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Getting Back On The Tracks

The Los Angeles Kings have had a lot of good come out of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Four out of five Kings come back with medals around their necks and a ton of experience to boot. The vets on the roster have gotten much needed rest and Justin Williams has gotten a free two-week window of time to get back on his skates. Here we close out the Olympic Games and look forward to the week ahead.

I don’t think there could have been a more storybook ending to the gold-medal game. The US tying the game with less than 30 seconds left in regulation to force the overtime was ridiculous, but the fact that Sidney Crosby got the game winner was unbelievable. An amazing ending to an exciting game, which I’m sure the talking heads at NHL corporate were happy about. At the beginning of the tournament, I was unsure if Canada could pull out the win, but they screwed their heads on and got the gold, and I’m so happy Canada won the gold on home turf. I’m sure the Russians were really happy with this ending.

Random tidbit: Here is the link for the official story on the Closing Ceremonies from last night, which I thought wasn’t too bad. Everything was going well until the ending montage, which displayed every Canadian stereotype for the world to see. Inflatable beaver, Mounties, and lumberjacks, just to name a few. The table hockey figures were so freaking cool, but it was promptly ruined by everything else that was going on.

Los Angeles Kings: Final Numbers

Player CTY GP Goals Assists Points TMP
Dustin Brown USA 6 0 0 0 86:38
Jack Johnson USA 6 0 1 1 119:45
Drew Doughty CAN 7 0 2 2 126:57
Michal Handzus SVK 7 3 3 6 136:34
Total 26 3 6 9

These two weeks off could have potentially been a great thing for the Kings (or their downfall). You can say the same thing for every other team in the league, so I  won’t dwell on that issue. This first week of June has the Kings away for a quick two-game roadtrip and at home in Staples Center to face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, March 6th. Out of the three contests (Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, and Canadiens) I’m not confident about the game against Nashville. The Kings more often than not lay an egg in those games, so I’m looking for a 2-1 record from this week.

Another thing about this week; Trade Deadline!!!

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