There were a lot of good feelings in the Kings’ locker room after Tuesday’s victory over the Sharks, but there was one glaring statistic: the Kings were 0 for 4 on the penalty kill. That was particularly surprising since the Kings, for the most part, had shown much improvement on the penalty kill last season, when they ranked seventh in the NHL (82.8 success rate).
So far this season, the Kings are 2 for 7 on the penalty kill. Will Tuesday’s game end up being a blip on the radar, against a talented offensive team? Maybe, but the Sharks were also 2 for 12 on the power play in their first two games. Is Terry Murray concerned?
MURRAY: “I am (concerned), but as I said last night, I look at the way (the Sharks) move the puck around, and also the Phoenix team, the way they move the puck around on the power play. That was pretty good stuff. But we’re a better penalty-kill team than what we’ve shown. We know that, from how it all came together last year. We’ve got to get better at it, there’s no question.”
While going oh-for-four on the PK is definitely in subterranean territory, for some reason I’m not too worried.
I think the boys are still in a kind of shakedown mode & that they’ll continue to improve. Not sure how much PK time he’ll get, but regardless Odie will probably be a little bit of a settling influence on the blue line.
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Wow the cyotes up 2 nothing in pittsburg with only a couple of minutes left.
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I’m not TOO worried. I don’t think anyone wants to take penalties against the Sharks. They have two of the top 7-8 players in the league with Thornton and Heatley and a guy that would be a 1st line center on most teams (including ours) in Marleau. I like the fact we only took four penalties.
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So we let the opposition go 4 for 4 on the PP; that stat is an aberration for any NHL team and everyone knows it. Sure, there’s room for improvement but the 5v5 time against a top tier team was quality and that’s the key. The PK will level out over time, of that I’m sure.
(More important is the excellent coverage we’re getting from Rich nowadays. I love the access and the objectivity of his posts – keep it rolling, man!)
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Brad May signs with the Red Wings. 1yr 500K. Not a bad pickup.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=294148
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Making a comeback in the NHL in the first week of the season — goals. For those worried that Quick has a 5.0 ga, consider:
Toskala – 4.94
Osgood — 4.07
Brodeur for crissakes — 4.03
Nabokov — 3.95
Khabibulin — 3.87
etc., etc. It’s 80′s hockey all over again.
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Nothing to worrie about. . . It was the sharks for crying out loud. They were the 3rd best PP in the leauge last season.
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RenokingsFan says:
October 7, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Wow the cyotes up 2 nothing in pittsburg with only a couple of minutes left.
WOW!?!
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Your right Mike,..80′s style hockey.
Remember about Quick folks, a 6.00 GAA, now a 5.00 GAA goes down quick, er,..fast.
He gives up 2 goals next game, all of a sudden it’s a 4.00 GAA, and as long as the next game he gives up less than 4, it goes down again, so the high early GAA doesn’t worry me at all, but the PK on the other hand….
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Hey, have anybody saw, that the first line center of the Wild will be Eric Belanger today?
I think they are in a big trouble if they need Eric to be the #1 center.
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yeah i was thinking the same thing watching all the games across the board on tuesdays, its 1980′s high scoring hockey all over again!
Settle the PK, and we will be just fine. last season didnt we go a nice stretch with 100% on the pk for like 2 or 3 weeks?
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Killer instinct needed tonight!
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80′s hockey it is not. Back then we didn’t need a dozen ticky tack penalties in order to put 3 goals on the board. Take a couple of inches off the goalie equipment (and not just the pads) and we’ll see an increase in even-strength scoring.
PP & PK will be fine. Special teams take a while, especially with new blood out there.
5-3 Kings tonight.
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They got away with one. Normally, any team giving up 4 PP goals to SJ, is going to lose. I love the way they played the first 1.5 periods, and the way they battled back after the game was tied. A lot of heart, at the end of the game. The PK has got to improve though, they’re living on the edge…
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I’ll be surprised if the Kings allow more than 2 goals tonight. It’s the last home game before a hardcore road trip, so they’ll want to set the tone for a successful away stand.
I predict the Kings will win in a one-goal game, maybe like 3-2.
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At least the penalty kill is something you can work on and correct. It’s one of those things that is most effectively addressed by pure discipline and positioning. There aren’t as many intangibles to it as other aspects of the game. Also, remember that three of those PP goals came on one mini-melt-down. I’d work on the PK, but I wouldn’t panic. Before I’d worry about it being a trend, I’d want to have at least six or eight games to review.
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BTW, the best thing is to avoid taking bad penalties in the first place. The PK that started the meltdown came on a sloppy line change (too many men) a couple minutes after the fight the Sharks instigated with the cheap shot.
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4-1 Wild
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NOTHING TO WORRIE ABOUT, address it yes, worrie no. . . It was the sharks for crying out loud. They were the 3rd best PP in the leauge last season.
With more stability with OD on the blue line and the confidence gained with the win over the Sharks, you’ll see this team become better and better as the season progresses.
Looking forward to seeing a us play tonight~!
GO KINGS!
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Nice Ersberg…nice.
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The new NHL strive on the man advantage. . . Its allmost a guarenteed 3-4 shot 2 min barrage. Even with the success the Sharks had on the PP two nights ago they were the 3rd best PP last season, I still say the 4 goal are because their the best in the business when it comes to the PP, We were one of the best on the PK, but double minors don’t help our cause. We got ours PP goals and they got theirs.
We were tenatious and thats what counts in my book. You play hockey on the ice not on papper so you’ll hardly ever hear me quoting stats. My point is IT WAS THE SHARKS. The way our boys never back down, hung their heads, or gave an ince was the reason to our success. If we bring that physical game tonight against the Wild,…WE WILL BE THE ONE WALKING AWAY WITH A 4-1 WIN. Quick did everything but stand on his head on Tuesday. No way I’d pull him untill he had back to back losses against top seated teams (Which aint’ sayin’ much in this leauge.)
We have SOLID BLUE LINERS
A great 1-2-3 PUNCH (FORWARD LINES)
And a boogie man that wears a 41 on his sweater.
Go Kill the Wild kings and claim whats YOURS!
GO KINGS!
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They didn’ t give an inch is what I ment to say.
We have SOLID BLUE LINERS (Skill and brute on all three)
A great 1-2-3 PUNCH (1st, 2nd and 3rd are SCORING LINES)
And a boogie man that wears a 41 on his sweater.
Go Kill the Wild kings and claim whats YOURS!
GO KINGS!
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well..
with regards to the pk…:
stick positioning was a big issue and pivoting between passing lanes also needs much improvement…
i’m not a fan of the large box and whether or not it was intended or not vs. sj, i felt there were times that we expanded too much, making it easier for the sharks to penetrate the middle…there was also a couple of moments when our defensemen were migrating towards the goalie rather than keeping players/pressure on the boards…i would imagine that during practice, the coaches are stressing cutting down the angles the point person has upon entry…
these are all fundamental problems that can and will be fixed…
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i would love to see Trevor Lewis on the third line with Fro and Simms.
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Somedays the power play works and sometimes is doesnt. Sometimes the worst powerplay teams score at will against the best penalty kill teams. I gotta tell you though, I am happy that at even strength the Kings held SJ scoreless. That tells me they are skating hard and doing all the right things.
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