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Phoenix has Psychotic Breakdown, sent to Booby Hatch

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May 23, 2012

The Yotes have been feeding for so long on the fact that they have been on the verge of bankruptcy, legal troubles, one foot out the door to other cities, playing in empty arenas -- using all of that as a rallying cry -- that their sense of persecution has become an ingrained and...
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Smith on Brown: “If Raffi Torres gets 25 games then he ought to be out forever” | ProHockeyTalk

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May 22, 2012

Right, because attempting to decapitate a player who doesn't have the puck is the same thing has a shoulder check to the puck-carrier's body. Hey, the ref's almost cost the Kings the game (see Doughty penalties) but they didn't.


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Stick a fork in me, I’m Doan! (post-game bullets)

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May 22, 2012

  • I'm pretty sure Terry Murray would have benched Penner after the first period of this game. Sutter did not.
  • Only one coach has knocked out the first three seeds in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and he's done it twice.
  • Dustin Brown check on Roszival. Sorry, Phoenix, that's not a knee-on-knee check.
  • Note to Phoenix...
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“Kings aren’t good enough, don’t deserve bounces” — Guess who?

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May 21, 2012

It is an LA Kings tradition that, following a loss, we snuggle up with Helene Elliott’s prickly verdict. The recipe for these articles is usually: start with a stylized but snarky opening condemnation, then alternate actual quotes from the judged with your own grumpy asides. Top it off with a curtly dismissive headline, indicating...
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Shoulder pads don’t have to be weapons

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May 20, 2012

With regard to dangerous hits, we often hear that "respect" has gone out of the game. I doubt it. It's the risk of injury for the checker that's gone out of the game. And -- for some reason -- it's easier to get players to respect (read: protect) themselves than it is to get...
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Memorial Cup: Is this how video review normally works?

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May 18, 2012

The Memorial Cup is on NHL Network. It’s the Edmonton Oil Kings playing host Shawinigan. Third period. There’s a scramble in the Oil King crease, the puck ends up in the net, the horn blows, the crowd goes wild, the ref (Nicola D’Etille? almost certainly spelled wrong) signals the play is dead. The crowd...
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How did these Kings get here in the first place?

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May 18, 2012

None of the eleven players mentioned were undrafted UFA signings, although Lombardi has gone that route several times, most notably with Matt Moulson and Teddy Purcell (since departed), Martin Jones, Kevin Westgarth and Davis Drewiske.

Here's how the current Kings got here, in order of arrival:


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Kerry Fraser (and me) on those horrible divers

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May 18, 2012

(1) yes, it's true, Brown suckers people into taking penalties and one of his techniques is to hit someone and then go down easy when the player retaliates; (2) the key here is "WHEN THE PLAYER RETALIATES." If you don't want the penalty, don't retaliate.


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Hey, maybe Hossa was embellishing, too

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May 18, 2012

It occurs to me that Tippett was the one who said the Raffi Torres hit on Marian Hossa was a clean hockey check. Evernote lets you save all the interesting things you see online into a single place. Access all those saved pages from your computer, phone or the web. Sign up now or...
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Tippett: we’re getting our asses kicked because the game is dishonest and that’s sad really

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May 17, 2012

The whole game -- in fact, every game where the rules are enforced by referees -- is playing on the edge, on the border between legal and not. And the refs have to make a zillion judgment calls every game. Otherwise, you wouldn't need refs.


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