Seraph

Priceless picture. These guys are so lucky. Looks like they got paid to play hockey and be kids their whole lives. Remember Ozzie's man cave fort that he built in his backyard? Haha

Great news. This kid has been working hard for this and deserves it. So glad to see him stay in red.

For example, if Winnipeg had won the cup this year, it would not be fair to say that the franchise won the cup in it's first year of inception. Several people in that franchise worked hard to develop the roster and get the right coaches in place for years before the move. Winning the cup in your actual first year of inception is a much much harder feat. That would be unheard of for an expansion team.

I'm pretty sure part of it is because hockey teams are a type of business. Legally, when they are doing the paperwork, they are relocating the business rather than scrapping it and starting a new one. Plus they tend to keep many of their employees, coaches, GMs, players, during the move, so it makes more sense that way. And when you cite stats, the record for that particular business stands since before the move. After all, the make up of their roster after the move is a reflection of the business decisions of that team several years beforehand. This is much different than an expansion team who is starting fresh. One measure of a good hockey organization is how quickly they get to a cup since inception. That's why prior stats and decisions are considered.

I'm biased toward Stanley being the hardest. From the above discussion, I think we've narrowed it down to NFL versus NHL. And while football players take on a lot of physical abuse in their sport, I don't feel like the intensity level is as sustained as the NHL. Have you ever played hockey? It takes so much drive to make something happen at the end of a shift, or better yet, not let yourself slip up and make a mistake. Players somehow find a way to fight through injuries and keep grinding away for two months straight. That takes so much mental toughness. While I admire the athleticism of football players, the stop-and-go nature of it puts it in second place for me. There's something to be said for the mental battle and and hunger needed to bring home a cup. I mean, how many times have we seen good teams exit early because injuries erased them or they weren't mentally prepared?

Let's not be hockey snobs, folks. This was an amazing run and gathered a lot of attention in what is potentially one of the biggest markets. The fans rallied and many will probably stick around. It's a great thing for the game. Plus, there is nothing Chris Prongerish about this team. They played their hearts out and earned it, so I have no problem with the cup going to southern California for a year.

Kings will choke if they lose game 6. In the meantime they still have a lot going for them, including the home crowd at the next game. Quick had a major lapse this game, gotta expect a mistake from the guy sooner or later. Otherwise he has been playing up to Conn Smythe par, if you ask me. The Kings just need a few more bounces going their way and hopefully they can hoist in front of their home crowd.

I was afraid LA would face their first real adversity in the finals. If they lose tonight, they may panic. Let's finish it tonight!

This game had so much build-up. I remember feeling sick with anticipation before we played these guys even in the regular season, much less a game seven at the tail end of a back and forth rivalry. Once the game started and the first few goals snuck in, I think everyone just turned the night into a party. It was amazing.

58

Babs said he wants Homer back to use in special teams situations, but from the way he was bromancing Lidstrom with his pre-game rituals in NHL36 it's going to be hard to imagine him returning. This may be the end of our 97 team.

I have a friend who is a fanatical Kings fan and he thought the same until he got hired by the organization doing a similar job. They worked him so much he didn't have time to watch any of the games! Sounds like the OP was putting in long hours too. But yeah, great that it came together for Lidstrom's 1000th.

The Kings have had the talent for a number of years now and have been on the upswing each year. They have also been incredibly young, with no real leaders that know how to bring the culture of winning to the locker room, something us Wings fans take for granted. This year, I have actually been really impressed with how the players are carrying themselves, especially the captain in helping prepare the team and get them in the right state of mind. Their defense and goaltending had been solid for the last few seasons, but for whatever reason they couldn't score goals and Kopitar had gone on a dry spell. This year, a lot of things came together including a coaching change, calling up of minor league players who had previously not been given a shot (like King, who has been huge), and of course the acquisition of Carter and Richards. I think they had definitely been flying under the radar this whole time and all the right things happened for them leading up to this playoff run.

I feel like this was written as porn for Red Wings fans. I'm not getting too excited about it. If Jimmy Howard is their former team mate doesn't even have their phone numbers, why would they be that much closer and vying to play for the same team? It just seems like the writer put together a string of convenient coincidences and a few unspecified quotes. I'd love you to prove me wrong though.

Scoring dropped after the emergence of the Patrick Roy style of butterfly which was then imitated by a the majority of goalies following him. That, and the Giguere Michelin man strategy, which unsurprisingly was an exaggeration of what Roy was doing too. Look how much more shooting space there used to be. I don't think eliminating the crease is the answer though. Eliminating the crease takes out the technicality from the position. It makes it more up to chance and less up to skill, which is no good. People like athletes that can do amazing things because they have developed their skills. I am a big fan of a hard fought, defensive 2-1 win any day of the week, but I do think some sort of adjustment should be made to open up the game a little. So many of these series seem to revolve around creating a big traffic jam in the middle of the ice, force players to the outside, and use the goalie's size to stop the shots, a la how the Coytotes rode Mike Smith's giant 6 foot 4 inch body three rounds into the playoffs.

Wow, I've never heard a player speak so frankly. The panic factor is definitely an aspect that requires some experience to handle. That's what happened to the 2008 Pens. That's also what I'm afraid will happen to the Kings this year if they fall behind or face any sort of adversity in the finals.

To be honest, LA looked sloppy in the first period. They aren't playing as well at home, but I think that's because all their opponents are facing elimination or a 3-0 hole there so they really bring it. Staples center, where playoff teams go to die, it seems. I'm cheering for the Kings to the end. Talk about making the necessary adjustments, from the coaching staff to their offense.

edit: double post

Kings are steamrolling over the Yotes, refs, and their own mistakes. This team will take the series. It'll be interesting to see them fall behind in a series or face some sort of adversity. They've been mature and keeping it together so far, but I don't know if they would necessarily have the experience to not panic when in a hole.

I agree with a lot of the sentiments above. If the dude wants to come back for a chance at the cup, then he should offer to take less in order to get the necessary parts. It's kind of silly to demand a high pay check, beat up your body for another year, and essentially limit the GM from getting what he needs for a cup run. Unless of course he's just after the money, which would be a bummer.

I have been thinking about the way our team plays and wondering if there should be a change in our philosophy, or at least some adjustments made. When I watch Wings games compared to other teams, the possession of the puck always seems so one sided (either the Wings are carrying the puck, or they are not). In other games, you see two-way hockey with plenty of chances by both teams at either end. The pattern seems to be that in any given game, the opposition either has figured out how to keep the puck out of our possession and prevent us from moving it the way we want to, or they don't, and we dominate them by racking up time carrying the puck and creating quality chances. Should there be a contingency plan to the way we play in a series like this year's? I'm not sure our team is built to adjust into another style of play, but it's a thought. Clearly some teams know better than others how to trump our puck possession style play, like the perennial Sharks and this year's Preds.

This one made me giggle.

Our mule did it, of course.

I'll throw in two for VAN and PIT. I am not going to be completely satisfied until we've won a cup more recently than the Pens. I'm still dying inside from our last playoff meeting.

Apparently Pavel Datsyuk is in fact the Dark Knight... haha, very clearly inspired by this: ...because it's the cup.