Introducing Scott Burnside, Stanley Cup Playoffs Correspondent!

Happy Friday, Insiders!

An introduction here for the group – Welcome Scott Burnside!

Scott will be joining our editorial coverage team here on LAKI for the duration of the postseason as our Stanley Cup Playoffs Correspondent. He got his first introduction to this Kings season last night, in a game that seemingly mirrored the team’s up and down first 81 games. From packing for Dallas early on to scrambling to find the passport after two periods and then once more back around the circle during the third period, ultimately the team’s fate wound up being Edmonton, in zig-zagging fashion. Scott will accompany us on the journey up North for Games 1 and 2 and beyond, with his stay in Los Angeles hopefully spanning more than just Part 3 of the Kings/Oilers trilogy.

For myself, not expecting anything to change here. Excited to have an experienced voice join our team and excited to be freed up in some other areas as well. My hope is that it will allow us both to dive in a bit deeper into our stories, providing an additional level of depth at the most critical time of the season. Hoping to be more engaged here with the Insiders in the comments throughout the playoffs, without needing to write what was sometimes 3-4 stories on my own in a single day. Having Scott will definitely help there!

I’ll make him sign up for Disqus, though, just to experience all of our day-to-day frustration in the process :).

Game days we’ll still have previews, live threads and post-game reactions, but we’ll also have the benefit of a second pair of eyes and a second writer, with Scott providing his analysis following games as well, likely in a next-day capacity in the morning with his impressions, takeaways and thoughts. Rapid reactions right after the game, Monday-morning quarterback the next morning. On practice days and travel days, having both Scott and myself at practices will lead to additional content opportunities, with practice reports, feature stories and game-to-game analysis pieces a cornerstone throughout each day of the playoffs.

Scott also provides a fresh perspective to our coverage, but an educated fresh perspective. Let’s face it, we’ve all seen 82 of these things for the Kings. Scott hasn’t, and heading into the playoffs, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. This team has been through one of the more up and down seasons that I can recall and for myself and I think all of us, sometimes that leads to blinders when it comes to certain storylines. Perhaps we take the steady and consistent play of someone like Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty for granted, because we see it every day. I know that Scott won’t take it for granted. We’ve lived the ups and downs of the last two series and have pre-existing notions. Perhaps we draw emotional opinions, for better or for worse, about certain players or parts of the team game, because we’ve lived it for 82 games and Scott won’t have that. He’s already offering fresh perspectives and ideas and I’m excited to see how his coverage fits into our landscape here on LAKI.

For now, an introduction from Scott, with his coverage to follow here as we approach Game 1 –

Greetings on the eve of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I know it’s a cliché but there truly is no better time in sport than the National Hockey League playoffs. Anyone who watched Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in Los Angeles back in 2012 understands the truth of that. As does anyone who watched a similar explosion of euphoria two years later in the same building. I was there. I was also in Ithaca, New York with Dustin Brown when the Stanley came to visit a few weeks after the Kings’ seminal Cup win in 2012. To watch the power of sharing that trophy, that moment, friends and relatives, some of whom had endured unspeakable tragedy, remains one of the most memorable moments of a long time covering pucks. I’m lucky. Beyond lucky.

I covered my first NHL playoff series in 1997 and along the way have helped chronicle close to 20 Stanley Cup runs. I watched Detroit captain Steve Yzerman park the Stanley Cup on the arm of teammate Vladimir Konstantinov’s wheelchair on the ice in Washington after winning the Cup in 1998. I watched T.J. Oshie search the stands in Vegas after the Caps’ first-ever Cup win for his father, Tim, or simply ‘Coach’, who had earlier been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The pattern may be the same but the stories are always unique. Each playoff season marks a wholly unique intersection of dream and commitment. To be a part of it in any capacity is a treasure. So I couldn’t be more pleased to be sharing this particular Stanley Cup journey with Kings fans. Bring it on.

Day off today, Insiders, back at it tomorrow at 11 AM. Full stream of playoff coverage in the morning, starting with tomorrow’s practice day at Toyota Sports Performance Center.