Interesting (If'n You're a Hockey Wings Fan)

So... up too late, slept too late, just poured my second cup (the cobwebs are slooowly clearing) and beginning to make the rounds as I type.  In so doing I see this lil blurb in my RSS reader: "Wings Refuse To Give In."  That would be an article about last night's game by Helene Elliott in today's LA Times.  Excerpt:

Kings goalkeeper Jonathan Quick stops a shot by Detroit's Dan Cleary during Thursday night's game. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images / January 7, 2010)

Kings take a lot of shots but lose to Detroit, 2-1

They learn how thin the difference can be between victory and defeat, as 51 of their 52 shots are fended off and Red Wings score with 17.3 seconds left in the third period.

This is what it takes to win championships: an indomitable will and a refusal to give in when adversity strikes again and again and again.

Someday, if the Kings are lucky, they will win as many Stanley Cup titles as the Red Wings have captured.

Until then, they can look at Detroit's 2-1 triumph Thursday and marvel at how thin the difference can be between victory and defeat and how close they came to bridging that gap.

Detroit rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 51 shots before yielding a fluky power-play goal to Ryan Smyth at 15:38 of the third period. But the Red Wings -- undermanned because top goal scorer Tomas Holmstrom broke his foot Wednesday -- came back to score on Jonathan Quick with 17.3 seconds left in the third and moved to within three points of the Kings in the tight Western Conference standings.

 I've mentioned this before... but the Wings are well and truly snake-bit this year.  It does a body good to see them hang in there, hang tough, and take one from the resurgent Kings... at home even.  It does a body even MORE good to see Ms. Elliott... one helluva fine hockey writer... give a tip o' the chapeau to the Wings' grit and determination.

―:☺:―

While we're on about hockey... ESPN released its mid-season "grades" today.  Note the relative grades for the Kings and Wings:

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings have suffered through injury and the kinds of growing pains all good, young teams experience and remain, in our minds, playoff-bound. A big win against San Jose at the midway point was a good statement game, and goalie Jonathan Quick seems capable of shouldering the load as the games become more meaningful. The Kings' goal differential (they were plus-8 as of Wednesday) needs to get a little better, but there should still be playoff games in L.A. this spring. Grade: B-plus.

Detroit Red Wings: OK, so we are going to grade on the curve. The Red Wings, of course, have been crippled by injuries to key personnel up and down the lineup and are still within a shout of the playoffs. They are going to get healthy and are going to make life uncomfortable for the teams just inside the playoff bubble. Kudos to Jimmy Howard for shaking off early season yips to deliver consistent starts in net. Grade: B-minus.  

A B-minus ain't bad, considering.