Kings vs Canucks: No April Fools

Many hockey fans subscribe to the theory that the team's Captain should be one of it's best, if not THE best player on the team. For that reason, Dustin Brown has taken some heat this season for not getting it done on the ice at times. Admittedly, his scoring touch has been off compared to last season, but he's a workhorse who still gives a ton of effort every night, trying to make things happen. I've always stood behind him as the right choice for Captain for that reason. Because sooner or later, all the hard work pays off and things fall in to place.

Tonight, it paid off in spades, with Brown scoring his second career hat-trick en route to a 8-3 drubbing of the Vancouver Canucks.


(No little black eye is stopping me from scoring...pffft...)

The Kings were riding some huge momentum from a win against the predators Tuesday night....IN Nashville! So we finally beat a team that has OWNED us the past two seasons. Yet Vancouver posed another significant challenge as a potential first-round play-off opponent for the Kings. And the Canucks had none other than Team Canada's gold medal goalie Roberto Luongo in their weapons arsenal. French-Canadian goalies are legend...so it was nice the Kings had one of their very own to do battle against "Uncle Lou." That man is Jonathan Bernier.



Since his first appearance against Anaheim in London, England 2 years ago, Bernier has been hailed as the future of Kings goaltending. When he got sent down to the kings AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs, he pouted for the better part of a season. Mentally, he clearly wasn't ready, so the Kings decision that he needed more "seasoning" in the minors was the right one. But with our backup goalie Erik Ersberg out with a strained back, Berns got his chance and proved himself, both in Nashville and with another solid performance in net tonight.

All due credit to Brown and Bernier aside, this was an incredible team win. Drew got his 40th and 41st assists of the season, Frolov, Kopitar, Williams, Handzus and Stoll all contributed goals, and the entire team just collectively fired on all cylinders. Make no mistake folks....the Kings are play-off bound for the first time in a long time. And they're pretty darn happy about it.


(Hey Dewey, I'm feeling a goal tonight! Set me up, would ya?)

The fans have sensed something special happening as well, and the signs are coming out. There's even a Facebook group circulating with a Kings "I Believe" campaign movement. I joined, so of course I had to contribute my own sign to go with Nadine's "We Believe" banner.



Of course, there were other exceptional signs as well. My friends Scott and Shawna Rousseau gave a little shout-out to Sean O'Donnell's standing as points master of the stay-at-home defencemen.



And Rachel Craig-Parker and Jen Wells brought out the sports psychology motivation.



And then there was this poor guy....



Great sign fella! Sorry we had to shell your goalie and ruin your night.

And in a sure sign that spring is officially here, more and more players are skating warm-ups sans helmet. Last week it was Alexander Frolov. This time, Matt Greene was showing off his hot blonde locks.





And if all that wasn't enough reason to celebrate, it was Ryan Smyth Bobble-Head night. And there was plenty of Smytty to go around.



So if everything falls into place in the next couple of days with wins and losses by other teams, the Kings can be in a position to clinch a play-off spot at our next game. So if you don't already have them, get tickets for Saturday nights Kings vs Ducks showdown. Something tells me it's gonna be a memorable night!

Do you believe? I do!!!! GO KINGS GO!