In the only game on today’s NHL schedule, St. Louis hosts Phoenix at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time. The game won’t define anything, in terms of the Kings’ ultimate playoff position, but it is massively relevant. Here are the Kings-related scenarios…
– If the Coyotes win in regulation or overtime, the Kings can still win the Pacific Division if they a) beat San Jose in regulation or overtime tomorrow and the Coyotes do not earn two points tomorrow at Minnesota, or b) beat San Jose in a shootout and Phoenix loses to Minnesota in regulation.
– If the Coyotes win in a shootout, the Kings can still win the division under a couple scenarios, but the Kings must get two points against San Jose and Phoenix cannot get two points against Minnesota.
– If the Coyotes lose in overtime or a shootout, the Kings can win the division with a regulation/overtime win over San Jose, or a shootout win if Phoenix does not beat Minnesota in regulation or overtime.
– If the Coyotes lose in regulation, the Kings can win the division by earning two points against San Jose.
– Under any scenario, the Kings cannot win the division if they only get one point against San Jose.
We’ll run through it again tonight after the Coyotes-Blues game…
Just win baby.
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California Royalty Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
@Belexes, Love the reference!
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Has anyone gotten the message to the Blues to feel free to reach over the boards from the bench if a Coyote has the puck nearby? Let’s go, people, this is NHL hockey!
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Hopefully the Kings continue to “learn” the grit of playing play-off hockey by letting all these distractions go bye and focusing on their offensive game WHILE buckling down their defensive play. Didn’t see that last night against stickguy and company.
Get down and dirty and play YOUR hockey.
Go Kings!!!!
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PRMan Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
@rogiesbackup, Who is Clowe and why does his stick matter? It’s a whole new game. We need to let it go and reset.
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SI’s noob weighs in on last night:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/23431/28-days-later-pushing-around-the-kings
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MitchySlick Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
@Kenny44, That’s Bill Simmons. He’s an ESPN writer, now with his own website (grantland.com). Yes, he is a noob to the LA Kings world, but he’s a Boston native that knows a decent amount about the game. If you read the article, he may have some valid points. Who stuck up for Rick when he got hit high by Bergenheim?
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
@MitchySlick, um, I think that was Rick (who ate another elbow for his trouble). Stoll did something useless and got a penalty, too, I think.
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dMan Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
@Kenny44, Can’t say I disagree with him.
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:54 pm
@dMan, Neither can I. Sadly.
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Rookie Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
@Kenny44,
Great article…
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Cup B4 I Die Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@Kenny44,
That’s basically what happened….we got pushed around. Sharks did a great job at getting the Kings off their game. We scored to go ahead 3-1, then the next shift, Clowe beats up Clifford…momentum change. Maybe Clifford should have avoided fighting Clowe and allowing the Sharks to re-take the flow of the game.
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tornado12 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
@Cup B4 I Die, even if clifford won the fight it would have pumped up the sharts. should have declined or taken a penalty from clowe trying to start one. Bad move and bad game management by the young Kings
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
@tornado12, Exactly (Fox mentioned that, too). DD should not have engaged Thornton, either. No upside in either situation. Let SJ play shorthanded all they want, then punish them on the PP. That’s how you win in the playoffs. Playing your game and playing smart.
The ironic thing is that SJ has been on the other end of this in the playoffs before. If they’ve learned to turn it to their advantage, maybe there is hope for us.
Yuck ANOTHER stick INCIDENT against the Kings!!!! LMAO
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I think Kings management should bring this incident to AEG and let them pressure the NHL to do something ASAP and not just a memo to the rest of the league.
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If the Coyotes win both their games, it doesn’t matter what the Kings do. In that scenario, I’d rather play Vancouver then St.Louis. If the Kings win the division then it’s Chicago. I would rather face Chicago out of those 3 choices, but St.Louis would be my least favorite match up if I had to choose.
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vinny Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
@Dominick (defrim65), same
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
@Dominick (defrim65), Yeah, if you draw STL in the first round, you better hope to finish them relatively early. If it goes 7, your going to be beat up for the next series. But I don’t think the Blues will go quietly.
I agree with your preferences.
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Sportsmanship, Class, Dignity, Respect, Honor, Ethical, Etiquette, Grace, Morality…..All the qualities that players of Clowe’s ilk lack & the NHL apparently cares less about with no supplemental dicipline given. The Kings lost the game because of themselves. No question there. But Clowe’s actions last night would never, ever be tolerated and condoned in NFL, MLB, or the NBA as it has been by Buttman & the rest of the suits that run the NHL. If any King player did this, I would want him suspended immediately.
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King Cobra Reply:
April 7th, 2012 at 12:35 am
@King Alex, The Kings get that 3 on 5 power play, they win the game!
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I am in a serious state of confusion, anger, and bewilderment at this time in my hockey life. I am a Die Hard Kings fan and have been so since 1985 and rather pationately. However, I am more a fan of hockey than of the team. Love of the game before love of the team. Last nights incident with Clowe using his stick from the bench is the first time in my life of watching hockey that I have ever seen that happen. So the refs and the linesmen miss the play and no penalty is called. If the penalty had been called the Kings would have had a 5 on 3 power play for about 40 seconds and may have changed the game completely. However, calls have been missed all season long or have been called that should not have been called against the Kings and against a lot of other teams in the NHL during this season. Players then are called before the board and face some discipline from the league. I find that fair. If one of the Kings players had done that to the Sharks I would have been very much ashamed of the Kings player that did it and expect him to face discipline for his actions. I know it is only a minor penalty, but some calls by refs have only been called minor and then they face the discipline of the league.
Torts gets fined $10,000 for speaking his mind after a game (Freedom of Speach does not exist in the NHL) and Clowe does not get disciplined at all for his action on the bench nor for flat out lying to the reporters when asked about the incident, “I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’ll have to see the video or something. Someone show me the video.” No suspension or fine at all for any of the above. The NHL just embarresed itself, angered fans across the NHL, except for the Shark fans, and showed they have favortism in the NHL.
For me, this will go down as a very dark day in the history of hockey and not just for the Kings.
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Cynic Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
@Hockey “G”, Sadly +1. It really is shameful. Been a fan since 1980. Never seen anything like it. If this had happened in the 80′s, Someone would have just jumped into the bench and kicked his a–.
We’ve taken policing out of the game as well. If we can’t trust the players to keep things above board and fair, we’re supposed to trust the league, right? Well, Bettman and his group of pids just ruined THAT by doing nothing about Clowe, so it begs the question:
Who do we trust NOW to keep the league and it’s conducts FAIR?!?!
Pitiful. Not doing anything really kills the integrity of the game for me. Someone needs to take the game back and do it right.
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Dave Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
@Cynic, Who owns the Coyotes these days? league has no reason to do anything…our game going to OT gave the league owned team a chance at division title and home ice if they win out…can’t expect league to be fair when they have a vested interest in a team in a playoff race.
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tory17 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
@Hockey “G”,
I never wanted to think that the NHL played favorites but now it’s clear they
do and they don’t like the kings.I can’t believe there is not more of an out cry
from around the league and not just from kings fans.I know, time to get over it,
but still think this will lead to other things like this.
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gr81scores Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
@Hockey “G”, I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks for writing down how I feel but am still too angry/disappointed to do so.
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dont forget that chicago can get to the 5th spot dropping DET to 6th, if that happens ill take my chances with VAN or STL
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I’ve been away from the computer all day, but have to say that I am surprised that Clowe didn’t get some sort of disciplinary action from his stunt. I would have thought that the league would have come down hard to ensure that this type of thing never happens again.
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It’s time to put the Clowe incident to rest. I’m disappointed like many here in the way it’s been handled (or not handled) and also surprised that even the media has made so little of it.
In any case, harping on it won’t change the outcome and instead can act as a distraction moving forward. If the Kings get caught up trying to exact revenge for something someone got away with instead of playing their game, they’ll be out of the first round.
Kings need to suck it up, play their game, defeat the Sharks tomorrow night without boasting (as this should be a foregone conclusion) and head into the playoffs with their head and energies high.
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dMan Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
@dMan, one last tidbit… I swear!
Tortorella gets fined $20K for post game comments on Pens – make your own conclusions.
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HockeyNerd Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
@dMan, Agree completely. The NHL is simply not going to do the right thing to show it cares about the integrity of the sport. That’s that. Nothing we can do.
We can still win the division, but we must win tommorow to have a chance to do that.
Let’s focus on the game. This team was uncharacteristically unable to hold a 2 goal lead last night. The Sharks definitely got us off our game. We cannot afford to let that happen again.
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Jayrew Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
@HockeyNerd, You don’t remember the 4 goal lead against the same team last playoffs? Quick is a choker in big games
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I am one of the biggest Blues fans tonight
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Will the Kings give Clowe the punishment he deserves in San Jose tomorrow night? It’s hard to think so, even though NHL executives are dishonest cowards, shrugging away any thought of punishment for a lying pig and bully who disgraced the game and the league. If the King players won’t, who will? The answer is nobody. Lombardi is silent and so is Sutter. Kings players aren’t complaining much from what I read. That’s why the Kings won’t win tomorrow and won’t go anywhere in the playoffs. They’re too soft. Clowe, without doubt a bully and fathead, felt he could get away with anything when he decided to interfere with play on the ice from the bench. He had already beaten Greene and Clifford in fights. and Joe Thornton, who thinks Clowe’s benchwork was funny, had taken out Doughty. Sports blogger Grantland has a point when he links the Sharks’ fistwork to their sudden turnaround from a 3-1 whipping on the scoreboard up to that point.I’m not a big fan of hockey fighting; I prefer strong, winning play. But I’m also not a fan of letting bullies whip you, either physically or by cheating. The Sharks did both. Only the Kings can fix that. This country has lost its sense of fair play, decency and honesty when the NHL front office takes the side of Clowe–and YES, that’s what they’ve done.
Something like putting in Westgarth to fight isn’t the answer (like the other Kings, he’s not that good). The answer is the whole squad toughening up in their attitude toward winning….and also in racting to bullies.
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dMan Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
@Royal Throne, I would not be surprised to see Westgarth in uniform tomorrow night. Not for any retaliation, but as a deterrent.
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
@dMan, He’ll draw alot of attention from the refs, who will want to shut the barn door now. And who would you sit? Penner?
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HockeyNerd Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
@Royal Throne, Let’s worry about the game, not Clowe. As for the rest of your post DL undoubtedly doesn’t want another 50K fine saying what he feels needs to be said. And the Kings have been called soft — by my last count — about 10,000 times this year and have bounced back each time. We will soon see, won’t we.
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QUICKsilver Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@Royal Throne, and the real problem, is if the kings go after Clowe like they should tomorrow, the league will probably discipline the kings for retaliation.
Hypocritical b@$tard running this league.
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 5:08 pm
@QUICKsilver, Retaliator always gets caught and gets the worst. That’s life.
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
@Royal Throne, The Kings problem was that they engaged, perhaps feeling they had something to prove to the Sharks. But that’s a failure of mental discipline. If you can’t beat them fighting, there’s no use doing it. You end up getting pounded and then submit to the alpha dog’s superiority. There was some of that in the game last night (see Thornton jabbing at Quick 3 seconds after the whistle without so much as a harsh word from the Kings).
Bottom line – we need different players if we want to compete that way.
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I’m as upset as anyone else about the stick incident. But how much sweeter will it be for the Kings to win the division in San Jose. I would love nothing better to watch the faces of those arrogant a$$es as they watch the Kings celebrate a great victory in their own building. Now that would be justice!!!!!!!
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
@P90X,
That is the ultimate payback. The Kings could one up them in the snickery department, but winning would sting worse. Even if we don’t win the division.
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
@P90X,
That is the ultimate payback. The Kings could one up them in the snickery department, but winning would sting worse. Even if we don’t win the division.
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So you’re tellin me there’s a chance!
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Our guys are too classy to pull a Thornton, blowing kisses, but part of me would really love to see Cliffy do it.
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
@QUICKsilver, I prefer the goal of rage celebration he does.
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so….we will win and that ends all these “scenarios”. Just get rid of the flippin shoot outs. Win our lose they are getting old and tired. It is such a bummer to lose a game after they played hard and then it all comes down to soccer hockey….annoying.
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Inncodents like this don’t effect Bettman…the man could care less what the fans think. Especially if it is something where “booing” is involved because as you know…when Bettman hears Boos he thinks it’s cheering!
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HockeyNerd Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
@tellmeY, Not only could he care less what the fans think, he could care less about the integrity of the game.
The way he solves a problem — any problem — is to deny that problem exists.
And this is the man in charge?
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so….we will win and that ends all these “scenarios”. Just get rid of the flippin shoot outs. Win our lose they are getting old and tired. It is such a bummer to lose a game after they played hard and then it all comes down to soccer hockey….annoying.
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Both NHL & NBA commissioners are big dealers & cheaters.Where they come from? Who set them up on these positions? Both know nothing about sport.They better find another occupations.They suck.
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