The photo below much sums up what happened during the game vs. the Blackhawks, yesterday. For those of you who had been living under a rock for the past few years, hockey-wise… the Kings had a decent event which was emotional for many in attendance at Staples. For Kings fans like myself, it was a dream come true. The raising of the banner was something that I could only imagine while either staring at the rafters at the Forum, or seeing it in a video game. The dream became a reality as the Kings hoisted the banner to the rafters on another perfect day in Los Angeles.
Too bad the Kings couldn’t exemplify how the day and great mood the crowd was in while celebrating a historical occasion. I had the pleasure of meeting Marcel Dionne and seeing Rogie Vachon on the ice with him as he presented the championship banner to the Kings Captains. Also part of the presentation ceremony, and a classy move by the Kings, were the Greene family. The Greene family is one of the families that was vicitimized by the Sandy Hook tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Present and on the ice was Jimmy and Nelba Greene, with their eight-year-old son Isaiah Marquez-Greene. It was a touching moment during the ceremony to include them and making them part of something extremely special.
Also, there was a moment of silence for my friend, the late David Courtney. His voice was used for a moment, in a sound bite that blasted throughout Staples, “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Stanley Cup!”
Kudos to the Kings for a nice morning leading up to such a lackluster performance by the team.
I won’t say much more than what has already been said and thoroughly criticized about the Kings first game. We know they looked awful. We know there is still work to do. The hockey media had a field day using the work “championship hangover so much, I believe Gene Simmons from KISS was going to place a copyright on the phrase to collect royalties. One of the bright spots of the game was watching the 4th line that did their job. Kyle Clifford didn’t drop the gloves during the game. But he did seem to have the most hustle and smarts when he was on the ice. He was named the #3 star and for good reason. He had 7 hits and 2 points during the game. Well earned star for him.
Next game is this Tuesday at 6pm local time on Fox Sports West.
Hopefully the voices of Bob Miller and Jim Fox can soothe the lumps of Kings fans as the Kings face off against the Avs.
Keep it real, Kings fans. It’s only one game. To quote coach Daryl Sutter in a post game interview, and as noted by Gann Matsuda from FrozenRoyalty: “Don’t get too philisophical about it”. (the game)
Kyle Clifford was the hardest working King on the ice for the opener. (Photo by Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images)
Nice blog. Whose idea was it?
Apologies, Gann! I could have sworn I gave you credit.
I’ll let it be known you are the man to blame.
lol