Some notes from last night’s game…
– The Kings had their season series against the Anaheim Ducks evened up when Corey Perry scored in overtime to give the Ducks a 2-1 victory Saturday night at Staples Center.
– With two games remaining in the season series, the Kings and Ducks have split their four games. The Kings hold a 5-4 edge in points because of last night’s overtime loss.
– The Kings remain in fifth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of sixth-place Dallas, two points ahead of seventh-place Chicago (which has one game in hand) and eighth-place Nashville and three points ahead of ninth-place Anaheim.
– The Kings are 0-2-2 in their last four home games and 4-0-0 in their last four road games.
– The Kings outshot the Ducks 32-25. The Kings topped the 30-shot mark for the first time in their last nine games.
– The Kings went 0-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Kings have not scored a power-play goal in three consecutive games and have not allowed a power-play goal in nine consecutive games. Overall, the Kings have killed 29 consecutive opponents’ power plays.
– The Kings are now 20-12-3 at home, 9-16-4 when allowing the first goal, 4-10-2 when trailing after the first period, 4-18-2 when trailing after the second period, 8-6 in games that go beyond regulation and 19-8-6 in one-goal games.
– Jonathan Quick stopped 23 of 25 shots. Quick has allowed two or fewer goals in three of his last four starts.
– Dustin Brown scored the Kings’ goal. Brown has two goals and one assist in his last three games.
– Michal Handzus had an assist, his first assist in his last 11 games.
– Alexei Ponikarovsky had an assist. Ponikarovsky has four assists in his last four games.
– Justin Williams recorded a game-high seven shots on goal. Jarret Stoll was credited with a team-high four hits and Willie Mitchell was credited with a team-high three blocked shots.
– Drew Doughty played a game-high 26 minutes, 45 seconds. Anze Kopitar led all forwards in ice time at 24:08.
– The Kings won 28 of 49 faceoffs (57 percent). Jarret Stoll won 11 of 15 draws (73 percent).
Simmonds goal shoulda counted
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Jeeves Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 11:08 am
@SHUCHUK, It’s a freakin shame they can’t use video review for penalties. Sometimes (often) the ref gets it wrong and there’s nothing a fan can do.
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Fred Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
@SHUCHUK, I was watching the Rangers Pens game this morning and again, there were some crazy calls and noncalls. I don’t know what is going on but the officiating really seems to be going down hill. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the recent GM meeting or not, but my god it is bad.
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Great game bad result
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No player in the high-slot on the power-play has scored a single goal all season. It’s a complete waste; just a bad formation used incorrectly. It would be effective if someone down low passed the puck UP to him for a shot from the slot, but he has only been given the puck SIDEWAYS from the half-boards whereupon all he can really do with the puck is to pass it back whence it came. Terrible power-play coaching; I’m lookin at you, Kompon.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 11:14 am
@BringBackTheShieldJersey, the PP is totally different now, watch the games please, it is a different power play, still no goals on a regular basis, I’m looking at the players, not Kompon, sorry
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Folks, when you score 1 goal in 2 games, you arent going to win many hockey games. Drew Doughty…how many times did this guy shoot wide last nite? Jack Johnson…you better be very careful pal..your plus minus as a defensemen is becoming disgraceful yet again. Their isnt even anyone close on the Kings that is a defencemen that is even close to as bad as yours. And in case you hadnt noticed Jack, Voynov is playing really well at Manchester and is a plus 20. Also, like a lot of you, I wonder how Jamie Kompon still has a job in this organization. My prediction….I think the Kings fate for the playoffs will come down to last 3 games, by then we should know.
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Hadley Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
@puck73, We might feel sorry for somebody so lost in his own zone that he is a minus 16 for the season, but Jack has a multimillion dollar deal and he will be here for a long time. He can laugh while he drives his new Ferrari or whatever it is to the bank.
You are right about Slava Voynov. The 21-year-old native of Chelyabinsk, Russia, made the AHL All-Star Game and is putting up wonderful numbers in Manchester.
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It’s time to shake up the lines. At least the second and the third. Leave the first untouched!!! They played very good last night, they were just extremely unlucky… I would like to see:
Penner – Kopi – Williams;
Poni – Stoll – Simmonds;
Smith – Zeus – Brown;
Richie/Lewis/Clifford – hope he’ll be back soon/Westgarth – when needed…
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King John Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 11:49 am
@outsider,
In theory I like the lines the way they are now, but maybe the 2nd line needs a little different look. Brown and Handzus did well together. I hesitate to put Smyth with Handzus. Simmonds could spark Stoll and Smyth with better chemistry and digging out the puck. So here goes:
Penner — Kopi — Williams
Smyth — Stoll — Simmonds
Poni — Handzus — Brown
Clifford — Lewis — Richardson/Westgarth
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What we’ve learned this season:
“We need exactly what Jim said – a limited coaches challenge for plays where a penalty caused/prevented a goal.”
“We still won’t get the right call because Toronto is incompetent and most buildings don’t give them good angles anyway.”
“Power Play is the one part of the game where a ‘system’ tends to stifle, rather than help”
“Superstar players under 24 are going to have slump stretches, and maybe slump seasons, and will perform better with the structure of the road”
“The Kings get screwed because they share staples with two basketball teams, when one of them is unwanted and a constant failure.”
“Despite any bad this season, the future is bright.”
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Our lack of offensive production is really starting to make me nervous. Are we a playoff team? The Coyotes have scored more goals than us. They score by committee. Unless we get more production from all lines we are not going to make the playoffs. Our remaining games are against teams that have scored 15-20 more goals than us. That does not bode well for our chances. We have to score 3 or more goals against the Flames in order to pick up two points. Numbers don’t lie. I like the play by Handzus. Get the puck to the net. WE’re not doing enough of that lately. We have to be a shot mentality team and we will get lucky bounces. As to last night’s game and the non-call by refs and disallowed goals–all I have to say is that we had 6 power play opportunities and did not score a goal. You can blame the refs all you want folks but we have to get a power play goal each game in order to pick up points. Enough said.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@Bonvivant1, I’ve been harping on this all year. Out of the top 10 teams in the western playoff hunt, we rank 9th in total offense out of that group. Only 8 teams make it, so it’s a lot to ask of our defense to play well enough to beat these teams.
Some may say we don’t have enough talent. I say we may not be as gifted as the top 3 or 4, but we certainly have enough to be in the middle of the pack. So why is it? Well, it’s because of coaching. Plain and simple. Our power play has no excuse for being as terrible as it is, other than Jamie Kompon. The players are just going out there and doing as they are told. If 5 players go out on the ice, and we can all see a pattern of what they are doing wrong, then it is the pattern that is to blame. Other teams see it, and beat us because of it.
Why did it take 65 games for them to even attempt to try something different, which still hasn’t shown any results? Also, why do we play a system still, that was instilled because we didn’t have any talent at the time, and were bottom feeders in the conference?
This system needs to adapt to the growth of this team. We are no longer a patchwork group of talentless minor leaguers and aging cast-off veterans. This is a solid group of talent, close to being in their prime. The next step is to learn more than just trying not to lose, but to play to WIN.
TM has been a great defensive teacher. This team now has a solid foundation. But I don’t see anything else coming from our current coaching anytime in the future. Sure, we could still use another top line creative, quick finisher, but I still think TM would keep the shackles on. There needs to be balance. TM talks about hard work, but hard work is taking risks on offense, and hustling back on D if it doesn’t work, not just hanging back in the neutral zone and around the boards all game long.
This team may make the playoffs, and should, but it won’t be a contender until there is a new philosophy with this team. Management still doesn’t trust this team, and without trust, a team won’t truly believe that it can be ultimately successful.
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Bonvivant1 Reply:
March 21st, 2011 at 6:40 am
@PP Anybody?, Well said. Murray controls lines and combos. Ultimately the players have to produce. I think we have the talent. We’re just not getting balanced scoring, not for lack of talent, it’s because games are so tight.
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The only stat that matters to me right now..
– The Kings remain in fifth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of sixth-place Dallas, two points ahead of seventh-place Chicago (which has one game in hand) and eighth-place Nashville and three points ahead of ninth-place Anaheim.
GKG!!!
Thanks for this site Rich, it’s the best.
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Regarding the refs, I have seen bad calls cost a team the game many times. But I can’t remember seeing bad calls cost teams a game not once, not twice, but three times in one season. In Ottawa, Smyth’s tip.. Against Phoenix, Hanzal’s batted-in goal where his stick actually swiped against the rafters in Staples Center.. And then last night. It wasn’t solely the refs last night, the PP obviously was weak again.
Jim Fox is so rational, and so right about what needs to happen. The NHL needs to make plays like that involving goalie interference REVIEWABLE, IF THE PUCK GOES IN THE NET. It absolutely needs to happen. The refs get that wrong A LOT. I see it on Center Ice all the time. It usually goes against the team that scores, when a defensive player pushes the offensive player into his own goalie. You just can’t do that, according to league rules, yet players are getting away with it. The NHL is battling some integrity issues here, I think.
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@Scot, You’re forgetting the Crosscheck on DD against Vancouver.
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Scot Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
@KC23,
My gosh, you are right. How did I forget that one? I was at that game!
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randal Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
@Scot, your talking 8 points right there, look at where that would put us in the standings, even if we only got 4 points of the 8 still puts a big gap on 8th position.
Is there a stat about the number of points the officiating has robbed from us?
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KC23 Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@FiG17, No need we hold all records forever.
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Coaches’s challenges need to happen. Just like the NFL,America’s most popular sport.
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another stat that we’re missing is that, if i’m not mistaken, the kings are 3-0-1 when wearing the retro jerseys.
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“The Kings have not scored a power play goal in three games…”
I believe one of the goals last night was seconds after the end of a power play, and I know one of the goals a couple games ago was, so it’s not as bad as it looks.
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