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NHL Stanley Cup Final |OT| Beat LA

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Sketchiest detour though was when we were in LA and took a wrong exit into Santa Monica. This was before GPS's were around so we drove around a really sketchy part of town trying to get back onto the highway. We ended up asking someone at a Greyhound depot for directions since that place looked the safest to stop at.
How the hell did you do this? The Greyhound station is nowhere near Santa Monica. This is basically Bugs Bunny making a wrong turn in Albuquerque type of getting lost.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Well, sweet, my ticket still sold for a halfway decent price. Could have easily been at least double if the series was 2-1 or better, but that's still close to 2 months of season ticket payments taken care of. :D

Now let's win so we can get it back here for a game 6!
 

Red_Man

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
What would King fans prefer, winning in front of the home crowd, or winning in NY to rub it in even more?
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
What would King fans prefer, winning in front of the home crowd, or winning in NY to rub it in even more?

I can't imagine anybody in their right mind would want anything less than winning tonight. The Kings should know more than anybody what can happen if you don't close a team out the first chance you get.
 

Red_Man

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
I can't imagine anybody in their right mind would want anything less than winning tonight. The Kings should know more than anybody what can happen if you don't close a team out the first chance you get.
Any other team and I would agree with you, but this Kings team has shown unbelievable resilience. Nothing seems to phase them.
 

Clydefrog

Member
BspZP.gif



Tonight... tonight could be the night.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Any other team and I would agree with you, but this Kings team has shown unbelievable resilience. Nothing seems to phase them.

That Doughty quote from a few posts back tells me that they would definitely have some doubts if the Rangers were to win tonight. I think they would be fine, of course, and have no problem winning in 5 or 6, but I think they would have a few more doubts than most teams would, just because of their own firsthand experience.

It's the same reason why the Rangers basically treated Game 6 in the last round as if it was Game 7. Because they knew firsthand what being down 3-1 and mounting a comeback was like.
 
Great ESPN writeup on Kings' captain and fan-favorite Dustin Brown.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/11062343/los-angeles-kings-captain-dustin-brown-epitomizes-team-effort

There'd been rumors leading up to the 2012 trade deadline that Kings captain Dustin Brown might be in play. The team was still not assured of a playoff spot, even though head coach Terry Murray had been replaced a few weeks earlier by Darryl Sutter, and Brown was not playing well.

But that night, Feb. 25, 2012, against the Chicago Blackhawks, Brown scored a natural hat trick and added an assist for a four-point night and a 4-0 Kings victory. It was an emphatic statement from Brown, who has never played for another NHL team.

"It was almost like, no way" are you going to trade me, Robitaille told ESPN.com. "And then we went on a tear."

But it's hard to imagine this Kings team without Brown. In fact, there is much evidence that he has been integral in establishing and then reinforcing over time the Kings' identity.

Zach Parise was born a few months earlier than Brown and, in many ways, grew up alongside Brown playing internationally at the junior level and then twice on U.S. Olympic teams.

"He fits in very well. He's a very likable guy," Parise told ESPN.com. "But he's also very quiet. He's always been a pretty quiet guy, although he's vocal when he has to be."

Quiet, however, isn't a word to describe his game. Parise laughed as he recalled the first couple of shifts of the 2012 Stanley Cup finals when Parise was still with New Jersey and facing Brown's Kings, and Brown lined up Parise for a crushing hit not long after puck drop.

"Luckily, I saw him coming at the last second," Parise said. "I remember thinking, oh, here we go. I guess we're not going to be friends for a couple of weeks."

I think ultimately you're judged on the team's success as the captain of any team. Whether or not he scores 30 goals for us in a year or scores 10, he's still a vital piece of the puzzle, just like everyone else is," Kings winger Justin Williams said. "He'd be the first one to say he didn't have a good regular-season game. But, hey, another guy who could have wilted and went away and said, 'This isn't my year,' pack his bag. Instead he said, I'm going to do this, play whatever role I need to play and help this team. Hits sometimes are overlooked. When Dustin is on the ice, you know it. Whether he's running around or scoring goals, he has a huge impact."

Defenseman Drew Doughty has had the experience of playing alongside Brown as the Kings have risen from fringe team to Stanley Cup power and he's also played against him in two Olympic tournaments.

"Brownie is a great leader, a great captain," Doughty said. "He does a lot of things both on and off the ice, especially on the ice. He works as hard as possible. He cares a lot. The opponents don't like playing against him because he hits so hard and at the same time he can make plays and score goals. When I played against him at the Olympics, basically whenever I had the puck, he was on the ice, I was trying to get rid of it so he couldn't run me."

One of memories that sticks with me is Brown's unfailing patience with the busyness of the moment. That and his insistence, along with his wife, that the day with the Cup was put to good use in raising more than $15,000 to aid injured military personnel to help honor his wife's cousin, who had died after being severely injured in a suicide bomb blast in Afghanistan.
 

Mully

Member
Is this the night my sports depression goes away, or is it the night I use Cecily Strong and beer to find solace until next October?
 
Kings-GAF reporting in late, I forgot Off Topic existed haha.


Gonna be rocking the Black and Purple Kopitar for tomorrow's victory!

I have that jersey. I'm thinking of getting another jersey once I get my first paycheck from my new job. Deciding between Quick or Doughty.

Also, I don't think I mentioned it, but I did end up going to Game 2 at Staples with the gf. By waiting until a few hours before, I was able to get two great seats directly in upper center. I really like having a central seat for hockey games. The ends cause you to miss a lot of the action.

The place was pretty lively. Seeing the third and fourth goals was pretty magical.

The game-winning play kind of came out of nowhere, so no one was ready for it. But the entire place went nuts when the puck went into the net. Confetti dropped, and everyone was going crazy. Fantastic experience, easily worth the money.
 

Red_Man

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
That Doughty quote from a few posts back tells me that they would definitely have some doubts if the Rangers were to win tonight. I think they would be fine, of course, and have no problem winning in 5 or 6, but I think they would have a few more doubts than most teams would, just because of their own firsthand experience.
Huh? Kings have had a historical run thus far, and had more then a handful of amazing comebacks. The Rangers are a less talented team in every way besides goal, and have had a much easier road to this final. Even if the Kings were to lose tonight, I don't think a single guy in that dressing room would blink. They have no reason to.
 

Ricker

Member
Not saying the crazy roll of the puck is the only reason the Kings are 3 games up on the Rangers but it has to go the other way at some point,and that point is tonight,Rangers will win,easily, and the Kings will win the Cup in L.A.
 
I dunno, I don't see how the Kings win tonight. Rangers are going to be scrappy and motivated beyond belief to not be swept. They're going to leave it all out there.
 

Red_Man

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
I dunno, I don't see how the Kings win tonight. Rangers are going to be scrappy and motivated beyond belief to not be swept. They're going to leave it all out there.
Teams who are 3-0 in the finals have a 20-6 record in game 4.
 
A good friend of mine has a Game 5 ticket. Honestly, I wouldn't be too mad if we lost tonight just so that he'll get to go and hopefully watch them close it out.
 
Kings online sphere is inching toward being in full on victory lap mode. 2012 clips, dynasty talk, legacy discussions....general media seems to be shifting that way too.

If any fanbase should be aware of how quickly this could all turn it should be ours. There's still a game to win. I don't want to be the buzz kill guy on blogs and Tumblr, but man...people are way too ahead of themselves here. Nerves should still be settling in for all of us.

A good friend of mine has a Game 5 ticket. Honestly, I wouldn't be too mad if we lost tonight just so that he'll get to go and hopefully watch them close it out.

Not even. Not even.
 
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