Game Preview – Kings vs Blue Jackets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first of four times we will play the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. Last season we beat them three out of the four games. This season? I’m not so sure. Especially since Columbus just beat Vancouver in a SO. But just look at that picture above… Anze leaves the Blue Jackets in the dust! Face first in a pile of his own frozen spit! These are the King’s players we know and love. This is the team we treasure. You and I both want to see this again, so why not tonight? Seriously, why not? I think the Kings are going to come out swinging tonight. They have something to prove. No stinking GM is going to take them down! A new coach is on the horizon and the interim one showed us he is a non-entity behind the bench. The Kings have lost 5 games and I seriously doubt there will be a 6th game loss. These guys are too good to go any farther.

Stevens is taking Voynov out of the lineup as a healthy scratch tonight. Steven said “He’s just a really good detail guy, in all parts of the game, both defending and with the puck, and I didn’t see that last game, and I think it’s time to reset the hard drive and get back to the way he’s capable of playing.’’ It’s time to do that he says. Yes, Voynov, who incidently  is one of few who BRINGS IT EACH GAME is the healthy scratch. To teach him a lesson like he has been messing up for a long time? Wow, I really don’t like this one. Slava had a bad turnover but I swear everyone had a fricken bad turnover the last game. If they put the damn puck up the boards in the neutral zone we wouldn’t have had all those turnovers. Anyway, sitting Voynov over one game is shitty. Here are a few other notes:

• Willie Mitchell is still out with a day-to-day with a lower body injury. Yup, you know, the groin pull. Willie needs to take care of his Willie section better.
• Lewis replaces Hunter. I’m not sure if he will play RW, or switch with Lotki for center. But either way, I’m happy to see Lewis back in the game. He will give his all for sure.
• Davis Dreweski is in for Mitchell. Dreweski gets a lot of flack but I have to say I noticed him vs the Bruins. But then we took 41 shots so I pretty much noticed everyone on the team.
• Mike Richards is skating but not on the road trip. Today they said he will  join them on the road in Detroit but not play. Why would they do that? Maybe he can skate with them? Have everyone together to talk about whats going on? Thats the only reason I could see doing that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m excited to see the game tonight. Isn’t it funny how no matter what goes on and whether we are up or down, we still love to see our Kings? That’s pretty cool.

Kings Line Up:

#25 Penner – # 11 Kopitar – # 14 Williams

# 12 Gagne - #28 Stoll  – # 23 Brown

# 13 Clifford – # 48 Loktionov – # 22 Lewis

# 15 Richardson – # 24 Fraser – # 19 Westgarth

# 8 Doughty – # 7 Scuderi

# 44 Dreweski –# 27 Martinez

# 22 Greene – # 3 Johnson

# 32 Quick

# 45 Bernier

Columbus Blue Jackets
#22 Vinny Prospal – #7 Jeff Carter – #61 Rick Nash
#24 Derek MacKenzie – #26 Samuel Pahlsson – #18 RJ Umberger
#50 Antoine Vermette – #16 Derick Brassard – #19 Ryan Johansen
#34 Dane Byers – #17 Mark Letestu – #40 Jared Boll

#6 Nikita Nikitin – #51 Fedor Tyutin
#3 Marc Methot – #21 James Wisniewski
#14 Grant Clitsome – #5 Aaron Johnson

#1 Steve Mason
#30 Curtis Sanford

Go! Kings! Go!