Pencil the Kings In For Your Elite Teams

Merry Christmas, puckheads, and a very happy holidays to you! Okay, so I fluked out and forgot to post up the opinion post about the Los Angeles Kings, but honestly with all the Christmas shopping I had to do as well as taking care of my family and going to hockey games (obviously), it will be put up today. I said I would be talking about the Los Angeles Kings and you're right, I will be talking about the Kings.
Look at the Los Angeles Kings right now this season. So far, they've done a pretty darn job at climbing to the top of the Western Conference and holding a firm lead over the others. Ahh, but let's not forget somethig that you should all have on your ballots for elite teams.
I would recommend you pencil this team in to make it past the first round and make it past the second round. Wait, playoffs are too early. Right now, they should be penciled in as a elite team in the league right up with the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, and Chicago Blackhawks. Ahh, but there's more to it than just the fact that they are an elite team.
They are the deepest and most powerful offensive and defensive that I've seen it recent years. Heck, if the Kings were like this a few years ago, they would be at the top of the Pacific Division and could possibly have won it. But that's not the present. Right now, LA coach Terry Murray is righting this ship, having won his 100th game with the Kings yesterday on December 23rd. I admire what he's doing to this team, bringing in the right mix of young and veteran players to create a stable team, much like what the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS (my favorite MLS team obviously) do all the time.
They've paid off in games and it has given them big points when they need it. It looks like the Kings will continue to rise to the top. Teams like Anaheim, Phoenix, Nashville, and Columbus are coming and no doubt the Kings will look to beat on their enemies and climb up the ladder. Let's see how far will they go? Will they do well in the regular season and in the playoffs? Or is it going to sail downhill? We'll find out. Next Kings game is December 26th against MY Anaheim Ducks. The puck drops at 6:00pm and you don't want to miss out on another Freeway Face-Off matchup. This time it's Round 2. Later, puckheads! I'm off until January 3rd. Enjoy your break!!!

Wednesday Toss Up for December 22nd, 2010

Here it is, puckheads. Time for another edition of the Wednesday Toss-Up. Lot going on around the NHL these days and it looks like a lot of debating needs to be up. So why don't we cut out the chit-chat and get right to our topics. Let them loose:

24/7 Penguins-Capitals reality show. Smart or silly?
Well, it's related to the Winter Classic because both of these teams are actually in this year's Winter Classic. I like the fact that if you have a Winter Classic, there should be a show going up to the beginning. I think this is definitely smart because you need some background information on these two teams as well as what goes on behind the locker room before going out to the game. Shout-out to the director and producer of this show because this show rocks. Definitely smart.

Pavel Datsyuk's hand injury: Sink the Wings in the long run or help them overcome the injury?
Let me make this clear to everybody: Whoever goes out for the Red Wings, they can recover and get back quickly. The Red Wings know how to win with players on the sidelines injured in many places. Johan Franzen did it and they still kept up to get into the playoffs. The Red Wings should have nothing to worry about. They have many elite players on that team that can do Pavel Datsyuk's job for as long as he's out. This will help them, not hurt them.

How will the Ducks fare at this point in the season? Fall down or get up?
The Ducks have had a long stretch of road games where their record hasn't faired as well as they want it to. They lost to the Islanders, which is not good and it pretty much tells you're heading for a disappointing season. But the Ducks have already fallen. They seem to win against the good teams, but lose against the losing teams, like New Jersey and the NY Islanders, so I'm questioning if this team is going anywhere. I'm gonna lean more towards getting up, but it's pretty close.

How did you like Bruce Boudreau's rant? Crazy or awesome?
I love it when coaches rant because they have the least amount of patience with their teams, except for maybe general managers. They're fine now, with winning two straight, but I think Boudreau's rant helped this team get right back up and compete with the others. I think Boudreau is a genius and he ranted at the right time. Plus, he cursed like fifteen times. This reminds me of Derek Anderson's rant to a reporter after smiling on the sidelines at a Cardinals game. The Boudreau rant is downright awesome.

That's it for this week's edition of Wednesday Toss-Up. A blog post will be posted tomorrow about the Los Angeles Kings and then I'm off for the Christmas holiday and New Year's. I'll see you guys tomorrow for one more blog and after that, I'll be back blogging on Monday, January 3rd. Later, puckheads!

A Late Wednesday Toss-Up

Originally, I had said that the Wednesday Toss-Up was going to be Wednesday. Unfortunately, some of my friends needed me to help them out with studying for their finals so I was unavailable last night. So today, we're going to have the Wednesday Toss-Up. Let's get a look at our debates.

More pathetic? The Capitals losing seven in a row or Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin on The Price is Right?
The Capitals are suffering badly and they're having a hard time getting off the ground. But they're a great hockey club and every team goes through this. The Sharks went through it at one point, the Kings went through it at one point, even the Penguins. The Price is Right is such a lame show that only housewives are watching that show. If they'd been on the TV show 24 then I'd have a better thought. But the Price is Right is too lame. It's Sid and Ovy on The Price is Right.

Who are you more excited to see lose? The Sharks or the Devils?
I hate these kind of questions because it reacts so negatively to the poor offensive style of play, but both of these teams are pretty bad right now. The Devils are not going to get into the playoffs because they can't score and when they don't score, Brodeur's not going to have a good night. But I'm more excited to see the Sharks lose because they've been underachievers all this time and if they make it out of the playoffs for the first time ever, then they'll be nicknamed as "The Stooges". At least that's what I think. It's the Sharks. I hate seeing the Devils lose but I hope they get better.

Who is more worthy of the All-Star Game? Kris Letang or Carey Price?
The Canadiens were so stupid to let Halak go and decided to go with Carey Price. But Price is doing pretty well, but Letang's on a better team. A team that actually won twelve straight games at one point. I'd give my All-Star vote and not Price, because Price hasn't really showed me he can be an elite goaltender. Until he proves that he can stop teams like Boston and Pittsburgh, it's Letang who's got my vote.

Three questions today unfortunately, since I don't have a fourth one. But I hope you liked the picks I made in this week's Wednesday Toss-Up. Keep track of more posts coming and I'll see you later, puckheads.

Time to Get the Blog Back On-Track: Interesting Things Up Ahead

I would first like to say that I'm sorry I haven't been able to update since I did a Wednesday Toss-Up back on Thursday, December 2nd. But guess what? I had finals just these past two days and I'm feeling that rusty. I hope you get me.
So Reid's Hockey Insight will get back on track right away, but not all the blog posts will be about hockey for the next few weeks, as I'm busy sorting out my stuff and heading to Northern California, Southern California, and Arizona for those next few weeks. But here's one thing I promise to you: All opinions based on hockey facts, predictions for games, and analysis from games that depend on it coming from me.
So let me start off the return of Reid's Hockey Insight by giving my insight between what happened from December 2nd all the way on. We've seen the up-and-go roller coaster of the NHL take its toll. Teams are busy swaying around, but one team stands out is the Pittsburgh Penguins. They had a 12-game winning streak until it was snapped tonight in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia. The Anaheim Ducks are slowly crawling back into the playoff race after getting shut out back-to-back games at home. The road gets tricky from them, however, as a long road trip awaits them with several games on the East Coast and in LA and Phoenix. The Los Angeles Kings are looking pretty tough and keeping up with the others in the Western Conference. The Washington Capitals have severely blown several tires as they have lost seven in a row, their recent one in a 7-0 drubbing from the New York Rangers at the Garden.
Things are looking quite interesting in the hockey realms, but over the next few days, we'll see if anything changes. And I tell you, there is something that's bound to change. Moving on, TRON: Legacy comes out this Friday, December 17 at 12:01 AM at all theaters everywhere. I'm already getting my ticket to see the movie at the AMC theater in Downtown Disney. I've been waiting for a long time for this movie to come out and boy am I psyched up. I got my wardrobe, my video games, my soundtrack, and my other accessories all set. It's like I'm tronned up for the movie (hey, I just invented a word). This movie is bound to be the greatest Disney achievement of all time. Okay, not of all time, but one of their many great achievements.
Christmas is around the corner, puckheads. I hope you know what's on your shopping list. Hey, how about that XBOX 360 you've always wanted or a brand new flat screen TV from Sony? Hey, there's always a new Dell laptop in store. I haven't had time to really get my Christmas going, but many gifts are coming this way for me. My video game collection will be stocking up by December 26th and plenty of new games will be in store for me to play. No new clothes this year, as TRON: Legacy has basically been taking all that up. So guess what? It's your Christmas and I would like to say to that: Happy Holidays and enjoy yourselves this holiday season! People on the West Coast, stay on the West Coast. It'll be warmer than over East this year. Ha ha!
That's it for the beginning of the return of the Reid's Hockey Insight blog. We got many pieces of news that needs to be analyzed up ahead. So keep checking back. Tomorrow is our weekly Wednesday Toss-Up so be sure to check tomorrow and see what debates are up for discussion and what my choice is. Later, puckheads!

Wednesday Toss-Up

So, puckheads, this might be a day late, but it's another edition of the Wednesday Toss-Up. For those of you that are new to this, there's a topic and I have to choose a side. It's fairly easy. Once you understand it, you'll know what I mean. Let's get our topics for the day.

More likely to win the Central? The Blackhawks or the Red Wings?
Okay, look, the Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Red Wings, however, have more of an ability to clinch a division with ease. They have a very deep lineup much deeper than the Blackhawks, even though they are in great stretches right now. Overtime, I think the Blackhawks will eventually fall, and the Red Wings are just too tough this year. It's got to be the Red Wings.

Better buy for the Toronto Blue Jays owner? The Raptors or the Maple Leafs?
I got to think it's the Maple Leafs because they have a great history in their franchise and I believe with a new owner, they can become Stanley Cup champions. The Raptors are nothing right now because Chris Bosh left for South Beach, so I don't believe he's going to buy a team that lost one of its star players. I think the Maple Leafs are a better buy and I believe it's much better right now than the Raptors.

Better revenge game? The Capitals beating Halak or the Bruins shutting out the Flyers?
This is too easy: The Capitals may have lost to Halak in the playoffs, but the Canadiens didn't come from three games down in the series to beat them. The Bruins spanked the Flyers in this game which is a better revenge because they did blow a three-game lead in the series. I think the Flyers will need to find a way so that if they meet in the playoffs again, it's not a 3-0 hole. Right now, the better revenge is the Bruins blanking the Flyers.

Better relocation? The Edmonton Oilers moving to Quebec or the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Winnipeg?
Let's get something straight: If the Oilers go to Quebec, you're going to be facing a lot of protest in that city. The Oilers are the greatest franchise known to that city. For the Coyotes, they need to move because they're in a city where nobody cares about them and the only attendance they ever have is 6,000 people. Plus, if they move to Winnipeg, the city will embrace them and they'll get more playoff appearances thanks to that crowd. It's the Coyotes moving to Winnipeg because Edmonton's not going anywhere.

Well, that's going to do it for this week's Wednesday Toss-Up. As I have finals coming up at my college, I won't be blogging as much. Look for more blog posts coming after Wednesday, December 15. The Wednesday Toss-Up will continue every weekday but look for more posts after the 15th. Enjoy the hockey, puckheads!