Detroit’s chances of winning the Central Division seem to be wilting — the Red Wings are now seven points behind first-place St. Louis — but who will want to face the Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs? Presumably, by then they will have a handful of top players back from injury, including Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Todd Bertuzzi and Jonathan Ericsson, and for most of this season, the Red Wings have been lethal on home ice. The Red Wings could have done some major damage to the Kings’ playoff hopes — both in a practical sense and an emotional sense — but the Kings played a solid game. Now, the Kings become big fans of the Red Wings. Detroit plays at Anaheim tonight, then heads north to face San Jose. Will the Red Wings give the Kings some help? Here’s how the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News covered last night’s game, followed by some additional postgame quotes from the Red Wings’ locker room…
Los Angeles 5, Detroit 2: Red Wings continue to stumble in March (Detroit Free Press)
Wings fall to Kings in Jimmy Howard’s return from injury (The Detroit News)
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COACH MIKE BABCOCK
(on the game…) “I didn’t think we played hard enough. I thought (the Kings) had a simple plan: get the puck in and get on the forecheck and grind it. I didn’t think we had enough resistance. … You’re not going to win with the approach we had tonight. … I thought we had a really good start to the second period and as soon as they scored a goal we got deflated and that was it for us. … I didn’t think we were competitive enough tonight. … I thought we matched up fine with the Kopitar line. I thought the Richards line got to do whatever they wanted and, in the end, affect our goal rotation.’’
(on Jimmy Howard’s return from injury…) “Not good enough.’’
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JIMMY HOWARD
(on the game…) “They played better on special teams than we did tonight. … It was a tough night for the special teams. … There were a lot of things I thought I could have done better. At the same time it was my first game back in a week and a half, so I have just got to continue to work hard in practice and get the rhythm back and feeling back of being out there. I thought the game was extremely fast in front of me, so I have to find a way to slow it down until I get back to the game speed of things… … We have got to find a way to win games and be better. Myself included.’’
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BRAD STUART
(on the game…) “We just had a bad first period. I thought (in the) second period we were a lot better, but at some point you have to make sure you’re ready to go from the start. You can’t be playing catch-up. It’s not winning hockey.’’
(on Detroit’s struggling power play…)“It can be a bit of a momentum changer either way. If you get out there and have a lot of quality chances and quality shots and you’re creating some momentum, it can be a good thing. If you’re not, it can kind of go the other way for you. We’ve struggled a little bit on the power play but you’ve just got to keep working and getting shots to the net.’’
i love the view from Detroit!
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mash-ola Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
@Shakes, Whereas most teams tend to cycle the puck low, the Wings are such a good puck-control team that they tend to cycle the puck high in the zone between the winger, defenseman and extra forward. And on the power play, they really know how to dominate possession because the opposition’s penalty kill has to play zone and not man to man. It’s very effective, and yeah, I wish the Kings were skilled enough to do this.
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mash-ola Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
@mash-ola, Oops, that response was for the thread below about the Redwings’ PP puck control… my bad!
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you know something which Detroit did really well that i liked: on the PP they had a guy rush towards our blue line with the puck and then drop it off for a trailer who then had more space (it seemed like) to enter the zone with speed. i felt like they did it a few times and thought it was effective for getting the puck in the zone
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4Kingsfans Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:02 am
@Shakes, Entering the zone with speed is always an affective way to set up a scoring chance with or without the powerplay. It forces the defenseman to back up allowing more space. This is something the Kings have struggled with all season long. There is nothing more frustrating to me then watching them turn the puck over in the nuetral zone. If you can’t enter the zone with speed then you have to atleast get the puck in deep and beat the defenders to the puck. Even if you don’t beat them as long as you can get a body on them it forces turnovers which I think the Stoll line did a good job with last night.
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Stuart Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:03 am
@Shakes, I distinctly remember seeing it, 3 guys would rush up, back off our Dmen and then stop at the blue line with the last 2 guys flying through the gaps. The puck went to one how then passed it to the other and man alive did they enter with speed.. that looked like serious PP coaching, to me…
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:15 am
@Stuart, Detroit has a great staff and a great team. It’s easy to forget that the last 2 times we’ve played them they’ve been w/o 3 of their top players. Babcock coaches to the strengths of his personnel and actually makes adjustments during a game to address weaknesses. They always seem to get better as the game goes on. Love to beat ‘em, but I’ve got a lot of respect for ‘em.
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Shakes Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
@Stuart, yeah that’s exactly it!… i think where we get problems is when we have a guy charging through the middle and it feels like a 1-on-3 or something, because there’s not a guy behind him to drop the pass off to, and it leads to a wild shot and/or dump in.
That being said I do believe in giving credit where credit is due, and since we got Carter both PP units have looked more productive. Even outside of scoring more (which is always good) the team is generally setting up their PP offense with a purpose. I also love the extra emphasis (or so it seems) in the past 15 games on cross ice passes
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Stuart Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
@Shakes, I agree, they’ve been opening up the ice a lot more as of late with those xice passes!!
DesertKing Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:31 am
@Shakes,
I love that, but remember, you will asking Kompon to implement this and it doesn’t fit his philosophy of setting up first and shooting second. That said, watching Carter shoot first and ask questions later has been great to watch.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
@DesertKing, It’s called ‘Modern Carterography’.
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Shakes Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
@DesertKing,
Agreed, i think at the end of the day there are some players who should always be shoot first, and some who shouldn’t be. Carter is one of them. I actually laughed alound when there was some play in the offensive zone close to the blue line (either 1st or 2nd period) that was being battered around and he just basically swung around in a 180 to take a wild shot without even really looking at the goal (shot got blocked). it just looked like something that you’d try in a video game
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I love this quote
“I thought we matched up fine with the Kopitar line. I thought the Richards line got to do whatever they wanted and, in the end, affect our goal rotation.’’
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Stuart Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:04 am
@Galen, I had just copied it and was about to post the exact same thing…
Didn’t we expect EVERY coach to be saying something to this effect after EVERY game??? sigh…
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“You can’t be playing catch-up. It’s not winning hockey.’’
Nobody knows this better than us.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:27 am
@Lake Forest, Seemed to work out okay for them the last time we played. Just thinking, have we ever come from behind to win a game this season?
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Lake Forest Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:38 am
@40YearKingsFan, we did against columbus. that is the only one i can remember off the top of my head.
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Klynn Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:36 am
@Lake Forest, sadly, I had thought that exact same when I read that part.
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Jeff_R Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:20 am
@Klynn, I don’t remember us coming back like that, but I do know of two end of game meltdowns. The Detroit one the other night and the Dallas one where they scored off of that faceoff pushing it forward and we wilted.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
@Jeff_R, I had tried so hard to forget that and was doing okay until right now!
I was hoping for comments from Zetterberg
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:18 am
@FKA PakiFro, Me too! He seemed pretty angry with Brownie, although on the replay of the play that pissed him off, I really didn’t see a dive at all. Brown’s got the rep though.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:28 am
@40YearKingsFan, I’m with you. I didn’t see the dive, but Brown’s got the rep. I’m surprised Zetterberg didn’t get a penalty–at least a roughing if not a 10-min misconduct…but I guess he’s Zetterberg.
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CL Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:35 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, I definitely thought there was an extra penalty coming to Zetterberg. In fact, it looked at the time like a ref or linesman was signaling cross-checking, but in hindsight, I think he was just protecting his face from wayward sticks.
I’ve never seen Brown as a diver, but he has precarious balance at best. He’s getting better this year I think, but I’ve never seen someone fall (or put himself offside) as frequently as Brown.
40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:08 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Exactly. Anybody else gets the interference AND the roughing at the very least.
LA_1968 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:49 am
@40YearKingsFan, Who knows… it could have been a dive but the point is that Zetterberg definitely cut him off so to me Zetterberg simply showed frustration. I know they can call the dive but normally the dive call offsets a more iffy trip or interference call.
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Deke'r Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
@LA_1968, …think Brownie was on the outside edge of his blades when he was contacted making him easier than normal to put down….Zetterburger’s a primadonna and any time he gets called he cries about it….
KingsFanintheD Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
@40YearKingsFan, most certainly brownie helped it. the no call on brownie for diving offsets the no call on Z for the additional rough
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There are a couple of teams that I believe the Kings have almost no shot at beating in a 7 game series and Detroit is one of them. I don’t want any part of a 1st round meeting with those them. To be honest though, I just want to see the Kings get in against anyone. Hate missing the playoffs.
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KingRey Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:21 am
@KC23, Id rather kings go against Vancouver then a healthy Detroit.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:33 am
@KingRey, Although having to watch Vancouver night after night would be awful for my blood pressure, if on the remote chance the Kings could oust them, I would forget everything else that has transpired during this bizarre season. Hate is a strong word I try to save for special circumstances, but I really hate the Canucks.
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KC23 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:39 am
@40YearKingsFan, Right there with ya. Beating Vancouver in the playoffs would erase a lot of bad memories of this season real quick. Vancouver is the team I dislike the most as well. Truth be told though I’d be pretty happy beating anyone in the first round.
Deke'r Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
@40YearKingsFan, …that’s cool…they’ve earned it…
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:31 am
@KC23, Maybe I’m nuts, but I think if they get their heads screwed on straight, they can beat the Wings when they’re healthy, too. I don’t know what it is with Dallas, but they and St. Louis bother me a lot more. I think the Canuckleheads might be setting themselves up to be humiliated in the first round. I can smell it. I think 3rd (prolly gone by now), 6th or 7th seed work out okay for the Kings, which is good, because if they’re going to get in, it’s probably what they’ll get (if not 8th, which looks bad.)
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KC23 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:40 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Dallas bothers me a lot as well, but we’ve looked very good against St. Louis this year for some reason.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:18 am
@KC23,
I had a nightmare the other night and dreamed that I had woke up and St. Louis had the best record in hockey heading into the playoffs. Funny, huh? Holy crap, it’s true?
Aren’t the Blues the only other “second six” team to not have their name on the cup? Oh the humanity and the humiliation. Please don’t let them win the Stanley Cup.
LA_1968 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:05 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
I think someone in the Kings division will catch Dallas. Like the peloton in cycling. Dallas has 3 teams within 5 points and they will not keep up the 9-0-1 pace. I hope it’s the Kings.
With the Kings added scoring since the Carter deal, now 3.33 goals per game, I personally don’t care who we play if we make it. We’ll be underdogs no matter what until we win in the playoffs.
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goldielocks Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:51 am
@KC23,
I agree. Even with 5-2 win not so much hyped actually. Those are the Red Wings without Datsyuk and Lidstrom.
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Jeff_R Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:27 am
@goldielocks, I wouldn’t mind playing Detroit in the first round. I think that is where they would be most vulnerable. It is going to take these injured guys a little time getting back into the groove of things, plus they are still old and have wilted in the playoffs the last few years. Either way I think it will be Nashville and Detroit in the first round which is going to be an awesome series and probably will depend on who gets home ice. That is one awesome battle these last 12 games or so. It is too bad that two great teams may not get past the first round, but as Kings fans we will love it especially if they end up playing the winner in the 2nd round. They will be all beaten up and might make it easier for the Kings to win.
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mash-ola Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
@KC23, I’ll take my chances with anyone… just as long as the Kings MAKE the playoffs…
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Anyone else see vv rush down the middle threw a hole. He didn’t have the puck but that kid sure has some speed. Someone said on here’ that he just happens to be in the right place at the right time. Isn’t that the point?!
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KC23 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:42 am
@KingRey, Not much is talk about regarding Voynov’s speed, but he is extremely quick and fast. He could use a bit more beef though. Incredible offensive instincts, much better than DD imho.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:47 am
@KC23, Good points. If/when his defensive instincts catch up with his offensive instincts he could end up being a very special player.
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Juat curious….Haven;t seen a DUMP KOMPON post in a while. He must have found the magic potion or something…or is it just adding Carter to the mix to open up the ice. Guess it was his fault all along that we didn;t have the correct mix of personel to succeed the way we are now.
BTW, isn’t he also resposible for the Penalty Kill? FOURTH IN THE LEAGUE!!!
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DesertKing Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:34 am
@40yearfan,
Guess you missed my daily posts for the last 18 months.
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LA_1968 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:06 am
@DesertKing, Yeah, I think you had one yesterday.
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SLG1013 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:37 am
@40yearfan, Stevens is responsible for the PK I believe…
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Sebastian Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:39 am
@40yearfan, Kompon is the “Offensive coordinator” if you will…and John Stevens is the “defense coordinator”, so to answer your question, no, Kompon is not responsible for the PK.
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Jeff_R Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:29 am
@Sebastian, He was for thise few games Stevens was the head coach. How did the PK do those 4 games?
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KC23 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:43 am
@40yearfan, All I know is since Nicholles started helping the Kings have improved. Carter sure has helped the process though.
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Deke'r Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
@KC23, …sure has…and the way he skates is insane…he should hold skate camp for LA prior to next season…
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:44 am
@40yearfan, Haven’t seen one in awhile, well here you go: Dump Kompon. And BTW no, he’s not responsible for the PK, Stevens handles that.
Carter was a great addition but the improvements in the power play and the offense in general have been seen since about the time Bernie Nicholls started working with the team on offense. Maybe Kompon is partially responsible for the improvement, who knows? But if we’d have had an offense or a power play for the first 3/4 of the season, we’d be in first in the Pacific at the very least. Offense (which Kompon also coaches)? Getting better, but still 29th in the league.
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Great to get two points. The Kings are still in a precarious position and, I think, will need help to make the playoffs.
While it was a good win, it was against a short handed Detroit team. But so far, the Kings are scoring goals, which is better than before this stretch.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:32 am
@vplaza, They’ll get some help, because these teams play each other, and remember, they have the last two against San Jose. It’s really on them. What we need to see is the team that’s been scoring goals and the team that’s been playing solid defense, together, for the rest of the season. (duh)
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:53 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
You said duh, but what you said really captures where the Kings are at. We’ve seen a brilliant defensive team all year, and just lately a ream that seems capable of hanging 4 or 5 on any given night against any team. If they can keep both going at the same time, they’re a very dangerous team. Great post!
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vplaza Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
The other thing is if they do keep up the scoring and maintain the defensive play (with JQ providing great goaltending), then maybe they’re getting hot at the right time and the other teams are cooling off at the wrong time.
One can hope given the way things have gone this season until recently.
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Deke'r Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
@vplaza, …true…it’s all about peaking at the right time…
Just a reminder that from Detroit I acquired Marcel Dionne and Bart Crashley for Terry Harper, Dan Maloney and a second round draft pick.
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JackKentCooke Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:43 am
@JackKentCooke,
…or as we used to call him-Terry MF Harper.
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KC23 Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:49 am
@JackKentCooke, That was a pretty steep price at the time. Maloney was the heart and sole of our team and Terry Harper was kind of like our Willie Mitchell. Maloney and Harper led us to our best season in King’s history. We actually were a dominate team that year not unlike St. Louis has become this year. Finshed the season with 105 points, but the first round was a silly 3 game series which we barely lost to the Leafs and that was perhaps the disappointing playoffs in our history.
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Sebastian Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 10:51 am
@JackKentCooke, I appreciate that you stated the team and built the Forum, but you still failed to win a Championship in 12 years. unless you count the ONE you won with the Lakers after losing 6 other times in the finals.
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JackKentCooke Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:19 am
@Sebastian,
Larry Regan and Jake Milford were the culprits.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 11:33 am
@JackKentCooke, Are you also the guy that acquired one Rogetian Vachon for Dennis DeJordy and Dale Hoganson?
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JackKent Cooke Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
@40YearKingsFan,
Yes, but also had to “sacrifice” Doug Robinson and Moel Price in that deal with the Canadians.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
@JackKentCooke, On a slightly more contemporary note, are you Matt’s grandad?
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JackKent Cooke Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
@Duncanz,
No,my family was polished. Matt is of the lower orders.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
@JackKent Cooke, In view of my apparent ignorance, it should be noted that in no form was I attempting to disparage the otherwise impeccable reputation of Mr Matt Cooke, or his family’s.
How weird is it that the Detroit Free Press has a Helene that writes about the Wings? That freaks me out.
I didn’t know there were two Helenes in the US, much less another–and a woman at that–who writes about hockey for a major newspaper. Could it be that paid positions for the few women named Helene in the universe are that limited, fateful and prescribed?
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Shakes Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
@rontheking,
hahahahaahhaha. you win for the funniest thing i’ve read today. your final sentence kills me
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JackKent Cooke Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
@rontheking,
Fro many years I advertized in the LA Times for my business. The advertizing girls (yes, they were all girls) handling my account came and went but, they always called themselves Miss Moore. I even ended up dating one of the Miss Moores. So, they occupied what was referred to as the Miss Moore desk.
Perhaps, it is a relic of the industry that female hockey writers occupy the Helene desk.
No, I never dated one of the Helenes.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@JackKent Cooke, On a slightly moore contemporary note, was she Dominic Moore’s grandmother, by any chance?
You really need not reply to nor contest these baseless allegations.
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Stuart Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
@Duncanz, no, but she was Juan Epstein’s grandmother who would always sign his school notes…