Words about Kings eaten, with ketchup. Hold the mustard
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These words appeared under my name in the Feb. 19 edition of The Times:
‘The next Southern California hockey team that will make the NHL playoffs is the Kings.
Yes, the long hapless and until recently hopeless Kings.
Not the Ducks, who are less than two years removed from their Stanley Cup championship but showing that they need a major overhaul before they can become a force again.
These teams have passed while moving in opposite directions, the Ducks disintegrating more quickly than the Kings are maturing.’
Seemed like a good idea at the time - -and it was.
At that point, after a 4-3 loss to the Kings, the Ducks were 28-26-5 and appeared to be going nowhere. The Kings were in an 8-2-2 surge, one of their best stretches this season.
But then the Ducks made a series of trades that turned their season around, dealing free-agents-to-be Travis Moen, Samuel Pahlsson, Steve Montador and Kent Huskins and adding Petteri Nokelainen, James Wisniewski and Erik Christensen. They enter today’s season finale at Glendale, Ariz., with an 11-3 record since March 15.
The Kings, well, they got a sniff at the last playoff berth but never really made a concerted challenge for it. They began to lose players to injuries and slipped back toward the bottom of the conference.
Someday, both teams will make the playoffs in the same season. I don’t think I’ll have to eat those words too.
-- Helene Elliott