SoCal HockeyCast

The SoCal HockeyCast, enhanced podcast is back! In this episode, listen and watch as Ted, Zoe, and Genevieve talk about the Stanley Cup Finals, the Los Angeles Kings, and what the heck happened to them for over a year! Remember, this is an enhanced podcast and has images, live URL links, and chapters. It's best viewed in iTunes... a free download from the Apple website at http://apple.com/itunes. If you have any questions or comments at all, please email us at info@socalhockeycast.com.

Unlike the Ducks and the Kings, the hockey season for participants in the Kings Beginning Hockey Workshop with Daryl Evans continues. I know that I didn't report on the "big game" we played on April 24th, but it's been a busy crazy time in our family! It was a surreal experience that seemed a total haze for me. My mom had just suffered a heart attack and was scheduled for a double bypass, so my mind definitely wasn't on the game. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to give much more of an assessment of the game other than, "It was fun," and "I was terrible." I didn't score any goals, but one of my passes was finished off, so I did get an assist. The Purple Team lost this game, but it was kind of bogus. Our goalie allowed two goals to the kids on the Yellow Team. Without the charity goals, we'd have won by a goal.  Not a big deal. It was still a lot of fun. However, the most memorable moment came at the very end of the game. Yellow sqaud's #16, the goon I mentioned, was in the corner, checking one of my linemates, Ben Salisbury. Our goalie was pulled, and I hopped on the ice. The puck was in the corner near the goon and Ben. I got to skate at least half the length of the ice, turn at the last moment, and give him a good hip check. I must admit... knocking him to the ice was the BEST part of the night for me personally. Of course, in a real, competitive game, I would've been penalized for boarding, charging, and probably given a 10-minute misconduct. However, even though I'm not a violent person, by any means, I must admit... it was so satisfying to check the goon. Okay, enough with the past. Now fast forward to the present. We also had a three-practice extension of the Beginning Hockey Workshop. It was a little smaller than the first session, but it was still well attended. The "Noah's Ark" theme continued. We still had the pairs of Salisburys and Wells. We lost the Dearmans and Manzellas, but we gained another Slee and a pair of Ballards. The practice really did extend our learning and gave us more practice on the ice to improve our skills. My skating has definitely improved immensely. I can skate backwards... not well, but not as poorly as before. I can stop and slow down, and I can turn on a dime... of course, the dime has to have a two-foot diameter, but it's better! I could definitely use a lot more work on skating with the puck because I can't stickhandle very well while moving. Our second big game was this past Tuesday, May 21st. It was a great game. Much better than the last one. On the first shift of the game, I saw one of my linemates breaking out, and I got an outlet pass to him for a goal. Of course, it helps that Wolf has a wicked good wrist shot for the beginning group. I also got a centering pass to little David Wing who finished it off for another goal. The best part of the game was that my little girl, Genevieve, was in attendance, cheering on Team Purple. I really appreciated how she refrained from laughing each time I fell. Now that I'm skating a lot faster and taking more risks in lateral movement, I seem to fall a lot more. I guess since our teammate Fell is gone, someone else has to pick up the slack of eating ice the most. It felt like a much faster game, and that might have been because we were playing on the other rink and had harder ice... Who knows? Maybe it was because we had all improved in our skating. For whatever reason, the game flew by, and I actually felt really good on the ice... well, except when I ran into the huge Asian American guy, Tony Liu. It was a comedic moment... much like when a cartoon character runs into a brick wall. I'll let you think about who was the brick wall. If you guessed me, then you're right on one! I bounced off of him and staggered back, but I stayed on my skates! Cool, huh? In the first week, I definitely would have fallen. I probably would have fallen in the second and third weeks as well. Unlike the run at the goon in the first game, this was totally accidental. I mean, come on, I'm not stupid. Tony's a nice guy, he's a lot bigger than me, and he's no goon. AND did I mention that I'm not a masochist? Two days later, I'm still feeling soreness in my neck and shoulders from the collision. Definitely an accident Just for fun, I have some of my own awards to hand out... mostly to Team Purple players because I got to know them a little better, but we're all winners for taking the risk of learning how to play the game we love... Most Likely to be Drafted by an NHL Team: It would be diplomatic to say that we all have the same chance (slim to none really), but the truth is that Little David Wing has the best shot at being a pro. He's a spitfire! He's tenacious, has good hockey sense, and seems to love the game. Best Defenseman: This is a tie for me. Kao and Terry both had a knack for breaking up plays and bringing the puck back up ice. Best Skater: Feldman. He can skate forwards, backwards, and laterally. I rarely see him fall because he's so strong on his skates. Most Inspirational Player: The younger Ballard. I can't remember her first initial, but I think it's a G. Her smile was infectious. I really hope that I look that happy when I'm out on the ice, because that's exactly how I feel. Every time I was tired, I'd look over at Ballard and feel re-energized. Toughest to Play Against: Another tie. Because of his size and reach, Liu was really hard to get around. However, I also thought that Nishime was really hard to play against. She had great hockey sense and would lift my stick off the puck whenever I tried to go around her. Best Linemate: Dan Wincensten was a very generous player, but more than that, the times I was out there with him, I felt like we actually started developing a little chemistry. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and I knew that he'd have a good scoring chance if I could just get him the puck. Best Hair: Zack Byerley. He had just the right length of curls peeking out of the back of his helmet. Very Jaromir Jagr (post-mullet days). Best Imitation of Steve Kasper: Ben Salisbury. His shadowing of the goon was reminiscent of Steve Kasper's work on Gretzky... not that the goon was anywhere near as good as Gretzky (or as classy), but Salisbury did a great job sticking to him. Unsung Hero: Darren Slee. I can't explain it, but he had nice things to say about everyone, and he just went out and worked hard. Coach of the Year: Was there any doubt? Daryl Evans led a rag tag bunch of players and whipped them into two teams! It won't be a movie like the Bad News Bears or the Mighty Ducks, but it was inspirational for all of us! What if I gave myself an award, you may ask? If I was very generous, I'd say, "Most Likely to be Craig Janney," because I'm not a top tier playmaker, but I'm steady at making the right pass. If I was joking around, I'd say, "Most Likely to be Mistaken for Paul Kariya." Hey, gotta represent my Asian brothers and sisters! I can't wait till June when we come together for four more days. I feel like we're playing more as a team: communicating on the ice, making unselfish plays, and supporting each other.

Session Number 4... The last one before the big game on Thursday night. It's incredible to see how far we've come. On a personal level, I've become proficient at stopping (at least with a snowplow and a gliding T-stop... still can't do the full out hockey stop), I'm better at going backwards, and I'm getting much faster and stronger on my skates (especially on the tight turns). The high point of the warm-up drills was when I was able to go down on one knee and pop right back up. It may not have been as smooth as many others, but it's the first time I was able to do it successfully. Of course, I was so shocked, that when I went to go down on my left knee, I totally messed up and fell. Oh well, next practice!The absolute best part of the night was the last 20 minutes or so. We had an all-out scrimmage. Unofficially, the Purple Team won the scrimmage. Go Purple!!! I must say that I've never skated so hard in my life, but it was great to actually skate for a purpose. It's like that magical moment in life when students (usually in 3rd grade or so), go beyond learning to read, and they begin to read to learn. For those students, the light bulb goes on because they realize that there's a purpose for reading. It's not that I dislike the skating and stickhandling drills. I actually really do like them a lot, but when you scrimmage, then the whole point of why you're doing this becomes apparent.Now, that said, for all the frantic skating I did, I felt like I barely did anything. The best part was getting the puck stickhandling a little and giving a decent outlet pass to Benjamin Salisbury who finished off the play with a nice goal. The big downer of the scrimmage was some wacko goon who somehow misunderstood the No Body Checking Rule. He ran me over pretty well and also hit Salisbury a couple times. He was also careless with his stickwork as well. I'm sure many of you are thinking that we're all beginners and he probably couldn't stop. Yeah, right... except that there were times that he wasn't even skating towards the puck when he would run over us. Goon!On a totally different note... I had an email asking me what Daryl Evans is like as a coach/instructor. I've got to say, he's awesome. He really does a great job at demonstrating and explaining how to do the different drills. One good example is when he saw some of us having trouble with crossovers. He slowed it down in the demonstration and didn't just focus on what your feet and legs are doing. He talked about what your head and whole body does before you cross the leg over. It was great! I've never felt so stable doing a fast crossover. He's always encouraging and positive in his remarks. I've never had formal training in skating or stickhandling, and I have nothing but positives to say about Mr. Evans. If you're interested in learning how to play hockey, the LA Kings Beginner Workshops are a great way to do it (especially if Mr. Evans is teaching them)!

Like the saying goes... third time's the charm! This practice went really well. I still skate backwards like an arthritic octogenarian, but it's getting better. I think I'm about the same speed as the famous Mr. Fell... although I think I'm the only one who fell down while going backwards tonight, but hey! I'm learning!Here are some of the things I've noticed during practice three: We're like the Noah's Ark of hockey workshops. We have a pair each of Wells, Dearmans, Manzellas, and Salisburys (I hope I've spelled all those names correctly). Daryl Evans is a good coach/teacher. He instructs as a whole group, demonstrates, and has helpers also demonstrate... then it's independent practice time to show that we know what we're doing (or not). The use of other experienced skaters to instruct allows for more activity, help, and input. This one guy, Zeiler, is a really good skater and has helped me almost as much as the official helpers. Unlike the NHL where we've only got Paul Kariya, Richard Park, Devin Setoguchi, and lesser known players like Chris Beckford-Tseu, Asian Americans are well represented at the Beginners Hockey Workshop... and we all definitely don't look alike. We run the gamut from petite (there's this one Asian American woman who's about my size... small) to hulking (one guy must be about 6'5"). As I said, we look nothing like each other, but I think there's a Lai (me), a Lau, a Liu, and a Kao... we'll need Bob Miller to do play-by-play to keep those names straight. Finally... those aches and pains from muscles I didn't know I had... they're gone. So that either means I'm not working hard enough or I'm getting used to the whole skating and stick-handling thing. Judging by my production of sweat, I think it's the latter. More later!

Last night marked a departure from the last few Sunday nights. Many of you will be thinking that it had to do with the lack of a Kings' game. That's partially true, but it was actually strange because I didn't have hockey practice. Hockey practice? Yes, I am part of the LA Kings Beginners Hockey Workshop hosted by Daryl Evans.Really learning to play ice hockey is something that I've always wanted to do. The handful of pick-up games in high school (roller and ice) and the two seasons of street hockey just don't count. I've wanted to learn how to actually play the sport I've loved for pretty much my whole life. With all this prior experience, you'd think that I'd do pretty well. All I can say is that I haven't truly embarrassed myself.We've had two practices, and I'm not the worst, but I'm also far from the best. I've definitely improved already. Need proof? In the first practice, I couldn't stop. I was the guy who aimed for the emptiest stretch of boards to run into. However, by the second practice, I could definitely glide to a stop given enough time. Unfortunately, my biggest Achilles Heel was realized in that second practice... I can't skate backwards to save my life. The good news was that, I did improve enough to get across the ice (albeit very very VERY slowly). Some of the other participants actually gave up, turned around, and skated forward during the drill.Having Daryl Evans lead the workshop is a thrill. Although he didn't have the lengthiest Kings' career, he's most notable for scoring the winning goal in the Miracle on Manchester... easily one of the greatest moments in Kings' history. He's an enthusiastic instructor and demonstrates what we need to do clearly. Of course, watching him do it so effortlessly (with unlaced skates no less), is a far cry from actually doing the drills, but it helps to see it done properly.One of the other cool things has been the bonding. I haven't made any lifelong friends or anything, but all the participants are friendly and excited. We're all in it to learn, and it's a blast to have fun with a bunch of people. On the first night, Andrew Mason, one of the main organizers, announced that there was a hidden blogger amongst our ranks. One of the more amusing things about this was the fact that several of the participants thought it would be me because I "seemed pretty smart... the type to blog." Well, I'm more of a podcaster than a blogger, but I took it as a compliment. Hopefully I actually am smart, and don't just seem it.On other news and notes, the SoCal HockeyCast podcast is in production again. It feels odd to have missed an entire season of podcasting, but my commute to work took out all my editing time. Armed with a new job (much closer to home) and two daughters who are ready to podcast, we're going to begin modestly in the next week or two.Other than some playoff news, thoughts on the Kings, and other general SoCal Hockey thoughts, Genevieve and I will also talk about our respective learning curves for hockey... did I forget to mention that she's learning hockey as well? I'll save that for another time.

Would I have rather it been the Los Angeles Kings who won the Stanley Cup?  Of course!  But at the same time, I love hockey, especially when it's played so well, and the Anaheim Ducks played VERY well.  More than anything, I'm proud that the Stanley Cup is coming to a West Coast team for the first time... and it's in Southern California!Apparently, the third time's the charm.  This is the third time that a SoCal hockey team made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, and finally... the Cup is coming to Southern California.  The Anaheim Ducks, one of the early season favorites to win it all this season, thoroughly dominated the Ottawa Senators in the 6-2 win.Except for about ten minutes in the second period, the Ducks controlled the play on both ends of the ice.  The first period saw Anaheim take a 2-0 lead on goals by Andy McDonald (the Ducks' leading goal scorer in the playoffs) and Rob Niedermayer.  They never lost the lead and never looked back, answering two goals by Daniel Alfredsson in the second period with two of their own by Travis Moen and Francois Beauchemin.  Moen's tally was a fluke goal that he never even touched when Senators' star defenseman Chris Phillips passed the puck under Ray Emery.  The Senator goalie slipped on the puck and pushed it into his own net.  This was the difference in the game.  All the momentum that the Senators seemed to have just dissipated.  They mounted a few more attacks, and Alfredsson scored his second, but it didn't seem like their spirit was in the game anymore.The Ducks finished off the scoring with Travis Moen's second goal of the game (one that he actually touched) and a final one by Corey Perry... then the celebration started!  Captain Scott Niedermayer raised the Cup for the fourth time after graciously accepting a well-deserved Conn Smythe Trophy.  All in all, a triumphant, celebratory night for the Ducks.I'm most happy for Teemu Selanne.  The veteran Ducks' forward truly resurrected his career and dispelled all the naysayers who felt like his career was over by finally winning his first Cup after 14 seasons in the NHL.  Chris Pronger, much criticized for his move from Edmonton to Anaheim last season also won his first Cup.  Much like Scott Stevens and Chris Chelios, Pronger is a warrior who plays on the edge (sometimes to the point of a cheap shot here or there), but there's no doubting how he can dominate a game.  Perhaps the most sentimental moment was when Scott Niedermayer handed the Cup off to his brother Rob, one of only three Ducks from the 2003 team that made it to the Cup Finals (and lost to Scott's New Jersey Devils).So congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks!  Ownership and management has proven without a doubt that building a winner is WAY more successful than just creating an entertaining team.  I hope Disney was paying attention.

Better late than never, right?  We have our Kings and Ducks reports as well as some quick news around the league.In this enhanced podcast, we're sad about Martin Havlat, blow a raspberry at the Philadelphia Flyers organization, and salute the Charles B. Wang Ice Hockey Project Hope.  It's a great project that will benefit hockey worldwide eventually... hey, if you can get 1.3 billion people in China motivated in ice hockey, that means that the level of play will eventually go up! We also announce more great news for Kings' TV play-by-play man Bob Miller.Here are some of the pertinent links...You can buy Bob Miller's Tales From the Los Angeles Kings at Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, or any other fine purveyor of books.  For Amazon's link, click here.You can also find out more about Project Hope, the Asia League, and a news link here as well.Thanks for listening, and have a great week of hockey!

Everybody knew that it would take a mighty team to defeat the Minnesota Wild.  The Anaheim Ducks were up to the task, handing Minnesota their first loss in seven games.  For the Wild, they're discovering that victories on the road are definitely more difficult than at home.  Against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night, the Wild were out-played but managed to squeak out an overtime win.  Against the Ducks, who are unquestionably more skilled than the Kings this season, the Wild were defeated 2-1.Although the majority of the game was tightly played, the Ducks got goals from defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Sean O'Donnell in a slightly more open second period that saw Anaheim out-shoot Minnesota 15-7.  The Wild's Pierre-Marc Bouchard notched one goal at the end of the second period, but it wasn't enough for the Wild.The first period was all about Jean-Sebastien Giguere once again.  The Wild out-shot the Ducks 10-5 in the first, but Giguere saved all of them and made 27 saves on 28 shots.  Manny Fernandez was good as well, making 27 saves on 29 shots, but the Wild looked flat once again.The Wild are now 6-1, leaving the Buffalo Sabres as the lone undefeated team.  The Ducks improved to 5-0-2 and still have yet to lose a game in regulation.

Playing their second game in two nights, the Los Angeles Kings left the "safe" confines of home and took on the struggling Phoenix Coyotes.  Having scored a mere four goals in their four straight losses against the Dallas Stars (twice), Detroit Red Wings, and Minnesota Wild, the Kings entered the game struggling offensively, but looking slightly better defensively each game.  So the Kings headed off to play the Phoenix Coyotes and face off against their back-up goalie, Mike Morrison.  Apparently, this was the perfect recipe for creating a blow-out.  The Kings took advantage of a very undisciplined Coyotes squad and scored four power-play goals to win 4-0.  The three in the opening period chased Morrison from the nets.The win was Mathieu Garon's second victory this season and ninth career shutout.  Garon was totally on his game, making all 40 saves.  The only difficult period was the second where Phoenix dictated the much of the play of the game and outshot the Kings 13 to 10.  Some of his better saves were definitely momentum-deflating saves for the Coyotes.  The third period was even more lopsided for shots on with Phoenix doubling up the Kings 16 to 8, but Garon made everything look easy, and the Kings' team defense rarely left rebounds untouched or players unchecked.One only has to watch the steady, consistent play of Mathieu Garon to begin wondering when he'll begin playing an equal amount of games... if not take the #1 goalie job outright from Dan Cloutier.  For the season, Garon is 2-1 with a 1.67 goals against average and .952 save percentage.  Cloutier, on the other hand, has struggled with soft goals in all of his five games, going 1-3-1 with a 3.02 GAA and a .893 save percentage.The offense was supplied by Alexander Frolov, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Michael Cammalleri.  Frolov, Kopitar, and Cammalleri all had multi-point games, each registering a goal and an assist.  Rob Blake finally found the scoring sheet, in gathering two assists for the night.  For Kopitar, this gives him three goals and six assists in only eight games this season (good enough to tie him for ninth in points around the league).  The fact that all the young guns were contributing offensively was good news for the Kings who hope that each can supply more offense as the season continues.  Patrick O'Sullivan even got into the action, getting some good chances, and clanging one off the post after beating the goalie.In my humble opinion, the plays and players of the game included: Mathieu Garon... He demonstrated above average flexibility and fast reactions.  More importantly, he's been a steadying influence for the Kings because the players know that he'll make the saves. Anze Kopitar...  He patiently waited as a fluttering puck dropped below the crossbar before batting it into the net off the goalie.  He not only waited for the puck, but he choked up on the stick so that his hand was at the blade before batting it in. Brent Sopel... Not only was he steady on defense, he again contributed some good offense.  However, his play of the game had to have been his blindside hit on Dave Scatchard.  Just stepping out of the penalty box, Sopel spotted Scatchard skating right at him with his head down.  Sopel laid into him and knocked Scatchard silly.  The Coyotes forward had one of his gloves pop off as well as his helmet.  In fact, his helmet flew off and went about 20-30 feet away.  A great, clean, open-ice hit. Finally, some Kings' fans are noticing a few interesting patterns in these first few games (other than the fact that Cloutier lets in at least one bad goal a game)...When Alexander Frolov scores, the Kings win.When Oleg Tverdovsky plays, the Kings win. We hope Marc Crawford sees the same patterns, because he can do something about one of those two patterns...

The Los Angeles Kings played their best game of the year, but it still wasn't good enough against the Minnesota Wild.  They played the Wild even for 60 minutes, but it only took a mere 25 seconds of overtime for Marian Gaborik to put the Kings back into their place.  All it took was a bad turn over by Sean Avery in the offensive zone, and Gaborik and the Wild notched another win.  The Wild remain undefeated in six games, and Los Angeles drops to 2-4-1.  The good news is that the Kings do eke out a point after this match.The truth is, the Kings looked very good throughout most of the game, playing a hard-nosed game without making poor choices.  They generated great chances in several rushes, but just weren't able to capitalize on them.  Patrick O'Sullivan scored the lone goal for the Kings (his first career NHL goal).  That goal tied the game at 1-1.  Brian Rolston had scored a few minutes earlier for the Wild.Although Anze Kopitar didn't score, he played a solid game, making some great plays, generating chances, and winning plenty of key face-offs.  It was actually a game of bests.  Craig Conroy was also very active offensively and won the majority of his face-offs as well.  O'Sullivan also played a very smart game, capitalizing on one of his many opportunities.On defense, Brent Sopel also had a very good game, keeping Gaborik in check throughout regulation, and even single-handedly breaking up a partial break-away by the speedy forward.  Rob Blake, who has looked a little tight and nervous in the first few games, made great choices, and even saved the game by sweeping the puck to safety after it got behind Dan Cloutier.  Unfortunately, Blake was still unable to register his first point of the season.Cloutier was decent.  He allowed only two goals, but both were soft ones yet again.  He faced 27 shots and turned away 25 of them.  Throughout the game, Cloutier actually looked solid on several good chances by the Wild, but his poor handling of a rebound led to Rolston's goal.  Cloutier's goaltending opponent, Manny Fernandez, made 34 of 35 saves and faced much more difficult scoring chances throught the game.For the Kings, this may have been their fourth straight loss, but the point was well-deserved, and Los Angeles will look to build upon this effort tomorrow night against the Phoenix Coyotes.Don't forget, our latest podcast, dedicated to William "Digital Bill" Douthett is available for download or playback on this page.

How many young Anaheim Ducks' forwards play physically, have decent hands, and skate with energy?  Another one has made the team, and is making an impact.  Rookie Shane O'Brien registered a goal, assist, and fight (a Gordie Howe Hat Trick) in the Ducks' 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.  In fact, O'Brien's power-play goal turned out to be the game-winner.From beginning to end, the Ducks dominated the Wings, scoring three power-play goals and keeping the puck in the offensive zone for much of the game.  Detroit looked flat and barely broke the shut out with a goal by Tomas Kopecky.  The Ducks, on the other hand, outshot the Wings 31 to 22 and looked energized throughout.  Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 21 of 22 saves and looked sharp, only allowing a goal on a broken play. Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz also added a goal and assist, and Ryan Getzlaf added another assist in the win.  The goal by Perry was especially revealing.  The Ducks looked like an adult team playing against kids, constantly using the cycle to create chances and keeping the puck in the offensive zone.  Without a defender on him, Perry lifted the puck easily over a fallen Dominik Hasek.  "The Dominator" ended the night with only 27 saves on 31 shots.The Ducks improve to 4-0-2 and have yet to lose in regulation.

The SoCal HockeyCast would like to acknowledge and remember Bill Douthett, AKA "Digital Bill" of the Wizards of Technology.  Digital Bill passed away recently.  For more information, or the chance to donate to help defray the costs of the funeral, please visit The Wizards of Technology. The first full week is over in the NHL, and we give our thoughts on what some of the very early season disappointments and surprises are.  We give a big virtual raspberry to the decent teams that are struggling... like Ottawa, Carolina, Boston, Nashville, and Philadelphia.  At the same time, we give a huge huzzah to the teams that are doing better than expected... like Atlanta and Columbus.  We also laud the individuals who are making news around the league. Our guest analyst, Genevieve, is present for the Ducks' Report.  This enhanced podcast can be viewed on the homepage or you can use iTunes (free for Mac or Windows) to enjoy the bookmarks, images, URL links, and audio.  If you have questions or comments, please send emails to technologyted@mac.com.

There was good and bad news at the Staples Center on Monday night: the bad news was that the Los Angeles Kings suffered another loss (their third in a row), but the good news was that the Kings played with more intensity and effort against the Detroit Red Wings.  It wasn't enough, as the Kings fell 3-1 to the Wings.  However, Los Angeles fans got to see quite a few improvements in this game. For the majority of the game, the Kings actually played evenly with the Wings.  The lone goal for the Kings was scored by Sean Avery off of assists by Anze Kopitar and Aaron Miller.  Kopitar actually started the play in the defensive zone by controlling a puck, waiting patiently, and putting a perfect, stick-to-stick pass to Miller who was rushing up ice.  Miller, with speed, let rip a low, hard slapshot that Chris Osgood was able to block but unable to control.  both Avery and Kopitar crashed the net, and Avery was able to get his blade on the puck to shovel it in.  The Kings' 1-0 lead was enjoyable, but it didn't last long. The Wings stormed back with three straight goals.  The first and third were essentially breakaways that were the result of defensive lapses for the Kings.  On the first one, Rob Blake made a poor choice during a 2-on-2 rush.  Although Mattias Norstrom had his man covered, Blake skated out of his way to lay a bone-crunching open ice hit on the Wings' Franzen.  Unfortunately, what could have been an inspiring play, turned sour for the Kings as Franzen was able to make the pass prior to the hit.  The Wings' blah blah was able to go in on Dan Cloutier alone and deke him enough to open the 5-hole where he scored. Speaking of the 5-hole, Cloutier allowed all three goals between his legs.  Although he can't be blamed for the first and third goals, the second one, the go-ahead goal by Robert Lang, was scored at an extremely sharp angle.  The bad news is that this was yet another soft goal allowed by Cloutier.  The good news was that it didn't come on the first shot of the game!  Cloutier ended up with XX saves on XX shots while Osgood made XX of XX saves. The Kings continue their rough homestand against the high-flying Minnesota Wild on October 18th.  This marks the return of ex-King star Pavol Demitra whom they traded for Patrick O'Sullivan and a 1st round pick.

The Ducks of Anaheim were faced with the challenge of taking on one of the best teams in the league.  It's easy for them to walk all over teams like the Blues, Coyotes, and Kings, but what about one of the league's elite? After doing well in the first period, and coming out flat against the Dallas Stars in the second period, the Ducks rallied to tie the game in the waning seconds of regulation to push the undefeated Stars to overtime.  Unfortunately, the Ducks lost another shootout and dropped their second straight game.  Starting goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, trying to maintain his fight for #1 status allowed two goals on 14 shots and was pulled in favor of Jean-Sebastien Giguere.  The move proved to be a good one by head coach Randy Carlyle as the Ducks' team responded with more inspired play.  They battled back with goals by Scott Niedermayer and Andy McDonald in the third period.  The final tally of regulation by McDonald tied the game with a mere 19 seconds left in the third period.For the Ducks, one of the worst teams in the overtime period last season, it was a bad re-run of the other night against Mike Dunham and the Islanders, as Marty Turco and the Stars proved too tough.  Turco made a particularly good save on a slick move by Ryan Shannon, and the Stars only needed goals by Sergei Zubov and Jussi Jokinen.In the end, the Ducks are probably proud of pulling out one point in a game that they weren't mentally prepared to take on, but they need to find a way to win those tough overtime games.  They'll have another chance to prove themselves against an elite team when they take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

In the blink of an eye, the Kings were facing off against the Dallas Stars.  It was at the Staples Center.  They lost 4-1...  hey!  Wait a minute!  Didn't this just happen?Playing in a homestand that featured a rare two-game match-up with the same team, the Kings were again dominated by the Stars, allowing three power play goals and losing the majority of individual battles for the puck.  However, there were a few differences in this game.  For example, Mathieu Garon was in goal instead of Dan Cloutier, the Kings didn't allow a goal on the very first shot, Michael Cammelleri scored the Kings' lone goal of the night (instead of Raitis Ivanans), and, unlike Thursday, the Kings actually came out and played hard at first.  The first ten minutes of the game were one of the Kings' few highlights of the night.  Although the Kings didn't score, they matched Dallas' intensity and looked much better than Thursday night.Then the penalties started coming in.  With four penalties called on the Kings in a row, the Stars capitalized, scoring their first two goals.  The Kings couldn't seem to get any bodies into the right places to block the shots of Stephane Robidas.  They were late covering Brendan Morrow twice, leading to two goals.  The whole game was one big penalty-fest with 19 power play opportunities but the Kings only partook of the special teams party once.There were a few bright moments for the Kings. They included a beautiful shot by Cammelleri, steady play by Lubomir Visnovsky (who made a beautiful behind-the-back pass on Cammelleri's goal), and the intensity of Scott Thornton (whose energy-line cycled well).  Garon wasn't spectacular, but he couldn't be faulted on any of the goals by Dallas.  There were several screens and deflections... and, ultimately, the Kings need to do a better job of playing team defense in front of him.The Kings' home schedule doesn't get much easier as they take on the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.