Yes, that was a shot that he blocked....with his freaking face!
I especially like the expression on Jonathan Quick's face in that shot. The Kings are fighting for a playoff spot. They played a great first period, an OK second period, and a poor third period, but they held on for the win, thanks to Matt Greene's very bloody forehead.
Dean Lombardi has taken a lot of heat from fans the past few years, but since arriving, he has rebuilt the farm system, stocked the blue line with young talent, and made a couple great trades. Yes, the Cloutier deal was flat out awful. Yes, Preissing has disappointed, and Nagy, well, let's forget he ever played for the Kings.
But the Handzus signing looks brilliant right now. He's rid the teams of guys who wanted to play in the NHL, but didn't want to play for the Kings (Cammalleri and O'Sullivan). In a widely criticized deal, he traded one of the team's few veteran defensemen in Lubomir Visnovsky for Matt Greene and Jarret Stoll. How'd that work out? Lubo is hurt, Stoll had two power play goals last night, and Greene, well, you saw what he did. If the Sully for Justin Williams deal works out like the Visnovsky-Stoll-Greene deal has worked out, the Kings will be a very good team next season, and may still sneak into the playoffs this year.
I love watching this team. And when I watch guys like Teddy Purcell, Wayne Simmonds (who I think has had a terrific rookie season), Drew Doughty, and Jack Johnson (admittedly probably hitting a bit of mid-season wall after his injury), I can't wait to see what's to come.
2 comments:
Hey, I agree.... it was a great play from Greener at the end of the game. I think that's speaks pretty loudly why he's an assistant captain in his first year with the Kings.
I DO disagree with the part about Cammy and Sully NOT wanting to be there. I think you're right about Cammy.... he wouldn't have minded playing with the Kings, as long as they paid him the most money. When he's an unrestricted free agent this summer, its safe to say he'll be off to the highest bidder.
Sully seems like a different case. He was just a quieter kind of guy, and when you look at the contract that he ended up signing: it was for THREE years and you could argue it was still UNDER-market value. I'd argue that he didn't sign until training camp was because he team was lowballing him. Whether thats true or not, it's rough on the guy to just say that he didn't want to be in LA. Look at the interviews since he's been shipped to Edmonton... the guy looks like someone just killed his dog!
Keep up the good work man...
Cheers,
Matt
www.viewfrommyseats.com
Thanks, and I don't think you're completely wrong about O'Sullivan. I just never got a very good vibe from him. I can't put my finger on it. I was really hoping he'd pan out because for some reason I've always rooted extra hard for Americans in the NHL.
I'd hesitate to compare his deal to the market, or to put too much emphasis on the length. He was restricted, which affects his value, and I think the length was more of a way to keep the hold-out situation from happening again. But right now, Moller provides everything Sully was providing, and Purcell's play of late far exceeds what they were getting from O'Sullivan.
We just need to get Jack going consistently now.
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