Life In Hockeywood: L.A. Kings Blog • Podcast • Video

#140Recap: #LAKings offense still AWOL in loss to #Canes

Matt — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:58:41 GMT

Prediction Panel: Feb. 4 Kings vs. Hurricanes

Matt — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:05:51 GMT

Well, I gave the Kings' last-place offense too much credit. I thought they could grind one out against a fresh Blues team. They were outshot 25-14 through two periods, and just looked craptastic.

Especially when Drew Doughty missed a check on Matt D'Agostini, allowing D'Agostini to set up Jaime Langerbrunner to score the only goal of the game. So my prediction of a 2-1 Kings win dropped me to 1-1 overall.

So now, the Kings play their ninth back-to-back game of the season, where they have gone 2-2-4 in the second game, nabbing a point in the last six of those games. (Sticktap to The Hammer, Rich Hammond, for breaking it down)

The thing that I'm more encouraged by is how L.A. has responded after being shutout. This season, the Kings have been blanked six times. They have won four out of the five games following a shutout this season, with that one loss coming in a shootout to the Penguins. They have outscored their opponents 18-9 in those games.

So combining those two factors (performance in back-to-back games and performance in games after being shut out), my guess is the Kings will push the game to OT, where they will win 3-2.

Still no exact scores yet from the rest of the panel, but it's still early. For a more in-depth breakdown of how the panel is doing, go check out Deep Inside The Kings. Paul has broken out a slide rule, protractor and some wicked algebraic equations for his Kingstradamus breakdown. Good stuff right there.

How did our other Kings prognosticators do? Check it out...

For the Prediction Panel for Feb. 4, click here...

Hockeywood Dailies: Feb. 3

Matt — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:47:40 GMT

For the complete game recap, as well as analysis from NHL Live and comments from Jim Fox and Barry Melrose, click here...

#140Recap: Kings start road trip on wrong foot

Matt — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:27:48 GMT

Prediction Panel: Feb. 3 Kings vs. Blues

Matt — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:36:51 GMT

I thought I had a good chance to nab the first exact score of the Panel, when the score was 2-1 after two periods. Then stupid Colton Gillies had to go and dash my hopes. Dumb Gillies.

Tied at two, it looked as if Quisp from Jewels From the Crown was positioned perfectly to call the final score, 3-2 in OT. Then Doughty scored the hotly-debated last second goal heard 'round the blogosphere, and dashed Quisp's guess.

The next game is a little tougher. Even though the Kings have beaten the Blues twice this season, St. Louis typically give L.A. fits.

So, I took into consideration that the Blues haven't played in 10 days. Looking back, the Blues were white hot in January, but cooled right before the All-Star Break.

My guess is the Kings should be able to grind out another victory against the Blues for their third win of the season series. But it's not going to be easy.

My guess: Kings 2, Blues 1

Amazingly, none of the other panelists had that exact prediction, so I feel I'm sitting pretty.

Here's how the rest of the Kings Prognosticators' predictions...

Click here for the Prediction Panel for Feb. 3...

Hockeywood Minute Podcast: Feb. 3

Matt — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:58:45 GMT

Here's the Hockeywood Minute for the Kings game vs. the Blues. Since this show is evolving, I take a look back at the game vs. the Blue Jackets and the drama surrounding the clock. Then I quickly break down tonight's game against the Blues.

Also, if you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to email me. I want to make this show as interesting as I can, and encourage input.

Click here for the podcast...

Hockeywood Dailies Special Report: SecondGate

Matt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:30:00 GMT

Since Secondgate has erupted into the biggest story of the day in Hockeywood, I thought I should break it apart from the normal Hockeywood Dailies and feature it separately. We're calling it: SecondGate.

Click here for the video evidence...

Call of Doughty: Black Ops

Matt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Hockey players are an eclectic bunch. I came across this brilliant Photoshop on Drew Doughty's Facebook page, posted by Hovik Sinanain. I saw that the art was created by Taylor Vause, and thought the name was familiar. Turns out in addition to being an apparent Photoshop guru, Taylor Vause is a 21-year-old forward and the current captain of the Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League. He is enjoying his best professional season, with 28 goals and 30 assists in 52 games. In his spare time, Vause takes certain artistic liberties with NHL players, and has created 12 masterful 'shops which are hilarious. Like the Sedin twins jumping into a pool together, a la Step Brothers. Or Tim Thomas, Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara celebrating Hangover style. Check out the gallery for yourself.I figured with all the news swirling around Doughty's last-second goal against the Blue Jackets, it would be a good time to post this moody piece of the Kings' talented defenseman. Maybe last night's goal will be the start of something special... Or maybe not. ...

Doughty's humdinger baffles the Blue Jackets

Matt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:07:23 GMT

Game 51: Kings 3, Blue Jackets 2

To peep out all the videos online about this game, check out today's Hockeywood Dailies.

• AP: Kings beat Blue Jackets 3-2 with 1 second left

The Los Angeles Kings came out of their eight-day break fresh and focused. They needed every last bit of attention, too, against the NHL’s worst team. ... The Kings have won eight of their last 10 games against the Blue Jackets, who always seem to give them fits despite being the worst team in the NHL.

• LA Times: Kings get it done just in time to beat Blue Jackets, 3-2

The victory gave the Kings a successful start to what they consider a "new" season following the All-Star break, though their performance was hardly artistic. "We were average," said Darryl Sutter, who is 10-2-6 since taking over as coach.

• LAKings.com: The Key Three: Feb. 1

Lest anyone start doing back flips over the Kings’ power play, stop and consider that Columbus’ penalty-kill unit came into the game ranked 29th in the NHL. So when the stoppable force met the movable object, the Kings’ power play went 2-for-3 against the Blue Jackets’ penalty kill.

For more of this media recap, as well as comments from Drew Doughty, coach Darryl Sutter and Todd Richards, click here...

Hockeywood Dailies: Feb. 1

Matt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:37:04 GMT

For the complete game recap, as well as analysis from Jim Fox and Patrick O'Neal and comments from Drew Doughty, Justin Williams, coach Darryl Sutter, Colton Gillies and head coach Todd Richards, click here...

#140Recap: Doughty delivers clutch clincher at 19:59.06

Matt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:05:48 GMT

Prediction Panel: Feb. 1 Kings vs. Blue Jackets

Matt — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:18:36 GMT

I came across an incredible idea when the Kings played the Senators before the All-Star break. There was a feature from the Ottawa Citizen, asking their reporters to predict what the result of the upcoming Senators' game would be. Basically, the writers took a stab at the score and one sentence supporting their decision.

I thought that was brilliant, and was surprised no one had done it before here in L.A. So I reached out to a plethora of Kings bloggers (since there's like 37 now), and asked if they would be interested in doing some shared content with other bloggers. Overwhelmingly, they were down. And thus, the Kings Prediction Panel was created.

Keep in mind, this is a work in progress. Since it's open-ended, all the bloggers can use the info as they see fit, just so long as they don't change any of the opinions from the other writers. It's just a small way to bring some goodwill and some friendly competition between our respective sites.

I've always considered bloggers as the hardest of the hardcore fans, since we are driven to cover the team with our own input. Plus, everyone has an opinion. They are kind of like elbows, everyone has at least one. Unless you lost both in a horrible accident and lost them both or were born without arms. Which means my analogy sucks, but you get my meaning.

I'm hoping this project evolves into a unique experience of all to enjoy. Be sure to check out everyone's blog when you get a chance. Each of these prognosticators have stellar sites. So, without further ado, here's the panelists:

Click here for the predictions...

Hockeywood Minute Podcast: Feb. 1

Matt — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:05:37 GMT

Hey everyone, I know it's been a long time since Jesse and I have recorded a podcast. So I wanted to let everyone know officially that we're working on something big for Kings fans to enjoy, which will be debuting very soon.

In the meantime, I've been wanting to try something different as well. As you may have noticed, I have been trying new things on my site this season, with varying degrees of success. Mostly, I'm just trying to keep things interesting for myself and for you, the readers.

So I've decided to add a micro podcast called The Hockeywood Minute where I break down the Kings' upcoming game, and cram as much info as possibly into a minute or so podcast. In this world of short attention spans (of which I have one), I figured this might flourish into something cool.

So check out the first ever Hockeywood Minute...

Click here for the podcast...

Weekend Returns: And the Chuckie goes to...

Matt — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:41:00 GMT

Rather than focus on the weekend box office, (which was won by The Grey.) I figured I'd focus on the Oscar nominees.

In no particular order: Moneyball, War Horse, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Hugo, The Descendants, The Tree of Life, The Artist and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Of these movies, I've seen exactly... none.

What? I got kids, man. I don't have time to go see some black and white movie or some sad 9/11 flick. I have a hard enough time keeping up with TV shows I like, how can I expect to see Brad Pitt pine about baseball when I have to take the chillen to go see Mater become a spy.

So, rather than pretend to know anything about why the Academy decided to nominate War Horse as a Best Picture, but fail to recognize Steven Speilberg, I want to break down my top movies of 2011 and who I would give a trophy to. Let's make it the Chuckie Trophy, tying in hockey and Hollywood. Plus, I can use my trophy Photoshop again.

The nominees are:

For my nominees for the best picture of 2010, as well as the media's power rankings for the Kings and a trailer for Chronicle, click here...

How I Spent My All-Star Weekend, by Jonny Quick

Matt — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:40:32 GMT

For a treasure trove of all things Jonny Quick during his All-Star appearance, including interviews, appearances by John Tavares and Henrik Lundqvist, as well as some highlights, click here...

Funny or Die: The Fame Makers with the L.A. Kings

Matt — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:09:38 GMT

Neil Campbell, the artistic director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, sent along a video that he and fellow hockey fan Mike Hanford made for FunnyOrDie.com. Check out Campbell and Hanford as they attempt to take Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Mike Richards and Matt Greene and show them how to be famous. Hilarity ensues. Sticktap to Campbell who sent this along!

The Fame Makers with the Los Angeles Kings from Anze Kopitar

Clifford paces Kings' superiority over Senators

Matt — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:14:28 GMT

Game 49: Kings 4, Senators 1

To peep out all the videos online about this game, check out today's Hockeywood Dailies.

• AP: Kings blast Senators 4-1, move into 1st place

Although every other NHL team has scored more goals than the Los Angeles Kings this season, they’re still in a first-place tie in the Pacific Division.

• LA Times: Kings' Kyle Clifford gets 'hat trick' in 4-1 win over Senators

One of the captains in the upcoming All-Star game, the Senators' Daniel Alfredsson, ruined Jonathan Quick's shutout bid with a power-play goal at 8:37 of the third period.

• LAKings.com: The Key Three: Jan. 23

The way things have been going for the Kings of late on offense, getting a second goal is something to celebrate. Four goals? That’s a scoring blizzard. Give the Kings credit for not letting up after the second goal. They were playing good defense, and as usual, Jonathan Quick was solid in goal, but the Kings did not go into a defensive shell. They kept pushing and drew a couple penalties, then took advantage of them as they scored a 5-on-3 goal. The clinching goal came in the final minute, as the Kings crashed the net and drew a penalty shot -- albeit thanks to a highly questionable call -- and Trevor Lewis converted with a goal.

• NHL.com: Clifford leads Kings past Sens

Ottawa suffered consecutive regulation losses for the first time since Nov.9-11 and fell to 1-11-1 all-time in Los Angeles. The Senators' only win here came in January of 2000.

For the rest of this media roundup, as well as comments from Kyle Clifford, Jonathan Quick, Darryl Sutter, Paul MacLean and Chris Phillips, click here...

Hockeywood Dailies: Jan. 23

Matt — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:03:50 GMT

For the complete game recap, as well as analysis from Jim Fox and Patrick O'Neal, and comments from Kyle Clifford, Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty and coach Darryl Sutter, click here...

#140Recap: Clifford helps, hustles, and hammers way to Howe Hat trick

Matt — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:06:23 GMT

Think you know Jonathan Quick?

Matt — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:02:28 GMT

Well think again. Here's Patrick O'Neal's sitdown interview of the Kings All-Star goaltender (still can't get used to saying those words together) Jonathan Quick. Enjoy... Video: Think you know Jonathan Quick? ...