I want the Kings to win it all – picked them way back in September to win it all – but if they can’t win clean I won’t be down with it. I’m sick of teams ruining legitimate victories – TAINTING valiant efforts – by breaking form and pulling stupid crap that undermines everything. It broke my heart when the Pens did it, when Nashville did it and even though I’m not a Flyers fan, I hated to see them degenerate to the extent that all anybody talked about afterward was what a freaking waste they turned out to be. It’s just not fun to watch. They’re excusing it by calling it “passion”. People are allowed to make mistakes but there’s a fine line between screwing up and being a poor sport – whether it means you’re making underhanded plays or being a jackass in the handshake line. I’m tired of it.

Dustin Penner was the hero of the game, along with Mr. Vezina-Smythe. But his post-game was mired with distraction. Reporters at the presser were asking him about the other Dustin, and on the ice fans were jeering because of all the drama from both teams. People barely cared that he’d just scored the goal of his career. Fans were either throwing crap on the ice because they were upset or they were trying to acknowledge their home team on a great series and season, but again – nobody was paying attention because they were yapping to the officials or b***hing amongst themselves or whatever. When the Coyotes finally got around to saluting their fans (hello!), it was almost an afterthought. And we know what went down during handshakes.

On top of all this, nobody noticed that after the “hit”, Kopitar flew across the ice like a pumpkin slingshot. He’s like 6’2″ and weighs well over 200 lbs. Bottom line: When you make reckless plays, you don’t just endanger your opponents – you risk injuring your own linemates. Brown needs to dial it back for the Finals.

Extremely impressive show by the Kings. Living on the West Coast was so much better for late-night overtime excitement, but even Mr. Pants grounded his video game jet to watch the end of this one.

So many captains acting out though. Is it because it’s the cup? 🙂 remember how everyone had their panties in a bunch when Sid assaulted a GLOVE? We were all so innocent then.