I had been meaning to make these photoshops earlier in the Western Conference Finals but didn't want to jinx anything. Then I just didn't wanna rub it in, but I got bored and after seeing the Puck Daddy eulogy for the pups I felt like finishing after all. Enjoy.

If you can take several strong punches, sometimes it's ok to sit back and wait for your opponent to get tired before getting in an opportunistic lick and finishing them off.

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The Los Angeles Kings have had a remarkable run through the 2012 playoffs so far, having defeated the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in 5 games, swept the Central Divison champion St. Louis Blues in four, and holding a commanding 3-0 series lead over the 3rd-seeded Phoenix Coyotes.

Not that the Kings have really won anything yet but it got me wondering, how many games do the champs usually lose in the playoffs? As usual, I'm only looking at the period since 1987 because before that the playoffs were not composed of four best-of-seven series.

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Kings fans, you should know that you have Pittsburgh in your corner: while Penguins' fans wish we were still in the mix, the next best thing for most of us is watching the knife turned into Philadelphia Flyers' fans. If the Kings do go on to win the Cup, largely on the backs of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter and John Stevens, the gut-punched look of the faces of
Flyers' fans everywhere will be enough to get us through to training camp in September.

I also want the Kings' faithful to know what they have in defenseman Rob Scuderi, who as you probably know was a homegrown Penguin and a big part of the 2009 Cup team. I'm sure you appreciate the work he does with Drew Doughty on the top pairing, but I wanted to write something for him because his value can get lost in the shuffle of stars like Brown, Kopitar, Quick, etc.

Below is the link. Thanks in advance for reading.

Jack

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[Ed. note: Front-paging this look at previous teams who have done what the Kings have in the postseason.]

So in case anyone is curious, as I was, as to how many teams have ever begun the playoffs with no more than one loss in the first two rounds of the playoffs and how they fare, I did some research.

It turns out that while it hasn't gotten a ton of press, it's a pretty special accomplishment.

Since the NHL went to Best-of-7 format in all four rounds of the playoffs 25 years ago in 1987 only ten teams have opened the playoffs 8-1 in the first two rounds, including this year's Los Angeles Kings. No team has ever swept the two opening rounds.

After the jump you can see how those ten teams fared once they got into the Conference Finals.

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This is my first major fan post here and hopefully it goes over well. I thought I would give this a try as an anything goes kind of post. Kind of spark some heated debates or post mocking pics of the Canucks. We can talk about whatever here but keep it cool so we can get a feel for how it goes. Once we see how it is, feel free to let loose.

Rule #1 - Keep it sane. This is a free for all thread but lets not get too crazy especially since this is the first one.

Rule #2 - All Pictures and .Gifs Must Have Subject Lines. Funny ones are always the best.

Rule #3 - Shun anyone acting like a turd

-Y'all go ahead and decide who acts douchey and who doesn't. We will direct that person to the nearest mental institution.

Rule #4 - Be cool, man. No temper tantrums. No "threadbombing" -No need to lose your head.

Rule #5 - All people are accepted. -This is a Pac West thread. We don't judge or attack based on who roots for what team. All Kings, Sharks, Ducks, Stars, and I guess Coyotes fans can get up all in this business. Any team really. Just don't get too trolly.

2 Recs to keep this in the Recommended FanPost section.

via i1220.photobucket.com

Go Kings Go!

SO my Kings fanhood has been short, but vigorous. I lived in LA for a year working in an Americorps Program down in Watts. (Yes if you are a resident of the city and still never set foot there, IT IS THAT BAD.) I was too broke to go to any "Major sports." Though I did watch my Timbers lose twice to the Galaxy and Chivas, though both fan groups were pretty swell folks. THE OTHER sport I could afford, was the kings, 10 dollar tickets right off the metro line, lets do it! I must say my favorite player was Wayne Simmonds, so it was legitimately sad to see him go. Ever since I moved back to Portland I've realized everyone seems to hate the kings, and for a bevvy of reasons. Usually its "I hate everything LA." Meaning they hate the Lakers (I'm no different). Or the second, I'm from Philly, i'm from Detroit, yadda yadda yadda. No one in Portland is actually from Portland anymore. I would have never expected people to "hate" the kings, maybe a level of indifference, but hate, c'mon!

I'm seriously stoked all these playoff games are on TV, not that I haven't bootlegged more than a few from my laptop. Just hope the boys can keep this going so it can officially be weirder that I support a team in purple that plays in the Staples Center..

THAT WAS A HELL OF A RAMBLE.. GO KINGS!!!!

[Front-paging this great trip into the annals of time - Niesy]

Sharks vs Kings recap

I already did this for my blog, but here ya go anyway.

via crownedroyal.com

After doing a little research, I found out this isn't the first time Ryane Clowe has been involved in illegally using his stick. Take a walk down memory lane, and see what else Clowe has done without the officials, or anyone, taking notice.

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Also got to watch Kings prospect Tyler Toffoli when the NHL channel aired a tape of the OHL game 5 playoff between Toffoli's Ottawa 67's and the Belleville Bulls....This was my first look at Toffoli, and he is pretty much as advertised: not big, (although not a Kozun-size smurf), but enough size get to where he wanted to go; very average skater; good hands and enough grit to win his share of puck battles; bit of an edge (nice hit on Belleville D Jordan Subban, just as noisy as his older brother); great instincts at finding the open spots in the offensive zone; and a quick release which he used to score the 67's fourth goal. This is not a Ovechkin-type player who will go end-to-end for the spectacular goal; but, paired with forwards who can get him the puck in scoring positions, he could well be a 30-goal scorer. Reminds me a little of Daniel Ryder, who you never even notice on the ice until he suddenly pops in a goal....

Just watched the prodigal sons in am OT loss to Ottawa on the NHL Channel; Flyers first goal scored when a Schenn shot hit Simmonds in the face and bounced into the net (he's okay). Simmonds has grown into a legitimate 2nd line winger; he's grown into his once-spindly frame, and I think the more intense atmosphere in Philly has kept his attitude strong. Schenn looks much better in the defensive zone than he did in his breif time in LA; however, Laviolette clearly prefers the younger Sean (son of Sylvain) Couturier for defensive purposes. In fact, while Schenn is coming along fine, he is probably not as good a player right now as Couturier or another Flyers rookie, Clayton Read; however, I notice that Laviolette tries to get Schenn some shifts with top 6 forwards such as Giroux, Hartnell, Briere etc.. Playing with this group has been a key for Simmonds as well; if Geno Malkin is not the best player in the league, Giroux is; you could put Trevor Lewis and Colin Fraser on his wings and mark them down for 20 goals minimum.

It's seeming more and more likely that Phoenix will not be an NHL city beyond this season. That's important to the Kings because having a team there since 1996 has meant a road city not too far away. The two best options for their new destination appear to be Seattle and Quebec City. What does this mean for the Kings?

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