RECAP: Rob Scuderi on NHL Power Play (Radio)

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi joined the guys on the Power Play to talk a little past (why he signed in LA), present (the road trip) and future (the Kings Stanley Cup possibilities).

Please note - as always, these recaps are near exact quotes. However, some information has been paraphrased for brevity.

Here's a quick recap...

* [topic: What did guys in the room say after the first period in Detroit, with the Kings trailing?] Most of the veterans and the guys talking had the same things to say 'Don't respect the team too much. The Red Wings have a way of putting a team in ah. You sit back and kind of watch them do there thing. Although they are a very good team, you have to remember we're a good team too.' Right off the bat in the second period everybody responded with the right type of attitude, and more importantly, the right type of play.

* [Any confidence carrying over from the 6-1-3 road stretch in February?] We were extremely disappointed in the January homestand. We had a great chance to make up ground and instead we lost a bunch. You don't want to play catch up hockey on the road. However, it seemed to light a fire under our rear ends and get everybody going. Yes, after having that success, we probably entered this road trip with the confidence we can do the same type of thing.

Kopitar vs. Ovechkin at Super Skills Event

In a few short hours the second wave of this year's NHL All Star Weekend will get underway with the popular Super Skills Competition.

Team captains Nicklas Lidstrom and Eric Staal met with Brendan Shanahan, NHL Vice President of Hockey and Business Development, earlier this morning to determine which of their players would participate in each event.

Last night, the Kings' Anze Kopitar was selected by Lidstrom in the 15th round (30th overall) of the All Star Fantasy Draft. He now knows which events his team captain has assigned him to...

First, he'll be part of a three-man unit (also comprised of Florida's Evgeny Dadonov and Vancouver's Henrik Sedin) taking part in the Breakaway Challenge.

Fans at home will be allowed to vote on the winner of this event - something that will certainly be needed for Kopitar's group, as they're taking on Alexander Ovechkin (the two-time defending champion of this event), Corey Perry and PK Suban.

Revisiting The Hockey News Curse

After a red hot start to the 2009-10 season Anze Kopitar was the toast of the league. People everywhere were taking notice that the 2005 first round draft pick was having a breakout year.

Then, it happened. The Hockey News slapped him on the cover and poof, that was it. Instant slump.

Now, before you discount this theory, continue reading. The proof is here. Let it marinate for a minute or two.

When first tackling this issue in January we pointed out several examples of injuries (Joe Sakic, Luke Schenn, Roberto Luongo), poor playoff performances (Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara) and slumps (Chris Pronger, John Tavares and Michael Del Zotto) linked to players soon after appearing on the cover of the popular magazine.

Sure, Kopitar eventually broke out of his post-cover slump (just five points in 12 games). In fact, about six hours after I wrote the original curse article he went on to post two points against San Jose - his first multi-point night in 23 games. That's a quarter of the season!

The flood gates were open though. In the remaining 18 games leading up to the Olympic break he scored 21 points. Fine, case closed. Or so we thought...

Is there a Hockey News curse?

Sports fans know all too well about 'the curse' and what it can do to their favorite team or player. The Red Sox had the curse of the Bambino. The Cubs still have the goat. Entire seasons have been lost due to the Sports Illustrated curse. Plus, you have the Madden Football video game curse. This year it was a two-fer, with both Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu showcased on the popular game...and, yep, they both were injured.

Hockey fans take note, because there may be some negative karma brewing in the print world north of the border too. It's possible The Hockey News is the latest sports related curse to be rearing its ugly head.

Perhaps it isn't Ryan Smyth's fault after all that Anze Kopitar has lost his mojo.

Case in point - November 2008 Av's captain Joe Sakic is featured on the cover of The Hockey News. Three weeks later he injures his back, then some fingers and hand injuries. That's it, he's lost for the season and then retires.

You want more? The very next issue showcased young Maple Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn on the cover. Less than a month later he gets the famous lower body injury (knee) and misses a month of action.

Fast forward to this season. One of the best goalies in the world, Roberto Luongo, gets the cover for a late September issue. A month later, he injures his ribs and has to miss a handful of games.

OK, so you say injuries are just part of the game and it's a coincidence. Well, how about playoff performance?

April 16, 2009 Joe Thornton was the Playoff Preview cover boy. By now, everybody knows what happened to his Sharks in the first round after entering the playoffs as the top team in the West.

The following issue featured Zdeno Chara, captain of the East's top team - the Boston Bruins. What happens? Done, bounced in the second round by Carolina.

Not good enough for you? Let's look at some recent stats then...

Chris Pronger, Flyers defenseman, poses for a cover of The Hockey News in early November. The issue was released on 11/9/09. Prior to that he was a +11 with 14 points in 14 games. Since that time he is a -1 with just 11 points in 27 games. Cursed!

The next issue focused on three rookies playing for various New York teams. Last year's number one draft pick, John Tavares of the New York Islanders had 18 points and was a -1 in the 20 games prior. His numbers gave gone south since: -7, 10 points in 23 games. Another New York kid, Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers, was getting early Calder Trophy pub with his pre-cover play of 15 points in 20 games. Man, have times changed - only 5 points in 21 games since and a terrible -16 rating.

Which brings us to Kopitar. What's wrong with Anze? It's the million dollar question right now. Many people speculated it was the absence of Ryan Smyth. However, Rhyno's back now and things haven't really changed.

Kopi was The Hockey News cover boy for the December 14th issue. Ignoring his red hot start to the year - for the sake of trying to factor in the Smyth impact - in the 20 games prior to the issue being released on December 7th Anze had 16 points. The Kings have played 12 games from that point forward, a strech where Kopitar has just 5 points.

Is there a new curse to worry about in the world of hockey?

It's one possible explanation.

The Mayor
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