So the Kings went to Colorado on Thursday, and were greeted by a scowling Jared Bednar:
Except that on Thursday, Bednar was wearing a dark turtleneck and a black jacket and I spent the first period wondering where I had seen that funereal wardrobe/deathly scowl/flowing hair look before.
Until it hit me!
It's The Angel of Death from the original
Charmed! (As played by Simon Templeman)
Well, no wonder the Kings were knocked stone cold corpse-like in Colorado! (Avs 4, LA 0). As The Angel always told Piper, Death is inescapable.
(For purposes of this argument, ignore the literally dozens of times various Halliwell sisters escaped from the beyond, through time-travel or magic or useful screams of "LEEEEEO!!!" or what have you. Including the time when Piper herself was dead and on Reaper duty, collecting souls on Death's List.)
More prosaically, the Kings played David Rittich for unknown reasons, given that going Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday is exactly what Kuemper will need to do in the playoffs, so why is he skipping this trip? Rittich can handle his old pals the Sharks on Sunday after Kuemper takes care of Toronto tonight, but Darcy shouldn't have needed any other help. Meh.
The Kings held it scoreless in the first, but then the Avs got two quick ones in the 2nd. Then the Kings got lucky when the puck came to Quinton Byfield, who was all alone between the dots, with nobody within 30 feet of ice.
Alas Byfield spent so much time faking Mackenzie Blackwood down to the ice that by the time he shot the puck, Devon Toews was close enough get a toe on it and come up with a skate-save of his very own. Then Warren Foegele, trying to follow up, fell over the prone Blackwood, the refs somehow called that "interference", the Avs scored on the ensuing power play and that was that.
The Kings did get three power play chances of their own, but the Avalanche had apparently been listening to Steve Valliquette (see previous post) and discovered that, yes, penalty-killing is much easier when you stay on your feet. Damn it, Steve! Don't give away the secrets!
Oh, well. On to (we can only hope) drive Steven Dangle nuts, in about 7 minutes from now.
(Bednar's Death Stare is working on pretty much everybody…the Avs are 12-1-1 since the trade deadline.)