Battle of California

Kings Gameday: All is Well

2010-03-20T19:18:39Z

More photos » Mark J. Terrill - AP

Smile, everything's OK. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Next Game

New York Islanders
@ Los Angeles Kings

Saturday, Mar 20, 2010, 7:30 PM PDT
STAPLES Center

Complete Coverage >

The Kings are fine. They're not collapsing, they're probably not going to somehow miss the playoffs, the rest of the league hasn't found some fatal flaw in their design or system. This is the ebb and flow of the regular season, it's just happening in March. They didn't forget how to play, Terry Murray didn't forget how to coach. They'll work their way out of it and they'll win. Hopefully they'll win today. If they don't, though, they're still going to be OK. The Kings could go 3 games under .500 the rest of the season and still make the playoffs.

I know you're scared. I am too. We're going to be OK.

Prediction: Kings score, everyone thinks they'll win the Cup. Kings get scored on, everyone will freak out. It's sports. Matt Moulson will look surprised by whatever happens.

Ducks Gameday -- Welcome to Exampleville

2010-03-19T18:02:57Z

New York Islanders (whatever) at Anaheim Ducks (whatever), 7 pm
Lighthouse Hockey and Anaheim Calling offer differing perspectives on Jason Blake.

My first comments immediately after the Wiz hit:

Wisniewski is going to get suspended here, I imagine — this one’s pretty deserved.

I have no idea how the result of all that was 5-on-5 hockey.

I guess the refs just don’t care any more.

I mean seriously — James Wisniewski responds to a hit on Perry by flying in below the opponent’s goal line to deliver an elbow to the head? Which immediately knocks Seabrook out? And nobody in stripes seems to care?

This is like bizarro refereeing. They must have hit the green beer early or something.

Just so it's clear, I have nothing against the NHL suspending Wisniewski for his out-of-position slamming of Seabiscuit -- it was definitely stupid and ugly -- but still, I don't know who was expecting that he'd get suspended to a NHL-season-high degree. Mirtle claims there have been 28 suspensions so far this year, with Wisniewski's being the first to eclipse five games. Why this sudden leap in severity? Uh...

How I imagine things went in the imaginary NHL courthouse.

Still, whatever -- wins this season aren't terribly important any more (even if the Ducks end with the 10-2-1 from last year, they're still 73.9% likely to miss the playoffs), Wisniewski's summer raise probably just took an unsuspecting hit, and it's a lazy Friday -- I don't have much arguing energy today. I would like to see the NHL get suspension-severe on another franchise someday, but I can save that for a year when Anaheim plays more competitively over the first 3/4 of the season.

Prediction: The Ducks are bizarre as ever -- lose every game after the Olympic break except against the best two teams in the west. Unfortunately, the Islanders aren't that intimidating on paper, so the Ducks accordingly lose. Inspired by longtime buddy Paul Kariya's 400th career goal last night, though, Teemu Selanne pots #600 -- that'd be fittingly awesome.

Go Ducks.

Kings Gameday: Welcome Back, Bob

2010-03-18T21:36:54Z

Next Game

Chicago Blackhawks
@ Los Angeles Kings

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, 7:30 PM PDT
STAPLES Center

Complete Coverage >

Vin Scully is kind of like a grandfather. Like most people growing up in Los Angeles, I grew up listening to Scully on the radio or television and I was always comforted by how he never got too high or too low, how he never took any loss to hard, how I always knew there was a game the next day and Vin would be there with me to explain it.

Chick Hearn was kind of like that crazy drunk uncle that your mom doesn't like but you think is hilarious. He was biased as hell and you were never quite sure what he was talking about, but he was fun and vibrant and he made you excited to be watching basketball.

Keith Jackson always reminded me of an extended cousin, because I only saw him a few times a year (usually on holidays) but he was always really great and I felt like I had known him for a long time.

Bob Miller... doesn't feel like a family member. Bob's more like your dad's work friend; you know he's a funny, pleasant guy, but he never really shows that around you.

Those 4 are the giants of Southern California, the Mount Rushmore of announcers, and I grew up listening to all of them. 2 of them are gone now; Chick Hearn is dead and Keith Jackson is pretty much retired. Vin's retiring next year (and he only does division games now anyway), so Bob's pretty much the only one left. I never really gave much thought to the idea that Bob is going to be gone soon but this recent illness kind of reminded me that yeah, Bob doesn't have too many years left. He's starting to flub a few more names than he used to and he's starting to confuse numbers more than he used to. I'm conflicted between feelings that I don't want Bob to ever leave and my feeling that I don't want to see him mess up anymore. I don't know, it's tough. Ultimately I want him to stay just because I don't know what a Kings game, or even a Kings team, would be like without him.

Probably my favorite thing about Bob, and this is true of pretty much all 4 announcers I mentioned above, is that they always put the action first. Announcers today generally talk about story lines and give their own opinion a lot more than they used to and I'm not a big fan of it. Compare Bob and Jimmy to, say, Drew and Randy up in San Jose. Bob and Jimmy rarely talk to each other during the period. Bob will do the play-by-play, Jimmy will mention something he's picked up during a break in the action, and then Bob will start doing play-by-play when the puck drops. Very rarely do they ever actually have a conversation. (It's probably because Bob Miller secretly hates Jim Fox.) Drew and Randy, on the other hand, have conversations regularly, some times while the action is going on. I know why they do that more now (it engages the audience more, it allows them to create a clear narrative) but I'm just used to it the other way. Whoever the Kings hire to replace Bob will likely follow that newer style and I probably won't like it.

I hope Bob is around for longer purely for selfish reasons but I know the day is soon going to come where he doesn't want to do Kings games anymore. Whether he's on the air or not, I hope Bob can one day see the Kings win a Cup. More than anyone, he deserves it. But for now, I guess I'll just pop on the TV and enjoy him for a little while longer. I hope.

Prediction: The Kings score late and Bob does that thing where he yells, "He Sco-ores!" and his voice cracks halfway through scores. I love it when he does that.

"I Don't Know, Is He Selling This, John?"

2010-03-18T16:12:28Z

Yes, of course he is.

Ducks Gameday -- Happy Irish Day

2010-03-17T19:34:29Z

Chicago Blackhawks (whatever) at Anaheim Ducks (whatever), 7 pm
Second City Hockey and Anaheim Calling for more informed views.

Well, this is going to be an awfully uninformed gameday post. The good news is that after a solid week of steady dedication, I'm now fully caught up on "Lost" -- now I've seen them all. The bad news is that in that time I've completely ignored NHL hockey and this blog -- I really haven't even investigated what's been going on outside of the games I went to on Friday (yuck) and on Sunday (yay).

But it's time I took some Dharma Initiative and put together something to comment on tonight:

I'll drink to that.

Happy drinking tonight! I'll get back up to blogging speed on Friday.

Prediction: I'm supposed to play Spade some NHL09 before tonight's game, where I figure he'll finally score past my diving-man defense. Ducks then lose early so we can rematch.

Go Ducks.

Praise for the Best Center in Southern California

2010-03-16T20:36:59Z

More photos » Lori Shepler - AP

List of people I don't think can stop Anze Kopitar: -Brett Festerling -Todd Marchant (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

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(I know what you're thinking: what about Chris Kaman? Yeah he's pretty good but he's also a ghoul so screw 'im.)

You know who's pretty awesome? Anze Kopitar. We (and by "we" I mean "I") don't really say it a lot but it's true. Kopitar is indeed awesome. I sometimes overlook him because I'm focusing on Simmonds' progress or how much I hate Ryan Smyth or whether Frolov got a haircut (I think he did). I expect Kopitar to be great so when he achieves my expectations it's just kind of like, "Yeah, great, you did your job. Now get some sleep." But Kopitar is indeed awesome and here are a few reasons why:

1) He might score 40 goals this season. Probably the biggest change in Kopitar's offensive game since he first came into the league is that he's shooting a lot more. When Kopitar was first starting most of his points came on the rush, where he'd get past the defense with a speed move and then hit a trailing man for a scoring opportunity. Now he's not getting those same opportunities to enter with speed in Terry Murray's system so he's adapted by shooting the puck more. Here are his shot totals since he first came into the league in 2006:

2006-07 (72 games): 193 (217 over 82)

2007-08 (82 games): 201

2008-09 (82 games): 234

2009-10 (68 games): 216 (253 over 82)

As you can see, Kopitar has a lot more shots this season than he did in the past. I think the reason for this is threefold: one, he's getting good opportunities from improved linemates this season; two, he's getting more ice time this season; and three, he's been more confident with his shot, especially on the power play.

Kopitar has scored 32 goals in 68 games this season. Barring injury, he's on pace for 37 goals. However, since January 1st he's been on a torrid pace, tallying 16 goals in 27 games. If he can keep up that pace for the rest of the season he should get 40 goals. That would be awesome. Of course, he could fall into another slump like the one he had in December (2 goals in 14 games) and then he won't get near 40 goals. That wouldn't be awesome.

2) He might score the most power play points in the league. Right now Kopitar's tied with Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, and Steven Stamkos for the league lead in power play points, at 33. Nicklas Backstrom is one point behind them. (Note to self: do not take a penalty against Washington.) Kopitar is tied for 3rd in power play goals. I don't personally love the Kings' power play because it's kind of static but obviously it was designed by Jamie Kompon to play to Anze Kopitar's strengths and Kopitar has responded beautifully this season.

3) He might get nominated for the Lady Byng. I know, no one cares about the Lady Byng, but doesn't Kopitar have the type of resume you see from Lady Byng nominees? He's 13th scoring and he has a lower PIM than all but 3 people ahead of him; one of those 3 is Patrick Kane, though, and it seems like he should be ineligible for the Lady Byng this year since he, you know, punched a cab driver. I don't care too much but hey, why not Kopitar? We should make T-shirts that say, "Kopitar for Lady Byng: Eh, Why Not?" I think we could help him win.

4) He's one of the most used forwards in the league. Kopitar averages 21:54 minutes a game. The only forwards who plays more per game is Ilya Kovalchuk.

5) I'm don't worry about him against almost anyone. The list of forwards I think can beat Kopitar on a regular basis:

That's pretty much it.

So yeah, Anze Kopitar: awesome dude. Let's all sing his praises in the comments. Just write, "Hey, remember where he, you know, scored that goal? That was awesome!" Stuff like that. Here, I'll start it off. Remember when he did this:

That was awesome.

Quisp's 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings

2010-03-15T23:03:16Z

More photos » Mark J. Terrill - AP

6 months ago: Los Angeles Kings center Brayden Schenn, right, celebrates after scoring on Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller as the Ducks' Luca Sbisa looks on during the first period of their National Hockey League preseason game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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The other day fellow blogger Quisp had an excellent question: with all the different projects and prospects in the Kings' system, how can the Kings possibly get them all into the NHL in the next few years? We both decided to write down our best guesses without looking at the other person's line-up and then compare them. You can see my correct prediction over at Jewels From the Crown while Quisp's horribly inaccurate line-up is below. A few things to note about Quisp's line-up:

-He has Andrei Loktionov above Brayden Schenn and both of them above Jarret Stoll.

-He has Kyle Clifford making the team.

-Jordan Nolan? Jake Muzzin?

I asked Quisp a few questions about his line-up and he'll answer them in the comments soon. What do you guys think? Which prospects will make the team and which ones will be left behind?

Ryan Smyth/Anze Kopitar/Wayne Simmonds
Alexander Frolov/Andrei Loktionov/Oscar Moller
Kyle Clifford/Brayden Schenn/Dustin Brown
Richard Clune/Jarret Stoll/Brad Richardson
(Jordan Nolan)

Rob Scuderi/Drew Doughty
Jack Johnson/Jake Muzzin
Vyacheslav Voynov/Matt Greene
(Thomas Hickey)

Jonathan Bernier
Jonathan Quick

Questions for Quisp:

1. Looking at your line-up, it seems like you're pretty bullish on Andrei Loktionov and Jake Muzzin. What is it about these guys that tickles your fancy?

2. Where do you see Wayne Simmonds being in 2 years? Is he on the top line because he doesn't need the puck or do you see him being more talented than Oscar Moller or Dustin Brown?

3. Clifford-Schenn-Brown. I don't have a question, that's just a really cool line.

4. Jordan Nolan is going to someday make the team? Seriously?

5. How good do you see this team being in the 11-12 season?

Kings Gameday: But I Want it Now!

2010-03-14T17:30:02Z

Next Game

Nashville Predators
@ Los Angeles Kings

Sunday, Mar 14, 2010, 12:00 PM PDT
Staples Center

Complete Coverage >

When I was a kid, I loved to set up scenarios. I'd play with my brother or a friend (just kidding, I had no friends) and we'd do a toy draft to see who got to play with what. The first pick was always the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pizza Shooter, then the blimp, and then usually Snake Eyes. We'd work our way down, from Turtle to Ghostbuster to GI Joe to the random stuff, the Dick Tracy action figure and the Batmobile and my sister's Barbi pink Cadillac . (The turtles could fit in it, it was awesome.) Then we'd set up my room into a battle zone, trying to gain the high ground to prevent Cobra Commander from seizing the day. This whole process would take maybe 2 hours and then by the time everything was all set up we were pretty tired and bored with the whole thing so we'd put everything away. We were so transfixed on making everything perfect that we'd foreget to actually play.

I get the feeling Dean Lombardi is the same way. Lombardi loves building things and he loves setting these up so that they work perfectly. You can see that now: the Kings have it set up so that Voynov can come up next year, Hickey the year after that, and Teubert the year after that. Oscar Moller will be up next year, Schenn the year after that, and Loktionov (hopefully) the year after that. That's great and it's preferential to the system we had before it, but it's hard to watch. As a fan of hockey, I understand what he's doing. As a Kings fan, it can drive me nuts.

I want Jonathan Bernier to play a lot because he's better than Erik Ersberg and maybe even better than Jonathan Quick. I want all the young players to come up just so I can see them. I want the Kings to sign an elite left winger in the off-season while still re-signing Alex Frolov. I want all these things to happen that probably aren't in Lombardi's plan. And I understand why. It's why I used to draft my toys. But it can be hard to watch if you're not the one playing. I just hope Lombardi doesn't get so involved in setting things up so it could work in a perfect world that he forgets to play the game.

Prediction: Kings win, 3-2. Goals by Simmonds, Halpern and... Bernier?!?

Kings Gameday: Team Ramrod?

2010-03-12T21:08:44Z

More photos » Gus Ruelas - ASSOCIATED PRESS

"How ya feelin', Justin?" "Good enough to fuck... your.... mother!" (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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Next Game

Los Angeles Kings
@ Dallas Stars

Friday, Mar 12, 2010, 5:30 PM PST
American Airlines Center

Complete Coverage >

Tonight's game isn't on television and I'll be otherwise occupied so naturally tonight's game will be awesome. There are a ton of storylines to focus on tonight so instead of writing about just one I'll write just a little bit about all of them. It's the blogger's dream; I don't have to actually know about anything because instead I can just spout nonsense off the top of my head that you seals will gulp down like a fresh cod. But to actually put some sort of input I'll preface each tidbit with a quote from Super Troopers since I watched it the other day and it's hilarious. Wait, it's not actually my input if I just mindlessly parrot someone else's comedy, is it. Ah well, we're living the blogger's dream today. Who wants a moustache ride?!?

It stinks like sex in here.

Omigod, Jonathan Bernier's starting tonight. In case you forgot, Bernier's the silent and smooth goaltender who set my heart aflutter by showing me his pretty, pretty butterfly. He also showed me how he stops the puck. Bernier's calm and controlled in net, a stark contrast to Jonathan Quick's frenetic and acrobatic style. You can tell the difference between the two when there's a pass from one side to the other and then a quick shot: Bernier will slide over and rely on his positioning to make the save, while Quick will usually keep his body in the same spot and try to either snare the puck with his glove or kick it out with his pad. The idea behind Quick's strategy is that it's easier to follow the puck if you keep your head in the same spot (since you're not adjusting for the puck's movement and your own), while Bernier would tell you that the shooters in the NHL are good enough to beat you so you might as well put your body in the way and let geometry take care of the rest. Is there a right answer? No, not really. The greatest goaltenders in NHL history haven't been butterfly goaltenders, but then again it's unrealistic to show some kid tape of Dominik Hasek and say, "Go ahead and play like that." It's an interesting contrast, though, and it'll be fun to watch. You know, if you could. I can't. Dammit.

I'm a cop, goddamnit! I got my own car now! I get to bust criminals! It's what I gotta do!

I feel kinda bad for Erik Ersberg. I've been in his position before, a back-up behind a really good goaltender and it really, really sucks. When you're a #1 goaltender you have a position of importance on the team; you're the guy responsible for half the winning equation so guys tend to give you space. You get the spot at the end of the locker room so you can get all your shit out of your bag, no one gives you shit about bad goals because there's no one better, you get right of prima nocta on any new girlfriend... it's a nice life. But when you're the back-up, all of a sudden you've gone from the most important player on the team to the least. You play every once in a while but it's against shitty opponents and no one really wants you in there; you're there because the other guy needs a rest. It's a shit life, even when you're making six figures a year, and it's especially demeaning when the #1 guy finally goes away and then your team calls up some young guy and you're still stuck on the bench. I get why Bernier is playing (Quisp detailed that argument here) and I'd make the exact same decision if I were in Murray's shoes, but it still sucks for Ersberg. Poor little guy. I have a feeling he can't wait 'til next year when he can go somewhere else and hopefully be "the guy." I hope it works out for him.

Just cleaning out the old locker, she stinks like ass but I'll sure miss her... I guess you could say that about all my girls.

Similarly, the life of a #6 defenseman isn't a very good one either. I'd say the #6 defenseman is the most ridiculed person on the roster. It makes sense: people hate seeing their teams scored on more than they love seeing their teams score, and the #6 defenseman usually sucks, so they're prime targets for hatred. That being said, I kind of feel that Randy Jones is being unfairly maligned by the Kings fanbase. I mean, I know: he's terrible. I think he knows that. It's not like he's walking around thinking he's the best guy on the team or anything. The thing is, he's the only defenseman we have that fits what we need from that 6th spot.

The Kings have 2 defensemen that are good at offense: Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Their next 3 defensemen are horrible at offense. I mean, horrible. HORRIBLE. It can't possibly be overstated how inept Rob Scuderi, Sean O'Donnell and especially Matt Greene are at offense. God love Matt Greene but if you could translate his offensive skill to macking skills he'd be Earl Sleek. The Kings need one more defenseman that can get a shot on net just in case Doughty or Johnson have to leave the game or they're in the box or something. Davis Drewiske can't really do that and Peter Harrold can't play the penalty kill in a pinch like Jones can. Jones sucks, but he's our #6 defenseman. You're not going to find a #6 guy that doesn't suck in the NHL. I get why people hate him, but at this point it feels like we're fighting a windmill.

Also, isn't it a little weird that people hate guys that score but suck at everything else and yet guys like Greene are heralded as "scrappy" and "gritty?" I guess it's like that in every sport; it's the reason David Eckstein has a job.

-Know what this is?
-A chamois cloth?
-Ha! Lucky guess. I just lost a buck. TO MYSELF.

This doesn't have anything to do with the Kings, I just like this part.

-We could be like Cagney and Lacey.
-Right. Except Cagney and Lacey were both women.
[beat]
-I could be Lacey.

Justin Williams is back! Williams, who broke his leg less than 3 months ago, is apparently back in shape and will retake his customary spot alongside Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smyth. That line works much better when Williams is in there because he can bring the puck in on the rush, get it to either Smyth down low or Kopitar along the boards, and then read and react to what those two are doing. Terry Murray is moving Dustin Brown to the Frolov-Stoll line and shifting Frolov back to the left wing. That's OK, I guess, even though I was learning to love Frolov on the right side. The third line's remaining the same and the 4th line is now Richardson-Halpern-Clune. When was the last time the Kings had a legit 4th line? I can't ever remember one. It'll be fun to watch toni- wait, fuck!

Prediction: Kings bite the soap and make Dallas look like a dick.

Ducks Gameday -- Row B Blogger Bash

2010-03-12T17:32:05Z

Nashville Predators (whatever) at Anaheim Ducks (whatever), 7 pm
On the Forecheck and Anaheim Calling for regional excellence.

One of the reasons why Olympic hockey was so fun was that for the most part, I wasn't highly stressed about any individual game result. Especially during the round robin stages, I could stop worrying about end-of-game results and could enjoy the process of getting there a bit more -- excellent hockey players playing extracurricular hockey, all in the spirit of pride.

Tonight, I plan on having the same stress-free mindset for the Ducks, although we'll see if I end up calling them "excellent hockey players" by the end of the night. But it is different from Ducks games earlier in the season -- I don't particularly need to see a win tonight, not like I did a week ago. Tonight's just an alcohol-enhanced opportunity to watch some up-close hockey with the season already decided along with some blog buddies -- should be great!

Barring any win-out miracle, tonight will be my last Row B game of the season, and that's probably fine -- it's nice to attend one meaningless game there, but I'm glad it's not two. To celebrate, we're having a bit of a BoC get-together. Famed blog-inciter Rudy Kelly (who assures me he hates the Predators) and our notorious comment-savant Spade-in-Victorhell will be joining me, plus another Ducks pal of mine who barely ever visits BoC -- should be slightly outrageous.

We'll be aggregating pre-game at Danny K's pool bar and walking over from there -- if anyone's interested in meeting up, I'll be in my customary lucky green shirt, and will probably get there around 5:30 or so. I'll warn you -- don't count on me being particularly charming, lucid, or civil unless I'm being specifically being measured against Spade (first shot is on me, man -- thanks again, Kipper).

I'll just open it up to the comments -- see some of you tonight!

Prediction: Teemu scores career goal #599; will he stop there? Also, one combination of Earl, Spade, and Rudy starts what will turn into an epic comment-feud that should carry this blog through the slow part of the summer (which for me, sadly, started last week).

Go Ducks.

Sharks Gameday: The Next Generation

2010-03-11T18:09:43Z

Nashville Predators at San Jose Sharks, 7:30 PM EST

The Olympics just confirmed to the world what you and I knew for a while: Joe Pavelski is pretty freakin' awesome. He's not awesome in a Joe Thornton "bazillion assists" kind of way, or a Patrick Marleau "faster than Rudy running away from an angry mob led by Rob Blake, Ryan Smyth, and Jeremy Roenick" kind of way; no, Pavelski's more awesome in that smart, reliable, gritty, and clutch way. He's the type of dude that you know will always be there, will always give his best effort, and is pretty damn talented to boot.

If I knew the A-Team better, I'd make some sort of appropriate character comparison (Sleek can chime in on this in the comments). Instead, I'll pull from Star Trek: The Next Generation -- if Rob Blake is Captain Picard (which he really isn't, but Blake is old and the captain, so it's a forced fit), then Thornton is Will Riker (kinda goofy, kinda cool, and somewhat afraid of being the leader), Marleau is Data (awkward robotic gestures but very good at what he does), and Evgeni Nabokov is Worf (the angry foreigner).

(I can't think of other Star Trek: TNG comparables for Dan Boyle or Dany Heatley. Can you?)

That makes Pavelski the equivalent to Geordi Laforge minus the whole being blind thing. He's quiet, good at what he does, and makes the whole damn thing work when the other officers are off dicking around.

All of this nerdy comparison is a big, pointless intro to my real point of this post: what the hell are the Sharks going to pay Pavelski when he hits RFA status this summer?

Let's look at some comparables:

Calgary center Matt Stajan is 25, a 50-60 point two-way forward, and just got signed to a $3.5 million cap-hit extension. Now, I'm pretty damn sure that Pavelski is better than Stajan, but I'm also pretty damn sure that Darryl Sutter has gradually lost his marbles over the past few years, so Stajan is overpaid in my book.

Our old friend Marco Sturm, who is awesome because he told my wife that he really likes schnitzel, is also a two-way forward capable of 50-60 points. Like Stajan, he's making $3.5 million a season. Hmmm...

Our other old friend Milan Michalek got a beefy $4.3 million contract from Doug Wilson for his 60-70 point, two-way play. I always liked Milan but he lacked that certain intangible awesomeness that Pavelski has (some call it"consistent effort"); I think he's overpaid.

Nashville center David "I could have been a Shark" Legwand (seriously, look at how/when he was drafted) is getting a huge, huge, huge $4.5 million contract. He's another two-way center, and depending on whether he's on or off, Legwand's point potential is 50-70 points.

Yeech. Well, I'd normally peg Pavelski at a $3 - $3.5 million extension but it looks like other players who, in my somewhat biased opinion aren't as good as Pavelski, have distorted the pay scale. Things get worse when you look at Ryane Clowe's absolutely absurd $3.6 million contract.

Maybe I'm just delusional about NHL pay scales, or maybe I'm just hoping Pavelski takes less so the team can figure out some way to hold on to Patrick Marleau. Going by these numbers, I think Pavelski will pull in a three-year, $13 million deal. Maybe he gets a little less if more years are added on.

The solution to this whole thing, then, is to find someone to take Ryane Clowe. After all, he's the Tasha Yar of the San Jose Sharks: somewhat attractive but ultimately expendable.

Oh yeah, there's a game tonight against the Nashville Predators. I'll be there rockin' the teal Roenick jersey, as it's the non-cursed attire in my household.

The Predator I'd Like On My Team: Steve Sullivan is one of my dad's favorite players and I always loved his hustle. Plus, I'd get a kick out of my dad's reaction if Sullivan was on the Sharks.

Prediction: Sharks 4, Preds 2. Goals by Data (2), Laforge, and Riker.

King Gameday: I Don't Want to Work...

2010-03-10T22:20:03Z

More photos » Andy King - AP

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Next Game

Los Angeles Kings
@ Chicago Blackhawks

Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010, 5:30 PM PST
United Center

Complete Coverage >

I don't want to work
I want to bang on the drum all day
I don't want to play
I just want to bang on the drum all day

Ever since I was a tiny boy
I don't want no candy
I don't need no toy
I took a stick and an old coffee can
I bang on that thing 'til I got
Blisters on my hand because

When I get older they think I'm a fool
The teacher told me I should stay after school
She caught me pounding on the desk with my hands
But my licks was so hot
I made the teacher wanna dance
And that's why

Listen to this
Every day when I get home from work
I feel so frustrated
The boss is a jerk
And I get my sticks and go out to the shed
And I pound on that drum like it was the boss's head
Because

I can bang that drum
Hey, you wanna take a bang at it?
I can do this all day

Preview: Kings win, badum tish!

Ducks Gameday -- Lost

2010-03-09T17:51:30Z

Columbus Blue Jackets (25-30-11, 14th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (30-27-8, 12th in west), 7 pm
The Cannon and Anaheim Calling aren't mathematically eliminated yet.

Hey everyone, there's a new "Lost" episode tonight!

Now I'm not a very good "Lost" fan -- I've only started watching episodes this season, crazily enough. But I've got a few friends in the know who have been answering my questions along the way, and they've proven helpful while repeatedly telling me I'm an idiot for picking it up midstream. The storyline this season is quite disjointed, of course, as it attempts to tell stories set in two different realities. In one reality, the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 fly past the island without incident -- they arrive safely at their travel destination in Los Angeles, and a whole different set of storylines takes place upon arrival. There's still plenty of drama awaiting them there, but the characters move forward without any knowledge of the island or their adventures there.

That's not the unpleasant truth, though -- in the other reality, the characters have been drawn back to the island and its various curses, and things there get more fucked up than ever. People are being killed by smoke monsters, characters are possessed by spirits of varying degrees of evil, the balance between good and evil has gone to shit, and it's becoming more and more evident: these characters were fated to the island. They are hopeless to truly escape it -- its curse is too strong and too specific.

We shall see how it all comes together, though -- I'm committed to see it through.

Likewise, we have the Anaheim Ducks (and to some degree, the Columbus Blue Jackets, though I'm not going to speak for them). In one reality, there is a smooth flight for the Ducks through the regular season. Their roster looks good enough to be a playoff team, they've done it plenty of times in the past, and thus it must eventually be so. That's not the unpleasant truth, though -- in reality, the Ducks haven't been a top-eight team since mid-October, and they were barely one last year. The team has been repeatedly drawn to its own island of mediocrity and hasn't been able to escape its powerful curse. In this season's case, the post-Pronger curse may be too strong. Heroes from previous seasons are now possessed by spirits of varying degrees of awful, the balance between GF and GA has gone to shit, and it's becoming more and more evident: these characters were fated to the island. They are hopeless to truly escape it -- its curse is too strong and too specific.

We shall see how it all comes together, though -- I'm committed to see it through.

* * *

yankeeken, yesterday:

Can we return to the lucky webbed foot kick for Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jackets?

SPADE-IN-VICTORHELL, next comment:

it has been offically seconded

They are, of course, referring to my web-foot-kicking-out-of-opponent's-stomach cartoon gag that has been a good luck charm for the Ducks in years past (most recent examples here, here, and here -- all followed by Ducks wins). And they are also, of course, abusing their ability to "second" cartoon requests and have me do the follow-up work. Still, I'm a pushover...

...well, sort of. The way the Ducks have been losing lately made it impossible not to produce this one. Should have been more specific with your request:

My visual representation of the Ducks' last three "must-win" efforts.

Besides, it's not terribly easy to draw a jacket with a stomach and a stunned face. :)

Prediction: The bald guy who looks like John Locke does something fucking crazy. The bald guy who looks like Ryan Getzlaf does something fucking crazy as well.

Go Ducks.

Kings Gameday: Fixing the Kings, Text Message Edition

2010-03-08T18:46:28Z

Rudy: Think the Kings should try Fro with Smyth and Kopitar?

Nut: Exactly what I was thinking

Rudy: Brown's best on the rush, he should be with Richie

Nut: Rich-Still-Brown

Nut: Fuck! Stoll. Stupid phone.

Rudy: Yeah. Meat-Zeus with Modin?

Nut: Apparently we had the exact same idea

Rudy: You can be my Jamie Kompon when I get hired. [My sister] will be Mark Hardy.

Nut: Fuck you, you can be the Ron Hextall to my Dean Lombardi.

Rudy: You're the Patrick O'Neal to my Bailey.

Nut: I'm the Nick and Rich to your Jimmy and Darryl. Wait, that means we both suck.

Rudy: That's the most truthful.

What happened with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown? They used to be best pals, partners, like Chip 'n Dale.* Now they're completely out of sync, useless together, like any two people on Bonkers. (Fuck that show.) But why is that? What's going on?

*Did anyone else call Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan the Rescue Rangers during the Olympics? Just me? OK. I need to e-mail Jim and Joe from Blueshirt Banter about that, see if they'll make T-shirts. Oh, and in case you're wondering: Marian Gaborik is Gadget, Sean Avery is Zipper, and Olli Jokinen is Monterey Jack.**

Probably the biggest reason Kopitar and Brown no longer work together is that they now play contrasting styles. If you'll remember, Kopitar played with Brown for two solid years when he first came into the league and both of them set career highs in scoring while playing together. Of course, that was when Marc Crawford was the coach and Kopitar was not required to do pesky things like play defense. Now that Kopitar is usually the last forward leaving the zone when the Kings break out, Brown usually has to either create a play all on his own or pass it to Ryan Smyth. I will admit Smyth is good at some things (making me mad, for one) but he is probably the worst one-on-one player on the Kings. Brown doesn't really have any options that fit his skill set so he's reduced to clanging the puck against the glass with a desperate shot. It's not that Brown has changed since he scored 60 points two seasons ago; it's just that this system doesn't play to his strengths.

Smyth will usually take the puck into the corner and try to work it to Kopitar on the halfboards; from there, Smyth will go to the front of the net while Kopitar works for a shot while Brown... doesn't really know what to do. Usually that third guy would be behind the net and would try to rotate for a shot, but that's not really Brown's game. Brown is usually the one going to the net, where he can use his balance and positioning to work for a shot from about 3 feet out. If he tries to do that now he'll run right into Smyth. Brown can't really try to work the puck behind the net because he doesn't really do that well handling the puck in enclosed spaces. It's like buying a bull and then asking him to make tea. (Yeah, exactly like that.) Again, it's not that Brown isn't playing well or anything, it's that he's being asked to do things he has no idea how to do.

Ultimately, the best person to play alongside Kopitar and Smyth is Justin Williams, because he can create on the rush and in a half-set, but until he's out the Kings are going to have to do the best they can with what they have. The best solution, to me anyway, is to put Frolov on the "right side" with Kopitar and Smyth. (It doesn't really matter on that line since Smyth usually parks himself in front of the net anyway.) I think Frolov would do well on that line since he's fantastic at working the puck down low and he and Smyth should be able to create some nice chemistry. Plus, I think Fro would like it if he had a chance to actually break the puck out every now and again. Put Brown on a line with a speedy guy like Brad Richardson who can work with him on the rush and a shooter like Jarret Stoll and let him be aggressive again. I think it'd work.

***

Rudy: Bob has shingles I guess. Seems like a roofer could clear that up for him. Heyoo!

Nut: Isn't that like smallpox?

Rudy: It's chicken pox virus but no chicken pox, I guess? You get a rash on half your body. Doesn't affect his voice, don't know why he's being a pussy.

Nut: I bet he watched and laughed his ass off.

Rudy: It's all an elaborate plot to get Jimmy fired. He's been trying for years.

Nut: Ya I like the idea that Bob secretly hates Jimmy.

Rudy: Me too. It's like Dwight and Jim except if Jim had Andy's personality.

Nut: Haha

Nut: They should have gotten Jimmy to announce the Oscars. "And now here's! AlecBaldwin."

Rudy: Haha yeah, with Bailey as the escort person.

Nut: Why do all our conversations come back to Bailey?

Rudy: Because he's awesome.

Nut: Oh, right.

Prediction: Kings win, 3-2. Or they don't and play like shit. Whatever, these guys have been pissing me off lately.

Ducks Gameday -- The downside to aquatic bird evolution.

2010-03-07T21:54:28Z

Montreal Canadiens (31-29-6, 8th in east) at Anaheim Ducks (30-27-7, t-12th in west), 5 pm
Eyes On The Prize and Anaheim Calling -- huzzah for symbiosis!

SPADE-IN-VICTORHELL:

yay 4-0 loss…art of suicide picture post requested please…

This one's not the strongest effort, but after yesterday's kick to the groin, I don't feel much like improving it:

Ah, suicidal duck tradition. Here's version 1 and version 2.

Prediction: Lubo?

Go Ducks.

The Break-Up

2010-03-06T20:42:09Z

Lubo and Rudy, in better times. They were so in love then. -Ed.

Her: "Would you love me no matter what?"

Him: "Sure."

Her: "Would you love me if I were ugly?"

Him: "Probably not."

Her: "What? Why?"

Him: "I probably wouldn't have talked to you at first if you were ugly."

Her: "I would love you if you were ugly."

Him: "No you wouldn't, you would have thought I was weird when I first talked to you at the bar. I mean, I love you now, but at the beginning all I thought was that I wanted to sleep with you. Speaking of..."

Her: "Don't fucking touch me."

So you broke down, trying to leave town
I broke down crying on your return
You left me feeling hopeful
I'll never see your face again

Her: "It'll be OK, I'll only be gone for a while. We can e-mail every day and we can talk every week. You can even come visit me!"

Him: "I don't think I'll be able to, that's a lot of money."

Her: "Will you at least try?"

Him: "Yeah, I'll try. We can Skype, too."

Her: "What's Skype?"

Him: "It's like a video thing where you sign up and talk to each other... I don't know how to describe it, but it's cool."

Her: "So I don't need anything, just sign up and we can talk?"

Him: "Yeah. ...Well, you need a camera."

Her: "Why?"

Him: "...So I can see you. You need a camera to see people."

Her: "Oh, Right. ...That was dumb."

Him: "It was cute."

Her: "Shit, I think that's my flight."

Him: "OK. ...Can you just... not go?"

Her: "You know I have to."

Him: "I know. I'll miss you."

Her: "I miss you too. I love you."

Him: "Fag."

Her: "Shut up."

You made for a bad lover's liver
You stole all the covers and busted my head
You made me such an asshole
I wish we'd never met

Her: "What's wrong?"

Him: "Nothing's wrong."

Her: "You're acting weird, something's wrong."

Him: "It's just... I don't know, nevermind."

Her: "No, what is it?"

Him: "It's just that this isn't really working for me anymore."

Her: "...OK. Why not?"

Him: "I don't know. I'm glad you're back and everything but things are just... different."

Her: "I don't understand, what did I do?"

Him: "It's nothing you did, it's just that things aren't the same. I don't like the way I feel when I'm around you. After you left I just felt-"

Her: "-That's not fair, you know I had no control over that."

Him: "I know, I know, but things are just... different. I'm just over it."

Her: "I thought you said you'd love me no matter what?"

Him: "I guess I was wrong."

I'm tired of being bored
I'm through with the headaches
Hiding my hands that tremble like earthquakes
Under the table, under the daytime sky
Good Fucking Bye

Ducks Gameday -- So long, Cotton Gin

2010-03-06T20:07:49Z

Anaheim Ducks (30-26-7, t-12th in west) at Phoenix Coyotes (38-22-5, 3rd in west), 5 pm
Anaheim Calling and Five For Howling -- what a network-y age we live in!

Today's the day when I try to properly bid farewell to Ryan Whitney, and I tell you -- it's a bit tricky. Ducks fans who have lived through Cotton Gin's turnovers and soft defense are of course thrilled to see the big guy gone, and I'm ecstatic as an incoming-Lubo fan (salary cap analysis here), but it's difficult to peg exactly how big a problem Ryan Whitney really was for the Ducks.

The thing about watching Ryan Whitney play is that mostly what you end up noticing is what isn't there -- he's never quite the sum of his parts. Sure he's a hulking 6'4" but he doesn't really hit anyone. NHL.com might tell you that he's thrown 71 hits for the Ducks this season, but they aren't noticeable -- he's a pokecheck-first kind of guy with a lot of reach. And yes, while he does seem offensively-positioned and does shoot pucks towards the net, but they never seem really threatening or dangerous, and frequently can come the other direction. His decision-making is sometimes suspect, and when he gets caught flat-footed in the wrong spot, he really gets caught -- he has taken more minor penalties than anyone not named Getzlaf or Perry (sigh -- hate that they're the standard).

Speaking of Perry, here's the last moment Ducks fans will remember of Ryan Whitney playing hockey while under a Ducks paycheck:

Ryan Whitney played only 2:57 of the gold medal game -- I'm guessing this was his final shift.

Despite his glaring giveaways, though, it really hasn't been all bad for the Cotton Gin -- five games into the season when everybody was bleeding on the shot chart, Whitney was one guy doing pretty well. He was outscoring opponents 5-1 and only getting outshot by two shots at even-strength (Scott Niedermayer, by comparison, was being outshot by 29 shots at the time). When I looked in December about who was partnering well with Niedermayer at even-strength, Cotton Gin again did pretty well -- he wasn't responsible for the bulk of the captain's minuses or negative Corsi.

And in looking over Whitney's season this morning, there's one stretch of games that really caught my eye -- I really don't know what to make of it. For a one month stretch, from December 29 through January 27, Whitney played 16 games, had zero points, and was a minus-13. If you can find a way to explain away those 16 games, Whitney's numbers suddenly look very impressive: 46 games played, 28 points (13 on the power play), and a plus-seven.

So WTF happened in that suck month? Not sure, but a closer look after the jump.

I went to Vic Ferrari's timeonice.com site to dig in a little deeper -- there you can segment games according to date range. Here's how Whitney's 5-on-5 on-ice shooting numbers looked before the bad month, during it, and afterwards. Note that these results exclude empty nets.

Ryan Whitney's Even-Strength Shooting Results this season

Date Segment	Games Played	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Differential	Shots For	Shots Against	Shot Pct.	Attempted Shots For	Attempted Shots Against	Corsi Pct.
before Dec. 29	38	+36	-27	+9	352	366	.490	632	639	.497
Dec. 29 - Jan. 27	16	+5	-15	-10	107	170	.386	191	308	.383
after Jan. 27	8	+10	-4	+6	65	86	.430	122	158	.436

It's really quite an amazing dip there in the second row, and I can't find anybody else to blame except Whitney -- six other defensemen played for the Ducks over that one-month stretch, and I checked them all. All had worse goal differentials, shot percentages, and corsi percentages when paired with Whitney than when paired with somebody else. Cotton Gin was the suck, and this doesn't even consider his zero points on the man-advantage during that month, either.

So really, I think there's two main questions here: (a) What the fuck happened to Cotton Gin at the end of December and why did it hurt his numbers so? Could it really have been pressure to make (and break) Team USA? Is there a way to explain the awfulness away? (b) If so, then what sort of player do the Oilers have in Ryan Whitney going forward? He's obviously not as awful as that one month, but it's not fair to outright exclude those results as just a statistical hiccup, either -- his post-slump numbers haven't fully recovered to his early season rates.

I really have no answers here -- I'll open it up to theories in the comments. But I think the point remains: Ducks fans may be glad as hell to see Whitney gone, and certainly that can be justified by the fact that Cotton Gin played an awful month of hockey in the middle of a battling season, but the fact remains -- the guy still contributes. The price of quality defensemen always seems to climb in this league, and Whitney could prove quite the bargain for Edmonton before this trade is played out. We all know he has the tools, he may someday soon be the sum of his parts, but even so -- Ducks need wins today, and he's not there yet.

Godspeed, Cotton Gin. You had your flaws, you made us curse a bunch, and we made fun of your Olympic blog and Team USA performance, but no matter what, you did eliminate the Sharks -- that makes you unequivocally awesome in my book.

Prediction: LUBO!

Go Ducks.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad -- Part 2

2010-03-05T16:26:25Z

Happy Friday, everybody! Time to put on your thinking caps!

A little more than a month ago, I did an exercise comparing Jason Blake and J.S. Giguere's contracts, to show how the "Rich Dad" cap perspective of Toronto differed from the "Poor Dad" cash perspective of Anaheim. The basic idea was that since Toronto was restricted by the salary cap ceiling, they cared about the averaged salary of a player's contract; since Anaheim was not cap-restricted, they cared about the actual cash payouts due a player. Since Giguere's contract was ascending and Blake's contract was descending, the two teams were able to find a "currency exchange" where both teams saved money in future spending.

Today I wanted to look similarly at how Lubomir Visnovsky's contract compares against Ryan Whitney's (numbers courtesy of Capgeek.com). Again, I should throw in the usual caveats: this exercise flat-out ignores how good or useful either player will be for their new team -- it's purely to express one incentive that exists in considering why either team made this trade. Again, Anaheim is the "Poor Dad" -- they have no intention of spending to the cap ceiling. Edmonton this time is the "Rich Dad" -- despite awful results, their spending is constricted by the salary cap ceiling.

To the left I've plotted the current contracts for Visnovsky and Whitney, and I apologize that it's a convoluted chart. The height of each bar represents the salary each year of each contract, and the dotted red line represents the salary cap hit for each year of the contract. I have colored each bar by team -- blue bars are years when Edmonton paid the player, orange bars are years when Anaheim paid the player, and yellow represents Pittsburgh. The purple arrows show you which year is current.

The part to pay attention to is really the go-forward point -- the last two years of each contract. Visnovsky will be paid significantly less than his cap hit, and Whitney will be paid significantly more. Because each franchise thinks in different currencies, there is opportunity for both to gain.

Edmonton's currency is cap space, and instead of using $11.2M of cap space the next two seasons on Visnovsky, it gets to spend $8.0M of cap space the next two seasons on Ryan Whitney. In their currency, Edmonton saves $3.2M in future spending. Anaheim's currency is dollars spent, and instead of paying $10.5M the next two seasons on Whitney, it gets to spend $8.0M over the next two seasons on Visnovsky. In their currency, Anaheim saves $2.5M in future spending.

Edmonton is betting that in two years, Ryan Whitney will be a better value at his $4M cap hit than Lubomir Visnovsky will be at a $5.6M cap hit -- that could very well be true. Anaheim is betting that in two years, Lubomir Visnovsky will be a better value at his $3M salary than Ryan Whitney will be at his $5.5M salary -- that also could very well be true.

Of course, it's tough to call anything these days a "win-win" with Edmonton. Lowetide has been on top of this, as always -- they're still so salary-tied that they're pretty fucked for next year, too. So it probably isn't that important that Cotton Gin measure up to Lubo this year, or next year, perhaps -- that final year, can Whitney improve enough to pay off when it matters for the Oil?

It's quite possible; it may even be a solid bet -- I'll do a "Farewell Whitney" post this weekend. I did want to add one kudos to Bruce Banner Bob Murray, though -- it does seem to me that there are lots of "Poor Dad" teams out there, but few seem to be picking off currency exchange opportunities the way Anaheim is lately. Also, very nice of him to pull the deal at the very end of the trading day -- that way there was no opportunity for the Kings to get their revenge and to vindictively trade for Sammy Pahlsson. I don't even want to know what I would have done if that happened.

One of the true benefits to being a long-time blogger is the wonder of archives -- my memory may be going to shit, but it's quite easy to go back and find old notes and whatnot.

So mostly by copying and adding to what I posted last year, here's how the Anaheim Ducks have looked coming out of the past five trade deadlines (it's an annual process). I like snapshotting the roster at this point in time, particularly, because it's probably when things are most essential -- these are the rosters that play the important playoff games.

Now I'm not particularly careful about depth and I'm particularly careless about right-side vs. left-side, but it's still a nice ability to scan year-to-year roster changes. The five guys who have made all five lists are of course Selanne, Marchant, Getzlaf, Perry, and Niedermayer -- nice that these franchise warriors can go down the stretch one final time.

Feel free to nitpick any of my listings, or reminisce about any of the particular stretch-run rosters. The Ducks have 19 games left to get into the playoff picture -- here's how the last four Ducks teams finished over their last 19 games (hint: impressively):

2005-06 Ducks: 12-7-0, 24 pts.
2006-07 Ducks: 12-3-4, 28 pts.
2007-08 Ducks: 14-4-1, 29 pts.
2008-09 Ducks: 12-5-2, 26 pts.
4-year total (76 GP): 50-19-7, 107 pts., .704 win%

Let's hope that late-season Carlyle magic can continue one more time.

Go Ducks.

Kings Gameday: Go Kings Go

2010-03-04T22:35:41Z

More photos » Sharon Ellman - AP

MEAT!!! (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

Browse more photos »

Next Game

Los Angeles Kings
@ Nashville Predators

Thursday, Mar 4, 2010, 5:00 PM PST
Bridgestone Arena

Complete Coverage >

I don't really have time to do a big update because hey, I have a job. (They want me to like, work and stuff. Dicks, man.) Anyway, the Kings play Nashville tonight, Fredrik Modin and Jeff Halpern are both playing, I hope Richard Clune fights Jordin Tootoo, go Kings go.

Prediction: Hey, what do you think you're doing? Get back to work, asshole!

Lubo's back in the BoC! Cotton Gin Exiled.

2010-03-03T21:35:43Z

I can't properly put together the hockey rationalization for today's monster trade -- trust me, though, it's out there. But for today, I just like watching Kings fans squirm with rage and Ducks fans dance with joy -- with one move, Barstool Bob has accomplished that:

"Hello, friends. Miss me?"

Within the last few weeks, GM Bob Murray has unloaded the team of J.S. Giguere (struggling, not playing), Ryan Whitney (underachieving), Evgeny Artyukhin (not playing), Petteri Nokelainen (not playing much), Nick Boynton (not playing), and Justin Pogge (not playing) for Lubomir Visnovsky, Aaron Ward, Jason Blake, and two backup netminders -- Curtis McElhinney and Joey MacDonald (the two "Macs"). Not to mention the clean pass-through of Vesa Toskala, without having to make a single save for Anaheim. Certainly there's still some overpayment and definitely some question marks, but compared to the fat that has been trimmed from the roster, the Ducks are looking a lot better-built for the stretch run -- I'll take a better look at it next post.

Now we should be clear -- this trade is not an automatic win. No matter how Ducks fans protest, Ryan Whitney could still become a very good defenseman in this league -- he has a lot more of the tools of a high-promise defenseman, notably size and reach. Still, at this point in time, I don't know if you can convince me that Lubo isn't even a better straight-up defender than Whitney, and that's not even mentioning Lubo's ability to hit the net with his shot.

Still, the part that floors me most about this deal? After all the Pronger-plus-Penner Burke-vs-Lowe feuding from a few years ago, I never thought Anaheim would be trading big players with Edmonton again, at least not this soon. And I never thought the Oilers would be sending us their best defenseman again -- go figure.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ryan Whitney	62	4	24	28	-6	48	3	0	0	0	107	3.7

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Lubomir Visnovsky	57	10	22	32	-4	16	4	0	1	0	78	12.8

We'll see, but already I think today is another huge win day for Barstool Bob -- just like last trade deadline, he caught me way off-guard but immediately I like the results. I don't know if Ward or Visnovsky will arrive in time for tonight's game (or whether Ryan Whitney will stick around to awkwardly participate in the pre-game medal ceremony), but we may as well move game comments up to this thread tonight.

Sorry, Rudy, but I'm ecstatic.

Oh, and make sure you check out the Oilers bloggers in the next few days for their take -- do not miss Lowetide, Tyler, Copper & Blue, or Black Dog -- these guys are my blog heroes.

[EDIT 5:15 pm -- Definitely worth reading: Bob Murray's comments on today's trades.]

Go Ducks.