Just some perspective going into round 3. Bob and Jim mentioned that only three other teams have ever gone 8-1 in the first two rounds. In those three times, every outcome has happened (Loss in Rd 3, Loss in Rd 4 and Win in Rd4):
1998 (6) Buffalo Sabres
Round 1: Beat (3) Philadelphia 4-1
Round 2: Beat (7) Montreal 4-0
Round 3: Lost to (4) Washington 4-2
Round 4: n/a
2004 (1) Tampa Bay Lightning
Round 1: Beat (8) NY Islanders 4-1
Round 2: Beat (7) Montreal 4-0
Round 3: Beat (3) Philadelphia 4-3
Round 4: Beat (6) Calgary 4-3 to win Stanley Cup
2008 (2) Pittsburgh Penguins
Round 1: Beat (7) Ottawa 4-0
Round 2: Beat (5) NY Rangers 4-1
Round 3: Beat (6) Philadelphia 4-1
Round 4: Lost to (1) Detroit 4-2 in Finals
i hate to get emo, but watching Brown score that empty net goal makes my eyes tear up. it's like 24 years of emotional investment paid back with interest in one moment. the kids are alright after all. when has the weather ever been fair for the Kings? Today my long-suffering friends... today
Welcome to the club.
Been a fan since '67.
Being there in person yesterday was indescribable.
Definately a Conn Smyth Candiate if he continues like this, simply impressive.
It's like he is made for playoff hockey.
What a long way he's come. I remember his rookie season, where you could tell that he had a great presence of mind even if he didn't produce much. Fast forward a few years to when he was named captain of the team, and you could really see the burden that placed on him. We even saw a bit of it this year as he struggled, along with the whole team. I'll admit, I was ready to have him replaced as captain, although I was less than enthusiastic about the idea of trading him. In those dark days, however, anything seemed plausible.
And now, all I can say is wow. He has blossomed; or, rather, he's re-blossomed under Sutter, bigger and better than ever before. He is playing the best hockey of his life right now. And, win or lose in the next round, it's probably a little much to expect him to come out and score 50 goals next year, but it's quite a treat to watch him right now. It's so obvious that we're seeing something special on the ice right now.
It's amazing to get props from Cherry. He's right though, the Kings play their hearts out every shift and that's why they're winning. We have the talent, sure, but talent doesn't get you far if you don't work hard.
I just watched a few of the last two minute videos and I got teary eyed. I would have given anything to be there. I love that it's so loud, you can't even hear the goal horn on the empty net goal.
That shift was a perfect example of what Jim Fox calls a "priority shift". Just scored a goal and want to continue to keep the pressure on the Blues to maintain momentum. The only mistake the team made in this game was that bad line change, which thankfully didn't result in a loss, like the Philly line change versus the Devils.
I'm loving this team and I hope that the Phoenix/Nashville series goes at least 2 more games. I think when there's a long layoff between series, the negative aspect is mostly a basketball thing. In hockey, there's so much more physical recovery that needs to be done it can only benefit the team with the extra time. Plus, starting on the road, the pressure is squarely on the home team to hold serve.
So far, this team has flipped just about every complaint about them in the past. Playing the opponents' game and getting involved in offensive shootouts (2010/2011)? Fixed and learned to impose their playstyle. Lost game 4 in Round 1, can they learn from that in Round 2? Check. Lack of scoring? Every line has contributed offense in these 2 rounds. Winning a game where Quick wasn't lights out? Done that too. The next key will be how they react to actually losing a road game. Sutter seems to be pushing the right buttons and the guys seem to be learning and adapting rather quickly. Here's hoping that continues.
Thanks, I added them in. I don't know that Bob and Jim mentioned them, and now that I think about it, there might be others. Maybe they had some cutoff when talking about it, I'll have to go back and listen.
The funny thing with all of this is that we are doing exactly what I believed we would do and expected from us before the playoffs even started. I am surprised with the level of success we are having but not the success and know that there are allot of us out there who feel the same.
We knew that we were one player, a LW who could come in and give us that one more dimension of depth that would cause other teams to have to match up against us differently thus forcing them to spread themselves out more thinly before we would be legitimate contenders.
We knew that we were being outplayed but not outmatched. We had the size and the system as well as the goaltending and the defence to be world beaters but not the direction. In comes Sutter, a guy who is all about heart structure accountability and earning your spot and we began playing the kind of hockey that wins championships.
In comes King and Nolan and our bottom 6 falls into place. This one is where I was in a very small minority. King is playing *exactly* the kind of hockey that I said he was capable of since before his first 6 game call up of two seasons ago. It takes time but when you spend the majority of your life watching these kids play you get a feel for which ones will succeed and which ones will fail. King had NHL utility winger with scoring sense written all over him and has proven himself out. Nolan is his fathers son to the T and while he has had a more lauded upcoming he is still playing exactly the way that he is supposed to.
I have said enough about our D and the rest of our kids to where it is safe to say that all of them are doing exactly what they should be and what was expected of them.
We have had the best prospect system for the past few years and now we are seeing what happens when you utilize these assetts properly. Dealing away two exceptional forward prospects and one top flight D prospect brought us in the kind of talent that it takes to win a cup and what you can do when you have enough depth in your system. We have never been in a position as an org like we are today. Here we are on a cup run playing for the conference title with a team that has so many first and second year players on it that you would think that we would have had to empty the system to do so.
The thing is that we still have several great NHL caliber D men and forward prospects down on the farm to where we will only get better in a few areas over the next offseason or two as we lose a few of our replaceable vets.
This is what I expected our team to do and I am so happy to see it going down the way that it is. We FINALLY have a team, an org and a system that is in place to bring us to the level that we are at today and the way that things are going I think we can expect this same thing for the next several years.
It is a GREAT day week month year to be a Kings fan!!!
Sure it always is but it is soooooooooooooooooooo much better today then it has been.
Bob and Jim aren't allowed to call the games after the first round ended. The only time we see them is a brief Kings Live show after the game and that's on a different channel.
If the situation were to arise that we had three wins in the finals (I know, looking way ahead), but if that were to happen, I would love for Bob and Jim to record play by play and commentary during all remaining games, even if no one would hear it live. Then if we pulled off the impossible, there would be options to listen to the games with their commentary sometime later, whether online or dvd/bluray. I know I would pay to listen to it. Just a thought.
If the situation were to arise that we had three wins in the finals (I know, looking way ahead), but if that were to happen, I would love for Bob and Jim to record play by play and commentary during all remaining games, even if no one would hear it live. Then if we pulled off the impossible, there would be options to listen to the games with their commentary sometime later, whether online or dvd/bluray. I know I would pay to listen to it. Just a thought.
Live watch party at the Staples Center for the away games called by the boys would be sweet. Someone could tape it for rebroadcast.
Funny stat I just realized: Matt Greene and Jeff Carter have identical playoff stats. 9GP 1G 3A 4P +3
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"It has not been a good day. I lost my glasses early this morning and I had to go buy a pair of 79 dollar reading glasses today. 79 bucks. You can literally get them at Costco, three-for-20." - Darryl Sutter's response to going up 2-0 in the series.
What we need now is for Nashville to absolutely shell Smith for two games in blowouts, then for Phoenix to win a game 7 in triple overtime after giving up a 3 goal lead in that game!
What we need now is for Nashville to absolutely shell Smith for two games in blowouts, then for Phoenix to win a game 7 in triple overtime after giving up a 3 goal lead in that game!
and have the lights go at Jobbing for 2 hours or so in the 3rd period during game 7
In some ways, I want the Phoenix/Nashville game to go longer. That will give both teams a chance for injuries (not that I wish injuries on anyone) and they will be tired from playing so many games. On the other hand, if the Kings have a huge layoff, I kind of want the team they play to have the same layoff for rust reasons.
Off topic, but if at least one series goes long, the games in the 3rd round will probably start this coming weekend, correct? I'll be in LA for the end of this week, the weekend and beginning of next week. Have the Kings been hosting watch parties at LA Live during the playoffs?
