Here’s how the Kings are skating this morning…
Simmonds-Kopitar-Brown
Smyth-Stoll-Williams
Clifford-Handzus-Lewis
King-Richardson-Westgarth
Based on early drills, it’s tough to determine accurate defensive pairs so far. More from practice to come…
King on the 4th line makes more sense.
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AK47 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:42 am
@james,
Yup
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Jamer Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
@james, King in Manchester makes more sense…Big, Slow and no Hockey sense.
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
@Jamer,
You might think but then again after a few games look at Clifford.
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Finally, Simmonds om the first line! Hoping it pays off.
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Jamer Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
@Eric K, Why reward someone that is sub-par this season! He belongs on the fourth line.
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Kingstane9 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
@Eric K, yes, finally
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VERRY interesting. I wonder how Simmer feels on the LW side. Loving Lewis up there with Zeus and Clifford, but I worry that he might be too fast for the two of them.
King needs to be on the 4th line and throw his weight around.
Two similar players flanking Kopi, possession type Power Forwards. It may work… it may not, but I’m excited to see what happens.
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KC23 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
@VanKingsFan, Simmonds has already has worked in the past, I see no reason why it shouldn’t now.
I think the question is can Lewis and Clifford work on the checking line and I think it can.
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Crown Royal Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
@KC23,
These new line combos are exactly what TM should be doing. I would play Simmonds on the left and Brown on the right but the combinations make sense!
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
@VanKingsFan,
Don’t get me wrong but Simmonds for a 1st line experiment is fine and Simmonds is a fine, if not excellent player but he’s not a 1st line silk purse.
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Harty Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
@VanKingsFan, Don’t worry about that Vankingsfan, Clifford is fine on the wing, in fact I don’t see anyone getting him the puck as often as he sits on the backdoor
Zues needs to pick up his speed for sure
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I like this move, Simmonds is quick, and plays hard….
Hopefully the speed from brown/simmonds will allow some more room for kopi to make plays.
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Much better then before, but I still think that in the 1st line should be Kopi with Smith & Williams.
Hopefully it works!!!!
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newf Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am
@outsider, i disagree. i think the 2nd line is going to be solid all season just the way it is. with the way they’re playing, we’ve got 2 solid lines we can throw at any team. most teams only have 1 top defensive unit that they can throw at against a teams top line.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
@newf,
I agree with you. Why break up a line working on all cylinders to try and fish out another line? I like how these lines look.
Besides, Brownie has how many goals? If that line gets a spark and they all (Kopi) get going, Brownie could really go nuts!
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KC23 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
@newf, I also agree with you. The one line that is working every night you don’t break up.
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Adam Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:48 am
@outsider,
like this move too ..but disagree with put 1 Big line together
we need 2 strong lines
with kopi Smith and Williams we only have 1
and 1 destroying line with great Handzus
and the 4 checking line
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I have to say that for the first time in a while that I’m happy with the roster. There really isn’t one player that annoys the hell out of me. This is one solid team and organization.
Once we have a player to compliment Kopitar, watch the hell out. I can’t wait to see how good Kopitar can be.
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Terry putting Simmonds on the 1st line. He’s seen the light !!!! He came to Jesus !!!!
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VanKingsFan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:27 am
@Steve S., Lets hope not, or else we are all doomed! “Love thy Neighbour” … our neighbours are our division rivals!!!
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This will work,kopitar with two energy bunny’s, great move TM this will free up kopitar to do more of hes thing finding open spots on the ice.
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i need to spell check more sorry .
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VanKingsFan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:38 am
@frazier king, and grammar check .. lol
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Shakes Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:42 am
@frazier king,
looks like it was a bad week to stop sniffing glue.
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frazier king Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:55 am
@Shakes, I did say sorry.
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SplattDaddy Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
@Shakes, LOL…”Airplane” we’re aging ourselves. But still hilarious.
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
@SplattDaddy, There’s a sale at Penny’s!
jamesonafterawin Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
@SplattDaddy, I want to hear it from the begining… Well, fist the dinosours came, they got to big and fat and died, then the Arabas came, and they bought Mecedes Benzes…
And as for our Kings, the crap is most certianly hitting the fan.
ringo Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
@Shakes, lol…love that movie…
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neil Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
@ringo, Lighten up……Francis!!!!!!
Dwight King hasn’t exactly been the second coming of Charlie Simmer. Is King related to TM or DL? Geez!
Why not put Trevor Lewis on the top line with Kopi & Brownie? With their combined speed, the puck would always be in the opponents end of the rink. The best defense is a good offense!
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VanKingsFan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:38 am
@Rainman, The best defense is a Drew Doughty
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Rainman Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
@VanKingsFan, He hasn’t shown it yet this year, although I know he was injured.
Do you think the lack of any meaningful contract extension talks has negatively impacted Doughty’s game?
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
@Rainman,
Something is affecting his play it would seem. Maybe he’s a little gunshy because he’s never had his bell rung like that before? He is VERY young yet. Still finding his “new” parameters.
Michael_DD8 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
@Rainman,
Drew hasnt showed Defense this year? His Defense has been GREAT. If anything you can say is offensive side hasnt come out, but we all know it will. Drew is fine..
VanKingsFan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
@Rainman, No i do not think so. Just because we have not heard anything about a contract extension, doesn’t mean its not happening.
And I also disagree with his play, he has played very well, just not otherwordly which our high expectations brought.
USHA#17 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
@Rainman,
Can’t say I’ve been impressed with King but he does look like he’s getting the idea.
After all, how much has he played at this level…and don’t count the last game…no one seemed to show up for that one.
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I luv Simmonds but not as a LW.
1st line Cliffy – Kopi – Brownie
3rd line Lewis – Zeus – Simmy
Rich, Hows Schenn doing in Manchester?
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AK47 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:44 am
@dude,
Or
Lewis-Kopitar-Brown
Clifford-Handzus-Simmonds
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Will Hutchison Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:47 am
@dude, I agree with you dude, even though I just traded for Simmer in my fantasy hockey league.
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VanKingsFan Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:49 am
@dude, I havent seen Schenn play at all (they dont play many MOnarchs games up in Vancouver) but his stats look okay, couple assists in 4 games. I am betting he doesnt get much ice time and is in the bottom 6 forwards. Good to see him getting some ice time though. He will be back after this weekends games.
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Garry Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
@VanKingsFan, Schenn scored two goals and had one assist tonight.
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When the hell are we finally going to pull the trigger already this 1st line experiments have been nothing but FAILS! Dustin Penner anyone? Prucha is on waivers…oh wait we need th “RIGHT FIT.”
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@Chris,
What’s the matter, haven’t things been progressing fairly well until this short losing streak?
Perhaps a Doughty, Quick and Johnson trade for a good left winger and fix it now, eh?
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nice changes, brilliant…. they are listening to the fans lol….jk..
lewis and clifford will make handzuis look even slower haha. Good pairings though. I bet simmons scores against chicago
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YoBro Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
@jason, Yeah, good to see TM’s reading this blog. Why, I only posted the Simmonds move yesterday! I’m looking for more energy out of our boys tomorrow.
Go Kings
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Daren Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
@YoBro, Dude…quite a few of us have been calling for Simmonds on first line for weeks. If DL or TM read this blog Brown wouldn’t be on the 1st line at all.
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YoBro Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
@Daren, Yeah, I know, it was just tongue in cheek. Besides, timing is everything!
Go Kings.
Gotta say..I really like this line up top to bottom with the parts we have. King I think fits well on the fourth line and I do love Simmer on the first line and leaving the Geezers (grin) alone. The third line has the speed and grit that is needed from that line. I see Clifford hittin the twine soon and often with all the effort he has brought.
I BELIEVE !!
GKG !!
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Seems I put this out there a couple times a month: put Brown on LW – he’s been there before and been productive. I don’t recall Simmonds ever playing LW, why not Brown-Kopi-Simmer? Didn’t TM use the “expeience on the left wing” excuse about trying certain players on that LW earlier this season? Now he wants to experiment with Simmer?
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
@2hitnik,
Last season, a player (Parse??) scored 5 goals in 2 games and didn’t play again for like 2-4 games. This right near when TM said he always likes going with the hot hand. (Ha may have been speaking about goalies, but if you believe the hot hand theory, then cmon.)
This season, TM says he wants Quick to play the division opponents. Then he has Bernier play the next division opponent, not Quick.
This all leads to 2 things. Either you can’t fully believe everything that comes out of TM’s mouth, or remember that everything TM does or says, he does it in pencil.
Murray’s constant shuffling of lines only proves one thing. He’s not a perfectionist, but he’s never totally happy enough to leave well enough alone. Even if everything is running smoothly. The good thing for the Kings about that is the opponents can never get a complete read on the team.
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King John Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
@Kingsfanone,
Everything’s in pencil; he has the right to change his mind. If everything goes according to plan he leaves things alone, like the 2nd line. I’m surprised some of you want to change that, when the 2nd line continues to work well and made Stoll very effective. If both top lines produce (and our D holds), we’ll win a lot of games. Just having one player (LW) to fill in is a lot better than wondering about both top lines all year long and what combinations might work. And part of the problem has been the injuries. So I think TM is doing fine.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
@King John,
I think Murray hasn’t touched the 2nd line because they (the “old guys”)may not be able to find the lines they are supposed to be on!
Ha ha ha, just joking!
Seriously, I think the injuries to Poni and Mitchell affected this team way more than anyone thought they would.
That being said, what is the excuse for that debacle the other nite when almost the entire team was a no show. It’s not the first time this team has looked like a minor league club on the ice, and I hope they learned something good from that beating.
YAY FINALLY
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these lines look good on paper IMO, i just hope that it translates over to the ice as well!
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I’m glad they finally got around to getting Simmer a shot up on 1; now let’s hope like hell he shows up. Seeing the #1 line become the dominant line we’ve been hoping for all season (a true #1 line) would be a shot in the arm. I’m actually hoping this can work long term; when Poni comes back, drop Clifford back down to 4. I still get the feeling there have been some banged up players “playing through it” because we just don’t have anyone else to call up right now. If things get mysteriously back on track in the next week that’s what I’m going to assume. It would be nice to find that recent events were the result of 5 guys playing at 80% or less; it would explain a bunch. As a matter of fact it would also explain Westy suddenly dropping the mitts more frequently. With a couple of days off we’ll see how everyone feels.
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King John Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
@mcsorleyfan,
If this works (Simmonds and Lewis’s new roles), then we won’t need to make a trade (DL said that it depended on the players), at least for now. We also would still have Schenn and Parse as options at some point coming up this season.
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
@King John,
Yep, you can never tell, a player could breakout. It could have even been King, why not?
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Simmonds may just light a fire under Kopitar. He has skill and plays a nice North South game. I wound complain about King as long as he is in a 3rd or 4th line role where he belongs. Lewis deserves the promotion. Smart not to break up the 2nd line.
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USHA#17 Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
@funky,
I don’t know if Kopitar needs a fire lit under him. Like Williams, Kopitar is playing like a monster every night.
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I’d much rather see Clune in the lineup than King. At least with Clune, you’ll get tenacity along with fast skates. King reminds me of Purcell- Not physical, slow, and lackluster.
With that said, I like the concept of almost having one guy per line willing to drop the gloves:
1st line: Simmonds
2nd line:
3rd line: Clifford
4th line: Westgarth
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idk about simmer on LW. How about this:
Cliff-Kopi-Brown
Geezers
King-Zues-Simmer
Richie-Lewis-Westie
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Harty Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
@Ari, I don’t think Cliffy can handle the big line yet, I like him on the checking line with Zues and Lewis right now….
wow that would be a big jump for him right now….
TM will figure it out
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I love Richie but that fourth line does not look good. Ugh.
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Simmonds better do something in the first 2 or 3 shifts or he’s outta there TM style! When is TM going to decide on a 1st line combo and stick with it for 3-4 games?
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