Sorry if you guys have discussed this already, but these playoff threads move quickly!
What kind of faith has Sutter had in Bernier this season? I've noticed a lot of you expressing concern about Quick's mental toughness around this time of year, would you be comfortable with Bernier should Quick stuggle?
As a Canuck fan I figured goaltending might be where you have the advantage, I'm surprised by a lot of these posts regarding the kid.
I'm probably in the minority here, but I would rather Quick get at least another 4 cracks at postseason play to toughen him up mentally than potentially sit him and waste the experience. The guy is undoubtedly our franchise goalie moving forward, so I think it would take an epic meltdown for Quick to be sat for Bernier.
In regards to your question about Sutter's confidence in Bernier, Sutter has played Quick in both games of back-to-back situations down the stretch. That should tell you all you need to know.
Come on now. Dallas twice, Colorado twice, Edmonton once, Calgary twice, Anaheim once and the Kings once.
One playoff team out of 9.
The 6 games against Dallas, Calgary, and Colorado were against teams fighting for their playoffs lives -- and Dallas was in a playoff position for both of those games. Colorado and Calgary were tied for 8th for a few of those games as well if I'm not mistaken.
The Canucks have been so-so down the stretch and close to terrible (for them) before the last 9 games, but it's a bit disingenuous to pretend the Canucks weren't playing hungry teams.
Canucks were 41-13-8 after the first twenty games of the season. That's an okay run...
The 6 games against Dallas, Calgary, and Colorado were against teams fighting for their playoffs lives -- and Dallas was in a playoff position for both of those games. Colorado and Calgary were tied for 8th for a few of those games as well if I'm not mistaken.
The Canucks have been so-so down the stretch and close to terrible (for them) before the last 9 games, but it's a bit disingenuous to pretend the Canucks weren't playing hungry teams.
Canucks were 41-13-8 after the first twenty games of the season. That's an okay run...
I like this match-up but it's not an easy task to upset this Vancouver team that's for sure, they have won the Presidents trophy for a reason.
The March version (post trade deadline) of the Kings should still make this a damn fine and intense series.
I sent a note to someone at the Kings in the know about these things. I'll let you know if I hear anything back about plans for Bob and if the Kings were to advance.
From a historical perspective, I can tell you that in 1993 when the Kings ran the table, Bob Miller and Jim Fox did call every series, and pretty sure it was on the local Prime Network (at the time, it was Prime Ticket, or Prime, something like that).
I am not sure, but I think ESPN had the NHL contract at the time. It doesn't matter who had it, because there was no "propriety" at the time; that is, you could see a game on more than one network being televised (similar to TNT and Prime the other night for the Clippers game).
Also, a few years later (don't remember when), when the Kings were not involved, he was tasked to do some network TV hockey playoff games...sure was weird hearing him call a game for two teams where one was not the Kings.
Most of the oiler board are now King fans. Hope The Human Slug Penner wakes up and kicks ass
Us too.
We've been joking all year that he is going to explode in the playoffs and score 2 plus goals a gamean just in time to earn a giant contract from Columbus.
riots will start if we sweep the canucks, so lets shoot for 4 games guys
Name me one city that had a riot for losing a series in the first round...hockey, basketball, baseball, any sport, other than futbol in GB or Europe.
It just doesn't happen. And considering our fans' behavior after Laker titles, I wouldn't be spreading any more riot crap about what happened in Vancouver last year.
Good Luck with this series, your team has some serious fire power nobody up here is comfortable with that
Hopefully when our fans fly down to watch the games in LA they don't act like total fools, lets be honest team appreciation is called for but I hear some of us don't know where to draw the line
One, for the most part, we were dominating teams at the end of the season- even sometimes in games we lost.
And two, I am SO going to get infracted here during this series.
GO KINGS!!!!
That's why I've decided to become more of a reader of the main thread on the playoff board. However, it might become to difficult to hold back, especially when the whining from some of them starts, i.e. 'The world is against the Canucks' posts.
From a historical perspective, I can tell you that in 1993 when the Kings ran the table, Bob Miller and Jim Fox did call every series, and pretty sure it was on the local Prime Network (at the time, it was Prime Ticket, or Prime, something like that).
I am not sure, but I think ESPN had the NHL contract at the time. It doesn't matter who had it, because there was no "propriety" at the time; that is, you could see a game on more than one network being televised (similar to TNT and Prime the other night for the Clippers game).
Also, a few years later (don't remember when), when the Kings were not involved, he was tasked to do some network TV hockey playoff games...sure was weird hearing him call a game for two teams where one was not the Kings.
That cup run predated the ESPN contract of the 90s. At the time I think NHL was on "Sportschannel" or something like that. For most people in LA, there was no hockey other the Kings hockey on TV and I went years without seeing the Stanley cup finals (except for that awesome run in 93).
I would think that if the Kings advance beyond round 1 that Bob and Jim would participate in someway on the radio broadcasts.
I bought Kings playoff tickets one week ago today for $45 each in the 300 level. I look last Friday for some more and tickets in the same section for the same exact game (literally two seats over) are going for $72 w/o fees. Is Staples Center now like an airplane where ticket prices fluctuate with supply and demand? And do my bags fly free at Staples?
I get the feeling that AEG is trying to maximize their revenue for their two annual Kings playoff games. So what trainwreck will I witness this year? Who will be this year's Frolov or last year's Doughty? Who wants to be the cause of the tide turning? I already got a knot in my stomach just thinking about it. There isn't enough liquor and barbiturates in the world to make being a Kings fan an easy task.
In the last 2 post seasons, the Kings are 3-3 on the road, and 1-5 at home. A .500 winning percentage on the road in the playoffs is about the best you can possibly expect. It's not good enough for anything if you can't win at home though. If the Kings plan on beating the Canucks, that home record will have to change dramatically.
The second thing is that the Kings have to hold onto the leads that they do build up, especially at home. The Kings have done fairly well in getting the lead against the Canucks and Sharks.
That's what separates the playoffs teams from the contenders. The contenders don't stop. They know that they don't have the game won until that last buzzer. Quick will have to come up with that one save. The defense will have to not run around in their own zone. The forwards will have to stay with their men(especially in OT).
If the Kings have learned from their mistakes the last 2 years, then they can win this series. If they haven't, then they'll probably lose the series clinching Game 6 at home, while blowing a lead in the 3rd period.
I bought Kings playoff tickets one week ago today for $45 each in the 300 level. I look last Friday for some more and tickets in the same section for the same exact game (literally two seats over) are going for $72 w/o fees. Is Staples Center now like an airplane where ticket prices fluctuate with supply and demand? And do my bags fly free at Staples?
I get the feeling that AEG is trying to maximize their revenue for their two annual Kings playoff games. So what trainwreck will I witness this year? Who will be this year's Frolov or last year's Doughty? Who wants to be the cause of the tide turning? I already got a knot in my stomach just thinking about it. There isn't enough liquor and barbiturates in the world to make being a Kings fan an easy task.
I saw that last night too. I got my tickets for 47.50 and now they want 20 or 30 more dollars...even on stubhub too. It's just ridic, elf.
