Here’s what Terry Murray said, after practice today, about why he shook up two of his four lines by essentially flipping Anze Kopitar with Kyle Clifford, moving Michal Handzus to left wing (with Kopitar and Wayne Simmonds) and Andrei Loktionov to his natural position of center (with Clifford and Dustin Brown).
MURRAY: “Well, a change is needed. That’s my thinking, when I look at the way we played in some situations last night. We didn’t take advantage of some offensive opportunities. And going back over recent games, there’s a need to get the offensive part of the game going. Maybe it’s a little bit of a change, in some situations, that will be a good thing. That’s what I’m hoping for. With Kopi, and with putting Handzus on the left side — which I did in the Calgary game in the third period — and putting Simmer back up there, I’m looking to get a change, to take advantage of Simmer’s game last night, which I really liked. It was one of the first times, in a little while, that he’s had his feet going, holding onto the puck, creating some offensive opportunities and bringing the work into the game. That’s what I want to do with this look now.”
pretty much saying Simmer’s been draggin his feet… Simmer’s head has not been into this season. I don’t know what happened but it seems like he lost some of the fire.
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dolly Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
@Stuart, I AGREE.
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
@Stuart, agreed.
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Datacloud Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
@Stuart, Even in the fight yesterday he seemed unfocused.
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Are the Monarchs games streamed online?
I wouldn’t mind watching a winning Kings team once in a while.
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Tmik Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
@Token,
Oh so I guess the last few games, like in Calgary or Edmonton didn’t count eh?
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Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
@Tmik, Winning team as in consistently wins and is at the top of the division/conference.
The last few wins pretty much wash out the disaster of a home stand.
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src Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
@Token,
Go to the AHL site. Click on AHL live, you can pay per game.
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Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
@src, Awesome, thanks.
Have you tried it? Was the quality OK?
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src Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
@Token,
Average at best. You are dependent upon the announcers telling you who has the puck. Camera is a little far away and picture quality at long distance makes it diffacult to see the jersey numbers at times. Close ups are fine, but they use wide angle most of the time. I feel its worth it to see how the kids are doing.
Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
@Src, thanks much. I might try it today. Good home game vs Pirates.
puck73 Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
@Token, Nice jab !
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Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
@puck73, Actually, a bit of both. I also want to see the kids and what they got.
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…and we need to change things because we are undefeated in 7 games? I see what TM is trying to do, but the Kings just dont have the players! cant fit a square peg in a round hole! Sit westie and put richie back in with the same lines we had when we were winning!
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Rich,
This is kings insider, wheres the inside info on trades? Dont care if its confirmed or not. Give us a reason not to hang ourselves. If watching this team doesnt kill me first.
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Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
@Pesus, Here, let me save you from the gallows.
Kings don’t necessarily need more players, they desperately need to get rid of some driftwood. We are missing roster slots because we hang onto filler players too long.
Don’t get me wrong, would love to land a reliable L1, but let’s face it, odds are long.
We have two scoring wingers in Manchester. Moller and Holloway are no longer kids, payed their minor league dues and are eager to break into the big club.
Let’s face it, Harrold is a UFA and as good as gone. Deal him or waive him and bring up a winger.
Poni should have been waived long ago. Totally washed out with 4 goals this season.
So, once the trade deadline hits, we can actually skate a pretty competent club.
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
@Token,I don’t believe that the Kings project Holloway as anything more than a role player if he ever makes the NHL.
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Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
@deadcatbounce, Same was thought of Luc.
Gotta say that Holloway has been lighting up the minors for two years now consistently. Doubt he would do worse than Poni in the big club.
deadcatbounce Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
@Token,Don’t forget that the road is littered with AHL superstars.
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Player-X Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
@Token, so your advice is to skate a pretty competent club, even if the competence is AHL quality?
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Token Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
@Player-X, Worked out OK for Pitsburg last ten games.
I’m saying that if we have the talent, and they are relatively mature and consistent, accelerate the rebuild.
Player-X Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
@Player-X, I just think that the Kings need more NHL talent, not more AHL talent, especially when all year, and last year, the obvious hole in the lineup has been a top 6 NHL winger. Moller had his chance, Lokti is gettting his, Parse is hurt and the rest are gonna be less than what have aleady not worked.
LW Anybody? Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
@Pesus, Do you really think that DL is going to make any move of consequence, where he would have to give up any of his prized core, picks, or prospects? I don’t. There’s no evidence that he’d trade anything more than a late round 2013 draft pick, and I don’t think that LW that everyone wants will be available for that.
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translation: It’s one of the few combinations I havent tried yet.
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All in All this season is still very much alive. we have only lost 2 games on our road trip and took points from both. In fact the division lead is still something that we very well could achieve. Now…… in order for this to happen our current set of players really need to step up. As we have seen in the past DL will not get us the firepower we need weather its due to him not pulling the trigger or just the fact that no one of high caliber will join the Kings. whatever the reason i dont see us picking up anybody the rest of the year. Lets go boys! If there is an answer to this season it lies in the current locker room and you guys need to find it!
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Should review all the open room weakside on Pittsburgs PK last night and figure out how to take advantage. They didn’t even cover that side till the puck went high. Total unused lane for the D to sneak down for a onetimer. The weakside forward didn’t even close the gap to the net to force the 4 man box to collapse down low.
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LW Anybody? Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
@Dominick, That would mean one of our players would have to make a pass through TM’s dreaded middle of the slot, and could potentially be picked off and turned the other way. No way they will attempt that on purpose.
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Dominick Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
@LW Anybody?, Sad how every good power play does. The best power plays realize that it’s just as far a pass dot to dot as it is from low to high. They use both to keep a PK guessing.
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If change is so good and you do it so much then why hasn’t it been good for your team, TM?
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
@deadcatbounce, Pretty soon you will have changed all the lines around and the only thing left to change will be the coach.
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Dominick Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
@deadcatbounce, If he would just change his responsible defensive positioning philosophy, and stop emphasizing their dot to boards play, instead of their line combinations, he’d probably get better results. At least he’s consistant.
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
@Dominick, Didn’t TM say at the outset of this season that he was going to open up the offense?
Good.
Reward a player who had 1 good game of moving his feet.
Stick with the epic waste Westgarth.
Continue to ruin every offensive player you come in contact with.
Continue to make huge coaching blunders and blame it on your players – who put out Stoll, Marti, Lokti, Williams, and Simmonds as the PP ended/failed?
You, Sir.
Time for a Poll.
Who is over TM and wants a change?
Who is over DL and wants a change?
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I thought Wayne played a good game last night. We shall see if the line changes help this time or not. Rich, Do you plan on talking to Dean Lombardi as the trade deadline approaches? Will he answer his phone? Thanks, Brian
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bla bla bla bla bla
bla bla ba ba
bla
(this is what the players hear)
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
@B-MEL, I wonder if some of them even hear that anymore.
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Murray’s act is getting old.
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snbrdsummit Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
It’s been old for some time now. I just don’t understand the rationale of some of these bloggers who are still supporting him. I understand the desire to give someone a fair chance, but I’d like to see progress independant of player acquisitions.
We got beat by a Pittsburg team that is missing two of the most prolific scorers/players in the league and everyone keeps saying we need a LW’er.
Wake up, it’s a team sport. The team that executes the best “team” strategy wins. Saying the acquisition of one player is going to fix our problems is sophomoric.
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Interesting lines…
That’s definitely a Loki promotion…
It’s hard to believe this team can’t score more goals than it does…
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I th0ught that was one of Simmer’s best games last night.
Good move by TM switching up the combos..especially after last night. Our top line was really poor all night.
it’s funny..people forget things from earlier this sseason. We were amongst the league leaders in GF earlier. It wasn’t that long ago. We’re scuffling a lot right now to score, but some of you make it sound like we’ve been avg 2 goals a game for the season.
But then again, that would make your arguments against the coach moot..which isn’t going to happen here.
I’ve mentoned it before..coaches are judged on wins and losses…the man’s lifetime over .500 coach and over .500 coach with the Kings. How did his predecessors do with the Kings?
Short memories folks!
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puck73 Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
@nykingfan, remember this though…Mark Crawford had to deal with ageing veterans that were going to be traded, no depth on defense, and Dan Cloutier who couldnt stop a beachball….your right, MEMORIES !
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snbrdsummit Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
@nykingfan,
I’m sorry, but you don’t validate success by comparing it to failure. I’m sure I can google a bunch of coaches who have over .500 career wins that never made it to the Cup. Winning more games than you lose is yet another example of my earlier comment about validating success. Ask Marty Schottenheimer.
I judge coaches on their overall progress. We were promised progress and I haven’t seen it. We’ve been sold by DL on a “ground-up” approach. This premise has been followed through from management, but the players are no longer growing. Every year we start strong and falter as the season flows. The only consistency is the regularity with the way we shift the lines.
Can you honestly say that the players have improved since Murray has arrived? I can’t.
The talent is there, and I KNOW it is there because I see moments of absolute brilliance. It’s the coaches job to recognize and develop that brilliance. We need a new coach. We need someone like Dan Bylsma (ex-King) who can win with anyone.
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jess Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
@snbrdsummit,
Bravo well said
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David Poile of the Nashville Predators, once again, is setting the bar for Lombardi and making him look foolish. He acquires Mike Fisher for a bag of pucks with 2 years to go on his contract, yet the Kings remain in need of scoring.
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Dan H. Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
@Scaught,
A #1 and #2 pick is hardly a bag of pucks.
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puck73 Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
@Dan H., I agree. The only way I would give up a #1 EVER is if I was getting Parise, Nash, or Malkin…and thats about it !
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xeropoint Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
@Dan H., Not to mention a first and second for 14 goals and -19.
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Scaught Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
@xeropoint, not bad for playing with Ottawa. Tied for team lead in goals. Averages 20+ a year. The Predators sure thought it was worth it. They’ve made the playoffs 4 out of the last 5 years. Kings: 1 out of the last 8.
That Hickey draft pick sure has worked out …The Kings still need scoring.
Watch this, they talk about the possibility or Gaborik to the Kings: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=40&id=97250
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puck73 Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
@brandyn, With the Rangers in a playoff position, how does it help New York by trading us Gaborik ?
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
@puck73, from what the guys were saying, the feeling seems to be that gabby’s not producing, and NY’s moving towards a more hard working, character oriented style. DL’s been collecting “Character” to the exclusion of skill; it helps NY if they have decided Gabby’s not worth his cap hit.
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Michael_DD8 Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
@mcsorleyfan,
It is very plausible to think actually. They said they want a Center, whats wrong with a Young hot former first round prospect, just about to the break the ice , into the nhl. (Schenn). I think it would cost us Schenn, but id be for it.
brandyn Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
@mcsorleyfan, Schenn will not be going anywhere. We can give em Linden Vey, Oscar Moller, and a first rounder
xeropoint Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
@brandyn, I have a hard time believing Lombardi would bite on the very contract he balked on a couple summers ago.
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Kings are playing well. I just feel that we have the talent. Its the line changes every few games. No player has been demanded sucess from their role. How does a checking forward goes to line one and then 4th line in few games. Coach must give them their role and stick with it. Players don’t know their role. Few games go by and it’s not the players but the line didnt work. Demand it to work. Poni and Strum were signed to socre goals has never been put into the siuation. I just feel Terry should stick with Justin,Ryan, and Kopi all season long. Coach should not worry about socring balance. Coach can only get away with this if he has player that could make other players play better. Kings don’t have a player on the roster who can other player better.
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TM is completely clueless at this point. It isn’t the lines, it is the system! He will just keep changing lines rather than change the High F3 defense first and second system that EVERY TEAM in the league knows how to exploit.
Only hope for this team for this year and next is to pull the plug on TM. He’s never been able to improve any team after 3 seasons.
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puck73 Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
@Blueline, Yep, pull the damn plug already.
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jess Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
@Blueline,
Yep TM wouldn’t know the feeling of “competitive spirit” if it T-boned his smart car in a whole foods parking lot.
Maybe a better position for him would be to manage mr. toad’s wild ride at disney land. He can get creative and change how the tourists stand on line each day by moving the ropes around in different switchback configurations and in this way it would only confuse the customers in a fun way, instead of confusing a professional hockey team in a bad way.
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TM…. agree the time has come and he needs to go. His system was the same one most NHL teams used…. in the 70′s and on top of that he keeps his d-men glued to the blue line. He thinks he’s fixing things by drawing his line out of a hat yet each time he does it we come out and look completely lost. Myself as i king fan would not be too sad if we missed the playoffs if it meant the TM was gone. As far as DL goes if we come into the start of next season without a #1 left wing again, i would fire him on opening night. Go Kings win despite of our sad excuse of a coach. And please quit bringing in past friends from either Philly or San Jose, Dean.
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Here we go again. Somebody must’ve found TM’s ouija board. Anyone else notice that the Isles put up 9 on the Pens? Moulson doubled the Kings output by himself.
Green is back in the lineup for Caps. Tough weekend slate – the boys are going to have to step up in a big way.
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