Here’s how the Kings are skating this morning, with only Jarret Stoll missing among the walking wounded…
Smyth-Kopitar-Williams
Frolov-Handzus-Brown
Purcell-Richardson-Simmonds
Ivanans-Harrold-Segal
Jack Johnson is also in practice. I haven’t yet seen Randy Jones. More updates to come…
simmers is skating? is that an early christmas gift or was that time frame expected?…good deal!
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I’m sorry, did you say Wayne Simmonds is practicing?!??
That’s well ahead of schedule isn’t it? At least the “unofficial” schedule kicked around the message boards.
That’s great news !
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“Smyth-Kopitar-Williams” – Sweet! And Simmonds? Awesome.
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Can’t wait to have Stoll and Parse back.. what a difference they’d make.
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Is this some sort of cruel joke? There’s no way Simmonds is skating already…
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I really hope Parse gets in the lineup instead of Purcell, and with Stoll healthy, Richardson goes back to centering a very solid, big, physical fourth line. As long as Parse is in and Purcell is out, this team can roll four lines, each of which plays a different style from the others.
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Simmer????WTF that must be a typeo
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Gotta admit that I am slightly bummed to see Purcell on the 3rd line. I thought Parse and Simmer were really developing some chemistry. Purcell’s skill would lead one to believe that he should/could be a top six forward, but I don’t see anything in his game that tells me he can grind it out on the third/fourth lines.
Bring Parse back from Manchester and put Purcell in one of the nifty jerseys for guys who aren’t going to see the ice on game day. If he needs the work, rotate him with Rat for the games where we don’t need a goon.
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Given how well Parse has played I just don’t think you can send him down and I just don’t think you can put Richardson back in a 4th line center roll. I guess that’s what happens when you have depth.
Good to see Simmer back skating.
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GET PARSE BACK!
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Simmers back….team will be healthy come Dec 26th, hopefully we’ve seen the worst of the injury bug for the rest of the season.
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My last 2 lines would be:
Richardson-Stoll-Simmonds
Ivanans-Segal-Parse
Does Segal play center?
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I don’t think parse is out of the loop yet. its just a log jam right now with Purcell clogging the pipeline. Hopefully we see him being dealt away and Parse can assume a full time position on the roster. He’s so much more deserving of the opportunity than Purcell. At this point it feels like we’ve been whipping a dead horse with this kid.
And yes…its friggin awesome to see Simmer and Smyth back in the fold. I just bought tix for the Kings vs. Caps game on 1/2!!! Future stanley cup finals matchup???
Hey…one can dream right?
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King Doughty8 says: Does Segal play center?
No, he’s a winger.
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I can’t wait for this team to be 100% healthy again. They will be tearing the league up!
I think they are keeping Parse warm in Manch, and then call him back up after Christmas. Or a trade is coming with Purcell and a pick for someone who can chip in a few and can play the system.
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I knew it! when i saw Parse get sent down i knew Simmonds was ahead of schedule. GREAT NEWS!
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This is one of the best looking King teams I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty much more or less satisfied with every player, except for Purcell of course.
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I actually think Teddy could work in that spot. Simmer and Richie will outwork the other team down low and create space for Teddy to be creative
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Simmonds is a huge surprise. I guess that meniscus tear was a minor one or the kid heals like no other. Good job training staff and Simmonds!
Glad to hear that Smyth, Segal, and Johnson are also back in the fold. Hopefully, Jones gets cleared soon.
I don’t think it is out of the question that Parse comes back and disrupts some lines at some point this year. Maybe they sent him back to work on specific parts of their game (see Purcell and Boyle as previous examples).
Let’s rock this conference in 2010.
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WOW, did Simmonds make a miraculous recovery or is that a typo?
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@ VanKingsFan… Eventhough my first thought was that Purcell didn’t belong with those two, I will buy your argument. Purcell could be the finess on that line, but he’ll have to go to the net when Simmer and Richardson grind and get the puck out of the corners. It will be interesting to see if this line gets some ice time together. The thought of them cycling the puck gives me hope.
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That’s why this 8-day off, scheduling quirk is a tremendous blessing for the Kings. Even if Phoenix leaf-frogs past them, they will get a healthy team back. One just hopes they continue their torrid pace….
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doesn’t TM usually puts a player in a full practice only if they are ready to go? so does that mean Simmers is good to go for Sat’s game?
That will be nice…How about a Stolly update? Any news on which players will come down from Manchester? Who will be sent?
Happy Holidays Folks
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VanKingsFan is a smart man.
Simmonds has been put there to get Purcell going on the score sheet. If Purcell doesn’t produce with Simmonds he’s simply not going to produce on this team.
Simmonds is the one constant on this team when it comes to production.
Parse is a prime example. He was on fire when playing with Simmonds. Simmonds went down and so did Parses production. This is not a knock on Parse, it’s a credit to Simmonds. I can’t really put my finger on it but maybe VanKingsFan has it right. Simmonds is outworking the other lines which in turn leaves alot more room for his linemates.
The bottom line is, people get results when playing with Simmonds.
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can’t believe simmonds is skating already
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I thought there was some possible chemistry there with Brown,and Richardson.I also liked Zues,and Fro playing along side Simmons.Purcell playing on the 4rth line would take out the big man Ivanans.It’s only going to get more crowded when Stoll comes back.I’m glad we’re able to mix it up a little.
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I think we see Parse come back sooner rather than later. My guess is, that the coaches and DL will continue to give Prucell some more rope for the time being. I think they will do all they can to try to get him going in different situations. Ultimately it does two things. 1.) give him every opportunity to succeed. If he does, then great. 2.) if he doesn’t, it gives him enough time on the ice for other team scouts to look at his game and see if he fits in with their line-up which should lead to a good return player if traded.
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Are you kidding me? How does Purcell stay in the lineup over Parse? unbelievable.
Parse, Moller, and even Elkins are all more deserving of ice time.
Why do we have to have a Willsie/Craig Johnson in the lineup every year? I think our talent level has moved past that, now let’s reward the guys who produce.
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Parse was sent down to manchester to get in some games during the long Christmas break because he’s not subject to waivers, as goes for the rest of the guys they sent down last week, not because of any lack of production or falling back in the depth chart. I suspect he’ll be one of the first call-ups after the break.
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Sweet. So with (almost) everyone healthy, how much better can the team play than 7-2-1 or 8-1-1 over the last ten?
I think its just a matter of being consistently good now. I can live with 7-2-1 or 8-1-1 over any ten game period.
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OMG I LOVE THIS!!!
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deadcatbounce, Manchester doesn’t play any games until the 26th either. The last time they played was on the 19th. Keeping Parse, Moller, and Elkins down there does nothing for them. I suspect that they plan on keeping them down there.
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Simmer back in the lineup??? So soon??? Typo???? Rich doesn’t make those kind of mistakes!!!! This is incredibly good news….god we are going to be awesome in 2010….Kings/Caps cup final preview on 1/2 TB??? Not as hard to imagine as you might think….Think the unthinkable…Who would have thought LA would be where they are right now at the beginning of this season? Keep it up boys, you’re going great and we just got healthy!
GO KINGS!
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Actually, those players can be called up prior to the break being over. The Holiday freeze, protects players from being sent down, but does allow for players to be recalled to the big club. My hope is that at least Parse returns but that may be more of whether Stoll is ready or not.
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I’m sure Parse will be back. I like the Fro and Brown Idea… I definitely think Richardson will be back to Center the 4th line. There’s no reason to Not have him there. When all of our centers are healthy, there is no doubt that we are strongest with Kopi, Stoll, Zues, and RIchardson down the middle.
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http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=57733
The Kings prospects stat page is updated today. Good look at how each of our guys are doing
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Guys I know Purcell has more than had a chance to prove himself but I think it needs to be said that I saw a post over on LGK that said that he is hurt and has been for a while. Multiple injuries.
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It’s too soon to be giving up on Purcell, he has a level of skill and belongs, he just doesn’t quite have “it” figured out yet…soon though hopefully. He could well become impact-full like BR or for that matter, Moulson(!)
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We went like 7-2-1 with Smyth and Simmer out. WOW! To get both of them back… this week off came at the perfect time.
The Kings being where they are in the standings isn’t a fluke. With them back, watch out. The Kings will definitely make the playoffs this year, and Game 1 WILL be in Los Angeles.
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How the heck is Simmonds skating so soon? Great news for sure, but what does this mean for his return timetable?
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You can’t be serious…Simmonds is practicing?
What is he made of? SOOOOO happy to see that!!!!
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RICH! TELL ME YOU’RE KIDDING???? SIMMONDS AT PRACTICE? lololol that has to be a joke man, the guy got surgery like last week? wow what a soldier, I hope they bring Parse or Moller back up, maybe even Elkins, I just don’t like Purcell on the 3rd line or Handzus as our 2nd line center.. Richardson should be between Frolov and Brown and Handzus should be between Simmonds and Purcell (ugh)
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I am sure that the doctors there know what they are doing but I sure hope that this is not a rush job with Simmer. I had bad cartiledge once and WEB-MD said such injuries require 4-6 weeks of rest. It took three months before the pain was gone.
Parse would be a much better choice on the left side of Richies line. As those lines stand, there is really only one that is a threat to score (the top line). The third line would be much more dangerous with Parse. Some sort of a deal must be in the works; I can not figure any other reason for playing Purcell in that spot instead of Parse.
By the way, what is up with that fourth line? Is their job to pin the puck to the boards and pray?
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Oh my god! Those are real lines! Real lines everybody!
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Carey, none of the guys got in any games over the weekend? Thought the Monarchs played over the weekend. If they didn’t, then I can’t understand why they would have been sent down when they were, unless it had to do with some sort of salary cap thing.
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Someone mentioned stats in the post above….most telling stat for me and I know I am beating a dead horse with this one….Simmer “+ 13″ I’m sorry, that is just sick. How many times is he up against the number 1/2 line and he puts up that kind of plus/minus?!?!?! Just sick….on the other side of the coin, JJ’s “-11″ OUCH! Doughty, Stoll and OD’s plus/minus are at +9, also very impressive.
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Deadcat…..Here’s a little early Christmas present for ya! All the Kings sent down to Manchester figured in the scoring with Bernier getting a shutout yesterday….
http://manchestermonarchs.com/fullstory.php?id=3532
Another great move by DL…Anthony, where r u when we need you????
GO KINGS!
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Carey says:
“Manchester doesn’t play any games until the 26th either. The last time they played was on the 19th. Keeping Parse, Moller, and Elkins down there does nothing for them. I suspect that they plan on keeping them down there.”
Carey, it’s about money. Every day that a player is on the NHL roster they get paid at the NHL-level wage rate. By sending them down to Manchester the Kings get to pay them at the AHL-rate instead, which is significantly lower. So by recalling them only when necessary it saves them some cash.
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ummm, how about harrold get sent down and keep parse up?? i dont think anyone would disagree with that
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Parse was sent down because he can be brought up. Don’t panic. He’ll probably be back soon.
Purcell can’t be sent down without likely being picked up on waivers, so the Kings will exhaust every opportunity to get him going, or at least sit him as a “healthy scratch.”
Now the Kings can win because they play their top game, with their best players, not because they managed to put together a hodgepodge group of players better than the other team’s.
@ John_oc: I disagree with that! Harry is a valuable component of the line-up. Countless times, he’s been used to plug a hole in a line when a forward goes down or to pair with a defenseman when his partner goes down.
@ Hammer (Rich), it’d be great if we could get any info (photos?) of Simmonds’ surgery. His return is so fast, it seems they must have used some sort of scope instead of cutting it wide open, right? I know they probably won’t do a “20/20 feature” on the surgery, but more info would be really cool.
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Bummer…the “ol” tag doesn’t work…not totally, anyway.
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When Stoll gets back, he returns to center the second line, Handzus goes down to center the third line, Richardson moves over to left wing on that line, Teddy goes elsewhere. Now we’re talking….
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Parse will be back, probably by the Saturday. He played last night, and with all the weather delays back east, might be tough to get a flight this morning.
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Kenneth..the nickname should be “hammy” or “hammie”
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I agreed with what seems to be everyone here that Purcell should be either dealt ir out of the lineup.. To be fair to the kid,he has shown hustle at times but if he is going to be a top 6 forward… He needs to put more points up on the boards.Think the explations of him were too great and too high on him,last year had 16 pts. in 40 games and was looked upon to make more this year.Well,so far just 6 pts. in 35 games but yet he remains..And yes,like most of you have said that Fro would be better with Stoll and Brown with Simmer with Zues and Parse.. But something tells me if the Kings continue to play well and win more games,you will see players wanting to play in L.A. — The players i do see coming here are of course Kovi,Vincent L.– Perhaps Jeff Carter?…BTW, has anyone heard about Kovi turning down the latest offer from the Thrashers?….I’m sure for now we can do without Stoll and Jones and when they do return to a completely healthy Kings team.. Look out baby… GO KINGS!!
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Who are the two biggest disappointments in RESULTS? frolov and purcell? who has been our leading scorer for the past 4 years? Frolov. Who are the two most skilled players at holding the puck in the O zone looking for players and delivering a pass? frolov and Purcell. why else would Purcell be on the 2nd PP.
Guess who hasn’t played together this year? frolov and purcell. It’s funny why everyone shits on both of them yet there are two highly skilled players that have yet to play together and everyone is wondering why frolov isn’t going…Try Purcell…They would both complement each other but they need a centreman that can skate between them and this means NO Handzus.
We are still below the 1/2 way pt but as it stands now if this team makes the playoffs we are dead in the water unless frolov gets going and he just doesn’t match up with Kopitar…. Stats speak for themselves.
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