Plus/Minus: no self-portraits here

Judging by what's been popular on the Internet this week... My male readers (if I have any) are probably upset that I'm fully clothed as I write this, and that I wear my jerseys as the hockey gods intended, not hacked beyond recognition into a tiny censor bar of a dress. Um, sorry? Can I make a couple puns to make up for it?

PLUS

+ Erik Cole flew Louis Leblanc's parents to Anaheim so that they could attend their son's first NHL game. If that isn't a Plus, I don't know what is.
+ Josh Gorges didn't shave his mustache as soon as the clock struck midnight and the month of December started. He must have known that Movember is my favourite time of year.
+ Carey Price saved his team's ass against the LA Kings AND hammed it up in a hysterical All Star Game campaign video.
+ Now-former Carolina Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice left a note for Kirk Muller, wishing him the best of luck and complimenting the team. It takes a lot of class to do something like that.
+ Saku Koivu still has nothing but great things to say about his days as a Hab. I feel the same way.
+ Ryan Jones hat trick, or something. I guess it's because of the hair.

MINUS

It can't be because of the picture, why, no!

- Are we done talking about Paulina Gretzky? Apparently, if your dad is the greatest hockey player of all time, you can be a newsmaker just by tweeting a few cleave shots. (Seriously, a newsmaker.) It's almost like men are surprised that she's hot, because they didn't know that professional athletes always marry pretty girls, and thus their children have a good chance of being attractive. Also, is this really what happens every time some yellow-haired girl posts pictures of herself online because she's desperate for attention? ...On second thought, don't answer that.

- Los Angeles Kings: I love you, but get your asses off of my goalie.
- A three-game suspension for Max Pacioretty's hit on Kris Letang is a little harsh. I doubt every guy who hits another player in the same way is going to be suspended for three games.
- Everyone who gets mad at Andrei Markov for not being ready to come back yet, or who calls him a waste of money. Where's your loyalty?

We are now faced with our first mustache-less week. I'm not sure exactly how this is going to go. But so far, it looks like our Carey is just as awesome without his 'stache as he was with it.

Reigned in

After last night's (fantastic) game, I feel pretty safe making a confession:

I think I like the LA Kings.
Maybe they like me back, I don't know.

fightin' over me?

The Kings may not have played a great game yesterday, and while I'm pretty sure it's not just because they wanted to make the Habs look good in front of me... you never know. Regardless of their recent mini-slump, they look pretty good. Or at least, they did, sort of. I was happy just to be at the game, despite my seats in the Molson Ex Zone (I tried to get tickets to next week's Sharks game, but it appeared to be sold out so I "settled" for the Kings. It was probably my subconscious telling me I'm a closet Kings fan). The last time I saw the Kings, I easily found tickets in the 8th row of Staples Center. The last time I saw the Habs, my fabulous friend Cathie scored seats at the back of the reds. And here I was, trying to watch the game from way up high, surrounded by a more rambunctious (read: irritating) crowd than I'd seen in the reds.

Part of the reason why the Kings lost this game is because rookie goaltender Jonathan Bernier is still finding himself in the NHL. He wasn't stellar, but he showed promise. I was really impressed by a glove save he made about halfway through the second period. I'll have to watch Canadiens express when I get home later to have a closer look at all of the Kings and their style of play, but a few of their stars shined bright.
Drew Doughty was solid. I will neither confirm nor deny reports that I turned to my sister and asked "Can we keep him?" As if he were a puppy or something. Juvenile, I know, but... can we keep him?
Anze Kopitar didn't get a point last night, but he looks so good on the ice. (No, not like that.) Every now and then there'll be a player on an opposing team that I just can't stop watching, because they're so good. Kopitar is that guy. I can't quite describe it. He's just so good.

On the Canadiens side of things... how can I not talk about Lars Eller? He's really starting to take shape now that he's found the right linemates and is getting some much-needed ice time. (Not that much, but nine minutes is better than four.) I think he still needs time to reach his full potential, and I'm still not sure if he'll be the franchise-saving superstar that some people think he is, but he's proven that he can be an asset to his team. So happy he finally got that goal! Now if only Tom Pyatt can score his first of the season...

If you think my reasons for contemplating the Kings as my #2 backup team are a little thin, let me end with this: I think I'm done with the Molson Ex Zone. I may not have loved the Staples Center, because it was too quiet and the fans were way too negative about anything that was not the Los Angeles Kings, but that's about as far as it went. They did not boo their own players. They didn't get in everyone's way on the concourses outside the arena (maybe because there's so much more space). They didn't block aisles when others tried to pass them. What did I see last night? Habs fans taunting Kings fans (of which I saw a few). Did the Kings fans get angry? Not really, they played along a little and were polite the rest of the time.
There were some pretty loud boos for Scott Gomez when the starting lineup was announced. I've been disappointed with him for a while, but I'd never boo a Canadiens player unless he disrespected his team directly (there are worse things than having a terrible season, you know). Then Scott Gomez scored and his name was met with cheers. From the same people who booed him. Heck, even the dim-witted couple sitting behind me couldn't make up their mind about half the roster. (Actual exchange: "Cammalleri's got the puck! He's gonna score!" "What happened? That idiot!") And then there was the completely useless Bernier-booing that started about 30 minutes in. Why boo someone you have no reason to boo?

I had the pleasure of sitting near two Kings fans, a father and son, in town from Los Angeles. They were by far the best fans sitting in my section. They were fun, but they weren't loud or obnoxious. In the last two or three seasons (basically the whole time I've known anything about hockey) they've been to over 20 road games to see their Kings. They went to Ottawa before coming to Montreal, and I think the father went to Buffalo and Boston as well. They haven't missed a single home game this season to date. (The son told me this, of course, after I raved about that dynamite game against the Stars, which he obviously attended.) In fact, they've barely missed any games at all.

They found the Molson Ex Zone a little bizarre, and who can blame them? It's the section billed as "the fan section", but is it really? People pay less attention to the game in Molson Ex. The random beer girls (who my LA friends compared to ice girls, UGH) are pretty useless when you think about it: they're just there for eye candy (when there's an NHL HOCKEY GAME going on) and to get the crowd pumped up (which shouldn't be necessary, we're the loudest fans in the league). How about Molson stops wasting their money on hoochies and second-rate rock bands and gives it directly to the Canadiens? I think I speak for all fans when I say I'd rather have lower ticket prices than a "fan zone." The entire Bell Centre is supposed to be a fan zone. That's why every game is sold out.
I spent the entire third period talking to the son (I forgot to thank him for giving up Jeff Halpern) and now I miss Los Angeles. We talked about the team, the city, and its sports fans. Sure, not all Kings fans are as classy as he and his dad were yesterday, but they don't boo their own team.

Oh well. At least hockey fans here don't stab each other like football and baseball fans do in California.

Game Preview: Feels a little like '93

The last time the Canadiens encountered the Kings, they won. Quite easily, I may add. Will the Kings, coming off a rough last few games, turn the tide and beat their old Stanley Cup rivals on their home ice? Will I be able to cope with the average view from my seats tonight? Last season I sat in the 8th row of the Staples Center, next to the Canadiens defencemen. (And it wasn't that expensive!) This season, my tickets cost less, and it's the Bell Centre, so obviously I'll be a little closer to the ceiling than the ice.

Look at all the swag I got at Staples Center last year!

So I won't be paying a dollar for a program, or getting multiple team rosters for free, but at least I won't be surrounded by fans booing the Canadiens, still sore about Canada's gold-medal win in hockey. (They were passionate, just not in the right way.)

Both teams are having pretty impressive seasons so far, with almost identical records. The Kings have lost a few games recently but were still at the top of their division until Phoenix knocked them out of the top spot last night. They've only got one point less than the Canadiens. I have a feeling that this game will be less of a bust than Monday's outing against the Flyers.

Which players are worth keeping an eye on, regardless of where your seats are? I had a few guys that I thought were worth mentioning, but a great interview with The Fourth Period's Susan Crosby last night on Game Points gave me even more to talk about. (Big thanks to Susan, by the way, who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.)
- Jeff Halpern will get to say hi to his old team. But we'll keep him in Montreal, thanks. He'll have Mathieu Darche with him again, hopefully to get some of that PhD magic going. (Yannick Weber is the odd man out here. I would've liked to see him against a team like the Kings, but these decisions aren't mine to make.)
- Drew Doughty, arguably the best defenceman in the West, is showing no signs of recurring concussion symptoms.
- Banner season for Justin Williams so far. Same goes for captain Dustin Brown (who's a pretty good follow on Twitter, by the way).
- We've all seen Quebec-born goalies bring their A-game when visiting the Bell Centre (except maybe Roberto Luongo a couple of weeks ago) and it's likely that rookie Jonathan Bernier will be no exception in front of his dozens of guests. Susan Crosby says he's not at the same level as Jonathan Quick yet, so at least the team's renaissance isn't hindered by a goalie controversy just yet.

 Have fun in Montreal, Los Angeles Kings. I know it's cold, but you guys welcomed me to the Staples Center with a torrential downpour, so... even.

Dethroned: A game review

Pictures to be posted soon!
So, tonight was my first away game, and I think I know how to pick 'em.

(By the way, I really thought I had hit "publish post" on a game preview I wrote this morning, but alas I did not. Smartphones with data plans accepted so that these horrible oversights never occur again.)

How could I go to Los Angeles and be in town the same weekend as the Habs and NOT get tickets to watch them at Staples Center? I would have probably wanted to see a hockey game anyway, but somehow I was slightly less compelled to watch the Kings or the Ducks take on the Colorado Avalanche. Sure, I don't really get to see much of the Avs, and maybe Matt Duchene's rookie season will be something to talk about for a few years to come, but I couldn't settle for Colorado when Nos Glorieux were coming to town. (Sorry, Avs-loving friends.)

I was especially looking forward to seeing the Kings' gold medallist Drew Doughty and star player Anze Kopitar, who is beloved by one of my friends (who also loves Ovechkin and Avery, so I'm never too sure about trusting him). They didn't disappoint. I'd be happy to have them as Habs... which is not to say that I'm unhappy with our current roster, because obviously there was a lot to be happy about tonight.

Brian Gionta's surprise goal 22 seconds into the game brought Habs fans to their feet. (There were quite a few of us.) I'm guessing that he was what caused most of the Staples Center to be eerily silent for most of the first period. It was the quietest hockey game I'd ever been to, with the exception of this one douchebag who booed the Habs but didn't cheer the Kings at all. Benoit Pouliot deserved to be first star of the game.

This is what the game's three stars look like in Los Angeles... if I had access to Photoshop I'd have put a little puck or something in place of the film camera.

Jaro Halak played a smart game, knowing exactly what he had to do and where he had to be. Scott Gomez was extremely visible during his significant ice time (which pleased the adorable little girl I saw with "Go Habs" rubbed off one cheek but a very clear "#91" still painted on her other cheek). Travis Moen was the Canadien with the most shots on goal. I'd especially like to single out Ryan O'Byrne, who played a great game. Maybe I said too much about him at the beginning of the season, when he was still being criticized for his less-than-stellar turn last year, and maybe I noticed more than other people did tonight since I was on his side of the ice for the first and third periods (EIGHTH ROW, right behind the press photographers, oh yes that's right) but he was fantastic. He used his size and played aggressively. He delivered some really big hits.

As for what it's like to be a Habs fan outside the Bell Centre... um... let's just say I appreciate my fellow fans a little bit more than I used to. Because the Habs fans around me were pretty great, and some of the Kings fans... weren't so great. I already mentioned the douchebag a few rows behind me whose support of the Kings consisted of wearing an LA jersey and booing the Habs. Some of the Americans were also sore losers, apparently dissatisfied with Team USA making it to the gold-medal game. They booed their own defenceman because he played for Team Canada. I might hate it when Habs fans boo a former Canadien, or a self-goal, but booing Doughty was ridiculous. The contests didn't really get the audience involved - I guess I'd take the Kiss Cam or the Make Some Noise contest over seeing someone be handed a prize on the Jumbotron or watching the ice girls. If I wasn't before, I'm now most definitely certain that there's no place for ice girls in this sport.

There are more LA Kings fans than I expected, but as usual, like any unhappy fans, they left two minutes before the game ended because their team lost. I guess it's not as big of a deal if your 100-level tickets cost one-third of what they'd cost at the Bell Centre. As for the Habs fans? The post-win hoopla was a little more subdued on the ice and in the arena, so maybe it's not quite as fun as cheering on a winning home team, but there was just enough chanting and celebrating outside the game to make a Habs fan feel at home in the City of Angels, without making the Kings fans too sore.

All in all, it was a great game to be at. It's just a shame that everything goes by that much more quickly when you're close to the action, and I don't know when I'll get to see the NHL from the eighth row again. Even if I don't, I'm good for a while.

City Of Angels...

... was apparently a terrible movie, but I only sorta liked Wings of Desire so I'll pass on the modestly reviewed remake. That was kind of a clumsy way to start a post about Los Angeles.

The LA Kings site coined "Hockeywood," which is cute

Last season I had this crazy theory that whenever I was out of town during a Habs game, the team lost.
- The season started well enough until the Anaheim Ducks came to town while I was up north for the weekend, and my friends and I heard bits of the game on the radio, and found out that our team ultimately lost.
- Everyone remembers the unfortunate post-All Star skid. I listened to a slightly dejected Carey Price being interviewed on the way to the airport a week after the All Star Game, managed to see a few scores on ESPN during a week in the sun (or the coldest February that Cuba has ever seen), then came home to find out that the Habs hadn't won a single game the entire time I was away, and that a few players had been felled by injuries.
- I went to Ontario for a long weekend a few weeks after that, and found out via Czechtacular that the Canadiens lost their Thursday night game in OT. That Saturday's game was Martin Brodeur's famous "I kick you, Patrick Roy" record-breaker win, so obviously the Habs lost. Ironically, I was at a Hamilton Bulldogs game while that happened, and they beat Manitoba in a thrilling 5-1 win, with the Moose's only goal scored by '93 Cup winner Mike Keane.

By that point I was starting to be thankful that I didn't have the kind of job that required any sort of business travel.
It also took a while but I realized that last season wasn't indicative of the best the Canadiens have ever played, so it's more than possible that these were just unfortunate coincidences.

Still, it's for this reason that I was slightly worried about planning a trip to Los Angeles that would end after the Olympic break was over (it's a bit disheartening to come home and find out your team lost five minutes out of baggage claim). So far, though, les boys have been doing alright. Just to be sure, though, I made sure to stay in California this weekend. It's the Habs and the Oscars, after all. I'll be at Staples Center tomorrow to try and reverse the curse. I mean, if I'm not in Montreal but I'm close to the Canadiens, it's good juju, right? It has to be.

The Staples Center only allows posters and signs smaller than 11x17", which sort of ruins my plan for bringing a huge poster to my first away game in hopes of getting some RDS face time. They don't allow any signs on sticks either, so taking a page out of the Team Canada fanbook and printing up a giant Andrei Markov head is a no-go.
Still, poster suggestions are welcome if I can get my hands on cardboard and markers.