The Kings are expected to put Alec Martinez in on defense tonight and pair him with Drew Doughty. Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi will be partners once again, as will Matt Greene and Davis Drewiske. At forward, there is expected to be a fourth-line change, with Peter Harrold replacing Kevin Westgarth. More on all this to come…
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Good, no Wastegarth tonite. he can not handle the puck at all. hopefully Harrold steps up tonite. Please o please hockey god let us score a pp goal or two tonite. we could really use it. Thanks!!!
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ringo Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:34 am
@OC KINGS FAN, if no westgarth…then, lewis, richie, clune…harrold….sssigh….he plays hard, granted, but he just doesnt fit the roll of a 4th line winger..(looks down and shakes his head in disgust.)
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simonsez Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:02 am
@ringo,
Clune isn’t on the team.
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PRMan Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
@simonsez, Maybe he should be now that so many people are down with injuries.
ringo Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
@simonsez, ummm…..yyyyyea,,, i know this… call him up..send westy down for a bit..work on his skating.. really i think schenn will be called up and i would not be surprised if tm tries him on that wing..wouldnt that be awsome, if that works out. i mean we tried just about every one else on the top line why not schenn…
Rich,
I wanted to ask you, I noticed that you removed the links for the opposing teams blog sites. Maybe for an update? Or did you get rid of them for good? Im sure they weren’t used much, but i actually used them often. Thanks in advance! If you did infact get rid of them, know any place where i can find a list for them?
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mrbob25 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:04 am
@Michael_DD8,
Good question. Those links were very helpful.
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OC KINGS FAN Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:05 am
@Michael_DD8, Hey i was wondering the same thing! thats funny. i use those after every game to see the other teams thoughts (even though Rich has that covered) and i also enjoy reading other fans comments.
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Hope Jack being paired up with Rob prevents some bad decisions on the ice. Never realized how much we were going to miss Mitchell until these last few games! GO Kings! Hope they can pull one off tonight!
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I think we should try cliffy on the 1st line lw and move dk to the 4th
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Erik4Kings Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:05 am
@Ari,
100% agreed. King is not near NHL ready right now.
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Harrold at wing?? Harrold is not effective whatsoever at wing… At least, Westgarth has a role, and plays that role quite well.
What’s Harrold’s role on the wing? He’s not physical, he’s not a scorer, he doesn’t crash the net, won’t be effective in the corners… So, why Harrold at wing?
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King John Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:11 am
@theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves,
We’re short on forwards with all the injuries.
But why no Moller; is he playing poorly?
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Erik4Kings Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:06 am
@King John,
Thats my question, Moeller looked good in training camp and I liked what we saw from him last year. Compared to shuffling Harrold to forward…probably easier than having them trade positions for minimal minutes anyway…I don’t know though, we need scoring and Moeller only thinks scoring…
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theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
@Erik4Kings,
Moller is not fit for the fourth line. I believe TM/DL said that if Moller can’t crack the top six, then he’ll play in the minors.
Gerard Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:15 am
@theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves,
I think they’re placing Harrold in the lineup in case Martinez doesn’t pan out for some reason. Maybe he’s in more for being the 7th defenseman as opposed to being a 4th line winger?
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theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
@Gerard,
That’s a great point. But if TM’s not sure about Martinez, then maybe he shouldn’t play him period
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Jordan Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:15 am
@theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves,
Who is Westgarth going to fight on MTL?
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theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
@Jordan,
It’s not just about fighting… To me, if an opposing team doesn’t play an enforcer, that would give me more of a reason to play Westgarth. In that type of scenario, Westgarth could intimidate opposing players, especially the skilled players and goalie, without any retribution. Punish the opposition for not dressing an enforcer!
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Cry Baby Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:30 am
@theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves, Harrold provides energy, skating ability, and a heck of a lot more skill than Westy! Toughness has a lot more to do with just dropping the gloves….that view is very narrowminded.
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theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
@Cry Baby,
Yes, Harrold intimidates the opposition, battles hard in the corners, creates havoc in front of the net, and sticks up for his teammates… Wait, I think I’m talking about Westgarth
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
@theKingsNeedTogettoughanddropthegloves, Way back when Westie hadn’t dropped the mitts in the regular season, we were 10/3. Westie started dropping them and we’re losing 4/5. We need more team hitting, team toughness, maybe. I hope we’re dropping the gloves as needed, and not stupidly.
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Are you telling me there is no better option in the whole organization than Harrold on the 4th line? This killed me last year and now it is happening again…Call up anyone…Moller, Clune, Kozun, Holloway, anyone is better than a barely capable NHL d man playing forward.
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jason Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:18 am
@Nick, Man i agree, kozun is sick… I think their man idea is for the 4th line not to get scored on lol
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oi vey…call up a forward jesus. Harrold at forward…blah.
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I like the defensive pairings. As for the fourth line, a Westgarth here, a Harrold there – does it really matter?
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Jay Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:19 am
@rick,
You are right to an extent, it IS the 4th line…however…it’s like…bring up Moller to give him a chance…or let the jck of all trades master of none eat a roster spot.
Let’s face it…it’s not like the organization is banking on the development of Peter Harrold…
just watch he’ll have a multipoint night now cause I am baggin on him haha.
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Bill M. Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:24 am
@Jay, That’s likely. In which case, I’m glad you said it
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Why not put Harrold on the 1st line LW?
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Harold on fourth line wing is not that bad of an idea considering that Ritchie and Lewis are playing very well.
Harold is a veteran and can hold on to the puck and skate way better than Westy. He doesn’t need to score, just feed pucks and open up some space for Ritchie and Lewis. Both of those guys are flying on the ice.
I like this move.
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Luuc Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:27 am
@Token,
Plus, I think it’s a bit of a safety net for Martinez
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src Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:46 am
@Luuc,
good point
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i really hope the Defensive groupings in this game work out better than previous games! Our defense has been sub par to say the least since Mitchell and Poni have been injured and we need to get this thing going in the right direction. Im also interested to see what Harrold can do on the wing. I cant say as of right now im a fan of the move but until we have seen otherwise its worth giving him the shot. How ever these changes work out tonight i just hope it equals a Kings win!!!!! GO KINGS!!!!!!!!
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Interesting note..
With Savards return to the Bruins, its an Estimate of them going over the cap about 1.4 Mil. Not to mention Sturm is still on LTIR.
I would like to see what moves are made here.
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Kings dropped to 5th in the conference standings. Ouch! Every game is critical. Tonight the Kings are playing a very good Habs team. It’s probably going to have the feel of a playoff game and should be treated as such. Can’t wait to see how Alec Martinez plays. Love to see him get a PP goal. GKG
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puck73 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:47 am
@Goring 19, Over the years Montreal has been a graveyard for even good Kings teams. For some reason, that city has been a house of horrors for us. Look at the overall record vs Montreal, pathetic. Hey BUTCHIE…didnt we lose like 40 in a row or something like that to the flyers in the 70′s ?
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Nice to see all the coaches and GM’S gathering on the site this morning to tell Dean and Terry how to run things. I bet some of you miss the old days when there was no salary cap (imagine that) and the “Crook” would throw money at problems “other peoples money that is” and everything was just grand, except for the fact that our farm system was a joke and that bafoon Melrose was running things…other then that, things were just great!
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Cry Baby Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:38 am
@puck73, Like button pressed!
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I would like to try Clifford on the top line with Kopi and Brown. The Kid has hands, he just hasn’t been given the chance. On the 3rd line has the shutdown role and has been doing it rather nicely. Maybe TM doesn’t want to put King back on the 3rd line, since they are out against the other teams top line. But why not move Richie back to the 3rd, King to the 4th and Clifford to the #1 line?
This kid has wheels too, we saw that last game as he drove to the net and beat out both defenders..
Harrold on the 4th line is bad! It’s real bad!!! Westgarth’s services isn’t needed tonight, because the HABS are the softest team in the nhl (besides DET). Clifford will beable to handle any of the rough stuff if it goes there and Simmonds can clean up the rest..
But I agree with Nick, we need a better option than Harrold, when Westie isn’t needed. Harrold will be turning over the puck just inside the blue line all night, just like what TM hates the team doing right now..
Maybe TM wants to have 7 defensemen dressed, just in case Martinez can’t hack the job on defense?? He can move Harrold back there and then only use Martinez on the PP???
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puck73 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:49 am
@kylecliffordfan, Clifford on the first line huh..I would have never guessed that suggetion coming from such an unbiased poster like you.
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Michael_DD8 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:54 am
@puck73,
Ahahha right puck.
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puck73 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:57 am
@Michael_DD8, Dude you are awesome ! You have been lobbying hard for this kid for a while. Ii will say this, Clifford and Lewis have been playing better recently so thats a good thing. Plus, everyone kows that Gm’s at the draft were begging Dean for Schenn and Clifford and still are currently.
Erik4Kings Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:10 am
@kylecliffordfan,
Agree 100%. Clifford has been awesome as a rookie and more deserving of a top spot than King. King is not near NHL ready and Clifford has already played a higher level longer than King. I’m not saying the changes we made are bad, but I’d like to see your suggestions tried as well…
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GOKINGSGO Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:26 am
@Erik4Kings, I hardly think this should get down to who is more deserving at this point, we have hole that need to be filled due to injury(s) I like Cliffy and his past 3 games have been absolutely his best, that being said his first 3-4 not so much. I highly doubt King is on the top line because he deserves it over everyone else? i think ive said this before, i bet King would way rather a shut down roll on the 3rd or 4th line i am 100% he isn’t fist pumping because he’s #1 LW common. I agree it would make sense to have Cliffy who has what like 12 games on King to get the chance .. but thats not His call nor ours so its not fair to say he undeserving. Hopefully they can pull it together and hold onto a lead for 60 min tonight!
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Harrold in the lineup at all…I’m going to start watching the Ducks!
Wait, it isn’t that bad. Seriously, how are we going to compete with the elite teams with two of our lines carrying 1/3 AHL talent?
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…and let’s show some emotion out there tonight and bang some bodies around. Play like you are one of the top teams in the league!
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SplattDaddy Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:00 am
@Hovkey101, Bang Some body’s !!… Earlier we really seemed to be pounding other teams and maybe it’s just me but I’ve sen a real departure from that attitude. we seem to be getting pushed around more and more with almost a worry about giving what we’re getting. I almost say, forget about the win tonight (I know, i know !!) and go out and pound the hell outta the Hab’s, get a reputation of being a bad-assed club to play against. Remind other teams how big, strong and talented this team is !!
GKG !!
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fsd1 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:33 am
@SplattDaddy, not a departure per se, we are now realizing how important mitchell and poni is to this team…..
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good more putting harold in against the habs.they need the extra speed at wing and he also can move back to defence if needed
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Actually, I like this move tonight. I got the feeling KW came away with a banged up hand the other night; not surprised to see him sit, as both he and Neil kept their lids on the entire time. This really doesn’t feel good on knuckles, and may be part of KW’s reason for developing more body shots. They don’t cost as much the next day. In any case, the Habs really aren’t overly prone to dropping the mitts; they show 6 majors spread through 4 players, and I think Cliffy could handle any of them. No one player has more than 2 tilts 1/4 of the way through the season. This may open up some scoring on 4; until KW gets his skills caught up to the NHL level, and the way we’ve been dropping points lately, I think TM may have something here. Right now just hoping to keep everyone playing, healthy; hoping for good news about Willie Mitchell or Poni in the next week or 2.
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puck73 Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 10:52 am
@mcsorleyfan, When Willie gets back, everything changes. Until then, TM will experiment like a mad scientist.
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Hey Rich,
Can we get an update on Poni and Willie?
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This will probably sound odd, because it sure feels strange to think about- but does pairing Martinez’s hot stick with Dewey make Dewey the stay-at-home guy?? How’s THAT going to work out? Not that Drew’s been a prolific oplayer on the rush thus far, but. Anyway. I’m just thinking I’d hate to see them both activate simultaneously and a turnover result.
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kylecliffordfan Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 11:50 am
@mcsorleyfan, It’s good.. Doughty is too fat this season to keep up with the play.. So he is a stay at home this year by no choice. LOL
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
@kylecliffordfan, Lol maybe… I wish like hell the kid would get a trainer for the offseason and a diet coach… Maybe hire Clune to be his room mate.
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hail Rich!
The first line will have some change?
hugs GKG
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The only ones who remotely belong on the first line are simmer and possibly poni when he gets healthy. Or the the top six LW DL is going to get us for x mas
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