3 hard earned points

So the game against Minnesota could have gone either way. It didn't go the way I wanted it too, but the Kings did get a point out of it. Cloutier looked better in goal, except for a few mistakes. Avery coughed the puck up in OT - 25 seconds into OT. Personally, I would have had a different line up against Demitra and Gaborik, but Crawford went with Avery. Oh well, like I said, it was a point.
And I was there, with my JLB jersey pressed against the glass during warmups again. Yep. I'd like to take some credit for Cloutier's slight improvement. I think I pissed him off. :) Hey, if it forces him to play better, than why not? Just because we are in a rebuilding year doesn't mean they have to suck.

Speaking of suck, have you seen Jeremy Roenick lately? Invisible. The only reason I knew he was out there - because the Kings color guys mentioned him. Apparantly, Gretzky was quoted as saying that JR is an asset to the team, blah blah blah. And people wonder why I have little respect for Gretzky the man. Gretzky the player, fine, but the man - I wouldn't give you two cents for him. And to think the Kings payed him $5 million to suck last year. The Coyotes got him for the bargain price of $1 million.

So, one player that we acquired last year has really surprised me. Brent Sopel. Okay, so he was playing hurt at the end of last season, but I still didn't see any promise there. I kept asking myself why Dave Taylor would got out and acquire an injured player and another one who didn't really want to be here? Well, Mark Parrish (Mr. I'd rather play in Minnesota) got his wish and is playing in the hockey mecca while Brent Sopel is soaking up the attention here in LA. Freaky little dude fits in here too. And someone over at the Kings board just HAD to post this the other day. Too funny. But I can see how at times, he could be considered sexy. Whatever, he's a great defenseman. http://www.freewebs.com/sexysopel/index.htm

And his hit last night on Scatchard was priceless. Scatchard make the mistake of turning around to pick up a pass from a teammate. Brent skated out of the penalty box and just stood there, like one of the concrete pylons. Scatchard, who was busy looking over his shoulder, never knew what hit him. Completely clean and legal hit too. I love Sopel. Sexy Sopel.