Like the horse that won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, the Pacific Division teams were certainly late-runners this season. Throughout much of March, Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose and the Kings traded the division lead among each other, and for a while it seemed as though only two of those four times might make the playoffs. Three of them ended up making it, and now two of them are in the Western Conference Finals. It’s the first time, under the current playoff setup, that two Pacific Division teams have met in the conference finals. As it turns out, perhaps the parity in the division meant that while there wasn’t one “super team,” a la Vancouver or St. Louis, there were a few good teams that pushed each other throughout the season. Anze Kopitar said the conference-final matchup reflects well on the division.
KOPITAR: “It’s a good division. Everybody was obviously in the running. Anaheim just had the bad start, but they were picking it up. In the last part of the season, they were going good. I guess if the season was a little longer, they would be in contention to make the playoffs too. It is what it is now, and we’ve got to get ready for Phoenix.”
This is also the second consecutive year in which two teams from the Pacific time zone will meet in the Western Conference Finals. Last year, it was Vancouver and San Jose. Since the lockout year, nine different teams have reached the Western Conference Finals: Edmonton, Anaheim, Detroit, Dallas, Chicago, San Jose, Vancouver, Phoenix and the Kings.
BROWN: “It’s bringing excitement to different markets. It shows the parity in the league, when you have two teams that probably weren’t expected to be in this situation, fighting for a chance to be in the Cup Finals.”
It’s funny to hear Anze give a sympathy comment to the ducks…
Sure they had a chance, suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.
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Stuart Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
@Lake Forest, obviously, it is what it is… LOL if we ever read anything attributed to Kopi and it doesn’t have one of those two in it, we know it’s a fraud!!! LOL
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CL Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
@Stuart, He’s still improving though. No longer does every answer begin with “Oh yeah, absolutely, you know…”
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Stuart Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
@CL, no doubt… I think back to his rookie year and the way his english has come along. Incredible to think that he’s only been speaking it for like 5 years… I can’t even hear an accent or anything! He needs to buy Lokti and VV the Russian-to-English version of whatever he used!
vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
@Stuart,
My wife pointed that out to me after the last game, that it’s hard to believe that he has only been speaking English in such a short time. Rosetta Stone??
CL Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
@CL, I don’t have the reference at my fingertips, but I seem to recall reading that his grandmother used to speak with him in English even back in Slovenia, so he’s been learning and practicing since he was a child. He definitely speaks better English than some native speakers I know.
Stuart Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:49 pm
@CL, I can’t confirm or deny that story, but I definitely remember hearing him do interviews, and if what you say is the case, his grandmama didn’t do him any favors!
Diego Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
@CL,
His family pushed him to speak english, must have ESPN or sumpthin.
Ducks – Off
Nucks – Play Off
Blews – Play Off
KINGS PLAY ON!!!
Duncanz Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
I remember reading his Grandma was an English tesacher in Slovenia.
That might make her a ‘Grammar’, actually.
@Stuey, I contend with you on him speaking without an accent, though.
For all intents and purposes, he sounds totally and utterly CANADIAN these days.
If you’re hearing him the first time you’d pretty much never know!
Enn Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@CL,
In Slovenia in the fourth grade they begin to learn their first foreign language, which is usually English and they learn it till graduation. I take a bow for him not speaking with accent.
slapshot Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 7:11 pm
@CL, I think his mother was an English teacher over there and she used to do pretend interviews about hockey with him in English as he was growing up.
Gary Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Technically, Phoenix isn’t in the Pacific time zone. They’re on Arizona Time, which doesn’t change to Daylight Savings Time. So, when Pacific time changes, they’re on the same time as Arizona. When Pacific changes back, there’s an hour difference.
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CosmicQueso Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
@Lake Forest, They had a shot, and they also have a Cup in the not too distant past. Let us get a Cup before our heads start getting a bit too big eh?
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Duncanz Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
@MysticPizza, Too right, sir/maam.
But it’s not easy for @Lack Foggiest, you know.
His head is already naturally as large as one of those huge pumpkins they used to grow on the farms down there before his housing development paved over the very last one …
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Lake Forest Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
@Duncanz, I resemble that remark
Duncanz Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
@Duncanz, ooh boy. you come back for second looks? sorry, i did not know that!
well, when you think about it, i was really stepping up in your defense.
I don’t think even Roman Polak could be much more effective, right?
A lot can be said of playing for your playoff lives basically the last half of the season. It has been mentioned several times throughout these playoffs. It is almost impossible to just “flip the switch” and be firing on all cylinders.
As mentioned previously, it is advantageous to the kings that the coyotes will have exactly the same amount of time off!
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“AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!!!!”
___________________________________________________
Dave Johnson, Horse racing announcer extraordinaire
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The first look at the match up on NHL.com:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=631042
I think that we have a slight edge on the defensive corps. But their conclusion may be spot on. This may come down to special teams, which team can score more on the PP.
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pr0cess Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
@vplaza, We need to take dona out of the series, If we can get him off his game we will do ok
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vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
@pr0cess,
Doan seems to have a knack for hurting the Kings. I doubt Brown can get under his skin or in his head like he did with the Blues, but I agree, if he can be taken off his game, the Kings stand a better chance of winning the series.
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Stuart Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
@pr0cess, they should play the Richie Valens song if/when he sits in the box at staples…
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pr0cess Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
@Stuart, OMG yes this would rock
QUICKsilver Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
@vplaza, Or on the PK
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vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
@QUICKsilver,
That too.
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mash-ola Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@vplaza, Oh, absolutely: It WILL come down to special teams. Whomever has the better power play will definitely have the upper hand.
The irony is that the Kings have gotten by so far without it biting them in the arse… They HAVE TO GET THE POWER PLAY going, in the WCF and the Finals if they make it. If they don’t, the Coyotes will have an advantage.
GO KINGS GO!!
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vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
@mash-ola,
I know someone pointed out that the Bruins won it without much of a PP, but in the event that you’re playing a goaltender that is at the top of his game and a defense that is pretty stingy, it’s more critical than ever to take advantage of the PP opportunities you’re given.
Besides, Boston played Vancouver in the Finals last year, not exactly your prototypical defensive team.
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Cy Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
@vplaza,
All of these arguments sound like carbon copies from before the Blues series. Everyone thought that would come down to PP and goaltending too. It didn’t. The Kings’ PP has been bad statistically, but when you factor in several of the PPs being more about killing clock to win games than scoring, I think the numbers look fine. Throw in 4 SHG and dominant 5 on 5 play against two very good teams, and PHX doesn’t scare me at all, other than their familiarity with the Kings.
vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
@Cy,
True that it didn’t come down to the PP against the Blues (or Nucks, for that matter).
The big difference, though, is that the Yotes are playing closer to the Kings’ level than either the Blues or Nucks were playing. Which, to me, means the scores may be tighter than ever so capitalizing on the PP opportunities may be the difference in some games.
Jeff_R Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
@mash-ola, I agree that the Kings have to get there PP going. Phoenix has been horrible on the PP all season, finishing ranked 29th out of 30 teams. However they did do well against the Kings for some reason. Kings need to be ultra aggressive on the PK and get the PP going. Winner of special teams will most likely win the series. I doubt going 1 for 20 or whatever it was on the PP against the Blues will win the series for the Kings.
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Stuart Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:26 pm
@Jeff_R, they sell medication to get the PP going… starting and stopping all the time, who needs that???!!!
DesertKing Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
@vplaza,
DEADHORSE ALERT!! DEADHORSE ALERT!! I will now return to my cave festooned with “Fire Kompon” posters. I do believe our PP is at or near 5% for the playoffs.
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vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
@DesertKing,
The remaining teams and their PP%:
Flyers: 36.6%
Devils: 20.5%
Rangers: 18.4%
Caps: 17.1%
Yotes: 16.1%
Kings: 8.5%
You’d think the path to the Cup would be easier if they were above 10%.
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QUICKsilver Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
@vplaza, Funny that the Flyers are probably the weakest team in the bunch.
Philly King Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
@vplaza, yeah but how many have scored more SH goals than they’ve given up?
vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
@QUICKsilver,
I think part of that is the fact that they played the Penguins in the first round and scored 30 goals total in that series. Coupled with the fact that the Penguins have no defense or PK to speak of, it should explain the bloated number for the Flyers.
vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
@Philly King,
Considering that only the Flyers (4) and the Devils (1) are the only remaining teams that have scored SHGs other than the Kings, it’s safe to say that the Kings own the SHG vs PPGA differential.
DesertKing Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
@vplaza,
Yeaaa!! We are doing better than I thought! (add sarcasm here)
Reference short handed goals, if you think we can depend on that to regularly bail us out, well, I have some prime real estate in Upper LowerEastern West Florida, not quite on the coast, but not inland, if you know what I mean.
Lake Forest Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
@DesertKing, if it’s a time-share count me in
LA_1968 Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
@vplaza, The Kings have had the lead 99% of the time in all the games. They haven’t been trailing in the series either. The Coyotes have been tested more in this way but not much. I hope the boys can respond if we get down in a series.
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vplaza Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@LA_1968,
That’s one of the things that is encouraging, the fact that the Kings have been able to get ahead and maintain the lead, being able to respond when the other team makes a push.
It will be interesting to see how they respond if they get behind early or often.
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Kick to Pooch in the Gooch, then on to Joizee!!!
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Deke'r Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
@Kissmyblarneystones, ….or Nuu Yawk….
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Duncanz Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
@Kissmyblarneystones, Even better!
Let’s flog the dog’s bollocks and onto Noo Yawk!
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If you want to make an effort on behalf of Bob Miller and Jim Fox who have been so important to us Kings fans for decades, go to i.petitions.com and type in “Hire Bob Miller and Jim Fox to broadcast games on NBC.” Then, once you get the petition, sign it and include a brief comment about why it is so important for Bob and Jim and for Kings fans that we be able to hear them on semi-finals and finals broadcasts.
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Hopefully, there will be surprises in Surprise, happy Kings fans in Kingman, and tempests in Tempe when the Kings win the series, and go for the cup!
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Stuart Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
@Steve W, I looked it up in the white pages, and sure enough, there’s already a Glen Dale in Glendale, win or lose!
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Duncanz Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
@Stuey, That might be the single most ludicrous, yet fascinating and painstakingly researched stat ever posted by an LAKI birdwatcher – with all due respect to @Tweety, of course!
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Steve W Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
@Stuart, When I lived across the pond in merry olde England many, many, years ago, my brother & I found an ad in a magazine for the complete works of Shakespeare. We then looked in the White pages and found a William Shakespeare. We then filled out the form with his name and address, and mailed it. I still wonder if he ever figured out why the books were sent to him?
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QUICKsilver Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
@Steve W, Activate Pun-in-nator!
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Steve W Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@QUICKsilver, Just before the rematch in Arizona, when UFC replaced hockey, I posted a whole bunch, including the ones above( I think I missed the Surprise one though). @DuncanZ should remember them.
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You have to get under the skin of the young guys and slow them down with hits. Doan has been around too long and is super determined. I would focus on the young guys and pour shots on Smith and get plenty of traffic. Should be a good series but I still think the Kings take it is 5.
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Deke'r Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
@PW, ….I believe this one goes the distance with the Kings winning…..if not the east better be ready for a blitzkrieg…
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St Louis talking head Derwood Pang was on NHL live to give his assessment of the Kings vs. Ding(oe)s series.
He says Mike Smith is playing like Patty Roy in 1993.
Nice Nick Nickson montage at the end of the show!
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The Coyotes will be playing on pride for several different reasons, the biggest is job retention, at least in Phoenix. That franchise was, or perhaps is, up in the air for a long time, which creates kind of an aloof “what the heck” attitude when playing games…”loose” hockey players play better hockey. I give the Coyotes the edge due to the desperation factor, and just because they have collectively succeeded as a group in spite of the adversity the organization faced, in addition to the regular pressures of the game. The aforementioned is the “intangible” edge Phoenix has on their side. The focus and the drive is there, and while the Kings seemingly caked-walked past the Canucks and Blues, a very real awakening is coming their way…ironically, this will be a dog fight. Good luck to both sides, both will win at least 3 games in this series.
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Rich,
If I’m not mistaken, Arizona is mountain time, however they do not honor daylight savings time, so they are currently on the same hour as us.
This will be an awesome series – no matter what timezone!
GKG!
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