2011-12 NHL season

[Drew Doughty]

Boy I sure am glad Mike Smith and Shane Doan are veering toward being hated by the general NHL fan population. Doan, especially, is scum. He's a dirty player that people like because he's a good ol' Canadian boy that plays captain on a team that no one watches. Not because he actually has heart or leadership. He's just scum. His hit wasn't suspendable, but he's really just scum. Hanzal should be done for the series (2 games suspension, then).

 

Morris had a filthy knee on Scuderi too. Just a gutless showing late in the game by Phoenix. Which is hilarious, because the Kings have probably broken them. Can't believe a team I cheer for has gone on the road and gone up 2-0 three straight times. That's some insanity right there.

[Smack]

Boy I sure am glad Mike Smith and Shane Doan are veering toward being hated by the general NHL fan population. Doan, especially, is scum. He's a dirty player that people like because he's a good ol' Canadian boy that plays captain on a team that no one watches. Not because he actually has heart or leadership. He's just scum. His hit wasn't suspendable, but he's really just scum. Hanzal should be done for the series (2 games suspension, then).

 

Morris had a filthy knee on Scuderi too. Just a gutless showing late in the game by Phoenix. Which is hilarious, because the Kings have probably broken them. Can't believe a team I cheer for has gone on the road and gone up 2-0 three straight times. That's some insanity right there.

 

The Kings are definitely in their heads and doing a great job of keeping their composure. Just drawing power play after power play. The crowd was pretty Kings friendly as well. Getting pantsed at home and being cheered for it has to be especially demoralizing.

[TruffleShuffle]

So my options are probably either watch the devils or rangers skate around with the cup, or watch Richards and carter do it less than a year after being traded by the flyers. Fannnnntastic.

 

I still love Richards though, so go kings.

[Drew Doughty]

You should love Gagne and Hextall and they will both get rings should the Kings win

[Drew Doughty]

Boy I sure am glad Mike Smith and Shane Doan are veering toward being hated by the general NHL fan population. Doan, especially, is scum. He's a dirty player that people like because he's a good ol' Canadian boy that plays captain on a team that no one watches. Not because he actually has heart or leadership. He's just scum. His hit wasn't suspendable, but he's really just scum. Hanzal should be done for the series (2 games suspension, then).

 

Morris had a filthy knee on Scuderi too. Just a gutless showing late in the game by Phoenix. Which is hilarious, because the Kings have probably broken them. Can't believe a team I cheer for has gone on the road and gone up 2-0 three straight times. That's some insanity right there.

 

The Kings are definitely in their heads and doing a great job of keeping their composure. Just drawing power play after power play. The crowd was pretty Kings friendly as well. Getting pantsed at home and being cheered for it has to be especially demoralizing.

 

Yeah that was awesome. The Kings are always a team that gets visiting fans to come in droves to Staples, but rarely do it to anyone out of Anaheim. Seeing and hearing the thousands of fans make it to Phoenix and making themselves heard was pretty great for a Kings fan.

 

The script for the first two games has been pretty much the same for the first three series. Win a close game (on the scoreboard, anyway, we wrecked Phoenix in game 1), then completely demoralize the home team on their ice, get them off their game (something I sincerely doubted would happen in this series yet here we are), and get them making a parade to the box. At least St. Louis didn't turn into a bunch of goons when we handed it to them in game 2 of that series.

 

That said, I don't think they'll continue to play undisciplined, immature hockey in game 3. At least we can score a couple of power play goals if we get, like, hours of 5 on 3 time.

[biittner77]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... aFNNfFDjhw

 

dustin brown seriously got a diving penalty on that? that's embarrassing.

 

glad mike smith is finally getting exposed.

 

I doubt he can get suspended for that but he certainly should get a fine

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

It infuriates me that the Rangers copied the D style that the Devils used to get bitched at for using. Hope the Devils treat them like they did the Flyers the rest of this series. Little over a minute left tonight....little over 30 seconds...awesome game to this point.

[TruffleShuffle]

You should love Gagne and Hextall and they will both get rings should the Kings win

 

yeah i really like gagne too... richards would just sting because i thought he'd be flyers captain for a really long time and he was just traded. didn't realize hextall was with the kings org.

 

i picked the kings before the season and there are lots of ex-flyer connections, so i'm definitely on their bandwagon the rest of the way.

[biittner77]

would have prefered the sweep but I guess it's ok and maybe fitting to see Phonics eliminated at home so all 5 of their fans can show their "support".

[jersey cubs fan]

http://deadspin.com/5912314/the-la-kings-have-created-a-handy-infographic-so-the-citys-media-will-know-who-they-are

 

The Kings relationship (or lack thereof) with the local LA media that doesn't seem to know who they are or what they do has been fairly entertaining this postseason.

[NewUserName]

Glad to see Phoenix and their fan reinforce my dislike for them. Sore Losers.

[sneakypower]

"When Brown gets away with something like that after the whistle — knee on knee, that's a dangerous play. If Raffi Torres gets 25 games for his hit during the play, this guy should be done forever."

 

-Mike Smith, apparently still upset his tomahawk chop to the knee didn't accomplish this

[Prizefight]

Man, Mike Smith is a piece of work. Flops during every series in the playoffs. No one is talking about that slash on Carter's knee which thankfully looks like it missed the mark.

 

My favorite non Hawk Dustin Penner with the game winner. Would love to see him in the Indian Head next year.

 

 

Doan and Hanzal chirping Dustin Brown in the handshake line. Keepin' in real classy. Keep thanking the 'best fans in the league' for your dead last attendance.

[Drew Doughty]

To be fair, the fourteen fans or whatever they have probably really ARE the best in the league. They have to cheer for a bunch of scumbags and they do it vigorously!

 

Let's recap: Doan puts Trevor Lewis face first into the dasher (admittedly not a super dirty play but still, he got ejected, he has a history of this junk) and bloodies his nose, Martin Hanzal tries to break Dustin Brown's spine, Mike Smith tries to amputate Dustin Brown's leg below the kneecap, and then the same Mike Smith tries to saw Richards in half after the series is over...and they're going to whine about missed calls??? Help me, I can't breathe.

 

Oh, right, that's not even where it ended: Doan and Yandle immediately go to the ref to either whine about a missed that wasn't a penalty after the game and series are both over, banging their sticks and generally lookin' thuggish. Mike Smith comes over with his stick half cocked as if he wanted to cut off a piece to take home to cook for dinner, but decides that merely complaining loudly would be enough. Then the same Mike Smith, before going to the handshake line, throws his stick toward the refs. Oh, right, and Martin Hanzal ALSO went over to the ref to whine either about a hit that wasn't a penalty or about a hand pass that never happened.

 

But the refs won that one for LA. Certainly wasn't a team coming unraveled from the core on out. Wasn't their most productive players disappearing for more than half the series. Wasn't their leadership core doing dumb things to cost them both man games and man advantages in game. It was the refs. Good call, guys. Perfect ending for a perfectly scummy team.

 

Additional note: Shane Doan and Mike Smith annoyed the refs so much that they got game misconducts after the series ended. Outstanding.

[NewUserName]

The 4-1 final shows basically how one sided this series was, yet Coyote fans seem to think that one legal hit was why they lost. That hit had absolutely nothing to do with the game winning goal, let alone the rest of the series where they had their butts handed to them and spent large amounts of time gooning it up themselves.

[17 Seconds]

loved mike smith getting one last huge slash in on richards right after the OT goal was scored. perfect.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

One more game until it's 4 more games 'til Marty's fourth.

 

Can't wait to see that overhyped Rangers team get put out.

[TruffleShuffle]

mike smith also tried to slash richards in the midsection after the penner goal. and then he acts like he's going to decapitate the ref. i barely knew anything about him before the playoffs; now i consider him a complete douche.

[UMFan83]

The 4-1 final shows basically how one sided this series was, yet Coyote fans seem to think that one legal hit was why they lost. That hit had absolutely nothing to do with the game winning goal, let alone the rest of the series where they had their butts handed to them and spent large amounts of time gooning it up themselves.

 

Well in their defense they've been nearing the one month mark of their fandom.

 

Also all they are left with is bitching since their team can't go after Kopitar or Doughty and looking to launch themselves at them while they aren't playing the puck and their head is down.

[17 Seconds]

as good as lundqvist has been, those 3 goals he gave up in the first were bruuutttalllll. hard to come back form that.

[UMFan83]

Kings vs. Devils it is. Kings/Rangers would have been sexier, but I've come to enjoy watching the Devils play as the postseason has gone on. A 6 seed and an 8 seed, just like they drew it up.

[NewUserName]

Though the Rangers were not in the same class as Phoenix, their constant complaining about officiating while playing on the edge was getting tiresome.

[Drew Doughty]

Kings vs. Devils it is. Kings/Rangers would have been sexier, but I've come to enjoy watching the Devils play as the postseason has gone on. A 6 seed and an 8 seed, just like they drew it up.

 

The Devils at this point in time are a far superior squad to the Rangers who apparently forgot how to play offense when the playoffs rolled around. Rangers were never a very good possession team though. Not very surprising.

 

Devils kind of remind me of 2010 Hawks in their march to the Cup Finals...I never got the sense the Hawks faced a real threat. They got Nashville, who is always just kinda there in the playoffs (and weren't especially good that season), Vancouver and their mental breakdowns, and the Sharks who suck at some point in every post season. Devils drew a team that was in their seeding by default and not actually that good, a team that couldn't play defense, and then a team that was both tired and incapable of offense.

 

That said, I'm sure there are similar arguments to be made for the Kings (mentally broken Canucks + no DSedin for 3 games, Blues without Halak/half of Pietrangelo, and...Phoenix). I think this will be a pretty entertaining final, though. Devils have gotten a lot of production from their bottom line and it will be interesting to see if their offense keeps up when that fades and their stars (most notably Kovalchuk who is obviously playing hurt and Parise who has not been spectacular in recent times) are forced to produce a bit more. I think Henrique has actually been their most effective all around skater. They've also randomly got a bunch of offense from Bryce Salvador which isn't really logical but whatever.

 

Hard to say the Devils are more threatening than the Canucks or Blues on paper, but that's why they play the games.

[17 Seconds]

the blackhawks were a 2 seed that got the toughest road through the conference that they possibly could have gotten. not sure what else they could have proven. would it have been better if they went through a detroit team that got wiped out in 5 games (by the team the hawks swept)? i suppose they got kind of lucky drawing the flyers in the finals, but at that point the flyers obviously were playing better than their regular season selves.

 

also, the canucks weren't really known as the perennial chokers yet when the hawks beat them. that had kind of melted down against the hawks the previous year, but that series in the cup year was the one that kind of gave them that reputation as headcases, then they cemented in in the last 2 years. don't forget, the vancouver thrashed the hawks in game 1 (at chicago) and then were up 2-0 early in the second game.

[Guest]

Kings vs. Devils it is. Kings/Rangers would have been sexier, but I've come to enjoy watching the Devils play as the postseason has gone on. A 6 seed and an 8 seed, just like they drew it up.

 

Whoever wins will be the lowest seeded Cup champion ever.