Toasted Sub

It's Game One of the Subway Freeway Face-Off™ between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks... and boy this game did not disappoint. When the Kings want to show the Ducks just how much they've improved this season... what do you do? You send in Brad Richardson, Randy Jones and Scott Parse to finish the job. That's what you do. Just look at how excited Dustin Brown gets about secondary scoring.

I used to score goals too.

Kings 4, Ducks 3, Subway 1

The line of Wayne Simmonds, Michal Handzus and Scott Parse are carrying this team right now. Sure, Justin Williams had a nice goal tonight but Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov have been MIA. How MIA you ask?

This MIA.

This is probably a great thing for the Kings overall. With Ryan Smyth back on the ice skating in practice, Coach Murray has simply told his star players to take a few games off and have the team work on its secondary scoring.

"Frolly, water please."
"Frolly, water please!!"
"When you are leading the team in scoring,
then I'll get you water. But until then, Frolly get me water!"

The Kings unusual policy of torturing their young prospects reared its ugly head again tonight, as Half-Jew and All-Energy Brandon Segal went missing after the first period. I have a feeling the players in Manchester are cutting the phone lines around the office for fear of getting called up to the NHL. But what was the most important thing we learned tonight about the Anaheim-Los Angeles rivalry?


People from LA are still better looking than people from Orange County.

Okay, I'll admit it. When the Subway Freeway Face-Off™ logo appeared on my HD television screen, I liked it better than I did earlier in the day.

Yes, that dude on the right is wearing a "Parros Nation" t-shirt.

But when the logo is shrunk down... it truly becomes a disaster.

Yeah, that reads really well.

It must have been Intern day at Fox Sports Prime Ticket HD because not only was the camera action on the game way zoomed out... the on-air graphics had a very.... unusual feel to them. For instance, when the announcers wanted to talk about the great amount of young stars between the two teams playing tonight, this graphic lit up my HD screen.

Oh.. it's the lesser known observatory in Los Angeles, the Young Stars Observatory.

Then, this thing appeared...

Oh... I get it... they are all stars... young stars! Very clever, Prime Ticket!

And then... the piéce de résistance... all these young stars... formed a constellation!

If they really wanted to go for it, they would have had
Wilco's "California Stars" playing in the background.

In between periods, John Ahlers and Brian Hayward talked about all the news that was going on in the NHL. And some intern got to bust out his PrintShop skills on live television.

Really? This is what their production team came up with?
Was it a last minute decision to do this segment?

And then Prime Ticket HD decided to showcase the 3 year history of the Subway Freeway Face-Off™... as if it started in the early 1990's on ESPN2...

And don't assume that Subway isn't the only fast food chain in bed with the Anaheim Ducks... their penalty kill is sponsored by one of the finest Mexican restaurants in all of Southern California!

Del Taco! The bold sponsor of the penalty kill!
How does one work on being bold during practice?

But the producers saved the most-telling on-screen graphic for last... as they outlined the playoff history of these 2 clubs...

Well, I don't think this one is all that particularly funny.
In fact, it's kind of mean.

The Kings are 10 points up on the Anaheim Ducks and I couldn't be happier. Ottawa comes into Staples Center on Thursday after being beaten up by the San Jose Sharks last night. It's going to be so great to see Dany Heatley play, since being in the Pacific Division you only really get one chance a year to see him skate. Oh... what's that?

Young Guns 1 vs Young Guns 2

Brian Boyle... you just lost your place in the lineup to Derek Armstrong. Kyle Calder finally found a scoring chance that even he couldn't miss. And Coach Murray showed why he is the perfect coach for this team by going with Erik Ersberg in net tonight, instead of Jason LaBarbera. Put all these things together... and you have a damn solid win by the Los Angeles Kings. Don't look now, but the Kings are 7-3-1 in the last 11 games.

Kings 5, Assault Helicopters, 2


Jim Fox shows the viewers that 3 intersecting lines make a triangle.
Or that he is drunk on Telestrator power.

As the 3rd period was coming to a close, Kings broadcaster Bob Miller remarked that the Kings had gotten goals tonight from "players who hadn't scored a lot this year." Yeah, I would say that Calder and Armstrong hadn't scored all that much this year. Maybe Raitis Ivanans is the only one who hasn't scored as much. Armstrong is making the most of his position between Patrick O'Sullivan and Oscar Moller while Calder... well he still has Hands of Stone™, but even a stone hits the side of a barn every now and then.

How great of a pickup has Kyle Quincey been? After this game, Kyle is now beating down the door of the top 20 defensemen in the league this year. Remember... Dean Lombardi got this guy for nothing.

This was an awesome game to watch. Two young teams going at it, matching shift for shift until the Kings stepped it up in the 3rd period. The game was so fun to watch I almost didn't notice the new graphic monstrosities from our friends at Fox Sports. Check out the upper left corner here for a good 45 seconds, complete with sound effects:

The Kings were so distracted they gave up a goal.

Oh, that's not enough for you? Then check this one out:

3 Day Suit Broker!!! EXTREME!!!

Has Fox Sports been this heavy with the advertisements on the tv scoreboard this year and I've just been missing it? Or is Fox Sports looking for extra revenue to pay for the costs that come with Rinkside View?

Yikes, Michael Vartan... don't you know about the Curse of Christian Slater?

I guess you have to have a project going on in order for it to be cancelled.

And finally... I really think there is something going on between Heidi Androl and Alexander Frolov. The last 2 times she has interviewed him it's been all giggles.

Oh Alexander, you are TOO funny! Are you heading to the Lexus Club later?

The 2nd Line

Over the last few games, the 2nd line of Alexander Frolov, Jarett Stoll and rookie Oscar Moller has played well. Moller continues to impress nightly with his offensive potential... Stoll's addition to the team is a definite reason that the Kings have improved their defense... and Frolov, even though he may not be scoring at the same pace as years past, has become a better all-around player this season.

But the real reason for success of this particular line? Why it's their new nickname.

The Kings 2nd Line. A sweet blend of Swedish, Russian and Canadian flavors.

Everyone is always searching for the best nicknames for hockey lines. But I say, for this Kings season, let's buck the trend of naming something "The So and So Line" and just call these guys by their new legal last name.... Frostoller. It just seems to roll off the tongue. No, it's not a new German Microbrew... it's the 2nd line for the Los Angeles Kings.

You heard it here first.

Kings Gameday - The Economy Hits Pat and Oscar's

Well, I saw this day coming. Coach Murray has decided to get the band back together and reunite the top line from last season, Patrick O'Sullivan, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown.

I can't say I blame him. Those 3 are a force together. But for a few games, the Kings had something that they haven't had in a long time... secondary scoring. I loved watching Patrick O'Sullivan and Oscar Moller skate together. They are very similar in style yet complimented each other well. Hopefully they will still get some time on the Power Play together, but now I have to think... how will this affect Moller's game? A big reason for his early season success was being able to skate with O'Sullivan. Now, the so called 3rd line with Frolov and Handzus will need to provide more offensive support in addition to their great defensive play.

Pat & Oscar. It's been a great ride. I guess I'll just have to drown my sorrows in breadsticks.