h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In a nailbiter, the Av's at last beat the Dogs. Sorry Sky, but I am glad to see it.

Marv

Kings are now riding another kind of streak... winless in their last 4, at 0-2-2. They had every reason to win against the Rangers, except one... goaltending. An exhausted Jamie Storr, playing his 17th consecutive and third road game in four nights, gave up 3 goals on only 5 shots in the first. Backup goaltender Someone Who You'll Never Hear Of Again came in for the second and gave up 3 goals on 7 shots before being pulled in favor of Storr again, who managed to give up only one the rest of the way. Too many of those goals were soft goals, that would easily have been stopped if Fiset had been recovered and healthy. But the boys hung in there, Ziggy had a hat trick to catch Fleury for the league lead in goals, and they generated some great chances at the end, only to fall 7-6. I think this situation is going to accelerate Fiset's return... in the meantime, the boys have a couple of days off, which is good considering that Storr has lost ten pounds since he became the only goaltender in LA.

And now, I'm disgusted to say, the Kings have entered the Eric Lindros circus. They'll have to give up a star to get him... who do they give up? Palffy? Robitaille? Blake? Blake is where the smart money is, since they don't have him signed yet for next year. Now, let's consider what that kind of trade will bring to the team:

Pro: It will give them a star centerman who can score, as well as a physical presence up front, something the critics believe they lack.
Con: They will lose an all-star defenseman who brings a powerful checking game and a howitzer shot from the blue line on the power play.

Basically, it's an even trade-off. However, when you consider the kind of team the Kings possess, it's suicide. Lindros brings scoring to a team that can already light up the scoreboard. Blake's departure would create a void at defense for a team that doesn't have a lot of experience or depth at defense, and a team that gets scored on quite a bit. In other words, they need a Blake a WHOLE lot more than they need a Lindros.

And if they don't give up a star, they'll have to give up a platoon of young talent. Young talent is something that they've lacked in previous years, and suddenly they find themselves awash in it. Center Steven Reinprecht and defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky are currently frontrunners for the Calder Trophy. Forward Eric Belanger impressed in training camp, and scored a goal in his first game back from the minors at New York. Sophomore defenseman Jere Karalahti is playing alongside fellow Finn Aki Berg, and the pair are beginning to jell. Berg himself looks sharper every year. Overall, this team is headed in the right direction, mixing veteran stars with young talent. That young talent, ultimately, will be worth more to LA than an Eric Lindros ever can.

And all this, of course, is completely ignoring the impact a whiney primadonna like Eric will have in the locker room, and on their teamwork on the ice. And if Blake has to leave to make room for Lindros, they'll have to deal with his attitude without their captain. And if anyone doubts the leadership Blake brings to the team, they have only to look at training camp this year. Without a contract for next season and knowing he could likely be traded, Blake handed in his C. The team refused to select another captain, and the asisstants refused to wear their A's. As camp progressed, everyone just sort of waited around for him to take charge again, and he finally relented, asked for his C back, and the assistant captains put their A's back on.

You have to respect a team that can come together like that for their captain. Bring in Lindros, and that team mentality will disappear. They should pull their hat out of the ring and consider themselves lucky that they haven't made any serious offers for him yet. Re-signing Blake needs to become their Number 1 Priority.

Damn, Col. Have to agree with you on all points. Lindros seems to me more of a liability waiting to happen, than an asset needing to be administered. Without a chance, he may never prove himself and change his ways for the better. Without changing, he may never get a chance. So far the Coyotes have not thrown thier hat in to that fire. With the ownership in muckland now, it seems doubtful. Besides if the Dogs need new talent, all they have to do is wait for Claude "The Grate One" Lemieux to be signed once Gretz takes over. He brings alot to a team, and can help them bit back on thier playoff bug.

I will like seeing Lemiuex again. I enjoyed his game with the Av's and now I can see him on the Dogs. I get few eastern games here in SLC.

Lemiuex is on the ice, pilgrams. As a way to jumpstart the lagging ownership transition, lame duck owner, Richard Burke, and lame duck GM Smith signed The Grate One to a one year, undisclosed amount contract with an option for two more years. Looks like Claude may show the Sedin twins a thing or two tonite when the Dogs play the Canucks. May not be able to listen in, but will eagerly await news.

What happened here? No more hockey talk? We leave off with discussion about Clod Lemieux, meanwhile the truly great one by that name is lighting up the scoreboard? C'mon people... I can understand the Philly fan's reticence to discuss this, but the rest of you are Western Conference types, and so you can enjoy the Mario and Jaromir Show without reservations. This is the best thing to happen in hockey since Gretzky moved south! Mario has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in his first two games, and Jagr has a fire under him, with 7 points in those games himself. I still love my Kings, but with their awful goaltending as of late, the Pens are giving me a welcome distraction from the Kings' Huge Embarassing Failures. Go Pens!!

I was thrilled to see Lemiuex back on the ice, but I have been away from any internet connection for a while now. I now am back to work so I will try to post more. The Av's play the Kings in two days... Whatcha think about that Col. S?

::Weeps loudly under the Avalanche banner::

My BRONCOS LOST YESTERDAY!!!! Oh... WHAT A WORLD!!!

Well, if I were a football fan I would weep with ya, but I am only partially interested. Is this the playoffs yet?

Yeah... yes, well it is the play-offs...

At least I have the Avs!!!

::hugs Patrick Roy, who sudden appears::

I don't know what to think about LA right now. They had a homestand where they got abused by Minnesota and Atlanta, then they play the Sharks and Red Wings hard and hammer the Blues and the Stars on the road. So apparently they have the ability to get up for the big games, then let down for the easy ones. Luckily, the Avs are a big game, so they should step up. Besides, the Kings have played the Avs pretty well in recent years.

It all comes back to goaltending, for the most part. Storr: sharp but inconsistent. Fiset: inconsistent and injured again. Passmore: he's played well recently, which is why the team has played well recently. So he's the starter for now. How long can he be consistent? And having great defensive forwards Palffy and Murray out doesn't help. All these problems are being compounded because they're in the West... their record and scoring to date are very close to where they were at this same time last year, when they qualified fifth in the conference.

Just because I'm a Flyers fan doesn't mean I take part in the intra-Pennsylvania rivalry betwixt them and the Pens. I'm happy to see Mario back. Not only is he a fantastic athlete, but also a class act and a true team player. A rarity amongst professional athletes today.

And would be rather hard o cut from the roster as he is an owner of the team...

Col. S, I have to say that I was impressed with Passmore. There was only one goal that he could have blocked effectively last night. It seemed that the defense was a little weak really. Passmore did make a few very impressive saves though. Now Colorado goes on a long roadd trip starting in Carolina. It should be a good test. Lets hope that the Blues are set on some hard times over the next few weeks. The presidents cup mght be a good addition the the Colorado trophy case.

I agree 100% with your assesment of last night's Huge Embarassing Failure. I didn't watch the sixth goal go in, but the only one I could pin on Passmore was the third... he slid over in plenty of time to block the shot, but left a huge gap against the goalpost. Still, it was a 5-3 powerplay, so it's hard to pick on him too much there.

The defense was absolutely awful. Take goal #2... Hejduk managed to skate right across the slot with the puck, and nobody was anywhere near him. Passmore blocked the shot, but then Hejduk was able to follow it up by digging it out of the boards, and found yet another Av wide-open in the slot. Disgusting. Then, in the second, just when the Kings appeared to be playing some defense, Schneider made an outstanding play to nullify a great chance for Sakic. They go the other way, turn the puck right over, and no amount of defense from Schneider can nullify the resulting 2 on 1. Then there was that loose puck that just dribbled around in the zone, waiting for an Av to convert... and the game was essentially over. But, at least the Kings should be well rested when they come back home, considering that they only played 20 minutes of hockey last night.

I understand your feelings. I felt much the same way when *Calgary*, of all teams, shut out the Av's at home. The netminder for the Flames was on his game but our defense was gone and offence weak. Well, it shows a true fan to stick with his/her team even when the Flames beat them.

It does bring up the question: How hard is it for the Pens coach? You can't very well discipline the owner. Or do a slightly infamous "pep-talk" between periods. And how does it feel to be a player in practice? "Not only do you have to go up against one of the best players in history, he's your owner and its your turn to check him." Truly a terrible situation.

Sorry about the Broncos, D. I was not happy about that one either. But the Avs'll take the Cup this year, so it'll be ok.



G7

Next weekend is the AllStar game. I am starting to like the North America vs. the World format that it has moved too. This year I get to see four of my teams players start. I wonder tho. Does anyone really care the outcome of the allstar game? I mean, I like to see the skills competition that showcases the best of the best, but I cannot remember the scores for any of the games after the next day.

Speaking of the day after a game...did anyone watch the Kings get a spanking at the hands (and sticks) of the Flyers last night?

Colonel?