Michal Handzus

The San Jose Sharks won their fourth consecutive Pacific Division title last year, and their sixth in the past nine seasons. However, with four of the division's five teams making the postseason (and Dallas, the fifth, finishing a mere two points out of the playoffs), the Sharks have their work cut out for them this year.

Year after year, the San Jose Sharks are one of the NHL's best teams; they are a perennial Stanley Cup contender. Year after year, the San Jose Sharks fail to live up to their goal: Win the Stanley Cup.

It was not an especially active opening day of free agency for the San Jose Sharks.

LOS ANGELES — With the 2010 Olympic Winter Games now in full swing, the hockey world is now focused on Vancouver as well with the men’s Olympic hockey tournament beginning today.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — During the Christmas break, the Los Angeles Kings were all away from the rink, spending time with family and friends, sharing the spirit of the season.

The most popular words and phrases in sports lingo have also started to become some of the most overused: "Unsung hero", "underrated", "under the radar", "sneaky good."

You hear these terms whenever an analyst or commentator, columnist or blogger, are talking about athletes on your favorite team. There are always those who are "overrated" and those who are "underrated."

Frankly, I'm tired of those. So it's time to make up our own term out of dangerously underused words:

Notoriously neglected.

And it's got alliteration.

The Los Angeles Kings have surprised the entire hockey world with their performance this season. The Kings have been overlooked and underappreciated for a long time, but this season has been different. The Kings have had playoff teams and superstars before but never a team with the grit and swagger of this years lineup. The play of the team has excited hockey fans and dubbed the Kings style of play Hockeywood. With an assemblage of skill and role players that have clicked coming out of the gate the Kings have risen in standings and stature.