It was one of those rare, crystal clear days in downtown Los Angeles; the kind where you feel like can reach out and touch the Hollywood sign. Given the elaborate stagecraft on display during the pregame ceremony celebrating the Kings’ Stanley Cup championship, STAPLES Center could just as easily have been a movie studio as a hockey rink.
But even Ben Affleck would have had trouble making this one suspenseful. The Kings fell behind early and were never able to make a game of it as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks, before a disappointed sellout crowd of 18,545.
“I think our top players can all be a lot better,” Coach Darryl Sutter said.
True enough. But it’s hard to imagine the pregame ceremonies being any better.
After the Kings received their rings, the players took turns skating with the Stanley Cup, a ritual typically reserved for the end of a championship season, not the start of the next one. It was a highlight of the afternoon.
Another memorable moment came soon after, when Rogie Vachon and Marcel Dionne were joined by the parents and brother of Ana-Marquez Greene, who died in the Sandy Hook school tragedy, to present the championship banner to Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Matt Greene. The three Kings lettermen then skated it to rink attendants who raised it to the rafters amid a deafening chant of, “Go, Kings, Go.”
Then came the game itself, which was unable to live up to the events that preceded it. One game represents the smallest of sample sizes, so we still don’t know how the Kings will respond to wearing crowns on both their jerseys and their heads.
We do know, however, that the Kings have targets on their backs, and the Blackhawks started taking their shots early. On this day, the biggest stars in town were wearing road white jerseys. Marian Hossa (3 points), Patrick Kane (2 points), and Jonathan Toews (2 points) made things tough on the Kings all afternoon.
Chicago took advantage of an early 5-on-3, and when they stretched their lead to 2-0, the Kings found themselves in the kind of hole they avoided throughout last year’s title run.
“We just couldn’t get any momentum after that,” Sutter said.
The first goal came at 3:41, when Kane took a pass from Hossa and one-timed a shot past Jonathan Quick to suck a little of the magic from the building. Chicago made it 2-0 at 12:57 when Hossa put a pass from Daniel Carcillo past Quick. A minute and 14 seconds later, Michael Frolik made it 3-0.
The second period didn’t start any better for the Kings as Jonathan Toews, who was all alone in front, put the rebound of a Patrick Kane shot past Quick at 1:16 to make it 4-0.
It wasn’t until Rob Scuderi beat Corey Crawford at 18:38 of the second period that the crowd finally had something to new cheer about. The stanza ended with the Kings on the wrong end of a manageable 4-1 deficit.
Midway through the third period, Jordan Nolan brought the Kings to within a pair of goals by beating Crawford at 9:20. Matt Greene and Kyle Clifford assisted.
But just 15 seconds later, Hossa snapped a wrister from above right faceoff circle that beat Quick for his second goal of the game.
Emotional pregame ceremonies, be it a jersey retirement or the unveiling of a new banner, are never easy. They sap emotion and almost demand a team live in the past, at least momentarily. Sutter likened today’s atmosphere to Game 4 of last year’s Final, when, with anticipation of a Cup-clinching win hanging thick in the air, New Jersey took a 3-1 win to avoid a sweep.
“You have to focus on what you do yourself,” Sutter said, “more than what everyone else wants you to do”
Still, Sutter said he thought his team did a good job of avoiding the distractions.
“It really wasn’t an issue,” Sutter said of all the pregame hype. “I thought the ceremony was awesome and I thought we had a pretty good start. We nearly had the 5-on-3 killed, but didn’t.”
With the NHL’s truncated 48-game schedule, if the Kings realize that if they spend any amount of time looking back at last year, they will likely find themselves looking up in the Pacific Division standings.
“There is definitely more value given to each game,” Brown said. “But that doesn’t change your approach. We struggled up and down last year. It’s a matter of rebounding and staying in the field.”
Last season taught the Kings a lot about sticking with it, a lesson that will come in handy, Brown said.
“We never got too high, never got too low,” Brown said. “That is our M.O.”
Saturday afternoon at STAPLES Center, on the other hand, had both highs and lows. A Stanley Cup championship was celebrated in style. But if it was the first win of a new season you were looking for, like that banner up there in the rafters of STAPLES Center, you were left hanging.
NOTES:
The day’s festivities began with Bob Miller introducing a video tribute and asking for a moment of silence in honor of David Courtney, the Kings’ longtime public address announcer, who passed away in November at the age of 56.
In addition to the unveiling of their championship banner, the Kings revealed new standards displaying the retired numbers of Rogie Vachon (30), Marcel Dionne (16), Wayne Gretzky (99), and Luc Robitaille (20). Like the Stanley Cup banner, the retired banners now hang from the rafters. The numbers are larger than the old ones and billow in the breeze, conjuring something you might see an old-time hockey arena like Boston Garden. The Kings chose a sans-serif Chicago Bears-type font for the numbers.
The Kings’ rings were designed by Tiffany & Co., and feature the team’s crest atop a Stanley Cup encrusted with diamonds. They were presented the players by Nancy Anschutz, wife of team owner Philip Anschutz. After receiving their gin, players then skate through a reception line made up of Tim Leiweke, Dean Lombardi, and Luc Robitaille.
For the Kings, Jake Muzzin, Brad Richardson, and Anthony Stewart were scratches.
The Kings wore patches commemorating their Stanley Cup title on their jerseys.
After a day off tomorrow, the Kings return to practice Monday before embarking on a three-game road trip that takes them to Colorado, Edmonton, and Phoenix.
SPECIAL GUSTES PARTICIPATED IN TODAY’S CELEBRATION:
Participating in today’s ceremony were the Greene family from Sandy Hook, CT, including their 8-year-old son who plays hockey in his community’s junior development program. They accepted the invitation this week from the LA Kings to attend the game and agreed to take part in the ceremony to honor the memory of their daughter Ana Márquez-Greene and pay tribute to families from all across America who watch hockey, play hockey and share experiences like today that bring joy and happiness into our lives.
The three family members joined Marcel Dionne and Rogie Vachon on the ice to present the 2012 Stanley Cup Banner to the Kings Captains just prior to it being raised.
Anyone wishing to help the community of Sandy Hook can do so by donating to a special fund that benefits all 26 families who lost members of their family at www.mysandyhookfamily.com
Tickets? check
Gas? check
Cash? check
Jersey? check
Nachos? check
Banner raised? check
Good game? uh waiter, check please
The Kings appeared flat and out of sync. They were tentative with their hits and the game looked more like a preseason scrimmage. Which is what it was.
Don’t panic folks! You can’t analyze or take anything away from this game other than 4 days of practice after being off for 7 months doesn’t get even a professional hockey player ready for NHL level hockey. The team is going to need 3-4 more games to get even close to what they were. Once they get used to the physical contact again, we should see our forecheck return and “real” Kings hockey.
And for those of you worried about Quick, don’t be. If you were watching in the 3rd, one of the Hawks was coming in on him on the wing with no one to stop him, just him and Quick, mano a mano. That Hawk thought about it, figured he didn’t want to take Quick on, and made a pass when he had the speed and was only 15 feet out.
Patience Grasshoppers……….
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King$ Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 8:20 am
@DesertKing,
“The Kings’ rings were designed by Tiffany & Co., and feature the team’s crest atop a Stanley Cup encrusted with diamonds.”
How did we go without insightful commentary like that last year?! Is this the oscar’s?! Next thing we know there will be a kardashian as the main photo…
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Jkking Reply:
January 21st, 2013 at 12:36 pm
The kings are as out of sync as this blog. Win the cup and the blog goes to ….
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The Kings are rusty, but also out of sync. Too bad Kopi wasn’t in the lineup. He often seems to spark them when they look flat like they did today.
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Deke'r Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 9:08 am
@rontheking, …..it was the “gin” they received (see above article)….you should never give a player gin before a game…
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The retired numbers look lame…should have used the old banners instead of these new ones that have a crappy font never seen on a Kings jersey before. The pregame ceremony was great…game sucked. It was great seeing @puck73 and @#1faninvegas today. Had a great time..
The boys looked sluggish…especially Quick. Clifford was our best player today. We need this roadtrip to get the guys wheels turning. Still 47 games to go.
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Stuart Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:55 pm
@TeamJMFJ, I don’t know if it should be said “especially Quick”… luck shot on the 5-3, 2 deflections off dmen, perfect snipeshot on Frolic’s goal and nobody backchecking on the frozentoes rebound…
Defensemen were pretty much all a step slow, Richards was limping around and has negative chemistry when playing with DB… I’d rather see DB being centered by Carts. All in all, it looked like the 1st game after a 6 day training camp…
48 games is longer than we thing, it’ll be turned around.
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 11:03 pm
@Stuart, totally agree…Quick was off though…you have to admit that. Overall like you said…im not too worried. Still 47 games to go
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Stuart Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:17 am
@TeamJMFJ, he did look to be fighting the puck a bit more than normal… just saying others were much more ouf of game shape.
GKG
TeamJMFJ Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 1:25 pm
@TeamJMFJ, definitely agree. With players not 100%…it makes the goalies job that much harder
Darrell Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 1:34 am
@TeamJMFJ, I disagree. The old ones looked strange with all the mismatched styles and striping. Remember, it’s not really the jersey that’s retired, it’s the number.
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Gailweb Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 4:48 am
@TeamJMFJ, hi and yes great to see the fellows
Insiders nice to see and finally meet guys
As always afternoon games are not our best for sure
The jerseys up in the sky at Staples looked
wonderful much better than on the wall
Until the next game
Go Kings Go!
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Kevco Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 11:05 am
@TeamJMFJ, Quick beat from outside the right circle AGAIN!
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Agree Clifford best on the ice along with Nolan and Fraser.
Some should have been playing not hanging around NY hotel rooms.
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paige Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:28 pm
@harty, Penner had hustle, too,
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Stuart Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:55 pm
@paige, only in the 3rd
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vinny Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 9:34 am
@harty, loved cliffords play yesterday, definitely the best one out there
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Gosh!!!! two teams that I can’t stand, and a real D-Bag announcer who makes my skin crawl are on TV.One will win tonight and that will be 2 pts that our boys don’t have.
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DesertKing Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 7:46 pm
@LVKINGS88,
Losing to the Hawks isn’t as bad as losing to someone in our division, so therefore, we probably want the Casucks to beat the Quacks. Right?
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LVKINGS88 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 8:37 pm
@DesertKing, I know but right now it’s not looking good for the Cansucks.
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DesertKing Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
@LVKINGS88,
Thats because they suck. Of course, it could also be because we destroyed all of their confidence when we knocked their diving butts into the ice, ripped out there throats and buried them in Round 1 last season. I can see the Gingers looking at each other across a table saying “Why?” “Why?” “Why?” “Why?”
Kingz0431 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
@LVKINGS88, I don’t like the Ducks but I hate the Canucks so watching them lose makes me very happy.
Lake Forest Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 7:51 pm
@LVKINGS88, watching it on mute might save a blood vessel or two
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LVKINGS88 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 8:35 pm
@Lake Forest, SOOOO true, it shows you how much I love hockey, I have to subject myself to watching these two hated teams,WHY couldn’t our Kings win today. Wow the Cansucks and Cory Shneider look like crap.
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Nothing I saw in today’s game causes worry, yet. Today was a day of celebration and reflection on last years success. We were flat which came as no surprise to me. Bounces did not go our way. Defense definitely missing Mitchell. All in all, it’s only one game and we all know we can play better. On to Colorado. It’s time we beat the Av’s anyway!
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Take the positives from today.. The 4th Line looks good. Clifford looks healthy and played like his rookie season. Nolan seems to be the same Nolan. If sutter keeps that line together, Clifford and Nolan can put up some points, Clifford might even have a break out year. Clifford was playing great with the Reign, Kid has skill and size. Hopefully he gets the playing time to so his skill along with his toughness.
Who is waived and who sits when kopi comes back?
Gange Sits? Richardson Waived? Gagne traded? Thought?
Our season starts Tuesday, the banner has been raised and the team got their rings… Now it’s time to go back to work!!!
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Kenny44 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:08 pm
@hbjohn, we can’t get value for Gagne in a trade now (how much can we steal from Carolina?)
The logical business decision is to send down one of the kids. That’s probably a lot of motivation for Nolan and Clifford. As far as replacement value, maybe King is the odd man out since Gagne is healthy (Penner can take King’s place if Gagne stays in top 6 when Kopi comes back. Hate to say that, but it’s nice to have depth and you need to have the right blend in the stew.
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GUSTAVO Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:45 pm
@Kenny44,
Gagne may be healthy, but he looked useless and tentative today. D King played much better.
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 11:05 pm
@GUSTAVO, +1
Kenny44 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 11:44 pm
@GUSTAVO,
I’m talking about assets for the season and what happens when Kopi gets activated, which was the question. I don’t think Dean and Darryl are ready to cut Gagne loose, so one of the kids will have to go down.
Clifford looked good, Brown and Penner played well. Where was Richards and Williams? Need more from Carter and Gagne. Not to worried, pre-game activities threw us off. Having hockey back made my day, my weekend, win or lose!!!!!
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Nucks with goaltending drama
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Hayward should’ve been a MIME.
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One87Money Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 1:06 pm
@jess,
+100
He alone is the reason I don’t watch Ducks games, and a big part of why I don’t like the team.
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Luuuuuuuuongo! After tonight, half the teams suck and the other half look good.
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Dilapidus Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 9:09 am
@DesertKing,
No.. Philly and the Pens both looked a whole heckuvalot better than either team tonight. Kings gotta find that next gear fast. For the first time in a very long time though, I am not concerned. They have it and Sutter will help them find it.
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At least we did better than the Canucks
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Kenny44 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:01 pm
@aKinginVancouver,
They’re suffering the dreaded “choked in the first round” hangover
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jess Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:03 pm
@Kenny44,
First time ever one of those green men have made me laugh when ryan went to the box. They had a head shot of him and were spraying rogain foam on it behind the glass.
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Kenny44 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:09 pm
@jess, do they not have Chia pet infomercials in the Great White North?
DesertKing Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:18 pm
@jess,
Was it for Ryan or Getzlaugh?
jess Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:46 pm
@DesertKing,
I thought it was ryan but maybe it was getzlaf
jess Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:47 pm
@DK, -had his helmut on, -all those ducks look the same.
DesertKing Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:49 pm
@jess,
Same with those guys in the bodysuits.They couldn’t tell the difference between Ryan and Getslaugh even with their names on the back of their jerseys.
This game doesn’t bother me, but I would have pulled Quick after first period (no disrespect) but to shake up the team. Also would have given Bernier to prove his mettle.
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NBC is a joke. Cutting off the games 3rd period to show the pens and flyers was upsetting but was probably for the better. Nothing worse than watching the Kings have an off game than to listen to the worlds worst announcers.
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DesertKing Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
@mr beefy,
NBC = Natural Bettman Crap
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GUSTAVO Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
@DesertKing,
NBC = “Nothing But Crap” is still the best one.
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 10:08 pm
@GUSTAVO, That bout sums it up. Cue Niokelback.
Mars Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:50 pm
@mr beefy,
NBC is the worst, hands down.
I would rather listen to the real housewives call the games.
Bob and Jim need to bust in the door, duct tape the bitches, toss them down to the fans to let them take care of the rest.
Meanwhile, the insiders need to rush all the NBC cameras and smash them, while we let in multiple other camera crews.
Selling sole rights ensures one thing CRAP coverage.
I was ok with the loss, but the coverage was crap!
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If we had a team with a bunch of prima donna stars, and a normal coach I would be worried that we could recapture the magic. But our guys are are well balanced (in talent and each one mentally), plus we have Coach Sutter. As the coach said last year after the Motorcity Meltdown “No problem”.
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Hello? Dean? Yea, how you doin’? Mike Gillis here. Yea, we didn’t do to good on opening night either. Yea, you know, we was wonderin’, you still lookin” to move Bernier? I will send you Schneider, a Ginger, and 1 of the weird guys in the body suits.
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whats this i hear about quick being hurt?
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Stuart Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 9:58 pm
@Kings Fan In Temecula, I hope just his feelings!
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Kings Fan In Temecula Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 10:23 pm
@Stuart, well a friend told me he was hurt but it coulda been his pride
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Teemu and jagr……….what can one say?
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End of a very weird roller coaster day:
UPPER:Got an early phone call from Mom for my Birthday. Great News: She’s walking again!! (She’s 89, had a heart attack a few months ago that put her in a wheel chair) She’s far from dancing jigs, but hey! ..walking is walking
DOWNER: My prayers were not answered and Bob Miller did not interrupt the pregame ceremony to announce my Birthday at Staples. I think my being an atheist may have jinxed it.
UPPER: Being at Staples among 18500 of my best unknown sports friends to celebrate the 2012 Stanley Cup Championship Banner Raising ceremony. What a rush!!
DOWNER: No Mitchell. No Kopi. Two top lines were invisible. Did Gagne play? LAK loses 5-2
UPPER: Fourth line scores 3 points, 1 goal (Nolan), 2 Assists (Clifford)
DOWNER: Got home from LA to find our 15 year old dog gone to doggie heaven. Had to scramble to cancel tonight’s Birthday party and make arrangements for good old Garth’s body.
UPPER: Gotta love those friends who quietly make themselves available in your time of need. I want to be like them when I grow up.
I’m not a fan roller coasters!!
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 10:22 pm
@GUSTAVO, Happy Birthday stavo, salud.
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Kings Fan In Temecula Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 10:26 pm
@Mikey J., isnt it salut
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KJ Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 11:23 pm
@GUSTAVO, Wow, that really is quite the roller coaster. I’m so sorry about your dog, that’s really rough.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 8:14 am
@GUSTAVO, Helluva day. A lot of losses but friends were there which is what matters most.
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West is gonna be brutal but, hey…
52 pts could pull 8th seed, right?
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To the individual(s) updating this blog now:
Thank you for your write-ups this week. I will refrain from any “Rich did this better” comments, but an element from his Insider days that I really appreciated were transcripts of the post-game interviews. I know that the interviews are usually added to Kings Vision, but some of us can’t access video at certain times.
The narratives are nice, but a couple smaller posts of quotes would be really helpful and informative. Thanks!
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Goring 19 Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 10:59 pm
@jp, no doubt. Definetly miss the post game comments. I’ll say it to whomever is running this blog, there’s room for improvement on the blog and that’s putting it nicely.
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Rookie Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 7:45 am
@jp,
All you have to do is look at the number of posts last night to see where this blog is going. A total of 64 posts for the first game of the season is pathetic.
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NHL has Clifford as 3rd star of the game (after Hossa and Seabrook)…wow!
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GUSTAVO Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 11:18 pm
@KJ,
Why not? Clifford got 2 points…more than any other LAK player?
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KJ Reply:
January 19th, 2013 at 11:25 pm
@GUSTAVO, No, not that, just that who would have thought going into the game that Clifford would be the lone star for the Kings. Nothing against Clifford, I really like him, but just not something anyone would have guessed.
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GUSTAVO Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:23 am
@KJ,
The 4th line played hungry, effectively and with intensity. The other three…mmeeeh.
KJ Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 1:47 am
@GUSTAVO, Absolutely. KC…coming back and playing like that…he must feel really good and I’m very happy for him! Silver linings…
hbjohn Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 9:51 am
@KJ, I take it alot of you guys don’t know what Clifford is capable of doing. This could be a break out year for him. He has put up big points everywhere he has played on his way to the NHL. This Kid could be a great power forward. He was tearing up the ECHL in his min amount of games played.
We could see the return of the Kid that played in 2010/2011 playoffs. A bit of Sophmore slump last season, now time for a break out? Who knows.. I think if they keep the 4th line how it is, they will put up some numbers and drive the other teams crazy.
The Kings’ play was about as good as this blog is right now. The grammar isn’t even on point.
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The Kings’ play was about as good as this blog is right now. The grammar isn’t even on point.
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jess Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:57 am
@Bryson,
Then quit spending time here, and get back to sprucing up that action figure collection in your mom’s basement.
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Im sorry but does anyone else think our new PA announcer is terrible or is just me? I know David Courtney wont ever be topped but this guy seriously sounded so boring and some of the stuff like penalties and I think some of the goals he did not even say twice def something i hope he changes.
As far as the game top 2 lines were useless…I see some people giving Gagne some beef I was fine with the way he played he was actually one of the few besides Penner that was shooting the puck. Penner has a good game I thought
Richards, Carter, Brown, Williams hardly even noticed on the ice..saw that Richards was a -3
Quick looked like it was a preseason game just by how he looked on the ice not looking like himself not by the goals he allowed he only allowed one bad one 5th goal other 4 he had no chance
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When I entered Staples and saw Dean L and walked
over to say Hi and told him I was coming to see
our boys for 26 years and then he hugged me
and said hello for sure it was special
He welcome fans back in and it was nice for sure to see
our banner raise up and how special it was for our boys
NBC. no words watching the game replay on my DVR
terrible coverage and oh Mathew Perry in a suite
with Luc and Kopi
Kopi Bob Jim we need you Back!!!!!
The new fans were not so nice and the lines
at the shop to get our Kings gear was so long
I missed second period good thing for DVR
What can we do about coverage on NBC and
long lines nothing
Go Kings Go!
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I think that the holes in the lineup left by the absence of Kopi and Mitchell can’t be overstated. That rock solid defense we saw most of last year was a sieve yesterday. However, I’m not worried. In fact, I’d rather have a loss like this where the problems are glaring rather than a win that glosses over the reality of the situation. How’s that for spin!
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Kings stunk.
Could not make or receive two consecutive passes (rarely 1 ). Daryl is gonna be drilling em today.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 8:12 am
@johnjuan, That is if they actually held practice.
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Nykingfan Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 9:07 am
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
I was a little surprised that Sutter’s not having them practice today.
Not so much because of the way they played, but this is more like the early stages of training camp…
Oh well Bettman’s NHL…exhlibitions count as real games.
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But at least we got that awesome handkerchief, a mean banner to take home…what a joke
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jp Reply:
January 20th, 2013 at 11:38 pm
@Jeff, you mean McDonalds ad.
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Not the way we all hoped to start, but this season is going to be a bunch of odd challenges.
Our top 6 were terrible. No offensive flow throuout.
It will get better over time, you just have to win some of these “shinny” style hockey games pot remain in contention.
As an out of town Kings fan, I was disgusted with nbc’s embarrassing coverage. If you’re going to claim exclusivity,, kindly be fan friendly. Don’t make me watch that awful live stream..either allow me real access to the game via nbcsports TV or allow in demand to show the game. The live stream was about 5 minutes behind the game and it was choppy throuout.
All in all, great opening ceremony. I’ll leave it at that.
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Did they hang the 2011-2012 Western Conference Championship Banner up ?
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First game back, without #1 center and #1 stay at home defenseman, played after all the pomp and circumstance afforded the Stanley Cup Champions…the results shouldn’t be too surprising.
The Hawks played well, the Kings played okay. It may be good to play the next few on the road to get really focused on the job at hand.
Can’t say enough about how horrible that was for NBC to switch to the Penguins game in the 3rd period. What a crock. I guess this is what Kings fans have to look forward to this year for the games televised on NBC, 2 1/2 periods of Kings and 1/2 period of whoever else is playing. Weak, NBC.
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Ya, I agree we had 2 key pieces missing but that does not excuse the rest of the team. Other teams (everyone I saw) including Blackhawks looked pretty good and ready to play. We didn’t. First 15 games could sink us if this doesn’t turn around quickly. But hey, WE ARE THE CHAMPS !
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Disappointed about the game, but the banner swinging in the rafters is awesome.
As for this blog, I want to thank the Kings staff who are filling in. I like the details all in one post, easier for me to read on my phone. Those of you complaining, if you think you could do better, start your own blog.
In the meantime, all that really matters is we’re back playing again. GKG.
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It looks like they are deleting all strongly negative comments about Kings play on Sat.
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Not a great start. Let’s hope that all the road travel does not have the Kings outside looking in by the time the first 15 games is over.
Today is 9th day since the end of the lockout I’ve spent zero on the NHL.
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Matt Greene out for the season? Now what? Desperation trade coming?
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