Kings vs Islanders: A Step In The Right Direction

One phrase ran through my head the entire walk to Staples tonight - "do or die." We win, or our season is screwed. If we lose, it will suck even more because it's the Islanders. Our record against the East has been impeccable this year. This isn't an afternoon game. And the Isles are a rebuilding team, hanging out at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. So If we can't even beat these guys, what does that say about our team?

Luckily I didn't have to go there, because the Kings won 1-0. Brad Richardson, our 4th line workhorse whose scrappy play has moved him up the depth chart several times this year, got the lone goal. Well done Richie! Our poor captain Dustin Brown, on the other hand, is going to have a huge headache tomorrow after getting his noggin checked squarely through the glass. Check out the aftermath of the hit!



YIKES! At least he's OK.

I'm still not without my worries since we looked like we were skating in mud most of the night and the Isles did not provide much of a challenge. In fairness, the Kings did a better job with puck possession, and Quickie is looking more like himself in goal every day, but we still need to be better. Nashville is still breathing right down our necks, but we're sitting in 5th place in the Western Conference. We dodged a bullet, and we live to fight another day.

Now let's talk cute boys. There was one noticeable stand-out for "Opposing Team Hottie of the Night," and we'll get to him in a second. But there were also some other interesting players with various features warranting attention, so I have a short "Best of..." list, somewhat like the "Senior Superlatives" you might remember from high school. So here we go.

Best Eyes: Martin Biron. I didn't get the greatest picture, but he caught my eye as he skated past, and he has the most intense, blue eyed stare ever.



Best Matt Greene-Like Battle Scar: Trent Hunter. This guy just looks made to stop a puck with his face.



Best Flow: Matt Moulson (a former King, I might add.) And I thought I had big hair. Mark Streit was a close second in this category.



Most Popular and Best Smile: Tim Jackman. I gotta give him credit. It took him four tries to flip a puck over the glass to this little kid standing next to me, but he hung in there. And he clearly had fun doing it.



But my "Opposing Team Hottie of the Night" is none other than 2009 #1 draft pick John Tavares.



Patrick O'Sullivan protege, former London Knight, and all around good guy. And he plays hockey pretty well too. Although he also broke a lot of sticks tonight. Not quite sure what's up with that.

The Kings next challenge is a major one - The Colorado Avalanche, who sit 1 point and 2 spots behind us in the conference standings. Let's hope the mud gets cleaned off the ice by then.

GO KINGS GO!