LA Hockey Underground

 The Pacific Division race for the playoffs is heating up.  Only ten points seperates the top seven teams in the division.  Last year's cellar dwellers are surging forward while the talented, and presumptive playoff bound teams have hit some rough spots.  If nothing else, the Pacific is looking to be a dog fight down the stretch which is good for fans.  Realistically, the Pacific can only hope for four entries into the playoffs.  With the central division's top four teams outpacing even the Golden Blights, it is likely that they will sew up the first wild card spot.  I also wouldn't rule out a surge from Dallas to compete for that second wild card spot, which would make things even more interesting out West.  It is also conceivable that the West improves and competes for both Wild Card spots.   The Golden Blights are looking to improve as Eichle completes his recovery and joins the team.  If he is close to his old self, then a formi...

  Philip Danault, the man no one is talking about, probably should never have to pay for dinner, at least until the end of his career.  His linemates owe him; the players on the other lines owe him; the defenders owe him; and I would say that Quicky owes him, but Quicky doesn't owe anyone.  This guy, the man the sports media won't mention, makes everything on a hockey team work better. He isn't flashy.  He isn't going to be the focus on the various shows of the Toronto Hockey League Network.  He may never play in the all star game, but he is a hockey coach's dream.  He has historically put up half a point a game numbers and has a career plus/minus of 56.  with the Kings, he is surpassing those numbers.  Having a plus minus of twelve isn't sexy to the media.  Having nineteen points isn't sexy to fantasy players.  However, in looking at these two stats together, the hockey geek in me gets a little excited.  Other teams have only score...

  Sometimes surprises are sweet.  One of the most interesting stories in hockey is the development of the so-called role players of the Los Angeles Kings.  Too bad the Toronto Hockey League Network would never know this, because they can’t see past the blue haze of their favorite sons. Our gain is their loss, and a lot more losses for Kings’ opponents.    Earlier this year, I felt like there was one stand out as The Most Improved player.  Now the water is muddied by the continued, almost astonishing, improvement in play by multiple players. I have to start out with a player that drove me nuts last year, Mikey Anderson.  Game after game last year he made bad pass after bad pass and appeared to be a human turnover.  His play moving backwards in our zone was pretty good, but he really struggled to see the ice and make timely decisions to get the team out of the zone.  Largely that problem was solved over the summer.  Anderson has been ...

 Make no mistake, there have been some changes on the Kings roster recently.  However, despite the additions and subtractions, too many things have stayed the same. The Kings have added what appears to be some reasonably useless players.  Lemieux isn't horrible, but he's hasn't shown us much yet, and definitely doesn't look like he is the guy to spark this team.  He does bring some needed toughness; I would like to see more of that on the ice though.   Wolanin does not look ready for the NHL.  He isn't reading the game well, and regardless of ones skills (I honestly don't know if he has any yet), as a defensemen, if one can't read the game, Sweden might be a better option.   Carts is gone.  I'm not shocked.  He is nearing the end of his career, and doesn't score like he did when he was younger.  However, he's a smart player, a good skater, and leaves a pretty big hole on this team.  There are some positives for this trade....

 The boys are looking good...much of the time anyway.  As a fan, it is really nice to see consistent offense, and guys scoring.  In addition, they aren't having to take horrible chances to do so.  Sadly, our downfall still seems to be team defensive breakdowns. Kempe has really come to life lately.  Five goals in two games never sucks.  It's too bad no one saw it coming, though, on second thought, there might have been a few people that discussed his improved level of play.  Is it still too late to call him Deaner, or Youngblood?   Killer comebacks are nice, but let's compare the last two games against the Ducks.  In the first game, had they never been down by three, they would have won the game going away, much like they did in the second game.  Sure it was great to come from behind, and get a point in the first game, but they have to get better; have to have fewer terrible breakdowns that are leaving our goaltenders hanging out to...

 Tom Wilson has been suspended, and rightfully so.  Sadly, the damage that is too late to repair will not be stopped by this suspension.  While Tom Wilson bears responsibility for his own actions, I can't help but think that if the NHL is really serious about preventing this behavior, they might take a more proactive approach. The Bruins intentionally summoned the demons from Hades, while the NHL watched and allowed it to happen.  Then, when the results became horrific, punished the demons.  Suspensions should be handed out for hits to the head, but the NHL not taking things a few steps further to prevent such things demonstrates an ignorance in their role. As a lifeguard for 22 years, every time I had to make a save was a failure on our part as a team of lifeguards.  Our number one job was prevention.  With time, seeing the gutter crawler, sensing someone under the tower, or the kid trying to sneak around to the deep end without taking the test became...

  I know the Kings are going to loose some more games, probably lots more.  However, I love watching players grow and develop.  Something positive  is happening inside this organization to foster this.  For years Kings fans have been a bit frustrated by Adrian Kempe.  He never quite seemed to live up to the potential that he seemed to have. Part of the problem was that we wanted him to be something that he wasn’t. That, and he had some growing to do, i.e. getting away from bad habits learned in euro hockey that don’t translate well to the NHL.   He’s grown.  The Kings organization has helped bring him along and he is learning some discipline.  It helps that, finally realizing he isn’t the quarterback type, the team moved him from center to wing. The results have quite positive.  Kempe isn’t a true sniper, but he can skate and finish when given the opportunity.  On the wing, he has been freed up to stop overthinking the game and just...