Game Thread: Game 1: Los Angeles Kings @ Chicago Blackhawks, 5/18 12:00 PM, NBC

[gmalis1]

Yeah and you know who the only team to lose was? That's right the Chicago Blackhawks lost to Minnesota after they scored first.

Ox

Wrong. Hawks were the only team to win after the Wild scored the first goal.

Get your facts straight.

 

[gmalis1]

Hits
Kings 34
Hawks 25

More about the bad plays and not taking away the speed of the Hawks. They did it vs SJ and Anaheim, they can do it vs Chicago.

Hawks get outhit every single game. This is nothing new. I think during the course of the regular season and playoffs, the Hawks outhit the opponents 2-3 times. That's not the Hawks game. Puck possession is. Of course you're gonna get hit more when you have the puck 60% of the time or more.

 

[oxnardkingsfan]

Wrong. Hawks were the only team to win after the Wild scored the first goal.

Get your facts straight.

Oops. Sorry there. I must have misheard what the NBC announcers said. Didn't mean any disrespect to the "Defending Champions". Besides I was just trying to give the Kings fans some hope for this game. We'll see which team wins 4.

Ox

 

[gmalis1]

Yep, the douchebag NBC announcers also made it sound like the Wild came back to win a game after the Hawks scored first. But they were wrong too. Hawks trailed 1-0 in Game 5 vs the Wild and came back to win. That's the only exception to winning when you score first.

Also, I'm glad to see on your thread that you think the announcers on NBC are crap. From the play by play, to the color, to the guy in the glass, to the studio stooges...they all stink. You should see what Hawks fans think. It's going around all of Chicago sports radio that NBC hates the Hawks, they give the Hawks no respect and that Corey Crawford is a non-entity.

Interesting to see that LA fans feel the same way regarding them and the Kings.

 

[lasportzphan]

My thoughts on the game now that I've had time to digest what I watched is the Kings didn't look outmatched at all and could have won today's game. Yeah the old "coulda, shoulda, whoulda" thing but I'm not disappointed in their performance at all.

Thinking back to when they were down 0-3 games to the Sharks and we were only hoping not to get swept it isn't all that bad. Even if they end up losing this series it won't be terrible. All I really wanted was if they were going to lose just don't let it be to the Ducks. They didn't let that happen.

Of course I want them to beat the Blackhawks and advance to the Cup Finals again and it'll hurt if they don't. But they won the Cup before my time here on Earth was over so I won't die unfulfilled as far as major team sports are concerned.

Ox

I completely understand your sediment regarding not losing to the Ducks and playing with pride vs. San Jose as well as not being that disappointed in their performance yesterday. However, what I saw last year in the playoffs (and this regular season) and what I see during this playoffs against the Blackhawks this year has not evolved too much - the Kings do look outmatched to me on a few levels. First, speed (we all know this, not worth dwelling on). Discipline - Blackhawks do not take unnecessary penalties a la Jared Stoll or like the Martinez shove. Execution - you do not see a Blackhawk player have Muzzin-esque gaffes out there, just not their character over the last couple of seasons. Jobs - every player performs their roll and it shows on the ice. Nobody tries to do more than they are capable of (sometimes Doughty has to!). Finally, Talent - the Blackhawks are deep, deceptively deep too. Maybe some guys are not household names, but they are solid top to bottom.

I think the Kings have tons of talent, but if Brown, Carter, Richards cannot find the next gear, the Blackhawks will eventually find enough ways to get the puck high on Quick. The Blackhawks will find ways to score, can the Kings? I really believe we could see the Kings find that gear Wednesday night. Kopitar is much improved since last year's playoffs and Carter/Richards are showing glimmers of potential, even Brown is mixing it up a bit more. We shall see.... but our core players have to find that next level.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Muzzin you suck

Was at Knott's all day with the 4 crumbsnatchers so I DVRed the game, saw the score on my phone though and planned on watching it tonight. Should I just fast forward to the goals or watch the game through?

Saw the quote above, this should be interesting.

 

[oxnardkingsfan]

Nah, I'd watch it all. There a lot of interesting stuff that went on. That and you can better form your own opinion of how the team looked by watching it.

Ox

 

[LALakersboy24.7]

Chicago is a different animal my friend.

I think what you meant to say is "LA is a different animal".

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Nah, I'd watch it all. There a lot of interesting stuff that went on. That and you can better form your own opinion of how the team looked by watching it.

Ox

Haha I forgot about this one until I saw it bumped up to the top with a post.

I finally watched Game 1 on Tuesday, and while the Kings lost 3-1 I believe they played pretty well. The funny thing was last year, the Kings didn't even belong on the same ice as the Hawks, they were dominated all over the place. Not having Richards and Mitchell was a huge blow but injuries are part of the game, and the depth that Dumbo put together is supposed to help them get through those moments. Didn't happen, and the Kings got their asses handed to them and deservedly so.

This season, watching the first game and now Games 2 and 3, the Kings absolutely are playing just as good if not better than Chicago in a majority of the games. The folks who thought LA was going to be a stroll in the park are learning that simply isn't true.

 

[Psych3man]

the Kings got their asses handed to them and deservedly so.

I agree we weren't going to beat Hawks last year, but I reminded all Hawk fans this year that even though they beat us 4-1 last year, 3 of 4 losses were by 1 goal. Those losses were actually closer than most remember.