Kings Snatch Victory From Ducks Beaks

Life In HockeywoodDec 2, 2009

Game 28: Kings 4, Ducks 3

The Kings and the Ducks started their season-long battle for supremacy of Southern California. The Kings are trying to find answers to maintain their lofty aspirations of the playoffs while injuries have become a factor.

Funny thing about working in a sports department of a newspaper is the alliances that occur once a game starts for a particular sport. You could be high-fiving a colleague over Pete Carroll's decision to run up the score against UCLA, but then stare daggers at them once the puck drops between L.A. and Anaheim. At the end of the day, it's all in good fun. But the trash talk and mocking never ceases. After all, there might not be cheering in the press box, but that doesn't mean journalists can't be fans.

My station is about as far away from a TV as one could get if you didn't work in the bathroom. So, I've grown accustomed to listening to Nick and Daryl on the radio, keeping everyone informed of the latest King score. But since the Kings are playing the Ducks (and the Lakers were beating the snot out of New Orleans), the one TV in sports was tuned into the game. But like I said, I'm a long ways away from the screen (almost as far away as the Staples Center press box), so I was listening to the radio again.

Thing is, there's a delay for the TV broadcasts, so I actually hear the action before it appears on the TV. And I've made it a habit of pumping my fist or giving an emphatic "yes" when the Kings score. This annoys everyone else who is working and watching the game, because I "give it away" to everyone else who's watching it on Fox. So I've had to alter my habit, blurting out "Who wants to bet me Wayne Simmonds scores right here?" Finally, I've settled on the 5-second rule, where I wait until the play just about happens, then I cheer, allowing everyone to look up to see a score.

I didn't have to wait long, when Scott Parse scored a quick goal early in the first to the Kings a 1-0 lead. I did it again later in the period when Justin Williams scored a power play goal. The Kings were clicking on all cylinders, and you could tell some players were really efforting to put the puck in the net. One of those guys was Williams, who snapped an 8-game scoring slump. Another player was Dustin Brown, who's mired in a 10-game goal scoring slump. He got the assist on Williams' goal, and eventually led the team in shots.

The Ducks scored when Corey Perry scored to extend his franchise-record scoring streak to 19 games. He's good. As much as I enjoy seeing the young Kings develop, it's also a double-edged sword seeing a player like Perry evolve. Put it to you this way, Sidney Crosby had a 19-game point streak last season. I want to like Perry, but the foul odor of Anaslime makes me grimace.

When Randy Jones scored in the second, I figured this game was over. The Kings were outplaying the Ducks at every turn, and they were executing beautifully. They were outshhoting the Ducks, they were killer in the faceoff dots, and they weren't giving the puck away. But I figured wrong. Someone turned on the Ducks, and they came back with a vengeance.

Ryan Whitney and Todd Marchant came back and scored two goals to tie it up, and Jonas Hiller started making miraculous saves. It was getting down to the nitty-gritty time when Jack Johnson's blast from the point deflects off of Brad Richardson's stick to lift the Kings with 2 minutes left. Then it was nail-biting time, as the Ducks made several furious attempts to tie it.

I was adhering to my no-cheer rule, but couldn't hide my frustration/elation to everyone around me, as I was grunting and stifling my expressions, causing everyone to stop and just watch the last two minutes. I shouldn't have worried, because the Kings were 9-0 when leading after 2 periods. Make that 10-0. I raised my arms in victory, as the final buzzer sounded. That's when they flipped it immediately to the Lakers game. Sigh, no love.

The Ducks came up short, and the Kings grab Game 1 of the newly christened Subway Freeway Series. I was wondering, couldn't the Kings get JetBlue on board as co-sponsors of the series and make it the Subway Freeway Airway Series? How how about the Planes, Trains and Automobiles Series? Oh, never mind... it's late and I have a podcast to edit. Speaking of podcast, my partner Jesse Cohen thinks the series should be named the SoCal Sowchow. What say you?

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