Coyotes 6, Kings 1
I'm sure its been said before, selecting the right prospect is a gamble. You bet big on one player or even a few players. It's a roll of the dice. You play the odds.
Whatever way you see it, Phoenix just abused the Kings' kids tonight on home ice (I guess that's what you call it). It was like watching tourists playing a game of street dice with seasoned New York hustlers.
Keeping the theme, changing the game...fortunately, this wasn't a situation where the Kings had pushed all of their chips into the pot for one final hand. Tonight was more like an early hand of a very long tournament. Something that will stretch over the next few years. Some of the "cards" will even be swapped out for new ones as time moves forward. Deuces will be dropped in the hopes of finding Aces...or should I say Kings? Either way, these Kings weren't even close to putting together a winning hand tonight.
Where should we begin? Well, at about the 45 second mark of the first period there was a stop in play near the Kings net minder (more on him later). A few feet away you see #37 Thomas Hickey give a long stare...and I mean long, like he was peering into his soul long...at #56 Jeff May of the Coyotes. This wasn't a Spicoli "Hey, I know that dude!" look. It was more like "I want to make sure I get a good look at you now because you won't look the same later." Or it was a "Look at me fool and remember my face...I'm the guy that's going to wreck your evening." Either way, you knew it was on right then and there.
Around the 3:20 mark #80 Nicolas Deslauriers serves up a HEAVY shot from the point. This was one of many pucks to be turned away by a young Phoenix goalie tonight. BTW - did anybody check to make sure that wasn't Ilya Bryzgalov in net for the Yotes tonight?
Back to Hickey...Near the 4:45 mark Hickey gets hit hard. In rides 'Mr Nasty', #79 Colten Teubert, to the rescue. He proceeds to beat on Coyotes' #36 Jared Staal. Teubert just didn't want to let it go when it was over though. Even with both guys being held back by officials, 'Mr. Nasty' was still swinging - and connecting with a few pitter patters.
The real problems started a little more than a minute later. Desert Dog #52 Chad Koalarik scored the first of his team's SIX goals. Out on the ice with him was his former Michigan line mate, Kevin Porter (wearing #23). Too bad Jack Johnson wasn't in the house. They could have had a little Go Big Blue moment or something.
It's half way though the first now and Kings camper #50 Bud Holloway is turning over pucks, out of position and generally not looking good.
12:00 LA #71 Jordan Nolan pounds Phx #51 Justin Bernhardt into the ice...after first checking him into the penalty box.
30 seconds later you would have thought Phx #50 Lucas Bloodoff was in the mood to fight the way he went after LA #64 Kyle Clifford. However, he was just holding him, so Clifford beat him up for even thinking about it.
A few minutes later we have a new problem. LA #77 Dennis McCauley gets a hooking penalty. Usually not that big of a deal. Yet, we have three guys in a two man penalty box. Now what? Are we about to relive the night Granato had to sit on Sandstrom's lap when they ran out of room in the Forum penalty box? Fortunately, they worked it out like men.
As the second period started...and as the game moved on...one Kings player started to emerge from his shell. LA #48 Andrei Loktionov must have found a jet pack during the first intermission. This guy was so fast. Up, down, sideways. He brought the hustle and was definitely trying to make things happen offensively. Perhaps the mentoring he's receiving from Igor Larionov is paying off.
Another little bright spot was when the Kings scored. Not the goal itself, but the actions of #85 Geoff Walker - who assisted on the goal. After the ceremonial skate by the LA bench for high fives from his team mates, he skates down to his goalie and gives him a little tap. I like that. This fairly common practice in the minors is often dropped by guys in the NHL for reasons I don't fully understand. That guy in the net is on your team too. He deserves to be part of the celebration.
Hickey began ratcheting things up in the second too. First he manhandled Porter at the blue line to get control of the puck. Minutes later he headed toward his own net with complete disregard for his body as he tried to prevent Phoenix from scoring.
Then I noticed something odd. Phx #23 Porter is wearing a "C". Now, sure, he was the captain at Michigan...but, this is a prospects scrimmage game. Wait. Phx #39 Maclean and #24 Ahnelov are both wearing an "A". What? How did this happen? Now, rumor is, that the Coyotes rode the bus in this morning from Phoenix. Seriously.
I guess that's what happens when your team is going through bankruptcy.
That's a long drive. And things get boring once you're about an hour outside of Phoenix. So, maybe there was some sort of road-trip-bus-ride contest involved...you know, whoever spots the most slug bugs before they stop at In-N-Out in Palm Springs gets the "C" or something. Maybe the guy that holds his pee the whole way gets an "A". Who knows.
Third period was more of the same. Coyotes rolling. The Kings out of position. And the Kings featuring a statue in net. Yes, LA #65 Martin Jones was the definition of stationary. He conserved movement so much he might still be standing there in goal at this very moment.
I wonder if Jones will go all Cloutier and claim that he was left out there to be embarrassed. For that mater, I wonder if the Kings even had a second goalie suited up. I never saw one. Seems weird though. There had to be one somewhere...right?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot...before this thing finally ended we also had the battle of the Jeffs...or was it the battle of the Geoffs...as LA #85 Geoff Walker battled with Phx #56 Jeff May. Yes, that guy again!
Like a bad night of gambling in Vegas, I'm licking my wounds. Headed to my room for a night of rest. Then I'll be back again tomorrow testing the odds and hoping for a better outcome.
I'll put $10 on the Yo and hope the Kings don't crap out again.
The Mayor
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