Oscar Moller will be in the Kings’ lineup tonight, but Terry Murray said he hasn’t yet decided where Moller will play. The options, Murray said, are to have Moller center the fourth line, between Kyle Clifford and Kevin Westgarth, or to have Moller play right wing with Ryan Smyth and Jarret Stoll, and have Trevor Lewis center Clifford and Westgarth.
Regardless, John Zeiler and Davis Drewiske are expected to be the healthy scratches, and Murray said there’s no change in the status of Brad Richardson (upper-body injury), who won’t play tonight. More notes and quotes to come…
i vote moller on 4th.
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Jamer Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 11:41 am
@DannyMeux, I vote for Ontario………….Time to dump him in Manchester. He will always be a minor league player.
Is this the best we have???????
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Gotta contain that top line, whom the Minnesota press has coined “Two blondes and a Brunette”.
They were largely responsible for the Wild’s offense in Phoenix.
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KC23 Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 11:02 am
@Robert R, That’ll be our 3rd line’s responsibility I’m thinking.
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USHA#17 Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
@Robert R,
Gotta really watch Brunett. Just had his first two goal game since March 2008.
Real problem is the Wild are just bad enough to be dangerous.
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Moller should be on the 2nd line. Lewis can replace Richardson on the 4th line. His speed will be needed to counteract Westgarth on the 4th line. A top 6 forward needs to put up points and Lewis hasn’t added anything to the Stoll-Smyth pair. Give Moller a shot since Sturm will replace him anyways when he is finally traded to the Kings and healthy.
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Lanny McDonald's 'Stache Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 11:34 am
@Sydor25,
I wholeheartedly agree with all of that.
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King o' Philly Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 11:43 am
@Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache,
i agree as well… not only does moller have the hands to score, but lewis’ style and skill set are very similar to richie’s. he’ll fit right in centering the 4th line, adding speed and some skill to the brawn. (not that cliffie doesn’t have hands! ha)
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USHA#17 Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
@King o’ Philly,
That’s difficult to say IMO. Lewis looked pretty good in the last two games. He was getting to all the right spots on the ice. Why bump him down for a guy who, when given the chance turn out 4 goals, 3 assists and -6 in how many games was that? Oh yeah, 34!
USHA#17 Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
@King o’ Philly,
PS Lewis has 0 goals, 2 assists, -6 in 17 games….
xeropoint Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
@Sydor25,
I also agree with giving Moller the nod on the second line, but to say Lewis has added nothing? That’s just flat out wrong.
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Kings will have to score more than 2 goals to win this game…
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i think moller has more skill than lewis, so i would put him on the 2nd line and see how he does. lewis has done a good job but he is “a little high in the lineup” playing on the 2nd line.
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jayhay Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
@sebastian, we’re winning w/ Lewis on the 2nd line. keep it.
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Jordan Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
@jayhay, Winning, but getting no production from the second line.
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2nd Line RW! Dont think, just do it!
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Anyone else really looking forward to tonight’s game?
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Harry Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 11:48 am
@Daren, I think all of us are! Huge game. The Sucks won yesterday…
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Dominick Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
@Harry, Yeah, but with Sellane having groin problems it won’t last. Without Sellane 100% they’ve got nothing. I think they’ll lose the next 2.
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Daren Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
@Harry, Don’t forget that we have 6 games in hand with the Sucks (lol). They don’t have a shot to finish ahead of us.
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TSN is reporting that the on and off deal to acquire Marco Strum is on again and could be done as early as today.
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KennyD Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
@dMan, I read the same from TSN,i trust DL all the way with strumm,i think Strum could get Kopitar to the next level in his play,it should be a great game tonight
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RW on Stoll line please!!!
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Jay GoLAKings Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@Peter32, Best fit for Moller to be with Stoll line. He will be the spark we need for now.
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Kingofkings Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
@Peter32, Absolutely!!! Give him a chance to be successful.
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I know what everybody’s saying that Moller with his skill makes sense on the 2nd, but so far Moller hasn’t displayed that kind of skill at this level. And, although I do also agree that Lewis hasn’t produced alot of points, his line has with him on it. So, I don’t know, I think it’s a wash with these two guys and so maybe Lewis should play on the 2nd.
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Daren Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
@Belexes, Disagree, sorry. The first yeat that Moller came up he was flying…looked great and then was never the same after he went to play in worlds or wherever he went and got injured. If he plays witht the same intensity he will contribute.
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LAPD line Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
@Daren,
You’re exactly right. Moller was playing at least as well as Simmonds before he left and got hurt. I am really looking forward to seeing him given a shot at a top 6 role now.
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Gary L Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
@Daren, I agree with you about Moller. His rookie season he showed lots of offensive upside until he got hurt at the World Tournament. He is another guy who is still very young and should not be given up on. If I remember correctly he had quite a few of his goals on the power play. Oscar will be a scorer in this league some day, I just hope it is with the Kings.
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Dominick Reply:
December 11th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
@Belexes, TM will probably Keep Lewis there to start, with Moller playing a few shifts there and on the 4rth line. The Idea that Moller has to play on 1 line or the other is just risky. If he plays well TM could even mix and match with the 1rst line for a few shifts. Depends mostly on Mollers awareness and wether we have the lead or not, which pairing he’ll join.One things for sure, he won’t be on the 3rd line.
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Moller has the skillset to be a top 6 player, the only reason he hasn’t made it so far in the NHL is his size. If he can bulk up enough to bear down on the puck when a towering defensemen pounds him into the boards and not cough it up, then he could be successful. He just hasn’t been able to prove he can do that up to this point.
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One thing nobodies taking into account is who he played with in Manchester last year. Could provide some instant chemistry on that 4rth line.
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Moller on RW on the 2nd, Lewis C the 4th.
Moller got exposed trying to play defense as C last season. Let’s hope he generates some offense tonight.
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