Some notes from last night’s game…
– The Kings lost to the Anaheim Ducks, 2-0, on Monday night for their fourth consecutive loss and their seventh loss in their last eight games.
– The Kings have their first four-game losing streak since Dec. 17-30 of last season. The last time the Kings earned only two points, in any eight-game stretch, was Dec. 12-26, 2007, when they went 0-8-0.
– With the loss, the Kings fell to fifth — and last — place in the Pacific Division and 11th in the Western Conference. They were passed by the Ducks and San Jose Sharks, who were idle but now have played one fewer game than the Kings.
– The Kings have been outscored 11-4 in their last four games and 29-15 (in regulation) in their last eight games.
– The Kings are now 2-3-0 against Pacific Division teams and 7-7-0 against Western Conference teams.
– The Kings had scored a power-play goal in three consecutive games but went 0-for-3 against the Ducks. They also went 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
– The Kings outshot the Ducks 27-19.
– The Kings are 3-8-0 this season when allowing the first goal of the game and 2-7-0 when trailing after two periods.
– The Kings were shut out for the first time since March 18 of last season (3-0 vs. Chicago) and were shut out by the Ducks for the first time since Nov. 16, 2008 (2-0 at Anaheim).
– Jonathan Quick stopped 17 of 19 shots but lost for the fourth time in his last five starts. Quick has allowed only two goals in each of his last three losses, and two of the four goals have come on opponents’ power plays.
– Ryan Smyth had a team-high five shots on goal. Kyle Clifford was credited with four hits.
– The Kings won 20 of 42 faceoffs (48 percent).
– Drew Doughty played a game-high 26 minutes, 41 seconds. Ryan Smyth led all Kings forwards in ice time at 20:31.
I truly think they need to rebuild up front without a
doubt trade what they are strong in for what they are weak in defense for forwards young prospects for established player they myst get a couple of goal scorers or they are dooomed !!!
Dl builds from defense out well he must have stopped building LOL
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rexmundi Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:35 am
@backchecker, well fleishmann was on the table for drewiskie apparently, but triggerman DL wasted that trade now hes in colorado. guess we dont need a talented top-six after all. maybe hes got his eye on an oft-injured 30 something on the cheap.way to show support for the boys deano. good luck!!
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VanKingsFan Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:42 am
@rexmundi, It was on the internet, therefore it MUST be true eh Rex?
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rexmundi Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:46 am
@VanKingsFan, three sources, both the avs and the caps sites have it too
holly Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:50 am
That wasn’t what VanKingsFan was implying was untrue…
rexmundi Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:51 am
@VanKingsFan, now its on TSN
VanKingsFan Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:59 am
@rexmundi, Holly got it.
Really didn’t want Fleischmann either to be honest. Seems like another Nagy type guy, or a Hueselius
DLB Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:52 am
@rexmundi, Hannan is a more experienced defenseman. Isn’t it possible that he was just a more attractive option?
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rexmundi Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:55 am
@DLB, for sure, ive read, dont know how accurate, im just saying i read they wanted greene.
rexmundi Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:59 am
@DLB, not even sure flieshmann is a good fit, just frustrated with the lack of a winger for kopi. if we want to move foreward, a winger, atop flight winger for kopi would be perfect for solidifying the lineup. creates a major matchup issue for other teams and would free-up the geezers to excel again. not to mention what it would do to the 3rd and 4th lines. all i want for christmas…..
DLB Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Yeah, I hear you. Flash would be a band aid, but more help would be nice. Fingers crossed for better options.
This bothers me. A lot. I hope it was just a one month slump. I can’t take another 5 months of something like this.
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Wsh sent Flieschmann to Col for Scott Hannan. nice to see some trades, how boring has it been the past few years. Bill Ranford is on NHL lIve right now.
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The morning after report – Observations:
1. This loss hurts more than the others because it was against the Ducks.
2. I actually saw Kopi cutting thru the crease last night.
3. Johnson and Doughty both have “some ‘splainin’ to do” regarding their game. And someone (Murray, Lombardi, Brown) should ask publicly.
4. Kopi’s shot and Hiller’s save. I think I actually saw Anze physically deflate after that one. How he recovers from that will greatly influence the Kings near future.
5. Great Zeiler’s Ghost, the Z Man was actually hitting people as advertised.
6. Slap Shots & One Timers: The Kings Care Foundation should receive a $50 “donation” from every Kings player who takes one and manages to miss the goalie.
7. Clifford, by taking off his own helmet during his fight, officially joined the fraternity of professional scrappers. Well done. The word will get around.
8. Brown is going to have to call a players only meeting or turn in the “C”.
9. There is a term in hockey called “tape to tape passes”. The Kings should learn this.
10. Someone, anyone, from this team is going to have to stand up and say, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Then follow it up with action.
11. I can’t get out of my memory the difference in reactions by Quenneville and Murray to calls against their team. Q’s head almost exploded at Staples. Murray stares out at the ice like he’s searching for a TelePrompTer to read. One is a leader, the other a kindly professor who can tell you everything about leadership.
12. Kudos to Westy. No skill, but had the heart to fight his way to the front of the net.
13. We’ve seen these same players produce good hockey games early. That’s the part that hurts. We have something to measure against this year and right now they are falling short. Bob Miller inadvertently identified this team’s problem during his call of the game last night. Think back. How many times did he say, “Kopitar is double teamed” or “Williams has two men on him”. The rest of the league now knows where to hurt the Kings. The opposition doesn’t have to worry about stopping two offensive lines, just two offensive players.
14. The Power Play (or lack thereof). One of two things must be true here. Either Jamie Kompon has no idea how to design and manage a PP with these players and their individual talents -or- the players are ignoring his coaching.
15. After reading Terry Murray’s comments on the game last night, it has become clear to me that what we see on television (or in some cases actually sitting in Staples) during a game apparently is entirely different than what a coach sees standing behind the bench. I’ll grant you Murray is a professional coach and I’m not, but really, “Again, the overall team game is pretty good.” Really? Let me be so humble as to suggest that Murray look up at that big flashing thingy hanging over the ice, you know, the one that shows the actual score of the game. When your team has a smaller number than the other team at the end of the game, that is NOT pretty good.
16. The Florida game is huge for this team. Win, and maybe we start digging out of the deep hole the Kings created for themselves. Lose, and Detroit will take the Kings apart.
17. I’ve been a fan since the skating Pumpkin days back at the Forum. I’m used to this. I said long ago on this site when we were slamming thru opponents that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. That dull “thud” last night was it.
18. I want to stay positive here, but the Kings (ALL of the people in the organ-eye-zation) have to step up and realize that the time for change is upon them. I’m not smart enough to suggest lines or trades or Manchester Miracle Cures, but I do know emotions, and this team, right now, lacks it, outside of frustration.
Go Kings Go!
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hockeysureshot Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:42 am
@IceGuy, Well said!
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pr0cess Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:55 am
@hockeysureshot, What i dont understand is if its as plan to you and the rest of us, why is the team in denial? I mean anyone can see its not happening right now, we all know the team is better then this. the first 12 proved that, But right now we are the leafs of the west… Maybe that is why im a leafs fan to lol
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VanKingsFan Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:09 am
@pr0cess, Ohhh process… why did you have to admit to being a leafs fan… respect meter just dropped HUGE
JDB Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:48 am
@IceGuy,
GREAT EMAIL!!!!! Pretty much says it all. Rich, any chance of slipping this into the players lockers while they are on the ice today?
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hockeysureshot Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:59 am
@IceGuy, Also, what’s the deal with Selanne winning faceoffs last night? He’s not even a center. We’re getting killed in that department.
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kinginsaltlake Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:03 am
@IceGuy, Hope someone other than we the fans reads this.Great comments!!!!!!
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Shakes Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:18 am
@IceGuy,
Great post
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40 year fan Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:45 am
@IceGuy,
THere is very little in your post that I disagree with. A few specific suggestions/comments:
1). There is a guy who ecelled for years on forum ice in PK and PP and is as emotional as any (much needed) sitting in the broadcast booth in LI. Give Butch Goring a shot at the special teams job here.
2). I am reaching the conclusion, after bringing up Zeiler, as opposed to Moeller, that the primary goal of our coach and maybe GM is to have a tough team. Turning Kopi into a defensive minded player has destroyed his offensive thrust. He is a scorer being asked to play like a mucker. Starting to look like his confidence and love of the game is dwindling fast. Would we have tried the same with Kovi if he signed here?
3). I am also beginning to believe that JJ is not teachable. Turn him loose or get something good for him now. True, he will probably flourish somewhere else, but it is not looking good here.
BTW, it is gratifying to read a post with substance…stay with it.
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vplaza Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
@IceGuy, Good post. Here are my thoughts:
1) It’s apparent that whatever chemistry this team had at the beginning of the year has been lost. The loss of Mitchell and Poni has really disrupted what this team established early on.
2) The Kings have looked “lost” in their own zone as well as in the offensive zone during the last 10 games, even during their lone win at Boston.
3) Kopi desperately needs some skill on his line. The experiments with the kids and such are simply not working. I love DB, but if Kopi had some skill on the other wing, that line would be the go to line.
4) The Geezer line has run out of steam. Surely streaks are part of the game, but with goals and points being rare, not having this line score regularly is going to keep this downward trend going.
5) And as I was afraid of, the DD that returned from the concussion was more like the DD that we had during preseason and at the beginning of the year instead of the DD we had last year. His play has simply been mediocre at best, with may be one flash or two of great play. I doubt that anyone on this board would say that we’re looking at the same player.
6) JJ has wasted the advances he made early in the season where he made up for his defensive flaws with good offensive play. Now, we have both defensive and offensive poor play from him.
7) The power play is simply atrocious. Downright embarassing. You almost cringe when a penalty is called on the other team because you know you’ll be treated to a ridiculously predictable and defendable power play. This was horrible at the start of the year and it’s just atrocious now. At least early on, the team made up for it in solid 5-on-5 and penalty killing. But now…
The season isn’t halfway through yet, but the meteoric rise and fall is reminiscent of some prior years. That this is hapenning earlier in the season rather than later may mean that they have plenty of games to make up for it. But to go from first to out of the playoff picture in such a short span of time is disheartening.
I fear that getting Mitchell and Poni back in December may not be enough to turn things around.
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Off topic: nice little photo feature of Martin Jones
http://ingoalmag.com/photos/shots-on-goal-goalie-photos-portland-pirates-david-leggio-vs-manchester-monarchs-martin-jones/
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:45 am
@Shakes,
Can he play left wing too?
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puck73 Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 10:54 am
@FKA PakiFro, Wouldnt be shocked if Murray asked him to try.
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holly Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:01 am
@Shakes, If you click on the link towards the top of the text it brings you to the guy’s flickr where he has pictures of the whole game (and quite a few games), not just specifically the goalies. Definitely some terrific shots in there.
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Shakes Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:19 am
@holly,
oh snap (no pun intended), good catch Holly – yeah some great shots
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After sleeping on last nights game I have a few observations. First of all, I know we’re a passionate group of fans, but some of the comments last night made me embarrassed to be a Kings fan. Settle down! This team is much better than it has been in YEARS. Let’s not forget, they are still YOUNG. Mistakes are going to happen when you have a 20 year old defensemen who is compared to Bobby Orr. The core of this team is still very young. Kyle Clifford should not be fighting. He is one of our best prospects and I don’t want him to develop into a goon. That’s why we have Westgarth.
I would love to see Greene or Scuderi get in JJ’s head and get him going. Did anyone else think Quick should of stopped the first goal? Can we win a faceoff? Kopitar has been absolutely robbed in two straight games now.
A few days of practice and a four game homestand should help this team. We get Florida and Detroit coming off back to back games. I’ll panic if they lose to Florida. Still early and it’s a real long season.
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pr0cess Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:02 am
@hockeysureshot, The long season slowly gets away from you and fast, the same toughts are always will get them next time, stay positive ect. And has an optimist this will always be true. But i think this team needs some anger, there pros and get paid to play this game, its there job and need to turn it around for them selfs.
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holly Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:02 am
@hockeysureshot, We’ve all known coming in that Clifford was a fighter. Allowing him to do so isn’t going to turn him into a goon.
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What an embarrassing night by “us” kings fans. Even though i didn’t express any “radical” ideas, im still embarrassed.
I think many people here owe an apology to Rich. The poor man prob spent his whole night policing these ridiculous comments by fans. Its amazing how if you look back just a couple pages on this site and read the posts, people were bowing down to every which person. Then a little slump, and you guys are ready to call off the team.
Everything will be okay..
Sorry again Rich!
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Hey Rich,
First of all I want to thank you for all you do in providing all of us FAIR insight. Thanks, My question is that I truely believe that we need a scoring LW on the top line.Without one I feel that we are a playoff team but not a cup contender. With that being said do you(feel,sense,or believe) that DL will go get a top LW?
In your postion you might not be able to give us any names, but can you enlighten us with any true talk of this from the club? Not the rumors from us bloggers.
Thanks again
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I have a way to get this team back on track. Actually it’s quite simple. Put JJ on Left wing with Kopi
. He has the speed, hands and can score
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IceGuy Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 11:48 am
@fanokings,
I have held back endorsing that suggestion (made here several times before) but with the Geezer Line apparently being untouchable, what could it hurt? The bonus would be if JJ does turn over the puck, it’ll be in their offensive zone and not at our blue line.
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I’d like to point out another note from last night’s game:
With last night’s loss, the Kings Point Percentage dropped to .565. If the Kings manage that point percentage in the remaining 59 games, they would finish with 93 points, putting them two points under the 95 points that was required for the final playoff spot last season. In other words, the Kings will need to earn an average of 4 points every 3 games remaining to finish above 95 points.
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Smyttie Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Should have been more careful with my math…the Kings will need to earn 7 points out of every 6 games. That would give them 95 points.
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bbb7 Reply:
November 30th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
@Smyttie, In actuality it only required 91 points to get in last year (cause 9th place St Louis had 90) and I think about the same total will suffice this year as well since the West is so evenly balanced.
The Kings have a few home games in hand on most of the teams above us (only St Louis has played as few home games) so there’s plenty of time to right the ship… I mean, we’re in 11th place but only 3 pts out of 2nd.
We just need a LW!
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