In various accounts, this is being referred to as a 10-game road trip for the Kings, but that’s not really accurate. The Kings will play three games in five days, then return home for four days of rest and practice before heading out for another road trip, one that will include six games in 10 days. Then there’s a flight home and one game in Anaheim. Regardless, it’s important. Tomorrow’s game is against the team (Minnesota) directly in front of the Kings in the Western Conference standings, and Saturday’s game is against the team (Calgary) currently directly behind the Kings. Terry Murray was asked today whether he put any extra emphasis on this upcoming stretch of games when talking to his players, particularly the team leadership group…
MURRAY: “We’ve talked about this road trip, going back a long time. It might even be a month, a month and a half. It wasn’t discussed at length, but it was part of team meetings and team reviews we have as part of the postgame. Then you end up talking about what’s in front of us, getting into the month of February, and how important it was to play well in our homestand and take advantage of the opportunity to build and put some points on the board. So, it has been addressed. It has been talked about with our leadership group. No one is nervous about coming on the road. We’ve all done a pretty good job in that area in the last couple years. We just have to make sure we stay with the details, play the system, trust each other and play the game hard. At the end, though, we’re going to have to be better. We have to get our scoring game going, whether it’s power play or 5-on-5. That’s a concern, and it has been right from the start of the year. We’ve got to be able to find a way to score more consistently in these next 32 games.”
you are right on rich…. 3 road trips in one…. take these 3 then all the rest except the ducks game,,, although i figure we need 14 points in this segment…
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DougS Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 9:11 pm
@LA KING BOBchi,
I’m cautiously hopeful about this stretch because the Kings have not played as well on the road so far this season as they did last season. That may sound counter-intuitive, but I tend to think that “water seeks its own level,” as the old saying goes. Meaning that the Kings should regain their form and play better on the road the rest of the way.
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Kostamojen Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 10:30 pm
@LA KING BOBchi, I figure the Kings will need about 38 points over the remaining 32 games (93 points total) to have a shot at making the playoffs. It’s a tall order for sure, but, doable if they play well. Just got to keep winning games. Go Kings Go!
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kevin Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 9:03 am
@Kostamojen, The kings have to go at the very least on this road trip 6-4 if this happens there is still alot of work ahead if we go .500 on this road trip its no playoffs we really need to go 7-3 on the trip to releave some of this pressure to win every game.
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this is when the players prove if their age isn’t affecting them (looking at u Smyth, Handzus etc)
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One game at a time boys! One game at a time.
If we must look ahead than here’s some good news. In the month of Febuary the Kings have 3 different back to back nights. After those 3, we play the rest of the season with no more games on back to back nights.
Lets be ready for Minny, because they’ve had plenty of time to get ready for us. Go Kings!
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Lets Kopi doesn’t room with Bailey.
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off topic but terry murray was voted 5th by players in easiest coach to play for. not sure if by “easy” they mean “soft, apathetic” or that he just gets along with everyone and is likable. heres the link.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/allstar/poll/coaches/which-coach-is-the-easiest-to-play-for/
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blahblah Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 8:54 pm
@blahblah,
also, heres the link to all the results just in case anyone’s interested.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/allstar/poll/
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DougS Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 9:08 pm
@blahblah,
Yeah, it’s hard to know what “easy” means in this context. It seems like teams tend to alternate between “players’ coaches” who would probably be described as “easy” to play for, and hard-ass coaches (like Mike Keenan, let’s say). When things get too soft and comfy with the “easy” guy, the hard-ass comes in and gets the players on their toes again. Then when the players get tired of being yelled at, another “easy” coach comes in for yet another change of pace. Wash, rinse, repeat, and see if you can win the Cup somewhere along the line.
I think that an “easy” coach is just about right for a young team still developing, like the Kings were last year and still are now. But it may not be the sort of coach they need to put them over the top once they’ve become veterans. So I still stand by the judgement that I made last season. that Murray is a very good coach for this team right now, and although I hope that he leads the Kings to the Stanley Cup, I also have to admit that they may eventually need someone else to take them that last mile.
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jess Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 10:10 am
@DougS,
I think the boys could use that Scotty Bowman type right now.
Bring Papa Wolf..
Mother Goose aint gonna cut it.
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A hockey game is all we care about at this time.
We have no time to worry about a road trip
The game is centered around 60 minutes of time
our time off was well needed
Time to get back and skate
Benier must be ready, for his time has come
It’s Kopi’s time to show the NHL the All-Star that he is worthy
JmfJ @ DD have to play like, “It’s about time”
To the rest of the boys, Time to get back at it
And to Coach Murray, Time to show some emotion….
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we have to win every battle on the ice, we have to take our level of compete to a new level
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I’m excited to be going to the Washington and Philadelphia games back to back. Might even be lucky enough to be on the Kings train between cities. Then I come home and then travel to Columbus for that Wednesday night affair. Been waiting for this trip all year. Come on Kings. The road is a place to grow. Let’s start the trip off strong and see you next weekend!!!!!
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THEROCKNROLL80S Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 6:57 am
@Carolina Kings Fan, this is the trip that will tell us what resolve the Kings have and exactly how good or not they are. If they flounder then it’s time to make some changes at management level.
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Shakes Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 8:11 am
@Carolina Kings Fan,
Yo, hit me up… I’m debating driving down from NY to DC for the game, i’m gonna skip Philly (it’s the only place where I’d feel stressed about wearing opposing colors) and I’m gonna luckily be in Columbus for the game as well
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 10:00 am
@Shakes, Dont ever feel stressed about representing the Kings. Its not like your going to an Oakland Raiders game wearing a Broncos Jersey! Or a Dodgers game with a Giants jersey!
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“We’ve got to be able to find a way to score more consistently in these next 32 games.”
if we haven’t found a way to do this thus far, what makes him think we will somehow be able to find a way to do it in the future? especially with all the line-juggling?
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