Some notes from last night’s game…
– The Kings suffered their fourth consecutive loss when they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Monday night.
– This is the second time this season that the Kings have lost four consecutive games in regulation. It happened only once last season.
– The Kings outshot the Blackhawks 29-28, including 9-0 in the game’s first eight-plus minutes. Chicago outshot the Kings 12-5 in the second period.
– The Kings went 1-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. In their past 10 games, the Kings have risen, in power-play efficiency, from 23rd in the league to 13th, but in penalty-kill efficiency they have fallen from fifth to 10th. The Kings have allowed two power-play goals in three of their last four games. They allowed multiple power-play goals only four times in their first 35 games.
– The Kings are now 13-5-1 at home, with three consecutive home losses. The Kings are 17-5-0 when scoring the first goal and 9-5-1 in one goal games. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 one-goal games.
– During their four-game losing streak, the Kings have been outscored 7-6 in the first periods and 8-3 in the second periods, and have outscored their opponents 4-3 in the third periods.
– In the third period, Terry Murray swapped left wingers. Brad Richardson moved up from the fourth line and Marco Sturm moved down from the first line. Sturm had only four shifts in the third period.
– Jonathan Quick stopped 24 of 28 shots. Quick had allowed two or fewer goals in five of his six previous starts.
– Ryan Smyth had two goals, including one power-play goal, and is now tied for the team high with 16 goals (with Dustin Brown). Smyth has four goals in his last four games, and two of his last four goals have come on the power play.
– Michal Handzus had one goal. Handzus had gone 19 consecutive games without a goal.
– Jack Johnson had two assists, including one power-play assist. Johnson has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his last eight games, and 16 of his 24 assists this season have come on the power play.
– Anze Kopitar had one assist, on the power play. Kopitar has seven assists in his last five games. Kopitar had gone nine consecutive games without a power-play point.
– Justin Williams had one assist. Williams also took two minor penalties, and has been called for five minor penalties in his last five games.
– Alec Martinez had one assist. Martinez had gone 13 consecutive games without a point.
– Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar each had a team-high four shots on goal. Dustin Brown was credited with a team-high five hits. Six Kings had one blocked shot each.
– Drew Doughty played a game-high 28 minutes, 12 seconds. Anze Kopitar led all Kings forwards in ice time at 22:32.
– The Kings won 29 of 58 faceoffs (50 percent). Michal Handzus won 10 of 14 draws (71 percent) while Anze Kopitar won 7 of 19 draws (37 percent).
I think in all four games against Chicago, we’ve seen the difference between a SC contender/previous winner and a young team still trying to reach that level. On paper, I think we are almost identical in every aspect…
Goaltending…edge to the Kings
Defense….both teams are even, Kings are a little better defensively and Chicago gets a little more offense from their blue line
Offense….both teams are even with one exception….PATRICK SHARP, the King killer!
Speciality Teams….edge to Chicago, their PP is unbelievable.
Experience….well that’s the one area where the Kings are lacking.
Its not just playing games that gives you experience, its playing 82 games and 20+ playoff games year after year. Getting beat and coming back hungrier the next. Never taking a shift off, maintaining conditioning throughout the season (I question some of the Kings physical conditioning) and 50 more intangibles that make a champion.
The Kings are close but still have a lot of youth up and down the lineup who will be excellent NHL players someday and still need to find that consistency every night….much better than in seasons past but still have some work to do.
Having said all this, this current Kings team throughout the lineup, including managment is the best this team has ever looked in my 30+ years of following the Kings. Goaltending combined with solid defense, combined with solid offense with forwards like Kopi and Brown and other who play both ends of the ice. Were close but it may take another player or two and nothing against TM, he’s done a magnificent job, but it make take a coach with a little more fire in his belly to get this team to the next level.
[Reply]
Drew Is Better Than You Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 10:58 am
@Barry’s Mullet, although I agree with most of what you say, the offense is not even close. Sharp, Kane, Toews, and Hossa, although don’t have too many goals, still find HUGE and CREATIVE ways to score most of the time. They are play makers. All we have is Kopitar. Williams and Brown can score, but are not the finesse players we desperately need. In my opinion, better than a sniper, we need some quick FINESSE players. Grinding it out doesn’t win you the SC…
[Reply]
Drew Is Better Than You Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:01 am
@Drew Is Better Than You, Also, look at the last few SC winning teams…Chicago, Pitt, Det all FINESSE and CREATIVTY. No creativity on a team = never winning a cup. You think in the SC FINALS someone like Smythe or Handzues is gonna be allowed to park in front of the enemy goal and put in the garbage? I don’t think so…
[Reply]
Barry's Mullet Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:14 am
@Drew Is Better Than You, While I don’t disagree, you help make my point. Other than Hossa, Chicago players are mostly home grown…they learned over time and with experience to become those finesse and creative players. The Kings will get there soon, but it won’t be with Williams who takes bad penalties late in game when we are behind, or Zeus who plays smart but it can’t make up for his lack of speed. Smyth is a keeper, he goes to those places most players won’t. What Chicago has is the combination of GRIND and FINESSE, Pitt and Flyers also have it…the Kings have the grind but still lack the finesse.
[Reply]
Drew Is Better Than You Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:18 am
@Barry’s Mullet, We’re on the same page here. To be honest, i’m MUCH MORE EXCITED about the Kings 3 – 5 years from now. They will be exactly what you’re saying with the homegrown talent! A 28 – 30 year old Kopitar playing with fellow veterans Brown, Doughty , and Johnson, combined with guys like Kozun, Kitsyn, Schenn, and Loktionov…wow! what a team we will be then. I wish I could fast forward a few years…
wavesinair Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:17 am
@Barry’s Mullet,
Goaltending: Agree. Kings
Defense: Chicago without a healthy Mitchell
Offense: Even? Chicago because of a guy like Sharp, as you said.
Specialty: Agree.
Experience: No question. Probably the biggest factor, i.e. lucky bounces.
“its playing 82 games and 20+ playoff games year after year”
For the record, the Hawks didn’t do this. They went from horrible to Cup quickly.
Chicago finishes over the last 10 years…
21
22
9
17
28
28
25
20
6
3 Won Cup
The spent 4 straight seasons in the bottom 3rd of the NHL then in 2 years won the Cup.
Last year, the Kings finished 6th overall. Where will they finish this year?
I think the intangibles are key. Guys like Toews and Kane and Sharp have personalities that create the team you see today. That deep desire to win at any cost. No excuses. Make plays when it counts.
The Kings are getting close to the point where expectations will be at there highest.
It still remains to be seen if the core guys can live up to them.
I don’t think it’s about adding another player, although I would like a sniper as well. It’s much more about the current guys getting better, faster.
I would agree with you about the coach though. I think TM isn’t seeing the forest for the trees. He needs to stop treating this team like a rebuild and make the transition to hardcore expectations. He will be forced to do it one way or the other. Either they win, or they go backwards. We all know what will happen if the team goes backwards.
[Reply]
Barry's Mullet Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:38 am
@wavesinair,
Agree with most of your take with one exception! I like a player like Schenn or Lokti taking over C2 or C3, will take so much pressure of Kopi’s line. Stoll is a C3 at best and Zeus just doesn’t have the speed anymore. When the second line got off to a fast start this year we saw the effect that had on our first line.
One more veteran sniper, aka Parise, Richards, Sharp, players of this caliber not flashy but smart players who make the players on the line they play on better….thats what we want, not a player who shall remain nameless and TG we didn’t get him, who scores 40 goals and does it all himself.
[Reply]
mrbrett7 Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
@Barry’s Mullet, Parise will be re-signed in Jersey, no way they let him go. Richards might have been available (and may still be with their financial situation), but I doubt it, Sharp, well obviously not.
The problem is, those types of guys do not grow on trees. Their cost can and normally is astronomical in terms of players to get them. You ARE going to need to give up 1, maybe 2 current roster players to get them, and at least 1 top prospect, most likely someone you don’t want to.
So, what do you do?
wavesinair Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
@Barry’s Mullet, I actually totally agree the the C2 assessment. My point (that I made poorly) was that if I had to choose between getting a C2 and having the rest of the current guys get better, I’d choose the latter for sure.
In other words, I think far too often fans look externally for the solution, i.e. “if we just had that one player, we’d win the Cup.” This is incorrect thinking in my opinion.
That said, an upgraded C2 would be great. Perhaps it will be Schenn. I say why not.
Barry's Mullet Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
@mrbrett7 You are right, those players don’t grow on trees, but the Kings are one of only a handful of teams that have the prospects and picks to land on of these players.
NJ has to start rebuilding, so Parise and just about anyone on that roster will become available. Whether the Kings go after him or others is still TBD. I’m not willing to give away the farm, but I would be willing to trade top prospects and future picks for what we need right now and in the next few years to make the next step for several reasons.
1. There is no room on the current roster for all these prospects…eventually they have to play somewhere.
2. Trade prospects when their value is high…not all good prospects make it to the NHL.
3. You need Veterans on any legit SC contender. Smyth is one, Scuds is two, Zeus and Mitchell won’t be around and Smyth is not getting younger. We need a veteran or two in their prime 28 – 32 years old that can add a completely different dimension to this team with their scoring and creative ability along with that experience we need.
ta Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
@Barry’s Mullet, I agree with all of you,
1) we need to upgrade our 2nd center Stoll isn’t good enough
2) get a scoring LW to help Kopi. we do have enough to offer to get one without giving up our core players.
3) we need Mitchell back asap, hopefully he can stay healthy. DD2 and Martinez shouldn’t be paired together
4) Most importantly the reason why we lost last night our lame PP.
the difference between the Hawks and our PP is night and day. They get great scoring chances at the net, while we stand around and shoot from the point. We have 2 weeks of a lot of practice time during this homestand to get this fixed.
Despite losing 4 straight, I don’t think it’s time to hit the panic button. Even though the Kings sit in 7th in the Western Conference, they still have the league’s 6th best goal differential. What this points to is a little bit of bad luck. Kings have been losing a lot of close games lately, and winning close games, contrary to popular opinion, involves a lot of luck. It’s true in basketball (http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=8159), it’s true in football (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2005/fo-fox-guts-and-stomps) and it’s true in baseball (http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/7612).
This is all related to the Pythagorean expectation theory in sports, which essentially states that point differential is a better indicator of a team’s quality than W-L record, and the Kings are doing quite well in this area. Add this to the fact that they still have more home games left on the schedule than road games and that they just played some really good teams, my guess is they’ll turn this thing around soon.
Don’t panic! Seasons are like roller coasters. Even the best teams go though rough patches.
[Reply]
wavesinair Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:25 am
@puddle, Teams create much of their own luck through multiple intangibles. There’s flat-out luck and then there’s drive, creativity and determination: none of which are accounted for in any theorem.
[Reply]
puddle Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:38 am
@wavesinair, The “intangibles” you speak of are tangible in that they result in scoring goals and preventing goals. So yes, these are accounted for in the theorem. You can talk about creativity and determination and “things stats can’t capture” as long as you want, but the fact remains that the Kings are outscoring opponents better than 80% of the league, even with their recent slump.
Look, I don’t want to get into an argument over the validity of statistical analysis or anything. I’m merely stating that it’s premature to hit the panic button and start throwing around blame. The Kings are still an excellent team that is, more likely than not, going to start seeing better results for their efforts.
[Reply]
wavesinair Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
@puddle, LOL. But arguments are fun! I kid. No biggie at all.
I agree not to “panic.” I think that should never be done, period. I do think that a lot of us fans like to be armchair GM’s and constantly scrutinize the team, whether they’re winning or losing.
That said, how one does the scrutinizing makes a big difference, i.e. not panic vs. everything sucks. I totally agree about the roller coaster analogy. That’s what makes the season exciting. If we won all the time, it would be boring.
However, I do think that regardless of that great stat you referenced (and it is a very positive stat) there are some issues with the team that are obvious and that are keeping them from being more consistent.
Simply put, they are (in no particular order):
1. That elusive scoring left winger.
2. A bad ass C2.
3. A coach that may be outliving his usefulness (for lack of a better term).
I think these are legitimate concerns that we need to keep an eye on. And by “eye” I mean that in the sense that the ultimate goal for this Kings fan is nothing less than winning the Stanley Cup.
So many of us have been waiting so long.
tornado12 Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@puddle, thx Puddle, that made me feel alot better. I can put my gun away now!
[Reply]
Prediction: Kings will battle it out for the #8 spot in the West. They are FAR too in inconsistent.
[Reply]
this sucks! sick of roller coaster ride this season… lets get it together kings
[Reply]
I think this is the new NHL guys, there are no easy games, especially in the Western Conference. With the parity now, it doesn’t matter who you play, you have to bring your “A” game every night. Don’t be surprised when playoffs start to see a #1 seed lose to the #8 seed or the #2 seed lose to the #7 seed, etc. I think the teams are so evenly matched now, it’s anybody’s game. Look at Pittsburgh, they were really hot before and now they barely playing .500 hockey. And the Islanders were terrible earlier, now they can’t be beat and they’re beating top teams.
[Reply]
Let’s be honest. The kings are playing just as predicted at the begins of the season when they did not get a top 6 scoring forward.
[Reply]
Forgive me… beginning
[Reply]
Dang, rich! no time to make a long post, before you make a new post and it gets buried!
[Reply]
Bill M. Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@Bill M., Anybody interested in “what’s wrong with Doughty?” should go read my large post on the “View from chicago.”
Many are content to base doughty and say he’s not the same player.
Several others see what I see. teams are attacking him so aggressively, he has no time. This is correct. I saw it up close. They are on top of him before the puck even arrives. NO human is capable of reacting to what he’s seeing right now.
That’s not new. What’s new? What I have, is the solution. I don’t want to repost it, so go back to the last post and read it.
[Reply]
Rich – What about that call against Scuds in the 1st period that led to the tying goal? In my mind, that was the turning point for the Kings, it was all downhill after that. Did players talk about that call?
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
@dcaps55, I’m not blaming the refs for this loss, but I must say this about them, since you mentioned the Scuds call… I saw AT LEAST 7 incidents where a CHI player got their stick parallel or even pointing skyward when locking up Kings players, and I thought that parellel stick = hooking/interference call? Of those plays I mentioned, 3 of them happened to AK as he circled the CHI net looking for an opening… What is he supposed to do? Start to dive and be one of those players that ruins the integrity of the sport but gets the calls?
Wake up refs, call the calls on both sides!!!
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
@Stuart, add to this that JJ got high sticked while on the PP late in the 3rd and no call!!! DISGUSTING
[Reply]
it seems like verytime the kings get a lead they loose it like a min or 2 mins after and then they put there heads down and the other teams gets a lead they seem to get depress and just give up on trying to win
[Reply]
KingsFanFTW Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@KingsFanFTW, everytime*
[Reply]
puck73 Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
@KingsFanFTW, When Willie comes back, they will be able to ho;d leads and turn out the lights…Willie Mitchell..the best clozer in the NHL !
[Reply]
KingsFanFTW Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
@puck73, i hope so we need someone to make this team good again it just falling apart
[Reply]
I’m not talking blow the team up here, but something needs to change with this team. Maybe it’s the coach, maybe it’s the leaders in the locker room. I just don’t see anyone being held accountable for their actions or lack thereof. If Stoll is playing this poorly, why is he getting ice time? Matt Greene? Has anyone seen him? Can we put out an APB on him? I ask the simple question as this team struggles, is it because one player left that we see all this inconsistancy? Is Sean O’Donnel that good of an influence on and off the ice that with the exception of after the Olympic break, the Kings played well? Sometimes leaders aren’t noticed until they are gone. I just wonder if the struggles of this team don’t start with the lose of OD.
[Reply]
Mike J Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
@Mike J,
er start with the loss of OD. lol
[Reply]
I think DD2 sits and we see PH back in.
[Reply]
How about getting some clean faceoff wins at crucial times?,,it just seems automatic that we lose every big time faceoff or at least don’t get it controll of it. And it wouldn’t hurt to pass the puck around a bit and shoot from weaket side of the net on the powerplay every now and then. and stop peeing on the puck everytime we have a clean shot from the slot, or how about knocking some guys on their arses when there getting a to good of a feel against us?
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
@Ravens, I agree with the criticism that the physical play needs to be picked up. Nobody has mentioned it but we got BLASTED off the puck a lot last night. Yea, DB had a nice hard hit or two, but Hossa should have scored and then been picking up his teeth! Our D was pounded on the forecheck and coughed it up a bunch, DD got smashed off his point position trying to keep a puck in. All over the ice we were man-handled.
[Reply]
Ravens Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
@Stuart, eesh I need to proof read before I enter text next time sorry friends
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
January 4th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
@Ravens, since the whole mobile-mode fiasco, my typing box has like 0.25 size font, so mistakes are understable… I read mine too after the fact lol
This slump is good for our team. Teams that generally cruise thru the season on top end up crapping out in the playoffs because they lose there sense of urgency.
[Reply]
One thing is for sure. We’re not there yet, but the future does look bright.
[Reply]
KINGS dont have a sninper and NEED FOR SPEED. Kings will miss the playoffs this year if they find that soon. No point making the playoffs with this team anyways. They cant beat any playoff team. You dont lose 7 in row and win the cup. Demand for a sniper king fans. I live in vancouver I wise I was Vancouver fan wow and still might add another good player to the lineup here.
[Reply]