NHL Marches On, Here It's Baseball Season

It's Officially Baseball Season Now

Well that sucked.  The Kings were unceremoniously swept under the rug by the Golden Knights.  When the final few seconds ticked off, it hurt.  It felt as if we had been cheated, and the NHL's random assessment of suspensions aside, we really hadn't.

In retrospect, it was a really good series hockey wise, especially for a sweep.  One game went to double overtime, and all four games were decided by one goal.  The level of hockey was both entertaining, and admirable.  It was fast, physical, and tightly contested right up until the final horn.  This has definitely been a far better series than that of the water fowl from across town and the guppies from up north.  I'm not happy though.

The first mention must go to the stars of the series.  Both goaltenders put on a show.  Fleury was nothing short of spectacular, and nearly perfect.  The Kings will share some of the blame for their own inability to score, but Fleury didn't help them any.  He just kept making save after save.  The last time I felt this frustrated was when Patric Roy was playing, and before that Grant Fuhr.  Quicky wasn't much worse.  He definitely put on a show, and kept the Kings in games where they were vastly outplayed.  His few mistakes can hardly be cited as the reasons for the Kings demise.  In fact, had any other goalie been in net, under that much pressure from the seemingly endless onslaught of shots, the Kings fans might have been wearing bags over their faces like the Ducks fans should have.  Despite the bitter bile I can still taste, as fans, we were treated to quite the goaltending show.

Outside of the goal tending, one of the brightest spots was that coach Stevens demonstrated the ability to adjust.  Game one was a terrible performance by the Kings skaters.  They didn't make huge mistakes on defense, but they gave the Knights way too much time and space, and with the puck the Kings were hopelessly lost.  Turnovers mounted as break out after breakout failed.  Time in the offensive zone was limited at best.    Apparently missing Jake Muzzin mattered.

Then, in game two, down Muzzin and Doughty, the game plan was far more conservative, but overall very effective.  The Kings sagged back, trying to keep the Knights in front of them, something they did fairly well in game one as well.  The Knights had very few really good scoring chances.  However, the puppies that were moved into prominent roles on defense, really weren't ready.  Turnovers and missed breakout passes were the theme of the night.  Despite all this, the big breakdown didn't come until the second overtime.

Game three, however was a new story.  Muzzin and Doughty were both back, and Stevens demonstrated some savvy.  The Kings began taking away the Knights time and space, and for two periods, despite only scoring the one goal, the Kings drastically outplayed the Knights.  Then the third period came with three heart wrenching breakdowns.  The team that owned the third period all year long had come up short.

Game four was really more of the same, except without the multiple breakdowns.  This time, it only took one.  The kings owned the first period.  They were flying, getting ticks on pucks and in every passing lane.  The Knights struggled to control the puck and the Kings put some heavy pressure on Fleury.  They didn't score.  The second period was again theirs, though a bit more evenly distributed and containing the single breakdown giving McNabb a nice going away present.  The third period was actually a really good period of hockey, but again, the Kings couldn't score.  Time slipped away, and the final horn sounded.

Loosing sucks.  The end of the season sucks.  Our boys came up with the fuzzy end, but they went down swinging, and even though they were swept, they gave the Golden Knights just about all they could handle.  My optimism is a bit tempered as I am waiting to see how Vegas stacks up in later rounds, but my guess is that they will give other teams fits.  So, now it's time to keep heading North on Figueroa, hang a left on Ceasar Chavez, and a right on Vin Scully Ave.  The majestic view of the San Gabriel mountains, as backdrop to a field of green and stands filled with blue, awaits.