On the Road with the Kings.. Kinda

I'm currently on the East Coast on "official" business. So my Los Angeles Kings viewing over the next 2 weeks will be limited by the power of my Slingbox and my access to illegal internet streaming.

NHL Hockey... the way it was meant to be seen.

Kings 5, Stars 4

The only thing sadder than the Kings nearly losing this game by giving up 3 3rd period goals is the Kings broadcast crew trying to make some traction out of memorable Kings moments during the Staples Center's 10 year anniversary. Yeah, I got your LA Kings Staples Center memorable moments right here... how about the first 3 years of the Staples Center when the Kings made the playoffs... and then nothing else but the Lakers.

Don't be so impressed by Luc.
He's looking up at the South Park cartoon making fun of the Dallas Stars.

I watched the first 2 periods with no audio and the 3rd I watched in the comfort of my corporate apartment. So I'm not going to pretend that I really got a sense of how the Kings played in this game. But up until that 3rd period... they looked pretty good to me. Coach Murray was in mid-season form... changing his lines up all over the place. And you got to admit... how cool was it to see Wayne Simmonds on that first line.

This guy looks cool even during an in-between periods interview.

But the Kings rallied to win the game in overtime... and that is exactly what you want from a young team that has lost a 4-1 lead in the 3rd period. They didn't panic and in fact came out very strong at the start of the overtime. After all these years of constantly losing to the Stars... these last 2 games have felt so great. But in a few years... that James Neal is going to be skating circles around the Kings and the rest of the NHL. But that is far enough away.

Let's not forget that Anze Kopitar had a hat trick tonight and now is tied for the league lead in points with some dude named Alex Ovechkin. To say that this has been a breakout season for Anze Kopitar is an understatement. Now where would we have heard that before?

Saturday is a matchup against the Pacific Division leading Phoe-nix Coy-otes??? (Shared with the Kings and the Stars actually) These are not your Phoenix Coyotes of years past... but then again... are these the Kings of the past 10 years at the Staples Center?