Anze Kopitar’s postgame thoughts…
(on another poor start…)
KOPITAR: “I don’t know what it is with our starts. Obviously if we knew, we’d correct it or do something about it. I think it just comes down to the preparation for the game and just getting ready for the game. Obviously we’re not at the level we should be, right when the puck drops. When you fall behind, it’s tough to chase. We’ve pulled it off numerous times, but you can’t win hockey games like that.”
(on the big, left-handed goalie…)
KOPITAR: “I thought that threw some guys off. I was thinking about it too, a little bit. But that can’t be an effect. Both goals we scored, we got traffic in front of the net and were banging away off a point shot. We didn’t do that in the first two (periods). We caught a couple of unlucky bounces, with my post there, and we had some really good chances in the second too. There’s the game.”
brown and Kopi played well tonight.
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If we had traded Purcell for Kovalchuk we’d have been on like an 18-0 run right now.
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there are reports that kings could’ve had kovalchuk for frolov, must be some bogus reports
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good night AK
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we better be ready to play a full 60 against a team like colorado or as donnie brasco would say FUGHET ABOUT IT !
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Get this team ready for games for geez sake…they are never READY!!!
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cristobal is a busY guY tonight.
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Kopi just needs to shoot more I think. I’m sure that will eventually pay off more for him and for the Kings. But I really liked his SO goal, nice job on that!
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Was chatting with an oiler fan from the parking lot to staples. He asked about the x-kings on the oilers, I said I missed Lubo… …cut to winning goal.
Bummer end to an otherwise really fun night. Great meeting fellow bloggers and putting faces with the names…
Cynic, variable, Matt George, Bako, mrbrett, Kings4queens, Player-x, dirtmover, kris…and i know i’m missing a bunch…
But glad to meet you all and go through that frustrating game together… reminds me of the old Kings.
Wish we got a group photo.
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I think Douthy had more shoots so…shoot more Anže!
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You know, other teams already have it figured. The Ducks crew mentioned it. The book on the Kings is get off to a fast start, because they usually win games once they get a lead (more than most teams.)
If you think about it a moment, that probably means teams are making a point of focusing on a fast start, even if they wouldn’t normally do so.
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jet says:
February 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM
AK — we do not need to bug out. 19 points in the last 11 games. This is actually a good thing. Take your prozac and get some rest.
AK47 says:
February 11, 2010 at 11:34 PM
kingsfanone
you’re being too negative, go take your prozac and hit the sack buddy!
Plagiarism, eh, buddy??? You mean like YOUR negative comments? I’d like to see the Kings wake up now, not wait and see later.
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Kompon needs to get the PP running a little better than 0 for 6. As badly as the Kings played in the first 2 periods, they could’ve won this game.
If there is a bright side, the 1 point is better than the none they were staring at.
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Agreed. important point indeed…
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Kompon’s pp tactics stink…Stand still,pass,pass,pass until someone losses the puck. If not, shoot to that point man for the lazer shot that misses or hits someone.
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Can we put Jamie Kompon on waivers please?
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Let me tell ya’ll i duumk but i ssy we played like crap and i happy we got a point. Wish my bro didnt give me a shot after I got to his place but yea drunk off my ass. so night all all! i coment when I get home. Was Great Mettin all of you! Man I drunk! Glad i didn’t drive
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LOL
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Wowzers haha. I hope Rich qoutes that tomorrow morning.
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Oops, meant to type “Quotes”
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Murray’s line combos seemed to really not work tonight. I think that blowing up the lines that held together well during the streak was too rash, but if changes are to be made, here’s what I’d like to see:
Smyth-Kopitar-Simmonds
Moller-Stoll-Brown
Frolov-Handzus-Parse
Ivanans-Richardson-Clune
Scuderi-Doughty
Johnson-Greene
O’Donnell-Drewiske
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I like this lines ME20, actually I wrote the same 1st lane once before. But it’s not our decision after all. We can just hope that Murray will see this :=)
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Wow, Kris. You seemed so composed in the 3rd. I guess that shot did U guuude. Waves, sorry we didn’t meet.
Shouts out to everyone in the box tonight that I was fortunate to meet: DirtMover, DuckHunter, Cynic, Variable, LomitaKingsFan, IanSez, EASPMGMT, CindyV, Baco, HEIDI ANDROL (Schwinnggg!), Jessie Jackson (YES, THE ORIGINAL JJ), And of course… THE MAN HIMSELF.
RICH HAMMOND; YOU DA MAN! Peace. B-)
ps. MrBrett7- Great job in getting the buzzards of hockey dancing boy riled up on their site tonight.
GO KINGS GO!
pps. The C-note spent was well worth it, regardless of the results. (I gots me a Night Train bobble head)
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@wavesinair
Wait. I don’t remember meeting waves! I missed meeting a bunch of people actually. But it was fun being in the suite with so many passionate fans/bloggers! A special hello to duckhunter and kin, and to the blogger sitting to my left (sorry I can’t for the life of me remember your screenname!). I think next time our nametags should say our screennames bigger and our real names smaller. It would be easier to remember. See you all next time!
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Oh and I wrote this in an older post, but regardless of all the games we’ve played during the stretch and now the last two losses, the Colorado game is the most important. The last time we had the 8 day break we lost the game to Calgary (I think) and then when we returned we continued that losing streak. I think it’s more important to go into this break with a win than winning the last two. It will set the tone when we return.
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So many cameras in the box tonight. Is there any way to get pictures posted somewhere???
Cynic, the people NEED to see your jersey! And, what happened with the Juraj Mikus cheer??
(forgot to mention shouts out to MattGeorge, KingsKnight, Player-X, and Mr. Larry Abel)
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(Or, was it Variable with the jersey??) Doh! It’s late, I’m out.
(Rich, could use a “self delete button” right about now)
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***INSIDER SUITE PICS***
http://s360.photobucket.com/albums/oo44/paincorp1/LAKINGSINSIDER%20Suite%20021110/
I’m sure Bako will have better shots, but you do NOT want to miss all of the Juraj Mikus pics. Yes, he was in the suite. If you watched it all on TV, you will notice in the segment Heidi did with us up there, Juraj Mikus was in between Heidi & Frank’s heads. YES! THAT WAS THE LEGEND HIMSELF! He was watching the game and his power was overwhelming the Kings bench. It was only when I placed him face down that the Kings scored their 2 goals and tied the game. True story. MrBrett, Bako & Lomita can vouch.
Rich Hammond is one of the most down to earth people you could ever meet. He is just as much a credit to humanity as he is journalism. It was a complete pleasure meeting you and thank you for doing so much for us wacky, faithful fans. Truly a great experience having you hang with us tonight!
Heidi Androl is also incredibly down to earth and fun to be with. She must know about Juraj Mikus as you will see in the photos. A smart woman indeed and even more beautiful in person. Let me reiterate more emphatically: REALLY BEAUTIFUL in person. She loves her job and we love her for it.
Frank (EASportsmgmt), you seriously went above and beyond to put this all together. Thank you for taking the time to do all of that! It meant a lot to so many of us and it looks like we now have an annual tradition because of it. (Thanks to Cindy (Kings4Queens) as well for the name tags and other help! YOU ROCK!!!!)
I know I’m gonna forget people so don’t hate me if I do, but it was really cool meeting all of you: MrBrett7, LomitaKingsFan, Bako (Once again & Friend), Ian, Variable, Wavesinair, Dirtmover, Duckhunter, Kris, Kings4Queens (And your friend, sorry I forgot your screenname..I know it started with Kings), LBLocal, MattGeorge, Player-X, EVERYONE WAS AWESOME! Worth every penny and more!
Also, that was some of the greatest hockey discussion ever! So many of you really know your hockey and it was GREAT to hear so many solid takes and perspectives. Felt like for a moment that I was in Canada, although not as cold and taxed less.
I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU WHO TOOK PICTURES to go to photobucket.com and post your pics in an album andpost the link to it here so we can see your pictures from the event! I’d love to see all the different looks from this historic night.
BTW, I can hardly talk. I had to stop at McDonalds and get an Oreo McFlurry to help soothe the throat. Too bad I had to frikkin’ PAY for it. LOL! Good night all! Awesome night and the pleasure was ALL mine!
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I KNEW I FORGOT SOMETHING TONIGHT! THe Juraj Mikus Cheer! Well, I did do a few bars of it during the second period. Just too much going on I guess.
Nope LB, that was me with the jersey. I’ve now put it back in it’s hermetically sealed case, displayed properly in my closet in full view for maximum glorifying effect. I promise it shall return, unlike that damn coat that CONTROLS Jim Fox.
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Insider Suite pics and a couple videos. sorry ignore the ones with my face
http://gallery.me.com/andrewharkins#100036
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I hate to say this, but I was at the game tonight. The first period was a hot mess. The second period was also a hot mess. The third they were finally waking up and smelling the coffee, but at the shootout, it was too little too late.
Losing to last place teams is unacceptable. We got a point, yes, but we did not try a little harder. And why in the heck they put Clune in the lineup? This man was in the twilight zone. Sorry, he’s not ready for NHL type competion and he needs to be back in the minors.
And apparently, Terry Murray’s line combinations did not work at all with players not communicating at all.
They better get ready for Saturday because they have Colorado breathing down their necks.
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Damn! Did Heidi chill in the Hammer Suite between spots?
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The Olympic roster freeze goes into effect today at Noon Pacific. After that there will just be a few days in early March before the deadline to get any deals done. So if the Kings are going to do anything it’ll either be this morning or in March.
Still a lot of buzz out there about Frolov going to Montreal today for a package that could include Roman Hammerlik and/or a young D prospect named Yannick Webber. I don’t see why the Kings would trade for more D prospects. I’d hope if they trade Fro they get a goal scoring forward back. While his offense hasn’t been great this year, it’s still offense that the Kings would need to fill if they moved Fro.
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Cynic, thanks for posting the pics. Great to see. I listened to the game and it was almost like having ‘smooth jazz’ playing in the background. Nick for sure wasn’t overly impressed w the teams effort. Evidently very sloppy with the puck. Daryl said after the 2nd period that the game was there for the taking, but that the Kings just weren’t stepping up. Kopi’s comments would seem to echo that.
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Another thing… someone mentioned how the team gets streaky w W’s and L’s. Also same seems to apply to the PP. When they get it going a bit it seems alright, but when they go 0 fer 7 that seems to quickly turn into 0 for 20 something.
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Cynic is TODDLES!!
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What a KickAss night – props to all who made the staples roadie- It was great to hang and chat with all – had to split after the 2nd – night job on 405 widening – even king games come after JOB- got it on the radio though- sorry got a little hot after that sorry 2nd period PP – damn what is our problem man up – it’s such an issue – I don’t know what the fix is – Again a total blast to see and hang with the insider crew – MAD props to you Frank and Rich- now bedtime
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How many poke checks did DesLauriers (sp?) have in the shootout? 5 or 6? Why didn’t the shooters in the later rounds notice this and try something else?
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Blah!! morning peps, was great to see you all on TV last night. wish i was there but ya next time, ABQ is a bit far lol.
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Kingsfanone,
lol it wasn’t plagiarism buddy, it was mocking.. i was mocking jet..
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Looks like another domino just fell. Carolina apparently trade Matt Cullen to Ottawa for Picard and a 2nd round pick.
Supposedly another name that will move this morning is Ponikarovski from the Leafs, and yes, the Kings are rumored to be in on him.
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LOL Paul that is funny.. Ottawa over pays Carolina for a guy that has not put up that many points. 2nd rd draft pick and a roster player. Over paid.. But i hope your right that Poni makes his way to the west coast. The Kings could sure use a guy like him, good size and can score.
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Need to figure out these slow starts before playoffs come around if we are still in the picture then. Going down a goal or two in the first will equal a short run in the playoffs. I think it was clear last night the big line change shuffles hurt on-ice play. I recall several plays where a player dumped or passed to a spot expecting a player to be there, but wasn’t. I’m starting to think these frequent line changes are becoming more of a detriment.
On the positive side, I thought Clune had a good game. Showed speed and grit, fits well with this style of team. Iceberg was good, didn’t cost us the game. Need a win against CO to end on a positive note before the break.
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Weren’t you wearing your Long Beach jersey LBlocal? If so we chatted a few times…
I was wondering where you went dirtmover… bummer you had a night shift! Sorry you couldn’t be there for the comeback.
I’ll post the video of Heidi in the suite a bit later in case you didn’t see us live. Think it was about the 12min mark of the 2nd period.
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Uh, oh…
More players then Quick and Scuderi must have had the flu last night.
The alternative, another late season disappearance, is too frightening to consider.
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We have weapons, we have tons of skill yet the Oils dominated for 48 minutes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t the Oils the ones who played the night before?
It’s been awhile since the Kings played a full 60 minute game with intensity. If we play in the playoffs like last night were gonna get smoked. I don’t care who the opponent is. 4 and out.
As for the “power play”, 0 for 6, c’mon, good teams have good power plays. I just don’t understand why the coaches can’t see the players just standing there instead of moving and opening up seams. I mean, they do review video don’t they?
Sorry guys, I know I’m going off right now, I know we’re OK in the standings, but I also know we’re capable of being so much better. Just a little frustrated. On to the Avs.
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Cheechoo on the waivers….Looks like he’s coming to LA
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I was at the game last night and at times it was hard to tell which team played the night before…
I have to comment about the moment that WS took the ice for the umpteenth round of the so (I know it was like the 6th or 7th). Staples Center almost blew up, I mean I almost couldn’t hear myself yelling. THAT was amazing. Would have only been better if EE would’ve made the next save.
About the PP-when is AK going to grow some balls and at least fake a move to the net? Our pp is a joke. Someone already mentioned it, pass, pass, pass, shout it off net or get a lame passed stolen (cough-cough-DB-cough). Our first two pp’s got us one (1) sog??? That was so discouraging. I could understand if the Oil’s pk was in the top ten, BUT IT’S NOT!!! If our pp doesn’t step it up, it might only be 2 games at Staples come he playoffs.
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Sorry I don’t have time to mention everyone by name, but my daughter and I had a wonderful time throughout. She informed me she is willing to pay for the next event. I can see it now, “dad that will be 100 bucks to take the trash out and another hundred to bring the cans back in.” All kidding aside, I would do this again in a heartbeat. Thanks to everyone.
Special thanks to Cindy for helping me with my ticket purchase. You helped create a priceless moment.
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A few of you need to get a life. Kings are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.
EE played in 8 games all year…EIGHT!!!! If he was as good as JQ he would be playing in more games but he’s not and let in 2 goals and went 10 rounds in the shoot out, gave his team plenty of chances to win the game but like usual they didn’t show up until the 3rd period.
Kings are in the top 10 in the league on the PP and WTF don’t I see a lot of comments about them being a poor PK team? All I read is fire Kompon because the PLAYERS, not the coaches refuse to shoot the puck. Come on people are we watching the same games or do you really expect the Kings to score every time on the PP and win 82 games?
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Just because Cheechoo was waived doesn’t mean he’s coming to LA. That said, it would be an interesting pickup and could indeed replace Fro if the Kings trade him. Cheechoo has 1 year left after this year @ $3.5M. Might be added incentive for him to pick his game up again if he has the chance to beat down San Jose from an intrastate rival?
The problem with the Kings claiming Cheechoo is that there are 25 teams that could claim him before the Kings and I doubt he’d get that far. And besides, we all know how Dean Lombardi works. The only way he puts in a claim is if it’s re-entry waivers so he only has to pay half the salary.
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Hey Paul, get off that kool aid, lol….then again stop listening to the Canadian Press.
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Didn’t watch the game as I was traveling and didn’t have access, why did Murray change the line combos that seemed to be working? As well as Parse has been playing, he only saw 5min of ice time, not sure that makes sense either.
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Barry’s Mullet, I’m venting because a 36 win 5th place overall team loses to a 19 win 29th overall team. I give Edmonton credit, they outplayed, out skated, and won the little battles for the puck most of the night. Maybe the Kings are looking ahead and took the Oils too lightly. I don’t know. However, someone of the Kings caliber should be able to put the Oils away. Also, I stand by the fact that it’s the coaches job to make sure the PP is clicking. Especially in games when we have a 5 on 3?
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Goring
I’m just as frustrated but lets be real…Its a long season! The Kings like usual gave little respect to Edmonton and a number of other teams lower in the standings and than decide in the 3rd period to turn it on…that won’t work every night, its becoming habbit and it certainly won’t work in the playoffs.
This team has had more than their share of good luck over the last 20+ games and its not going to get any easier down the stretch. Their young and as we all very well know, usually have to learn things the hard way. I just hope they put it all together before its too late. I just hate reading the typical blame game of coaches and goalies after each loss when its so obvious the team as a whole laid an egg.
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Barry’s Mullet. Agreed.
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Note to Shamu: if you just want to bitch, maybe you should go somewhere else.
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Didn’t keep up with the game threads because I was at the game last night and (of course) didn’t get back until late.
But I sense that there was some carping and bitching about the last PP in the 3rd. To which I have this observation: The Oilers came out very aggressive on the PK early. Completely messed up the Kings PP by pressuring everything. In the last PP, the Oilers went into the box instead, right from the start. I think this is what threw the Kings PP because they kept waiting for the Oilers to come at them, so they could break the press and find the open spots. But the Oilers never put on a press to break.
People kept yelling for the Kings to shoot. But from ice level, where I was sitting, it was pretty clear that there were really weren’t any open shots.
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Not prepared? Isn’t that your job, Murray?
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The Iceberg had three chances to win it. He sure did validate his backup status.
Get Quicker back in there and bring on Colorado.
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Like I said last night, before the game even began, the team always plays poorly in front of EE. He kept his team in the game, and gave them plenty of opportunity before the shoot out began. The second goal is one that he would probably like to have back, but otherwise, he kept the Kings in it. The blame should be placed on the three empty netters that should have been completed, and the PP opportunities that were missed.
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Duckhunter-
My pleasure. I’m really bummed that I didn’t make it over to that side of the room to meet your daughter, somehow the game kept distracting me:) Next year…
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