Here’s my LAKings.com game story for tonight, with stats and video included. Thanks for reading…
Kings lose to Sharks 3-2 in overtime
The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow at 1:45 p.m. in San Jose.
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well put, RICH…
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A lot of positives despite the loss. The Kings may be outmatched on paper, but they showed a lot of grit and heart, and this goes a long way both for this series and for the young players as this franchise matures.
Justin Williams, can’t say enough about his game tonite. He single-handedly made this team that much tougher to play against in this series. Great game! Let’s keep it going and put some pucks in the net in game two and for the rest of the playoffs…
GO KINGS GO!
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Great Job.
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OFF TOPIC: Anyone watching the game replay on Fox Sports West?
I understand that the broadcast needs to be edited (especially with OT), but they went to commercial just after the Delay of Game call (13:51), before we get the PP goal to tie it 1-1, and come back when the score is already 2-2 (2:43).
WTF? They edit out our only two goals? Seriously??
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 1:23 am
@LittleRhody, I don’t know why they try to edit a game to two hours. I’ve seen other sports networks edit them to 2 1/2 hours, and that makes a lot more sense…besides, I think they should be more flexible for overtime games in the playoffs. They really end up hacking games up. Fortunately for me, they’ve been on Versus so far, and if they win Saturday, maybe we’ll get to see the whole series on Versus (even if listening to the San Jose homers did make me want to puke.)
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mash-ola Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 1:34 am
@LittleRhody, Yeah, I noticed that too… talk about buzzkill, eh? That sucks! Bad enough the Kings lost, bad enough I’m still up watching as if the result is going to be different. But to move forward in the b’cast without even showing the goals… That’s downright un-American!
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I am sure other people have already mentioned this, but… Do we bring up Schenn if Stoll gets suspended? I would prefer not to, but the alternative would be Moller who I do not think is ready for tough playoff hockey.
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Stoll should not be suspended, the guy was low and in a bad position, all Stoll did is complete a clean check. Why would he intentionally risk suspension in a critical time for this team.
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Probably Stoll will get a game suspension. A very good reason why it’s such a shame they didn’t get this game. Will be doubly hard already having no depth at center to get the next one if they lose Stoll. Other than that the Kings did play very well after the first period.
Still unfortunate that seemingly no one of the forwards other than the two most predictable ones (DB -JW) can make a play.
Poni, Penner, Smyth, Simmer. Someone needs to remember what it’s like to score.
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Doughtey lost this game for us, no matter how I look at it. He played horrible and took bs penalties and always tries to make a highlight reel play instead of playing solid Defense! Simmonds was awful as well. Leave Penner on the 4th line where he belongs. Poni is playing harder out there than him. Quick stood on his head tonight, and we still lost. Why is Clifford out there fighting when we got Westgarth in the lineup!!??? Come on Westy, go eat some Sharks on saturday! Williams is the man!! Best player we had on the ice. We need to take the next game boys!!!
GO KINGS GO
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D-Dog Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 10:42 am
@Rob,
Totally agree with your comments about Doughty. Gotta play physical but not reckless. I thought Penner was a joke too. He was gliding way too much and his checks were a joke. I hope Murray can light a fire under him before Saturday.
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By the way, credit must go where it is due…. was really impressed with the quality of a lot of the teams passing. Much of it was crisp and they kept the puck moving and going forward. Far better work than the last games of the season vs. the Ducks.
Only criticism must go to Doughty. Loads of talent. No question, but he tried to do too much at the end of the game thereby taking the interference penalty, and there is a time and place (position on the ice) for hip checks and last nights attempt on Couture wasn’t one of them.
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Shakes Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 5:25 am
@number 6,
that’s a good call, a lot of hard stick to stick passes out of the zone especially – really impressive
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Kings showed a lot of heart and more importantly they showed the hockey world that that can indeed play at the Sharks level or higher. Tough loss but the character of this team has shown resiliency before. Heck yeah they can win this series. GKG!!!
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By the way I’ve watched a decent number of hockey games in my time, but is it just me or did that game have the NHL record for number of players randomling falling while skating? It felt like it was happening to both teams every few minutes
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Marty's Knuckles Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 7:43 am
@Shakes,
I thought that too. Maybe HP Pavilion ice is like the parkay floor the Celtics used to have. Talk about home court advantage.
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puckpoker Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 10:39 am
@Marty’s Knuckles, No, I noticed this as well. Ice blows in SJ.
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As much as I’m disappointed with the outcome, it’s hard to be disappointed in the play of the Kings last night. They get down early and things look bleak, but they battled the whole night.
I can’t say enough about JW. He was the best player on the ice for both teams last night. He went hard after every puck and made things happen. He’s such a good hockey player.
And then of couse there’s the anti-JW DUSTIN PENNNER!
I have to go back a ways and find a player I can’t stand as much as Penner. He sucked during the regular season for us, and was just as lousy last night. He gets demoted to the 4th line..well deserved. Next stop is the press box.. Westgarth played better than he did. what a waste!
By the way, I thought Westy did a pretty good job all night. He earned his ice time.
Quick played well, but the 2nd goal was pretty lame. That puck has to be stopped. He sill played a good game in goal. He wasn’t the reason we lost.
Simmer played well. He did hold the puck a little too long at times, but he was trying to make things happen. He was moving his feet all night…
I don’t think that Stoll will get suspended. the player kind of put himself in the position to get hit in the head. He went low and Stoll had nothing to hit but the head. It certainly didn’t look intentional. I’ll be pretty pissed off if he gets any kind of suspension.
There were just a lot of good things that the Kings did last night to get down on them. I think this is going to be a long series and I expect the Kings to win the series.
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number 6 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 6:23 am
@nykingfan,
Good morgan. Yeah, what can you say. They were really good, and JW was unbelievable. Wish I could say the same for DD. He wasn’t bad….. but he really showed a lack of shall we call it ‘mature thinking’ at a few key moments.
Fortunately for him (or not – for our sleep back east) they could have lost on the SJ PP at the end of the game. Trying to do too much!!
I’m not joking here….. I have to Look for Penner on the tele. I mean, you see most of the other guys. DL probably is not a happy camper wrt to our Penney. I also for one have doubts about his relationship wrt to the rest of the room.
He seems like a loner. Boy would I (we, they, DL) love to have just that 1st round pick back.
I have to say that when you look at many elements the Kings seem to be a better team then they were last year at playoff time considering there was no Kopi. The only dropoff – well, make that dropoffs would be the PP and the play of Doughty.
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nykingfan Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 6:37 am
@number 6,
Good morning man
I agree about DD. He has to be a little smarter than he was. It was an offensive zone penalty with 2 min to play in regulation of a tie game. earlier this season we killed Poni for taking that stupid penalty at the end of regulation….It didn’t cost us either way, but you never know whether we could have won in regulation.
I’m not sure what it is with him, but I expect a different player come next season. This has been a difficult one for him.
I’m beyond pissed with Penner. If he’s not an outcast in the room, he should be. Every guy is dropping blood on the ice for the team, except him. He’s out for a public skate most nights. I thought with the playoffs and having a clean slate that things would turn around. Not even close in game 1.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him a healthy scratch on Saturday. People can’t even argue with him sitting and Westy playing…So disappointing. I thought the trade was a steal. Just not for Edmonton.
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number 6 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 6:56 am
@nykingfan,
You put a smile on my face with this one… ‘I thought the trade was a steal. Just not for Edmonton.’
Not because I’m happy about it, but because it’s funny (in a MASH sort of way).
btw, two more things…
1) Eventually it was SJ’s depth up front the made the difference (Heatley, Couture, Pavelski). Two 30 goals scorers and Pavelski a proven playoff performer. Kings still have to count on Brownie and JW for O.
That makes it difficult and I expect DL to deal with this down the road (hopefully sooner rather than later).
2) Tell ya something. Before the 2008? draft when Rich posted interviews with players. DD made me nervous. Thats the truth. Of course I changed my mind after seeing him play, but there was rather a lack of maturity in him comments that concerned me. To me, that’s what I saw last night. His Mind needs to catch up with his natural talent. I think it’s just a question of maturity that will eventually come around.
number 6 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 6:57 am
@nykingfan,
sorry for the typo….. in His comments
- ViC - Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 7:40 am
@nykingfan, very well said
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Dan H. Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 7:55 am
@nykingfan,
It was a great playoff game. Without Quick standing on his head though there would be no OT.
Clifford should have won it in regulation..that line needs some finish. They’re all over the ice but not one of the three is a finisher unfortunately.
Justin Williams is a beast. He’s the MVP on this team from start to finish. I know Kopi had more points but nobody has played better all season and with more heart than JW. I’m glad he’s ours for 3 more after this.
Drew…you played well but use your head man.
Simmonds…when you’re the last man back and Martinez overskates you gotta get that deep man. Good effort by Martinez getting back just too late.
Overall a good game by the guys. Penner wasn’t as bad as people here are making out but still not standing out. He should be playing with Williams heart in that big body.
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number 6 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:24 am
@Dan H.,
Dan… nice post. Honestly though, for a guy you’ve given up a first round pick plus a player who was a first rounder as well, who is earning what he is…. and Thats what you get? It’s not good enough.
Even if he had been playing the last twenty games on the 3rd line, two goals in twenty games is rather sad. And obviously he hasn’t been playing on the 3rd line… until last night. 4th actually, but who’s counting.
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Dan H. Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:27 am
@number 6,
I agree that it’s dissapointing and he should be doing more. I’m just saying he’s not God awful and much like JMFJ, Fro, or whoever is the whipping boy at that point in time he’s getting more than he deserves. That being said I expected a lot more out of him but the knock on him when we got him was that he plays when he wants to…so he’s a lot like Fro who the team jettisoned last year.
Quick is…….idk, he makes extraordinary saves and then let’s in softies ITS SO FRUSTRATING
I’d start Bernier
Consistency > Sporadic-ness
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Dan H. Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:29 am
@Paul G,
Are you saying Pavelski’s goal was a softie?
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tornado12 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 9:17 am
@Dan H., not at all, but that second goal def was! look the game was not lost because of quick, but as people have alluded to, this series will be won or lost on his play. He needs to be better!
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Very happy with the game last night. Proud of the guys. We didn’t win but it was much, much different from the way they’d played since Kopi went down.
Good TM! Way to demote Penner. He does not respond to talking apparently. No need to have him dragging down the other lines.
Go Kings!
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Thank you to the kings players and coaching staff. You played one heck of a game. Very proud to be a Kings fan. Great Job boys! Keep it up.
GO KINGS GO!!!
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Penner the overtime game is over and we lost. Just thinking out loud here, but do you think you can help us out a little. Every player in the locker room spilled blood on the ice last night. If you never wanted to play on a playoff team, why didn’t you say so. Really we need your size and skill in the middle. Believe me you will get hit, but it’s hockey. You know, the game you have played your whole life. Also the game that pays you 4+ million a year. If there is one thing to learn in life— You earn a living, not relaxs a living.
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nykingfan Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:00 am
@kinginsaltlake,
I remember when the trade was first made and listening to Penner’s comments. he certainly didn’t seem thrilled to be going to a contender. I thought it was just me reading into it a little too much, but it sure seems like he wishes he was still in Edmonton..or back home in LA watching the playoffs.
Oh wait, that’s what he was doing on the ice!
I didn’t realize we traded for a hairy Frolov!
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I couldn’t stay up beyond the 1st (which horrified me), but after reading and watching highlights you’ve got a lot of positives to take from this game. Helene Elliot said it best, “Sharks depth outdoes Kings determination.” Grit can only get you so far, you need some skill. The Kings did as best they could. Williams was huge, obviously.
Great effort, the Kings gave as much as they could and stood toe-to-toe with an elite team. Very proud of the effort. Love Clifford’s fight in the 1st. No backing down! Take the positives into Saturday.
Penner should be a healthy scratch on Saturday, and needs a “tough love” talking to from DL in the off season. I can’t blame DL for the trade, it sounded great at the time. I just didn’t know Penner was such a head case.
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Saturday is going to be very interesting.
The Kings are going to have to play even harder to bring the series back to Staples at 1-1.
Sheriff Murray, “You’re gonna need a bigger game.”
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No reason to hang your head boys, that was a great showing. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this series, but that was one of the grittiest efforts I have seen. Get em in Game 2. You the man Willy.
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crazy move of the year..Playing Westy in the 3rd and in overtime.Yes he played well but its relative.We get excited if he gets a shot off….The third line and the 4th with Westy on it…just no scoring at all. With needing a goal to win,the 3rd and 4th line just isnt going to do it.
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fsd1 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:01 am
@neil, westie had his bast game, that 4th line did exactly what it was supposed to do. Kudos to TM for playing them in the 3rd.
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fsd1 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:01 am
@fsd1, best
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tornado12 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 9:19 am
@fsd1, i have to strongly agree. Westie played well and created some chances. Its sad to say, but he played better then our supposed #1 LW
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Living in San Jose, we only get a few games per year in. Last night we scored last-minute (literally) tickets and found the arena to be the most Kings-hostile that I’ve ever seen. There were so few Kings fans in attendance. Far, far less than most games.
My observations;
- Williams presence made a huge difference
- Doughty should have known that he lost the angle on Couture with the missed hip check.
- Clifford appears to have stepped it up a notch
- This one is huge, Penner flat out doesn’t skate. I play adult hockey and recognize this behavior from a lot of players. He only puts in effort when it comes to play in the offensive zone. Otherwise he almost never skates at full speed. There isn’t another King on the ice who puts in the half-a’d effort that he does. Sad really.
We took a lot of verbal abuse last night, but I’m looking to score some more last minute tickets tomorrow night.
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number 6 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 7:58 am
@ViperHockey,
I think everyone is a bit astonished that he could be so poor. Seeing that, it’s no surprise that he had a rough time with the Edmonton press at the beginning. You can’t always trust reputations, but often I guess you can.
Not sure A) what the Kings will do w him next year and B) where his career will go after next year. Fortunately that’s his problem, not mine.
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Stuart Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:20 am
@number 6, unfortunately, in the meantime, it’s OUR problem
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number 6 Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:28 am
@Stuart,
Yeah, bummer huh! DL has generally made such good transactions (not all perfect, but most of them quite good). But to see this, I mean what must DL be thinking now? Probably what you said above. It’s OUR problem…. what the h…. do we do?
Alot of heart last nite on most of the kings. Hated to loose but they showed up and I feel can beat the guppies in this series. QUESTION??????????? Did Penner play last nite. Wait he was suited up but didnt play. What a waste of a uniform. Get rid of him DL.
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We played pretty good last night- just a shame Richardson couldn’t find that puck to put in the empty net. And the song Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio- just substitute Dustin Penner’s name in there
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By the way, where are all the TM bashers this morning? He’s a great coach and coached the right game for yesterday.
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pr0cess Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:20 am
@Shakes, i never bashed the old man, just am not sure if he is the man for the job. Lets see if he stays tough on penner
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Shakes Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 8:30 am
@pr0cess,
Agree on Penner – let’s see how it goes.
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If we’re seeing the best game that Penner’s got, I see no reason to stop Lombardi from shipping him off to, oh, I don’t know, the Panthers? Any place far away from snow and cold. He’d be happier I’m sure.
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King John Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 9:57 am
@IceGuy, Actually, Penner wants to go back to the snow because that’s where all his friends are—in Edmonton. I wish we had a healthy Parse instead. It would’ve been much better.
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D-Dog Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 10:50 am
@King John,
I say Manchester
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It was the JW show last night…best player on the ice for both teams. Character..you can’t teach that…something Penner should take notice of.
Westy…best game he’s played in a Kings uniform. Kudos to TM for sticking with this guy when everyone was writing him off.
Poni, Richardson and Clifford….great game… all three really stepped up and made things happen.
DD and Penner were the only two who really need to step up their games. DD took too many chances and they cost us.
Penner….what else can you say that hasn’t already been said. I will add this…bad habits (playing on a last place team all year) are hard to break. I think playing with Lewis and Westy is a good fit right now, that line can actually put in some solid minutes if they keep playing the way they did last night. Penner just doesn’t have the confidence yet, or hasn’t bought into TM’s system…may not happen until he gets a full season under his belt…still very disappointing.
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Considering what all the “experts” were saying before this game about thow the Sharks were gonna roll the Kings, it makes me feel proud how the boys played, they came so close to winning (grrrr Richie, you had the open net!)
Just a couple of observations here.
The Kings were able to hang with the Sharks and it seems they were in the Sharks zone for most of the game, just couldn’t finish.
Once again, shots taken, shots missed.
Drew Doughty, if you’re going to make that hip check, you better damn well make sure you have the angle. You can’t be taking chances like that in the playoffs. And Quick, after that, you HAVE to make that save.
Unfortunate hit by Jarret Stoll. Everyone knows JS isn’t that kind of a player.
Penner-ugh Westie played better
Shark’s fans-enough allready. What are you? At a little league game?
All in all, the Kings played a great game after the first 10 minutes or so. Game 2 is pretty much a must win though.
This is all just my humble opinion.
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Good effort last night, and JW is a beast what can I say. Now just imagine how well we could do if Penner actually broke a sweat and Doughty didn’t play horribly! I was very disappointed in Penner that was a pathetic effort I’m not a coach or anything but the consensus is in, start playing or get the hell off our team.
Who almost soiled themselves when Westgarth almost netted the game winer in OT? That woulda been sooo awesome!!
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My observations:
The Kings played their kind of game, but with much better passing than recent (as Number 6 noted, this has been missing for a while) and so were able to battle the Sharks even. That kind of effort can win this series.
The difference between the Kings and the top teams: Having guys like Pavelski who can make a skilled, perfect shot when they have the chance. Most of the Kings would have taken his opportunity and shot it wide or into the goalies pads. You just have to have some guys with sniper skills, and they Kings dont have that yet.
I was surprised at all the negative comments about Simmonds here. I thought he played well, and the ‘mistake’ he made at the end was because, unlike a lot of the forwards, he actually TRIES to bring the puck to the middle or cross-ice to generate a scoring chance. IF you want the offense to show some creativity (and the dump-and-chase system the team usually employs gets bashed here constantly, including by me) you have to take some risks. The unfortunate thing was Martinez fell, otherwise it’d have been just another foiled offensive try. Simmonds’ line was excellent creating havoc all night, as usual.
Penner- ugh.
Westy played okay, tho he does get gassed quickly and was useless when his line was trapped on the ice a couple of times. He needs to get on and get off. The team needs the 4th line to be able to contribute 8 -10 decent minutes in playoff games, so pace yourself, Westy.
Quick was stellar. People here expect him to be flawless, for some reason. You’d think fans of a team that rarely ever has a great goalie would be content with one as good as him, but I guess not.
The series is still up for grabs, GKG!
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Stuart Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 9:39 am
@bbb7, our lack of a sniper will be our demise, in this or any other series.
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I thought they were going to lay a turd and die, which has been characteristic of so many Kings teams in big games, but credit goes to them for playing the way they needed to. If they limit their turnovers against a tough Sharks team that’s exceptional at creating odd-man rushes, they might stand a chance.
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Kings need to watch the films on the last game….have to tighten up the defense and not allow anyone by themself in front of the net. They had there chances but did not put the puck into the net. Keep the pressure on the Sharks and keep them on their heels. Coach Murray needs to start getting into Doughty’s face and explain to him how to be a more discipline defenseman (makes too many mistakes ). Take the same game plan in game 2 but with more discipline and bury that puck. Dustin Brown gets the fist star in game one..Williams gets the second…and Quick gets the third…
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