The Hockey Stop

At the quarter point of the NHL season there is an interesting role reversal taking place in Southern California.

Despite two recent losses, the once woeful Los Angeles Kings find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division standings with a record of 13-9-2 for 28 points. Meanwhile, the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks are facing something relatively new -- sitting in last place in their division at 7-11-3 with 17 points.

And the frustration in famously laid-back Orange County is perhaps finding its way into the stands.

Following a recent 4-3 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Honda Center, Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermeyer tossed his game stick into the front row after being announced as the number one star because of his overtime winner against the Bolts.

The stick was intended for a little girl, but instead a fight broke out which was caught on camera and became a viral video sensation. Pro skateboarder Mike Vallaly, 39, of Long Beach, was arrested for public fighting. Apparently he fought another dad in the stands for the stick that Vallaly claims was intended for his daughter.

Here is the video of the fight:



Now, while this is an isolated incident and in no way reflects the normally friendly and well-behaved Ducks fans, it is still reflective of a disappointing season thus far for the Ducks on the ice.

And it doesn't get any easier for Anaheim following their most recent 3-2 loss to San Jose at home. Their seven-game homestand continues as they face the red-hot Flames Monday night followed by a desperate Carolina Hurricanes and unstoppable Chicago Blackhawks who will have Marian Hossa back in the lineup.

The Kings are looking at the turmoil down south on Interstate 5 with the unusual position of being considered a potential playoff contender. There is genuine excitement at Staples Center that this will be the year the young, talented team will return to the postseason.



With the NHL's new top gun Anze Kopitar playing out of his mind and Jonathan Quick stonewalling the opposition most nights, there is good reason to believe the billboards across the sprawling city -- "Passion=Pride."

The Slovenian superstar is the current NHL scoring leader. Not only does Kopitar have 33 points (14 goals; 19 assists) through 24 games, but he also has a plus 5 rating in his third season as a pro. Kopitar was minus 15 his rookie year and minus 17 last year so this is an overlooked improvement.

Quick is standing tall in net with 12 wins, a goals against average of 2.79 and a save percentage of .894%.

Despite losing left winger Ryan Smith for a month with an upper body injury and Rob Scuderi for an undisclosed amount of time, the Kings are poised to end their six-year playoff drought and bring some of that Gretzky-era magic back to the City of Angels.

If the Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs this year, they will look back at Thursday night's 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins as the pivotal turning point in the season.

Yes, L.A. was already riding a 5-0-2 run and looking very much like a playoff-bound team. But their biggest test of this young season was before a sellout crowd of black-clad fans at Staples Center -- some in Penguins jerseys, most sporting the Kings crown. That is because the defending Stanley Cup champs were undefeated on the road at 7-0.

So could the young, talented Kings match the gritty, playoff-hardened Penguins and snap their road winning streak? The answer was a resounding yes. Former Penguin Rob Scuderi and his teammates showed their mettle with a furious third period.

After Pittsburgh took a 2-1 advantage, the NHL's leading scorer, Anze Kopitar, tied the game in the final session with his second goal of the night, before Jarret Stoll scored the game-winning goal. Michael Handzus and Dustin Brown padded the lead later in the period.

Goalie Jonathan Quick played a masterful game behind the net with 32 saves. Quick robbed Billy Guerin, who was camped in front of the net and took a quick pass from Sidney Crosby. Quick made a spectacular save with his right pad while in the splits.

If anything the Kings sent a message to the rest of the National Hockey League that they are for real and that they believe they can make the playoffs this year.





The Chicago Blackhawks brought their fathers on a Western road swing this week. The hockey dads are accompanying their sons to Phoenix and Denver for games against the Coyotes and Avs.

So did the 'Hawks players put in the extra effort for their dads Thursday night or did they get a scolding after the game from their fathers?

Final score: Coyotes 3, Blackhawks 1.

Time for some drills at the backyard rink boys!

LeBron James is leading his Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in Game 1 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals, while hockey fans (at least those lucky few who subscribe to Versus) will have to wait for Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals. 

That's because the NHL has spread out the conference finals schedule this year with Pens-Canes Game 2 set for Thursday evening at the Igloo. Unless the Pens sweep, there are more two-day breaks in this series, meaning Pittsburgh and Carolina will play only two games in six days from May 24-29. With so many days off, it might be tough to build up any kind of rhythm in this matchup -- especially since both teams just came off tight seven-game series. The Pens-Caps series lasted 12 nights -- including back-to-back games in Pittsburgh and Washington because of a Yanni concert at Mellon Arena -- as opposed to 16 nights if this series goes to seven games. 

Still, it will be interesting to see if these long breaks between games builds anticipation or if fans will lose interest. It's tough enough for the NHL to go head-to-head with the NBA as the two leagues' playoffs synch up.  A lot will depend, of course, on whether or not the Blackhawks and Hurricanes can mount comebacks and extend the series.

But maybe the best argument against an extra day off is the risk of injuries during practice. From NHL.com:

"Practice did not go without its intrigue as the Penguins survived two injury scares. During a rush drill, Evgeni Malkin crashed into assistant coach Tom Fitzgerald at the blue line and both tumbled before picking themselves and continuing. Later, during a 3-on-2 drill, defenseman Rob Scuderi took a slap shot from point-blank range off his foot. He required a visit from the trainer as a hush fell over the arena, but was able to shake it off."