HIGH / LOW: Kelly Hrudey on Duty

If you've been following the High/Low series here on MayorsManor you know we've had guests like Jim Fox, Mark Hardy and even ESPN's John Buccigross stop by already this season.

Well it's time to dip into the Kings past once again to call upon a former player turned broadcaster, Kelly Hrudey.

Kelly played for eight years in Los Angeles, minding net for the team during one of its real glory periods - including the famous 1992-93 season when they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. He now works for the CBC in Canada and still watches plenty of hockey. With October about to end we thought it was the perfect time to get Kelly's take on the first month of the season. Here's what he had to say:

HIGHS

• Colorado Avalanche - off to an unbelievable start
• Craig Anderson - ditto (a fellow goalie...but of course!)
• LA Kings - no pandering here, you have to respect them

LOWS

• Minnesota Wild - thought they'd be better
• Florida Panthers - surely thought they'd be better too
• Toronto Maple Leafs - hoped they'd be better

As most predicted, the race in the Western Conference is as tight as ever. While we had Kelly's attention we played word association with those 15 teams and here were his answers:

Anaheim Ducks - gritty
Calgary Flames - interesting
Chicago Blackhawks - exciting
Colorado Avalanche - surprising
Columbus Blue Jackets - unsure
Dallas Stars - work in progress
Detroit Red Wings - respect
Edmonton Oilers - building
Los Angeles Kings - underrated
Minnesota Wild - feel sorry for
Nashville Predators - model of consistency
Phoenix Coyotes - pretty good actually
San Jose Sharks - love them
St Louis Blues - should be better
Vancouver Canucks - love them too

To wrap up this part of the interview I asked Kelly if he were a GM of a new team given the ability to pluck six guys off of the 30 NHL rosters (3 fwds, 2 dmen, 1 goalie), who would he take:

Forwards - Malkin / Crosby / Ovechkin

Defenseman - Nicklas Lidstrom ("Not sure how many more seasons he could give me, but I'd have to take him.") and Shea Webber ("Tough bugger...very hard to play against.")

Goaltender - "Brodeur is the obvious pick, but I would need a guy for the future. I really like Ryan Miller and Luongo. But, I'd have to go with Marc-Andre Fleury. I just love him. He's a big game goalie and I'm not as critical of him as others are. Last year he played exceptionally well. He'd be my guy."

Kelly provided many more opinions about the current game, as well as the guys he played with and against. We went all the way back to him growing up in Edmonton, being drafted by the Islanders and later being traded to the Kings. The full interview should be posted by the end of the weekend. Keep an eye out for it.

UPDATE: the full interview with Hrudey has been posted - click here to read

The Mayorwww.twitter.com/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor


RELATED ARTICLES

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20 Questions with #20 - Luc stops by MayorsManor a few days before entering the Hall of Fame

Interview with Gary Shuchuk - Kings playoff here in 1993

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photo courtesy of bestsportsphotos.com

Closing the Book on October

The season is moving along fast, with the first month wrapping up tonight. While last night's game in San Jose left a certain sense of satisfaction - even though the Kings lost in a shootout - tonight's game ended with a sense of disappointment.

This was a home game and the visiting Canucks were playing without their mega-star goaltender Roberto Luongo. The Kings needed to find a way to grab two points. You can't really lay blame on their performance though. Come on, they were playing the second game on back to back nights. Defensively they looked very strong. Heck, they even out shot Vancouver 31-15. How do you double up your opponent like that and lose the game? It's a head scratcher.

Other thoughts as we close out October:

• Last weekend I posted the 10 Tidbits on Scott Parse article. If you didn't read it at the time, go back and check it out. This guy has been a breath of fresh air for the team. He's played solid in every game since being called up. While averaging about 12 minutes of ice time in his four games, he has 3 points and is a plus 1. Tonight was the big one - his first NHL goal!


• College update: Two weeks ago the Kings were already ahead of the NHL mean with a roster loaded full of former college hockey players. Since then, they've added Scott Parse (University of Nebraska-Omaha) and ANOTHER college d-man, Randy Jones (Clarkson University). That's nine guys now on the starting roster with college hockey backgrounds. Incredibly, that's five college d-men, six if you include Harrold. Read about the Kings collection of college players vs. the NHL average by clicking here.


• Point Break: If you break the season down into 10 game chunks, the Kings need to average about 11 points per 10 games (explained here). After the first 10 of the new season the team had 12 points, slightly ahead of what's needed. Four more games have been played since then, with the Kings picking up six points. Meaning - in the next six games (@ Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Nashville, @ Chicago, @ Carolina, @ Atlanta) they need to pick up five points to keep pace. Sounds very doable if the team continues to play at the same level of the last week or so.


• The top line - Smyth/Kopitar/Simmonds - was held scoreless for the second straight game. The trend should end in Phoenix Monday night. I'll take Smyth in any "first goal" pools out there.


• This weekend the Kings will be home practicing at TSC in El Segundo. You think they'll be practicing one-on-one shootout type drills?

The Mayor

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

When One is Enough

They say one is such a lonely number, but there's no need to be greedy. Leaving San Jose with one point last night should be satisfying at this point of the season...and at this point of the team's development.

Check the numbers: The Kings were 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs the Sharks prior to last night, an indication of how tough it's been to play against them. More specifically, LA was 0-3-1 in their last four trips up north. Plus, San Jose was hot, winning four of their last five games - all on the road! - coming into the contest Wednesday night. While the Kings had won four in row themselves, you have to give a slight edge to the home team most of the time...especially to a team that went 20+ games last year without a loss at home.

While it's easy to get excited about the Kings with as much as they've been winning so far this season, fans need to keep the big picture in mind. This team is still figuring out how to win. The last big road trip provided plenty of proof. So, when they play a tough division opponent on the road and it's 1-1 after 60 minutes of hockey, the team is taking small steps forward. Sure, they had PLENTY of chances to win it in the shootout. They didn't though. So, take the point and move on. There is a new war to wage tonight when the Vancouver Canucks arrive at Staples Center. Fortunately for the Kings, the Canucks will be without all-world goaltender Roberto Luongo.

Speaking of injuries, it was just reported this morning that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be without the services of Evgeni Malkin for 2-3 weeks. That means he won't be in the line-up when the Pens come to LA next Thursday. I'd like to believe there were a few Kings players really looking forward to that game after this little ditty late in the game last season...



Oh well. So much for circling that one on the calendar. There's always next year.

Back to tonight - it will be another tough Western Conference match-up, one with playoff implications on the line even though it's only October. In addition to Luongo, the Canucks will also be without high scoring forwards Daniel Sedin and Pavol Demitra; as well as defenseman Sami Salo.

For the most part, the Kings are fairly healthy. Justin Williams is the only key player unavailable tonight. However, the new line combinations have been doing just fine without him.

One will not be enough tonight. Two is the magic number.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

A View From the Minors

While most of the top flight talent in the Kings minor league system is out east in Manchester, the team does maintain a lower level presence here in Southern California. The Ontario Reign began play in the ECHL last season and already are set to host the All Star game in just their second year. Before that rolls around in January they have plenty of regular season home games left, including this weekend against Bakersfield and Las Vegas.

But selling tickets to hockey fans in Southern California - especially in this economy - is no small task. It's even more difficult when you are essentially a class-A farm team. In an effort to connect with the community and fans the team utilizes all sorts of non-traditional marketing tactics. For example, last night the team hosted a Q&A session with defenseman Shawn Germain.

Primarily a stay at home defenseman, Germain was reunited with his long time coach (Karl Taylor) in Ontario last season. He had previously played for him at the University of Waterloo and again with the Reading Royals (also of the ECHL). Germain was named the Royals defensive player of the year both seasons he skated with the team and put up almost identical numbers in his first season with the Reign last year. Here are a few highlights from the Q&A session:

• His favorite player of all time is Ryan Smyth. He said he realizes that is easy to say now that he's with the Kings, but that he's liked him "from way back when he was drafted sixth overall." His admiration grew exponentially when Smyth tried playing with a broken ankle.


• When asked about his playing time with goaltender Jonathan Quick while the two were together in Reading..."He never quits on a puck. I've never seen another goalie work harder."


• Over the summer he returned home to Canada where he did a lot of concrete work and trained some guys at various hockey clinics.


• He was very happy to play for the Reign last year, in part because he considers the ice in Ontario to be "one of the best, if not the best, in the whole league."


• When he retires he wants to be a coach. He has already talked to Taylor about it and hopes to be an assistant under him one day when his playing days are over. However, he hopes that is "down the road a bit," he still loves to play.

Tickets to the Reign are pretty cheap and you never know who'll be playing in the game you attend. Last season the Reign line-up included Bud Holloway, Jeff Zatkoff and Geoff Walker - all now playing in Manchester. Heck, one of the top defensive prospects in the Kings organization - Colten Tuebert - even stopped by for a dozen games at the end of the year. So, if you're hockey starved while the Kings are out on the road sometime, click here to get some tickets. Go discover your favorite King to be.

Tomorrow it's back to the big boys as the Kings will be skating in San Jose against the always tough Sharks.

One19

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Kings Win Again - Achtung Baby!

While I didn't commit a cardinal sin yesterday, for some of you I did do the unthinkable...I missed a Kings home game last night. With Columbus in town to play LA, I had a decision to make. Head to Staples Center for the hockey game or visit the hell hole that is the Rose Bowl. Yes, I chose to go see U2 instead of the game. Prior generations had the Beatles and the Stones. For my money, the two most important and influential bands of the last 25 years are U2 and Metallica. So, with the boys from Dublin in town for only one show, the choice was one of those easy - yet hard - decisions.

By now you already know that the Kings took care of business against Columbus, winning 6-2 in pretty dominating fashion. Kopi continued to burn up the ice, Quick stopped the man-beast Rick Nash on a penalty shot, Scuderi took out Chimera with a "once legal" hip check (click here for the video)...and Frolov had another strong game.

With that in mind, I've taken a different approach with today's article, using the set list from last night's U2 show and dedicating each song to one Kings player...



Breathe - Scott Parse
Get On Your Boots - Erik Ersberg
Magnificent - Anze Kopitar
Mysterious Ways - Alexander Frolov
Beautiful Day - Ryan Smyth
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - Jonathan Quick
Stuck In A Moment - Michal Handzus
No Line On The Horizon - Justin Williams
Elevation - Teddy Purcell
In A Little While - Oscar Moller
Unknown Caller - Trevor Lewis
Until the End of the World - Jack Johnson
The Unforgettable Fire - Wayne Simmonds
City of Blinding Lights - Matt Greene
Vertigo - Jarret Stoll
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight - Rob Scuderi
Sunday Bloody Sunday - Raitis Ivanans
MLK - Richard Clune
Walk On - Alec Martinez
One - Dustin Brown
Amazing Grace - Drew Doughty
Where the Streets Have No Name - Sean O'Donnell
Ultraviolet (Light My Way) - Davis Drewiske
With or Without You - Peter Harrold
Moment of Surrender - Brad Richardson

It was a good show. If you missed it, hurry...U2 is streaming the Rose Bowl event all week on their YouTube channel. Simply use the video player above to start watching the concert!  Just be sure to do it before they take it down.

As for the Kings, they're back in action Wednesday night up north in San Jose. Then, the following night they return home for their first match up this season with the Vancouver Canucks.

If you don't like my song/player pairings, feel free to suggest your matches below.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
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Kings Stoll the game in Phoenix

Game #10 on Thursday belonged to #11 Anze Kopitar. Fortunately, it didn't take until game #27 for Jarret Stoll to finally arrive. A solid player for the Kings last year, Stoll has been on somewhat of a roller coaster the last few months - both on and off the ice. After a much publicized break-up with his fiance over the summer he came to camp surrounded by rumors that he'd be out of action for an extended period of time due to arthritis related injuries. However, he was in the line-up on opening night and has played every regular season game so far. All wasn't perfect though, with Stoll netting only six assists in the first 10 contests - partially prompting his demotion to the third line prior to Thursday's game.

He didn't make a stink about it. Kept his head down and pushed ahead. Then, today he received a new linemate in "fresh up from Manchester" Scott Parse. Perhaps it was just the shot in the arm he needed. Stoll played his best game of the year by far against the Coyotes on Saturday night, posting his first two goals and being involved in the action almost every time he was on the ice. Parse also picked up his first NHL point, assisting on Stoll's second goal.

The aforementioned line changes on Thursday also pushed Wayne Simmonds up to the top line. Wayne the Train kept charging. He scored to put the Kings up 4-2, his third game in a row with a goal. Obviously, he is holding his own on the top line. However, his linemates aren't doing too bad either. While Smyth only has one goal in the last five games, he continues to rack up the assists and make his presence felt shift after shift. Kopitar put up another three assists and now leads the NHL in scoring. You read that right...an LA Kings player leads the NHL in scoring.

Stoll's former linemate, Dustin Brown, is heating up too. He matched Stoll's two goal night by scoring two of his own, giving him eight points in the last five.

Besides picking up a win against a division rival, the game had to bring additional satisfaction on two levels. There was payback for the embarrassing opening night loss back on October 3rd. Most importantly, the Kings found a way to to solve the riddle that is Bryzgalov. He has to be the goalie Kings players have dreaded the most the last few years. The guy has flat out owned the team, both at home and on the road. Four goals tonight, two on the power play, was not the way he has played opposite LA in recent seasons.

Every game is a test. And most nights the Kings are tested by their opponent's top players. For the last two games they've had an up close look at two of the best power forwards in the game - Dallas' Brenden Morrow and Shane Doan of Phoenix. These are two of the most underrated players in the league. It's a pure pleasure to watch them play...as long as they aren't beating the Kings. Morrow was held off the score sheets Thursday, while Doan had his typical great performance against LA with two goals tonight. Both games were Kings victories.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head into Staples Center Sunday night with some similar themes brewing - a top flight forward in Rick Nash, redemption after losing to the Jackets last week...and LA will be looking to steal another two points from a conference rival.

If the Kings can rinse and repeat their accomplishments from tonight, it will be mission(s) accomplished.

One19

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

10 Tidbits on Scott Parse

With the injury to Justin Williams needing a little more time to heal, the Kings dipped into the treasure chest out east in Manchester. Scott Parse was called up for the game against the Coyotes in Glendale, AZ (Phoenix suburb). While you've probably heard of several guys he's been playing with on the Monarchs - Bernier, Hickey and Westgarth to name a few - Parse hasn't slipped onto the radar of all but the most die hard Kings followers. Here are some quick points to bring everybody up to speed...

• Back in 2004 he was selected by the Kings in the sixth round. It wasn't a fruitful draft for LA, with guys like Lauri Tukonen, Paul Baier and Ned Lukacevic being taken ahead of him. The lone highlight of the 2004 class to date was the brief stint of goalie Fukufuji a few years ago. Not exactly a key moment in franchise history. Parse will be making his NHL debut tonight, the last great hope for the gang of '04.

• Was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan - a city that actually doesn't even have a zoo. It is however the birthplace of the Gibson Guitar Corporation (est. 1902).

• Had a stellar college hockey career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, a school you don't want to confuse with the more famous University of Nebraska-Lincoln (home of the Cornhuskers). Highlights include: In four years he racked up a school record 197 points (79g, 118a) in just 159 games...lead the team in scoring all four seasons...set the school record for rookie scoring with 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) while playing in all 39 games...one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker award his Junior year...led his team to the Frozen Four tournament for the first time in team history.

• When he couldn't reach a contract agreement with the Kings in the Spring of 2007 he signed with Grand Rapids of the AHL. Played the final 10 games of the season and a handful of playoff games for them. Tallied an assist in his debut, technically his first point as a professional.

• Two Seasons Ago - Split time between Manchester (AHL) and Reading (ECHL). Appeared in only 32 games total, recovering from a back injury most of the year. In his 14 games with the Monarchs, had a plus or even rating in 13 of the 14.

• Last Season - Recorded 39 points with the Monarchs (15g, 24a) in 74 games. His plus-6 rating was good enough for second on the team. In January 2009 he was voted the player of the month by the Manchester Monarchs Booster Club. For his efforts, the MMBC awarded him a $25 gift certificate to the Wild Rover Pub. Not sure if Scott spent it on food or drink. However, that fine establishment's website boasts that the pictures of their new bar "can't do it justice...come see it in person!" The place must be good, the Boston Globe named it one of New England's best Irish Pubs. Don't look now, but they're also on twitter!

• This Season - Had been playing on a line with top prospects Loktionov and Moller. At the time of the call-up was leading the AHL in assists and +/- and was second overall in points.

• Both in college and with the Monarchs wore sweater #23. Obviously, that number isn't available with the Kings. So, he'll be wearing #63 for now.

• Will start out playing with Stoll and Purcell on the third line. For all of you name fanatics, you can call it the PPs line.

• Scouting Report - the general book on Parse has him pegged as a depth forward in the NHL...most commonly read phrases are play maker, will drive to the net, plays with passion, great hand-eye coordination, two-way player.

Now you're ready for the game tonight.

The Mayor
www.twitter.con/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

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image courtesy of unomaha.edu

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Clean Up on Aisle 11

So I thought I had a nice headline for tonight's game recap. I was already writing the article in my head. Then the Kings reminded me that in the NHL, like in life, you should never put the cart before the horse. Fans created the initial mess when Anze Kopitar scored his first career hat trick at the mid-point of the second period. Then in the third...well, the Kings started creating a much bigger mess.

Staples Center was buzzing during the second intermission. Up 4-1, the Kings were outplaying the Stars at both ends of the ice. Equally enjoyable was watching Marc Crawford slowly lose his mind on the bench. Seeing the Kings take it to his team for the second time this week had to be painful.

It was a payback of sorts. Crawford was extremely agonizing to Kings fans while behind the bench in LA. Put the Cloutier thing aside for a moment. Crow was constantly changing the line combinations back then. That must have (at least) contributed to the lack of chemistry on the team. However, it was his doling out of punishment and rewards to players - things that seemed to occur without any sense of consistency - that were the most frustrating. And he was sort of up to his old tricks again this week.

If you saw Crow's face after the Kings iced the game on Monday with an empty net goal, you know just how bad he wanted to beat his former employer. So the move to start Turco on Wednesday vs. the Ducks was perplexing. On the surface that was setting up Auld to start on Thursday vs. the Kings. Now one could try and argue that he went with Turco on Monday and lost - so he was trying to come back with Auld on Thursday for a different look. I just don't buy it. Turco is one of the best goaltenders in the league. When you really want to win, you put your best line-up on the ice. Crawford went against the grain and was burned for it.

It almost didn't happen though. The Kings let the Stars back in the game about 7 minutes into the third when they gave up two goals in less than two minutes. Dallas is loaded with nice young talent and it was on full display Thursday night in downtown. Rookie Jamie Benn scored, followed by Mark Fistric (his first ever) and then...and then...the Real Deal James Neal tied things up with less than three minutes to go (his second goal of the night).

Earlier this week I wrote that the Kings needed 11 points by midnight tonight...and they needed to decide if they wanted to do it the hard way or the easy way. It's the Kings, so of course they were going to choose the hard way. Sure, they came back to win the game in overtime. But giving Dallas a gift point by taking it into an extra session wasn't what you want to see from a team trying to make its mark as more than just "a team on the rise." The Kings need to finish.

Another interesting twist of the game was the lack of power play goals. In a game featuring 11 penalties and two teams in the bottom five on the penalty kill, things looked good on paper. If Dallas was going to get back in the game after being down 4-1 you would think they'd have to take advantage of some power play time. Nope. The only PPG goal of the night was Kopitar's second tally.

...and the Frolov watch continues. He had two assists on the night, including a beautiful set up on Simmonds goal. Speaking of Wayne the Train, he looked fine playing up front in place of Williams. What a day for #17. In a matter of hours he goes from losing his linemates (who were "promoted" to the second line), to ending up on the top line with the two hottest Kings - Kopitar and Smyth.

Two games against Dallas, two wins. Twelve points after the first 10 games. Right on track.

The headline stays. Hat's off to you #11 for a memorable night.

One19

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

10 Tidbits vs Stars - Plus FREE tickets

The Dallas Stars skate into Staples Center tonight to face the Kings. Things to keep an eye on:

• The Coaches: Stars Coach Marc Crawford makes his first trip back to the Staples Center after being fired by the Kings. Earlier this week he was less than pleased when his team lost to LA in Dallas. Now that MacTavish is gone from Edmonton, could Crow become the new psycho bench boss that loses his cool when playing in LA? Kings Coach Terry Murray is one win away from his 400th in the regular season.
• The Captains: Brenden Morrow returns to Staples after missing nearly all of last year with a knee injury. He almost always comes up big against the Kings...well, against just about every team for that matter. Dustin Brown has 22 points in 32 games vs Dallas, his most vs any opponent. He needs only one more point to reach 200 for his NHL career.
• The other Captain: Mike Modano has already announced this is last season in the NHL. Unfortunately, LA fans won't get to see one of the greatest American born players tonight. He is out with a rib injury.
• In-n-Out: King killer Brad Richards will not play...meanwhile one of the best agitators in the league will, Steve Ott returns for more of his OTToberfest tour of North America. Yes, the Stars marketing team is actually using that phrase this month. Wow! The Kings have sent Oscar Moller back to Manchester. Justin Williams is doubtful for the game.
• The Kids: The Real Deal James Neal - Dallas definitely has something with this kid, keep an eye on #18. They also have #14 Jamie Benn. Ted Purcell has been bumped down to the third line for the Kings.
• The Goalies: Quick for LA. Assume it will be Auld for Dallas, after Turco played last night at the Ponda.
• The News: Frolov and Handzus will be on the second line. Not sure which emotion is more powerful today - joy for Brown, as he gets an upgrade...or sadness for Simmonds as he loses his two linemates.
• The Penalty Box: Both teams are at the bottom of the league on the penalty kill. If guys end up in the box, could be a high scoring affair.
• The Leaders: Kopitar and Smyth lead the Kings with 13 points. Can they both post another multi-point game?
• The Trends: In the last 10 games overall vs. the Stars, LA is 7-2-1. Yet, they're only 5-4-1 in the last 10 on home ice. Since the beginning of 2006, 8 of the Kings 12 victories over the Stars have been in come back fashion.

Dallas vs. LA, take two. Want to go to the game? We're giving away two pairs of tickets to the game tonight. Simply reply to yesterday's post about Alexander Frolov and you'll be entered to win. It's that easy! Hurry up - deadline is 2pm today. Details below.

One19

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

What To Do About Nothing (updated)

Alexander Frolov is an enigma. The Kings have changed everything but his number. General Managers, Coaches and teammates have all tried to figure him out. Defining the problem is simple, solving it is the issue. Which Frolov will show up on a nightly basis? Flip a coin, your guess is as good as mine.

So, how about we have some fun with it? We have two pairs of tickets to see the Kings battle the Dallas Stars on Thursday 10/22 at Staples Center.

To win one of these pairs tell us what you think the Kings should do with the uber talented, equally frustrating Frolov. Should they bench him for an extended period? Cut his minutes? Change his linemates? Or...should they finally cut bait and trade him? Perhaps, you even have a different idea. Let us know.

It can be short, it can be long. Either way, simply post your comment below and you'll be entered into the contest. We'll randomly select two winners from all posts completed by 2pm on Thursday 10/22. Yes, its just that easy.

Be sure to either sign in with your AOL or Google account before posting and/or include your email address in your post. If you win, we'll need to contact you tomorrow afternoon to arrange ticket delivery.

Good luck!

One19

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

UPDATE - Congratulations to readers "Brian M" and "Sarruh" for winning the tickets. We're attempting to contact you now. Please email us back at mayor119@live.com to arrange ticket delivery. If you didn't win, we'll have another contest up soon. Thanks to all that entered. Remember, follow us on twitter for other exclusive opportunities and info.

Image courtesy of BBC. For official rules click here.