The Palin Effect

Heed these words, staunch Republican NHL Team Owners (Phil Anschutz, I'm looking your way!) You may not want to invite VP Candidate and renowned Hockey Mom Sarah Palin to drop the puck at your next home game. The Philadelphia Flyers were the first to have Mrs. Mom smile with the captains and now they only have 1 win in the young season and have lost superstar small guy Daniel Briere for a month. Then, last night versus the Kings, St. Louis Blues goalie Manny Legace trips on the on carpet that had been laid out for Palin to walk on, and tweaks his knee. Coincidence? Or vast Left-Wing conspiracy?

Kings 4, Form of Music based on the Blue Notes, 0

Captain Dustin Brown continued his morphing into the next Keith Tkachuk by matching up along side Keith Tkachuk all night, getting a face full of forearm from Keith Tkachuk and then stealing the puck from Keith Tkachuk and scoring a "Keith Tkachuk-esque" goal.

The Kings really dominated this game from start to finish, even after the appearance of the 6'7" beast of a rookie goalie named Ben Bishop. Remember when this was an imposing NHL goalie?

5' 10" NHL Hall of Famer Billy Smith


St. Louis Rookie Goaltender Ben Bishop

The Kings are now 27 for 27 on the Penalty Kill and stopped the NHL's best Power Play. When the Blues are on the power play with 5 forwards and draw a penalty, do they send out a 6th forward as the extra attacker? Or maybe their backup goaltender?

The two best parts of the the night for me was Bob Miller taking a swipe at the LA Times for no longer posting box scores and NHL game roundups and the FSW camera catching 18 year old Drew Doughty bobbing his head and rocking out to Sweet Home Alabama during a TV timeout. Who knew that kids still loved southern rock?

If I'm not allowed to drive and talk on my cell phone in California,
then there is NO way Heidi Androl should be allowed to do this.

Things I Learned from Watching the St. Louis Blues:
The Blues will stay competitive for most of the season and then drop like a lead weight with 10 games left in the season. (I also learned this from watching the Andy Murray coach the Kings)

Roman Polak could be the best current name in the NHL.

Paul Kariya, Oscar Moller and Patrick O'Sullivan would be an amazing NHL line. Or at least the lil'est line ever.