I love the Kings

I don't hate Crosby, for the most part. I do like that you can see that I've turned my ThinkLight on to find the PrtSc button.

Kings 5, Pittsburgh 2

When the whole crowd stood up with a minute left and LA up by 3, I realized just how long it's been since Kings fans have had a team this exciting. 1993 was a long, long time ago. The Potvin/Palffy teams of the early 2000's weren't this entertaining.

Notes:

• Anze Kopitar is a superstar. His vision is incredible, he's huge, and he finishes better than anyone in the NHL. Anyone.
• Bailey. Best mascot in sports.
  
• Dustin Brown gets a lot of flak for not scoring enough, but anyone who saw his pass to Jarret Stoll to give the Kings a 3-2 lead knows why he gets his ice time. Gorgeous.
• As recently as last season, the Kings were never in games where they had only scored one goal through two periods. With a capable goalie, lots of things change in a hurry. It also helps when you have the NHL's leading point scorer.
• Trading Frolov would be a huge mistake. His ability to hold onto the puck is unrivaled on the team, and I don't think that can be replaced. Oh yeah, he's also been the Kings' top scorer for a couple seasons.
  
• Jon Quick's nose is about a quarter inch from the center wire on his cage. I guess he gets better vision out of it that way, but goodness, cages bend all the time, particularly against guys with real shots. At the same time, I don't think Quick makes nearly as many saves with his mask as I do.

BAILEY. Respect the lion.

If the Kings don't make the playoffs this season, it will be a colossal disappointment. They're as good as anyone in the NHL right now, and while the Williams/Kopi/Smyth line is bound to cool off, there's no reason to expect the team to fade down the stretch when they've got solid goaltending and three lines that have some scoring touch.


Miscellany:

• On an unrelated note, the Angels re-signed Bobby Abreu for two years with an option for a third. The contract is 2 years at 9 million per, which I think is a fair deal, and also one that I believe spells the end of Vlad's time as an Angel. We'll see you in Cooperstown, Vladdy.
• Tomorrow is the most important Northeastern hockey home game of the season from a fan's perspective. Beat the candy canes.
• I've owned this ThinkPad X41 since the summer before college, about 4.5 years ago. I just bought a replacement AC adapter ($7, eBay) and a replacement battery ($40, eBay). That's it. This thing is a tank. And what a keyboard.