Be like Mulder... Fight the future!
What is this about? Matt Murray from Life in Hockeywood proposed a Kings blogger prediction panel for the rest of the season. Seven websites are represented on the panel and we simply predict the score of the game and give a reason why we believe it will turn out that way. I’m also including commenters from LA Kings Insider to compete against us!
Playing: There are 3 ways to score. 1) Wins and losses. 2) Plus/Minus 3) And the ‘exacta’ which is predicting the exact score of the game. The plus/minus works like this: You get a -1 for every goal you’re off. If you’re off by 2 goals for one team and 1 goal for the other, then that’s a -3. You get a +1 for predicting one correct score, you get a +1 for predicting the total number of goals correct, OR you get a +3 for predicting the exact score (exacta).
What do I win? This is just for fun. There’s nothing to win except mad respect and ice cred (not to be confused with street cred). If you miss a game, you’re out.
*Predictions are sorted by current standings. Bloggers are in bold, linked to their respective websites.
PREDICTIONS – Game 3 of 32
Los Angeles Kings vs. Carolina Hurricanes
| Name | Prediction | Reason |
| wavesinair | Canes 3-0 | Carolina might be ‘Columbus East’ but they also have 13 more points than the Jackets and as many wins as Anaheim. Couple that with the 3-0 beat down of Boston two days ago and this trip could get ugly really fast. Make me wrong JW and get a hatty. |
| Meg Jarrell | Kings 3-1 | The Kings will want to avenge last night’s loss, but let’s not get TOO excited – this is still an offensively challenged team. |
| trytodethroneus | Kings 3-2 SO | Still beaming from his new contract, tmfg scores late to send it into OT…Williams with the decider. |
| variable | Kings 3-2 | The Hurricanes have given up the fourth most goals this season. So the chances of the Kings getting to the 3-goal mark increase by Pi. |
| Kingsfanone | Kings 2-1 | Whether Quick or Bernier in goal, I predict an outstanding performance tonight. I’m still not convinced the Kings can muster a lot of offense, but they should be able to get a win. Let’s hope I’m right. I also hope they break out of the team-wide offensive slump and bury this team, but I’ve been playing the lottery for an awful long time without big success also. |
| McSorleyfan | Kings 3-1 | In response to the chunks of ass Daryl Sutter removed from the boys last night, I see them ripping into Carolina with anger and eagerness for redemption. |
| Forum Gold | Kings 3-1 | Kings bounce back and win despite being outshot. Richards and Kopitar get on the board. Special teams excel. |
| Cynic | Kings 2-1 OT | After last night’s crap, I don’t know what to think. Maybe it’ll be one of those things like we have with Columbus you know… We can beat Chicago and San Jose, but we can’t beat Columbus type of thing since the Canes have beat Boston 3 times this year. When they play us, maybe they’ll suck for no good reason. |
| 40YearKingsFan | Kings 3-2 | The Kings will respond to last night’s disappointment with a 2-0 first period, then hang on to grind out a regulation W and right the ship. Goals for Richards and Williams. |
| Matt Murray | Kings 3-2 OT | The league’s worst offense was at its craptastic Friday night, getting shutout for the sixth time this season. However, L.A. has responded well, winning four out of the five games following a shutout this season, with that one loss coming in a shootout to the Penguins. |
| Dominick | Kings 3-2 | |
| Happy Lappy | Kings 2-1 OT | |
| Quisp | Kings 4-3 | Because he said so. |
| Jon Gillette | Kings 3-2 | Last night was an embarrassment and I would hope that this team has enough pride to grind one out when presented with their first chance. It just so happens that the chance comes today and the Kings would do well by their fans to fly out of Raleigh with 2 points. The unfortunate piece; this is a non-conference game so the net gain in the standings is only the 2 points given to the winner. |
| KC23 | ? | |
| CB14 | Canes 2-1 OT/SO | The Kings are 2-2-4 in the second night of back to back games. Both of those wins came with very light travel in between games. One was from San Jose to LA, and the other was from LA to OC. Cam Ward has allowed 2 goals or less in 10 of his last 11 games and he’s facing the Kings, enough said. |
| Hipcheck | Kings 2-1 | Canes defense is horrible and they are middle of the pack offensively, Kings should be able to muster up 2 if they play at the level they did last night. |
| Bobby Scribe | Kings 2-1 | Tuomo Ruutu with the game winner for the Kings…that’s right, they trade him between periods. |
| DetroitSons1952 | ? | |
| The Royal Half | Kings 3-2 | The Hurricanes are the last place team in the East. The Kings beat Columbus, the last place team in the West, 3-2. That’s not an opinion. That is Science. |
| LBLocal | Kings 3-2 | A quick start is essential. Worried about the b2b. Staal shut down is key. |
waves’ notes: Frustration abounds and I can’t blame anyone for being so. It’s a frustrating team. But for some reason, even despite my poor prediction, I think this team is ok. I do expect them to take a couple steps backward before moving forward. It’s the Kings way after all. However, since I made my prediction, I discovered that the Kings are 8-2 after winning, then losing a game this season. So maybe that backslide will be pretty short. Credit variable for his use of the term ‘pi’ in a hockey reference. All you slackers hurry up!
Love the fill-in comment for Quisp!
@Jon Gillette (@RinkRoyaltyJon):
Someone had to do it!
It’s cute that 12 of ya have the Kings scoring 3 or more goals.
@Lappy!:
You coulda been a contender…
Waves calling on JW for the hatty!
I love it!!
@Kingsfanone:
Did he even play last night? I know, I know, he got an assist. Nice one too.
3-2 Kings against Carolina! Ohhh Yea!
Kings 2-1 in OT
-1 so far for me tonight. I hope for many more…
@wavesinair: When they end up 3-2, your gonna be a -4.
@Dominick:
And you’re gonna be a -4 when the Canes win 3-0! Oh, wait, never mind.
Results won’t be up until tomorrow. I’ll be out and about tonight…
Carry on.
@wavesinair:
Must be GF maintenance. I had that last nite, saw Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Maintenance accomplished!
@wavesinair:
Taking a cooking class! It’s an Xmas gift. Gonna be a blast. Really.
@wavesinair:
Nice! I had to learn to cook when I was 10, so I’ve got no problem handling that!
Have fun! Eat well!
Exacta baby!
@CB14:
Good call! Bad game. Again.
@Kingsfanone: same old, same old.
@CB14:
Winner, winner! Good job. Now you can feel guilty for being right.
@wavesinair: haha. Good job to you as well for calling the winner. I guess we’re the only ones who still believed our offense is pathetic. I think everyone will be with us now.
@CB14:
congrats…(!)
F* THE BS*. New marketing slogan.. The LA KINGS. KILLING YOUR FANS SLOWLY SINCE 1967.
@LBlocal:
Exactly. Even the Clippers’ future is looking brighter than the Kings right now. And that is VERY painful to say.
@wavesinair:
Hahaha! My GF is a Clippers fan. We go to home games on occasion. Clips signed K Mart, going after J R Smith. The strong get stronger.
I surmise the Kings getting 1 or 2 players to be ineffective. There is something “deeper” at work here. The ENTIRE team going belly up on offense all at the same time? That’s Red Sox Bambino curse territory, for sure.
They got over the curse. Did you notice how? They actually had a “witch” or whatever come in and take the curse off of home plate. True story.
The Kings solution?
They’ll have to kill Terry Murray. I think the trade off is acceptable. Either that, or its call damn Tony Robbins.
Seriously.
@Kingsfanone:
Maybe Dave Taylor has some serious voodoo powers and until ALL of his players are gone, we’re toast.
what can you say at this point…?
i think there comes a time when you have to be honest with what you have in front of you, in terms of results – because we are in a results-driven world…and hockey is no exception to that..and the reality is no matter who the coach is, no matter what line combos are out there, we just don’t have what it takes to score over 3 goals…let alone, 2 goals…a game consistently…
i mean, it’s now 53 games into the season and the kings are heading towards the finish, looking to set a post-lockout record for scoring futility…at this point, it’s the same scenarios that upper-management/dl is face with…:
1. keep the team relatively intact down the stretch and hope for the best…
2. with so many teams still in playoff contention throughout each conference, nobody is gonna want to sell what they have cheaply…so you can go out and spend a lil’ more than you should and try to initiate a trade that might break the bank and sacrifice future plans for immediate scoring help/satisfaction…
3. make smaller moves that provide ancillary help and scoring and keep yr future salary cap plans/obligations the same…
with every loss and with every game the kings score less than what’s expected of them, pressure mounts on dl to take some type of action and abandon option 1…but will he do it…?…will he have the nerve to go out and offer more of what we have for what we need…?
the season is in the balance…and there are no easy answers in how to approach the rest of the way…there’s a fair amount of sacrifice no matter which direction the kings decide to take…
@variable:
I think option 1 was abandon a long time ago. I do think there’s no question moves will happen. But i do think it will be an encounter of the 3rd kind. Ancillary all the way.
Kings, Canes….it sounds the same when the fans at RBC are yelling “Lets Go Canes”….
I got the score right, so by default, it shouldn’t matter what team wins to get the exacta for this one, right?
Right? No? …….damn it.
My birthday is tomorrow, can I get an exacta for that? No?
…..damn it.
I can’t catch a break. Hey, I really AM a Kings fan!
Bonus points to Darryl Sutter for his first set of excuses for losing a game since taking over the team. His comments are FULL of ‘em. Just makes it hurt more Darryl. I haven’t cooked my Crow yet. Isn’t the next game #20? I may wait after all.
@Cynic:
C…
happy day of yr birth…(for tmrw)…(!)
and yr right…
maybe somewhat different phrase-ology, but…hmmm…starting to sound familiar, now that the honeymoon is over…
“pretty solid game”, “finishing the job”, “productivity out of your top players”, “puck battle”, “fine line”, “tough to win” and “hard to swallow”…
i like sutter…and have been pleasantly surprised by his new coaching style…
but…this notion he’s “light years” away in philosophy from our previous coach is pure nonsense…sure, there are differences here and there…and many are for the better…the truth is, they all have their own way of saying virtually the same thing…
it comes down to the players we have out there…and they’re simply not getting it done – much similarly to before sutter was the coach…although sutter has done his better best to make a positive difference with his communication, teaching and proactive approach, he’s starting to get almost the same results, with only pockets of marginal improvement….
this is not a pro-tm post…or an anti-sutter post…
it’s more an opinion of what we are faced with at this point…more to the point, what dl is faced with at this point…
@Cynic:
It’s today, so Happy Birthday, dude!
I hope its a good one for you!
@Cynic:
Happy Beerfday Bud!
Waves, sorry I didn’t get my score in for the game today but I was involved in a team play golf match down at Canyon Lake CC and I must say that my team faired much better then the Kings.
@DetroitSons1952Awaiting Moderation:
No problemo! You’re welcome back in but at a cost. You’ll be tied with dead last. You’re call.
I have a question for all the Guru’s here, what hockey rink is shown in the pic with my name?
@DetroitSons1952Awaiting Moderation:
I can barley see that picture. I can’t even tell it’s a hockey rink!
Geezus. After continually watching this team struggle to score, I think its Murray’s brainwashing still affecting them. Gotta be. I have no doubts now. The fix? You know what I’m gonna say……
Tony Robbins.
Call him. He’ll get the Murray stink outa them. Money well spent.
What’s the worst that can happen? All the Kings meowing on all fours on the ice after an opponents goal?
@Kingsfanone:
Ha! Good stuff KF1. Tony would TOTALLY turn this club around! I mean that too.