Question: At the end of the previous two seasons, you said the main focus was for the young players to improve. In terms of improving the team, how much is that still the case, and how much do you need to go outside and look for help?
LOMBARDI: “I sill think that’s a huge thing. Don’t forget, the playoff game is totally a different animal. But again, in the regular season, it’s putting yourself in the hole, it’s playing withe expectations, playing with pressure. Even with Kopitar. I remember, during the season, the way he competed with one-goal leads, the way he played at the ends of some games. It said, `We’re going to win this game.’ You could just see where this guy said, `We will not lose this game.’ So that stride is huge. But you saw situations, like on the power play, where your most talented players are your youngest players. It’s the maturity of learning to rise to the occasion. They’re the ones who are going to have to learn it. That’s a great experience for them. That said, it’s still the same. I’m going to look. As long as we feel with our defense, and I think we do, as we saw in the regular season, is still capable of being the best — and the goaltending is solid — I’m going to continue to address what I tried to address at the trade deadline and what I tried to address in the summer. But it’s (finding) the right guy. Like I said at the deadline, it’s the same issue. I’m not trading Schenn for a guy with one year left on his contract. That’s the point. So you’re going to be in the same marketplace. The only thing is, in the summer you might get a different clientele, so to speak, with what might be available. I think that could change the dynamic, with what I’m willing to do.
“But if it’s the same thing as at the deadline, where it’s guys with one year left on their deal, and they insist on my top prospect, I’m not going that route. We’ll just make those two kids better. They’re probably our best offensive prospects, in Loktionov and Schenn, and they need a huge summer. But in terms of the continuing to look for a certain type of player, yeah, but it has to be the right guy and the right situation. We’ve had this for 12 months, haven’t we? The whole Kovalchuk thing. His minus-26 would have looked good. Then the trade deadline. What was available, for what they wanted, it didn’t make sense.”
LOL @ minus 26. Nice to see DL bitterly keeping tabs on Kovy.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
@Dave, I love Kovalchuk smack!
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“But it’s (finding) the right guy.”
So, DL, Penner was the right guy?
What were his numbers with the Kings?
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AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
@IceGuy,
90% of the people on here were begging for Penner, now 90% of the poeple on here can’t stop complaining about him. If he didn’t make the move then people would be asking for DL’s head, and blaming the playoff loss on not having Penner.
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Brian Bush Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
@AZ King,
very few times does a trade deadline pickup come in to a system based hockey team like the kings and make a huge difference. penner did what he was suppose to do and that was open up room for kopitar by adding a threat to his line. there is a reason kopitar got hot after penner showed up. give him the off season and training camp to understand the system and play hockey without thinking about every move and he will be fine.
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AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
@Brian Bush,
Oh yeah, I completely agree. I’m just always amazed at how easily some people switch sides around here. Some of the people who are complaining about Penner are the same ones who were fanatical about pikcing him up in the first place. It’s funny how quickly people forget…
Central Coast King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
@Brian Bush, I also agree, some people look at his stats and say “this guy is what we need” and when it doesn’t materialize right away it’s ” off with his head”. Lets give him the one season and see where he decides to be.For us or Against us.
Matt George Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
@AZ King,
I’m just wondering … do have records of actual people switching sides?
Like poster “x” said this on x date … and now the exact same poster is saying “y” ?
Just thought it might be nice to have actual facts of real people ….
… oh … and I’m pretty sure the numbers don’t lie … how many points has Penner garnished since his acquisition? Right … close to none.
Not sure it’s such a bad thing for people to have high expectations for the guy … and not sure it’s a big deal for people to be disappointed when the big guy decides to not show up.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 7:34 am
@Matt George, I don’t think there is any need for “records”. It was pretty obvious around here that when the trade happened a large portion around here were quite happy, and when he wasn’t putting up numbers, that SAME portion were ready to throw him in the LA River.
Dave Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
@AZ King, yep – everyone easily forgets he was brought here to play with Kopi.
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Michael J. Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
@Dave,
I think I remember DL or TM or someone saying that he was a “complimentary” player-he was never intended to be a savior.
Kings x Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
@AZ King, It was really more like begging for any deadline move that would help our team offensively
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Helvetica Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
@IceGuy, Yeah i have to agree with AZ King. At the time, by all accounts, Penner was a pretty good trade for us. Obviously he didn’t deliver, but i think we are analyzing this after the fact… which is fine. But if we are going to do that, then maybe we should wait until the end of next season for a true evaluation of the trade. If he has a good season next year then i think its a success. If he continues to play 1/2 assed hockey next season, then hes a bust and DL made the wrong move.
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
@Helvetica,
Agreed.
We can also get into the can of worms about how Penner was brought to improve scoring with Kopi and Williams and then they got hurt, etc. etc. But we should hold final judgement until next season.
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CupRun2012 Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
@Helvetica, It’s still early to evaluate a trade like that. So far we didn’t give up a roster player to get Penner…only 1 prospect and 2 high draft picks. DL was playing the “Come Line” that this year’s draft is not deep, and that 1st round and conditional 2nd round pick would not have an impact player, and that we have such a deep talent pool at defence.
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Dave Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
@CupRun2012, i wouldn’t consider a 3rd round pick a “high” pick. from the Kings perspective, DL gave up a prospect that would have been unlikely to crack the NHL for 2-3 years, a mid/late first round pick that might turn out to be an NHL player in a few years, and a 3rd round pick that is unlikely to turn into an impact NHL player.
Penner has a track record of scoring goals and he plays a position we are weak at. The simple fact is wingers can’t really be impact players by themselves. look at guys like Gaborik and Nash. sure, they put up numbers but what have their teams done? Kovalchuk in NJ – no center = -26. i’m not saying Penner will put up their numbers, but even those guys can’t make a huge impact w/o good centers with them.
there is a reason DL invested heavily in goaltending, defense and center. he knows that’s where a championship team is built. now he’s looking to add the “right guys” on the wing. one more winger that can score and be a force on the PP is what we need. not a prima donna, not a guy that doesn’t play defense. a guy with a good shot and a nose for the net.
Chris Stewart comes to mind, and although he’s not available, someone like him. maybe TJ Oshie? he had some issues with the team late in the season and that team seems to be looking for an identity.
IceGuy Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
@Helvetica,
I just asked a simple question, what were his numbers?
I’ll cut a little slack for, oh I have to move. Oh, I have to learn a new system. Oh, the guy who I was supposed to play with got hurt, oh, I can really only skate for maybe 30 seconds, all those Cherrie Ohs.
But I’ll say this. I watched him in Game 6. I saw him pull up from hitting 3 Sharks. to quote Marx (Groucho), “are you gonna believe your eyes, or what I tell you?”
Pulling up has got nothing to do with systems, or being uncomfortable, or anything but lack of commitment. You’re in a playoff game, Dustin! You can’t shoot. You can’t pass, but by God you ought to contribute something, even if it’s knocking someone on their ass with your bulk. That’s what Lombardi means by “the right guy”, I think.
For the record, I was neutral about the trade. I didn’t like Penner as a Duck.
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TA Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
@IceGuy, I agree.It’s one thing that’s he didn’t score and his line mates got hurt. But there’s no excuse for not playing hard and showing no effort!!!!!
He never checks or forechecks, he never battles for the puck,never wins a 50/50.
He is always coasting and never skates. You’re correct i always see him pulling up from hitting a player and it pisses me off! Also he is always quiting his shift early, He will only be on the ice for 10-15 seconds and we will send the puck deep into the other teams zone and his line mates will skate into forecheck and Penner just skates to the bench and since we are down a man the other team gets the puck out of their zone too easy. I don’t like his game. No heart! No Effort!
jmsalsa Reply:
April 29th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
@Helvetica,
i’m not really sure at ANY point can we “look back” and say it was a bad trade. i think DL looked at what was available to him, what we needed and made a move. it didn’t cost us a lot – low risk, possible high reward. if penner doesn’t pan out in the end, it’s still not a “wrong” move. he made a move to try and make the team better and that’s all we can ask of him.
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markisonfire Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
@IceGuy, Hopefully an offseason with the Kings trainers can whip Penner into shape. He is a very big guy that honestly could lose a few pounds of muscle in order to gain better endurance and speed. Hopefully they work on that this summer with him. Penner doesn’t seem like a guy the Kings will resign after his contract is up.
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LBlocal Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Tim Adams. http://www.selfgrowth.com/experts/tim_adams.html
gKg!
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Kings x Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 8:13 pm
@markisonfire, Doughty and Penner should be team mandated gary Roberts
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MM Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
@IceGuy, Hindsight.. At the time Penner was just what we needed. Obviously things did not work out as planned but at least we did not have to give away top prospects.
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*Cough* Parise is a RFA…. *Cough* make him an offer he can’t refuse…. *Cough* Get him in a Kings uniform.
Man, I think I got something in my throat… I need some water or something.
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Mike L Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
@Bluecoconuts,
Kings don’t have their first round pick this year.
Can’t offer sheet him
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AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
@Mike L,
You should get that cough checked out…It’s not about whether or not Parise can refuse the offer, it’s about if NJ can match the offer or not. Parise has no say in the matter what-so-ever.
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AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
@AZ King,
Sorry that was for Bluecoconuts..
5-Hole Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
@Mike L,
I remember reading this elsewhere: Free agency begins AFTER the draft, so the Kings pick wouldn’t be able to come from this draft anyway… so as long as we have our first rounders after this year we could do it. (2012, 2013 etc)
Doesn’t mean we will…but we could.
But we won’t.
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LBlocal Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
@Bluecoconuts, That’s just nuts… Migrating coconuts, perhaps….
http://youtu.be/JHFXG3r_0B8
gKg!
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Colorado King Fan Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
@Bluecoconuts, Lombardi won’t go after another teams RFA’s. He has said as much in the past. The only way he will is in retaliation to another team stealing one of ours.
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Bluecoconuts Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
@Colorado King Fan, Yeah I know, it’s just more being hopeful… I’d rather NJ resign Parise, and then Lombardi make a trade for him.
I think most everyone has that player that they want to play for their team, for me that’s Parise. I think he’d be a wonderful fit in a Kings uniform.
I doubt it’ll happen anytime soon, it’s just fun to imagine.
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
@Bluecoconuts,
Rick Naaaashhh!!!!!!!!!!! I would kill to have him in a Kings uni.
AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
@kingsxstevenxkingd,
Will never happen…
DesertKing Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
@Colorado King Fan,
You are right, DL has that policy. I wonde rthough if DL could talk to NJ, work out a sign and trade for Parise? H would be a great fit. I think Penner is available for a trade.
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bill donnelly Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
@Bluecoconuts, DL has repeatedly said he will not go after other teams RFA’s.
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kingfish Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 1:43 am
@Bluecoconuts,
you guys are right on with this. Parise is the perfect top LW for the kings. Right DL wouldnt go after him as in offer sheet but I think they can get Lamoriello to do a trade. We should be willing to trade a couple of prospects and or roster players (not schenn) for parise. NJ cant take much salary back though. I cant imagine NJ needing two top lline LWs (kovi, parise) doesnt make sense. They arent going to trade kovalchuk so…
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Next season is Schenn’s year to schine!
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Helvetica Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
@lonzo2020, You mean next Scheason?
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
@lonzo2020,
Two words for Schenn:
–BE PREPARED.
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AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
@BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy,
The kid still has a lot to prove outside of juniors. Was not impressed at all by his performance in the playoffs with Manch, and he really didn’t do anything remakable when he was here.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
@AZ King, I don’t think Schenn makes the team next year. I think he starts in Manchester.
Stuart Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 8:57 am
@PP Anybody, Agree!
hopefully we get a good team next season Go Kings Go!!
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My biggest concert is that some of the players did not improve this year…Simmonds,DD,Johnson,and the newcomers didnt improve either(Poni and Penner)Richardson also didnt improve during the regular season….He was being benched for Westy.Then you have players who left and did improve(Purcel,Moulson,etc). That is on the coaching staff.You could also say that the defense also went downhill during the PO.(I know we were were missing Kopi but the rest of our D was healthy.Also our defense is young but we still have Mitchell and Scuds with experience.Also we didnt learn from the losing streak after we started the season 12 and 3.You cant blame that all on youth.Its more of a coaching staff problem then youth.
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AZ King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
@neil,
I disagree about JJ. I think he did improve this year. He had a career year offensively and was our best defenseman during parts of the season. Yes he still made some bonehead plays, but overall he was much better this year than last.
We can go on forever about ‘the ones who got away’. They had there chance here (especially Purcell) and they didn;t make the most of it. They in new places now, oh well…time to move on.
I don’t know what you wanted them to learn from the losing streak except who not to lose, which they did a pretty good job of over the last half of the season.
So the coaching staff gets the blame for all the failure. Than who gets the credit for all the success?
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Tullskull Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
@AZ King, Yep. Also I would say Johnson made some bad plays at the start of the year but more often he just got caught in bad bounce situations. Now DD on the other hand was a bone head decision factory.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
@AZ King, He seemed to improve for a couple weeks after he was re-signed, then go back to normal.
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I thought Penner was a smart move. It’s not Dean Lombardi’s fault he got all lazy and worthless.
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number 6 Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
@408KingsFan,
I’m not certain. I think you have to really do your homework. Turn things upside down, get the skinny. I had heard that there was a problem w Penner in Edm before the trade was ever made. OK. What’s the problem. What does it say? I think it’s having instincts too.
DL made a great move to pick up JW, BUT he knew him from the Frequent Flyer organization and knew what qualities he possessed.
As for Penner, who knows. Maybe he gets his personal life sorted out (hope so for his sake and the teams sake), gets Kopi back, and they click. But you just don’t know.
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Michael_DD8 Reply:
April 29th, 2011 at 11:00 am
@number 6,
Trust me, DL knows more about Penner then we did. Before and after the trade.
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Hello, you have reached the voicemail for Dean Lombardi, general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. If this is Dustin Penner, please dial 411 to be connected with “Workouts R Us.” If you are seeking a trade involving Brayden Schenn, please dial 112233445566, wait for the disconnect tone and then refer to the Insider blog for trading rules. If you are a NHL caliberor coach or a Juniors coach, or a Pee-Wee coach with experience in the area of offense and the PP, please press 0 to be immediately connected to the Human Resources department. If this is Devin Setoguchi calling to complain about TM, dial 9 for instructions on how to grow up and stop playing with your “tweet.” If you are the lineman from Game 6, please dial 8 and leave a message with your apology and definition of “blueline.” For everyone else, please leave your message and I will get back to you as soon as I complete my version of “War and Peace, The Sequel.” That should be sometime around thius Saturday.
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Central Coast King Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
@DesertKing, Nice!
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Puck2dahead Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 8:46 am
@DesertKing, Hahaha!! I love when you write these…hilarious! Keep up the good work!!
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Hey I would have loved for the guys to get past the first round but … personally I didn’t see it happening even WITH a healthy Kopi.
Had Penner been a slam dunk of a trade I was prepared to adjust my expectations but … well we all know how THAT turned out.
Short of us acquiring Richards AND Parise over the summer, my expectations for next year are 2nd round exit… probably shouldn’t put it that way but … we’ll see I guess.
One thing I absolutely know is my personal prognostication is worth exactly ZILCH! HA!
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number 6 Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
@Matt George,
Well, you don’t have to worry about Parise cause I live back east so follow the Devs a bit, and he absolutely wants to stay a Dev. Once a Dev always a Dev?
Brad Richards…. I think IF either Lokti or Schenn makes the team, we’re stacked at center.
Kopi, Lokti, Stoll, Richie, Lewis, Zues. That’s a lot of players. And that’s if only one of Lokti or Schenn make it, and I don’t expect both of them to make the team. One of them? That’s 50/50 imo as of now.
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The system or the personnel?
Terry Murray seems to believe in one very rigid style of playing. While the defensive numbers have improved over the last two seasons one of the consequences has been that we have become very predicable. The system requires that forwards backcheck first, and dump the puck in in the offensive zone.
We have become a team of checkers and grinders. Cycling in the other team’s zone is great, but if it results in no shots on goal, what’s the point? The system needs to be designed to fit the personnel, and take advantage of their offensive strengths. Sports is full of failed coaches who try to impose a style on teams that are ill suited, personnel wise, to play that way.
Good coaching is about recognizing the unique skills that players may have, and putting them in situations where they can be most effective and successful. Does that mean I think we should fire the coaching staff? No. But the coaching staff does need to recognize the responsibility they have to bring out the best in individual players, and be flexible.
TM is constantly juggling line combinations. Our most successful playoff line was a trio of young guys who asked him (I believe) to keep them together. Injuries will always create a need for changes, but I hope we see more consistency in line combinations next season. If you believe in dump and chase hockey maybe you believe line consistency is overrated.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
@ForumFan, I keep harping on this. I just don’t see Murray as having enough pages in his playbook. In fact, there seems to be only one. It’s strange to me how many on here tend to come to TM’s defense on this regard, and say things like “it’s on the players to execute the system”. Well, if that’s true, then I guess we need to trade quite a few players, yet most everyone here wouldn’t trade a soul except Penner.
My point is, there really has been no marked improvement in scoring, and I just don’t see that as being Murray’s knowledge base. If your only philosophy is, get it to the point, shoot, and hope for a rebound from a guy in front, well, You just aren’t going to score much. That’s a stay at home D-man’s strategy, cause they don’t know anything else. That just isn’t at the level of a Detroit, a San Jose, or a Vancouver. I for one, just want to see us reach another level.
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ForumFan Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
@PP Anybody?,
Agree. I haven’t gone back and looked at all the players but it seems that individual goal production goes down when you are coached by TM. Maybe it isn’t a good example considering how lost he looked on the ice but Penner has been a pretty consistent goal scorer in his career. He comes to the Kings and his production plummets. Frolov’s number’s dwindled under TM. Is this because he isn’t any good anymore, or because he was ‘converted’ to a cycling/checking type player?
After years on the outside looking in I don’t want to be satisfied with making the playoffs but finding ways to lose in the first round. I’m not seeing any comments from TM acknowledging a coaching reason for some of our deficiencies.
The power play was awful, and was directly responsible for us not finishing in a better position and perhaps getting a more favorable matchup. Some Kings fans are saying that we almost won this series, but if you look at the reality San Jose was better in almost every way except in goal. The only thing that kept this series close was our penalty kill.
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ForumFan Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
@ForumFan,
Poni is another example I forgot to mention.
Puck2dahead Reply:
April 28th, 2011 at 8:49 am
@ForumFan, I’ve often wondered what it’d be like if we were coached by Dave Tippett…We need a coach who likes their forwards to drive to the center lane and shoot in the prime scoring areas (see San Jose Sharks’ Offense, 2011).
Reflecting on Schenn’s season: hurt a knee, did not stick with the big league team, starred at the WJC but hurt his shoulder and saw his team upset in the final; back in the WHL, traded by Brandon to Saskatoon for an arm and a leg, expected to lead them to the Memorial Cup but eliminated in the 2nd round; was not added to the Kings playoff roster; joins Manchester and posts a -5 in the 7th and deciding game as Manchester blows a 3-1 series lead and loses to Binghampton in round 1……
I still think Schenn will be a fine 2nd line center for the Kings, but if a guy ever needed a season to be over……
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