Here’s tonight’s game story — hopefully you’ll humor me and read it — with stats and video. The loss was the Kings’ worst (by margin) since a 10-1 loss at Buffalo on Jan. 14, 2006 and their worst shutout loss since a 9-0 loss to the Hartford Whalers on Nov. 27, 1985.
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Good write-up Rich. These ones certainly are the toughest to put on paper!
I hear post-game reports for games like these go best with several beers and pictures of women.
http://lakingsnews.com/2009/11/13/breakings-news-sometimes-we-suck/
You know Rich, its been a while since we’ve heard from Lombardi on what he thinks of the Kings first quarter of the season. Any chance on getting some words from him when you get back to Los Angeles?
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We lost a game people, get over it. We have all seeing the best teams get beat by big margins. Even great goalies have horrible nights. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and others have been in games were they have been turned to Swiss cheese.
Should the Penguins have fired their coach, send Fleury to the minors after we gave them a good butt whipping? Of course not so people please put a plug on it.
Now I personaly have just had it with Anthonyy, WWMAD, and AK47. You guys should get banned and I’m sure if there was a vote to block you guys you three would be block. Go cheer for some other team
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Britney Spears has not had that many shots taken between the legs…Even by the Paparazzi..Come on Kings …Maybe we should stay in a Hotel for Home Games and Road games. Thanks for playing our enforcer Drago.. because he comes in handy when your trailing by 4 gaols. Lets see some talent up here please. We have one line that scares other teams and thats a line of Coke if you people think we are a playoff team. Smoke and mirrors….
I look forward to your replies
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I love our break a way (Frolov fakes left fakes right he shoots ……….and ….and…..and…no goal)
Atlanta break a way…score score score…
That is the diff when you have natural scorers on your club.
Well maybe we can get a couple in Florida..Lets hope
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It can happen.
I think it looked a bit that way against Pittsburgh too, but he Pens weren’t the ones scoring….
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Im just saying,
If your comparing frolov’s breakaway attempt against Afinogenovs and Kovalchuks, Kovalchuk had a clear no challenge breakaway and was able to pick his spot, same with afinogenov he dangled ersberg, frolov had a guy basically all over him no room to do much. So theres a big difference, but on afinogenov’s last “Semi brekaway” ersberg just faltered and that should of not gone in….
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I remember that Buffalo game. I was laghing by the end of it…didn’t laugh tonight.
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Regardless it’s just one game. I’m sure we’ll be ready tomorrow
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I second the motion Seattle!
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It’s a long season. It not where you are in Oct/Nov that counts it’s where you are in April. We are going to Win 25 games we will lose 25 Games. It what happens in the other 32 that matters. you just hope it isn’t one of the 25 loses that keeps you out of the playoffs
Do the Math – we have to win some combination of wins and overtime lose to equal 45 points in the remaining 32 games
“It’s just that easy”
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Thanks again Rich. Must be tough to do this job in games like this. Not sure I want to watch the video though.
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Two things come to mind not having seen the game. First the ‘now getting old’ issue of secondary scoring. If they evidently had so many chances and they aren’t being buried, then it means either the first line scores or you’re in trouble.
It’s a paradox for me. On one hand DL has done a great job building this team. On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind seeing him address the issue of ‘pure goal scorers’ just the way he addressed drafting goalies.
Second thing that comes to mind is the game vs. Nashville. Right after their best win of the season they don’t show up (at home as well) and things start to spiral out of control from there. I know that no one in society performs at 100% throughout the year, but really….. it seems too many times this scenario repeats. Then they start to drift towards the .500 mark, and teams don’t make the playoffs in the west hovering around .500!!
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Hey Old Kings Fan,…. I like that. Someone told me that that used to be Tommy Lasorda’s theory too. You’re gonna lose a third of the games and lose a third. It’s what you do with the other third that determines your fate.
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Oops. I meant Win a third and lose a third.
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I guess they shouldn’t have benched Teddy. The wall crumbles when he’s gone.
I kid, I kid. Just had to be said.
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I think it is a question of expectations. Too much happened too soon. We were expecting the kings too “maybe” make the playoffs this year and so far they’ve exceeded those expectations big time. Thus, we know expect top team performance from them and they are not yet a top team TODAY.
We will win some and lose some this year, this was a stinker. Hopefully they will bounce back.
I am worried about quick. He has too much on his shoulders for a guy who hasen’t even played one full season yet. Our backup ersberg is not really good…
Quick can be a good Goaltender one day but this requires patience from everyone. Look at the penguins and Fleury, how many years did Fleury play mediocre before he became the good goalie he is today. Every time there is a loss people want to call up bernier and replace him with ersberg. That kind of pressue is what created nights like yesterdays. Patience is key.
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I am a Kings fan. I am loyal. It is not easy today. We could say that if we had scored during many of the second period flurries and goal-mouth scrambles that Atlanta somehow stopped while letting two forwards cherry-pick at the blue line, that we would have been ahead 3-1 at the end of the second period, but that is not what happened. So, forget the what-ifs, or any other excuses. 7-0 is a humiliation. Show me sonething against Tampa guys, I want to believe.
What we need:
Continue the excellent cycling down low, but please please please develop the ability to one-time from the blue line when we pass from low to high. Force opponents into the defensive shell by cycling, and when you get them all rounded up in the “inside position” throw the puck to our defensemen, create havoc by sending the puck to the blue line for the quick strike on goal. Rebounds will happen, and by the way after you make the pass out high get your azz to the high slot on the weak side of the ice for the rebound.
Hit somebody; I would love to see the body count after the Atlanta game. Did we have ANY hits through the second period? It is one thing to play strong from boards to dots, it’s another to actually play a physical game. We got sucked into the Atlanta style of run and gun, we need to use puck control and offensive zone time PLUS early physicality on the forecheck; hit and seal, stick and pin, control the tempo.
Create movement on the power play: Especially the 5 on 3, but also the 5 on 4. Note Niedermayer with the “rover”, Blake moving from D to crease, etc. Let’s face it, we are not that good at one-timer’s. I mean, we just do not use it and can’t get an effective shot off quickly. Did you see Kovalchuk’s (spelling?) release? Okay, he is one of the best, but we need to learn to pass it harder and faster for the one-timer, we need to learn where to pass it into our guy’s “wheelhouse”, we need to be able to move to the pass, and we need to expect that pass. To set up the one-timer, hoever, we need deception or else it gets blocked. Movement creates that deception and opens lanes. Guys moving in and out form the high slot, rotating from boards to corner to crease WITHOUT the puck, moving toward the net for potential shot while men away from puck MOVE TO CREATE A PASSING LANE. Even with 5 on 3, all we do is remain static and try to set up a one-timer. Make it a 4 on 3 with our 5th guy roving, doing the globetrotter weave with 2 other guys AWAY FROM THE PUCK, skating diagonally through the opponent’s triangle, and then having the guy you are skating at begin his own ramble toward another guy. Use the extra men to confuse, use the extra men to skate by in front of the crease for a moving screen, use the extra men to overload one area of the ice, use the extra men to spread out with greater spacing so the lanes are wider for the opponent to cover. Instead, we stand still, we stand still close together, and then we make slow passes to an obvious slap shot.
Maintain gap control- If they are gonna have two forwards out high at their blue line while we are pressing offensively, we especially need to use greater spacing on the cycle, looking for a defenseman coming down weak side for the backdoor play. That means our cycle guys have to work to cover the strong side defenseman as he rotates to cover the weak side area vacated by the back door play.
We got a good game in us, we can score and we can control the puck. Minor tweaks in what offensive tactics we use will also slow down the other team’s offensive regroup and rushes.
Tampa likes run and gun: do we play the same or do we improve? Is it going to be King’s hockey or Lightning hockey?
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watching the high lights made me feel a lot better knowing that most of the goals wernt soft goals =/ and that 3 vs 3 fight was awesome…….. i guess thats the only thing good about that game, those breakaway goals i have to admit where pretty nice i just wonder what if what if!!! frolov roofed that semi breakaway! would we have been blown out? and only if kopi got a goal lol i would have been happy =) GO KINGS GO!!! lets take on tampa tonight!!
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I agree with Player-X’s last line.
“Is it going to be King’s hockey or Lightning hockey?”
It may sound extremely cliche, but even in the ice and roller hockey leagues I have played in teams definately have their strengths and if they dont play to them they take the chance of getting beaten and sometimes badly. The other part of that equation is sometimes the teams dont allow for you to play the sort of game that you want to either and that can throw a team off as well.
I noticed one thing defensively that in this game that Chicago did as well. Instead of playing tough pressure on the Kings defense in the offensive zone, forwards would often lag back to the top of the circles to block shots and passes almost like it was a penalty kill. It wasnt until Atl got a lead that they really started to body up on the D-men.
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Rich, you wrote this in the game recap:
“With 1:59 remaining, Kings forward Justin Williams smashed Christoph Schubert from behind near the Atlanta bench, sending Schubert sprawling through the bench door. Williams got a five-minute penalty for checking from behind and a game-misconduct penalty.”
Smashed? Watch the replay please. It is closer to a suggestive nudge. Your statement is misplaced.
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@ Player-X:
I agree with almost all your points but especially the one about our power play movement. Far too stagnant and predictable. There has to be movement and better spacing to properly take advantage of the 5 on 4.
I also believe that Quincey is being greatly missed with his ability to get shots on net through traffic creating rebounds and second chances down low.
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http://www.lakingsnews.com did a tongue and cheek write up on the hit by Justin Williams.
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Looks like Bogosian is better than Doughty. They guy hits, fights, plays tough, and scores goals. What more can you ask for?
Is it me, or is JJ wearing out his welcome in LA? I am really starting to believe that JJ is a bust. Its not like he’s 19 years old, the guy should, at the very least, show flashes of something positive, but he doesn’t
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I’ve got to agree with you there, Bobby. Ouch, Rich…
Guess I hadn’t paid much attention to the game at the time of the hit last night, but from the video, I’d say you have a great take, Bobby.
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DL,
hire Player-X as an assistant coach.
Rich,
you need to score posts like is done in “around the horn” on espn. That way when some of these peeps continuously fail to make valid points, you can block them out.
Kings gloom-and doomers,
give it a rest. We were 5th worst last year, and are like 5th best this year. Enough already, we have improved tons so lets be a lil positive about the best Kings team in years.
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omfg omfg omfg…..just watched the video of williams’ hit on that p—y schubert…wow what a dive…i am willing to bet that schubert gets an oscar for that bit of acting…
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-quote-
“Looks like Bogosian is better than Doughty. They guy hits, fights, plays tough, and scores goals. What more can you ask for?”
Yes Boggs is a good young player, but I would rather have the guy with:
15 points instead of 9
2 game winning goals compared to zero
a +6 rating, compared to +0
and in case some haven’t noticed, Doughty has been the ONLY King taking the body lately.
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still not happy the day after.
It’s just one game, but I didn’t like the way the goalies performed at all. I’m looking at the stats and their save % both under .900 that’s not NHL caliber…especially playoff caliber goaltending.
Is it me, or does it seem that every damn game Quick lets in a bad goal? This is not the same goalie we saw last year. He carried us a lot last year. I can’t think of one game this year that he carried us on his shoulders and won a game we should have lost. The goal he let in to make it 3-0 took every bit of wind out of the Kings sails. I can’t blame him for all of the goals, but again the bad goal always comes back to bite us in the ass. No excuse whatsoever for it.
Forget about Ersberg. This kid is a complete mess between the pipes. He’s starting to remind me of Fukafuji in goal. I can’t even say his play has risen to the level of LaBarbara.
I can understand not making a knee-jerk reaction after a game like this, but if this sub-par play continues for much longer, Kings management is going to have to take a serious look at Bernier and decide whether he can be an NHL goalie on a nightly basis. These 2 are certainly not doing it.
I still have complete confidence in this team. It’s time for Quick to step up his game now and stop letting down the rest of the team. .
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Khanon
Your comments show complete ignorance when it comes to talent evaluations.
Doughty is a great player. I think Bagosian will also be a great player. You would expect that from the #3 pick. Why compare the two, and based one one friggin game, decide Bogosian’s the better player? That quote could very easily take foolish quote of the year on this blog. I had that reserved for Anthonyy, Cristobal, or WWAMD. Way to step up.
JJ is a young defenseman learning his craft on the NHL level. That’s not an easy thing to do. In time, he’ll be as good as advertised. He’s still trying to learn how to integrate the offensive part of his game with his defensive responsibilities. Not everyone can be a Doughty.
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You couldn’t have said it any better Khanon!
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NYKINGFAN,
I like Doughty, but Hockey is not all about talent. You could have the most talent in the league and still be a bust. Doughty is a solid D-man now and will be a very good D-man in the future, but you cannot deny Bogosian is an all around D-man. The guy does everything, and he can put the puck in the net.
Where my comments show “complete ignorance” blows my mind away. I’m not judging Bogosian based on one game. He has 7 goals, multiple fights, throws hard hits, plays in your face. Is that based on one game?? I was really hoping DL would have chosen Bogosian over Doughty, but that didnt happen obviously. Bogosian is the better of the two at the moment and will be the better of the two for many years to come.
Also, don’t be so defensive when it comes to out “gem” Doughty.
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The Bogosian comment was a stupid, trollish thing to post. On any given night (say, one where the game is 7-0) one player might look better than the other. On the opposite night, vice-versa.
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For”Im Just Saying”
HA HA thats awesome!! Thanks for the props on our win! Im a THRASHERS fan in Atlanta and totally agree. camaraderie makes a team stick together. Whenever us bluelanders get behind we need to stick together. Good luck to your team this year and mabye when you come to Atlanta youll look me up. Just go to arena and ask for my name. They know who I am
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