Summer Puckin'

So, there has been one consistent good thing about being off Tuesdays this summer.
Kings hockey.
Prime Ticket, in need of filler programming, spends Tuesday night showing classic hockey (yes, including the Ducks), and it's a nice respite from the rest of the stuff on television.
This past Tuesday's Kings game was Game 6 from the 1990 playoffs, when the Kings knocked off the Calgary Flames in double overtime. Mike Krushelnyski's goal from his backside is still as classic now as it was then.
But watching, there were quite a few things that stood out.
First off, this was a pre-Ducks world. Which means that many of my friends who are now Ducks fans probably didn't watch that game. And probably didn't watch any hockey. It's a good thing Gretzky and the Kings were good enough to make enough runs deep into the playoffs proving hockey was viable in Southern California.
Second, you realize how much the game has changed. There were muggings on the ice that weren't called by the one referee. Calgary gave the Kings 10 power plays in the game, and that's not counting all the interference penalties that would be called today.
Seriously, the game was skating north-south, with defensemen carrying the puck into the zone, with very little dump and chase. Filled with players interfering every time the puck came within five yards of them. Oh, and even worse, was the times when players were actually dragged down with no penalty called.
And Gary Roberts of the Flames absolutely lost his mind at the end of regulation. He didn't like getting called for a penalty, and he pushed over another King as he argued. And he argued. And argued all the way to the penalty box. In today's game, he probably would have picked up another two minutes and probably a 10 minute misconduct.
Oh, and in today's game, the Kings probably would have lost the game. The apparent Calgary goal in the first overtime might have been upheld with the use of video replay, especially with all the extra camera angles that are available these days. The angles they had available on the Prime Ticket broadcast in 1990 could not conclusively make the call, but I bet they could've today.
That game, by the way, I remember watching live. I was still living at my parents house (I was less than a year out of high school at that point), sitting in the same space on the couch I always did when I watched Kings games (superstitious much?). It was the Saturday before Easter, and the game ended just after midnight on Easter Sunday. And I was celebrating the win while trying not to be too loud as to wake up the rest of the family.
Watching the games has been a nice holdover to the real hockey season. Especially since I can watch the games without the stress of wondering if they're going to play well enough to win (because as Bob Miller said during the studio parts of the broadcasts, they're not going to show a Kings' loss during Kings Classics).
And just think, training camp is a little more than a month away.