After practice today, Terry Murray said — and I could hear him, even though he was next to the rink — that Raitis Ivanans would return to the lineup tomorrow night against Toronto. Terry Murray did not disclose which forward would come out of the lineup, because he said he hadn’t yet told the players.
Davis Drewiske is still possible to make a return on either Saturday or Sunday, but Murray said that will be up to medical staff, not him.
Makes sense, Buffalo and Detroit didn’t have heavyweights, or tough guys for that matter. Toronto does, at least, have fighters. So this makes sense. Even tho, and I’ve always supported having Ivanans in the line up, it was nice seeing four lines that could skate.
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rich…
you are hysterical today…:)
are you getting back at the toronto crazies thread-by-thread…?
love it…!
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Poor Teddy.
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need a goon to rough up burke’s kids, love the move
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What about Segal? I don’t think he’s been playing that great.
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Rich,
If you get any dryer, I suggest a little mudslide prevention work in So. Cal this coming week…
Keep it up! Toronto sure could use a little more SANDPAPER.
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Aflac: Agreed. Very much like Raitis was playing, but without the enforcer skills
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We need Segal in the lineup too. He doesn’t seem like he shy’s away from rough play. I bet he would drop the gloves too if he had too. Orr and Mayers will fight and so will probably a couple others so I’m glad TM is putting Ivanans back in.
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If we need someone to drop the gloves Im sure Simmer would be more than happy to do so. Come on Gordie Howe hat trick!
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What the Ivanans bashers don’t seem to understand is that it doesn’t matter if Segal or Simmer is willing to fight. Raitis’ job is not simply “fight occasionally”. Nobody will be deterred from taking a run at Doughty because 180lbs Simmonds is waiting to take some swings afterwards.
Ivanans is a feared physical presence and will keep the other team honest. If you don’t understand why his 5 minutes of ice time is necessary against certain lineups, then you don’t quite grasp his role on the team.
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Speaking of Orr, I’d love to have him on a line with westgarth and segal! What a fourth line that would be!
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20LucFan: I understand your intentions, but im betting that that line has circles skated around them on a nightly basis. Westgarth cant even make the NHL as a fighter
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Maybe Ivan can beat up the Zamboni.
Actually, I understand the logic to have him on the roster as Brian Burke teams are always a little, shall we say, inexpensive if you catch my drift?
I just think I’d feel better with Segal doing that dirty work if it’s needed. Ye’s he’s 30 lbs lighter, but he has much more skill than Ivan. We’ll need his skill 95% of the time over Ivan’s braun 5%. Yes I know that 5% could protect a guy from injury, but the way we’ve been dictating play without Ivan tells me the extra protection is kind of unnecessary.
May just come down to TM knowing something we don’t. I’m hardly in a position to 2nd guess him.
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Evans and Miller now on Home Ice!
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B…
watching it now…thanx…:)
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Here’s a link to todays event…
http://mapleleafs.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp
The problem here is that you have to listen to a ridiculously boring interview to hear the Kings make noise. Wilson calls out OD for the noise making.
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It really doesn’t matter who sits out of Purcell, Segal or Moller. That line becomes a non factor as soon as you put Ivanans on it.
I hear you though. I agree, he probably is needed more against this team than he is some others.
It was just so nice having four lines and beating two very strong teams in the process.
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Home ice? (center ice? nhl network?)
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waves:
yes
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Cynic
Good point about Segal versus Ivanans. I’d be willing to chance Segal as my heavy with those percentages.
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fro being discussed w/bob and darryl…
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Can’t say i’m really too thrilled about RI going back in. Yes, he has a role and I understand that, but the past few games the Kings have been skating very well I think and are getting things going much better.
I just hope RI doesn’t do something stupid and cost them the game.
All these games are so important…I’d hate to see something stupid mess it up.
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Cry Baby: Thanks for the link. This Leaf Space show is terrrrible though. I think this guy could get sued by Pizza Pizza and Molson for using their logos without permission….
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I think we’re a better team with Raitis riding the pine but I can see the reason for Raitis’ insertion to the lineup.
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I’m not too surprised to see Ivanans in the line-up against the Leafs. When haven’t they taken shots at players?
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Brian Burke teams are always dirty. He did in in Anaheim, and now he’s signed every fighter in the league to play for the Leafs.
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Leafs Space:
Where’s Heidi when you need her?
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Agreed that Ivan doesn’t need to play every game, and Segal does sort of fit that 4th line mix-it-up grinding personality, but matched up against a cheap, frustratedd team like the Leafs, I guarantee seeing #41 out there is going to make some of their goons think twice before doing anything stupid with one of our skill guys.
Moller is a consistently bad fit on the 4th line. He works so hard but is muscled off the puck even easier than Purcell (who scrunches up his face into the “please don’t hit me” expression when skating towards the end boards).
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I’m glad he’s in for this one.
Murray- don’t play him when he isn’t needed, it’s just bad for goal-scoring potential.
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After seeing that link to LeafSpace (Thank you) and that interview with Ron Wilson, I’d like to send Ivan to go after HIM with his attitude towards O’D after not letting us on the ice.
If we have to put Ivan in the lineup to do that, I might be OK with it. Other than that, I think our team is Pumped enough that is there are any shenanigans, we have some guys that’ll throw blows.
Jumping Shrimp said it best and better than I tried to: ” It was just so nice having four lines and beating two very strong teams in the process.” Detroit is KNOWN for this mentality of rolling 4 and frustrating teams with their skill, drawing penalties without a real enforcer. It’s that pack mentality that keeps them protected by stepping up for one another when necessary without making it a priority.
I don’t know which is better, but the last 2 games were pretty gutsy wins. I wouldn’t want to change too much, although thinking of Purcell…..Rolling 4 is still better with Purcell in for Ivan I think.
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Rich,
How are Ersberg and Quick doing. A media outlet here in Toronto reported them as being “sick”. Any truth to this?
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I, like many of you, loved seeing 4 lines roll. Problem is, TM has been crystal clear how much he values a guy like Ivan and that his presence on the ice is instrumental the team’s success. All the discussion on the topic is, therefore, academic as long as TM is coach.
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Since I was one of the guys screaming to yank Ivanans out of the line-up in Buffalo(not tough), I am glad that TM has put Ivanans back in for Toronto(chippy and tough). All the tough guys will need to be available to counter Orr, Rosehill and Mayers. So, yes. I get it.
TM just has to ensure that the Kings don’t lower their collective selves to the Leafs game. The Kings have to continue to play their style of game to be effective. RI is there to insure that happens.
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Listen. Ivanans is not a deterent and doesn’t put fear in anyone other than Quick because he knows Raitis will turn it over in the Kings zone and create an out numbered attack. The NHL doesn’t have heavy weights fighting anymore. McSorely, Crowder, Bucheboom, etc.. are gone. Middle weights that can play. Avery, Morrow, Carcillo, and Simmonds. Ivanans is 1 of 5 players from Latvia playing in the NHL and he was only 1 not picked for the Olympic team. Why? Because he is terrible and I wish Murray would wake up and understand you can’t play this guy ever again.
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Skebo says:
“…TM just has to ensure that the Kings don’t lower their collective selves to the Leafs game. The Kings have to continue to play their style of game to be effective. RI is there to insure that happens.”
VERY WELL PUT!!!
that’s really the fear here, that we come out and play THEIR game and down to the level of competition. This is a game where our PP really needs to convert so as to, hopefully, keep them from turning it into a goon-fest…
GO KINGS!!!
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Skebo says:
“…TM just has to ensure that the Kings don’t lower their collective selves to the Leafs game. The Kings have to continue to play their style of game to be effective. RI is there to insure that happens.”
VERY WELL PUT!!!
that’s really the fear here, that we come out and play THEIR game and down to the level of competition. This is a game where our PP really needs to convert so as to, hopefully, keep them from turning it into a goon-fest…
GO KINGS!!!
GO RAT’S!!!
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BD
completely agree about Drago-nans… simply a non factor… ive seen 1 good fight this season, versus boston a few weeks ago… and it was only because they played the rocky theme song during the fight… i’d much rather have Clune up here, making plays, skating, hitting, scrapping… 41 is a waste of a roster spot… i’d rather have westgarth up… he can play a bit… he has decent numbers in manchester for an ‘enforcer’
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Not too upset by RI in the lineup. Against this team its good idea and need not consume a lot of ice time.
LomitaKingsFan,
I wonder how receptive Simmonds would be to the jokes we made about him doing a Gordie Howe.
Howe was mean but in his day the players were “normal sized” not the king size brutes we see today!
Sometimes Simmonds is like a twig out there.
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Also, assuming a 3rd/4th line forward, it shouldn’t make much difference who sits.
Injuries have shown this to be a fairly balanced and flexible team. Good chance to perhaps give a banged up player a night off.
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Off the subject for those that can’t afford NHL Center Ice the NHL Network will be reboadcasting the Tuesday Kings at Toronto game at 4 am ET or 1 am PT the night of the game.
Just a note: I think 20LucFan is enfringing on my name.
I guess Luc wouldn’t want me to make an issue of it,
its cool.
Ivanans skates worse than Westgarth. At least Westgarth has enough hockey skill to score at the AHL level, I really don’t think Ivanans does. Its not a mystery to me as to why Richardson started his career with 48 scoreless games with Ivanans as a regular line mate, and is now on the 1st line for his scoring ablilty once allowed to play with skilled players. He has scored more short handed than he has on a full strength line with Ivanans!
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USHA #17,
Its not a joke, I would have to say of all the Kings that have thrown the gloves down more than 3 times Simmonds is most likely to get the Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Its a compliment that we think he is good for a goal and assist while showing the toughness to stick up for him and his teammates.
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The 2 most chippy, recent games that I recall was last year against Tampa(Artyukhin’s knee on knee hit against DD) and this year against Calgary(Phaneuf slamming AK into the boards). Ivanans played in both games so I don’t think he deters the other team from this style of play. Players who are dirty are going to play that way regardless of who you have out there. Actually the best deterrent is knocking them senseless with a good hit instead of in a fight. As for the fighters, there is a code of conduct where they will usually not challenge a player who does not fight(Carcillo being the exception when he ambushed Gaborik last week). Orr to me is a fighter who honors this rule so I don’t think he is going to jump any of our players. As for Mayers, he is an honest, physical player similar to Lappy so I’m not worried about him.
I’m all for seeing some good fights, but at this point in the season and where we are in the standings, this game is too important for us not to ice the best lineup possible to get 2 points out of it. Why tinker with something that is working?
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Luc20:
Your right! And he certainly came close in the last game.
My thought process was along the line that Howe usually won those fights.
Simmonds has the skill for two points and the gumption, but not the size for a third.
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I can’t wait to see Ivanans go out and fight the Leafs worst player and then have him sit on the bench the rest of the game…
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Orr isn’t an angel. He has taken runs at some talented players. Orr crosschecks Ovechkin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07lzWueATqw)
He had a cross check on Green from the Caps the other week too, but that didn’t look premeditated.
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I hope Ivanans grunts and stares from the bench until something happens and he’s unleashed. Of course then what he’ll do is go take a hooking penalty behind the oppositions net putting us down a man and not fight.
I like having 4 lines instead of 3.
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For the Love Of God, how many times do we have to read that Ivanans on the ice means that opposing players do not take liberties with our players? Phaneuf and Ryan, to give two examples, shows the nonsense of that argument. No one appears to care any longer if Ivanans is on the ice. That is just not a correct interpretation.
Then, factor in that Ivanans is a turnover machine, and a stupid penalty machine, what is the point?
Agree, though, that unless we are the coach, Ivanans is someone TM likes, so the arguments from us are essentially moot.
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scvking,
Thank you. Agreed.
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