SB Nation - Brad Richardson

Deep Thoughts

RudyKelly — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:44:20 -0000

-The guys behind us were driving me pretty Goddamn crazy. It was like I had the fucking Jerky Boyz behind me all night, it was ridiculous. The worst part is that they weren't even Ducks fans; they were Kings fans! Ducks fans are annoying because they're kind of dumb and don't know anything about hockey, but I think Kings fans are honestly worse because they think they know about hockey when they really don't. They guys behind me had apparently played before so they thought they were Bob and Jimmy.

One thing you'll notice is that people who play hockey don't necessarily know anything about hockey, but most people don't call them on it because most people don't play hockey in Southern California. Most people who play hockey are dumb, just like most people in general, and playing hockey and knowing about hockey are different. Here's how you can tell if someone knows about hockey: if they say, "Oh great, more dump 'n chase," then they don't know shit about hockey. Oh, and if they say, "Du-ucks," over and over and over again because they think it's funny to do it in the voice of a mentally challenged person, then they don't know shit about hockey and they've made a powerful new enemy.

-I went to the game because it was my mom's birthday and I'm a terrible son that only gets gifts that somehow benefit me in some way. It was a pretty entertaining game but it was kind of hard to get a read on; the Ducks were dominant when Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan were out there and the Kings were dominant on every other shift. The Kings had to adjust early because Brandon Segal got injured during his first shift and had to leave the game. They adjusted by giving Brad Richardson and Dustin Brown more playing time and the two responded with some of their best games of the year; Richardson especially played very well, showing that he can do good things when he actually has real linemates.

The Kings were better over the course of the game, as the Ducks were only close because Jonathan Quick let in an awful goal to Todd Marchant. (Todd Marchant! That should count as two.) Overall the game was heartening from my perspective: the Kings are kind of at the low point of their season (missing Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi, losing Segal right at the start of the game) and the Ducks are kind of at the high point (winning 6 of their last 7 at home) and the Kings still looked better. I would be happier about beating the Ducks, but beating the Ducks is kind of like nailing Paris Hilton; it's probably fun but who cares if everyone has already done it?

-I went to a fast food Chinese place that's by my work last week and got some food. I was signing my name on the receipt while the guy was wrapping up my order and we finished about the same time. I went to say, "There ya go!" and hand him the receipt, but he said, "There ya go!" as he handed me my food first. I tried to change what I was saying to, "Thanks," but was too committed to my previous sentence and ended up saying, "Tharnks!" I felt like an idiot.

-The Ducks are a pretty hilarious team right now because they're still a team of giant dicks but now they suck so it comes off as just kind of sad and pathetic. It's like they're the high school bully that grew up to be a gas station attendant and the Kings are the lonely, pathetic nerd that grew up to be a fairly successful software engineer with a nice house and a lovely wife that may not be that attractive but is sweet and kind. Last night was the software engineer pulling into the gas station and going for a fill up and then the pump won't work, so he presses the little button to talk to the attendant, but the attendant calls him a fag so the software engineer just drives to another station and gets gas then goes home while the attendant is fired because that was the last fucking time he abused the little button, so then the gas station attendant goes home and gets drunk and posts angrily on a hockey blog under the name, "Spade-in-Victorhell."

But still, the Ducks are in good shape. In 3 years they'll have a core of Getzlaf, Perry, Lupul, Ryan, Hiller, Sbisa, whatever defenseman they sign with Niedermayer's money and whatever defenseman they draft this year. Then they'll lose someone (probably Perry) and they'll have another window as Ryan hits his prime and Getzlaf leaves his. Trading Pronger was a good idea because even with him the Ducks still wouldn't be in a position to win a Cup. It's better to suck and then be great, then tear it down and suck again and then be great. I like what Brian Burke and Bob Murray did with the Ducks and I have a feeling they'll be the 2nd best team in California in just a few short years.

-"Shit, I really gotta go to the bathroom. I gotta stop drinking beer during ga- oh shit, I wore button flies. Fuck! Alright, don't panic, just undo the buttons, but hurry the fuck up. Why the fuck did I buy these, why the fuck do they even make button flys anymore? They don't make TVs with knobs anymore. Jesus, I've already been here for like 30 seconds, do I just go over the top? No, I can't go over the top, I don't like the way the guy next to me is glancing over. Does he know I'm not pissing? Oh God, is he going to stare at my dick? Jesus, c'mon you fucking buttons, come on! Come on! Come- fuck this, I'm using a stall."

-Happy birthday, mom.

Today In Colorado Avalanche History

David Driscoll-Carignan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:13 -0000

November 27th, 2005 - To replace Steve Konowalchuk (wirst surgery) on the roster, the Avalanche recalled Brad Richardson from Lowell. Richardson made his NHL debut on this day - a 6-2 win over the Canucks at the Pepsi Center (hopefully, you've figured out the above picture is NOT from this game). Richardson played 9:04 in the game, skating on the 4th line with Dan Hinote and Cody McCormick. Richardson - a 5th round pick in the 2003 draft - would play 136 games for the Avs over 3 seasons, scoring 19 goals and 21 assists.

Let's Do Some Lines

RudyKelly — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:25:21 -0000

More photos » by Jason Redmond - AP

From left to right: Yay!, Boo!, Yay! (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

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In the first period, the first line of Smyth-Kopitar-Williams dominated play, scoring three goals in only 6 minutes of ice time. Smyth had the first goal, a nice deflection of a Jack Johnson shot. Then Justin Williams scored, again on a nice deflection, this time of a shot by Drew Doughty. Then Anze Kopitar got in on the act, burying a cross-ice pass by Ryan Smyth and finishing a beautiful breakout started by Kopitar himself.

In the second period, the second line of Frolov-Handzus-Simmonds tagged the Wild for another goal. This one was started off a turnover caused by Alexander Frolov, which was collected by Meat Train Simmonds. Meat gave the puck back to Fro, who waited and waited until Michal Handzus found a hole in the defensive coverage. Handzus received the pass, fought off a defender and put the puck through the 5-hole and into the net. The line was on the ice for about 15 1/2 minutes of even-strength time and once again paired up against the other team's top line and once again did not allow an even-strength goal.

In the third period, the third line of Purcell-Stoll-Brown iced the game with a pretty goal on a 2-on-1. The odd-man rush was caused by Dustin Brown, who managed to get the puck through a Wild defender after a bad pass and relayed it to a streaking Jarret Stoll. Stoll slipped a pass through a Wild defenseman to a wide open Ted "Bailey" Purcell*, who slammed the puck home. Brown had a great game last night, while Purcell had an outstanding defensive effort.

*My brother sent me a text last night that said, "When Purcell scores he should ride around on an ATV." I think that's a good idea.

The Kings won last night because they had better forwards than the Minnesota Wild. The Wild tried to avoid the fate of the San Jose Sharks by splitting up their top line to get away from Fro-Hand-Meat, but the result was that they didn't have one line strong enough to stop Smyth-Kopitar-Williams from running roughshod over their defense. Then, while the Wild were focusing on matching up with those two lines, the Purcell-Stoll-Brown line snuck in a goal to put the game away. Terry Murray has been doing an excellent job of balancing his lines and has used his 4th line sparingly since the top 3 lines are soo effective. The only 4th liner who saw any extended time was Brad Richardson in the 3rd period, who had a very good night. It'll be interesting to see how the Kings fare on the road, when the opposing team gets last change, but right now I'm not too worried about any of our top 3 lines. Holy hell, when was the last time I said that?

The defense was better with the return of Sean O'Donnell. Both power play goals you can pin on Davis Drewiske, and I can't say I understand why he was out there in the first place. Granted, Sean O'Donnell and Jack Johnson were in the box for both goals, but it seemed like Murray would have put Drewiske out with Rob Scuderi no matter what. I know Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson both play the power play, but there's no reason Drewiske should be out on the penalty kill over either one. I think that might change by Saturday.

Jonathan Quick had another game where he let in some goals but overall didn't look bad. He had a one-timer and two deflections right to the stick of a Wild player and he didn't have much of a shot on any of them. His rebounds were a little out there, but he doesn't usually have that problem. Hopefully he can get a save percentage over 90% in a game sometime soon.

Good day all around: Dodgers win because Matt Holliday tried to catch a baseball with his vagina, Kings win, Jim & Pam get married... man, who needs a life when you can watch TV?

My absolute favorite moment of yesterday happened during the Dodgers game. Loretta's up with the game on the line, tension everywhere... and I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this:

What the hell is (I think it's) Orlando Hudson doing? It's like he's moving the ball onto Loretta's bat with his mind. Maybe he noticed Manny was picking his nose and is trying to let us know. It's not like he looked like that for a split second, either; he held that face for like 4 whole seconds. I don't know, I thought it was hilarious.

Kings Gameday- Ballistic: Sleek vs. Kelly

RudyKelly — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:01:22 -0000

Los Angeles Kings vs. Phoenix Coyotes

7:30 PST, Fox Sports West

Left to right: Earl, Rudy, Rudy's pec's

As you all know, Earl and I hate one another. Maybe it was the time I slept with his sister, or the time I slept with his mom, or the time I slept with him... the point is, we don't like each other. We begrudgingly work together because, for some reason, ranting and cursing only goes well when it's balanced by puns and cartoons. Things finally boiled over recently, however, and we almost came to blows. Cooler heads prevailed (his, because I would destroy him) and we settled our latest disagreement with a bet.

The bet is simple: if the Kings finish higher than the Ducks, I win.

If the Ducks finish higher than the Kings, I don't win.

It's the 2nd greatest bet of all time, behind the bet in Can't Hardly Wait (I'm Freddy Prinze, Jr.). The terms of the bet? Simple, yet devastating: sig change. If I win, Earl has to change his signature to something embarrassing for the entire off-season. If Earl doesn't lose, I have to change my sig to something like, "The only things smoother than Corey Perry's skating skills are his balls on my chin."

And this is where you come in.

We are asking you, our smokin' hot readers, to come up with some ideas for good signatures that I one of us will wear in shame at the end of the season. Post your ideas in the comments and we'll have a vote when I one of us loses in April. My original idea for Earl was, "I sure do deserve a 'pun'ch to the face," but I know you can do better.

-The Kings have decided their 4th line for tonight's game and I'm this close to being excited. They're playing Brad Richardson at center, Trevor Lewis at right wing... and Ivanans at left. Whatever. I'm still trying to run down whether or not Trevor Lewis is a wing or a center, since he's always played center but has switched over to wing this entire preseason. Oh, if only anyone important returned my e-mails!

-The Kings have a new goal song, finally ridding us of that atrocious song that has plagued rinks across the country. (You know the one, the one that kind of sucks.) They basically ripped off the "Hey! Hey! Hey hey hey!" part of the Rangers' goal song, which is fine because that is the best part of the best goal song in the world. Hey!

-If Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth collide while battling in the corner, do they turn into maple syrup?

-Speaking of Smyth, I don't know how to boo without sounding like the old lady from Princess Bride so I'm not sure how to properly show my displeasure towards him. I'm thinking I might give him the snoot salute. "Boo, Ryan Smyth, and again I say boo!"

-There's still no concrete word on what the special team lines are going to be, so it'll be interesting to see what the Kings throw out tonight. On the penalty kill I think the Kings will run Stoll-Brown and Handzus-Frolov units, with Kopitar, Williams, and Simmonds getting minutes if needed. It's interesting, the Kings have like 9 guys that can play short-handed. Oh, that's not interesting? Scew you buddy.

On the power play, I imagine the Kings will run Smyth-Kopitar-Brown-Doughty-Stoll, with Frolov-Handzus-Purcell-Johnson-Williams comprising the 2nd unit. I'm not a big fan of having a forward on the backend on both power play units, but then again I'm not a big fan of Flash Forward so what do I know.*

*I don't get this show. I've watched the first 2 episodes and the were just the worst. The acting was terrible, the humor was weird and inappropriate, and why the fuck are people driving home the day after a global disaster? I don't get shows like 24 or Lost either, so I think it's my problem. Everyone I knows seems to think it's pretty good. Oh well, at least there's Community.**

**I almost cried I was laughing so hard at the end of the last episode when the Dead Poet's Society teacher made his big speech and then started climbing a tree. Also, "I will have... a birthday cake!"

-Things you learn from NHL 10's Be a Pro Mode:

+/- is bullshit. Seriously, I have one foot on the ice when the other team scores and it's my fault?
Fuck coaches. B- in team play? I have 5 points tonight asshole! I'm demanding a trade.
Having teammates is the worst. I dance around Jay Buowmeester, fake a shot, slide the puck over to Ryan Smyth... and then he misses a wide open net. Goddammit. (That's 8.)
I'm a child. I don't care how many games I play, hitting another player after the whistle and then chasing the ref around the rink when he appears is funny as hell.
I'm also an asshole. I never knew this, but apparently I'd get like a thousand penalty minutes if I were a skater instead of a goalie. I'm supposed to be a sniper but I keep fighting. Hack my leg? I'll kill you!
Michal Handzus will always be overrated. I don't know what it is about Handzus, but he always gets overrated in video games. The guy can't skate 10 feet without giving away the puck in real life, but put him in a video game and he's a superstar. I think he has 10 goals in the 3 games I've played with him. It's probably because he makes over $4 million dollars a year so people assume he's awesome.
Seriously, +/- is bullshit. I'm blanketing my guy at the point, how the fuck am I supposed to prevent that goal?????? I'm demanding a trade.

-Kings game tonight. I'm trying to think of a Kings team I've liked as much as I like this one, but I'm coming up with a blank. I mean, I hate Ryan Smyth, Jack Johnson is a douche bag and Peter Harrold is terrible but other than that I love everyone on this team.

Kopitar's the future.

Justin Williams looks like the villian in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

Ted Purcell is tantalizingly talented and I hope for the best.

Dustin Brown is the captain, bold and moral.

Michal Handzus looks like Beeker from the Muppets.

Jarret Stoll... he's there.

Alex Frolov is my high school girlfriend.

Wayne Simmonds is the meat train.

Raitis Ivanans eats shoes.

Brad Richardson is probably of Norwegian descent and is thus cool in my book.

Trevor Lewis is a big mother fucker and will hopefully be a badass shutdown player in the future.

Drew Doughty once made a mistake; he said he wasn't amazing when he was 7.

Sean O'Donnell is an angry old goat who once kicked an ogre's ass.

Matt Greene is a future angry old goat.

Rob Scuderi is an angry goat.

Davis Drewiske... is also there.

MEAT TRAIN!!!!!!!!

Jonathan Quick makes amazing saves and has giant ears.

Erik Ersberg gets carded when he goes to R-rated movies.

Terry Murray always looks like a meerkat when he thinks he's spotted a grub. The meerkat Terry Murray, not actual Terry Mur... wait, hold on.

Yep, I think this may be my favorite Kings' team of all time. Maybe it's coloring my predictions for this season, but I do honestly think the Kings are going to make the playoffs this season.

The Kings have a mountain to climb.

Let's climb it.

Training Camp Battles: 4th Line Skill Player

RudyKelly — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:41:46 -0000

More photos » by Jimmy Jeong - AP

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Peter Harrold (5) skates by Edmonton Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson (35), who dives like a bitch during an NHL hockey game in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Jimmy Jeong)

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The Kings are going to need one competent player on their 4th line that can chip in on speical teams and take faceoffs before their two idiots trip someone or whatever it is they do. This skill player is most likely to play center, since it's the position with the most defensive responsibility and requires the most smarts. For the first time in a couple years, the Kings don't have Derek Armstrong to fill this role. Who is the next mediocre player that inexplicably becomes a coach favorite and plays way more than they should? Let's find out!

The Favorite:

Peter Harrold

#5 / Defenseman / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 188

Born: Jun 08, 1983

Sigh... Peter Harrold. He's a good guy. He tries very hard, he switches positions based on what the teams need, he does the little things in the trenches that don't get noticed but help the team. The problem is that he sucks. I mean, it's great that he can suck at defense and center, but he still sucks. I don't like saying it; it's not like I get my kicks deriding the skills of better men than I (unless they really suck like Brian Willsie), but he does kind of suck. I guess he'd only be the 4th line center, so it's not too bad, but the best place for Peter Harrold is in the press box until the Kings need him in an emergency. The Kings are actually kind of a good team this season; the thing about good teams is that they don't have players like Peter Harrold on the team.

The Challenger:

Brad Richardson

#15 / Right Wing / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 184

Born: Feb 04, 1985

(This picture selection guy is my new best friend)

Brad Richardson kind of sucks too, but the thing with Richardson is that he could be better. While Harrold is pretty much resigned to his fate, Richardson could eventually turn into something valuable. Richardson had a weird season last year where he cut himself with his own skate (?) and then got gangrene or some shit, so he didn't play very much. However, he has skill and would fit in better at the center than Peter Harrold, I think. Like I said earlier, I was watching training camp earlier this week and noticed how good Peter Harrold was before I realized I was watching Brad Richardson. He's better.

Of course, the Kings may go with Peter Harrold because of the versatility he has... by the way, does anyone care about the 4th line center? I do, but I'm thinking I may be the only one. Do they have rehabs for sports fans? I swear I could have been, like, a banker or something if the Kings hadn't ruined my life.

The Dark Horse:

Brayden Schenn

#55 / Center / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 198

Born: Aug 22, 1991

It's crazy to consider, but Schenn has been very good in preseason and has the body to play in the NHL right now. I wish Schenn could go to the AHL but I guess Kelowna needs to sell tickets so he's probably resigned to the CHL again. It would be kind of interesting if Schenn did stay up, though; he could play ~10 minutes a night, learn from the other centers on the team, and curse his fate as his beautiful set up pass was spoiled by Raitis Ivanans' incompetence. Earl and I disagree about how to treat prospects; he likes to wait until they're 27 years old, play them for 2 years and then trade them for someone's brother, while I like them to play until they're 23 and then declare them too old for my team. Schenn will go down to Junior, blow it up, play in the World Junior Championships, and then make the Kings in 2 years. But there's always a chance...

Dustin Brown Sez...

"Oh, hey guys. Just taking some promo pics for the season. You know how it is when you're me, always having to please the masses... unless they cheer for the other team! Oh Dustin, you card. Anyway, I think Brad Richardson will win this one so we can have a line filled with guys with dickhead first names. Brad-Jarret-Teddy? Sounds like a party at Los Angeles Country Club! Hahaha... I'm a member there, by the way."

Poll

Who should be the Kings' 4th line center this season?

Peter Harrold

15 votes

Brad Richardson

39 votes

54 votes | Poll has closed

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

RudyKelly — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:39:39 -0000

Training camp opens today! Yes, folks, the ice is forming, the weather's dropping, you can see people getting their cars ready for a long winter... haha, just kidding, it'll be like 75 degrees today. But camp is starting, and that means real, honest to god hockey is right around the corner.

The Kings have split themselves up into 3 groups, colorfully named A, B, and C. They're mostly random, but I wouldn't be doing my job as a team-centric hockey blogger if I didn't needlessly overanalyze every little thing.

Group A Notable Names: Brayden Schenn, Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth, Justin WIlliams, Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi, Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert, Drew Bagnall, Jon Quick, Peter Harrold

Thoughts: Kopitar will start camp with Smyth and Williams on his wings, as Terry Murray hopes they can congeal into a #1 line. Brayden Schenn is sharing camp with Kopitar and can hopefully learn a little from the talented center. Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi are with one another, perhaps signalling that they might form a defensive pairing; or, alternatively, they might be paired with 3 young defensemen who have the best shot at making the team to see if those young men are ready to make the team.

Peter Harrold is listed as a center. What?

Group B Notable Names: Jon Bernier, Jeff Zatkoff, Matt Greene, Davis Drewiskie, Oscar Moller, Jarret Stoll, Dustin Brown, Ted Purcell

Thoughts: This is the 2nd line tryout group, with Stoll, Brown, Moller, and Purcell all present. 3 of those 4 should comprise the Kings' 2nd line. It's interesting that Moller is listed as a center, perhaps signalling that the rumors Stoll might not be ready for camp are true. Drewiskie is known as a defensive defenseman, as is Greene, and the Kings could be taking a look at making them their shutdown pair. While Jonathan Quick is given the young John-Francois Berube, Jon Bernier is paired with Jeff Zatkoff; they will likely be partners down in Manchester this season unless Bernier impresses.

Group C Notable Names: Sean O'Donnell, Drew Doughty, Michal Handzus, Andrei Loktionov, Wayne Simmonds, Trevor Lewis, Brad Richardson, Alex Frolov, Marc-Andre Cliche

Thoughts: This line-up is less filled with intrigue than the other two. O'Donnell and Doughty are the only NHL-caliber defensemen on their squad, and are likely together not so much because they'll play together but because they're friends. This grouping does kind of give credence to what most of us had known, that Frolov will likely be paired with Handzus on the stoper line again. Richardson and Lewis are there as well, and hopefully they'll be paired together on the 4th line. Marc-Andre Cliche isn't a notable name but I've been cheering for him for years and I hope he someday makes an impression.

Finally, here's a guess as to how the line-up is going to look when camp ends (Note: not what I want, what I think will happen):

Smyth-Kopitar-Williams

Frolov-Handzus-Simmonds

Purcell-Stoll-Brown

Westgarth-Richardson-Lewis

Scuderi-Doughty

Johnson-O'Donnell

Drewiskie-Greene

Quick

Ersberg

Past Avalanche Drafts (Round 5)

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:26:06 -0000

Round 5. As we get further along into this, it seems clear that while the Avalanche have done poorly towards the top of the draft, they get much better at identifying (or developing) talent in later rounds. John-Michael Liles, Cody McCormick, Brad Richardson and Brent Johnson are all excellent.

Year	Rnd	Ov	Player	Amateur Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Notables (Overall)
2008	5	140	Mark Olver	Northern Mich. (CCHA)							None
2007	5	135	Paul Carey	Salisbury (High-CT)							None
2004	5	154	R. Demen-Willaume	Frolunda JR.							None
2003	5	146	Mark McCutcheon	New England (EJHL)							Lee Stempniak (148)
2003	5	163	Brad Richardson	Owen Sound (OHL)	167	19	26	45	-5	59	Bruno Gervais (182)
2002	5	164	Tyler Weiman	Tri-City	1	0	0	0	0	0	Paul Ranger (183)
2001	5	143	Frantisek Skladany	Boston U.
2001	5	144	Cody McCormick	Belleville	190	9	21	30	-2	250
2001	5	149	Mikko Viitanen	Ahmat							Kevin Bieksa (151)
2001	5	165	Pierre-Luc Emond	Drummondville							Dennis Seidenberg (172)
2000	5	159	John-Michael Liles	Michigan State	388	56	142	198	-5	153	Roman Checkmanek (171)
1999	5	142	Will Magnuson	Lake Superior U.
1999	5	152	Jordan Krestanovich	Calgary	22	0	2	2	1	6	Niko Dimitrakos (155)
1998	5	141	K.C. Timmons	Tri-City							Mikael Samuelsson (145)
1997	5	133	Aaron Miskovich	Green Bay Jr.							Mike York (136)
1996	5	134	Luke Curtin	Kelowna							Andreas Dackell (136)
1995	5	129	Brent Johnson	Owen Sound	247	111	94	25	2.63	0.903	Brent Sopel (144)

Other than the appearance of Mikael Samuellson and Mike York, you can't find many faults with the Avs 5th round picks over the years.

Kings Gameday: And Things Were Going So Well

RudyKelly — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:10:14 -0000

LA Kings (Typical Kings Record) @ Detroit Red Wings (Typical Wings Record)

4:30 PST, Fox Sports West

Detroit's perspective comes from Wingin' it in Motown, where I imagine they'll be complaining about the officiating while remaining blissfully ignorant of all the offensive picks their team runs.

I wrote a few days ago that I was really happy with the Kings' lines recently and opined that maybe Terry Murray was starting to figure this whole line-up thing out.

Then he shuffled the lines again.

The new lines? Ted Purcell is up with Frolov and Kopitar (because apparently the Kings are going to set a record for the most consecutive passes), Patrick O'Sullivan is alongside Stoll and Brown (which I actually don't mind because it creates another actual scoring line), Kyle Calder is back with Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds (because that worked out so well last year) and Ivanans, Armstrong and Harrold are on the 4th line.* The problem I have with the third line is, how are they going to make a positive contribution? Honestly, do you have any confidence that they're going to take the ice and score or prevent a goal? Instead of flanking Handzus with speed, the Kings are saddling him with a rube. Calder's the rube, just in case that wasn't clear.

*That 4th line is the weirdest line I have ever seen. An enforcer that takes holding penalties, an aging center that spends most of his time playing ping pong, and a career defenseman. They're like characters from The Replacements or something.

The thing that bothers me the most about the move is that you know Brad Richardson wasn't benched because he was not performing. No, he was benched because the Kings need to score more goals and Calder doesn't do that. Murray won't bench Calder because he likes him, though, so that means Richardson is the one who has to sit. That sucks. If Calder can't cut it offensively, put his ass on the bench. Calder's not great defensively, people just think he is because his nickname is "Grease" and he's Canadian. Calder actually hasn't been that bad this season, but it seems unfair that Richardson has to pay for Calder's lack of production.

***

You ever get the feeling that your team is doomed? Jonathan Quick is starting tonight and he's been owned by the Red Wings this season, the Kings can't score the past few games, and again, they're playing the Red Wings. Maybe I'm just telling myself that because I'll miss the game and I don't want to miss a victory, but I'm getting a sense of foreboding tonight. Doom is nigh. Doom, I say! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!

Prediction: Kings win, 3-2. Goals by Kopitar, Frolov and Purcell.

Edit: Thanks for making me look an asshole, Royal Report.