings? Gotta source? Didn’t think so.
[Reply]
wavesinair Reply:
January 1st, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I will say though that Beauchemin is a hell of a fighter. I do admit I would like to see that kind of grit on our blueline.
[Reply]
Since the WC is on same time as the King game…well its just another game and I now have no interest! Gotta watch with my heart GO KiNgS!
[Reply]
Marco Sturm had the game-winning OT goal in last years Winter Classic. Let’s hope he has some of that spark tonight.
[Reply]
The venue in Pittsburgh is looking spectacular. Heinz field is a great venue for an outdoor hockey game. The move to night is far superior. Looks cool! Would love to be there.
[Reply]