It's a funny mixture of anxiety and excitement going to a game in another city. I have such an established routine at Staples Center - which entrance I go in, where I get my pretzel, who I chat with during the game, greeting my regular usher Luis. But being in another arena, everything is uncertain. How do I find my seats? Will the fans around me be cool or throw beer on my autographed jersey? And most importantly, can I get down to ice level with my sign to watch warm-ups?
I shouldn't have been one bit nervous, because Canadians LOVE anyone and everyone that appreciates their national sport. I was able to get down to ice level for warm-ups with my sign, in spite of a little ribbing from the first usher I talked to. He was in the Leafs end, saw my Kings jersey, and kindly pointed me to the other end of the ice. When I finally got down there, I was standing next to an adorable little kid wearing a Drew Doughty jersey.
Our Captain Dustin Brown certainly wasn't nervous. It must have paid off, because he ended up having a great game.
After warm-ups, I joined Nadine up in our seats. And when I say up, I mean UP.
We knew when we bought the tickets we weren't close to the ice, but apparently there are sections even higher than we sat, and I felt like we were in the nosebleed section. Watching hockey from up here is a quite different experience from sitting 7 rows behind the glass like we do in Los Angeles. First of all, the game looks incredibly SLOW. Nadine and I were both commenting during the first period about how sluggish the boys looked, but the more we watched the more we realized just how different the sense of speed in the game is up higher. And I really missed hearing the sounds you get at ice level - the crack of the glass when the puck hits it, the thud of players crashing against the boards, players calling to each other, and the snap of the puck making contact with a stick.
On the plus side, all the fans around us were really cool. A couple of guys in front of us even turned around at one point, smiled, and said, "Hey, could you guys let up on us a little, please?" And the gentleman sitting next to me pointed out 3 Leafs players by name as being good, then told his date the rest of his team was a bunch of bums. A number of people also stopped Nadine on the concourse, asking her how she got the whole team to sign her jersey. Apparently the Leafs don't have their own version of "Tip-a-King" and team signed jerseys are rare in Toronto. I guess some things about American hockey ARE better!
The Kings came out strong in the first, with Drew Doughty scoring the first goal! Just the kind of start we were hoping for.
The first period ended tied 1-1, but the Kings didn't let up for the rest of the game and played VERY well. At one point we had a 4-2 lead, thanks to goals from Jack Johnson, Jarrett Stoll, and Ryan Smyth. Dustin Brown was on fire with assists on 3 of the 4 goals. Then we gave up a goal late in the 3rd and let it get interesting. But my boys held it together in the last 2 minutes of the 3rd. Then Alexander Frolov had the final goal, an empty netter, that gave the Kings a 5-3 win over the hometown Leafs!
Incredible win boys! That deserves a little fist bump!
But the big hero of the night was Drew. He scored his tenth goal, another assist, was named #1 Star of the Night, and picked up a $200,000 bonus - all in front of his Mom and Dad, as well as other family and friends in attendance. I think he's on the hook for dinner after the game! Well done, Drew!
So the Kings are off to Columbus tonight, and Nadine and I are headed home tomorrow. Thank you, Toronto, for being such a wonderful host and bringing us excellent hockey luck. We can't wait to come back!
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