believe

So this happened this week... Yay for making history!


Round 2, Game 1 starts tonight against the Sucky Ducks of Anaheim. This is the LA Kings' new playoff in-arena intro video... very reminiscent of the in-arena intro video from the 2012 Playoffs. And you know what happened that year.

happy cup-iversary!

Exactly one year ago tonight, I was standing in the lower bowl of Staples Center with my dad watching this happen...

Sadly, I won't get to relive that experience again this season. The Kings' 2013 season ended last Saturday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals when the Chicago Blackhawks (who, ironically, ruined our home opener/Stanley Cup banner raising at the beginning of the season) beat them in double overtime -- the longest game in Kings history -- and eliminated them from this year's playoffs. The Blackhawks will now play the Boston Bruins in this year's Stanley Cup Finals, beginning tomorrow. (And by the way... GO BRUINS!)

Those who know me assumed that game was an extremely upsetting event for me. (I actually received condolence messages from multiple friends and coworkers.) But as someone who's been upset and disappointed for approximately 90% of my 25 years as a Kings fan, that was nothing. In fact, I was actually proud of them. Sure they were eliminated in five games. But they made it back to the Western Conference Finals the year after winning The Cup. Most teams who've won the Stanley Cup in recent years have been eliminated in the first round the next year. The New Jersey Devils, who we beat last year, didn't even make the playoffs this year. So to even make it to the Conference Finals was a big accomplishment. 

On top of that, after quickly falling behind 0-2 in Game 5, the Kings battled back to tie the game 2-2 in the 3rd. Then, with three minutes remaining in the game, the Hawks scored what many assumed was the game winning goal. But the Kings wouldn't go quietly, and with 9.3 seconds left in regulation, Anze Kopitar deflected a shot off of Mike Richards and into the net to send the game to OT. No Kings team of my first 23 years of fandom would've battled back like that. And yes, they were eventually beaten 32 minutes later when Patrick Kane finally got a puck past Jonathan Quick. But they went down fighting and that's all you can ask for... especially from a team that was too beaten up to realistically go much further. The Blackhawks were too good this year, and the Kings were hurting, bad.

In the playoffs, no one talks about injuries. But any Kings fan could tell things were not right with the team, especially the top lines. Hits weren't being thrown. Goals weren't being scored. Skating fast seemed reeeeally hard sometimes.

I was certain Kopitar had messed up his knee again -- that was the only way to explain his lack of goal scoring. But it turns out, he's the only top-line player who wasn't injured. Justin Williams had been playing with a separated shoulder since the San Jose series. Dustin Brown was playing with a torn PCL in his knee. Drew Doughty was skating on a messed up ankle for the last two series. And Robin Regher just had surgery today to repair his elbow that's been damaged since the start of the playoffs.

Considering all that, the fact that they beat San Jose in Round 2 was a minor miracle. So I can't be upset about losing to Chicago.

All I want now is for them to get healthy again so they can kick butt next year... specifically the Blackhawks' butts... and of course the Ginger Twins'. (Me, hold a grudge? Ha.)

And until then, I will enjoy not having to drive downtown twice a week to fight for parking spaces that haven't yet been vacated by downtown worker bees by the time nationally televised games start.

And I will watch this and remember the most amazing two months of hockey that culminated in the most surreal, amazing, fairy tale ending 365 days ago.

Happy Cup-iVersary LA Kings and Fans! It was an amazing ride... and I have no doubt we'll experience it again very soon :)

things that make me smile: awesome intro videos

I love this video. I have loved it for two months since it debuted at Game 3 of Round 2 of the playoffs vs. the St. Louis Blues. It has slightly evolved during every subsequent playoff round since April and this is my most favorite version of it :-)

the most awesome video ever... for now

1 more win (knock on wood. no jinxes. no whammies)

I was really nervous today. My brother is coming to LA from Vegas for Game 4 on Wednesday. Everything has fallen into place thus far for us to possibly witness history together in Section 206, Row 7 on our mom's birthday, June 6th. But the Kings had to win tonight for that to still be possible. So I was slightly uneasy all day.

But once this beautifully amazing goal was scored in the 2nd period by Anze Kopitar, with the awesome assists from Dustin Brown and Justin Williams, I was able to breathe for a while. This gave us a two-goal lead.

 

Two more goals came after this. At which point it hit me: This is really happening. The Kings have a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. They are actually, more than likely (knock on wood. no jinxes. no whammies) going to finally -- after 45 years -- win the Stanley Cup!

AHHHHHHHH!

This is REALLY happening! The Kings need to win ONE MORE GAME. Please let that happen on Wednesday so I'm there to see it. (Knock on wood. No jinxes. No whammies.)

These statements were heard around me in Section 206 tonight in the 3rd period. They helped me believe what I was seeing ;)

"This is total domination."

"We are seriously going to win the Cup!"

And from the 7 or 8-year-old sitting next to us in a giant Kings crown + a kids-sized Dustin Brown jersey: "Trying to get a slapshot past Jonathan Quick? Ha. Yeah, right." :)

I've never heard Staples Center louder than tonight. But something tells me it might be a tad louder (Knock on wood. No jinxes. No whammies) on Wednesday night...

Scenes from Game 3

The calm before the storm

The man (previously known as Baby Goalie ;) mentally preparing during warm-ups

Glow-stick-o-rama before the game starts

The Great One was on-hand for the ceremonial puck drop at center ice

1:49 remaining in Game 3. Kings lead 4-0. Everyone was on their feet chanting "We Want The Cup!"

The Final Stats.
The LA Kings are the first team in NHL history to lead 3-0 in all four series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Madness on Chick Hearn Court, between Staples Center and LA Live. NHL Network's camera on a crane only helped excite the crowd, switching chants between "We Want the Cup!" "Go Kings Go!" and "Marrrrr-tyyyy"

For my fellow-Disney peeps, even Wreck-It Ralph joined the party :) 

"The Sandley Cup" sculpture has been updated since I last saw it :) 

Best promo of the night -- text to a number, reply with your name and email, get a psuedo-autographed pic of The Great One at center ice back in your inbox 

dreams DO come true (knock on wood. no jinxes. no whammies)

Remember two months ago, back on April 2nd, when I said I hoped I'd actually get to use this ...

...instead of putting it -- and many of its predecessors -- through the shredder? Well, tomorrow I DO!! AHHHHHH! Yes dreams DO come true sometimes, especially when you spend two months knocking on wood and Jonathan Quick is your goalie :)

GO KINGS GO! (knock on wood. no jinxes. no whammies)

2 more wins (knock on wood. no jinxes. no whammies)

Thank you Jeff Carter ... and Jonathan Quick. And super big-props to Drew Doughty, earning that big paycheck when it counts ;)

 

3 more wins (knock on wood. no jinxes. no whammies)

Thank you Anze Kopitar... and as always, Jonathan Quick (and Colin Fraser too). But mostly Anze Kopitar :)

 

PS:  Love the inside-the-net cam.

nauseous optimism... a study in knocking on wood (no whammies. no jinxes)

One week ago today, the Los Angeles Kings, the hockey team I have cheered for and suffered over since circa 1989, won the second Western Conference Championship in franchise history, earning itself a trip to the holy grail of all sports championships, the Stanley Cup Finals, which start tomorrow.

When Dustin "Pancakes" Penner scored with a little over two minutes remaining in the first overtime to clinch the Game 5 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, I screamed in the middle of my living room, where I'd been pacing for the previous 17+ minutes of sudden death overtime. Then I updated my Twitter and Facebook statuses. Then I kind of just stared at the TV in stunned silence listening to the commentators... until I started pleading with Dustin Brown -- through the TV -- to not touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl when he accepted the Western Conference Championship trophy on behalf of the Kings.

He didn't... thank god. To do so, could have been catastrophic in the superstitious world of sports. I'm pretty sure the Kings of 1993 -- the only other Kings team to ever reach the Finals -- touched that damn bowl when they won it in Toronto after an amazingly awesome Game 7 victory over the evil Maple Leafs, and we all know what happened after that.

It's that dreaded superstitious fear of all the cards crumbling down at the worst possible moment that brings me to the point of today's musing... This is all a little too good to be true for a team and its fans who, a year ago, were elated to just make the playoffs... and who this year almost didn't. Let's review a few of the amazingly awesome things they've done since April 11:

• The Kings are 12-2 in the 2012 Playoffs so far.
• The Kings are the first No. 8 seed in NHL history to eliminate a No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.
• Round 2 vs. the St. Louis Blues was the first time the Kings have ever swept a playoff series.
• The Kings have won 10 straight road playoff games – an NHL record spanning more than one year 
• The Kings are the first NHL team to win eight straight road games in a playoff year.
• The Kings are the second No. 8 seed to advance to the Stanley Cup Final (EDM -- 2006). Will be the first to try and win the whole thing.

(Factoids courtesy of the amazingly awesome and always entertaining @LAKings Twitter feed)

So as someone who has spent 23 years always eventually being disappointed by the Kings, you can't really blame me for knocking on wood -- or any product made from wood (a guy I work with knocked on a paper sugar packet for me at lunch the other day ;) -- anytime the Kings do anything good. Or anytime anyone says anything good about them. Or anytime anyone thinks farther than one game ahead of now. I'm really nervous about this.

The good thing about not making the playoffs is you have weeks, sometimes even months to prepare for the end of your season. In the playoffs, things can be going great and then with one goal (or one illegally curved stick) it can all crumble. And the farther into the playoffs you get, the more invested you are, both emotionally and financially if, like me, you are a season ticket holder now paying as much for one ticket as you paid for two during the regular season. And therefore it hurts a hell of a lot more when it doesn't go the way you want it to.

I still remember sitting in my parents living room crying in front of the TV on June 9, 1993 as the Montreal Canadiens scored four goals to end the Kings season and win the Cup. (And I still hate Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy and his damn cocky winking eye more than any other athlete and eyeball in history.)

If you're thinking right about now that I'm a freak, I would a) tend to agree with you and b) like to point out that I'm not the only person who feels this way. It's kind of a given that any true Kings fan be a glass-half-empty type -- it's an emotional self-preservation thing -- as this great LA Times article on Saturday explained so well.

All that said, I am willing to admit that I'm nauseously optimistic about our chances against the New Jersey Devils. Their goalie Martin Brodeur, while good, is old (40!). They've played more games than the Kings during the playoffs so hopefully they'll be tired and beaten up. And while they have some great scorers on the team (one of whom the Kings tried in vain to sign last summer -- Ilya Kovalchuk), the Kings are on a roll and have gelled as a true team at the exact right time.

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown are the Kings' leaders and leading scorers and they will be the focus of the Devils' defense. But Dwight King -- a rookie who had just come up from the minor leagues when I spent a small fortune on a Staples Center suite for my birthday to watch the Kings lose to Calgary 0-1 a mere three and a half months ago -- has five goals in the playoffs. Jeff Carter scored a hat trick in Game 2 vs. Phoenix. Drew Doughty is on fire the last few games, defensively and offensively, finally earning his $7m paycheck. Mike Richards, Penner, Justin Williams, Jarrett Stoll... there are four lines of guys who can score goals and have finally learned to forecheck and carry the puck. And the Kings are solid on defense, having strong, smart veterans paired with brave, quick newbies on each change up... all six of whom have a plus rating.

And then there is the guy who stops goals... Jonathan Quick is the sole reason the Kings made the playoffs this year. And if he stays on his game, then I firmly believe we can win the most treasured of all sports trophies, Lord Stanley's Cup. (And Quick will win the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP of the playoffs, followed by the first Vezina Trophy [Best Goaltender in the NHL] awarded to a King.) He is awesome. Please dear god let him stay that way for four more wins!

Yep, that's the catch. There's still so much that could happen in the next four to seven games. Everyone is congratulating me and saying I must be so excited about this. I want to be. But as I said above, the best I can muster is nauseously optimistic.

Until the Kings win four more games, there will be no celebrating. Just a continual set of deep breaths and a lot of knocking on wood ... or on sugar packets... whichever I can get to faster ;)

GO KINGS GO! (Knock on wood. No whammies. No jinxes.)

the sandley cup

This is AWESOME! It is a giant sand sculpture the Kings commissioned at LA Live, near the Starbucks. Check it out if you're in the area. If you can't make it, here's the 360.

scenes from game 4

We're not going to talk about the actual hockey game today cuz I'm still pissed off at:

1. the ref for calling a penalty on Justin Williams for goalie interference in the 1st period when Mike Smith the Goon... I mean the Goalie... no I actually do mean the Goon, was actually interfering with Williams. 
2. Shane Doan, aka The Other Goon, for scoring on the power play that followed, and then scoring another goal that no one in Staples Center even saw. (Thanks a LOT for paying attention Toronto. Sheesh!) 
3. the Kings for being half asleep today. HOWEVER, as today's hockey buddy Diana pointed out, it's better they lose a game now rather than later. They are 11-2 in the Playoffs, and are still up 3-1 in this series. This is not the end of the world and may actually be a good thing... It may have been just the kick in the butts they need to remember not to believe all the hype that is surrounding them now. They still need to focus and play their game, one game at a time.

Anyhoo... due to a Bike Tour running through LA today, everyone showed up at the game early to avoid gridlock. Here are some scenes from Staples Center, before the game:

Here's the finish line of the AMGEN Tour of California Bike Tour... right next to Staples Center on Figueroa.












This was the scene on Chick Hearn Drive between Staples and LA Live. Yes, that's a Bike Valet area. 

The Great One's statue decked out in current Kings garb

  

Then the most exciting part of the day (since the game sucked) was randomly running into former LA King Tony Granato on the concourse! 

Tony was one of my fave players (along with Luuuuuc and Blakey, who were also at the game, but not randomly hanging out with the masses) back in the good old days (aka the last time the Kings made it this far in the playoffs). 

If you don't believe me, here's a photo of us back in said day (literally like 20 years ago... eek!) taken at an autograph signing in Manhattan Beach. I think we've both aged well ;)

what a game!

The Los Angeles Kings swept the St. Louis Blues this afternoon to advance to the Western Conference Finals for only the second time in franchise history. The last time was 1993 and the Kings ended up beating the Toronto Maple Leafs to go to the Stanley Cup Finals vs. the evil Montreal Canadiens. We won't talk about what happened then. We are going to talk about what happened today.

Jordan Nolan (Um, who? He's a King. 4th line. Came up from the minors in Feb, March?) scored a goal and got in a fight.

Then the Blues scored a goal.

Then Dustin Brown closed the first period with a beautiful goal, top shelf over the left shoulder of Blues' goalie Ell-i-ott!

That was the end of scoring until the final minutes. Jonathan Quick was his normal amazingly awesome brickwall, stopping some crazy shots.

With two minutes left, we, the long-suffering community known as LA Kings fans, stood and waved our white rally towels and got loud.... really loud.

"@JonathanQuick32:  Never heard a rink as loud as the StaplesCenter for the final 2mins! Thank you LA King fans! #goosebumps"

Then, St. Louis pulled Ell-i-ott! The open net beckoned. Anze Kopitar got the puck just outside the Kings' blue line. Brown was booking it up the other side of the ice. Kopitar passed the puck to him, and Brownie buried it in the back of the empty net, cementing the 3-1 victory. Staples Center went NUTS!

Listen....



"After Brown's empty-net goal, that might have been the loudest I've personally ever heard Staples. That includes three NBA Finals." -- Rich Hammond, LA Kings Insider Blogger/former Daily News sports guy

KINGS WIN... historically.

• First time the LA Kings have ever swept a playoff series.
• LA Kings are the first No. 8 seed in NHL history to eliminate both a No. 1 and No. 2 seed.
• LA Kings are only the third No. 8 seed to have ever advanced past the second round (Edmonton in 2006 and Montreal in 2010)

Then, as fans in Staples Center continued to go NUTS, the two teams met at center ice for the thing that makes hockey the classiest sport around, the handshake line. They'll battle and fight and swear and talk crap about each others' sisters for two weeks, then, when it's all over, they shake hands like gentlemen, wishing the victors well in the next round.

Haven't seen this since it was called the Campbell Conference Finals. Here's hoping.... GO KINGS GO! (Knock on wood. No jinxes. No whammies!) 

have i mentioned i love dustin brown yet this week?

BOOM BABY!

 

round 2, here we come!

This is HUGE! How huge? So huge that this story lead Sunday night's LA sports newscasts, ahead of the Lakers' comeback in double OT against D-Fish's new team. Yes, mark the date of April 22, 2012 in history: An achievement by a hockey team was mentioned on the LA news BEFORE a story about the Lakers or Dodgers.

This also means that I get to use these, for the first time since 2001:

Our Round 2 opponent will be the St. Louis Blues.

Here's hoping that Jonathan Quick remains a brickwall and that that other Kings score more goals than the St. Louis Blues. The Kings were 3-1 vs. the Blues this season. Quick shut them out twice, on October 18 and March 22.

Think good thoughts. Knock on wood. No whammies! No jinxes!

GO KINGS GO!

things that make me smile...

... the Hockey Edition: Kings almost have series zip-locked down

why we should all love dustin brown...

A pictorial review...

(Note: The LA Times "share" functionality sucks almost as much as the Vancouver CaSucks [not that I'm complaining about the Canadian portion of that statement], so I had to borrow these photos to share here. All are from last night's awesome victory led by my fave player, The Captain, Dustin Brown, and our MVP (who better win the Vezina Trophy), "Baby Goalie" Jonathan Quick.)

He always seems to score goals in clutch situations:

Dustin Brown

( Rich Lam / Getty Images / April 13, 2012 )

Kings captain Dustin Brown, left, celebrates with teammate Drew Doughty after scoring during the first period of Friday's playoff game against the Vancouver Canucks.

He's scrappy:

Dustin Brown, Chris Tanev

( Rich Lam / Getty Images / April 13, 2012 )

Kings captain Dustin Brown, left, delivers an open-ice hit on Vancouver defenseman Chris Tanev during the first period of Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals on Friday.

He's a leader ... doing whatever it takes to pump the team (and crowd up) when most needed: 

 Dustin Brown( Jonathan Hayward / Associated Press / April 13, 2012 )

Kings captain Dustin Brown celebrates following a goal by teammate Jarret Stoll (not pictured) during the third period of the Kings' 4-2 playoff victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

And, as any good leader does, he gives credit where credit is due:

Jonathan Quick, Dustin Brown

( Rich Lam / Getty Images / April 13, 2012 )

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, left, is congratulated by teammate Dustin Brown following the Kings' 4-2 victory Friday.

Then if you need more reasons, read my post from last night.

GO KINGS GO! (knock on wood! no whammies! no jinxes!)

go kings go!!

#8 seeded LA Kings take a 2-0 series lead against the Vancouver CaSucks (who finished the regular season first in the whole NHL), and head back to LA for Game #3 Sunday, where I will be screaming my lungs out from section 206!


Dustin Brown scores short-handed goal #2


A few fun facts about tonight's awesome game:

• Dustin Brown is the only Kings player ever to score 2 short-handed goals in a playoff game. Last NHL player was John Madden (Devils) in 2006.
• Third time in Kings playoff history they’ve scored 2 SHG in a game. Previously: 5/21/93 Jarri Kurri and Dave Taylor; 4/9/80 Mike Murphy
• Baby Goalie / Vezina Trophy candidate Jonathan Quick stopped 46 shots in the game.

Here's the full article... 

Kings take 2-0 series lead over Canucks

Brownie actually tied an NHL record. Love how he doesn't care though... it's about wins and we need just 14 more!

things that make me smile

Getting stacks of these in the mail....

This was towards the bottom of the stack. I really like this one. I just hope I get to actually use it... unlike the last two years I've ended up putting its predecessors through the shredder by the end of April :(

things i'm looking forward to

Tomorrow is the official start of spring, so to celebrate let's look at all the cool stuff I'm looking forward to that is coming... along with the warm weather :)

1) Playoff hockey (assuming the LA Kings make the playoffs. Otherwise, we'll forget this entry) because once the playoffs start, anything can happen.... especially if you have a superstar baby goalie and a bunch of forwards who are finally beginning to score some goals ;)

 

2) May 4, 2012 so I can see this super-awesomeness on the big screen in super-surround sound with a giant bucket of popcorn as the Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its 2012 season :)



3) My summer TV guilty pleasures, including Game of Thrones (below) starting on April Fool's Day (I hate that Joffrey kid. I hope he gets his head chopped off too... karma's a bitch), True Blood (helllooo Alexander Skarsgard!) and the train-wreck known as Big Brother (I just can't not watch. I've tried, really I have!)