Friday Findings: LA Kings dominate rink & PR, D-Wade, Messier-less Rangers, more

A collection of cool stuff I’ve found while scouring the depths of the internet.

-The L.A. Kings just can’t seem to do any wrong lately. After a disappointing regular season where they were the 8th and final seed in the Western Conference playoffs, they’ve managed to make their way through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd seeds to the Stanley Cup final, losing only TWO(!!!) games along the way.

But their P.R. staff just keeps winning, too. This funny Tweet caused more of an uproar than it should have, and probably gained the team a lot more Canadian support in the long run. They also made up this hilarious infographic to educate the number of clueless American media outlets who kept referring to the team as the Sacramento Kings, among others. And finally, this little publicity stunt with The Office star Rainn Wilson(AKA Dwight), referencing a classic episode, is getting them even more exposure.

With the Lakers AND Clippers eliminated, this is the Kings’ time to make fans and gain some relevance in the city of Angels, and they’re doing well if you ask me.

Random Thoughts

- As much as it pains me to say it, the Toronto Maple Leafs are slowly becoming a scary-good team. And keep in mind, this comes from a rational, sane, non-Leafs fan. The amount of speedy young talent that GM Brian Burke has purposely acquired is mind boggling. Phil Kessel is finally living up to his lofty billing. Joffrey Lupul and Jake Gardiner, both acquired in the same trade from Anaheim, are flying down the ice and turning defenses inside-out. And Matt Frattin and Joey Crabb are giving the team energy and skill, while also providing the Leafs announcer with some great names.

Here’s to Ottawa being the next stop on the Brian Burke Rebuilding Tour.

Home Opener? Time to tank

Well, the heroic Ottawa Senators have their home opening game tonight. They’ve already played 2 games, and folks, they weren’t pretty. While the mini-comeback fail against Toronto was encouraging, they honestly have no hope. Alfreddson is old, Spezza sucks, their first round pick was brutal, and Chara finally got his cup, on a different team. Things couldn’t be much worse for the Senators….

Which is why I dont think it’s too early to introduce the Senators Tank…..

NHL Preview from Scott Micacchi

It’s back!! Best sport ever and it is finally here. I can NOT wait till the season is in full swing. Scott Micacchi here did a preview of how he feels each team in the league will do, as well as a fantasy preview for all of you playing in leagues. Goodluck and lets hope we see Lord Stanley on Young street in June!

Return of the Plugs, NHL Style

Contributed by Bryan M.:

NHL 12 – “Return of the Plugs”

We all know last years NHL season was filled with multiple season ending injuries to various superstars whether it be torn ACL’s or the multiple trips to the ‘Quiet Room’ many players are looking to return this season with a vengeance. It’s easy to predict that the bug name superstars such as Crosby, Malkin, Pronger and such will return to their regular stud form but what really intrigues me is the return of the meatsacks who have been KO’d for a while now or been off in the less talented Euro leagues. Enjoy this list of plugs looking return to fine form for this years upcoming season:

Mid-Week Randomness

Here’s a little bit of everything for ya on this lovely Humpday afternoon.

-  PWNage: Watch ESPN commentator Skip Bayless confront Chris Bosh on his morning show. He goes from making every Raptors fan grin from ear to ear with joy (Basically ‘I called you a Spice Girl, and I have no regrets about it‘) to feeling deeply hurt and insulted (“I want you to know that when you were in Toronto, I rarely spoke about you on this show. In fact, I might not have ever spoken about you on this show because you were basically irrelevant to me“). Jerk!

Tough times to be a Hockey player

RIP former NHLer Pavol Demitra

A long summer of tragedy in the hockey world was extended this morning when a Russian plane carrying the KHL team Lokomotiv crashed, killing everyone on board (except one) including former NHL’s Pavol Demitra and Ruslan Salei.

What’s sad is that, here in Canada, this news is more then likely about to be overshadowed by the Sidney finally Speaks press conference happening in oh, 15 minutes.  The way this summer has been going for the sport, don’t be surprised when he announces his retirement.

RIP to all the players and people who lost their lives in this horrific accident.

Review: New Winnipeg Jets Jerseys

The reincarnation of the Winnipeg Jets have finally unveiled their brand new jerseys.You can see them here. I consider myself a bit of a jersey aficionado, wasn’t originally a fan of changing the classic look.

 

Will the Leafs make the Playoffs?

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Everyone who know’s me can attest how big of an avid Leafs fan I am. Being apart of Leaf Nation we are all wondering if we are going to make the playoffs this year, so I decided I would post my first prediction on our outcome.