Here’s my LAKings.com game recap for today, with stats, video and pictures included. Thanks for reading…
Thanks to all who came out today for the suite event. In attendance were Kings fans from England and from Toronto (and even a few from California). As always, it was a great event with great people, with a salute to Frank Robledo and Larry Abel for their work. The Kings are off the ice tomorrow and will return to practice Monday at 10 a.m. at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, before their afternoon flight to St. Louis.
What about making Penner a defensemen. With his size he should be able to clear the front of the net.
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ice is nice Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
@Eric Olsen, not in this league and wouldn’t have the foot speed to keep up with fast forwards. He has good soft goal scoring hands (don’t think he’s unpacked them from Edmonton), but I think his opportunity is running out. More likely to be a healthy scratch unless points start showing up on the scoreboard.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 12:21 am
@ice is nice, The key word is “should,” but he won’t clear people in front of the net as he has demonstrated or the lack thereof when playing opponents on the boards.
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wes Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:54 am
@Eric Olsen, Penner’s not a good enough skater to play defense. Greene’s rather slow of foot for a defenseman but could skate circles around Penner.
Penner’s toolbox of skills/strengths contains only a couple of tools:
1.) size, it can definitely be an advantage to just go “big body” on an opponent when you’re in position to do so.
2.) a hard, accurate shot.
That’s it.
We’ve seen Penner win a ‘shortest distance between 2 points’ foot race on rare occasion (have to say it surprises me when it happens), but he has little lateral and/or cutting agility. All in all, he’s one of the worst skaters in the league.
Penner’s presence on this roster is a genuine dilemma for LAK. He hardly constitutes interesting trade bait.
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Thanks Rich. It was great meeting everyone at the suite tonight. The Wings played great and we didnt. We appeared to be flat. Our PP seems to have regressed to its former stagnant system. On the bright side, it was our first loss in 4the games and i can live with losing only 1 out of every 4time games.
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Hope yall bought Hammer a beer or shot
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Well we’re 20 games into the season. This is the time, as i’ve been told by the Murray supporters on this blog, to evaluate the Kings team and more importantly the 5 on 5 offense.
Lets look at the team:
They are 1st in the Pacific, but that’s only because they’ve played more games than anyone else in their division at this point. They have won the same amount of games that they’ve lost, 10. Their “point percentage”, which is the best way to compare teams due to each team playing a different amount of games, is 17th in the NHL, 9th in the West, and 4th in the Pacific division.
23rd in Goals Per game with these players is pathetic. This should be at MINIMUM a top 15 offense, even with a defense first team mentality. Truthfully they should be a top 10 offense. The big problem I’ve had is the offensive system. The best way to tell the performance of a system is to look at 5 on 5 goal scoring, which is something TM has stressed the need to improve on for the past 2+ years. They are currently 29th in Average 5 on 5 Goals Per game. That’s not good, in fact that’s horrible, and below what last year’s numbers were.
7th in Goals against per game is good, the same is it was last year, no beef there.
The Power Play has been very good, 7th in the league, but they’ve benefited greatly from 5 on 3, and 4 on 3 PP chances. They lead the league in 5 on 3 goals, and 4 on 3 goals. I worry what will happen once we stop getting those 5 on 3 and 4 on 3 chances because our 5 on 4 has been a little below average actually. I’m not complaining about the PP, it just worries me a little.
The Penalty Kill has been bad compared to last year, and average compared to other teams this year. Last year the PK was 4th, this year it’s 17th. Not sure what caused the shift, but hope it’ll turn around.
So, to recap the major points: 17th in the NHL in points percentage, 29th in 5 on 5 Goals scored. An average team with an above average roster, and a horrible offensive team with an above average offensive roster.
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ice is nice Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
@CB14, interesting stats! Wouldn’t mind Rich asking Dean his thoughts on some of these team related stats.
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neil Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
@CB14,not stats but……Bernier doenst play……..Richardson is benched but ended up on the first line today(third period)..Westy doenst play…..Bottom six has regressed…..Cliffy hasnt improved(esp after the playoffs last year) Lewis hasnt improved…Richardson hasnt improved……DD2 doenst play…..20 games and if it wasnt for Quick…we would really be in trouble….havnt beat a contender(S.J> Pitts>Det>Van>)..
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CB14 Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
@neil, Great points neil. Especially the “20 games and if it wasnt for Quick…we would really be in trouble” line. I was saying after 8 or 9 games that they had been playing poorely and that the only reason they had a good record was because Quick was playing out of this world amazing those first 8 or 9 games. Then Quick came back to Earth and they struggled. You missed one big point though, “Startergate”. Since TM’s decision to sit Quick after 3 straight shutouts the Kings record is 5-6-2.
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5-hole Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
@CB14, Interesting point. I predeicted that TM not starting Quick after his 3 shut-outs was a momentum killer, not only the game Bernier lost but for Quick afterward. Hate it when I’m right! As for the other varied comments, notice that the majority of the shots the Kings are taking are coming from the perimeter, mostly outside of the circles, and there is no horse in front of the net like a Holmstrom. Lots of blocked shots, lots of pucks not on net, very few tips. Recipe for no goals. As for offense in general, mixing the lines does not help, and why did we go after a top-end center like Richards only to put him on lines with other centers like Stoll or Kopi? And I’m in agreement about the bottom-6 depth, Hunter and Moreau and Fraser are ineffective, Lokti is still not ready, Clifford and Lewis have regressed, and Stoll and Richardson are playing without much talent around them – heck, Richardson is one of the team leaders in hits, definitely not his game! The one thing that all of the woes have in common over the past few seasons where offense has been a problem, however, has been “the system”. Just stating a fact….
Donald Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:35 am
@CB14, Richardson a team leader in hits?? He is 9th while Clifford and Stoll are 4th and 5th.
5-hole Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 8:37 am
@CB14, Donald, he’s only 9th because of sitting. Look at per game average.
Overall, the team IS a lot better than 3 years ago, what’s frustrating is that they are plagued by the same problems that keep them from becoming elite, and that’s systemic. It’s not the only reason, but one has to take a hard look at why several of the Kings’ talented prospects have not been able to perform at the NHL level while in L.A. yet can go to other teams and become top-6 forwards there. Makes you wonder just how many goals that Kopi or Brownie or Stoll, etc. COULD score if they’re netting their normal 20+ now – ever notice how guys who come here from other places with a resume containing 30+ goals don’t achieve that here? I’m certainly not suggesting an overhaul, but I think it needs to be addressed by management.
Pesus Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
@neil,
Wow thats just laughable. In TM’s eyes Richardson is not good enough to crack the bottom 6 so he sits. Next game he’s on the top line. This to me confirms TM has no idea how to fix our scoring problems. How long does he get? How many good players do we give away because they dont fit our system? Those same players could be helping us score with a better system or coach.
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SVIK Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 8:44 am
@neil, beat Philly
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Lake Forest Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
@CB14, How many short handed goals did we have last year? Remind us of that stat.
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CB14 Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
@Lake Forest, 4. Compared to 3 this year. My post was not to bag on the PK, just listing the major team stats like Goals For, Goals Against, PP, and PK. The PK is the least of my worries.
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neil Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
@CB14, plus one…….goals for……goals against….
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rogiesbackup Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:10 am
@CB14, Where was this post when we beat the Ducks?? It’s too doom and gloom for just one game. Look at the big picture, redwings has lost two in a row, they had every reason to play well. It all boiled down to opportunties. Despite the margin of goals against the kings, I didn’t feel the Redwings dominated them. Just seemed like the redwings were ABLE to capitlize on their opportunities. For example, Datsyuk’s goal looked like it went off quickie and went into the net. It wasn’t that he was trying for that upper corner. How about the Kopi’s pSHOT. I know Kopi wanted to lift that puck higher but just couldn’t do it AT THAT TIME. You can’t win em all. Nothing more nothing less.
Kings seem like they are in a transition period once again, and probably so, because they’ve added several new players that haven’t jelled yet. You can see at times like Richards trying to pass to “lowkey”[lotkionov] and lowkey didn’t expect as you can see he has stopped short and the puck is 2 feet ahead of him. But, luckily for the Kings the season seems to be kinda wierd for the western conference and maybe the eastern one too. I mean I’d hate to be Vancouver right now after being in the stanley cup finals and they’re playing inconsistent hockey??!!! The bruins didn’t get it together until maybe couple weeks ago!
Only thing I can really question is Moreau/Hunter. I think the roles should be reversed!!! Moreau should be the “healthy-scratch” player and let tHunter play regularly. Seems tHunter plays more sound hockey. Also, WHY IS MOREAU IN THE PP????!!!!!!!!
As much as I feel quick is “GOD in a Hockey Mask,” he needs a rest every 4-5 games. He played well today, but bernier is sitting too long in between games.
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CB14 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:00 am
@rogiesbackup, As I said in my original post, I was told that it would take 20 games until we see the real Kings and that was when we could evaluate just how good a team they are. They just played their 20th game, that’s why I brought it up now. This post was not based off of 1 game, but rather the first 20 games, or 1/4 of the season.
The Redwings were able to capitalize on their chances because they had alot more of them, thus giving them much better odds to do so. I would like to see Bernier play in all the back to back situations, but not when Quick has 3 straight shutouts.
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Forum67 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:53 am
@CB14,
I completely agree with your analysis. I don’t feel that it is being disrespectful to the positive things that TM has accomplished by pointing out that we are offensively challenged under his system. I strongly feel we are going to need a different coach to take us to The Cup.
Among my disappoints player wise after the first quarter of the season are Dustin Brown’s penchant for missing glorius scoring opportunity; Justin Williams over handling the puck just to cough it up; Loki apparently still not able to win the one on one battles at th NHL level; and Drew Doughty not playing remotely like a seven mil per season defenseman. And need I even mention Penner.
I have total confidence that the Kings will make the playoffs again this season. I have NO confidence that we will win The Cup this season if TM remains at the helm.
CB 14, let’s hope your half season analysis, if you do one, does not find us still offensively challenged and with a middle of the pack penalty kill.
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Time to consider a coaching change.
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Babcock > Murray, and Im a Kings fan, Kings have the better team, Wings have the better coach. Wanna trade coaches, we can throw in that waste of space Penner to?
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Pesus Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
@chuckrocks,
Babcock made the proper adjustments after an evenly played 1st peroid. Detroit cruised after that and TM again had no answer.
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hipcheck Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 8:00 am
@Pesus, adjustments? what are these things you speak of known as “sdjustments”?
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Bkrs-Bud Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
@chuckrocks, the wings have balanced scoring the Kings do not.
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Harty Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 6:06 am
@Bkrs-Bud, the kings could have balance scoring……..
seriously its all mental for the players, most teams play their 4th line more then LA why they have faith and the coaches want to build a true mindset of total team and effort.
TM is loosing the grip he had on most guys, yep time for a change DL
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Wasn’t in the suite today…MIGHT have stayed if I was. Left after the 2nd period because I knew we had no chance. Great first period, flat and unemotional second. How does a team play so well in the 1st only to drop the ball in the 2nd and 3rd? Coaching plain and simple. Somethings gotta give.
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@CB14, Wow, nice work. The penalty kill is down but we get shorties. Maybe we are more offensive minded on the PK than last year. 5 on 5 we are pathetic. I also agree with players regressing. Even DD and JJ seem to be making a lot of bone headed mistakes. JQ has kept us in it for some games and the rest we have been beating up on weak teams or teams on their bad nights. Beating the schmucks two nights in a row is fun but not a major achievement, they suck. At this rate we will squeak into the playoffs and lose in the first round once we run into a real team. This season seems lost already, coaching change or not. Sorry but that’s the way I see it. Maybe we can get a competent coach in the off season and try again next year.
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CB14 Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
@King-C, Good points. The Quacks suck this year and we allowed them to comeback in each game.
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DBking Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:08 am
@King-C, Don’t be mistaken, we have more shorthanded goals because of Mike Richards. He is an absolute specialist at scoring while shorthanded.
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Brownkingsfan Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:41 am
@DBking, I totally agree. ALL 3 of the shorthanded goals have come from players acquired during the offseason! Richards and Gagne! Other than that, the PK is worse this year than last year. Neither Moreau nor Hunter belong on the PP. Moreau was in front of the net to act as a screen, but he’s not skilled enough to be effective. I don’t know why TM and/or JK doesn’t stick with his best players on the PP. It WAS vastly improved over last season, until he started tinkering with it, and rotating ineffective players in. Our 5 on 5 sucks. PP is quickly getting worse. The only time the Kings’ offense is putting goals in consistently is when the opposing teams have only 3 players on the ice, 5 on 3, and 4 on 3. We are not a real competitor for the cup. There needs to be a change.
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I wish a few of you who are crying for a coaching change called into the after show with Nick and Daryl. Nick flat out called out a guy who wanted “Andy” Murray to be fired. Nick put the blame on the players not the coaches. He even made a comment about everyone crying after a loss. How everyone blames the coach.
Our bottom 6 simply aren’t producing. Our top 6 (most) are producing like machines. They are crazy good.
Simplistic answer is to improve the bottom 6 and defense (a tiny bit).
Moreau, Hunter, Richardson, Penner, Lewis combine for 0 goals.
Stoll, Clifford, and fraser only have 1 each.
Do you really blame coaching? I mean stoll had a 20 goal year last year right? Who was coach last year? hmmmmmmmm
These guys need to pick it up. You think firing a coach wouldn’t have a negative effect on what is already in place for the top 6???? You think a new coach could improve the top 6 WHILE ALSO improve the bottom 6?
Let’s ask Santa if he could coach, that’s how unrealistic people are who think a coaching change would fix everything. or let’s have one of us coach, you know the majority who coach on emotions.
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Lake Forest Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
@Lake Forest, to add, I was very jealous of all the guys who made it to the suite event. I hope to make it out one of these times (maybe next year). Hope everyone had a great time! I also want to thank the guys that pitched in to make it happen for a few of the other guys. Class act!
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Pesus Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
@Lake Forest,
A new coach couldnt do any worse. And if he is worse so what? This team wont win a playoff series anyway so you atleast have to try and stir things up. Babcock just made a couple simple adjustment after the 1st peroid and the wings cruised to victory after that.
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CB14 Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
@Lake Forest, I’ve been blaming the Coach for the last year, and I don’t just blame him after losses. Stoll scored 20 goals last year because he played with better players on the 2nd line. You can’t compare Smyth and Williams to Clifford and Richardson.
The bottom 6 are players who lack the skill of a top 6 forward and thus rely on the system to get them their goals, unlike the top 6 who use their skill to score goals. That’s why they aren’t scoring. Also, DL knew the Kings would sacrifice bottom 6 scoring when he added 2 top 6 forwards and promoted 2 4th line players to the 3rd line.
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neil Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
@CB14, who did the Kings promote from the 4th line to the third???
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CB14 Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
@neil, Clifford and Richardson. Poni and Simmonds were the 3rd liners last year alongside Zues.
Bkrs-Bud Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
@Lake Forest, Nice post.
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King-C Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
@Lake Forest, This season is 20 games old already. I agree a coaching change would not make much of a difference but DL should take a serious look at what this team has talent wise and what it did. I’m not a coach or an expert. I have eyes and a brain. You can’t possibly tell me that the ills of this team have nothing with coaching. I really don’t care what Nick or anyone else said. What do you expect them to say? The same experts will say a coaching change was the right move if TM got fired tomorrow.
Things are not good and suckage happens from the top to the bottom. I’m getting sick of paying hard earned money for season tickets to watch this team stink it up every other game. I have suffered through much worse and still go to the games but I’m not sure about others. in my section there is already rumblings of not renewing for next year.
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Lake Forest Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
@King-C, There needs to be improvements coach-wise and player-wise. I’m not saying those changes involve trading or firing anyone. Just needs some work. If we improve the bottom 6, we are kings of the NHL. Strong goal-tending, strong defense, strong top 6.
This is coming from a guy who would kill to afford season seats! My emotions would play into this factor if I had them.
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Forum67 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:22 am
@Lake Forest,
Coaching changes can, and often do, make a difference for a variety of reasons (it certainly is in St. Louis so far). I can’t speak for others on this blog calling for a coaching change but I can speak for myself. I am very grateful for what TM has accomplished with this team. He took over after the diaster Marc Crawford left behind and made the Kings a playoff team after the team had been a non playoff team for years. He turned the Kings into one of the best teams in the NHL defensively. And he could relate to all the young players he inherited. He’s accomplished numerous positive things. But I just don’t believe he can take us to the next level.
As to the players on this team, I believe the overwhelming majority are giving it their all out there on the ice. I do not believe we aren’t scoring because of a lack of hard work or commitment by the players. If players, asva group could objectively analyze, critique, and correct their own play there would be no need for coaches.
TM is a very good coach and TM had some very good teams in Philly and he has a very good team here. To date he hasn’t led any team to The Cup (although he did have a Philly team that made it to the final).
My final thought is no coach gets to coach a thousand games at the NHL level unless he’s good, and TM obviously is good. I just don’t believe he is the coach that will get us The Cup.
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dmoney Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 12:33 pm
@Lake Forest, totally agree with you. I think this post summarizes the ‘fire TM’ crowd for me:
“A new coach couldn’t do any worse. And if he is worse so what?”
That’s the mentality. Change for the sake of change, even if it’s worse. What’s up with that?
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Problem….lack of scoring bottom six……we all see that.The question is how do the Kings fix it? Its the job of the GM and coach to make this right.That is why I have said in the past that Parse is the key.Without Penner and Parse we dont have enough depth to cover the bottom six.I think we are going to have to trade a defensemen for help on offense.I also think our defense against the top teams(Pitts,S.J,Det,Van)hasnt been up to par….
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Kings x Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 3:59 am
@neil, Completely functioning 2nd line and bottom six support scoring. D scoring has not been overwhelming either. Cough DD.
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number 6 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:19 am
@neil,
Well, if not mistaken they’ve given up four twice and three twice wrt those teams. So, no not up to par in those games. But it’s particularly urgent when you have a team that is hard pressed to score…… full stop….. 5-on-5.
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Im not sure of the numbers but I think under TM we are a better road team then a home team. Does anybody feel this is because TM has the final say in line match ups? On the road you just send them out and let the other team adjust. Maybe at home he out thinks himself? I dont know, maybe Im way off base.
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Yap, as has been stated by others, the 3rd and 4th lines need to contribute SOMETHING. They dont generate much forecheck or many scoring chances. The only one of the six who has ANY hands is Stoll and thats a lot of the problem.
At the end of last season I was a big Lewis fan but he really is invisible out there this season; he’s good on the PK but we have lots of PK guys now.
Lokti is still weak; he needs to be at C cause he’s useless along the boards. His strengths are ice vision and passing; he has no others.
DD seems like our worst defensive D-man by far; I said I didnt like pairing him with JJ and I still don’t. DD tries too many times to make cute plays in the defensive end of the ice and that needs to stop. Be safe in your zone and fancier up ice, dude!
Today was a step backward but those will happen. Time to re-group… and time to get JB back into the action.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:25 am
@bbb7, Yes, third and forth line woes!! Make eMoreau a healthy scratch and insert tHunter in the line-up. I also feel the kings should tap into Manchester for a third/forth line player.
I actually think Westy can play some hockey too. He showed his skills in playoff against sJose last season. Let him fight ONLY when he needs to.
I think Penny(what he’s worth) goes to the third-line where he actually looked good in.
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number 6 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:22 am
@bbb7,
Lokti said in an interview w Rich I believe, that after last years experience he would be more comfortable on the wing. But what is he gonna say? ‘I think I’d actually prefer to get back w the Monarchs so I can play center’?
Some guys can make the adjustment and some can’t. It was way obvious last year…. as soon as Lokti moved to center he started to improve fairly dramatically, certainly wrt scoring.
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@RICH HAMMOND,
You still put on a great shindig! We all had a great time and we do appreciate you and what you offer us, here on the blog and at Hammond Events too! Glad I got to shake your hand again today!
Thank you!
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puck73 Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
@Kingsfanone, Good to see you and brother Phil again.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
@puck73,
Hey…….didn’t I see your name on the jumbotron?
You deserved it, giving Kevin from Toronto the experience of his life! The capper being he gets a picture taken with Luc!
You did good puck! Well done!
But the Trojan gear? Really? j/k
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given our coaches philosophy, sit the 3rd and 4th lines,(they don’t produce anyways) and Just play JQ as he has the only hot hands. That will fix the problems. Nor more 3rd and 4th problems and only the best goalie. We don’t need anything else. I said this last year and even this year on the first ducks game, a game that we won. Its time for a coaching change TM’s gotta go. We have the players, TM is just not capable of managing our resources.
RR
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Am I the only person embarrassed to be a Kings’ fan tonight? Not because of the team’s admittedly lackluster performance today, but because of the fans’ inability to compete against the Wings’ fans at Staples.
I personally (at my advanced age) found myself yelling at a loudmouthed Wings’ fan to go back to his foul city and take a swim in the Detroit River.
We might do better if we had an adequate response to the 3,000 people in our building chanting “Let’s Go, Red Wings.” A tiny chorus of boos or an anemic “Let’s Go, Ki-i-ings” just won’t do it.
The least we could do is drown them out with a better and louder cheer. In that “Let’s Go, Ki-i-ings” is not very intimidating, perhaps we could try “Let’s Go, L.A.” Fifteen thousand people chanting “Let’s Go, L.A.” could easily overcome the Detroit fans.
I really think our players might be inspired if we could do better for them. Hearing the home crowd chant for Detroit is probably not very uplifting.
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King-C Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
@Hadley, My blood pressure was going through the roof. This idiot red wing fans sitting behind me talking trash. After the MR goal I turned around and gave it to them good. Then I had to hear it the rest of the game. Pathetic is all I can say. Pathetic!
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Duguay's Mullet Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 11:42 pm
@Hadley, Couldn’t have said it better myself. So disappointed in our fans at the game tonight, we may as well have been sitting in the Joe Louis arena.
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Tonight’s game started out very entertaining. Thought the King’s looked pretty good in the 1st but with a world class team like Detroit, our system needs to be able to shift gears and adjust. They read our plays and made an adjustment to shut it down. Before we knew it, they owned the nuetral zone and then things went southies from there.
The stats @CB14 pointed out are very telling. 5 on 5 is still the key and adjustments need to be made or it’s another 1st round exit. Guys like Richards, Kopi and Quick deserve a cup. The rest of the team needs to catch up and soon. I saw some of the mistakes by Scuds but everyone can have a bad game once in a while. Still a huge fan of Scuds. The 7 million dollar man really needs to start living up to his payscale because now he is running a deficit. JJ needs to be paired with someone and have a defined role because he looks a little lost out there. Hopefully we can build confidence in the next few and show teams like Detroit, Vancouver and SJ a refined hockey club.
It was a decent learning experience and hope we can make the necessary adjustments.
-GKG-
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Ryan Smyth is on pace for 45 goals this year. No wonder he wanted a trade out of here..
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Scot Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:13 am
@PP Anybody?,
Can’t blame him! This offensive system suffocates good players.
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KC23 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:53 am
@PP Anybody?, Although, still just a +1.
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number 6 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:25 am
@PP Anybody?,
Is that a joke or are you serious. I know he had 9 last I heard.
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CB14 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:31 am
@number 6, 11 so far in 19 games.
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number 6 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:25 am
@CB14,
Is that all?
PP Anybody? Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
@number 6, Actually, mathematically he is now on pace for 47 GOALS http://tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=1342
As for whether or not he can keep it up, who’s to say, but the point is he is scoring at a hell of a lot better pace this year under a different coach and system, even with being a year older and “slower”.
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number 6 Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 11:42 am
@PP Anybody?,
It just might be the secret…… skate slower. And incredible things can happen. Sort of a rope a dope for hockey. And all this time I thought the Kings needed more speed.
lol
Here is my evaluation of some of the players tonight.
JQ Not as solid as usual but acceptable
MR Stud
AK Stud
DB played his heart out.
JMFJ lost and confused
DD Overpaid, lost and confused
VV solid
TM lamp post
JK …..no comment
The rest were OK but barely OK
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Harty Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 6:10 am
@King-C, true, however the league is changing my friends……
Toronto hammered, actually hammered Washington last night. Big problems in Capital city.
We don’t have those types of issues yet, lets keep this thing going, we are 5 points out of 1st in league, com’on.
Don’t over react, over acheive and expect what you get…..
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Forum67 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:37 am
@King-C,
Agree 100%.
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A lot of people here have said to wait till the 20 game mark before passing any judgement or making an assessment of this team. So, today was the 20th game.
Here are the 20 game stats:
After 20 games, the Kings have 10 wins and 10 losses(7 regulation and 3 OT losses).
They currently sit 24th in Goals For a game.
They are 28th in 5 on 5 goals a game.
They are 28th in 1st period goals.
They are 23rd in 3rd period goals.
They are 18th in 5 on 4 goals.
They are currently in 6th place in the conference, one point ahead from 9th place.
On the plus side:
They are 1st in 5 on 3 goals.
They are tied for 1st in 4 on 3 goals with 2 GOALS, but that puts them only 2 goals ahead of 30th placed Winnipeg which has none.
They are 9th in PP%.
They are 7th in goals against.
I would say that by looking at the numbers, this team is still struggling to find an offensive identity. Will it find one? Does it need one? Can it compete for a Cup as it is currently being run? Do they stack up to Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, or Vancouver? Is it just a matter of taking ANOTHER 20 games for this team to “gel”? Is Murray still the right coach? Is it “the system”? Will things change and get better?
Questions, questions questions…
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PP Anybody? Reply:
November 19th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
@PP Anybody?, Just to add, I didn’t see CB14′s post till after I wrote this. Should’ve guessed he’d beat me to it.
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CB14 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:03 am
@PP Anybody?,
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Scot Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:21 am
@PP Anybody?,
It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?
Hey, we were all right about bringing up Loktionov & Voynov..
Why wouldn’t we be right about this team needing a new coach?
I know that Dean Lombardi is an experienced man in the NHL business, & well-respected.. But there are LOTS of people that post on these blogs that have been alive as long as Terry Murray & DL, that have followed hockey their whole lives & understand the game. There have to be at least some people that post on here that know what they’re talking about. And normally in sports, following the pattern this team is on, this is when you replace the coach. The expectation of *offense* this season has not been met by the 20-game mark. It’s time for a change. We do not stack up against Chicago, San Jose, Detroit, or Vancouver, and we were expected to.
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I like the idea of a ‘lets go L A’ chant stated above. Someone should get that started. I’m gonna try too.
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Bill M. Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 4:43 am
@Subby, I like it too. It needs to be four syllables to a pounding beat: Let’s! Go! L! A!
Maybe slowly speeding up as we chant. I like it. Like a chant of warriors before battle. Lots of energy for the team. Really intimidating for opponents. Probably need to have the kings production lead the crowd to get people in the habit, but it would probably catch on and just happen on it’s own eventually. Can we get this idea to Danny Zollars somehow?
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c4sraser Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:02 am
@Bill M., whatener happened to “Serious Hockey”
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goldielocks Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:55 am
@Subby,
I’m actually sick of that recorded voice of ‘Go Kings go’ chant. Whoes voice is that anyway? And who do the best chant in NHL? Certainly, not the Kings.
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I’m not sure anyone has pointed this out yet, regarding people wanting a coaching change around here, but the Blues are 4-0-2 since getting a new coach, with 2 shutouts. I know it’s 2 different teams, different coaches, apples to oranges, yada yada, but still. That team was totally underachieving, & they have turned it around with a new coach. Just sayin.
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All I have to say is, look at TM’s tenure. He hasn’t won, and he cannot win.
http://www.theroyalhalf.com/2011-articles/november/trh-gameday-17-minnesota-wild.html
Scroll down a bit and you’ll see…..
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Bottom line hard stat: any team that is going to win the cup or at least go deep into the playoffs has to be top 10 in offense. Edmonton was the only exception in 2006.
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The tip over the net from Brown at the end of the game kind of symbolized how that went. Better luck next time.
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I do not consider it time for a coaching change. IMHO TM has earned the right to play out the season and hopefully the playoffs. At some point you have to hold players responsible. Richardson, Clifford, Lewis, Moreau, Hunter, Penner, and Westgarth have combined for the following:
2 goals
11 assists
-14 plus/minus
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Harty Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 6:12 am
@KC23, where’s Stoll, he has zero, no goals……He plays PP, PK, 5v5, this is where the issue is this type of player that is truely underachieving.
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KC23 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:56 am
@Harty, Stoll has 1 goal and 5 assists … but point well taken. Considering what he has had for line mates and still not negative in the plus/minus I gave him a pass on that post.
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Forum67 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:43 am
@KC23,
I think you hold the players responsible if there is a lack of commitment or effort on their part. That is not the case with these players.
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I see a lot of post about firing TM, but I noticed not a single one has a single solitary suggestion on who should replace him.
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Harty Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 6:14 am
@KC23,
-Mike Keenan
-Wayne Gretzky
-Mike Milbury
-Brian Lund
it won’t matter till the players trust each other and they work together. I like Lundy to take this team to the cup and allow him to bring his own staff, I know two he would pick…….
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KC23 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:59 am
@Harty, Who is Brian Lund?
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Harty Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
@KC23, Lund is a Swedish style coach, no dump and chase in his playbook. Everyone is accountable for thier actions and no one gets off the hook.
Puck control especially in his end is the key with quick movement.
You guys would be amazed by the work ethic and team discipline he could bring along with PP and PK strategies.
Anyway I like Melrose, too bad Hitchcock got snapped up again and there is always Ted Nolan?
number 6 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 9:33 am
@Harty,
Mike Keenan….. poor idea
Wayne Gretzky? That’s a joke I’m assuming.
Mike Milbury….. yes, I wonder if he can do as fine a job behind the bench as he did as gm for the Isles?
Brian Lund…… Yeah!! Now you’re ta….. wait. Who? Who is Brian Lund?
All above meant to be funny, so hope it doesn’t come off wrong …….
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Scot Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
@Harty,
I would vote No, NO, Hell no, and No. Like someone said above, I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a joke. If it was, I’m surprised Barry Melrose wasn’t on that list.
I would give the job to a young new coach. Look at Tampa, Dallas, Minnesota, San Jose, Pittsburgh, New Jersey.. Especially Tampa and Dallas. All of those teams have hired a young coach who has never coached in the NHL but understands the game nowadays more than fossils like Terry Murray, Marc Crawford, Darryl Sutter, etc etc. And those teams are having a lot more success than we are having. Teams are doing away with those coaches, & going younger, & it’s working!
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Management are pulling some strings and TM is being influenced by others no doubt.
Sit back and look at the talent and figure out for the guy who should be with who……..
certainly our PP should look like this for sure…..
Unit 1
Gagne, Richards, Williams
Kopitar, Johnson
Let Kopi set it up with his vision…….
Unit 2
Brown, Kopitar, Doughty
Scuderi, Martinez
Yes double shift Kopi and move Doughty upfront, he costs us way too much on the PP on D
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There’s really only 3 possible reasons for the win one/lose one course the Kings are on: 1. the player aren’t very good 2. the system employed doesn’t make the most of the player’s talent 3. the players effort is inadequate. Numbers 2 & 3 are on TMs shoulders. I think the Kings have great talent…..I wonder about TM.
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KC23 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 8:18 am
@MonarchsKingsFan, Bottom 6 forwards aren’t getting it done so I would argue that the talent just isn’t there. Top 6, except for 2nd line left winger position are looking good.
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Thanks again for all who participated in the Suite event this year. We really appreciate you guys coming out.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:26 am
@EASportsMgt,
Frank, all I can say is you did a fantastic job putting that together! Really appreciative of your skills!
Looking at the posts above………wanna coach?
Thank you for a great event! Along with Larry Abel and Rich Hammond, its all good! Thank you immensely!
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Forum67 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:51 am
@EASportsMgt,
Frank, thanks. It was a suite experience.
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Exospeed Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:43 am
@EASportsMgt, Thank you Frank, Rich, and Larry for putting the event together. My wife. son, and I had a good time even tho the game didnt turn out in our favor.
We almost didn’t make it in with the group, we hit some nasty traffic going through Santa Barbara and ended up getting the the 11th st. doors at almost 11:30, handed off our waivers and got our badges just in time to go inside with the group.
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OK I have just spent 1 and a half hours reading the posts from last night. None of us likes it when we lose. That’s why there is no NFL team in LA. Folks in LA want winners and winners only, except your faithful die hard Kings fan. We as a fan base have been through a lot. Being 10-10 after 20 games is average. There’s still a lot of season to be played and if we win our next 2 on the road everyone will be back to their happy selves. If a couple of those shots that went off the post would of went in we might of has a chance to win the game. But hell they didn’t we lost. I don’t have the answers for this club. I think we are an average team with the chance to grow throughout the season and by playoffs time be good enough to win a round or two in our chase for the cup. We still seem to be in awe of some of the better teams in the league. Until we come into every game with the attitude of we are the Kings and we are better than you we will always just be an average team. My expectations have been lowered and when we lose it just doesn’t hurt as bad. Sorry for the grammar issues this morning. Being that I should have been at work already I’m typing faster then ever before. I never makes sense anyways so way should today be any different. Have a nice Sunday everyone. And was shock that not many of you who went to Suite Day have posted what it was like. Hope you guys got your 100$ worth.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 7:40 am
@kinginsaltlake,
We got our money’s worth alright! I even told Lil Rhody of your post about you seeing him needing a drink refill! He and Danielle laughed when I told him you posted that.
It would’ve been great to have had you in the suite too!
The game? Well, not so much. We told Luc when he dropped by to visit during the first period we hope to get a win, but alas, didn’t happen. Kevin From Toronto got his picture taken with Luc, so I don’t know if he’s come down yet! He had a dream weekend, for sure!
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For the love of sanity..the people who are calling for TM’s head weren’t doing it the day before when the Kings were in 1st place in the Pacific. Pathetically sad!
We didn’t play well last night. It’s a game we deserve to lose and we got what was coming to us.
Great question asked by Rich re the Kings chasing the game. Perfect!
There’s nothing wrong with letting the players have it on the blog for a poor performance..the same as it’s right to praise them when they deserve it…but stop bashing the coach only when we lose. If he’s to blame for losses, I guess he’s the reason we win. You all know that’s ridiculous so stop blaming everything from TM to meteors and blame the guys getting paid millions to win games!
I’m sure Tuesday they’ll come out with the right attitude and put forth a winning effort!
GO KINGS!
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alicia Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:08 am
@nykingfan,
I found it rather funny that when you look at the posts from after the Anaheim games, everyone is praising the team and TM. Now, after losing one game, to a team that has made playoffs for 20 straight years (highest af all major sports) we should fire teh coach. I’m not saying he great or anything, im just think that the blame falls on more than his shoulders. I think that his system, when followed, creates alot of success with our team. The problem comes when the team gets caught chasing and not following any kind of system. That is on the players. There are games that i would say we lost because of TM (not starting JQ after his 3 SO’s) but yesterday against the wings was not one of those games.
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Flex Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:51 am
@alicia, Nobady was praising Tm after Anahaim game(the worst team minus Lubo) in division.Nobady!!!The first game only one goal (AGAIN AGAIN .second game almost give away ,if not Kopi…Nobady was praising TM …HE IS DONE!!! Find a replacment. DL first Thing to do,before “finding” some wingers and trade some of those centers(TO MANY )
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
@alicia, I knocked TM after the Ducks games.
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puck73 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:01 am
@nykingfan, I originaly wanted TM fired because the system he was running was not condusive for a successful offense. However, since the Vancouver game it is apparent that he has changed the system, and our players are getting more scoring chances then ever. Yesterday, the Kings hit a couple of posts, missed a penalty shot, and had a couple others that could have went in.
Sometimes the puck doesnt bounce your way, and as I have said many times, as long as we open up the offense to a degree and allow players to be creative, then I will not call for TM’s job. If for aome reason he goes back to grinding it out along the boards the whole game, then I am going to come right back and douse him with gas and strike an ohio blue tip!
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jess Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:14 am
@puck73,
If you set TM on fire, his reaction would be a stoic blank gaze towards nothing in particular.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:59 am
@puck73,
Would it be a “heavy blaze?”
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Flex Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 11:35 am
@nykingfan, Tm problem is getting old and it is time to understand that. It is not about one lose ,it is not about 10/10 result .Problem is Scoring.#1 problem last two years.That is a FACT.#2 Dls (who some of you trust soooooo much) has a “wickniss”…collecting centers.
We got soooo many of …but not a winger….and He give up Simmonds to flyers who has more goals than our captain DB(!?!????)…Last year,after failing to land Kovi ,Dl said..”we been in this business long time and konw somebody (always) ..you know. Well, did not happen.
That somebody was Marco Sturm..after Penner. This year Dl failed on primery goal= Brad Richard !!! Dl Failed to keep Zuus for 2m…and team does not have anybody in fronf of the net That’s why so called shot mentality or puck mamagment are almost worthless.Please ,somebody check what type of terminalagy are using FORMER KINGS Balsma and Tippet ….Or maybe those teams are loaded with more talents in 3rd and 4th lines?? (i do not think so) Dl need to focus to find a new coach.This team has at list 6 players who can score 25 goals .Kopi can be aregular 40-50 goal guy.We have 4 D who can score.we have two nhl elite goales WE GOT more than enough talent to be one of the BEST ,if not THE BEST.
Remember,Soon or later TM have to lieve. HE got no edea what to do.He is DONE!!!Replacment (?) is not easy,but ..DL (SAID) that he has been in this business for long time and there is alway somebody (THIS TIME COACH) available.
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nykingfan Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
@Flex,
I guess you want to go back to the Taylor days of no playoffs and no hope..the atmosphere that existed before DL took over.
It’s a shame he only got Mike Richards..how come you left that tidbit out?
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@KC23,
I doubt if he’d take the job but I’d nominate Dale Hunter. Or failing that Kirk Muller or Bob Hartley.
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I have been one of the people pushing for Lokti to be brought up. However, it is clear that he is not ready for prime time – at least not at LW. Either play him at center, or move him back to Manchester.
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number 6 Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
@rick,
I think he’s probably ready. He’s just not ready for LW. He doesn’t seem to A) be physically built that way and B) his strength is his vision and passing. Not being a sniper, though he can score.
Also, if he were playing center, because his strength is passing, not sure how much that can shine if he’s centering 4th line players that don’t have a natural touch around the net.
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Bummed I did not get to make the suite this time around. You guys looked like you had a blast in spite of the final score. Bob & Jim sure seemed impressed. Looks like it gets better every time.
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Hockeyfanb4Gretzky Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 9:55 am
@Cynic, You and me both Brother.
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