No lineup changes in practice today, and Jonathan Quick is scheduled to start in goal tomorrow for the Kings-Coyotes rematch.
Lots of talk about net presence after today’s practice, and Terry Murray didn’t back down from his strong statements last night about the Hanzal high-stick goal. There’s still no word on a possible fine for Dean Lombardi from the league. More notes and quotes to come…
No lineup changes, but what about line changes? (Smirk!)
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Quit complaining one bad call. The bottom line is we cant win with zeo goals anyway so whats the difference!
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USHA#17 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 4:15 pm
@Mikehockeyburger, Should never have been in a position where a bad call in game 46 all but nixes a playoff spot.
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Stick to your guns TM!
GO KINGS GO!
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More and more people around the league are starting to see and say the same things about the Kings. It’s all about Terry Murray and the offense. Check out this article. Sums it up pretty well – http://insidehockey.com/?p=17146
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NoDoughty Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:29 pm
@LW Anybody, great read, thanks!
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King o' Philly Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:51 pm
@LW Anybody, thanks for the link, man.
it’s all in there.
-TM’s system too defense oriented
-kopitar not taking chances
-TM passively blaming this on the missing piece
-loktionov not the answer, kopi is!!
GO. ALL. OUT.
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BishoptakesKing Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:00 pm
@King o’ Philly,
Thx, good read and pretty spot on if you ask me.
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tantrum4 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 11:11 pm
@LW Anybody,
That isn’t someone “around the league”. It’s just another tired rant by a Kings fan witha blog. Kinda like Matt Barry.
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It is high time for DL to trade Whiskey and Harold. We have more than enough good talent in Manchester to make that a painless move. Get a prospect forward or a late draft pick for them.
Time to bring up the kids that are not teens anymore and see what they can do. Moeller and Holloway have been tearing it up in the AHL. Knocking off the training wheels now will make summer camp so much more productive.
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deadcatbounce Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
@Token, I think most teams wouldn’t mind trading their seventh and eighth defensemen, but who are you realistically going to get for them? Perhaps you could get a late-round pick and then wish on a prayer that you’re going to draft the next Luc, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
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Token Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:20 pm
@deadcatbounce, A bucket of pucks and a bag af Doritos would be fine. Whiskey and Harold had a good long chance to make an impact on this team. They haven’t. They were filler players and their time is up.
It is no longer a question of return on investment, it is a roster spot issue. They are warming the pine while other players that should cannot be benched.
Sorry to say, but Zeus and Poni need some bench time. I’d personally send Poni to the minors. No one is going to claim him. Zeus has his uses as a PK and shutdown guy, but not much more this season.
It is time to move in and get a jump on the next season.
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BishoptakesKing Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@Token,
Hey if we get rid of Harrold, who is going to do the Emergency Evacuation speech at Staples. I would say maybe Westgarth, but he’d screw that up to.
LW Anybody? Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:28 pm
@deadcatbounce, Other teams make prospect trades all the time. We don’t. We have way too many D prospects, and not enough scoring winger prospects. Why can’t we even make a modest move to address an obvious need now, which would still take a little time to develope, but would bring us a little closer. I don’t get it. You can have all the chips in the world, but if you don’t play the game, the chips aren’t worth anything.
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Badger57 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:26 pm
@Token,
Right about now Whiskey, and Harrold wouldn’t mind your suggestion. I think they should give the regular D guys and day off every 7-10 games..would help not burning them out before the end of the season. Ask Quicker.
I think the Kings will get it turned around pretty soon. They are starting to show some fight. Now more dump and chase,,,,,,set up some plays, move.
Lets get’em KINGS.
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USHA#17 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 4:18 pm
@Token, Yeah? Like for who? There ain’t much out there unless your just looking for picks
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Sign Forsberg!!!! he’s in Denver! make the flight Deano!
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puck73 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:55 pm
@gboi, That guy makes Marco Sturm look healthy by comparison. Forget it, Forsberg is washed up !
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whatever man.
i’m glad DL made that comment.
Sure he has to pay a fine… but i’m glad he said it.
Terry Murray should not be fined.
He didn’t make any personal attacks.
i hate Gary Bettman and his minions.
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It was a bad call. Nothing can be done about it, get over it. All the complaining in the world does not hide the fact that this team is dropping like a stone in the standings right now. Focus on what can be done, rather than what can’t be done. All this outrage by TM & DL is fine, well & good, but it’s also transparent. The outrage doesn’t cover the stink of the nosedive.
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puck73 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:59 pm
@kingswings, concur
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Unless Westgarth plans on fighting Shane Doane tomorrow, he should not be in the lineup. His poor pass led to the second goal last night. Other than that, he wasn’t even noticed. I’d like to see Harrold get a start. He’s responsible and actually tries.
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puck73 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:00 pm
@friarking, Amen. I am the leader of the Peter Harrold fan club !
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:21 pm
@puck73, and Im the leader of the Westgarth Haters!!!
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Go with the youth movement! This season is slowlly lost!
Like I said if they do not win 7 out there next 10 games they will not make the playoffs. They are already down 2 games, so they need to win 7 of 8 or it will be a struggle to the road to the playoffs!!!
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DL fined $ 50,000?
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Deano is officially $50,000 poorer. Bettman said that Dean apologized and said that is claim was “without merit?” That doesn’t seem to be consistent with Dean’s comments earlier today.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=550204
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Look everyone knows the league is uber desperate for Phoenix to suceed. I mean what business or in this case team loses 30 million bucks each year and thinks it’s a good thing! The NHL that’s who. Total setup period. Lombardi and Murray shouldn’t apologize for getting screwed.
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Ravens Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:56 pm
@scaught, a conspiracy theorist might say, they know LA has it’s fan base, and they’re going to watch every game, good or bad, They’ve been proving that for years, they have nothing to gain, win or lose, now the Coyotes don’t have that base, so if they win, they bring more fans, the NHL wins. hmmmm!
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$50k fine, big deal – send to the Phoenix Coyote relief fund. That’s what they gross per home game!
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To me it just sounds like yet another year of disappointment. I mean what else should expect? Should I be surprised? Stoll was saying in an interview…8th place is right there…We just have to get it! 8th place…Is that the standard we wish to be judged by. A winner wants to have the top place. the #1 seed. Of course I know it may not be realistic this late in the game. But If the coach and players is striving to just get in the 8th spot, thats pretty weak…They might think and..”ok well at least we got in… The fans should be happy with that No we are not happy with that! Mediocrity is not OK in life and especially when you are paid the amounts some are paid whos sole purpose is to BRING HOME A CUP….Not 8th place… Id say that the last 10 games it looks like these guys have never even skated together before. No one knows where the other guy will be, and when. Its like playing pick up for the first time. Its embarrassing and very difficult to watch.
But I keep coming back for more every year!!! Always saying the infamous Well there’s always next year…. When is it going to be This is the year…EVER…. As a 30 + year fan… The playoffs is not the success mark… Although I think management thinks it is. I believe they think if we make it to the play off the fans will be happy.. They dont care if we lose in the first round. Sure they’d want to go further…but they know the fans wont be mad because “Hey we did make the play offs” Who cares… We need to win the cup or at least give a legitimate fighting chance with players who are great…Not good Great…Al the teams who are contenders have these people…People,….not a person. Yes we tried to get Kovi…it was a good step…but it didnt work!!! We need 2 or 3 super skilled players… I dont know I was only gong to write a quick comment…Here I am 30 mins later venting. I love the Kings, always have always will …I hope to see a successful year sometime soon
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@Irishlak, I can hear Lee Greenwood singing now!!
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Irishlak Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:07 pm
@Ravens, thats funny me too lol
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LINE JUGGLING & ‘POWER’ PLAY (and a thank you to Quisp)
As much as I hate the constantly changing lines, it seems that most knowledgeable hockey people seem to think that’s over-rated as a cause for the Kings uneven performance. So, I’ll defer on that issue for now.
However, as I have stated previously on the blog (and been criticized for it) our ‘power’ play is a disaster. My definition of disaster in this case is that it has cost us at least 10 lost points this season. Look at the standings and figure out what that would mean today.
In one of the excellent articles on ‘Jewels From The Crown’ the ever analytical Quisp makes the following observations, which I am just copying and pasting, because I cant say this any better:
“The power play is terrible. — Yeah, I would say this is a pretty big deal. In 13 of the Kings 23 losses, the Kings power play was shut-out. In the other nine losses and one OTL, they went 1-3,1-5,1-3,1-5,1-9, 2-6 (!),1-2, 2-5 (!), 1-5, 1-2. The four that are 1-5 or worse I’m going to call problems. That’s 17 out of 23 losses with a power play problem”.
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Happy Birthday Jonathan Quick!!!
)
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Irishlak Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 2:34 pm
@TinaBeana, whoo hoo happy bday , he’s a old man now lol
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Westgarth makes a worse pass/decision there than Frolov did in Columbus last year.
One player can make the difference.
50 some odd seconds after a goal and one of the coldest players on the bench is sent on. Yes, it’s nit-picking, but this system comes down to minute details.
After going up 2-0, PHO merely had to protect their end and they did.
Belanger was collossal last night.
Do what is right TM. Sit Garth and have DL call up Moller or go with the better hockey players on the scratch list.
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Should’ve know this is what we were in for when the guy pulls T.Hickey in the #4 overall spot
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