There a couple things we know about the Kings’ Game 5 lineup. Scott Parse is going in. Kevin Westgarth is staying in. The unit of Kyle Clifford, Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds is the only one that will remain intact. Otherwise, it’s a free-for-all. On the fourth line, it’s reasonable to assume that Terry Murray will choose from between either Jarret Stoll or Oscar Moller at center and from between either Alexei Ponikarovsky or Dustin Penner on left wing. Here’s what Murray said today about making wholesale changes…
MURRAY: “It’s not something that is an over-reaction to anything. The fact is, we’ve given up 12 goals in the last two games here at home. The goals against are self-inflicted, in my view, and we need to make a change. We need to get everybody’s attention to the detail part of the game, the checking part of the game. San Jose has a good hockey club. They have three lines that are as good as any three lines in the NHL. So if we’re going to have success against them, and whenever we do have success against them, we’re playing a solid game, everybody is on page, doing the right things with the puck, and whenever we lose possession of the puck we recover and we have good defensive posture. So that has been a breakdown many times in those 12 goals against, and I need to get their attention and we need to make some changes as a result.”
Question: Does Westgarth come out, then? Or Penner?
MURRAY: “I don’t know what it’s going to be yet, but Westgarth will not be out. He has played well. He’s playing an important role. I’ll keep him in the lineup. … I haven’t decided on what the fourth line is going to be. I’m not even going to call it the fourth line. Right now, with the way we’re set up, we need four lines playing. They need to play well and they need to play properly, the right way on the checking side of the game especially. I want to roll those lines and just play a good tempo game.”
Before Murray gave his thoughts to reporters, Penner spoke briefly and said, of today’s changes, “Every coach does that, especially when things aren’t going well.”
No signs of desparation here…
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Slim Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 8:15 pm
@Capt Jam, None at all..
Supreme confidence comes to mind..
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y sit out our best Faceoff guy
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justlu Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:37 pm
@KingsFanFTW,
weren’t you saying last night that stoll needs to be benched? you said he was bad luck and now you want him in the line up ? which one is it ?
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tantrum4 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
@justlu,
Burn
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
@justlu, ok yea i was joking on that come on really he should be bench for a theory bad luck come on really
he our best faceoff winning guy and we going to sit him out
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BluLiner Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
@KingsFanFTW,
worked pretty well in game two.
bfarm Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:18 pm
@bluliner,
^ agree
USHA#17 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:52 pm
@KingsFanFTW,
I would think Parse would be a more interesting topic then Stoll
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Why would you sit Stoll when he was missed on face offs won during his suspension?
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Whodawat Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:35 pm
@Harry, because the only game we’ve won so far is the one Stoll wasn’t in *sarcasm*
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Jeremy Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:36 pm
@Harry, we also blew them out at home and scored 4 goals. it’s a coin flip. if we were really missing that much we would’ve seen the difference in the score.
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sd Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
@Harry,
You mean the game where we won 4-0? Yes, we obviously missed him a lot. Not saying I would leave him out, but we can obviously play well without him.
Personally, I’d got back to the game 2 lines with Stoll in for Westgarth. Westy has been fine, but we need some extra speed and skill right now, not size.
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Danielle Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@Harry,
Because his face off percentage has sucked since he got back, so it isn’t like anything has changed int hat regard
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Westgarth must have majored in Hypnotism at Princeton because Terry Murray is under his spell.
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Belexes Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:35 pm
@Capt Jam,
Or maybe he’s earned a spot on the 4th line by being one of the players that carried out his role effectively?
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Capt Jam Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:37 pm
@Belexes,
Maybe. Not as funny, but maybe.
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nking11 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@Capt Jam,
I’d say just as funny, cuz Belexes just stated an unfunny opinion and yours was just not funny.. So both equally unfunny. sorry to burst your bubble
Capt Jam Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:21 pm
@Capt Jam,
My secretary laughed (and she’s Kings fan). On the other hand, Performance Eval season is right around the corner…
pitty Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:37 pm
@Belexes, Thank You
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linny Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:57 pm
@Belexes, hahaHa…nobody played effectively in the last two games
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EmptyTank Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:00 pm
@Capt Jam,
It’s not hypnotism. Westgarth has indeed played his role very well in this series in my opinion.
I would also say that of ALL the Kings players, Westgarth is the one player who has consistently elevated his game since Kopitar went down. I wasn’t a fan of his at all before Kop’s injury. To be frank, I was hoping we’d dump him in the off season. However what I’ve seen of him since then has shown me that he has another level that is within reach. He may just evolve into a thug who isn’t a liability, kinda like Parros was his first couple seasons with the dux.
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Capt Jam Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:18 pm
@EmptyTank,
Westgarth is the player with the highest ceiling to improve, so, of course, he would elevate the most. Could it have gotten worse? Perhaps.
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Cristobal Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
@EmptyTank,
I have to disagree. Who has Westgarth taken off the ice a la Nochols last night?
Has he made Clowe or Murray or Eager pay a price?
He has skating ability but I just don’t see much of an impact.
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Duckbasher Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 11:13 am
@Cristobal,
RIGHT ON!
poe Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:40 pm
@EmptyTank, It’s not hard to elevate from less than nothing to a pond hockey player. Rewmember Murray last year with his infatuation with Randy Jones? What did he do in the playoffs?????Penalties!!!!Westgarth is his doppelgink.
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snbrdsummit Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:20 pm
@EmptyTank,
Call me when he starts generating scoring opportunities. I agree he’s playing better, but like everyone else said, it’s not hard to improve when kids with physical disabilities can outskate you.
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Darrell Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:43 am
@snbrdsummit, To be completely fair, he almost got the game-winner in game 1.
Ummm….in all likelihood this is too little too late.
We have some skill guys potentially sitting? Why don’t we roll 4 lines? Eager plays 1 shift per game. I don’t think Westgarth is needed at this point.
Roll 4 lines confidently.
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bikey1277 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:06 pm
@deelo,
Westgarth is not needed at any point. Maybe put him in the line up for a few games only, so that Clifford doesn’t have to fight Scott and the likes.
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“Every coach does that, especially when things aren’t going well.”
What, every coach considers benching Penner?
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Paul G Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:23 pm
@Belexes, Every coach is better than him apparently
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Slim Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 8:22 pm
@Belexes, Murray wouldn’t be the 1st coach to bench him..
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Darrell Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:46 am
@Belexes, Even coaches on other teams.
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They should leave Penner in LA when they go up to SJ. The guy is completely useless. Not sure what is problem is but a pylon would be more effective than he is. What a waste of salary.
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So…..Terry, let me understand…………You are upset about our defense, & yet you put Parse in, who hasn’t played in months, & is nothing but an offensive player? A player who’s offensive skills, after months on the sideline, is really going to do the trick???? And now I guess, Stoll is in your doghouse too.
Sorry, TM, you’re a nice guy & all, but you’re seriously making BEYOND ridiculous moves at this point.
Why not, just change goalies??? It’s not like you are putting in Eric Ersberg.
The WORST part of all this is TM will be back next year & probably w/ Kompon too, Lombardi will assume our failures to i,prove this year were just b/c Kopitar got hurt……How convenient for AEG/LIEweekly…..
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Sammuch Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:39 pm
@dahack11, Here here!
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gmo Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:49 pm
@dahack11,
i truly hope you are wrong….i hope tm or kompon are not back next year but they will
sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:53 pm
@dahack11,
1): Has NOT been Quick’s fault;
2): If one of the defensive problems on your team is that one of your top 6 forwards won’t back-check (because he gets about as excited to back-check as he would if he were about to be audited by the IRS) AND you plan to sit him out of your lineup, THEN you replace that top 6 forward with another top 6 forward, if you can…
–Parse is all the Kings have, without raiding the AAA club, which has a great deal more chance to advance to the next round than the Kings…
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dahack11 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:03 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy, but our problem has not been lack of scoring “bako”…..
Bench Penner? I’m fine w/ that. But Parse who hasn’t played in moths & must be rusty, & has NEVER been known as a backchecker????
It’s like selling my my used car w/ 50,000 miles for another used car w/ 50,000 miles on it & expecting better performance b/c it has a new paint job.
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RobSD Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:41 pm
@dahack11,
I’d rather have the same POS with new paint. So even if he get’s the same result, he will look better because he is actually trying… ie paint. Penner is a faded sun stained coat of primer. He looks horrible and performs as bad. I’ll take an Earl Schibe 189 dollar paint job over that anytime.
linny Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:59 pm
@dahack11, perfect!
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Additionally, we were down 5-2 with most of the 3rd period to go, yet Westgarth continued to get a regular shift. I couldn’t help but think Murray had thrown in the towel instead of getting his best guys out there to score some goals and make a game of it.
5-2 and 17 minutes to go is NOT an insurmountable lead.
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pitty Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:40 pm
@deelo, I think you meant to say Penner continued to get a regular shift
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deelo Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
@pitty, I just don’t get the Westgarth love. I have never seen an enforcer get so much ice time when it is on the line. He played in the OT both times we were there….I just don’t get it.
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EmptyTank Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:06 pm
@deelo,
Though I commented a couple of post above in support of Westgarth, I will say here that I agree with you on these posts. I see Westgarth’s potential, but he still should only be seeing less than two minutes in the 3rd last night and in the OT’s.
… but he did have a good chance to be the game one hero, so he was doing something right.
deelo Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:46 pm
@pitty, I am not trying to bash Westgarth at all. I am just questioning his ice time management.
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:55 pm
@deelo,
Westgarth has been closer to scoring than Penner.
The fact that I’m not kidding says as much about Penner as it does about Westgarth.
For the next game, reading between the lines, DP will be sat…
Derek Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:28 pm
@deelo, BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy That goal westgarth almost got that would have got the first assist from penne
DT679 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@deelo, Agree 100% with that statement. Even the Sharks admittedly shortened their bench when they were down by 4 and look what happened…they came back. Putting out your 4th line 2 or 3 times over the next 5 shifts is not going to get you back in the game.
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gmo Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:50 pm
@deelo,
im suprised too…………….the shark coach shorten his bench when it matter most…..he had his most skill and dangerous guys playing more minutes and the 4th line did not see much if any ice time.
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nykingfan Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:13 pm
@deelo,
best who?
The only “best” we had as the Ritchie/Simmer/Clifford line
That’s just not good enough
If Westy was out there taking shifts away from the us/Brown/Penner line, good for TM
That line was and has been useless. Not a good thing for your #1 line.
Your 2nd line is centered by Stoll who hasn’t played a decent game yet..even his faceoffs have been subpar.
So why should Westy have been benched ?
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Cristobal Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:54 pm
@nykingfan,
Are you criticising Brown?
I think he’s played well and is THE most consistent King.
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Jadedtool Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:44 pm
@deelo, I honestly think that TM doesn’t know what to do. That’s why he constantly changes his lines. He keeps shuffling until it appears something has clicked. When it does, he has the false Label of being a great coach. Good luck with the coin flip coaching technique Terry! It better pay off soon!
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I hope parse is in playoff shape to play! But hey, why not, can not be any worse then it is now!
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Funny before the playoffs some where happy that they wouldn’t be seeing Westy during these games, and I said “don’t be too sure”. He hasn’t hurt us, but he hasn’t added enough to justify playing him in an elimination game either. Oh well! good luck tomorrow night Westy.
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Belexes Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
@Dominick,
was thinking the same thing about the Hockey “experts” saying that there isn’t fighting in the post season, and KW wouldnt see any playoff action. He has, and there have been quite a few fights (8) in the first round of playoffs so far.
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:56 pm
@Belexes, @Domninick,
Know what? Wouldn’t be surprised if he scored on Saturday…
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Dominick Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:25 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy,
If there’s a bigger time for Westy to come through with a goal, that will be it. I do think he’s played better, just not at the level that justifies putting him in the line up.
It’s almost like saying I’m not going to use any of my other options like calling a time out when the other team has seized momentum and is dominating my team, or pull my goalie to try and tie it up when we’re down 3 goals and have a 5 on 3, or even play a more rounded player with the season on the line, because we’re going to lose anyways.
Erik4Kings Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 10:17 am
@Belexes,
8 fights is not a lot. There have been what, at least 5 games a series now? So…8 series multiplied by 5 games is 40 games and 8 fights?
That is not quite a few. That is basically bare minimum fighting by NHL standards. Go to hockeyfights.com and look at any day in the NHL this season. Try and find a day with 4 games with less than 5 fights.
The playoffs have been much more hockey, a lot less fighting and a lot more post whistle “scuffling.”
Point of this ramble…Westgarth is not necessary. Yes not a detriment, but not a plus.
Poni & Stoll need to stay in. They have shown more consistency all season. And their top level perfromance potential is higher any game for them than Westgarth any day…
I have hated Murray since the day we hired him. He is mediocre at best. He is just lucky he has been around hockey almost as long as the Cup itself, so he is in with all the right people to get recycled around the league.
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Belexes Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
@Erik4Kings,
The number of regulas season games with fights this season was 37%. When I made my post above, there had been 24% of playoff games with fights in them.
My point was, and still is acurate. Many on this site said Weaty wouldn’t suit up because of no fighting in the playoffs, and they were wrong on both counts.
I’ve been saying it for a while now; put in Jim Fox, get Gretzky and his new sketchers out there, and put Bob “big balls” Miller in goal. Screw it I’m die hard and love my Kings but I’m also a realist, I witnessed first hand our demise in the first home game, and it crushed me to know that was the turning point.
Rich maybe you can lace em up, also, and be a fourth line center. Anyone is better than Penner I know he’s improved, but it’s all about results, and no points means no chicken dinner!!
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nking11 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:42 pm
@nking11,
and I do realize Penner isn’t a center
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:08 pm
@nking11, Ill lace them up! Im actually a pretty damn good skater if i do say so myself. cant say that about puck handling but id giver it a shot(and it would be on net)
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I agree with taking Penner out of the lineup, but Stoll is the only guy who can win us a faceoff.Parse can at least forecheck and backcheck, Penner does niether. Let’s get back to Kings Hockey and stop the nonsense with giving up 6 goals a game.I hope we continue with our strong play away from Staples.I was at game three and it was crazy loud in Staples, too bad we choked. The fans at Staples deserve better.Let’s get game 5 and give the fans at Staples another chance. Let’s go boys!
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IceGuy Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:34 pm
@King without a crown,
I’m going to back the Bench Penner movement, for my own selfish reason.
I had really given up any hope of winning Game 5 in SJ, but then I thought, what an excellent public punishment for Penner. To be a healthy scratch in an elimination game. And then I thought, hey, maybe we just might win Game 5 and come back to Staples, where Penner can be scratched again in front of the home town fans for Game 6.
Dustin, Oscar’s got none of your size, but a heart as big as Staples. He ought to play Saturday – in your spot. You aren’t owed a thing simply because you got traded here. Maybe if your summer starts a couple of days sooner you might consider EARNING a spot on the Kings roster next year. Otherwise, I hear Manchester is a pretty nice town. And the Monarchs have a really, really nice team bus!
Other thoughts:
I’ll bet even money that Drew Doughty will never repeat his mistake with Nichols. So, thank you Mr. Nichols for teaching a young superstar a very good lesson.
Regarding the 12 goals in two games … is it that our defense has gone to hell in a handbasket, or has the Sharks coach made adjustments to expose our weaknesses, i.e. Murray being outcoached?
If Westgarth is going to actually be in the lineup on Saturday, he should have but one task – pounding Heatly into jelly. We don’t expect any goals from ya Princeton, just inflict some serious pain on a cheap-shot loser.
Murray saying he’s going with what he’s got. Hmmmm Doesn’t the NHL allow you to carry more active players during the playoffs? Phone lines to Manchester down since Kopi got injured?
Yes, play Martinez. The tip in of that goal was a wrong place/wrong time situation. Show some faith in the kid. He’s earned it with his play across the whole season.
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Cristobal Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:11 pm
@IceGuy,
I think SJ pulled it back together in game 3.
They didn’t play well in games 1&2, especially 2.
But, we’ve seen the Kings go horrorshow on defense for streches under TM – each of the last 3 years.
At the end of last season I said Teubert needed to play because we need some snarl from our defense.
Maybe he wasn’t ready but we’re supposed to be building through youth and we’re still plagued by youthful mistakes.
I think our defenders as a group are too soft. There’s not enough punishment being doled out.
Scuderi is a good defenseman but he never exudes intimidation.
Maybe we could put a deal together for Bogosian – he has been rumored to be tradeable. We just don’t have that Shea Weber type on the blue.
Too bad DL wasted Teubert fishing on Penner.
BTW – I’m not bashing Penner (he is what he is) as he came here to play on Kopi’s left and Kopi’s not around right now.
But, I never believed this was the best move for LA.
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So Westgarth has been doing has played well? Huh? Oh, that’s right, he’s not taken stupid penalties like Matt Greene, except for his 10 minute misconduct last night! Great job! Again, you put in Parse who has not played all year and yet you keep in Westgarth over two guys who have practiced and even played with the team in Harrold and Drewiske? Terry Murray needs to be fired or resign.
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@Mike J,
That game was over.
The butter was getting hard in the refrigerator sitting next to the eggs, which were a coolin’…
The salami and the beer were long gone. Loooooooong gone…
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I feel sad that as a 24 year season ticket holder I stayed home last night and watched on TV because I knew the obvious pain that was about to be inflicted. Watching the most pathetic coaching I have ever seen is growing very very tiring. I know we were down 3 goals with 2 1/2 minutes to play, but with a 2 man advantage why was Quick standing uselessly in front of the Kings net when we could have had a 6 on 3 !!! This team has no chance with Murray as coach.
One more comment. Drew Doughty is by far one of the most talented players in the league, but please pull the trigger and make him a winger because he sucks on defense. He would be a 40+ goal scorer as a winger and he could still play the point on power plays.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:13 pm
@jimrad, he actually used to be a forward when he was a kid. there was a story about it a while back and if my memory serves me correct DD wanted to be a d-man and his coach or dad said if you score i think it was like two goals this game you can be a d-man and sure enough he put the puck home. gonna try and look for the article it was a good one.
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Bill M. Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
@jimrad, So let me see. Of the 24 years you have been following this team, how many have suffered from the poor coaching you describe…I’m guessing 20 of them or so.
Maybe its not the coach? Just sayin’ maybe the coach is more limited in his power than we want to believe, like say, when we were short a top left wing, and the guy we got to fill that hole hasn’t scored and won’t play defense?
It’s like the president. Everybody gets all upset about the president over economy issues, etc. When the position really has very little direct power over such things. His power in many areas goes only as far as motivating and inspiring confidence.
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EmptyTank Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:25 pm
@jimrad,
You mean you’d put TM ahead of Marc Crawford on your Pathetic Coach rankings?
I think there are some places where TM gets a fail. Number one being surrounding himself with incompetent assistants then sticking with their completely ineffective power-play scheme for an entire season! In my opinion he also is very inflexible. If his game plan is obviously NOT working against a team he doesn’t see it and doesn’t change the game plan. I don’t think he’s a very good motivator either. His comments after the St. Patty’s BOO-gate game indicated that.
BUT with all of that said, can you really argue with the defensive minded system he has installed here in LA and taught a bunch of very young men to execute to perfection *MOST* of the time? Do you not realize that we just completed the best two back-to-back season in franchise history playing with (one of) the youngest rosters in the NHL? THAT, my friend, is NOT pathetic coaching.
TM is stubborn, I will give you that. In a few years the rest of the conference will have studied TM’s system enough to break it and he will still probably stick to it since that’s the way he is. If so, it will lead to his demise. But please give credit where credit is due. TM has transformed our team back into a winning franchise. If you don’t credit him for that then who do you give the credit to?
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jimrad Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:31 pm
@EmptyTank,
I give credit to anyone in the organization involved in putting together the talent on this team. Our coaching – no sorry, but no.
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Interesting change. Can’t say I blame TM. Stoll hasn’t been effective since about that horrible home stand we had in January imho especially on the PP. Nothing needs to be more said about Penner and I believe it is very possible that we’ve seen the last of that POS in a King uniform.
Good luck to Parse, this is an especially tough way to re-enter the line up, but I admire his guts to get to this point.
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“I believe it is very possible that we’ve seen the last of that POS in a King uniform.”
Your mouth to management ears. Let’s hope they see it that way as well.
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Capt Jam Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:36 pm
@nykingfan,
Ain’t happening. I’ll go so far as to say DP is in the starting lineup in Stockholm next fall. Deano’s just not going to take that kind of hit to his ego and reputation by giving up on his biggest roster add. I suspect that DP will be actively involved in off-season work at TSC to fully indoctrinate himself into the Kings’ System and Way.
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TrueFan Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
@nykingfan, Patirck O’Sullivan hasn’t been in a Kings uniform since ’08-09 and it looks like his NHL career is over
Who do you think will pick Penner up?
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Slim Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 8:46 pm
@TrueFan, I don’t think their referring to Patrick
when using POS.. But you knew that..
It’s been used both ways…confusing…
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Im over the whole Westgarth soap but if Stoll or Poni are benched in liu of Penner i will no longer support TM! plain and simple, regardless of everything he has done for us. Maybe thats drastic but its true. Ive given him the benefit of the doubt more often than not but the season is almost over and so is my patience with TM. you tought our guys some good defensiive hockey but we need something else on top of that to get us to the next level.
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tornado12 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:28 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, Dont worry, i dont think there is any way Penner plays with what I have heard from TM today. the 4th line will be poni/stoll/westie
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Clowe’s line has done the most damage.
Insert Westgarth on the line that faces him and get in Clowe’s face all night long.
Many of the breakdowns have come from the same guys.
Brown, and Richies line have been working and doing good things.
It wouldn’t take a whole lot of change to get another away win since we’ve shown we can give SJ trouble.
Playing for pride at this point.
But, I restate. If Westy is gonna play he needs to make an impact. Get in some faces.
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nykingfan Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 10:59 am
@Cristobal,
I agree
Westy’s play has been better but he needs to start making SJ a little uncomfortable out there.
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My coaching decision:
Westgarth is out.
Penner is way out.
Stoll stays.
Miller is in.
Parse is in.
Quick is in.
1) Why is Murray so enamored with Westgarth?
2) Why did it take this long to consider benching Penner?
3) Why didn’t Murray call a timeout in Period 2 of Game 3?
4) Why didn’t Murray pull the goalie during out 5 on 3 in Game 4?
I love the Richardson line!
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hipcheck Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
@WeNeedGoal, You can add…
Why did Murray have Westgarth out at the start of the 3rd period after the Kings rallied late in the 2nd to make it 3-2?
Why when the Kings were down by 3 with a minute left did he not send out players to simply start running the Sharks and send a message for game 5?
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Oh, and why is Brown the only King hitting fools?
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i’m kinda curious as to TM’s thoughts on DD and JJ. Game 2 they decided to show up and well, look at the result. the rest of the games they’ve been no-shows. so while there’s all this talk about penner/moller/stoll/westgarth etc…..what about the guys we are hoping to build this team on? where are they?
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Capt Jam Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
@jmsalsa,
They showed up. They showed up too much. DD in particular. His selfish behavior in the second period turned the momentum of the game. They neglected their primary resposibility of playing responsible defensemen first and foremost and tried to impact the game individually outside of the team frame. Never a good thing.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:41 pm
@jmsalsa, there just young guys still learning to play the game at the NHL level. its takes d-man a while to really hone there games and with the sytle of play they both emplore it leaves our team vulnerable if they cant execute the plays they are looking to make. I would not want either of them to try and change there game because of that and cosistancy comes with experience. They will come around a be staples on our blueline for a long time to come and all the inconsistancies we see now will slowly be weeded out and they will be solid puck moving offensive defensman that any team would love to have.
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jmsalsa Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:47 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
when JJ signs a 4 mil a year contract and donuts expected to sign for more, i would kinda like to see SOME results in the playoffs now. =)
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jmsalsa Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:50 pm
@jmsalsa,
this kinda sums up my thoughts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAOn0JFp7U
“History Takes The Leading Role”
BrokeKingsFan Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:54 pm
@jmsalsa, I hear ya, I do. I would like the same, no doubt about it!
Having westgarth play is a joke. For those who have said he has done his “role” well, his role is not needed at all. You need the most skilled players in there that you have. That’s why SJ keeps the pressure on us and scores, because of their skill up and down their roster, w/ players with creativity who can finish plays and put the puck in the net.
Moller and Parse should be in, & westgarth and penner out.
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scvking Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
@Robert,
Ditto on westgarth. How is it that Westgarth has a role cemented in this lineup? Yes, he has played way better than I ever could have imagined, but he is still pretty worthless in the overall.
All that being said, I don’t know that anyone can blame TM or any individual player for what we have seen the last 2 games. Not Penner. Not Stoll. Not Westgarth. I think Doughty and Johnson have been less than what was needed. I think Greene was horrible the last 2 games. It has been a collective collapse, and I have grown weary of singling out specific players as the singular reason that the Kings lost.
Westgarth does not have the game to change any dynamic. Other players do have the skills to change the game. So, in a game we have to win, we are going to sit either Penner, Stoll, Moeller to make sure we have Westgarth in the game? That is just silly to think we would.
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Of all the lineup changes or westgarth in or out the fact is the play of our top lines. The fourth line is really not a big deal. It’s our top lines that need to score and play correct d. They are the ones playing the majority of minutes. I would go with a top line of Zues brown and Williams bc we need to score quick. In the second line go with stoll smyth pony. Third richie simmonds Clifford. Who cares about the fourth line. They play 10 min max if that and now we are so desperate we need to double shift forwards.
We
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Dk.lakings Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 4:38 pm
@Dk.lakings,
Penner is worthless and sitting him out if anything might wake him up for next year like it did for williams
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I sick of reading Tms interview. Rich can you go Interview jim Fox about his beard?
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jmsalsa Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:01 pm
@hockeykingsguy,
HAHAHAHA
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Not saying it’s the right decision, but I could see TM using Moller for Stoll and Penner for Poni, giving us a Penner-Moller-Westy line that gets someone double-shifting for Westy later in the game (Brown, is my guess).
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Those of you bagging on Penner if you really want to see him skate fast just wait till the end of his shift. He is lightning getting back to the bench.
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jimrad Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:30 pm
@KC23,
Haha I noticed that !
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I think Rich should repost the “penner to Kings” trade post from the deadline.
Just for kicks, ya know?
Dean “Jim Jones” Lombardi’s latest mixture.
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I guess the analysts were right sharks in 5. Kinda sucks knowing that you blew a 4 goal lead. Series woulda been tied up. It’s also a good thing Kings didn’t have home ice or they mighta been swept.
Murray is at a complete loss. Parse really??? The guy hasn’t played a game in how long and you wann put him in? Is the guy really that stupid?
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jonsey Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:33 pm
@Hat trick, Well, Moller stinks and Penner hasn’t done anything. Might as well let him play and see what he can do. He’s been working out all year.
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Hat trick Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:19 pm
@jonsey, Well I guess at this point you could. I’d rather have Moller in than Parse just because he’s at least been playing. I’m sure Parse is rusty as hell.
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KC23 Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 am
@Hat trick, Stupid is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. If you haven’t seen Parse yourself you can’t be sure TM isn’t right on the money. Penner has all the intensity of an NHL player playing at a father/son pick up game at the team summer picnic.
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So far Dave Taylor’s L.A. Kings have more playoff wins than Dean Lombardi’s L.A. Kings.
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I’m of the opinion that Murray is putting Parse in for two reasons:
He wants to introduce a random variable that will disrupt the Sharks feel for the series and add some energy.
He wants Parse to get playoffs experience (he might be mailing it in.)
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jonsey Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:35 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, If he was giving up, wouldn’t he throw Schenn, Bernier, and Holloway in?
Parse is in like you said -to shake things up.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
@jonsey, I don’t think he’s gonna get the OK to jerk with Manchester at this point, and putting in Bernier would be sending the wrong message, because Quick’s not what’s been wrong the last couple games.
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well I just got my Kings car flag today….Now what?
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Slim Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:09 pm
@Ravens,
Fly it till we win the Stanley Cup..
And then I woke up!
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Hat trick Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:21 pm
@Ravens, Save it for next year..maybe the year after that, or the year after, or the next season…..
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Great move with Parse, but what a surprise! TM keeps “Quickie” in goal. Game, Set, Match. See you next year Kings Hockey Fans. C’mon, everyone knows he’ll lose the next game, everyone. Quick is not coming up big in big games. It’s just remarkable how Quick keeps getting chances. 12 goals in two games. That says it all.
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Lexigirl Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:02 pm
@Poorman, I’m not really sure how much it says about Quick. Have you really watched the games closely to say that he hasn’t been coming up big? Goalies are goalies, not magicians. There are some shots that are not going to be stopped, especially deflections from your team mates skates or sticks, when you think you have the puck covered, asked Lundqvist. Giving up alot of goals in 2 back to back games, ask Vezina candidate nominee Luongo how he’s been fairing in his last couple of games.
Quick will continue to get the chances because he is the #1 goal tender. Has he made mistakes, absolutely, but things would have been alot uglier alot sooner had it not been for him. Did you catch those point blank saves last night on the 5 on 3? This team has gotten away from its own game many times over the last couple of games, it has turned around and bitten them in the behind.
Find another horse to beat, because this one passed dead a few blogs ago.
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Poorman Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:23 pm
@Lexigirl, Until they give Bernier a shot, I’m not drinking the Koolaid. The Kings need a clutch goaltender performance to steal a game and gain momentum. Too many losses in two years with “not so Quick”.
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granados13 Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:11 pm
@Poorman,
Even with Kopi, you did not think they will move on to the second round. You could see the kings were an ok team, but not a playoff team. Last two games of the season the ducks dominated them. Ok you put Bernier and he gets light up, then what?
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Poorman Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:24 pm
@granados13, Then I shutup; until then, I believe Bernier is the answer, not Quick.
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jess Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 8:53 pm
@Poorman,
It is more about quick sharing responsibility with bernier that TM does not understand. The rotation of the two is what brought about the best because of the competition. We happen to have a very rare occurance of two top NHL goaltenders on the same team so why not use that to your advantage?
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Poorman Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:25 pm
@jess, Agreed! It was working great, and then TM became inflexible the same as with Vancouver.
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Hat trick Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:23 pm
@Poorman, Gotta disagree with you. Yeah he’s had some questionable ones go in but when you got the D completely breaking down and leaving Thornton with so much room that he’s gliding in on net that’s not Quick’s fault. There’s been several backdoor plays where that guy isn’t even close to being covered.
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Poorman Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:26 pm
@Hat trick, All I’m saying is maybe a change in goal changes the chemistry. Keeping the same guy in goal is saying a Sayonara to the Season.
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Hat trick Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:30 pm
@Poorman, I can dig that. He shoulda pulled him on that really lame game 3.
Poorman Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 9:26 pm
@Hat trick, All I’m saying is maybe a change in goal changes the chemistry. Keeping the same guy in goal is saying a Sayonara to the Season.
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KC23 Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 1:00 am
@Poorman, If Quick was a seasoned vet I would agree, but last year’s playoff didn’t go well because of Quick … this time the coach wants to keep the kid’s confidence intact by not pulling him when it is clearly not about him giving up soft goals.
man, y’all just keep KILLING Westy around here. whatevs, he’s the lowest paid guy, almost had an OT winner in the 1st game, has challenged both Eager & Clowe to fight only to see them puss-out, and was one of the few + players in the game 4 blowout. yeah, alright…keep killin him, it’s not ANY of the other overpaid players on the rosters fault AT ALL now is it? we’re outclassed and this aint our year, but feel free to keep bashing one of our 4th line wingers who’s actually playing his heart out. I love the Kings, but not so much all of you flighty fans..win or lose just deal with it.
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I think Stoll stays in just because he’s the faceoff guy and we need faceoff wins in this series. And I believe TM has finally answered the call of the fans and Penner will be out. Well, at least that’s what i would do.
Parse-Handzus-Williams
Smyth-Lewis-Brown
Clifford-Richardson-Simmonds
Ponikarovsky-Stoll-Westgarth
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jason Reply:
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:53 pm
@Eggplant, looks good… I think that gives us a nice 4th line against other teams 4th liners… stoll or moller are same for me… all this bashing of westy but his stats are actually better than half the kings team in these playoffs
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Terry Murray makes Forrest Gump look like Albert Einstein/Stephen Hawking.
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Erik4Kings Reply:
April 23rd, 2011 at 10:28 am
@Erik4Kings,
Can I apply to coach the Kings next year? Here are some of my qualifications:
Expert at Wiji Board, 15+ years – this is wonderful for determining lineups
Expert at Magic 8-ball, 15+ years – good for lineups, but even more fun for deciding time out strategies in game, or asking it what line strategies I should use.
Expert at aimless empty staring, 15+ years – excellent for keeping the boys “calm” and “focused”
My assistant coaches (because all great coaches have a package deal)
Powerplay coach: Batman
Penaltykill coach: Superman
Goaltending coach: Spiderman
I think thats about it, but with a resume like this…why even wait, I can be in SJ in an hour…
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