The stage was set on January 1st, 2010 as the Boston Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at the Outdoor Winter Classic. It was an exciting game and the first of its kind. Fast Forward to April 2010. The Bruins, like the Flyers made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, winning in overtime. The Bruins dispatched of the Buffalo Sabers with relative ease, taking the series 4-2. This set up a second round matchup in which the Bruins were better suited to win.

The stage was set. May, 2010. The Boston Bruins went ahead 3-0 in the series and the series was thought to be all but over. However, then an incredible rarity occurred. The Bruins went to the locker room for overtime, with a chance to sweep the Flyers. However, Simon Gagne destroyed their champagne party by scoring his first goal of the playoffs in his first game since coming back from an injury. The Flyers took the next two games easily which forced a Game 7 and the chance to make history. The Flyers were trying to become only the 3rd Team in Professional Sports to win a playoff series after trailing 3-0.

Well, Boston had everything going for them. They had Home Ice. They had the better goalie, the Flyers were starting Backup Michael Leighton, who was relatively unknown at this point. And then it happened. The Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 First Period Lead and everyone in the Sports world had thought they had dodged a bullet. Not so. The Flyers chipped away and were able to tie the Game at 3 with less than 9 minutes to play. At the six minute mark, Simon Gagne once again capitalized on a neutral zone turnover and buried the game winning goal. The Bruins had collapsed. It was a colossal
Collapse. The Flyers went on to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Well, 2011 brought redemption as the Bruins swept the Flyers in the Divisional Round and went on to Win the Stanley Cup Championship behind the stellar goaltending of Tim Thomas. Fast Forward to 2013. The Bruins made the playoffs after playing horrible the first month of the season. The Bruins were the Fourth Seed and would face the upstart Toronto Maple Leafs, who were playing in the playoffs for the first time in awhile. Well, Boston jumped out to a 1-0 and 3-1 lead in the series. Don’t look now, the Maple Leafs won the next two games to miraculously tie the series at 3. Even more astounding, was the fact that in game 7, Toronto went up 4-1 with less than 9 minutes to play. BANG! The Bruins scored 3 goals to tie and then scored the overtime winner to stave off another tremendous collapse.

Elsewhere, the 2013 Playoffs have been fun filled and not without drama. We had the huge brawl in Ottawa between the Senators and Montreal Canadiens. Game 3 saw 210 Penalty Minutes in the Third Period alone and 14 Fighting Majors. Wow…insane. Ottawa ultimately won the series knocking out yet another Canadian Heavyweight. In the other two Eastern Series, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the surprise New York Islanders 4-2 and the New York Rangers beat a feisty Washington Capitals team 4-3 en route to a date with Boston in the second round.

Over in the Western Conference, there has been more consistent play and more domination by one team across the board. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1, the Detroit Red Wings beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3, the San Jose Sharks swept the Vancouver Canucks, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Saint Louis Blues 4-2.

This playoff year has been extremely exciting to watch, especially with all of the rivalries. Not to mention…Four of the Original Six Teams have made the Semi-Finals…Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Boston. Boston went up 1-0 in the series with the Rangers with a game one win. Pittsburgh is up 2-0 in their series with the Senators going to Ottawa. The LA Kings are up 2-0 against the upstart Sharks and the Red Wings and Blackhawks are tied at one game a piece.

It has been an absolute frenzy thus far. So many analysts had picked the Flyers to win it all in the beginning if the year. Instead, it’s the Bruins who are playing like the unsung hero once again. They say KARMA can be a bitch. Well, Boston has shared it’s set of tragedies this past season and also sports collapses, but it looks like they may just be the Whitehorse in these 2013 NHL Playoffs. If you are not watching, you are definitely missing out. Tune in tonight…it’s getting interesting!

By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the 5 freeway, heading north to test my lucky underwear out at the HPV Pavillion in San Jose. I won’t be in a car though, with plenty of adrenaline still pumping from that marvelous win on Thursday, I think I’ll just run there.

The Shark Tank, as it’s known, if you’ve never been there, is a wonderful gymnasium. It is a loud mother of a building, however in much the same way the 15 kids cheering for the talent show in the gym at high school sounded really loud, the Fish Bowl benefits a great deal from acoustics.

If haven’t met a Sharks fan, keep it that way. They are a hostile bunch, and unfortunately my posse and I will have to watch our typically loose lips. Last time we ventured up there, a fight or two had to be quelled before people ended up in the hospital or a cell, and no one needs that shit.

I’d say something now like “this is not going to be an easy” game, but none of them are easy. The Sharks have almost always been quite a good home team, but when the puck hits the ice, that doesn’t mean much if the Kings can stick to their guns. Having played one game now without Stoll, there should be less of an adjustment period. While the Sharks will draw energy from the hometown fatties, so to will the Kings feed off the Sharks’ jump. You want to amp this up? Let’s amp the shit up.

It would be nice to win a few more faceoffs, what the Kings mainly need to do is clog up the middle of the ice. Frustrate the Sharks into making stupid passes. The most important key for me though against this team, which is so swift in transition and zippy with the stick to sticks, is to get every damn puck deep. I want the Sharks skating 200 feet every time they get the puck.

Toffoli gets his first goal tonight.

That deserves a couple prayers, don’t it?

Hail Kopi, full of talent,
Your fans are with thee.
Blessed are thou amongst Slovenians,
and blessed is the fruit of thy Slovenienness,
Dominance.
Holy Kopi, first of our centers,
Play for us screamers,
Now, and take us nearer to the hour of our Second Cup.
Amen.

Our Kings, these reigning Stanley Cup Champions Kings, who art in the second round of the mother fucking playoffs,
Hallowed be thy game tonight.
Thy Kingdom come if thy wills will be done,
On their ice, because it’s not good for much else.
Give us this day our goals, however many are needed,
So that we may forgive ourselves for letting the Sharks think scoring three on Quick is anything other than a fluke.
And in the meantime give these dicks from San Jose a sound slapping.
That we may be led past the second round,
Past these ugly ass Sharks,
Amen.

Let’s shatter glass and pierce our neighbor’s eardrums. Beat our chests and celebrate crisp passes, crushing blows and dance under flashing red lights.

Let’s go watch some damn Kings playoff hockey.

And go fucking nuts.

GO FUCKING NUTS!

GO

KINGS

GO

GO KINGS GO!!!

So here we stand, after eight hard-fought quarter final series, with almost half of them going the full 7 games, and we are now in a position where we know who will be facing each other for the right to play in the respective Conference Finals. Now I must apologise for my lateness with this article, but I have had exams this week and therefore have had to be doing more important things like revise. (uni finals and all that…) Anyway, as I’m a little late to the party, I’ll do my predictions based on the current standings.

Eastern Conference

#1 Pittsburgh Penguins v #7 Ottawa Senators

So at the time of writing, the Penguins had won Game 1 at home 4-1, off of the strong play of Evgeni Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and also Tomas Vokoun, who seems to be the starter after Marc-Andre Fleury’s woes in the first round.

However, although Malkin, Kunitz and Dupuis scored in Game 1, the Penguins didn’t receive any goals from their other big forward names like Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, James Neal and Brenden Morrow. This does show the serious forward depth that the Penguins possess however and it is likely to prove key in this series. I do think that the Penguins will need more help from their big offensive guns and continue to receive the strong play from goalie Vokoun and the defensive corps in front of him, in particular Kris Letang, in order to get past these pesky Senators.

The Senators do deserve a lot of credit, due to the fact that they were able to put such a strong performance in their series with Montreal with the stellar play of Craig Anderson and the strong performances of their rookies and AHL call ups. This team is arguably one of the toughest teams to beat in the NHL, as they have proved all year round, and this series will be no different. Although he wasn’t as great as he was against Montreal in Game 1, if he gets going again this series could go the distance. In front of Anderson, Erik Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar have led the way with strong performances and led youngsters such as Eric Gryba and Jared Cowen. Up front they have had great help from rookies like Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Cory Conacher and Mika Zibanejad. Another potential difference maker that could make his return is leading forward Jason Spezza, who has been out since early in the regular season with a knee injury.

In my opinion, I can really see this series going the distance, with some big plays being made by both teams and maybe even another goalie switch for the Penguins. Now call me crazy if you will, but I can honestly see this series playing out like the Penguins-Canadiens series from 2010 with the underdog Senators taking this in the decider.

Daruish’s prediction: Senators win in 7 games.

#4 Boston Bruins v #6 New York Rangers

As of the time of writing this, the Bruins took Game 1 3-2 in yet another overtime thriller, with Brad Marchand grabbing the winning goal. Now this series marks the first time in 40 years that these two original six teams will face each other in the playoffs.

In my last article, I predicted that the Bruins would knock the Toronto Maple Leafs off relatively comfortably in five games, however it didn’t quite happen like that. My prediction was looking great at one point, as the Bruins took a 3-1 series lead after winning Games 3 and 4 in Toronto, however the Leafs then responded by taking Games 5 and 6 to force the decisive Game 7. Now we all know what happened next, with the Bruins going down 4-1 in the third before reeling to force overtime before Patrice Bergeron scored the overtime winner to complete the 5-4 comeback.

It was noticeable that in the Maple Leafs series, the Bruins did not receive much help from their big guns like Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, and also had trouble on the blue line too, with injuries to Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference. However they did receive big performances from David Krejci and Tuukka Rask, and from Game 1, it appears that Brad Marchand has started to get his game back. However they will still need the big performances from Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin to stand a good chance of moving on.

The Rangers managed to move past the Capitals mostly due to goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who was almost unbeatable during the series and managed to pitch shutouts in Games 6 and 7. The Rangers also received huge performances on the blue line from all of their defenceman, but in particular Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, who managed to keep Alex Ovechkin quiet for the majority of the series. Up front, the Rangers received big play from the three Derek’s; Stepan, Dorsett and Brassard (whose name is actually spelt Derick, but I thought it would be better to do it that way…), as well as role players like Brian Boyle, Arron Asham and Taylor Pyatt. However what was noticeable was the lack of production from Rick Nash and Brad Richards. The Rangers are going to need these guys to get their games going and also get their anaemic powerplay going to stand a chance of getting past these Bruins.

Ultimately, I think that these two teams are so similar in so many ways, but eventually the Bruins will manage to find a way through in a Game 7, most likely going to overtime again.

Daruish’s prediction: Bruins win in 7 games.

Western Conference

#1 Chicago Blackhawks v #7 Detroit Red Wings

At the time of writing, the Blackhawks lead the series 1-0 after winning Game 1 4-1, on the strength of a three goal third period. This series also marks another original six series between two huge rivals.

The Blackhawks come into this series after winning their series with Minnesota in 5 games, and are looking as strong as they did in the regular season. Corey Crawford has done enough in goal, and on defence the Blackhawks have received good play from their blueliners like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya and the others. Up front, they have received some stellar form from Patrick Sharp, Bryan Bickell, Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik, whilst their big guns like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane went goalless. However playing against the Red Wings should provide these guys with ample motivation and end up helping them get their games going again.

The Red Wings entered this series on the back off a seven game series with the Anaheim Ducks, where three of their four wins came in overtime and their Game 7 win came on the road. Jimmy Howard was just as good as he always is, and the blue line has been solid with Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson leading the way in the team’s first postseason without Nicklas Lidstrom in over twenty years. Up front, the Red Wings received vintage performances from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, who were ably supported by guys like Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyqvist, Damien Brunner and more.

Whenever these two teams play you know you are in for an emotional game, and with this series potentially being the last playoff series between these two for a while (as Detroit are moving to the Eastern Conference next year), it is going to be a good one. Now as good as the Red Wings were in the first round against the higher seeded Ducks, I can’t see lightning striking twice and think that the Blackhawks will take this series, most likely in 5 or 6 games.

Daruish’s prediction: Blackhawks win in 6 games.

#5 Los Angeles Kings v #6 San Jose Sharks

At the time of writing, the Kings had taken the first two games at home, by scores of 2-0 and 4-3. Game 2 almost went San Jose’s way, until the Kings scored two goals in the last two minutes to take it.

The Kings came into this series after beating the St Louis Blues in six games, however they had to do it the hard way after losing the first two games in St Louis. After struggling in the first two games, Jonathan Quick came back into his own, displaying his Vezina form to help the Kings through. On the blue line, Slava Voynov has been brilliant, pitching in with three game winning goals already, Drew Doughty has been as dependable as always and the supporting cast including Rob Scuderi and Robyn Regehr have also pitched in. Up front, the usual suspects have been chipping in, such as Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Justin Williams and Mike Richards. Anze Kopitar has been unusually quiet so far but I expect he will come back to his usual self soon enough.

As for the Sharks, they came into this series after about a week’s rest after they swept the Vancouver Canucks in the previous round. Antti Niemi was brilliant in goal for the Sharks and on the blue line Dan Boyle has led by example with solid contributions from guys like Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun. Up front, the Sharks got everything they could have asked for from their big guns like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture. In addition Joe Pavelski has been good, and Brent Burns has continued to make the seamless transition from defence to right wing by contributing three points.

As good as the Sharks were in the first round against the Canucks, I can’t see them going past the Kings, who are starting to recapture their Stanley Cup winning form from last year.

Daruish’s prediction: Kings win in 5 games.

[np_storybar title="Cam Cole: Kings’ journey toward title defence has plenty of rough patches" link="http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/05/16/kings-journey-toward-title-defence-has-plenty-of-rough-patches/"][/np_storybar]

In their checkered history, the San Jose Sharks have been down 0-2 in a playoff series nine times before this, and they’re 0-for-9, having never even got as far as a Game 7 in any of them.

You might say, then, that blowing that 3-2 lead in the final two minutes Thursday night at Staples Center, giving up two power-play goals to lose a game they had in their pocket, is the difference between a heck of a series with the Los Angeles Kings and impending doom.

You might say that. Just don’t do it in front of Darryl Sutter.

The Kings’ mood-swingy coach — as capable of being charmingly folksy as he is of snapping a curt two-word answer to a question (or questioner) he regards as stupid — is, at the moment, The Enemy Of History.

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What’s past has no meaning to now. And stats are for losers … except for the stats he likes, like minutes and head-to-head matchups and faceoffs and special teams time.

But mentioning the Kings’ 2-0 lead heading to San Jose’s raucous HP Pavilion for Saturday’s third game just makes him grouchy.

“We’ve had that experience in these playoffs already,” he said Friday, at an optional practice prior to the team’s flight to San Jose.

“We were down 2-0 [to St. Louis] in the last series. We were out of the series, we were down 2-0 early in Game 3 or 4, and out of the game.”

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

And we all know how that turned out.

“That’s what playoffs are about,” he said. “It’s sort of frustrating answering those questions.

“Our playoffs are four out of seven series. Generally, if you break it down, most go six games, which means somebody wins four and, if you do your math right, that means they lose two. You don’t win every period, you don’t win every shift and you don’t win every game.”

We’ve had that experience in these playoffs already. We were down 2-0 [to St. Louis] in the last series. We were out of the series, we were down 2-0 early in Game 3 or 4, and out of the game

To recap: the Kings trailed 3-2, and deservedly so, until Brad Stuart — one of the three present-day Sharks (along with Patrick Marleau and defenceman Scott Hannan) who played for Sutter in his San Jose days — was whistled for tripping rookie Tyler Toffoli on a scoring chance in the final two minutes. Seconds later, another Sharks rearguard, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, shot the puck over the glass in the defensive zone, though it might or might not have touched Kings’ Jeff Carter as it left the rink — and on the 5-on-3, Dustin Brown batted in a rebound in the goalmouth.  Stuart came back on, but 22 seconds later, Trevor Lewis converted a big rebound of Toffoli’s shot on goalie Antti Niemi, and the Kings had turned their own certain defeat into a soul-sucking San Jose loss.

However bravely the Sharks may have portrayed it — notably, that at least they had got three goals past Jonathan Quick, proving he wasn’t Superman — a loss was a loss, and 0-2 is 0-2, and that isn’t the Sharks’ happy place.

The Kings aren’t putting a lot of credence into the idea that the San Jose shooters have finally gotten to Quick, though.

“Well, last series, everybody said they’d figured him out,” Sutter said.

“First off, if you score three goals you should win. In the playoffs, that is a fact. But a big part of their success, clearly is the power play. Last night they scored five seconds after the power play was over, so really that counts as one. Name of the game was special teams.”

Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press

Quick didn’t attend the skate, so he wasn’t around to defend himself, but goaltending coach Bill Ranford said there is no rocket science to beating a goaltender, however special he might be.

“If they’re talking about solving Jon Quick, then he’s doing his job,” he said. “We’re trying to do the same thing, we’re trying to get to the other goalie and the way you do that is old-fashioned hard work, bodies in front — it’s the same game plan for every one of the eight teams that are left.

“We had a good third period. But we’re very fortunate we’re where we are right now when you play one out of six good periods in a playoff series, when you’re going up against a quality guy like Niemi.”

The Kings have spent an inordinate amount of time in the first two games chasing the play, but Quick was other-worldly in Game 1, and good enough in Game 2, when Niemi misplayed a couple of angles and couldn’t shut the door in the end.

If they’re talking about solving Jon Quick, then he’s doing his job

“It was a tough way to lose the game but I think we’re trying to take the positives out of it and move forward, because that’s all we can do, I guess, at this point,” said Stuart. “There’s a lot of good things we can draw upon. And we just move on. We’ve gotta win our home games.”

All those Sharks teams that got down 0-2 and couldn’t reverse the flow are not this team, said coach Todd McLellan.

“We’re a looser group. I don’t want to say not as mature — sometimes that works in your favour — but just a different group,” he said. “There weren’t many lips hanging today, and that hasn’t always been the case. I think guys are excited about getting back out there and playing.”

Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press

“We did a lot of really good things,” said Logan Couture, the best Sharks forward in their first-round sweep of Vancouver, but quiet so far in this series. “I thought we deserved to win that game, but we didn’t. We’re down 2-0, time to come into our building. It’s going to be loud. The fans are going to be into it.”

Sutter knows that as well as anyone, having coached in the Shark Tank for 5-1/2 seasons, and visited there countless times with the Blackhawks, Flames and now Kings.

He remembers that home ice, in San Jose, really was an advantage … “once we became a good team,” he said, grinning. “That’s where it makes a difference. It’s one of the unique buildings that’s right on top of you. Everybody makes a big deal about home ice but a lot of these buildings now are generic, just different colours. But that’s one of the old ones, one of the smaller buildings that has a way of holding the noise in, and that’s still one of the fun parts.’

I thought we deserved to win that game, but we didn’t. We’re down 2-0, time to come into our building. It’s going to be loud. The fans are going to be into it

The circumstances of Thursday’s lucky escape for the Kings — and crushing defeat for the Sharks — are as irrevocable as the final score.

McLellan said he was expecting to be asked about the coach’s challenge flag, NFL-style, that was proposed for the NHL to review controversial calls.

“I was reaching last night, but I didn’t have one,” he said.

“But we’re always going to err on the side of what favours us. In that case, in this moment, today, yeah, I’d love to use that little red flag. But we can’t review everything. We can’t stop the game every 30 seconds for a stick infraction or whatever it might be. I don’t know if I’m for or against that idea. Today, I am. Tomorrow, I might not be.”

Tomorrow might be all there is, if the Sharks don’t win.

Vancouver Sun

That’s all well and good, but it would appear these yokels have sucked on a bit too much harbor fog and are having trouble seeing how reputations and punishment works.

I’ll start with McLellan, who said after the game yesterday:

“It really doesn’t matter what Todd McLellan thinks or what everybody else thinks now, because it’s been dealt with, and we have Game 3 now that we’re going to move ahead and prepare for without Raffi. But Raffi has our full support. As a player that’s worked hard to change his game, do I think that was anywhere near any of the other hits that he’s had in his career? Absolutely not.”

The part I bolded is what made my eyes cross. What is the insinuation here, that because Raffi has had a few good months of not severely concussing another human, taken with the fact that his hit on Stoll could have been worse, therefore… what? He shouldn’t have been suspended? I assume that’s his point, we know that’s what the entire Sharks organization thinks. And that’s fine, everyone has an observation bias on these things that slants in favor of their players, but the logic here is kind of disgusting.

Let’s apply this thought process to some other crimes.

“Why do you care that I stole your wallet? I didn’t rob the bank. I should get to keep your wallet.”

“Well, yeah I shot the guy in the face, but it’s not like I chopped him up and ate him like I used to do to people. Have a heart.”

“Listen judge, I know I raped a bunch of girls last year, but I’ve only fondled a tit or two since then, and this last rape, I didn’t even smack her around much! I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Makes sense, I can see where McLellan’s coming from.

Onto Doug Wilson, who released a statement today.

He argues that Stoll put himself in the vulnerable position, which has a modicum of validity to it, but only just. In reality, the angle that Torres took to hit Stoll, coupled with the fact that Stoll was bent down at the time Torres made the decision to hit Stoll (which is different than a player adjusting his position immediately before being hit once the decision to make the hit has been made), speaks to how dangerous of a hit this was. As Wilson states to open, “The Sharks organization fully supports the NHL in its efforts to remove illegal and dangerous hits from the game.” Sure, buddy, but not when it’s your guy making the hit.

But this isn’t what bothered me. Again, it’s the same mantra that came from McLellan, that Torres hasn’t fucked up in a while, so it’s unfair to judge him based on his history. Wilson says:

“Comparing the facts of this incident against the actual wording of Rule 48.1, it appears that the NHL has not only made an inappropriate application of this rule but is trying to make an example out of a player who is being judged on past events, one who has changed his game dramatically this season and taken only six minor penalties in 39 games.

We are proud of the work Raffi has put in to successfully adjust his game. Although it’s unfortunate that Jarret was injured on the play, we feel this decision is grossly unfair to the Raffi, his teammates and our fans. However, Raffi does not want to be a distraction to his teammates and has decided not to appeal this suspension and we respect that decision.”

A reputation isn’t made in 39 games of not taking someone’s head off. If a drug addict quits for a month or two and then smokes crack again, sorry, but he’s still a drug addict and his history of drug abuse is probably a good reason why he just smoked crack in your bathroom after excusing himself from playing pictionary with the fam.

Argue the logistics of the hit, fine. But spare me this sob story for Torres that he’s being mistreated because he’s done this exact same thing time and time again but not recently. The reaction should be, “damn, and Torres was doing so well!” and not “he was doing so well, so cut the guy some slack.”

I’ve long said that section 315 is the best section in Staples Center, and not just because I’m there. Ok fine, because I’m there. We’re loud, we’re fun, and we tend to get bunches of opposing fans to heckle, that and cajole since we are on the side of the ice where we get to see Quick make his brilliant saves for two out of three periods. Well, you may think your section is the best, but you are wrong. Now I have proof.

Madeline, the familiar face who greets all who enter 315, was honored at the end of the season as having been voted the best usher in Staples Center. It was announced before a game where she was brought onto the ice and recognized.

Madeline rules.

There are several of my fellow season ticket holders who rarely bother to sit in their seats, instead choosing to hang out with Madeline during the game. Whenever I show up to Staples and Madeline isn’t there, I’m bummed. Everyone with season seats gets to know their usher and the good ones get to know you. Madeline is one of the things that makes being a Kings season ticket holder a special experience.

For her award, Madeline was given a jersey with her name on it that she wanted everyone in the section to sign.

In my year end survey the Kings sent out to season ticket holders, when asked “How can we make your season ticket experience better?” I wrote, “give Madeline a raise.”

A free jersey ain’t bad.

Gracious, fellow sports fans! It has been an exciting week! Oh, good morning, by the way. Hope a few of you tried to get to some games this week. As you can see from the photo above, I got myself out there. I yelled and cheered and danced like a crazy lady. But more of the Kings game in a bit.

If you still have a hankering to get out and see a game, the only guys in town this weekend are at Angels Stadium. Saturday’s game at the Big A (this is the stadium’s nickname) is not only Armed Forces Day, but they will also be having a second three-inning game afterward played by the Purple Heart Baseball Players. These guys are veterans who have paid a huge price in service for our sake, and now they have a baseball league. They are shining examples that help empower and encourage so many veterans and I, for one, want to be there to cheer them on. Here is a link to their facebook page, if you want to find out more: https://www.facebook.com/PurpleHeartBaseball?hc_location=timeline

Now as for the Angels baseball players, oh Lordie Lordie, Lawdamercy. On Tuesday night at least, they decided to hit the ball far. Hamilton (used to play for the Angels’ archenemy, the Texas Rangers), Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, and Howie Kendrick all hit home runs against Guthrie, that pitcher I said was a force to be reckoned with. Well, reckon they did, and a win they grabbed.

This is an interesting kind of victory though, in that, while a home run is difficult to hit, once hit, it’s kind of a gimme. It’s one of those burst of strength moves where your only strategy really is deciding which pitch to hit. Then you run the bases unopposed as the baseball flies into the atmosphere. One thing I used to love about the Angels was the way they ran the bases. Get a base hit, use strategy to move to the next base at the right time, use the way you run to play a bit of mind games with the pitcher. I think I’ve talked about this before, but when a runner is on base, the pitcher can be put on severe tilt trying to watch him plus pitch to the next guy. This affects the pitcher at the moment, but it also wears him down overall. I am more excited about the fact that Trout and Kendrick each stole a base than I am about their homers. But that’s just me. I’m weird that way. But, overall, I’ll take the win. Because the next couple of nights, ouch.

Wednesday night, the starting pitcher gave up too many runs too early (seven runs in the third inning!), and that kind of thing can demoralize a team. It shouldn’t, mind you; but they’re human. They tried to come back, and did a decent job scoring five runs. But were not able to win it. On Thursday, Jerome Williams pitched six innings and only gave up two runs, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, Scioscia pulled him and went to relievers. And De La Rosa and Kohn changed a 4-2 win into a 5-4 loss.

Tonight’s game features an encore of Sunday night’s matchup, with Wilson pitted against Sale (that guy who was out of this world and shut out the Angels on Sunday). My biggest hope is that CJ Wilson can filter better. Filter out the stuff he needs to let go, give 25% to the runners on base (if any) and 75% to the pitch he is throwing. As Nuke told himself while on the mound in Bull Durham, “don’t think, just pitch”. Don’t think, just pitch. If CJ has to pretend to breathe through his eyelids like the lava lizards of the Galapagos Islands, I want him to do it. (And if you don’t get that reference, get thee to a DVD and watch Bull Durham – Rated R, so not for kids.)

Saturday features Hector Santiago of the White Sox against Joe Blanton. Yeah. Okay, so the best strategy I can think of is this: Blanton hasn’t won a game yet this year. But Santiago’s last game was a brutal loss and he is probably in a bummer state of mind. Angels batters need to make the most of this and hit early, a home run or two, but I want to see some singles and walks with aggressive-as-all-hell base running.

On to the Dodgers, who I got to see at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday for Matt Kemp bobblehead night. Kershaw was pitching and wow, just wow. He pitched his thousandth inning that night, and amassed eleven strikeouts over the course of the game. He also pitched 96 strikes out of 132 pitches thrown. That’s just unreal. There were two balks called, one on Haren and one on Kershaw. Overall, it was an exciting game, and a good reminder that, even if a team’s overall record is not so great, there are bright shiny moments and those moments build momentum for greater things to come. Plus, it’s always fun to sing along to I Love LA. Would that I could end every night like that.

Speaking of wins and singing your heart out surrounded by strangers, guess what happened Wednesday. Zack came back! Way ahead of schedule. Some of you may recall that Carlos Quentin, this aggressive dude from San Diego, friggin CHARGED THE MOUND after being hit by a pitch over a month ago. Drama queens who think everything is set up against them and everyone is after them… they are bad enough when they are women, but let a big, strong baseball player (raging with testosterone perhaps?) get all drama queen-y and things can turn bad really fast. I’d say he should have had a tiara, but he’d probably have turned it into a weapon of some sort. Anyway, when Quentin charged, Greinke threw down his glove and took the hit like a linebacker. Unfortunately, he’s kind of no match in size and ended up with a broken collarbone.

Well, he worked hard and came back on Wednesday like a superhero. Held the Nationals to one run over five innings of work. He also got a hit and an RBI (run batted in), meaning that his hit made it possible for the runner who was already on base to run in and score. Kemp, Gonzalez, and Ethier each had two hits and Kemp stole a base (love it!).

They had a day off on Thursday and will be in Atlanta all weekend. Pitching tonight is Ryu (who is coming off a win in his last start) v Maholm (who is solid, but gave up six runs in his last start). It’s important to capitalize on those trends, and I want to see the Dodgers hitting early. Saturday features Capuano, another pitcher coming off a win (his first this year) against Atlanta’s Medlen, who also has only one win, and allowed three home runs in his last start. I’m optimistic peeps!

And now, speaking of being overwhelmingly optimistic about something I cannot control one tiny bit, I’d like to sit y’all down and talk about the Kings. Aaaaaa! Went to the game last night, and it was lights out in-sane! First off, because I was at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, I was not able to watch the whole Kings game, though they did have the game on in the club. So I was able to take a look at the score whenever I went in to grab food, use the ladies’, or accompany my nephew (who likes to beg the bartender for maraschino cherries – the bartender now knows him and sees him coming a mile away, but I always make him tip him a dollar, so I think it’s all good)…

Anyway, the Kings won 2-0 that night, with goals from Voynov and Richards. Unfortunately, this dude named Raffi Torres, another guy with this history of being aggressive, charged Jarret Stoll, knocking him out. He left the game and didn’t come back. Torres was suspended from the series, but it just goes to show the very physical style these teams employ.

Last night’s game started great, the first period ending with a Kings lead 2-0. That lead went away come the second period, but they didn’t falter. The game seemed to take a turn in the third when San Jose scored again (eeek!), but again, the Kings’ game faces stayed on. Almost as if needing more adversity, Kopitar took a puck to the face and was out for almost ten minutes. But when he came back, it was to roaring cheers. When it came to two minutes left, I was still hoping that they could at least tie it up, but a few seconds later came a goal from Dustin Brown. Whew! We made it. At least we can go to overtime… But what? What’s this? Insanity erupts as the Kings score again with just over a minute to play! They held off the Sharks and pulled out the win. And again with the crazy-lady dancing and jumping up and down from yours truly.

The Kings head up to San Jose now for two games. Remember that San Jose has a great record at home, so they need to use the energy from these two wins and press hard.

Check out some of these away games on tv this weekend. The great thing about doing that is that you have announcers who hold vast amounts of knowledge in their heads explaining the game as you watch. There are replays so that you can see important plays in detail, and rewind if needed. If you have any questions about the terms they use or the rules, check out my reference pages again (from my home page, click on Rules & Terms). If you love the games, you already know most of this. If you want to go to a game with someone who loves it, this is like hitting the books before class. Super-fun class.

And remember, wear your team colors, even if you are at home. And stand up when you cheer. Whether you are having a great day, or a really tough one you want to escape, let yourself be carried and lifted up by the action. And have fun!

Until next time, happy viewing!

Late in the third the Sharks took two penalties and the Kings capitalized on both. Dustin Brown tied it up with 1:43 left in the game. The Sharks took a delay of game penalty when trying to clear the puck and it did not deflect off anything going straight into the crowd. This is arguably the most annoying rule in hockey, because he did not intentionally shoot it over the glass, and it has been causing a significant outcome in games in the playoffs. The Kings (Lewis) scored another goal on the power play taking the lead with 1:21 left in the game. 

It is very important that the Sharks win at home if they want to have a chance in the series. If they let the Kings steal a game the Kings will take a dangerous 3 to 0 series lead. They play in San Jose on Saturday, May 18 at 9PM eastern time. 

(Photo courtesy of AP/Yahoo!)

After two seasons away from Philadelphia, Simon Gagne returned to the Flyers in 2013 when he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth-round pick in February.

Gagne, 33, wasn’t playing regularly for the Kings and when he did, he was getting fourth line minutes. He didn’t request a trade, but it’s believed he would have asked for one eventually. Los Angeles decided not to have it come to that point, and shipped him to the place where he spent 10 seasons.

And you couldn’t write his return to Philadelphia any better. Gagne snapped a 28 game scoreless drought in his first game back and added an assist, helping the Flyers to a 4-1 victory over the Capitals.

“It felt almost like I never left,” Gagne said, via ESPN.com, “just walking in the building before the game, knowing everyone. The nice welcome I got during the warm-up and after the first five minutes of the period. It’s almost like coming back home.”

Now, the Flyers are facing another decision on Gagne, who will be an unrestricted free agent in July. The Flyers made a difficult call on Gagne two years ago, trading him to Tampa Bay, which Gagne obliged to by waiving his no-trade clause, to clear cap space.

(Photo courtesy of AP/Yahoo!)

The move ultimately was a wash. The Flyers acquired Matt Walker, who carried a $1.7 million cap hit for the past two seasons, and a 2011 fourth-round pick (Marcel Noebels). Walker was hampered by injuries and played only eight games for Philadelphia.

Gagne, too, was slowed down by injuries — as he was late in his first stint with the Flyers. He missed 19 games in his only season with the Lightning, though he did score 17 goals and registered 23 assists while adding five more tallies in the postseason.

As a free agent Gagne joined forced with Mike Richards in Los Angeles, and later Jeff Carter, in 2011 and went on to winning the Stanley Cup with the Kings. However, he wasn’t much of a factor for L.A.

Gagne missed most of the season with Los Angeles due to a concussion, and played just four games in the playoffs — all four coming in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Devils.

He’s no longer the 40-goal scorer he was once, but Gagne showed in his brief stint with the Flyers that he can still be an effective role player.

In 27 games with the orange and black, he netted five goals and six assists, while adding five more with the Kings. He still is a responsible two-way forward who can help out on the power play and penalty kill, if needed.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound winger averaged 14:35 with the Flyers and spend most of his even strength (EV) time with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Gagne played 4.13 percent of his EV shifts with the top unit.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette wasn’t afraid to use Gagne on the power play either. He averaged 1:29 of PP time and two of his five goals came on the man advantage.

As the Flyers learned last year, letting valuable veteran players go can be costly. The Flyers lost Jaromir Jagr to the Stars in free agency, and losing Jagr’s presence in the locker room and on the ice was an enormous loss.

Jagr provided leadership on a team made up of young players. The effect he had on Giroux made the 25-year-old a superstar that helped him earn the Flyers’ captaincy. Giroux had 93 points in 77 games with Jagr.

Giroux was still a point-per-game player last season, but the eyes told you that he wasn’t the same dominant force he was when he had Jagr creating space for him. The younger players on the team looked up to Jagr, and his work regime inspired them, most notably Voracek.

With Jagr, the Flyers were a young team with a ceiling as high as the sky. In just a matter of a few months, that ceiling collapsed and the Flyers finished 10th in the Eastern Conference with Jagr out of town.

Was losing Jagr the reason why? No, but the Flyers put more responsibility on second-year players like Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier, and they weren’t ready to carry that load. They expected more from the young players than they should have.

But the fact that there was talk about bringing Jagr back at the trade deadline — even though the Flyers’ season was virtually over anyway — shows that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren miscalculated that decision to let Jagr walk in the first place.

Jagr was eventually dealt to the Bruins.

A big part of bringing Gagne back was to add a veteran who has been there, done that. Gagne was on the Flyers’ roster that was a five-hole save and two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.

In fact, Gagne is one of six players still on the Flyers’ roster from that team — Giroux, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Scott Hartnell, and Danny Briere.

Gagne has 109 career playoff games under his belt — 90 with the Flyers — and 37 career playoff goals. He doesn’t have quite the resume as Jagr, but Gagne is a playoff-tested player.

If the Flyers want to get back in the playoff picture, having players like Gagne around is important. Young teams need guidance, and young teams with young captains need even more veteran help.

But a huge factor when it comes to re-signing Gagne is the money. With the salary cap going down from $70.2 million to $64.3 million next year, the Flyers have to shed about $6 million off the cap.

There are a couple of ways of doing that and the CBA allows for two compliance buyouts that can be used either this offseason or next offseason. Many think Briere will be bought out, which cuts $6.5 million and it’s almost a lock that they’ll use it on goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, if not this year, next year.

Before the Flyers can make a decision on adding cap, they have to figure out how they are going to get under the cap, but those are decisions Holmgren and his staff are going to have to make.

To bring in Gagne, the Flyers had to maneuver around the cap. They were able to do so by moving players around on LTIR and injured reserved. Gagne carried a $3.5 million cap hit in his final year of a two-year deal he signed with the Kings.

If Gagne wants to return, it’s likely he’ll have to shed at least $1.5 million off from that salary. Bringing Gagne back for anything more than $2 million would be a stretch.

“I’m at the point of my career where I made really good money for a while,” Gagne told The Philadelphia Daily News. “As a player, your goal is to win the Stanley Cup. I did that. I still want to win the Stanley Cup.

“At the end of the day, money is just a small question. Being happy is important. If I like the place, I’ll make things work — for everyone to be happy, to make sure that it doesn’t hurt the team.”

While Gagne is talking like a player willing to take a pay cut to stay in Philadelphia, it’s not just his choice. The Flyers have to weigh how much they value Gagne and how much they’re willing to pay for Gagne.

At the end of the day, it’s a business decision. And bringing Gagne back for at least one more season at a reasonable rate — between $1.2 and $1.8 million — makes for a smart business decision.

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Contact Tom Dougherty at todougherty@gmail.com.

The Warriors playoff run came to an end at the hands of the Spurs last night in Oakland. Photo from ESPN.com

First Quarter: NBA Playoffs

1) NBA scoreboard
2) No action tonight
3) San Antonio joins Memphis in the Western Conference Finals
4) Game six New York at Indiana on Saturday

Second Quarter: NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

1) NHL scoreboard
2) Ottawa Senators @ Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:30 pm/NBC Sports Network – PIT 1-0
3) Last night Boston won in OT while LA stole a victory at home versus San Jose
4) Action continues this weekend

Third Quarter: MLB

1) MLB scoreboard
2) 4Q MLB Series of the Weekend: San Francisco Giants (24-17)/M. Bumgarner (4-1, 2.18) @ Colorado Rockies (21-20)/J. De La Rosa 4-3, 2.98), 7:40 pm
3) Tampa Bay Rays (20-20)/J. Hellickson (1-2, 5.25) @ Baltimore Orioles (23-17)/J. Hammel (5-1, 4.93), 6:05 pm
4) Kansas City Royals (20-17)/J. Shields (2-3, 2.48) @ Oakland Athletics (20-22)/J. Parker (6.86), 9:05 pm

Fourth Quarter: College Baseball (All Rankings from National Collegiate Baseball Writers Poll)

1) D1baseball.com scoreboard
2) 4Q College Baseball Series of the Weekend: 3 Oregon State Beavers (41-8, 20-4 PAC-12) @ 6 Oregon Ducks (42-11, 19-5 PAC-12)
3) 7 Virginia Cavaliers (44-8, 21-7 ACC) @ 4 North Carolina Tar Heels (46-7, 20-6 ACC)
4) 24 UC Irvine Anteaters (31-17, 13-8 Big West) @ 5 Cal State Fullerton Titans (42-8, 17-4 Big West)

See you on Monday and enjoy your weekend! Thanks for reading Four Quarters! Follow me on twitter @MikeVmos

2013 Posts: 136

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Sharks 4-3 at Staples Center in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. However, there was at least one fan in the building who probably wishes he hadn’t been there.

Cameras caught some fleeting glimpses of a man decked out in a full head-to-toe bunny costume, which, granted, is probably a lot cheaper to rent this time of year being that we’re past Easter. We don’t know the whole back story, but it appears the man (or woman, for all we know) is actually a San Jose Sharks fan who lost a bet. One fan captured a picture of the hare loose in the concourse, wearing a sign around its neck proclaiming “Sharks fan that lost a bet. Go Kings go!”

Check out an animation of the rabbit hopping to it, showing off some dance moves below.

GIF via Twitter/@cjzero

Thumbnail photo via Wikimedia Commons/Staples Center