Some notes from last night’s game…
– The Kings broke their season-long five-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Staples Center.
– The Kings have now completed 41 of their 82-game schedule, with a 23-17-1 record for 47 points. Last season, the Kings were 23-15-3 through 41 games, for 49 points. Over the second half of the season, they went 23-12-6 to finish with 101 points, good for sixth in the Western Conference.
– The Kings went 2-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Kings are now ranked 12th in the NHL in power-play efficiency (19.0 percent), their highest ranking of the season and up from 27th in the past four weeks. The Kings had allowed eight power-play goals in their last five games.
– The Kings outshot the Blue Jackets 36-34.
– The Kings are now 14-6-1 at home (they broke a four-game home losing streak), 18-6-0 when scoring the first goal, 10-1-0 when leading after the first period and 13-0-0 when leading after the second period.
– Jonathan Quick stopped 30 of 34 shots. Quick had lost three consecutive decisions, but he has now allowed four or more goals in three of his last four starts.
– Jarret Stoll had two goals for his first multi-goal game of the season and his fifth multi-point game of the season. Stoll had gone 15 consecutive games without a goal but now has three goals in his last two games.
– Ryan Smyth had one goal and one assist. Smyth has had multi-point games in three of his last five games. He also has six goals in his last six games and is tied, with Dustin Brown, for the team lead with 17 goals.
– Justin Williams had an empty-net, power-play goal and one assist. It was Williams’ sixth multi-point game of the season and his first since Dec. 4.
– Alec Martinez had a power-play goal. Two of Martinez’s three goals this season have come on the power play.
– Dustin Brown had one goal, and is tied with Ryan Smyth for the team high with 17 goals. Brown had gone five consecutive games without a point.
– Jack Johnson had three assists, including two on the power play. It was Johnson’s second three-point (and three-assist) game of the season, following his Oct. 28 game at Dallas. Johnson has two goals and 10 assists in his last 10 games. Of Johnson’s 27 assists this season, 18 have come on the power play. Johnson has eight multi-point games this season.
– Marco Sturm had two assists, including one on the power play. Sturm recorded his first power-play point in 10 games with the Kings.
– Drew Doughty had two assists. Doughty had gone three consecutive games without a point but now has seven multi-point games this season.
– Michal Handzus had two assists, one on the power play, for his first multi-point game of the season.
– Anze Kopitar had one assist and pushed his team-high totals to 45 points and 30 assists. Kopitar has 10 assists in his last seven games. He is now tied for eighth in the NHL in points and tied for fifth in the NHL in assists.
– Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky both returned from injuries. Mitchell played 21 minutes, 25 seconds, and recorded one shot on goal, one hit, two blocked shots and a minus-2 rating. Ponikarovsky played 13:54 and recorded two hits and a minus-1 rating.
– Jarret Stoll recorded nine shots on goal, tying the most by any Kings player in a game this season. (Anze Kopitar had nine shots on goal against Detroit on Dec. 4.) Dustin Brown was credited with a game-high six hits. Justin Williams and Willie Mitchell each had two blocked shots.
– Jack Johnson played a team-high 22 minutes, 52 seconds. Ryan Smyth led all Kings forwards in ice time at 21:17.
– The Kings won 31 of 64 faceoffs (48 percent). Jarret Stoll won 10 of 19 draws (53 percent).
Nice to see Stoll get a fire lit under his you-know-what after Murray’s comments a few days ago. Sturm may still be in training camp mode but he is already producing points. Johnson still producing which is what we need given Doughty’s offensive drop in production. It was also great to see Mitchell back on the ice and leading the way on the PK. Hopefully, the 2nd half of the season will be better in terms of injury issues. Rich’s comments that the inconsistent play in the 3rd was a microcosm of the season so far is dead on.
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My thoughts…
Glad to see Stoll get rolling again. He is a big part of our team as it stands and is our #2 center regardless of where he is playing. When he is on his game he’s probably the closest thing we have to a sniper on our team. He’s got a ton of skill as a two-way center, and we need his faceoff prowess and another 10-15 goals from him if we’re going to be in the thick of the playoff picture after the next 41 games.
Quick was ghastly with the puck, possibly due to hardly being tested during the first half of the game. I’d like to see more focus out of him, but he has bailed us out of so many games this year that I can’t really be too pointed with any criticism.
I’d like to see the kind of buy-in we got from Zeus last night more often. He went to the dirty areas and had a gnarly screen on Martinez’s goal. He does look significantly slower this season though.
I want to stop seeing people complaining about Smyth’s ice time. Yes, he has glaring holes in his game, but you know what you’re getting with him, and he has consistently come through for us. The guy is on pace for 34 goals this year and has a couple more than Kopi… Captain Canada indeed.
Doughty looks better for the most part in his own end, but I’d like to see him take a cue from JJ and try to get involved more offensively. There was one game recently where we were down in the 3rd period, and Doughty tried a balls-out, end-to-end rush that he nearly scored on. More of that please.
Kopitar… why doesn’t he try those dangles and deceptive stickhandles when entering the zone more often? I understand that Columbus’ D is like swiss cheese, but it’s frustrating to see the (offensive) tools that Kopi only flashes occasionally.
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rick Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache, Agree with you on most here, but want to add someting about Kopitar. The guy is young and still developing. He has tremendous talent, which we see more and more of each year. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can knock him off the puck. IMO, he is already a fabulous player, one of the top 10 in the league. He is not Crosby, Stamkos, Datsyuk, etc., but belongs in the next tier of superstars. Also, keep in mind that he produces with only one high quality winger at his side (yes, I am talking about Dustin Brown). Put two real top line winges next to him, give him a few more years of growth and experience, and this guy is going to be in the very top tier of NHL players for years to come. He is not immune to criticism, but he is a stud around whom this team’s offense can be built for the next decade.
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King John Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 11:50 am
@Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache,
Great comments, stache.
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What is VERY apparent to me is that our goaltending needs to improve DRAMATICALLY from what it has been the last half dozen games. While I give high marks to Quick for the times he bailed the team’s chestnuts out of the fire during the first half of the season, unfortunately the reality for goalies is what have you done for me lately, not what have you done for me in the past. Were the level of play we have been getting in goal from Quick and Bernier over the past half dozen games to continue for the rest of the season we definitely would NOT make the playoffs. Both of them need to get back to the places they were in when they have been on the top of their respective games.
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NoDoughty Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@Forum67, AMEN to that!
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neil Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 11:52 am
@Forum67, Quick seems to be flopping alot…..looks like a goalie who we use to have…
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Paul G Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
@neil, Hrudey?
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rontheking Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
@Forum67,
i agree. the goaltending simply has to be better from both guys.
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did you see where Stoll had two consecotive shots from the point, and each one took out an unfortunate player standing in front of the net? one of them being Brown, but at least the other was a blue Jacket. Hopefully this is a good sign for Stoll. I’m still having a hard time feeling good about last nights game though, it’s like finally getting that “Mikus” jersey in the mail, only to find out it got the Maple Leaf logo on it.
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Cynic Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 11:44 am
@Ravens,
LOL! That’s because you can’t ‘BUY’ a real Juraj Mikus jersey, there’s only one and it has to be ‘willed’ to you. On top of that, you do now ‘Own’ the real Mikus jersey, you are only it’s ‘Keeper’.
It’s like Foxy’s Technicolor dreamcoat blazer….it tells him when to show up.
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Cynic Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 11:45 am
@Cynic,
You do NOT own….
We really need an edit function on this board for dyslexic typers like me…
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Ravens Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
@Cynic, Ha!
“The Kings outshot the Blue Jackets 36-34. It was the fourth time this season that the Kings have allowed more than 35 shots on goal in a game.”
To me, the 1st sentence says the BJs got 34 shots, which is less than 35.
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Passemoilapuck Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I guess my math wasn’t wrong after all.
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if iam reading the box score correctly( ms = missed shots) Stoll had 9 SOG and 7 misses….thtas 16 shots in 18 minutes…..is that correct ….if it is wow…
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Quick’s puck handling was undoubtedly shaky, but does anyone remember Greene losing the puck when all alone and pushing it right into the slot while it was still a zero on the board for Columbus? Quick may be understandably “on edge” back there.
I wonder about Commodore’s charachter a bit after this (I also had a friend tell me once that Commodore said that if he saw Mike Babcock “right now, I’d punch him in the face”).
But, if his contract could be “adjusted” he’s more appealing to me than Greene. He’s tough and a better puck handler.
Sorry to come down on Greener but I think he’s plateaued and that plateau isn’t very high.
I’d rather see more Peter Harrold.
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puck73 Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
@Cristobal, I have felt that Harrold should have been playing more then Drewiske, Muzzin, or Martinez. He is older and more responsible in his own end. Unfortunately TM is in love with size instead of what matters the most…hockey sense.
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rontheking Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
@puck73,
not sure how you can find fault with martinez’s play…or his hockey sense….
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puck73 Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
@rontheking, Martinez is definately playing better then last season, I just think that Harrold keeps getting the short end of the stick despite the fact that he is a plus player, and that they have a winning record when he plays.
KC23 Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
@puck73, Agree about Muzzin and DD2, but Martinez looks to me like a diamond in the ruff. This kid could really turn into something special. I like Harold a lot this year as well though.
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Hey fellow fans……..
-Stoll had a better game without question
-Smitty continues to roll
-Zues moves around and covers a lot of ice
-wingers did better on the wall in our end
……but bottom line our D guys were a whole bunch better then before, they deserve the credit for last night.
(JJ, DD, WM, Scuds, Greener, Martinez)
Our big Kopi is solid all the time, what a shot, holy crap
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Overall, that was the least satisfying win of the season since they couldn’t keep the proverbial skate blade on the throat of a tean that had played and lost the night before. Second, since the pk home streak ended the pk has been very ho-hum and sloppy. I would happily trade the pp improvement for consistency on the pk. It seems to be feast or famine with this team.
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Last night we saw how valuable Mitchell is to our club. I’m not saying that we won the game on his play alone. His play on Nash at the end was huge. Getting in there and laying Nash out is the stuff we need. This guy is a stud and our D-men will learn a lot with Mitchell being around. Williams needs to go back to the first line and leave him there. Stoll had a good game ,so now we can get off his back. If Lewis keeps shooting the puck the puck will go in. Simmonds needs to keep fighting , he’s a bad ass. Kings can’t get complicit and think they have games won when they don’t. Quick’s puck handleing skills are below average, yet he is still one of the best stoppers in the game. Win or Lose it’s Kings for Life and for JmfJ, you have 30.5 reasons to give us your best and as of lately you have, so Thank You.
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puck73 Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
@kinginsaltlake, Excellent post, hope I get to meet you at the next “Rich Hammond meets the bloggers in a suite night” !
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KC23 Reply:
January 9th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
@kinginsaltlake, “Quick’s puck handleing skills are below average”
He has the worst puck handleing skills in the entire league and the worst in King’s history at that position with the possible except of Wayne Ruttledge.
Don’t get me wrong I love Quick, but call his stick handleing “below average” is like calling Kolvasmucks plus/minus below average. Its dead last.
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happy to get jj for seven yrs.now sign up dd ,simmer, what a great team we have!.GO KINGS
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