So far into this very young season, the L.A. Kings have won one game and lost two. I’ve been reading up on the team and the consensus is they have not yet lived up to their potential, given all we’ve been hearing about how “strong” and “deep” their team is this year. In last night’s game, the third in the season, Ilya Kovulchuk of the New Jersey Devils dominated the ice, but the Philly factor came into play when Simon Gagne scored for the Kings, and loss or not, our goalie Jonathan Quick is awesome.
My biggest question is do all hockey fans panic after only three games (one of which the Kings won), or is that just this team? I looked it up and there’s somewhere around 80 more games to be played. I’m willing to give them a chance, but what do I know, I’m a newbie.
It was obvious that this Kovalchuk character brought high energy to the ice and dominated the game last night, while the Kings started well but then petered out at the end. I searched around to try to find out why, and learned that the Kings are focused on the NEXT game against Philadelphia. It turns out a player named Mike Richards came here from Philly this season, and he wasn’t too happy at first, and neither were Flyers’ fans, about the trade.
Since then, he appears to be settling down under our pretty California sun just fine. Yes, of course, there’s no place like So Cal, we who live here know that too well. It makes one want to kick back and relax, especially when temperatures rise into 90s, as they have lately. However, the Kings have got to pick it up and somehow stay motivated despite the urge to lounge around on our pretty beaches! (I’m just speculating, of course, but then again, wouldn’t you?)
So from what I’ve read, it is this guy Richards’ job is to score goals, an area the Kings apparently were lacking the last few seasons. So far, he has done very well. He got everyone’s attention when he scored big in a pre-season a game against the New York Rangers in Sweden. Then, in the first game of the regular season, he again got a goal in and had an assist in another play. So far, so good. However, in the last two games, he’s has not scored although he has played well.
One player who has amazed me so far is the goalie Jonathan Quick. It really is beautiful to watch him protect the net the way he does. Supposedly he’s got another Jonathan named Bernier breathing down his neck to take over. From the three games we’ve seen this season, two with Quick in the net and one with Bernier, I don’t think Quick has much to worry about at this point. Maybe Bernier’s an amazing player (I’m a newbie, remember), but from what I see he lacks the finesse of Quick. Just my opinion.
Apparently Kings’ Manager Terry Murray was unsure if he’d put Richards in with the other hot player who came from Philadelphia, his former teammate Simon Gagne, so he assigned them to different lines. So of course Gagne scored the Kings’ only goal tonight. Now I have to go learn about him before the next game, which is against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 4 p.m. pst. See you there for more L.A. Kings hockey.
Also from this author:
“The L.A. Kings 2011-2012 Season Begins: Confessions of a Hockey Noob” http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9007033/the_la_kings_20112012_season_begins.html?cat=9