In the lead-up to last night’s game, Terry Murray talked about how he was pleased with Dustin Penner’s work in the previous game, Saturday against Dallas. Penner’s run of coach-pleasing play did not extend to a second game. Last night, Penner played 18-plus minutes and had four shots on goal but wasn’t really an impact player. (To be fair, hardly any Kings were impact players last night.) After his Feb. 28 trade from Edmonton to the Kings, Penner had two goals and four assists in his first seven games with the Kings. He has now gone nine consecutive games without a point. Murray was asked today about ability to adapt to the Kings since the trade…
MURRAY: “I wish it was further along. I see some hesitancy in his game, in just reading the play without the puck. As an example, the opening faceoff last night. When we lose the faceoff, our F1 on the neutral-zone forecheck is our right winger, and he jumps. So, there are still some issues that have to be corrected, and it’s repetition. That’s what you saw today on the ice, was the different looks on forecheck, breakouts, neutral-zone forechecks, just to try to get the repetitions in practice when we can, so that everybody is on page. There’s times that it’s there and other times, it’s not. The sooner the better.
“The playoffs will be here very quickly. There’s going to be some reads that are not going to be as instinctive as you would like, but in talking about this the other day, it’s about bringing the work. If you bring that, then it all works out. You get through it, and his talent, his ability will be a major contributor to our team once you get through. So, intensity and hard work, to me, is the start point, and as long as that’s there, I can live with the rest right now.”
Penner is a complimentary player, he was brought here to compliment Kopitar, he’s not going to come out and be a savior… I mean we would hope he would be able to fill a void, but he never really has and it’s like everyone is expecting the guy too when he hasn’t done it. More than anything now, the pressure has to be on Smyth and Stoll who need to start scoring, they have been with this team for a while and need to start scoring if we got a chance of making a run.
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Jstin Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
@Randell, You are exactly correct! He is not a superstar and IMO never will be. He is a complimentary play. Look at who played with on the Ducks, they helped put him on the map, not the other way around. He can and will be great but jot playing with players like handzus, moller, simmonds…
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pitty Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
@Randell, I would say if all he is is a complimentary player then he does not belong on the first line. Any first line player should be able to do more than fill in, they should be able to make an impact.
Penner kind of reminds me of Glen Murray a big man that can score at times does not skate well and is afraid to hit their own shadow. I really don’t look forward to a whole year of Dustin Penner.
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Jim Martin Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
@Randell, Murray’s system limits a player offencely. His system has been a failure against good teams. If anybody notices, teams open it up against the Kings. Because the defence is like standing in cement blocks. That is Murray’s style. He is more concerned with goals against than his team scoring. The Kings need to open it up against good teams and depend more on their goal tending. The Kings are more concerned about getting back in a defence position rather than crashing the net and trying to score. His system is good if you have a strong top line that can score and in my opinion the Kings don’t have one even with a healthy Kopitar. If your trying to come from behind, his system completely negates any kind of scoring.
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KindSir Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 7:42 pm
@Jim Martin, Agreed.People are being way too harsh on Penner, and don’t realize that our system also has a part in his lack of scoring. I mean just look at what happened with the Capitals, they went from an offense first system to a defensive minded system, and EVERYONE’s numbers there are down, even Ovie’s. What do people expect from Penner? To somehow overcome our style, and be a scoring machine regardless? Hell, I bet Murray could even take Crosby and turn him into an 85 pt player max lol
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Kenny44 Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
@Randell, Being rational about Penner appears to be a difficult feat. I agree. And how does 4 SOG = no impact? Doesn’t that translate to 72 if the whole team pitched in 4 apiece? Penner’s game is to get SOG. He did that last night. Do people think that Penner “worked hard” for a few games after the trade, when he was scoring, but now just decided to jake it for some reason? I remember his first couple of games and how different Penner played from the rest of our team – filling lanes and give and go passing and plowing through the slot. Did he just decide to stop doing that for S&G, or is he taking instruction about slowing the game down and staying “above the puck”? We’re not getting our surplus D prospect back. I still like the trade. We just need to ratchet down our offensive expectations in this system.
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Oz Reply:
April 6th, 2011 at 8:45 am
@Randell, Agree totally. Murray continues to call out Penner but says nothing to Smyth, Stoll, Doughty, Johnson. All of these guys need to step it up. Murray went out of his way to say after the trade that they didn’t expect Penner to be the savior and now it sounds as though that’s what he wants. He can’t expect that without having Kopi centering that line.
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Can’t wait to see it on a nightly basis from him…we need you Penner! Now more than ever! GKG
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I have faith in you DP, I just want you to learn the system faster and not be so hesitent out there, Alot of us are hoping you can carry the team for awhile and be a contributor next season. Keep plugging away, you’ll be fine.
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“There’s times that it’s there and other times, it’s not”
Isnt this the book on Dustin Penner?
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Penner, wake up! We need you NOW! Get to net and just shoot and create traffic big guy…
Stoll, he has never been good at getting goals and should be a 3rd line center next year and win us those faceoffs.
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TM basicly just said as long as i can see that the guy is trying and giving it 100% he can live bad reads and DP not knowing the system. Thats a get out of jail free card in my book! Hopefully Penner knows how to use it and doesnt try to roll doubles.
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Im hoping hes gonna be the type that is off right now but when playoffs start he will wake up when something is really on the line
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Apparently, it’s more difficult to shake-off 3 years of losing, low expectations, poor results and a grim horizon than most of us imagine.
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Dominick Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
@Capt Jam,
I just got through reading the whole conversation about Brown, and though I’m hopping mad about how Brown’s being used, and don’t agree with your point of view, I didn’t realize that I was beeing harsh with someone who I respect in most other areas of the game.
Except my formal appology, and I’m sorry. I was posting out of frustration.
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With Kopi and Willy hurt, the team is still trying to find that “chemistry” that they had on the 10-game and last 4-game road trips. It usually takes a team about 10-games to get it–but unfortunately the playoffs start after 3 more games. There enough of the “system” intact when they play lesser team, but it REALLY gets exposed when we play the “good” teams (i.e. SJS, VAN). Let’s hope they find it against PHX and ANA, or we’ll really be pulling for CBJ, COL and MIN! Yikes!
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Penner is not going to change – He is overhyped and isn’t that power forward we are looking for to fill the void. I hope I am wrong and I haven’t seem the flashes of brilliance that would lead me to belive he is any but a space filler. The other night he was being interviewed by HA, he was sitting and had a T-shirt on. He isn’t very well built, his arms remind me of a 60 years man’s very gelatinous. He needs to start working out to build some muscle mass. 12oz curls don’t count as working out.
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it’s “going to work” not bringing it…lol
In time Kitsyn will come up and play LW for Smyth….we just need a LW for Penner
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friarking Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
@Paul G, I think Booth would have been a better option, but I think FLA wanted more for him than Edm did with Penner.
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I still believe. I am glad we got DP. Stick around. He will do the job.
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
@Silence Dogood, Well he was there for Kopi and JW didnt expect them to get injury when they got injury he was left alone so am gald we have him maybe next year he will turn out what DL gotten him for
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I quit posting here a couple of months ago as I was sick of my own negative comments about TM and also tired of trying to explain some of my comments that others sometimes were not carefully reading and jumping to conclusions that were incorrect. In reading some of the recent comments about Penner and Moller particulary, I felt compelled to make some comments myself.
I still don’t buy TM as a coach. His brand of hockey, though sometimes effective, is not always conducive to bringing out the best in his players. Does anybody remember the Oscar Moller who first came up to the Kings two or three years ago? He was a fast skating, net driving, hard shooting forward with worlds of potential. Now he plays like a TM robot who is afraid to make a play. He is totally ineffective. Penner looks like a robot who is not properely programmed. TM understands his own system and usually is effective in teaching it but there is a price. That price is sometimes the sacrifice of players potential who could otherwise become better players or the lack of talented players doing something creative.
DL has brought talent into the organization but I believe he’s going down the wrong road with TM. Three forwards who couldn’t make it in TM’s system Moulson, Boyle, and Purcell have scored a combined 70 goals this year on three different teams (two are on playoff bound teams) but couldn’t adapt to this system. Moller is now headed in that direction and Penner is getting nothing done. It’s not TM’s fault that Kopi and JW are both hurt. Those injuries have been a factor in the Kings struggle to score recently but if TM continues to coach his system in this manner then players like Toffoli, and Lokti may meet the same fate as Moulson, Boyle, Purcell and Moller. It should be noted also that players like DD and JJ both seem to have under-achieved this season. DL really needs to take a look at the direction of the development of the young Kings players and be sure he isn’t winning the battle but losing the war.
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OldKingsFan Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
@Crown Royal, Great post – I totally agree. Our power play isn’t creative it’s dump and chase or they put on a passing drill. We have some very talented players that are not allowed to play they seem to be going through the motions. Even with AK and JW we were not an offensive power house.
The future is going to be interesting. We have a lot of taleted offensive player in the pipeline. How we use it is another story.
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JoeKing Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
@Crown Royal,
can’t disagree with. I’ll add (though it’s not news) even with Kopi and JW we weren’t scoring goals. TM’s system keeps opponents goals low, yes. We’re to be happy to win by a goal in regulation, overtime or shootout. I was hoping our Kings would pick up their game after Kopi’s tragedy. Handzus, Smyth, Brown, Lewis have responded. Doughty’s a loose cannon. Has been all year. Prayin’ for miracles at this point. GKG!
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dMan Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
@Crown Royal, you bring up some good points, but overall I disagree with the assertion that Murray’s system is not a good one; proof is when the players execute, they dominate defensively and offensively. We have seen evidence of this time and again. And yes, every team has these stinkers. Unfortunately, Kings fans lose all perspective when the Kings lose whether by one or 5 goals.
Murray’s system has expanded over the years as both the players absorb and the team’s talent pool increases, but I wouldn’t say it makes robots out of players. Murray is trying to instill a system that becomes second nature to players that’s why he pushes these repetitions. Some of the players, mostly the new guys Penner and Moller are still struggling with it which is normal. And to his credit Murray is patient, nurturing and understanding.
All great teams start with a defense first mentality, it’s what wins championships. This team has a great defensive corps but the offensive talent is still missing key pieces. There’s no way you can compare the offensive talent on this team with a Detroit or a Vancouver or a Pittsburgh. This becomes even more glaring when key talent like Kopitar and Williams are out. But that also doesn’t mean that the Kings can’t compete – it just takes a lot more effort at this stage of the team’s growth considering the talent and the relative youth.
As Murray gets a better pool of offensive talent, you’ll see the system tweaked again to allow the talent to flourish. The team’s just not there yet. Not yet! But close.
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neil Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
@Crown Royal, I would add Poni to the list…a 20 goal scorer who is a nothing right now..
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klepto Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
@neil, yeah, but at least Poni throughs his weight around and makes an effort. Penner plays with almost no intensity whatsoever.
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klepto Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
@klepto, I meant throws, not throughs
friarking Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
@klepto, He looks like he’s playing tag out there but can’t catch anyone.
Player-X Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
@Crown Royal, Sorry you repeat the, for me, very tired argument about TM “dulling” otherwise sharp players with his style. I mean, I know what you are saying, but really the fact is that Murray has a preferred style, and some can play it and some cannot; this does not make Murray’s system worthy of condemnation alone. All coaches have a system, a style, and all coaches have styles that suit some player’s skill sets better than others. This is just a fact; some skill sets fit some systems, some don’t. Bashing Murray as if he alone has a system that doesn’t suit some players is just invalid, dude, it is just not fair. I think the truth is that Murray’s system and style is not your personal favorite, but that does not mean it is ineffective. The numbers are good for this team, and they get better every year. Scoring is down, but that is more from personnel than style, and personnel is Lombardi’s job. My opinion is that Murray has done wonders with what he had to work with, and has brought a team together that plays well at playoff style hockey. It’s not run-and-gun of the 80′s, but it is effective in winning games in today’s NHL.
Also, welcome back, I remember your signoff, glad it was temporary. I don’t always agree with you, but I do think you have a clear voice and reasoned opinions.
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Crown Royal Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
@Player-X,
I agree with you that the “system” can be effective. You’re right I do prefer a system that doesn’t slow down the play and opts for more creative options. Think Detroit. I know people will say that we don’t have PD, HZ, or NL as the Wings have, but my point is that I don’t believe those players would have developed under a coach like TM to be the players they are today.
My concern is about the development of talented players for the long run. I don’t think many Kings fans would be happy with the development, or lack thereof, regarding players like Moller, DD and JJ this season. Quick and Bernier have benefited from this system which has been a plus.
The development of the next generation of players is key to the Kings building a dynasty. I still maintain that TM, his system, and his assistants (Kompon) are not the answer.
Thanks for the response to my original post.
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Being lost is better than being gassed. I still think the latter is an issue and that Penner will benefit from a Kings off=season.
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Lots of excuse making for Penner I could accept just about anything from him at this point, except lack of effort. Unfortunately, that is exactly what I see when I watch him. I will repeat what I said a few days ago – if a guy traded from a crappy team to a contender in the midst of a frantic playoff push cannot find it within himself to give it his all, is he really the kind of player/individual you want on your team? Maybe he will do something to change my mind, but at this point my answer is a resounding NO.
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I have seen Pens give up on a play on more then one occasion.Its like telling your young kid to stay on the puck and not give up on the play.Have a heart and your legs ahould follow.
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