In non-high-stick news, the power-play slump marches on for the Kings. They’re now 0-for-19 with the man advantage in their last six games, and while their first couple power plays in Thursday night’s game looked solid, things seemed to break down as the game went on. Today, Terry Murray talked about the biggest area of needed improvement, on the power play, going forward…
MURRAY: “Net presence, and it carries right through to the 5-on-5, or vice versa. When you’re shooting pucks from the top, in the umbrella look that we’re setting up, there clearly needs to be one (player) at the net, and preferably two at the net. But it’s not just at the net. You’re covering the posts. You have to play goaltender, and be in the goaltenders’s line of sight. You have to work hard at that. You know that he’s going to be trying to find the puck, from different views around you. You have to have your head on a swivel, that awareness to try to get back to that position that he’s looking around.
“It’s an art. It’s a skill in itself, and some teams have those guys that do a great job at it. I think Handzus does a wonderful job in that area. Ryan Smyth is out there. He does a good job in screening goaltenders, but he sometimes steps aside and looks to tip the puck with his stick, and that’s when the goaltender is able to pick it up. If you get it on your stick and it tips under the crossbar, then it’s a great goal. But last night, or in the last couple games, that puck is just not finding his stick, and we’re making it easy for the goaltenders. So we’re going to work at it. We’ve got to find that guy that is going to do it consistently.”
No! always shooting from the same area, only passing around the perimeter, and sending guys to do the same screen plays, and tip plays in front of the goalie need to be changed. It worked generating chances the first couple of times, but things broke down when the opposition realized what we were trying to do, and the Kings didn’t try anything else.
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the dude from the southeast Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 5:00 pm
@Dominick, if they stop shooting for tips then we may be more productive
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Clearly the problem is that the Kings are keeping their sticks on the ice. They need them at least head-high, with the point men aiming for the glass behind the net. (Have to try to make this thread about the high-stick, too…)
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Matt R Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@Mel Powell, Well done sir!
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Kingme20 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:46 pm
@Mel Powell,
Ba-zing!
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Jack Johnson konws the system isn’t working, teams know how to play the Kings, they are too predictable. http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/hockey/post/_/id/2183/kings-mitchell-and-johnson-have-opposing-views-following-latest-loss
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Dominick Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:44 pm
@Osaka, His comment “If something’s not working, we have to find a way to find something that does work,” Says it all.
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Matt R Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:48 pm
@Dominick, That’s a job for the coach. If the system isn’t working, the system must change, and the coach must change it. No matter how much you beat that dead horse, it won’t get any more dead. I like TM, but if the only changes he’s ever going to make are line combos, maybe we need fresh blood.
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Dominick Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:51 pm
@Matt R, I’m starting to agree with you. Fans have been calling for the players heads, but even Evgeny Malkin would be trapped playing the exact same system.
wavesinair Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:50 pm
@Dominick, And that’s what’s happening.
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Osaka Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@Dominick, I like we are all NHLers and should be able to skate well enough to carry the puck in.
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The high slot redirection.
Cross crease passes.
There’s more than one way to skin a goat.
And, did we put Lokti on the PP to stand in front? I think not. And, Smyth going there after being injued in just that way may have been a bit sadistic.
How about a new PP coach?
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How about putting your top scoring defenseman on the point of the nunber one unit for starters? At least JMFJ hits the net more often than Stoll.
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Osaka Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:44 pm
@Kingme20, Stoll couldn’t hit the side of a barn.
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Dominick Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:48 pm
@Osaka, He could hit it, but it would deflect off the weather vien, and ricochet harmlessly into a corn field.
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Id love to see the Kings return to form on the powerplay like they were last year. But our current powerplay system seems stale and destined to fail as it is. There is zero creativity with the puck or away from the puck. Its the same old half-boards to point to half-boards passing scheme with no one driving, no cross-seam passes and no real opportunity other than a deflection or tip in.
Remember early in the year Kopi made a pass to Brown from the half-boards then drove to the net for the return pass and burried it? Where is that now?!
The Kings keep saying about sticking to the system and I’ll give them credit for doing so admirably. But at some point if the system is not working you need to adapt and change it up. This team has proved how hard they can outwork opponents. But when your opponents know your strategy as well as you do then its time to change it up.
Im not calling for ‘FIRE KOMPON / MURRAY / ANYBODY’ etc. These are good coaches that have achieved success with us before. Whats needed now is a re-evaluation of our current schemes and strategies. I honestly feel any line that Richardson is on should dump & chase, since he is so damn effective on the forecheck that he makes it work. But for Kopi, dump & chase should be a last resort. He has skill and creativity that what he needs is wingers driving to the net and creating room for him.
This season is slipping away. Despite what players and coaches (and pundits) may say it IS panic time. If we cant recapture some of that early season magic then we are going to on the outside looking in yet again. This team is too good for that. This needs to be a total organizational effort to get things back on track before it is too late.
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Cristobal Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
@LomitaKingsFan,
The system hasn’t changed from last year.
It was inconsistent then as well.
Statistically,last year we weren’t bad, but statistics don’t show the value or weight of those numbers.
Power plays, particularly in TM’s system, must be game-deciders. They need to produce at critical moments.
That’s what we’ve been missing with Kompon.
Getting a screen on the goalie is a low percentage play. It requires a synchronicity in order to succeed – such as a shooting lane and a well placed shot.
Creativity and change will not only result in better chances and more options, but it makes the “man in front” method work better as well.
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Dominick Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 6:02 pm
@Cristobal, Fully agree. Low to high plays aren’t as effective if that’s the only play you make. Lateral low plays would at the very least draw defenders down low making low to high plays more effective.
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They need more than that to fix the power play They need to move away from the puck and try to get the penalty killers to over rotate by having them chase the puck then back door them like the kings have been the past couple of games.
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Dominick Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@kevin, It’s funny. A fan actually got mad when I mentioned that the Kings wouldn’t know what a backdoor play even looks like, if it wasn’t for the ones scored against them. I wasn’t trying to be a smart ass. If you look back on all the PP goals the Kings have scored this season, you won’t find 1 backdoor play ever made.
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bbb7 Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 4:44 pm
@kevin, You have hit on it. As well, the Kings need to look to make a play as soon as they enter the zone and before the D gets set. It seems the Kings PP system involves getting the puck in the zone and they delaying until everyone is set up. FIRST see if you can get an opportunity before the D sets, look for a play. If not, then go ahead and set up. DONT BE SO DELIBERATE!
And get Kopi off the boards; it’s the worst passing position on the ice, you have no angles.
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I’d say 0 for 19 is pretty consistent.
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Player-X Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:57 pm
@wavesinair, Kings have finally copped a ‘tude…unfortunately, it’s ineptitude.
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Player-X Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@wavesinair, or…. the Kings need to figure out that x’s and o’s don’t mean hugs and kisses. nyuk, nyuk.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 4:08 pm
@wavesinair, hahahahah, so true!
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How about you try shooting from the slot more, and less from severely bad angles…Just saying…
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Sorry to be redundant but as there is now a separate discussion about the ‘power’ play I thought I’d repeat my earlier comments, and those I borrowed from Quisp…
I’ve been criticized by a couple of other Kings fans for describing our power play as 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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JB Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 10:53 pm
@ForumFan, Bottom line is the PP sucks, or should I say it stink on ice
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Murray’s system sucks. It is too predictible. His system on most nights take the effectness out of scoring goals. His system is 95% defence and 5% offence. He has got to reverse that and coach a team that swarms the net with one defenceman back. I would rather seen them lose a game 6/5 then 2/1. At least it would give the fans something to cheer for. Murry’s system is boring to watch night after night with the results being ugly.
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the only thing different from last nights PP bedsides the… Pass to JJ or Stoll, Shot wide, shot blocked calls…
Was puck passed down low to Lokti and he is hit off the puck.
Still no results and now we can only lose 11 games the rest of the year to reach 95 points. Doesn’t look good for us Kings fans.
Time to maybe unload Hanz, Stoll, Richardson (he is only signed this year), Poni, Sturm and see what we can get. Then call up some youngsters so they can learn now and not next season.
Have to look forward.
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I asked lombardi at hockeyfest how we were going to improve the power play and literally shrugged me off and didn’t give me an answer so I hope he’s paying attention
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