Stamkos vs. Doughty - Round 1

Steven Stamkos or Drew Doughty. Who's better? It was a debate that raged on through much of the lead up to the 2008 entry draft. Some praised Stamkos' Yzerman-like skills. Meanwhile others thought Doughty was the type of puck moving d-man that could anchor a team.

Tonight for the first time in their young careers, they do battle against each other. The first chances for Kings and Bolts fans to see which team got the better prospect.

Much has been said about these two and different people have different opinions on who is the better player. But forget opinions, let's take a look at the stats. Because numbers don't lie. Well except for the number 30. That one lies all the time. Stupid number.

Games Played
Stamkos: 40
Doughty: 41
Advantage: Doughty

Goals
Stamkos: 4
Doughty: 3
Advantage: Stamkos

Assists
Stamkos: 10
Doughty: 9
Advantage: Stamkos

Plus/Minus
Stamkos: -11
Doughty: -4
Advantage: Doughty

So let me get out my calculator here. Uh-huh, hmmmm...carry the one. Dammit. Tied 2-2! This didn't solve anything.

Tiebreaker time!

Talked Smack About By Fired Head Coaches
Stamkos: 1
Doughty: 0
Advantage: Doughty

And we have a winner! As if it wasn't bad enough that Barry Melrose even criticized Stamkos in the first place, now it makes him lose a meaningless competition on the internet. I don't know how he'll ever survive. Oh, based on upon the fact that he'll sign a big NHL contract and makes lots of money and be hounded by throngs of puck bunnies you say? Yeah that'll do it.

Third Jersey Round Up

Over the weekend while I was busy sobbing like a baby during the Patrick Roy ceremony, and while you were busy searching Craigslist for local hook-ups, a whole slew of NHL teams released their third jerseys. I'm really not thrilled with the fact that they're mostly all black. No that's not me being racist, I do support Barack Obama after all. Changing topics, let's take a closer look at the third jerseys...

San Jose Sharks - Not too much of a departure from their current home jerseys, but now the Shark has a tail! And they've got drawstrings and shoulder patches! Where can I drop $120 for these?

Los Angeles Kings - This is one of the rare occassions where I like the black jerseys. Mostly because there's no purple on them and these harken back to the Kings jerseys from the 90's. I only wish they would've went 100% with the retro look and brought back the old logo, or Wayne Gretzky. Or maybe a Wayne Gretzky logo!












Tampa Bay Lightning - Words as a logo? Words as a logo?! So now I have to read when I watch hockey? That is not cool with me Tampa Bay. Not cool at all! Also can I start calling them the Tampa Bay Bolts? Dangerously close to the Indianapolis Colts if you ask me. Colts or Bolts, which team is which? I hope I don't confuse Peyton Manning for Vincent Lecavalier. The French Canadian guy is the quarterback right? Damn! It's started already.
























Phoenix Coyotes - These duds challenge Atlanta and Philly's third sweaters for worst in the league. Where did they get that logo? Off the side of a Greyhound bus? And as if these sweaters weren't bad enough, they went with red helmets and pants to add to the overall hideousness.
























Ottawa Senators - See my Tampa Bay notes from above in regards to not wanting to read a logo. Though I do like the stripes on the sleeves. They're mesmerizing. But that also might be due to the hallucenagetic drugs.
















Boston Bruins - Black jerseys have been in Boston for as long as baked beans, clam chowder, and jumping on the Patriots bandwagon when they're winning. i.e. Forever. So I'm fine with the colour, and I also like the crest on the chest. Though I think by featuring a bear on their logo, the Boston Bruins have made themselves a powerful enemy in Stephen Colbert.

Morning After Meltdown - Monday Morning Edition: Los Angeles Kings

The Monday Morning edition of the Morning After Meltdown (MAM) is my favourite edition of all the MAM editions.

That's because most of the MAMs only reward a team for the worst performance of the previous night. The Monday morning edition instead points out a team that put in awful performances over the entire weekend.

That dubious distinction this Monday morning goes to the Los Angeles Kings. Over the weekend the Kings lost 3-1 to the Preds on Saturday, and then dropped a 2-0 decision to division rivals Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

You read that right. They only managed to score one goal over the weekend. Pretty terrible effort by the Kings.

So the Morning After Meltdown - Monday Morning Edition goes to offensively challenged Los Angeles, who looked more like court jesters instead of Kings. And by that I mean they're a joke. I don't know if that joke was too subtle or not. Just wanted to point that out so my high brow humour didn't go unnoticed.

Showcase Beatdown

After promoting this thing for months, the LA Kings appearance on The Price is Right finally aired on Wednesday.

The highlight of the show was when the players appeared during the Showcase Showdown. Some of the prizes offered up during the hockey theme showcase were tickets to a Kings game, a trip to Switzerland to watch the World Hockey Championships, a boat, and a punch in the face offered up by Denny Gauthier.

David, the guy who was bidding on the prize, passed it to the other contestant but she didn't bid correctly. So nobody ended up winning the hockey themed showcase. Instead David went home with some books, and a snowmobile. That's sad when a guy would rather win some books than go and watch a Kings game.

Kings Come on Down!

Back in the summer, some members of the LA Kings taped a special promotional episode of The Price is Right, and a clip has finally surfaced of the wacky hijinks that ensued.

In the clip, the four players are forced to bid on a certain article of clothing. And I assure you that it is top notch comedy and in no way awkward or painful to watch. Because as we all know, if anybody knows how to act and has great comedic timing, it's hockey players.

Here is the video. Try not to hurt yourself laughing too hard.