Kings Strike First in Freeway Face-Off

My awesome experience with the LA Kings was taken to another level on Tuesday night when I got my first experience watching a part of the "Freeway Face-Off!" This is the name for the annual season series between Southern California rivals: The Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. Tuesday was the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and if it's an indication of what is in store for the remaining five games, I want to be at each one.


The Kings took an early lead and then played a see-saw affair into the third period. The Ducks tied the game early in the 3rd, and it appeared that the game would go to overtime when it was still tied late. Then, with 2:20 to go, Brad Richardson deflected a shot from Jack Johnson past goaltender Jonas Hiller for his first goal of the season and gave the Kings a 4-3 lead. With 1:35 to go, the Kings took a penalty. Anaheim immediately pulled Hiller, giving them a 6 on 4 advantage to close out the game. However, the Kings stood tall and took Game 1 of the series 4-3. WHEW!


The thing that stood out to me was the fan environment. Being from New York, I have gotten to see a very similar rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders along with the Rangers and Devils. I have also seen a similar duel in baseball between the Yankees and Mets. Basically, the arena is packed with fans on both sides, and both groups of fans make a lot of noise. When the Kings scored tonight, the arena was loud; When the Ducks scored, it was loud as well. While these are just regular season games, their seems to be an added pressure to win the games and take bragging rights for the time being.


Southern California is not really what you would call a hockey environment. The weather is warm, it's far from Canada, and there are not many ice rinks. However, with two NHL teams 30 minutes apart, and a sports-crazy fan base, it makes it easy for a big rivalry to develop. If only the two teams could meet in the playoffs, the "Freeway Face-Off" would be taken to a whole new level!