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The idea of leaving happy, sunny SoCal and returning to the land of passive-aggressive, malicious Ottawans does not sit well with TUC's crew. But alas, to the capital we must return on Monday night. Sigh. We took in some great beer league hockey in La Jolla this afternoon (more on that when we get back) as well as the Kings game from Saturday that'll come with plenty of photos. Our synopsis from the L.A. game: Contrary to popular belief, SoCals know how to do hockey...and they do it with far more panache than any Sens fan has experienced.

An interesting tidbit from Saturday: We were listening to the Kings post-game show (yes, they have one) and the subject of defence came up. The hosts were very hot on Wade Redden -- referring to him as a blue-chip UFA and an elite superstar...basically they think he's a pseudo-deity with chiseled cheekbones. Another interesting side note: Kings fans are jacked up about the draft -- and they know plenty about Steven Stamkos. There's a surprisingly positive vibe around this team despite its current woes, and it's really nice to see.

Unfortunately, that's it for us from California. We'll see you back in Ottawa late Tuesday (Wednesday if our punk ass is jet-lagged).