Chris Sutter Gets His Postgame Interview

((HT: NHL on NBCSN))

The HQ came across a great article during our Stanley Cup Final coverage that Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star wrote about LA Kings head coach Darryl Sutter and just how much we don't know about him.

We all see the Popovichian-Belichickian press conference glibness which is good for quick quotes and a laugh. But Arthur let us in on the huge heart the coach has for family and for others- specifically those who have Down's Syndrome like his son Chris.

But Chris is family to the Kings players and he was a part of Anze Kopitar's post-game interview last night...

As he should...


Well said, young man, well said...

ICYMI: The LA Kings Might Have Won The Stanley Cup in 2 OT's

((ht: nhl.com))

I'm quite honestly surprised Brother Jon hasn't gushed all over this story...but then again as a life-long, devoted Kings fan, he may still be celebrating.

The Los Angeles Kings won their 2nd Stanley Cup Title in 3-years Friday night with a 3-2 win in Double Overtime over the New York Rangers, the game was played in L.A.

The win gave the Kings a 4-1 series win over the Rangers and while it looked on the surface like a Kings runaway, the series was much closer than it looked.

Defenseman Alec Martinez dropped in a rebounded shot at the 14:43 mark of the 2nd OT and becomes a hero in NHL annals. It was Martinez, who had an overtime game winner in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.

Needless to say, without Martinez's heroics, we may not be having this conversation.

The Kings Justin Williams walked away with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP and it was well deserved,

Your highlights from NHL.com:



UPDATE: Yes, Brother Jon was celebrating quite well...

Stanley Cup Final Heads Back to Los Angeles

((HT: NHL on NBCSN/Sportsnet))

And the New York Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist to thank- considering he had to stand on his head for the entire third period in a 2-1 survival against the Los Angeles Kings.

Curtis Joseph talks about King Henrik and his 40 saves
And for those of you who want to be readily awake now, here's the highlights with Doc, Edzo, and Pierre...

Jeff Carter Plays "Beat The Clock"

((HT: NHL on NBCSN))

It was one that Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist should have kept in the glove, but it entered the net with less than a second to go in the first.

The only .7 of a second that the Kings had led in regulation in the Stanley Cup Final before the second period began...

Mr. Game 7 Takes Game One

((HT: NHL on NBC))

The Los Angeles Kings gave up ANOTHER two-goal lead out of the blocks in Game One of the Stanley Cup Final.

The HQ knows how that's working for everyone else...

It did take an extra couple of minutes, but the Kings are winners of Game 1 with Game 2 after the horse race Saturday night.
Here's the highlights


Gene Principe catches up with Mike Richards about Mr. Game 7
((HT: Sportsnet))

THIS MIGHT BE THE WILDEST ENDING TO REGULATION IN MODERN MEMORY

((HT: CJZero/NHL on NBC))

This was the end of regulation for Game One of the Stanley Cup Final


Absolute, bat-s*** crazy ending and they headed to overtime...

This Is Why Drew Doughty Was Drafted 2nd Overall

((HT: LA Kings their own selves))

Doughty tied Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at twos with this move...


Yeah...

Not bad...

The game still goes on at present...

Bobby Orr's Goal Recreated In LEGO Form

((HT: Sportsnet))

Everyone remembers one of the Plager brothers sticks getting in the way of Bobby Orr's skates at the time he scored a game-winning, Cup-clinching goal against the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1970.

It was recreated, finally, in LEGO form- as it should have...
Here's the live version for those of you unfamiliar with one of the most famous plays in Stanley Cup history...

Round 2: Bear and The Gang

((HT: Puck Daddy/NHL))

See how many Boston Bruins players and celebs you can spot in this Christmas episode of "Bear and The Gang..."

It's about nine different plot lines happening all at once...
See if you can keep up...

Dave Bolland Is No Andrew Shaw

((HT: CBC/NHL))

While the HQ knows that Andrew Shaw, probably, set the modern day record for post-game celebratory cussing while Doc Emrick was trying to cover it over with monologue and the audio guy for NBC let it ride last night...

Not to be outdone, Dave Bolland got excited while talking to Scott Oake...


Carry on... and congrats to the Blackhawks... even if they did beat the Kings to get there...

Said the Kings fan on staff...

If someone posts the Shaw outburst while he was bleeding the blood of elation onto the sweater of celebration, you'll see it...

Original 6 Cup Final Set For Wednesday

((HT: NHL on NBCSN))

It'll be for the first time since 1979 that Original 6 teams square off in the Stanley Cup Final, but the defending champs didn't go without a fight.

In an elimination game, it took a moment like this from Mike Richards to send the game to free hockey...

It was the longest game in LA Kings franchise history and the injury list, once released by the team, could be the longest in team history.

Chicago and Boston will start at the Madhouse on Wednesday night...

Nothing like a hat trick for Patrick Kane- he scored more goals in a conference finals game than the entire Penguins team scored in a conference finals series...

Howzatforastat...???
And it also proves just how difficult it is for a team to be a successful defending champ...

Pens Swept In 4 By Boston: Now What...??? (UPDATED: With The Last Minute Of Play)

((HT: NHL on NBCSN/CBC))

For the first time in over thirty years, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been swept in a playoff series- losing 1-0 in Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Bruins.

Tuukka Rask only gave up two goals in the four games in the series. And the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed stymied (and that's putting it lightly) when their high-flying offense met the physical Bruins team and were no match for their status and stature.

Here's your game-winner...
The questions now will be raised on more than one level in Pittsburgh... Will Dan Bylsma get to come back in the first place after being a top seed that gets bumped around and bumped out... Answer: Prolly not... Who stays from the free agent pool and who gets let go...??? Pascal Dupuis should get a raise from his US$1.5-million, but will it be in Pittsburgh...??? Jarome Iginla made US$7-million this season... does he stay...??? Brendan Morrow at $4.1-million...??? Matt Cooke at $1.25-million...??? Douglas Murray, Craig Adams, and Mark Eaton are all unrestricted free agents and the cap is supposed to decrease... But how much blame should be laid at the skates of Malkin and Crosby who scored NO points at all... Not just in Game 4, but in the entire series... It will be a long summer in Pittsburgh where tempers are short and expectations are always high... Bylsma said his team left it "all out there" on the ice, but the Bruins survived the last minute and 50 seconds with a lot of help...
And it's times like that to reinforce why Doc Emrick should call every hockey game on the planet at all times...
Unless, you're Bob Cole or something like that...

Vince Vaughn Talks Hawks With Jay

((HT: NBC))

Vince Vaughn is all over the screen when he can be around his Chicago Blackhawks...

So, Jay Leno even gave him the opportunity to talk puck when he visited last night...


And, if the Blackhawks lose game three, the HQ will be more than happy to blame the loss on him so the Kings can make it a series...

When Do The Pens Start Gripping...???

((HT: CBC/NHL))

Right about now would be a good time, perhaps...???

The series with Boston is strength versus finesse (or speed) and right now strength is winning and has the Penguins completely out of their game... winning game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals 6-1

Last night was another example as the Pens, finally, went back to Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. But it took another Boston outburst to do it and the first shot went into the net behind Fleury, just to give him an appropriate welcome back...

Here's the highlights...
FOSG Brad Marchand's first of his two goals only 28 seconds in gave the Pens a heart attack and it didn't get any better. "Tonight we were just terrible," Sidney Crosby said after the game. "There is no other way to describe it." Yeah, that'd be about right...

Game 3 in Boston is Wednesday night...

Eastern Conference Finals Are Already Chippy

((HT: NHL on NBC/CBC))

There was no disputing that the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins was going to be a face-to-face situation where neither side was going to flinch.

Evidence in that came in the form of the second period...

Boarding penalties on Matt Cooke (on Adam McQuaid) and then, with 30 seconds left in the period, by Brad Marchand (on James Neal) all hell broke loose. And when Evgeni Malkin decides to drop, then prevailing wisdom is that this is an extraordinary circumstance.


The HQ finds it interesting that Crosby made a point to woof with fellow captain Zdeno Chara.

But the talk went more toward:

1) Matt Cooke getting ejected for his hit on McQuaid and,
2) How some (Crosby) thought the officials let the game get out of hand and get to the point of having one of the games stars so frustrated that we was ready to drop...

Please review and discuss...
((HT: CSNNE.com))


Looks like Cooke will escape further punishment for Game 2, but odds are the HQ thinks he'll be on a short leash for the rest of the series...

DEVELOPING: Blackhawks Advance Despite Steven Walkom

((HT: Fred Murtz/NHL on NBCSN))

Brent Seabrook's goal 3-plus minutes into overtime sends the Chicago Blackhawks into the Western Conference finals to play the 5th seed Los Angeles Kings.

It was the first Game 7 overtime in 806 career match-ups and it almost didn't get there but for the intervention of Steven Walkom late in the third period. Everyone thought the Niklas Hjalmarsson goal was that...

But it wasn't one... even if it was...


Game 1 is Saturday night... Seabrook's goal goes off the stick of Niklas Kronwall before handcuffing Jimmy Howard...

And that will do...
For now...

And, Now Your Game 7 National Anthem...

((HT: NHL on NBCSN))

The task at the Madhouse every home game is to drown out the singer of the National Anthem, Jim Cornelison...
The task was the same at the Stadium with Wayne Messmer at the mic...

There is no singing along, just noise upon noise...

Here's how it was before tonight's Game 7 (which amplifies it even more) with the Blackhawks and Detroit...


And that's why the HQ loves this time of year...

Pens Take Care Of Sens: Wait For Bruins-Rangers

((HT: NHL/NBCSN))

With Tomas Vokoun in goal, there has been a feeling that the Pittsburgh Penguins would make a point- to outscore everyone if they needed to for a win, to protect their back-up goaltender, and to tell their starting goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, that all you have to be is hot to make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...

It takes effort from everyone every night, sometimes it's someone you don't expect- and that's what it takes in addition to those who are expected to do their jobs (aka the "stars...") to win a title...

And last night, it was James Neal...

Here's the highlights- most of them are Pittsburgh

it's the first time the Pens are in the Eastern Conference finals since 2009- the year they won a Cup title...

A 44-Story Goal Light...??? Yup... In Pittsburgh...

((HT: CBS Sports/Adam Gretz))

This is what happens when you have a city fully involved in their post-season...

Pittsburgh has turned their 44-story Gulf Building into a gigantic goal light that goes off every time the Pens score...

The building was very busy last night...
Evidence below...

Pittsburgh Penguins on WhoSay

Two Late PPG Give Kings 2-0 Series Lead

((HT: NHL on NBC/Fred Murtz))

Things were looking pretty bleak for the Stanley Cup Champ LA Kings late into the third period...

But, when you go on a 5-on-3 (which is rarely called that late in a game this late in the playoff season), good things happen for the team on the power play...

Like twice... from Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis...
So, the home team goes from 3-2 down to 4-3 up in the span of 22 seconds...

Here's both goals...
John Forslund and Joe Micheletti on the call...


It's the 12th straight home win for the Kings at Staples...
Game Three is Saturday night in San Jose...