Prior to tonight's game, the Kings sat in 6th position in the league standings, assured of a play-off spot and contending for home ice advantage in the first round of the play-offs. I paid the deposit to secure my play-off seats. We grabbed two veteran players at the trade deadline on March 3rd, so this game was also the official "Welcome to the Kings" party for forwards Jeff Halpern and Fredrik Modin. And our proud Olympians return to home ice, including gold medal winner and Kings golden boy Drew Doughty.
The only black mark on the past two weeks was our loss Thursday night to the Nashville Predators - a tough to play team that has been like kryptonite for our guys this year. We came close in the end but just couldn't get it done. So it was time to finally get everyone back home, in a regular game day schedule, and get everyone back to their old selves.
Or maybe not. Things started off bad, with the sizable Montreal contingent cheering "Go Habs Go" during the Kings opening promotional video, followed by a Habs goal on the first shift only 22 seconds in. OK boys, time to wake up! These guys do not need to be any happier than they already are!
It took the rest of the period, but Kings magic man Anze Kopitar tied it with his 30th goal at 18:16. And Rich Clune, recalled from Manchester, made his physical presence known by scrapping with the Habs Ryan O'Bryne, who at 6' 5" looked at least a head taller than Cluner. I like his spunk - he can stay!
Things didn't get any better in the 2nd, when Kings goalie Jon Quick got beat by a clean shot from Dominic Moore. We looked dead on arrival from that point on - just no energy at all, and the Habs never looked back. In the 3rd, they scored on the opening shift AGAIN (it took 36 seconds this time), and even though Kings newcomer Fredrik Modin scored in the 3rd to make it 3-2, the Habs had all the momentum. After Quick got pulled, the Habs finished it with an empty netter to defeat the Kings 4-2. The loss dropped the Kings one spot to 7th place in the league, and 5th in the conference - still solid play-off position, but no home ice.
The bottom line - every game is critical, and no one gets an "off night." No one. And here are a few more thoughts I'd like to share with Coach Murray:
- This is our 2nd loss in a row where we pulled the goalie while only 1 goal down. Maybe let's try scoring with 5 guys and avoid those heart-breaking empty-netters, shall we? Losing by one goal just sounds so much more encouraging than losing by two.
- PLEASE stop putting Randy Jones in on the power play. Until he can prove he can hold down the blue line better, at least.
- Still not sure about putting new guy Halpern centering 2 rookies on the 4th line. I know he's a tenured guy, but he's still learning our systems, and I think Clune and Parse need a little more direction out there.
Now let's talk hot men. Had former King Michael Cammalleri been in the line-up, I would have had to give him a shout-out on Nadine's behalf, since she loves the short guys, and Cammy is 5' 9" IN skates. Luckily, there we other perfectly nice choices, since I am not a Cammalleri fan.
My official "Opposing Hottie of the Night" is #44 - Defenceman Roman Hamrlik.
I don't think any explanation is really required here, do you?
Although I also have to give an honorable mention to #20 - Defenceman Ryan O'Bryne, who at 6'5" makes me wish Kevin Westgarth was being recalled from Manchester. A girl can dream, right?
And last but certainly not least, BIG UPS to Nadine and her hubby John for working the information table for the California Condors before the game!
The Condors actually got to go meet the players before the game. My Kings are super guys! Even more excited to see more of these great kids at the big Skate-a-Thon tomorrow!
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