Kings Should Do It for Themselves

The Kings’ double-overtime victory over Calgary was more than the Midnight Miracle on Manchester. It was a victory of good over evil, of a class act over bush-league tactics, of pure hockey over the ruthless, goon-style play made famous by Terry Crisp’s Philadelphia teammates in the 1970s.

Throughout the series, the Flyers, I mean Flames, took cheap shots at the Kings (some the referees called; most went unpenalized). Not once did the Kings retaliate.

When hockey is played with skill and finesse, as the Kings played, it is a beautiful game. When the sport is played with reckless, brute force, with more emphasis on injuring and intimidating the opponents than outscoring them, the game becomes ugly.

ROBERT KRIER, Escondido