Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts…
(on the game…)
MURRAY: “That’s a hard game here tonight. You’ve got a team that was sitting here last night, watching our game in Buffalo. We were traveling, we’ve got three (games) in four nights and the guys really dug in. That’s the bottom line, is that you get the two points. Boston is a heck of a hockey club. They do a lot of good things. They’ve got depth, they’ve got balance, and they showed it in the third period. Quick was the answer for us. He played extremely well, made some huge stops out there. There was a lot of pressure from the Bruins, but we hung in and finally got it in the shootout.”
(on the goalie shootout showdown…)
MURRAY: “Both goalies were very good. Thomas is having a great year. You can see his composure in the shootout. It could have went deeper, for sure.”
(on the fourth line’s goal on the first shift…)
MURRAY: “You never know what happens when you throw the puck toward the net. It could possibly go in. And that’s where Boston is so good. I keep giving them a lot of pats, but they’re a good hockey club. They throw pucks to the net. They get into the offensive zone and there are pucks coming from all angles, all areas of the offensive zone, and as a result, they’re putting pressure on you. Now they make you turn around and face your net. You’re trying to find the puck and they’re beating you to those rebounds and loose pucks and keep throwing it there. So it was a very hard game for us, in our defensive zone.”
(on whether Quick’s play might persuade him to change his goalie plan…)
MURRAY: “It’s getting close to that. I might wait for that decision (until) after we get back from this road trip.”
(on whether he would change his mind on starting Bernier in Montreal…)
MURRAY: “No, I don’t want to. I would. I’m here to win games, so if that’s what I decided to do, I would have no hesitancy in doing it, but I don’t have any plans to do it right now.”
I think bernier’s been getting better and better, albeit slowly.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
@rontheking, I’ll give him that he played a lot better last night than the box score seemed to indicate. His previous game, a team loss, probably wasn’t as good.
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cjms Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
@rontheking, And if not, maybe we can try him on Kopitar’s left wing. He’s pretty good with the stick.
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rontheking Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
@cjms,
i like that idea a lot…i’d love to see him crashing the other team’s net in his goalie pads….
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vicarious Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
@cjms, xlnt idea. And it shall probably be tried soon (or maybe a bit later if Almighty Mikus comes back from the KHL).
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KC23 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 3:26 am
@cjms, Or perhaps replace Kopitar on the half boards on the PP?
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cjms Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 7:05 am
@KC23, Personally I don’t understand why anyone’s on the half boards.
USHA#17 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 9:42 am
@KC23,
Kidding, right?
zulov Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 10:10 am
@cjms, I’ll take Bernier on LW over King any day..
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The recent shortcoming have much more to do than “on the road, 3 games in 4 nights, Boston is a good team.”
Hopefully they can really address these in a day off in Ottawa.
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Shotongoal Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
@18,118, I hope they get a little rest in Ottawa on their day off. Still early in the season. Nothing wrong with 13-6.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
@18,118, I don’t include this game in the recent shortcomings, though. All things considered, most of this effort was “good enough.” The big exception was the so-called power play.
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KC23 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 3:27 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Actually it wasn’t all that good imho. Quick stole this game, we should of lost by at least 2 goals.
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 9:43 am
@18,118,
Is it conceivable that the “recent shortcomings” have more to do with a couple of big bodies missing and the general accepted belief that a hockey team will not win every game?
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2 points is 2 points is 2 points…good job buys!
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Cry Baby Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
@Cry Baby, buys…hahaha…evidence that I am a wino!
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Shotongoal Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
@Cry Baby, better than “gays”. Then you might have some explaining to do, that’s how rumors start, EH!!!
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I think Quick has had plenty of rest and Montreal is a fantastic team this season. I think you have to play Quick the next three games and then start Bernier against the Ducks on the last game of November. I think it would be wise to start your hottest goaltender against teams like Montreal and Chicago.
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Shotongoal Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
@jgj, Please just remember last year…Don’t get caught up in the moment. Think about the big picture..I’m just sayin.
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Jason Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
@jgj,
I’d rather Quick play against Anaheim. I like Bernier in Montreal. If the team effort is strong in Montreal and we lose the game then i’ll agree Bernier should be used as little as possible.
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KC23 Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
@Jason, Yep, makes way more sense to play your best goal tender against your division foe … especially since I’m going to that game.
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‘Hawks just chased Luongo out of his own building in the second period, 4-0.
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18,118 Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
I don’t know why, but I find this very gratifying. Besides, the Hawks are still a formidable team, even though they’ve only been playing .500 hockey.
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Mesquite Smokie Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
When he gives up 4 goals in 10 shots that is very pathetic. He isn’t all that anymore. He is getting old. If he plays as long past his prime as Broduer has, he will be a laughing stock.
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KC23 Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Canucks are sure hit and miss this year so far. Dodgey defense, inconsistant offense. Hawks are just an slightly better than average hockey team imho.
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Belexes Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 9:26 am
@KC23,
I agree on your take for both teams, and doesn’t it feel great!
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Whats up with our PP? Ever so gentle wrist shots from the point? interesting strategy for sure
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cjms Reply:
November 20th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
@408kingsfan, Well, since the slapshots are all wide by 6 feet or blocked, it’s better than whatever we were trying before. Frankly Drewiske’s been the most accurate from the point thus far.
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Kopi, Doughty, Simmonds…our stars are playing solid hockey. but they just are not playing with that FIRE!
I wonder. Has a taste of the playoffs turned us into a team that struggles to focus in the grind of the regular season? Maybe our stars really won’t come to life until the season is on the line.
If that is the case, well it’s not great…but I’d rather be the playoff sleeper than the presidents trophy winning playoff choke artist.
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puck73 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 1:36 am
@Bill M., Hello my name is Joe Thornton and I approve of this message.
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kiosku2 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 12:39 pm
@puck73, Classic! Well done my friend, well done!
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Quick is beginning to be the difference between us winning and losing. So far this season Quick has won games for us and Bernier hasnt.. As far as double headers Bernier is fine, but other nights should all be Quick
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I’ll be the first to admit that the boys fought hard tonight and snuck out of a very tough building with two points. They deserve all the credit in the world. Quick has just been spectacular this year and has now very clearly stolen at least two games, if not three. He’s a monumental reason this team is even sitting in a playoff spot right now and deserves all the praise he receives.
With that said, this team is continuing to exhibit some very troublesome habits. Blowing third period leads is not acceptable. It’s just not. I could sit here and rail on Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, etc. but it’s quite clear to anyone that has been following the Kings this year that it’s the vets that are carrying this club, not the youth (outside of Quick).
As a team, they really need to tighten up, mentally. They just do. Plain and simple. We can’t limp into December and expect Mitchell and Ponikarovsky to pick up the pieces. This team needs to get back to basics; perhaps Murray needs to spray paint the infamous “home plate” dots around the crease like he did three years ago. They’ve been horrific in their own end over the last four games.
This team is still young; they’re still learning. However, they need to man up a little and start taking care of their own zone. Quick can’t carry this team all year.
Overall, though, a very pleasing win. Boston is a great hockey club and the Kings played them hard tonight, in a back to back situation coming off a losing streak. That deserves some accolades.
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DetroitSons1952 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 8:53 am
@aegwillnotwinthecup, They gave up a 3 goal lead and if Jon Q wasn’t in goal to steal it for them, they’d lost 4 in a row.
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zulov Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 10:15 am
@DetroitSons1952, Agreed. The Kings were flying while on their winning streak – taking the body and pushing teams around. Now its all poke checks all the time.
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my problem in watching the kings right now, our defense…..
something is wrong when……
-assignments in front of the net are missed
-players walking out of the corner for scoring opportunities
-not keeping good gap control (all zones)
-shots are not getting through to the net (opposition end)
-shots getting through to the net (our end)
-passing out of our end, holy crap
-communication seems non existent
….need I say more, com’on guys lets go, pick it up
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Looking Good…
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The Kings are a team that must hold the opponent to 2 goals or less to win. They can’t muster more then 3 a game unless they play the Isles all the time.
Until there is a top first line LW or at least a talented 2nd liner up there (istead of KING – wtf???)
the Kings have to play a perfect defensive game.
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puck73 Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 10:31 am
@zulov, I think that statement is 90% accurate.
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