Super Duper Ultra Weekend

True to form, the #LAKings wrapped-up the Stanley Cup Finals in 5-games last friday. It took overtime, of course. I have to crown this year's team as the Drama Kings. 3 OT games in the final series and 3 OT wins, which atones for the 3 OT losses by Gretzky and Co way back against the Canadiens. Martinez put back a fat rebound off of a Toffoli shot from the right wing. That's the second OT game winner for Martinez, only surpassing the drama of the Conference Final game 7 against the 'Hawks. I'm so happy for that guy. Nearly forgotten until earning ice time late in the season and not to be denied, has to feel great for that kind of redemption.

Father's Day weekend was great. I have to say that How to Train Your Dragon 2, might not have been an ideal movie for the weekend. *Spoiler. It's not the best thing to watch a movie where the main character's dad dies. But I did get plenty of residual appreciation none the less. Played the usual Men's rec league game at Toyota Center and got 2 assists, one on the OT game winner. Not too shabby for an old Dad. We hit Disneyland the next day, as our annual passes are running out next month. Got to build a car with Kalani. It's basically, Build a Bear, but with cars. He loved it. Dinner at House of Blues was all about Daddy though. They had Ballast Point on tap, and a 22oz Sculpin hit the spot. I didn't realize that the majority of the menu there pack some heat. So, it was the perfect spot for me. The Heat Seeker burger had pulled pork on top of a medium patty with jalapeños and hot wing sauce. It was tasty.

Today was the Stanley Cup Victory Parade. Very cool. This time around I did not have passes to see the ceremony inside Staples Center, but it was televised and I saw it later in the day. I did get to bring the family along, as school was out and I needed a work vacation anyway. The weather downtown was beautiful, cool breezes in the shade of the tall buildings off of Figueroa. Glad that the kids and wife got to see the parade up close this time. You never know when/if you will ever see something like that again.

Pretty much a perfect weekend. So thankful that the Kings won it all again. It has been a very therapeutic diversion from work. Not sure what I would have done without another game to look forward to, or another OT victory to talk about the last two months.

But, much like the Cup Finals, things at work have also come to a sort of resolution. Curious timing for sure. We'll see what the future holds...

Sweep

Well, it's no surprise to anyone that the #LAKings are on the verge of sweeping the Rangers from the 2013-14 NHL Stanley Cup Final. I think most of the pundits had Los Angeles is 5-games. The most optimistic Ranger believers had them in 7. I think that assumed Lundqvist would steal 3-games and a lucky bounce for the 4th win.

The surprise that is no surprise, is how it happened. The #LAKings were the Best of the West. The Western Conference had a huge advantage over the East all regular-season. This series was to be a formality. So, in a fashion that is typical of this Playoff year, the hardest path has been taken. Give up 2-goal leads multiple times in the games at home, only to win in OT and 2OT respectively. The heart attack Kings had not lead a game in over 240-minutes, (4-games worth), yet had a 3-0 game record in that span. Things only looked to get tougher as the series shifted to Madison Square Garden! Well, that turned out to be a 3-0 shutout for Quick, despite doubling up the #LAKings in shots. Most of the MSG faithful had left the building with 10-minutes left in the 3rd. At least that performance was directly reminiscent of 2012.

In keeping with the necessary symmetry of the 2012 Cup run, the #LAKings also went OT, OT and shutout against New Jersey. That series went 6-games. I'm not sure how to predict what's the opposite, yet similar path for the upcoming Game 4. I just want them to win the damn thing again. But if karma and drama continue to be themes for this year's team, it will be something to not miss.

You are my density! - George McFly

Been a LOOOONG time since my last post. But looking back, my last post was ironically the most critical time in the recent #LAKings history. Why so critical? Well, since then there has been one Stanley Cup, three consecutive Conference Finals appearances and currently another Cup Final. You can say I've been busy celebrating and watching the #LAKings play deep into June.

Well, the #LAKings did ultimately end-up firing Murray and hired Darryl Sutter and the rest is history. That very same year the Kings squeaked into the playoffs as the 8th seed and proceeded to dominate every series; building a 3-0 lead each time and walking away with a 16-4 record. The games were very tight. Timely scoring happened on a nightly basis and the #LAKings had boosted their offense +0.75 goals compared to the regular season rate, seemingly out of nowhere. Well, the mid-season trade of fan-favorite defenseman Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter, had something to do with the offense. Defenseman Slava Voynov matured enough to make Jack Johnson expendable in the first place. Other young call-ups Dwight King and Jordan Nolan made an impression. The run was as unbelievable as Quick's goaltending. Speaking of which, cemented the netminder as the best in the league and resulted in a gaudy 10-year contract (which is a topic for another day). I went to the Cup Parade downtown and it was awesome.

This year's run is completely different and totally similar. Once again, the #LAKings were great defensively and offensively challenged. (Winning the first Jennings Trophy for goaltenders/GAA.) They were not an 8th seed, but also wouldn't have home ice advantage. This year's late season offensive acquisition was Marion Gaborik. The young call-ups were Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli this time around. Maturing defensemen are Jake Muzzzin and (Alec Martinez). Similar stories to 2012. But the path couldn't be more different. Let's start with all-world goalie Quick being lit up by San Jose for 13-goals in two games! It seemed like Quick gave up 13-goals all playoffs during the 2012 Cup run. San Jose jumped out to a 3-0 series lead. But the #LAKings overcame that in a flourish, blowing out the Sharks with 3-goal leads in the next 3 games. Winning game 7 on the road 2-1. Next up was the cross-town rival Ducks. The mallards lead the West in the regular season. After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead on the road, the #LAKings once again dropped 3-games in-a-row. They also once again came back and ultimately won game 7 on the road, again. It only got tougher from there facing the defending Champ 'Hawks.Split the series in Chicago, and had a 2 game series lead again 3-1. Proceeded to drop that lead, and once again win a game 7, in OT,  on the road. The weird subplot was having the #LAKings drop 2-goal leads in several games, only to battle back and win. The tight 1-0, 2-1 games of the 2012 run were gone in favor of 6-3, 4-1, 6-2, 6-2, 5-2, 5-4 scorefests.There couldn't be more drama or more scoring and lead changes.

Game 1 of the Final is more of the same. Drop a 2-goal lead only to battle back and win. At least the #LAKings have home ice advantage for a change.

So, GM Dean Lombardi looks like something of a genius, right now. He's signed the core of the #LAKings to long term deals. Call-ups from Manchester plug-in nicely and have contributed in the post season. (With Darryl Sutter rolling 4 lines, rookies have to be able to play.) Mid to late-season deals for Carter and Gaborik have come up aces. I had my own reservations about these two, respectively. Both players had baggage from being moved from a big market team, to NHL's equivalent of Siberia (Columbus). And both couldn't have fit in better. To me, this is the sort of thing that only happens within the Red Wings organization; groom draft picks in your minor league system that help immediately, and trade for key acquisitions that impact a Cup run. Lombardi also brought in Darryl Sutter.

I think a lot of the team's success is due to Darryl Sutter. He's a notoriously dry post-game interview. But the guy likes to stick to the big picture. Reporters ask leading questions, but he rebuffs them with facts. It can be hilarious, but most LA reporters have learned to not ask him stupid questions over the years. Sutter has even taught me to be more of an even keel fan. I do enjoy celebrating crazy-ass wins. Like that last-second game tying goal by Gaborik against the Quacks, which the #LAKings ultimately won in OT. But even against the Sharks, down 3-0 in the series, I didn't demand to switch out Quick and fire Sutter next season or any other drastic change. The players play, and get it done or don't. It's not magic. Trust the team. If it happens, it happens. This year it has happened, again. Well, so far it has. But you have to have consistency and confidence in your players and system. It's far too late to change things in the playoffs anyway. That being said, this is by far the most dramatic post-season the #LAKings have ever had, and yet I can't help but have the same sense of destiny that I had in 2012. So, this year's run has been completely different, but totally similar so far...

Why Terry Murray must be fired.

I guess it's no secret that most LAKings fans are frustrated by this year's team. The stat being thrown around the most right now is, 30th in the League for 5-on-5 scoring. There is 2/3rds of the season left, but this is a bad spot to be in right now. Bright side? At least the powerplay isn't at the bottom, too. The excuses are many: hangover from the trip to Europe, defensive "system", Drew Doughty missing training camp. I will counter with the argument that the Stanley Cup winners of the last few seasons, all started with games in Europe. The Minnesota Wild play a fairly defensive system and are leading the Western Conference. Doughty shouldn't be that much of a key to the team's offense.

What's with the forwards? Several of the verteran forwards have been injured or slumping. Williams and Stoll are slumping. Richards was carrying the load, but got injured. Kopitar and Gagne started fast, but haven't been scoring. Brown has elevated his game the last 5-6 contests, but isn't expected to be a pure goal scorer. Penner has finally shown flashes of offense, but he's a last resort as far as expectations, in my mind. Lewis and Richardson are young players that bring speed and grit, but have been scratched in favor of slower more defensive Hunter, Moreau, & Westgarth.

So you are left with the adage that you can't fire the players. I like Terry Murray for what be brings. He's a great coach for building a team. He brings structure. Murray has built one of the best defensive teams in the league. But I think the Kings are at the point where Murray has done what he was supposed to do, and the next step may or may not include him. Murray is also one of the oldest coaches in the league. He's an old dog and there are some new tricks in today's NHL. I would argue that some of the younger coaches, Glen Gulutzan comes to mind, have been successful. I point to a recent game against the Stars, where Dallas was clearly looking to make an aggressive forward faceoff draw after a timeout, with 40 seconds left. The Kings blew the coverage, and Dallas tied the game and won in OT. Out coached on that one? I was pretty sure Bruce Boudreau came to mind, when the Capitals fired him. He was even in the Kings organization at one point, coaching the Monarchs. But the Ducks swept him up in a matter of days/hours and that's history.

Maybe it shouldn't happen this season, but if there are strong signs now that the team is not responding to the coach, why not now? I honestly can't name any ideal replacements. But a have a strong feeling that a new voice behind the bench is needed, sooner than later.

UFC on Fox

So, I capped off an event filled week with the UFC on Fox fights at the Honda Center in Anaheim. I was surprised by the crowd. I've been to other fights where the undercard is not heavily attended. But with the pre-event festivities, there was quite a crowd before the whole thing started. There was a pretty good atmosphere for the event in general and there was a lot of energy for the main event. The crowd was heavily pro-Velasquez. So, I feared that there might be a riot when he lost. Maybe the quick finish was a good thing, since the crowd was stunned for the most part. Had it gone to a decision, the place might have gone crazy.

Similarly, the crowd was pro-Guida. So, even though he got handled IMO, the crowd disagreed with the decision. It's too bad that they didn't show the Henderson vs. Guida fight on Fox. It was great. A high energy, 3-round battle with kicks, cagework & submissions. I would have bet on the lightweights for a guaranteed, solid fight over a heavyweight contest. I understand that people want to see the heavyweights, but I blame Dana's love for boxing on that mistake.

I'd argue that it's easier to get into the sport of MMA by watching the lightweights. Case in point, myself. I followed the UFC to a point. But it wasn't until the WEC had a pretty good rotation on Versus, that I truly got into MMA.

Still, it was great to be a part of MMA history. I'm just not sure if it is the beginning or the end. In a lot of respects it is the end of meeting fighters in the local K-mart without a long line. The end of pay-per-view for FOX events. The end of having mostly local/US events. But this is all a good thing.