Tonight's game story (Nov. 26)

Posted by Rich Hammond on 27 November 2009, 3:26 am

Here’s the Kings-Canucks game story, with video, stats, etc. Thanks for reading — in the morning, anyway. The Kings will not practice tomorrow…

Canucks beat Kings 4-1

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67 Comments

Joe In Fresno says:

November 27, 2009 at 5:34 am

Rich…man you put in some long hours. Very nice recap of the game last night.

The lads really seemed out of sync these last two games. A lot of new, young faces in the lineup probably has a lot to do with it. All in all, I’m happy going 1-1 on this short trip.

Quick was very good last night but Luongo was even better. I though Quicker deserved the third star over Brown.

Schenn looked pretty composed out there and it was fun to see him in the game. Simmonds continues to impress and Segal looks to be making the most of his opportunity.

Ivanans looks to be a fish out of water, and I no longer know what to think about Purcell. I know he’s trying but it just doesn’t seem to be there.

I think this upcoming stretch of games are going to be a real test for these guys. By the time Christmas rolls around, we should have a pretty good idea of where this season is going.

Again, a great game recap, Rich. This blog has been a real treat to read this season. Thanks for all of your work.

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nykingfan says:

November 27, 2009 at 6:02 am

Joe
Thanks for making me waste my time…I was typing basically the same things you said!

I don’t know what to think of Purcell…If he can’t bury that chance that he got, when is he ever going to score?
From the sound of TM’s comments, I think they’ve seen enough of him. The only possible saving grace for him is that we’re down guys with injuries. I’m not sure who could take his place. So far he’s the biggest disappointment on the team this year.

Brown played a really good game except he can’t finish. I don’t understand ..we have talented players but they just can’t finish. That game was there for the taking, but Luongo came up big for them, or our guys let him off the hook.
Quick played outstanding. He was doing everything to steal that game for us. That’s a really good sign. Let’s hope he continues.

I like the game that Schenn played. I was surprised to see how big he is. He certainly didn’t look out of place. It’s the best thing to send him out for the year, but he’ll win a spot next year. He looks to be a complete player. I thought Loktionov also played well the game before.
Last point is faceoffs. I think that was the difference in the game last night. We not only lost key faceoffs, we lost them clean. I understand those things will happen, but the wingers were slow to get out to their man and numerous point blank shots occured because of that. A faceoff is like PK or PP…it’s not only the center’s job, everyone else on the ice has a job to do and none of them did it last night. We’ve been bad for most of the year on draws and last night, it finally came up and bit us big time in the ass.

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 6:26 am

First, thank-you Kings for Rich Hammond and this blog. Thank-you also for Deam Lombardi and finally giving us long suffering Kings fans hope.

Over the last two nights we’ve seen a lot of good things and a distance that still needs to be covered before our journey ends (hopefully more than once) at Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Schenn and Loktionov are both big talents. Barring injuries they should be part of the core for years to come. Maybe not quite ready but will be soon enough. Moller is a Mike Keane type player you win with.

I for one have wondered if JJ fit into this team. He has been a completly different player over the last half dozen games particularly since moving to right defense.He’s getting it figured out. Doughty is on his was to becoming a star. Anyone who knocked Quick’s perfomance last night simply doesen’t understand the sport of hockey. The talent is there. Give him time.
Kopitar, Brown, and Simmonds are legitimate top six forwards on a potential cup winner. They are all 25 years old or younger.

Throw Drewiske in as well as a younger player who can help along with Richardson who (with improving faceoff skills) is getting better and playing a lot like Kris Draper without quite as much offense. These guys are role players every good team needs. Parse is solid, consistently making good decisons he may be a real sleeper. He has some offensive ability that hasn’t been totally tapped. Like everyone else here I’ve been back and forth on Purcell. PLEASE DL don’t give up on him quite yet. He was better last night and there is still a chance he might blossom. I agree he isn’t good yet but sometimes the darkest hour is just before dawn.

Frolov has to go. Had hopes he could play with Loktionov but it won’t work. His talent is obvious but he can only fit into very specific niches. If DL can move him for a speedy left winger or a left winger with grit and decent hands it should be done sooner than later.

Smyth and Scuderi are winners. Jones can move the puck and trying Greene at the wing could be interesting. His straight ahead speed is good enough it’s his lateral abiility in his own zone that causes problems. He could still play D on the penalty kill and against certain forwards. This also opens a spot for Voinov. Doughty and JJ have to play the right side it appears. Brown has been using his speed lately to break down defenses but needs another speedy winger on the opposite side, one who can read plays. What about moving JW to left wing with him? Brown can only play the right side that was proven last year. Simmonds should be playing with Kopitar on the first line and be left there permanently.

Really glad for the opportunity to express here. Thanks again Rich and the Kings. DL KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

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RJC76 says:

November 27, 2009 at 6:44 am

I’m Just Saying

Damn bro I hate to admit it, but so far you’re prediction has been right. There’s still time to right the ship until Smyth gets back so hopefully something changes soon. You really see the value in the deals for Scuds and Smyth. Look at the team without them…not even close to the same team.

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koirish20 says:

November 27, 2009 at 7:31 am

How painful were both sets of announcers in Canada? Really makes you appreciate Miller/Fox.

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number 6 says:

November 27, 2009 at 7:58 am

I didn’t see the game so can’t comment on specifics, but I will say that I find it a shame that with Smyth out no one other than Simmonds and Brown (from what I’m reading here) seem to be stepping up amongst the forwards. That’s a problem and maybe the next thing that DL needs to address, be it thru the draft or whatever. Like NYKIngfan said, we do have Lokti and Schenn so there is hope for the future.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised after how many times we were shutout last season and w/o Smyth it’s the same team upfront. There’s been a number of games in which they’ve scored one goal: for sure better than a shutout, but not gonna win you much in this league.
Someone commented on the Game Chat (Edm) ‘what does it take for these guys to score a first period goal’? I’ve really noticed that too.
I know DL loves tough character players like Clune, Clifford etc but it would sure be nice to see him dig up another Jonathan Cheecoo from somewhere. This team IMO needs a pure goal scorer. Without one you’ll do great perhaps but it makes winning a Cup a difficult proposition.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:02 am

CrownRoyal,

Matt Greene is the best defensive D-man on the team, so why would you move him to forward?? Every team would love to have Matt Greene type of D-man. He blocks shots, fights once in a while, very physical, takes care of the net, and is a leader. Once again, why would you move him to forward?

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bbb101 says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:04 am

Thanks Rich. I really wish people would take a step back and not be so schizophrenic about the Kings – great world-beaters if they win and the worst bunch ever to lace skates if they lose. First off, remember 16 of their first 26 games have been played on the road, and their road record is still fine at 9-6-1. Secondly, over the past 10 games they have gone 4-6, yes, but 7 of those were on the road, and 4 (maybe 5, depending on how you rate Atlanta) of the 6 losses were against strong teams. If you had looked ahead at those 10 games from three weeks ago, how many would you have predicted them to win? Six would have been outstanding, five good. We are NOT an elite team yet, guys! The real test is the next 2 weeks, with 6 out of 8 at home.
I agree Purcell has had his chances, tho I dont know who to replace him with. And Ivanans is a waste of space. Your 4th line has to score OCCASIONALLY, doesnt it? Frolov is great at puck control in the corners, but he has to be willing to pay the price by bringing it in front of the net sometimes, and his linemates have to know he will so they can be ready for a quick dart to a scoring space. As it is, they expect him to circle out and then re-dump it behind the net. And I still think Quick is just an average NHL goalie and wont win games single-handedly for you – has he won even one that way this year? An under-.900 save percentage isnt going to cut it unless you play for Washington and will get 4 goals support a game.
And, the team isnt good enough yet that they can afford the loss of 2 or 3 starters; such is life in the 2009 Kingdom. Did you all really expect us to go from bottom 5 in the league to powerhouse in one season?

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:06 am

number6,

I don’t think DL has the green light to spend the big bucks required to get a legitimate scorer; but thats just my opinion. If he does have the green light, then what the hell is he waiting for??

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nykingfan says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:16 am

Khanon

What teams are ready to throw in the towel at this point in the season and give up a legitimate scorer?
If you do find someone willing to move a top talent, what are you planning on giving up?
It’s easy to say..get it done, it’s a lot harder to find a match without depleting your system of all your young talent.

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number 6 says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:39 am

Guys, just wanted to respond to your comments. To clarify, I’m not one of these guys who says, oh get Toews, get Backstrom from the Caps without a hint of reality in any of it. No. I’m not even inferring that something could happen this year. What I Am saying is that after three years as our GM I’ve seen something in DL’s philosophy. It’s very consistent with Philly’s approach IMO. But teams like Philly have l5-6 players that you Know can score 25-30 goals a year. The Kings have, 2? And going down the road In The Future, drafting more players like Kyle Clifford or others won’t improve their lot offensively.
So, said differently, whereas DL was very focused on building thru goal and D for the first years, maybe it would help to now focus on possible offensive prowess and skill. I mean, it’s not just me. Most people on this site seem to agree that the Kings strong point is certainly not skill, and to win a cup, regardless of a teams philosophy, you need a mix of grit, discipline, heart and skill.

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number 6 says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:40 am

Typo, that’s supposed to read between 5 and 6.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 9:42 am

The Kings don’t really have a strongpoint, besides youth. They don’t have enough grit, toughness, skill, offense. I take that back, they do have pretty good goalies, but thats it.

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:00 am

Its amazing how quickly everyone turns on this 14-10-2 team…
I was at the game, and Fro needs to go. These invisible games are too painful, especially when we need him the most right now.

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:05 am

Khanon,
I don’t agree Greene is the best defensive D-man the Kings have, Scuderi is. Most of the positive things you’re saying about him can be accomplished as a forward as well. He would create havov in the offensive zone on the forecheck.

Greene is not a top four guy on a cup winning team. Lacks lateral mobility and has difficulty moving the puck forward out of the zone too often. I would still use him on defense in selected situations moving him back and forth as the game unfolds. He would get the same minutes that way and maybe we could pair him on the fourth line with another tough winger (not Ivanans) to put some fear in the other teams.

If Voinov is not given a shot at the big club sometime relatively soon he will go back to Russia and the Kings will lose a valuable assest. It would be a mistake to take either Drewiske or Jones out of the lineup. Obviously DD, JJ, and Scuds will all be playing. Greene is fast enough to play wing. In the overall scheme of things it would work.

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Fro hater says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:08 am

Fro must go.. Dl has no choice but to make a move if he wants a crack at the cup this year. With each game that goes by, and no points. It gets a lot tougher down the road. Yes i know it was back to back games. But that isn’t any excuse for this team. Dean please ship Fro some where.

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Quisp says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:09 am

khanon -

I’m not sure where you’re getting the idea that DL doesn’t have the green light to spend. As it stands, we’re not in a cap position to spend, especially if you think the cap is going down. Which is likely is. The Kings cap hit is $52MM-ish, which is about $4MM from the ceiling.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:15 am

CrownRoyal,

I forgot about Scuderi, and yes, Scuderi is the best defensive D-man on the team, but Greene is not far behind.

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Stuart says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:19 am

MG as a forward on the fourth line (replacing RI) would be intriguing.

The only Dman that I think would sit before him would be Seanie… He’s played poorly lately.

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Barry's Mullet says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:26 am

How do you spell relief….GOALLLLLLLLLL My head almost exploded the 6th or 7th time I heard that one. For those of you who didn’t get to see or hear the game, consider yourselves lucky! The sad part is the announcers in Vancouver were much better than the homers in Edmonton, none of these guys deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Bob and Jim. Man are we lucky to have those two guys!

As for the game…the Kings played a great game in Edmonton and in a back to back against Vancouver who always seem to have our number the result was not surprising. What was surprising is how well Quick played. That was probably the best game he played all year, reminded me of the Quick from last season.

If he can play like that during this home stand and we get the PP going we will be just fine!

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nykingfan says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:37 am

unbelievable how some of you guys forget about the good things Greener has done on D.
Without a guy like him on the blueline, the Kings will not win a cup or compete for a cup.
He’s a solid D’man who takes the body and is responsible in his own end…not to mention his shot blocking ability.
Knowing his game and his lack of offensive ability, how in the heck would anyone thing to move him to forward? You would create a huge void on D. Perhaps we should move Doughty up to forward since he has such gifted offensive ability?

Voinov..I hope he’s the real deal, but has anyone seen this guy play in the NHL yet? The only reasons at this point he’d be going back to Russia is because he either can’t make it in this league, or he’s homesick.
Players in Manchester do not have the clout to demand they play in the NHL. When the organization feels he’s ready to come up, he’ll be brought up here…not a second sooner. I don’t recall him being drafted #1 overall and agreeing to play with the Kings only if he gets called up quickly.
The inmates do not run the asylum!

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number 6 says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:55 am

VanKingsFan, could you be a bit more precise in your comments. Not Everyone is turning on the team at all. Lots of us are really supportive, and I think when one makes a comment that for example they need a bit more or this or that (in mine or anyone else’s opinion) that’s constructive criticism. That being said, clearly there are people here who just write the team off.

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Crashin' Da Net says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:57 am

Gents,

MG on O?? Wishful thinking. He’s a very solid Dman and that’s it.

Fro: If you don’t produce, we turn ya loose. What’s it gonna be kid? Last chance. Decide now.

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 10:57 am

nykingfan,
Voinov was an early second round pick who was projected to go in the first round but teams were worried about the KHL option for players and were slow to draft Russians. Voinov was already playing in the KHL two seasons ago and is part of the Kings future.

If people would carefully read what I’m posting before commenting they would note in both post mentioning Greene I clearly stated that he should still be used on defense. I was not talking about a complete conversion to forward. Also can’t forwards block shots? They’re supposed to do that the last I heard.

Also not anyone here is suggesting Voinov has the clout to demand anything. Utimately he does have the option of returning to Europe. This is a guy who was playing professionaly in Russia as a sixteen year old.

As far as the inmates not running the asylum, I’m glad DL is and the inmates don’t!

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:01 am

nykingfan,

Couldn’t agree with you more in reference to Matt Greene. I can assure all you Matt Greene haters of one thing: Oiler fans miss him big time. I would have traded Lubo straight up for Greene, and with Stoll included in the deal- that was a steal by DL, so far its the best trade DL has made.

I wrote Drewiski off earlier in the season, but man has this guy changed my mind. I really like that pairing: Greene-Drewiski, could be a solid shut down pairing for many years to come, even though Drewiski got burned last night on the second goal.

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:09 am

Khanon,
If you’re referring to me as a Matt Greene hater you had better check your facts. I have never posted a negative comment about Greene. I like Greene and respect what he brings to the team. If you think he’s a top four D-man on a cup winning team you are entitled to your opinion. But Please, do not twist my comments or anyone else’s into implying I’m a “Matt Greene hater”. That is RIDICULOUS!

[Reply]
nykingfan says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:11 am

I understand what you’re saying Crown Royal..although I don’t agree.
If such a scenario were plausible, the only spot you could put Greene on would be the 4th line. We can’t get anyone on that line to score now…putting Greene there would not help us in the least bit offensively. He’s also not the quickest skater, which means he’d be a liability on the forecheck. If you dump the puck in deep, he doesn’t have the speed to be able to get in on the forecheck and try and cause a turnover.
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but this one seem’s like the longest of longshots. I just don’t see how his game translates to the forward position.

If Voinov does return to Russia, he does so leaving the Kings holding his NHL rights. It wouldn’t be a prudent move from a negotiating standpoint.
It does appear that he would be the next callup if someone else goes down on defense.I would hope he would be a help on the PP..but then again, who thought Drewiskie would be called up ahead of some people?

[Reply]
fsd1 says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:13 am

I too watched that game and outside of our sickening bad faceoff play that game was lost for one reason and one reason only…..Luongo!…..he literally stood on his head the entire game, denying us time after time. So he is now 9-8, which only means we didnt get him on an off night. Kids played well, especially with so many new faces trying to fill in for our injured guys. And yes, what freaking homers the announcers are, never was a penalty against the home team a good one, and the refs missed about 20 penalties a game the Kings SHOULD have been called for. I also have an issue with the call against Hanzus for that supposed “check from behind” Homer announcers were saying it was a dirty play and warranted a suspension. I have looked at that play over and over and it appears to me the guy had already started down and handuz literally just mildly put his stick on him. I say it should have been a non call, anyone else agree?

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:24 am

nykingfan,
You are right that Drewiske was a surprise call-up. He’s a player I liked even before coming to the Kings.

I was not suggesting that Voinov was planning to catch the next Areoflot flight to Moscow but that clearly the Kings need more offense from the blue line. This is more important than offense from the fourth line. The fourth line has been a problem. Richardson is developing but we need more minutes from that line and they need to be better in order to get them. My post was in many ways a compliment to Greene who I believe is valuable to the Kings. I don’t want him going elsewhere.

I disagree with you about Greene’s speed. Straight ahead he is fine and I’m sure there are NHL D-men in many cities around the league who would shudder at the thought of Greene bearing down on them with a head of steam. (I would take him a race against either Ivanans or Zeus).

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:28 am

Number 6: I didn’t mean to imply everyone was abandoning ship, but its shocking to see the swing in peoples comments from one day to the next.

Matt Greene on forward … what?!?

Announcers are always homers, at least a little bit. The reason the broadcasters might have been bad last night is because it was a Pay Per View game last night in vancouver, Canucks TV (second time this season Kings games against Van have been PPV, further proof that the Kings are an exciting and respected team this year). They have different announcers for PPV games. Normally its Jim Hughson who is Great, he does the EA Sports NHL games, possibly since the game is made here…

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nykingfan says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:29 am

The Zeus hit certainly wasn’t a deliberate dirty hit, but it was a penalty. The guy was turned to the boards and he did give him a slight cross check….both hands were on the stick and the stick made contact with the player. That’s a call the refs will make 100 out of 100 times. No way should he be suspended though. It seemed like such a benign hit that when the guy didn’t get up right away, I thought he was faking.

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nykingfan says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:40 am

Crown Royal

I definitely think we need some guys on defense that can get their shots thru and on goal. We don’t get many clean shots by our D. It’s hard to imagine how much we miss a guy like Quincy on the point. Of course without sacrificing Quincy, we wouldn’t have Smyth. That trade was a true win-win for both teams.

I’m glad you brought up Richardson…This guy skates so well. You can see that he has a fairly high skill level. How is it possible he can be so friggin bad offensively? It’s not the players he’s playing with because he’s been moved to the 3rd line and is still offensively impotent. I don’t get it. I’m not suggesting he should be a 25 goal scorer, but maybe 1 point..is that asking too much?

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rsoscia says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:42 am

Rich , thanks for the heads up on the no practice. I wanted to take my son to the Kings practice. Maybe we can go Sunday. Thanks again

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:50 am

I love the way Richie plays too, he scored 14 goals for the Avs a few years back.. that’s what we need from him

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:51 am

Richardson has been a surprise not getting at least a little offense going. He defintely has speed and tries hard. I do think the problem with the fourth line not scoring is connected to Ivanans. Everytime they seem to be making progress he messes it up somehow. I agree we need an enforcer but I would hope we could do better hockey wise. I hope Westgarth is getting better. It looks like we are stuck with RI for the moment.

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 11:59 am

If you look around the league at all of the Heavyweights like Ivanans, who is more skilled than him?? They are all roughly the same in skill as far as i can tell from watching them, its the trade off you get when you dress one. If i had my choice in the whole league, I would say big George Laraque, but he is making 1.5 Mil

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Vankingsfan,

Most enforcers in the NHL are better players than Ivanans. Quite a few of them can skate better than him, hit better than him, fight better than him, know when and how to pick a fight without taking a penalty, and chip in offensively for 4-5 goals per year. I’ll give you some names:

Parros
Orr
Brashear
Thornton (Boston)
Boogaard- this guy knows how to hit and intimidates extremely well
Godard
Shelley
Laraque
Peters
Cote

I’m sure I’m leaving out a few more.

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:14 pm

Yes, it’s true there aren’t many heavyweights who can play. Chris Neil is one which is why DL went after Clifford so early in the last draft. Maybe he can be another. Not suggesting either is an offensive phenom but neither is a one dimensional player and just limited to fighting.

There have been a few in the past. Probert and Chris Simon both had some offensife ability. The Kings had a big left wing many years ago named Brian McClellan. He could score and was as tough as anybody in the league. Didn’t fight much and was so low-keyed he never became a really top player. Too bad, as the fans always love tough guys.

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:15 pm

khanon, I dont agree with all of those names being better than Ivanans, I think if you saw them play on a regular basis like RI you might feel the same way about them as you do RI, maybe not.

But, I also don’t think exchanging RI for any of those guys is going to be a difference maker. I want Lappy back

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:18 pm

Interesting side note… there have only been 9 total fights in the KHL all year…what a crappy league to watch lol

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:27 pm

Vankingsfan,

I’ve seen those enforcers many times, and not only are they better players than Ivanans, but they are better at enforcing as well. It seems like Ivanans is lost period- doesn’t know when to pick a fight, when to stick up for a player, how to pick a fight, how to throw a check.

So far though, I like Segal on the right side, but I would prefer Westgarth instead of Ivanans at the very least. If it was up to me, this is how the 3rd and 4th line would be, not envisioning any trades:

Clune-Hand-Simmonds
Westgarth-Richardson-Segal

At least those lines would be able to cause some havic, bother the goalie, punish the D-men, create some energy, etc

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src says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:29 pm

If anyone cares..Carcillo and Rivet had a good brawl tonight. The game in PHI is wild and the Sabres are hanging in there with the rough stuff, and taking it to the net. Sent the tape to our boys. Take it to the net!!!

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src says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:31 pm

On another note, I think PITT is the only viable taker for FRO. malkin would love him in the corner as he gets open for the shot. FRO, Purcell for Kunitz. Any takers? Dont see Staal becoming a 2nd line center.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:34 pm

src,

I would love that trade, but it seems like the Pens like Kunitz and the grit/skill he brings to compliment the skill of Crosby and Malkin.

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Lanny McDonald's 'Stache says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:36 pm

Stick a fork in Purcell – he’s likely done at the NHL level for now. I understand they want to put him on a line with linemates that have hands too, but I sincerely hope that TM doesn’t waste any more valuable first line ice time with Purcell on it. He’s not ready to play at this level yet, and he’s only helping the opposing coach’s matchups on the road.

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src says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:36 pm

Hartnell has always been my first choice, but PHI wont let him go. I think Kunitz would be a good fit. Parse IMO has replaced Purcell and mad him expendable.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Hartnell would be perfect on either the first or the second line, but no way is Philly going to trade him, especially for a guy like Fro and/or Purcell- two softies

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Belexes says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:42 pm

Ok, Ive heard enough about this enforcer hogwash.

1. Kevin Westgarth’s 1 goal this season is not what would turn around the Kings 4th line. Please understand, he is no better at scoring Ivanans.

2. Ivanans offensive output is no different than any other NHL heavyweight. I’ve already posted a detailed “heavyweight Scoring” post previously, and am not going to bother doing it again. Look it up yourself if you need to, but these guys don’t score goals.

3. In the past there were some offensively skilled heavies like Simon, Probert, Tocchet. The only guy that fits that mold right now is Milan Lucic of Boston. We don’t have him, and neither do 28 other teams.

4. Brian McClellan was neither a Heavyweight, nor a gifted offensive player. He won one famous fight against Playfair, and that was his career highlight.

5. As much as you all seem to hate Raitis, he has lost 5 total fights while wearing a Kings uniform. He is a well respected Heavy, and comes at a reasonable price too.

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What's the frequency, Kenneth? says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:56 pm

I don’t get all the negativity. They lost a road game and mostly played well–particularly Quick. They ran into a goaltender who was also hot, and most of the bounces went the other way. In other words, they played hard, but it was a tough road loss. The good news? Yet another .500 roadie. Congrats, Kings. That’s a good portion of what you have to do to be a playoff team.

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Belexes says:

November 27, 2009 at 12:59 pm

True WTF Kenneth, and it was the 2nd game in 2 nights in a tough building.

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The Jumping Shrimp says:

November 27, 2009 at 1:05 pm

OK…let me get this straight. As of late the Kings are having trouble scoring goals and we’re concerned about getting tougher. Kopitar has been lost since Smyth went down. There are bigger issues at hand than toughness.

This team is NOT nearly skilled enough to be a serious Cup threat. The funny thing is, you guys want to get rid of two of the three most skilled players on the team. I can see dumping Fro at 4 million a year but is Purcell really that bad a $600,000 a year player?

Crown Royal – I’d hardly call Chris Neil a heavyweight.

SRC – Parse is not making Purcell expendable. Two different players. Parse is going to be a pretty good third or fourth liner. Purcell is top 6 or nothing. If he can’t crack the top 6 here ship him off. He’s never going to excel on a grinding line.

Khanon – Just for sh!ts and giggles go watch the highlites from Kings Vision. Lately, Purcell is playing a lot harder than you give him credit for.

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What's the frequency, Kenneth? says:

November 27, 2009 at 1:08 pm

They did appear to be running out of gas in the third, too…

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VanKingsFan says:

November 27, 2009 at 1:10 pm

Hilarious blog by Bud Holloway.. to lighten the somber mood. http://manchestermonarchs.com/fullstory.php?id=3504

Future fourth line center potentially…

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Joel says:

November 27, 2009 at 1:40 pm

The Kings seem to be so much thinner on left and right wing than I thought they would be at the beginning of the season. They’re 2 skilled forwards and a few gray hairs away from being a cup contender.

As much as I’m frustrated with Purcell’s offensive struggles, there really isn’t any other option right now.

I hope DL doesn’t make any deals until the end of the season since I don’t see anything significant out there that we can get without gutting the youth movement. Let the wounded heal, and stay the course.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 1:55 pm

TheJumpingShrimp,

Its much easier to acquire toughness than a scorer or two, so why not fix that first?

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The Jumping Shrimp says:

November 27, 2009 at 2:30 pm

But I don’t see the need for toughness. Is this team going out and getting man handled? When this team loses, it’s because the other team is more skilled and they get outscored not because they got run out of the building. This team has way too many grinders and checkers and energy guys and not near enough skill.

My god, we’ve got Scott Parse on our second line. Not knocking Parse but he’s a bottom six guy.

Look at the skill on the top teams. Take Chicago for example. Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Barker, Keith, Seabrook…

There’s a serious Cup contender and the Kings just happen to have them next. Good luck with that.

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roadtripper says:

November 27, 2009 at 3:11 pm

If it wasn’t for Quick this game’s over long before it was! Without a doubt, and to take nothing away from Dustin, he should have got the FIRST star! I honestly thought he made many more huge saves and was thus equally if not better than Luongo.

I know they played the night before and their schedules been brutal and no I’m not coming down on them… this is just a few comments on last nights game as well as a few replies to other’s comments…

Outside of Quick & Brown I’m not sure anyone else really came to play a full 60-minutes. Simmonds rocks and makes the most of his time with either hits or hard work creating chances around the net. I’d love to see him get more opportunity on the 1st line while it’s there. Williams had his moments, and Schenn for his first game with nerves and all, looked AT LEAST as good as anyone else. But it stops there! TM, PLEASE DO NOT let Ivanans on the ice again!

I agree with “bbb101″ in that,
“Frolov is great at puck control in the corners, but he has to be willing to pay the price by bringing it in front of the net sometimes, and his linemates have to know he will so they can be ready for a quick dart to a scoring space. As it is, they expect him to circle out and then re-dump it behind the net.”
What’s happening is the others are drawn into the corners too to keep the cycle going, thus NOBODY is around/in front of the net! Great… we wasted time with the puck but never were a threat to score. Maybe Fro should be on the 4th line for puck control, and that way they’d at least score once in a while.

Agreed! Greene to forward? NOT!!! What others are saying about Greene, Quick and our own end in general could certainly be helped with better team-D. For some reason other teams are getting a lot more quality chances than last year. Besides better overall team-D, improved special teams and faceoffs would go a long way in helping too.

As far as those wondering why DL’s not making a move to bring in a top forward… First of all, thank god Smyth’s not out for the year. When he returns I’ll gladly take that winning percentage the rest of the year! Secondly, you gotta believe DL’s got his feelers out. But what are you to do if what it takes to get a top sniper from another team is to give up all your hard work for the last bunch of years? (ie: your top prospects). Then we’re really just a developmental team for every other team and we’re right back where we were pre-DL, where we couldn’t keep our skilled top forwards around long enough to play with the kids we had coming up. It’s not gonna happen (I hope!). Plus it’s not the time yet when teams that are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs are willing to deal… And how do we even know where we’ll be at that time, or what injuries we’ll have, or what our top needs at that time will be??? I gotta trust in DL to do the right thing at the right time for this year AND the future!

what every team needs…

an elite power forward (Smyth)

a sniper (Kopi)

speed to back the D off (our 1st line can handle this when they’re all healthy)

scary to play against, abusing defenseman who make the other team NOT want to get to the front of the net (uhhhhhhhhh…)

consistent top team-D (uhhhhhhhhh…)(too many shots, too many quality shots!)

winning face offs (uhhhhhhhhh…)

very good special teams (uhhhhhhhhh… well maybe the PP when Smyth returns)

scoring from 2nd & 3rd lines (uhhhhhhhhh…)(too inconsistent)

top goaltending (uhhhhhhhhh…)(too inconsistent – see team-D)

ps – “Vankingsfan” you can leave Parros off that list. He can’t skate either…a true Ivanans clone! The rest I agree with! Sadly, other than the fact that his style gets the fans and his team pumped up a bit, Westgarth isn’t much better..!

GO KINGS!

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Crown Royal says:

November 27, 2009 at 3:45 pm

Belexes,
I agree Maclellan was not considered a fighter. That’s because nobody liked to mess with him. He was only dangerous when agitated by somebody else. He was a heavyweight for those days (the 80′s) standing six-three and was strong. He twice scored 30 goals, once with the Kings and once later, I think, with the North Stars which wasn’t too bad.

The Playfair fight was famous as you may recall Playfair had been considered the toughest guy in the league for awhile. Did you see Playfair destroy Brian Curran? I don’t put Maclellan in a class with Kings tough guys Jay Miller, Ruskowski, Randy Holt or Grimson but he could throw ‘em when he challanged.

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Belexes says:

November 27, 2009 at 4:07 pm

Yes, that was the famous “throwin him around like a Rag Doll” call from Bob. Playfair was a beast, and could handle his position decently too. As both he and Big Mac are former Kings I don’t want to be negative about them, I liked both guys.

Mac, however didn’t have the knack for being the enforcer, but was a pretty good power forward. Thirty goals is certainly nothing to scoff at. However, even from his best year playin with Marcel and Taylor, it was still Taylor who was considered the muscle on that line.

Good memories from a looong time fan

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Stuart says:

November 27, 2009 at 4:14 pm

The Jumping Shrimp-

You don’t see the need for toughness??? WHAT GAMES HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING??? They aren’t tough on either side of the puck! Opposing forwards go to our net at will and when JQ covers up they’re standing right over him, STRAIGHT UP! I can’t recall one of our D bending them over with a lower back cross-puch/check, come to think of it I can’t remember seeing a little face-washing going on. And our forwards??? They get “man-handled” almost everytime they stand over the opposing goalie after a save. Kopi skates away, Fro smiles his frustrated smile and our D hardly ever come down from the points to help out. Maybe TM hates having the faceoff moved outside, but enough is ENOUGH! This team needs toughness! I remember watching Brown his first 3 years when one of the opposing teams top players were out and I knew he would try and put the body on them (Pronger, Sakic, Thornton, Neidermayer, etc.) but those days are long gone. Aside from maybe WS, we do not have any toughness on our top 3 lines. This needs to be addressed.

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Barry's Mullet says:

November 27, 2009 at 5:18 pm

Forget toughness that’s a team mind set…which we don’t have. What we need are one or two mean SOB’s that nobody wants to play against! I wouldn’t mind seeing Brown drop the gloves every once in a while. Remember Terry Ruskowski (former Kings team captain) who was about the 5 foot nothing and weighed 150 lbs…maybe? This guy would go after everyone on the ice, never backed down, you would have to pull him off guys (and that was when fighting was a big part of the game) He was the captain of 4 NHL teams for a good reason…that’s leadership! Leadership is not just scoring goals it can come in many different forms.

I know the teams young and I love Brown and maybe Simmonds will be that guy but we need to stop relying on just one player, i.e. Ivans to protect everyone. We need 20 guys who are willing drop the gloves to protect each otehr, not come over and stick a glove in the guys face or yell at them.

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 5:37 pm

Stuart and Barry’s Mullet,

Finally a couple King fans are on the same page as myself. All you have to do is watch a Duck game and see how a real “team” plays. They protect each other, themselves, and the goalies. They crash the net, drop the gloves when necessary, but they can also put the puck in the net. Lets just face it, the ducks will be in the playoffs this year, and will be a contender once again. DL should build the team like the Ducks darn it

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Stuart says:

November 27, 2009 at 5:58 pm

I don’t know if the Ducks are still that team, but they’re finals run teams were…

Whatever grease we see on the first line (with RS healthy) is not team wide. I think we need a different captain. Nothing against DB but maybe a Zeus or maybe DL should talk with DB about what being a captain entails. Because it isn’t trying to beat a defender one on one with the same tired move everytime you’re bringing the puck up the ice. He’s not playing his game and I wonder if he feels he needs to play this way because of the veteran experience that is now on the team (ie-Scuderi and Smyth)?

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khanon says:

November 27, 2009 at 6:04 pm

Stuart,

The perfect candidate for captain would be Matt Greene. He is not only a vocal leader, but he also leads by example. The guy is willing to do anything for the team- fight, take a puck to the face, block shots, clear the net, and play many minutes per game. He would be my choice hands down…

re Brown- Yeah, he surely has been a big dissapointment since he was designated captain. It seems like he shies away from every scrum and is not even half as physical as he was a couple seasons ago. But, he plays real hard each game…

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Belexes says:

November 27, 2009 at 6:13 pm

Greene would make an excellent capn, but I am sure that “if” Brown were to be replaced( and i’m not calling for it), the new guys name would start with an “A”.

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Stuart says:

November 27, 2009 at 6:29 pm

Belexes-”A” as in Anze?

Khanon-I can see Greene, but I doubt they’ll take the C off of DB. I’m just saying that I think our teams leadership in the locker room and on the ice needs to be adjusted. Then maybe DB can go back to the player he was. And I couldn’t agree more with you when talking about DB playing ALL OUT every shift. He’s a beast, but a confused beast right now…too much thinking not enough being.

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Gary says:

November 28, 2009 at 10:44 am

The best enforcer the Kings ever had was Dan Maloney. He could even play the game with 27 goals one season. Guys like Ivanans, Westgarth, etc are a joke even being in the league. They have no hockey talent and they bring the game down a level every time they are on the ice.

Watching two goons talk prior to the face off, drop the gloves as soon as the puck is dropped, and square off and fight does nothing for the game other than provide a tv time out.

Does anyone really believe that the real elite teams are inspired by their goon fighting another teams goon?

The truly elite teams don’t seem to have the need to fill a roster spot with such players. The other teams seem reluctant to have their goons try to intimidate them because they know what will happen if the great teams get power plays against them. It will be game over because their skill level will bury another teams intimidation tactics.

I say get fast skating hard working players (Draper and Maltby types) that may not have the first line hands as your fourth line players. These guys that can not get out of their own way do not even belong in the league.

Team toughness has nothing to do with two no-talent goons fighting each other.

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