Some notes from last night’s game…
– Jonathan Quick recorded his third consecutive shutout, a Kings franchise record, as the Kings beat the Dallas Stars 1-0 on Saturday night.
– Quick, with 28 saves against Dallas now owns the franchise record for consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. Quick is now at 188 minutes, 10 seconds, breaking Rogie Vachon’s mark of 184:55 set in 1975. Quick is the first NHL goalie to record three straight shutouts since Columbus’ Steve Mason in Dec. 2008. Quick also recorded his 17th career shutout (second most behind Vachon in franchise history). Quick now has a 0.81 goals-against average and a 0.972 save percentage and has stopped 84 consecutive shots.
– The Kings are 5-1-1, which matches the best seven-game start in franchise history. The 1980-81 and 1990-11 teams both started 5-1-1, while the 1995-96 team started 4-0-3.
– The Kings have allowed nine regulation goals, the lowest seven-game total in franchise history. The 1974-75 team held the previous mark, with 14 goals against.
– Jack Johnson scored the game’s only goal, with 4:58 remaining in the third period. Johnson, entering this season, had not scored a game-winning goal in 282 career games. He now has three game-winning goals in seven games this season. Johnson recorded his first even-strength point of the season, to go with two power-play goals and two power-play assists.
– The Stars outshot the Kings 28-24. The Kings have been outshot in five consecutive games but have allowed 28 or fewer shots on goal in five of their seven games.
– The Kings went 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. The Kings are 9-for-9 on the penalty kill in their last three games.
– Mike Richards assisted on Johnson’s goal. Richards has one goal and five assists in seven games, and his four previous assists had come on the power play. Richards has an assist in four consecutive games.
– Rob Scuderi assisted on Johnson’s goal, for his first point of the season.
– Simon Gagne recorded a team-high four shots on goal. Ethan Moreau was credited with a team-high five hits and Justin Williams was credited with a team-high two blocked shots.
– Willie Mitchell led the Kings in ice time, at 23:33, followed by Jack Johnson, at 23:27. Anze Kopitar led all Kings forwards in ice time at 21:43.
– The Kings won 19 of 46 faceoffs (41 percent). Mike Richards won 8 of 20 draws (40 percent), Jarret Stoll won 4 of 12 draws (33 percent) and Anze Kopitar won 4 of 8 draws (50 percent).
Great time to be a Kings fan!
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Bama Kings Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:06 pm
@yetiman_oc, Quick finally getting a bit of respect…. (not enough)
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=596924
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our team faceoff winning percentage ranks 20th in the league, below 50% at 48.7%…kopi and stoll are just above 50%…richards is hovering around 45%…so as deep as we are at center, i think that might be one of the areas that these guys could stand to improve on…
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Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:05 pm
@variable, Lewis is not that much better than Richards in that department. The Kings are recovering well after the draw is lost though. Normal stats only keep track of faceoffs won, or lost, and %. Stats after the draw is won, or lost are positive for the Kings.
They could do a lot better winning them in the first place though.
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USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@Dominick,
Not really. It appeared the Kings lost most of the draws in their zone and most of the offensive zone draws when on the power play…
LA currently ranks 20th at 48.7%. This is one of the short comings of losing Hanzus.
They had a “huge” night against St. Louis (31-26), broke even in Phoenix (22-22) and ate the big weenie against Dallas (19-27)
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Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:41 pm
@USHA#17, I meant after they lose the draws. The Kings do a good job at picking up the man without the puck on faceoffs, and are 1 of the better teams at creating a turnover after a lost faceoff.
USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:56 pm
@Dominick,
Oh, it was cleat that you were referring to retrieving pucks but I feel the Kings are not doing a great job of doing that on top of being weak on the face off.
Last night was a good example. I believe the Kings lost all but one faceoff during the power plays…including the offensive ones were not successful in retrieving those pucks. This is one weakness exposed by the off season trades. Also of note is that Kopitar was frequently kicked out of the circle. Williams replaced him and badly lost his draws.
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USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:59 pm
…sorry about the diction…
“lost power play faceoffs…including the offensive zone face offs and LA was were not successful in retrieving those pucks (both offensive and defensive).”
EllieMurray Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:15 pm
@USHA#17, Williams won two draws lost one, thus being credited with a 67% faceoff percentage. I kinda fail to see how that is badly losing the draws?
Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:20 pm
@USHA#17,
It does end up that way. If you recover 18% of those losses, and your team is winning a lot of the faceoffs, that’s a good statistic.
If your recovering 18%, but your team is losing a lot of faceoffs, that’s still 18% recovery, but not a lot of added possesion time.
Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:27 pm
@USHA#17, Also with the added losses, the Kings have to recover more to make up the same %. They are recovering, but losing them in the first place still stinks.
USHA#17 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:31 pm
@EllieMurray,
I see the stats and your correct. I seem to recall Kopitar having been twice kicked out of the right offensive circle only to have Williams lose both draws. Perhaps the second draw, the power play draw which was drawn back behind the net was Richards and not Williams.
StillneedDewey fka PakiFro Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:09 pm
@variable,
Richards dominated in the circle in the Philly game but otherwise not so much. I wonder how often they practice that.
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JW Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 8:45 pm
@variable, It appears you are missing the fact that we won the most important draw. Richards wins the draw back to Scuds, to JMFJ game over!
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I’m really impressed with Moreau early. He’s only been on the left side for a little while, but it has made a huge difference in his effectiveness. The guys even leading the team in hits playing 3rd line minutes.
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variable Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:06 pm
@Dominick,
he’s doing exactly what he’s suppose to…but i imagine he’s probably been just as good, if not better, in the locker room…in many ways, the additional character/role player acquisitions that dl has made are proving to be just as important as the star ones…
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CB14 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:13 pm
@Dominick, I’ve been impressed by Moreau as well. He’s been solid all around, and is much faster than I thought he would be given his age and recent injuries. Very nice 3rd line pick up by DL for only 600 thousand.
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tacomakingsfan Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:39 pm
@Dominick,
So far he’s been a good pick up. Finishes his checks and hustles. Looks pretty responsible with the puck and tries not to do too much with it.
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DesertKing Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:08 pm
@tacomakingsfan,
Perfect analysis!
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KC23 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:54 pm
@tacomakingsfan, that does sum him up quite nicely.
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What is the NHL record for consecutive shutouts and who holds it?
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Splinter Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 pm
@Splinter, Ill answer my own question. Brian Boucher had 5 for the phoenix coyotes in the 2004-2005 season.
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gro96 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:10 pm
@Splinter, there was no 04-05 season
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Caleb C Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:24 pm
@gro96, lol
Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:07 pm
@gro96, Guess everybody got shutout there. lol
Anyone else imressed with the 4th line’s gritty play?
For the 5ish minutes they’re on the ice each night, they’ve been really effective every time they’re on the sheet.
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variable Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:12 pm
@Tmik,
if they continue to play well, tm will have to give them a few more shifts a game…if you can get a solid 8-10 minutes a night from yr fourth line, things are usually pretty good…
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Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:10 pm
@variable, That would be huge. If they can chip in a goal every 3 to 4 games that would go a long way to rolling 4 lines too.
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DesertKing Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:11 pm
@Tmik,
I was really impressed with that lines ability to maintain puck possession in Dallas’ zone. It seemed that they were able to keep cycling the puck down and by the time Dallas could clear it, they had to dump it for a line change.
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the stars played a frustratingly good game last night, shouldn’t of been that way as far as i’m concerned and i do miss turco but really didnt expect them to put up this kinda fight, hope we can win against them next time, GO KINGS!
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Jeff Reply:
October 24th, 2011 at 12:52 am
@Kings Fan In Temecula, Dallas has always played this way. The wrong thing was hiring Marc Crawford and trying to change them into a more offensive team. Getting back to the way that Dallas plays that is successful, which is defense first. That is why they have been successful and why they have gotten off to a good start so far this season.
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so if we went 12-3 last year at the 15-game marker, is anything less this season a disappointment…?
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Jeff Reply:
October 24th, 2011 at 12:48 am
@variable, No. The disappointment will be if this team didn’t learn from there November and January swoons and we have a couple like them again this season. I don’t want to see the Kings have to fight for a playoff spot anymore. I want to see them cruise into a playoff spot, not unlike Vancouver last season.
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The great thing about this team is that we are winning the type of games this year that we would have lost last year. Great grind it out win.
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tacomakingsfan Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:47 pm
@plywood,
So far so good. Last year we would taken a lead and only minutes shortly thereafter the game would be tied. Although we did look a little sloppy at the end of last night’s game I hope TM reiterated defense. The additions of MR, EM, and SG has really brought up the KINGS confidence. The first line looks so dominating against other teams.
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Has anyone else had the thought cross their mind that DD coming back may throw the defensive groove off for a while?
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tacomakingsfan Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:50 pm
@tornado12,
Yes, a little. When DD comes back JJ will regress a little. JJ is that type of player when given the opportunity, he will rise to the occasion. It’s going to be interesting what’s going to happen to our extra Dmen.
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vplaza Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:46 pm
@tornado12,
I’m thinking it doesn’t. This team understands what DD brings on the ice and having him back shouldn’t have anything but a positive impact.
I think JJ continues his stellar play even with DD back.
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Kings still no coverage on NHL network about epic play happening in LA…No respect!
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Is it my imagination or has JJ vastly improved his spinorama compared with last year?
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petemagoop Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:51 pm
@JackKent Cooke, Savardian like
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Hadley Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:56 pm
@petemagoop, I am not what is commonly known as a JMFJ fan, but even I was impressed by that move last night.
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Stuart Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:27 pm
@JackKent Cooke, it’s seems to be a lot tighter/crisper…does that make sense? lol quick spin under total control, I think I even saw him spin out of a spin one time this year…
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my numbers…..O number of goals VV have seen from the opposition…
O games lost when leading after 3 periods(in our history…what a streak!!)
6 games……..it took to loss alot of trolls!!!!!!!
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neil Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:04 pm
@neil, that is to lose alot of trolls!!!
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Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:13 pm
@neil, Their still here. Their just waiting in the wings for the bottom to drop.
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tacomakingsfan Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:19 pm
@Dominick,
Is that why it seems like a ghost town here? People waiting for the Kings to lose so they can post they were right about Bernier, Stoll, and whoever they dislike.
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tacomakingsfan Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:19 pm
@tacomakingsfan,
“like it’s”
CB14 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:27 pm
@tacomakingsfan, they’re watching football, just like me.
DesertKing Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:21 pm
@neil,
We need a hobbit to take out those trolls. If we can’t seem to find a good hobbit, we could just use a JJ slapshot.
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Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:47 pm
@DesertKing,
I do love the funny ones. Guys like Anthonyy are fun to engage because you know what he is. The ones that are hard to engage are the homegrown ones who actually like the team, but can’t help being jerks.
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rumpa#19 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@neil, Just add “priceless” at the end.LOL!!
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Osaka Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 4:21 pm
@neil, Anyone who is critical of the Kings is a troll? I like different opinions, it is boring when everyone agrees on everything.
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CB14 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:50 pm
@Osaka, Agreed. That’s what makes it interesting. Also, I can’t recall the last time I saw a post and thought that was someone trolloing the site and starting to dig up trouble, aka a troll. Just because someone disagrees with someone else’s opinion it doesn’t mean they are a troll. I’m not signaling anyone out, but it seems like too many people who disagree with someon’s post simply call that person a troll and fail to actually think about what that person is saying. I don’t like it when people do that when all a person is trying to do is bring up a talking point. After all, like you said, it’s boring when everyone agrees on everything.
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My favorite part of last nights game was cartman! Go kings Go!! Lol
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I got home from work around 1:30am last night, turned on the game and was completely riveted until the final horn sounded. The intensity for an early season game was playoff-like and what can you say about Quick? He was amazing and has been all year. The Stars missed a couple they should have put in but for the most part Quick was a wall!
I agree with some here that Penner looked a little slow in the first 2 periods, but really came on in the third. He looks like he’s thinking too much at times. He needs to just play IMHO. I still think it’s only a matter of time for him though. He will become the player we all know he can be soon enough. I think TM will switch Penner and Gagne at some point and this may be his catalyst.
How about our 4th line? Man are they playing well! Wearing the other team down and doing all the little things they’re supposed to be doing. Westy looks like a different guy out there. At this point I’ll take him over Hunter every night.
JMFJ JMFJ JMFin’J!! 3 game winners in 7 games? Really? He finally looks like the player we thought he was going to be. He is skating so well right now. At times he and Kopi looked like the only ones who had any room to skate out there. When DD comes back, we are going to have the same 1-2 punch on D that we have with Kopi and Richards at center. Talk about match-up issues. The rest of the league should have fun trying to keep up!
Such a positive start to the season. Under very difficult circumstances too. Congrats to the whole organization: players, coaches, management and ownership for doing what it takes to put a hungry, hard working and talented team on the ice for us to watch. It’s still early, but I’m confident that this team will do what it takes to have a very positive season!
GO KINGS GO!!
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Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:54 pm
@Stagger, Solid post. I do think Penner looked fine, and I think once he’s gotten to 5 or 6 games, he’ll get even better. Not bad for the first couple of games, and he’s doing it with a swollen knee.
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SpunkyTheBeagle Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:42 pm
@Stagger, Amen. I like the way Westie was skating. He’s really moving his feet now. Going to need to budget more $$$$ for more games now
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Jeff Reply:
October 24th, 2011 at 12:43 am
@Stagger, Penner was awesome against Dallas, probably his best game as a King. If it wasn’t for the Goalie stoning him, he would of been on the scoresheet. If Penner keeps playing like this, he will get his points/goals and we will be that much more dangerous.
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and 3-0-0 w/o DD8
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nice goal JJ…..thank you for being one of the few kings to sing autographs in new jersey….7 million my ass….
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I was really impressed with the play of the Stars, and have to give props to their coach, Glen Gulutzan. That’s one highly disciplined team. They stuck to their system from start to finish and could certainly have won the game. (Of course, I’m glad they didn’t!) They have considerably less individual talent than we do, but if they keep playing like they did last night they’re going to win a lot of hockey games this season.
Of course, the Kings are just beginning to jell. It’s going to be interesting to see how DD fits in once he returns. JJ has certainly become a force. And while it may seem most odd to offer the following opinion after shutting out our opponents three consecutive games, I think our defense isn’t playing anywhere near their capabilities. Jonathan Quick, however, has been nothing short of sensational.
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Awesome! Can’t wait to come home and watch my first home game with this team we’ve got!
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