The Kings had a full morning skate today, after which Terry Murray said there would be no lineup changes, including Jonathan Quick staying in goal. Dustin Penner is scheduled to evaluated by a team doctor tonight, but Alec Martinez is not yet close to playing. More notes and quotes to come, including a lengthy look at third-line production (or lack thereof.)
LATEST NEWS- The Key Three: May 22
- Los Angeles is Kings of the road
- Kings' success brings back memories of 1993
- Can anyone stop the Kings?
- Kings' run evokes memories of '93 for broadcasters
- Kings await Rangers or Devils in Stanley Cup Final
- Kings, Coyotes differ sharply on Brown's hit
- Penner's overtime winner caps personal turnabout
- Live Chat: Western Conference Final
- TV and Radio - Tonight
RULES FOR BLOG COMMENTING
- No profanity, slurs or other offensive language. Replacing letters with symbols does not turn expletives into non-expletives.
- Personal attacks against other blog commenters, and/or blatant attempts to antagonize other commenters, are not tolerated. Respectful disagreement is encouraged. Posts that continually express the same singular opinion will be deleted.
- Comments that incite political, religious or similar debates will be deleted.
- Please do not discuss, or post links to, websites that illegally stream NHL games.
- Posting under multiple user names is not allowed. Do not type in all caps. All violations are subject to comment deletion and/or banning of commenters, per the discretion of the blog administrator.
SOCIAL MEDIA
LA Kings Insider LA Kings Official
while im on the fence about the moreau/richardson/lewis situation, i dont know if i agree with playing quick tonight. the team is sort of still looking for sustained solid play, quick has been performing adequately but he looked bad on the first dallas goal and sort of misplayed the OT goal. this game seems like a perfect opportunity to let bernier play a big game and see if the goaltending balance should be altered slightly. after all, quick’s record is now .500 as well, so its not like the team is winning with any more regularity with him in net these days.
[Reply]
Deadmarsh Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:13 am
@Stop the Puck, TM is doing exactly what he said he wouldn’t do, play Quick 70 games.
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:16 am
@Deadmarsh,
I don’t care about that as much as the fact that he’s playing Moreau who based on, what would you say…. very poor decision making on a regular basis, might do better to sit and watch….. and think about what he might do differently the next time out. But I guess the next time out for him is tonight.
[Reply]
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:34 am
@number 6,
Agreed. I would think giving the team a better chance at more offense meant playing Lewis & Richardson, not Hunter & Moreau. Hawks are fast and score goals, as the Quack found out last nite.
TM saw Dallas coming back after Kings got up, but did nothing to change the momentum, kinda like that playoff game last season. Sure we got 3 out of 4 points, but how needed will that 1 point be at the end of the season. How many times does this happen? How many 1 points here and there.
I’m not talking panic button here, but every point is important in this league, isn’t it?
variable Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:51 am
@number 6,
yeah, i thought tm could go either way on moreau and he decided to give the veteran another chance to play better…
California Royalty Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:19 am
@Stop the Puck, Or Westgarth against the Hawks. Who’s he going to fight? Carcillo?
[Reply]
FRO Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:22 am
@Stop the Puck, I agree completely. Quick needs to sit and have to earn his way back in. That is when he plays best in my opinion.
[Reply]
AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:38 am
@Stop the Puck,
How in the world can you say that Quick misplayed either of those goals? The last one was a cross ice ice passes that was misplayed by the defense (Voynov I believe). What was he supposed to do on the first one when Benn is allowed to run around the zone unchecked. The defense let Quick down on all 3 goals.
All that being said I wouldn’t mind seeing Bernier in the net tonight.
[Reply]
KingsFanFTW Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
@AZ King, they want Quick to be god of Goalies to save them all..
When Bernier in net its the team fault not him…I like Bernier too he a good goalie i just dont like it when we have to great goalies then they throw one under a bus
[Reply]
Meekie Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
@AZ King, AGREE!
[Reply]
#unclewillyson Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@AZ King, why is quick on his back on that first goal???… Or flat on his stomach half the time?
[Reply]
AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
@#unclewillyson,
If it wasn’t clear enough from the explanation above than it’s not worth trying to explain it again. Watch a little more hockey you’ll understand.
Carey Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:48 am
@Stop the Puck, Quick’s numbers the previous 12 games:
4-5-3 W-L Record
2.78 GAA
.910 SV%
It’s not his fault the team has been incredibly inconsistent, but he hasn’t been stellar recently, either. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bernier get more starts. The Kings will never know what they have in Bernier if he never plays.
[Reply]
Lewis & Richardson, come back to me!
[Reply]
Donald Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:16 am
@California Royalty, Maybe a trade in the works??
[Reply]
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:37 am
@Donald,
No, not a trade. Just a decision, good or bad we’ll find out tonite, won’t we.
[Reply]
variable Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:51 am
@California Royalty,
hey, buddy…
still trying to get that video to you…(!)
[Reply]
Interesting. The Blues are 6-1-2 since Ken Hitchcock took over as the coach of the club.
[Reply]
Michael J. Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
@PP Anybody?,
Only loss is to Terry Murray. I’m not sure what that means…
[Reply]
well, I used to be a HUGE Terry Murray supporter, but it seems he doesn’t quite know what to do with this kings team. in my mind his job was to stabilize the back end, which he’s done, and create a culture with the young kids to have them playing responsibly, which he’s also done. He’s already done his job with the kings, and his quiet calming influence is no longer needed, in my opinion. This is because they needed a calm, cool, and collected teacher for the young guys on the team. those young guys are now veterans. he’s not much of an offensive coach, which now we NEED. now is the time to get a guy who can really motivate the team, as well as get on their backs and not be afraid to yell and scream if they make a big screw-up. We need a Guy Boucher, or john Tortorella type to really fire up and motivate the guys. no, dont go after crawford, but the kings are by far the most under-achieving team yet this season, and drastic times call for drastic measures. fire the coach.
[Reply]
Cry Baby Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
@jason k for kings, Are you joking? The kings have 26 points…that’s 4 points behind Boston points leader. Perspective…there is no need to panic.
[Reply]
If we beat Chi and S.J. then I feel a long winning streak coming on……If we lose both I feel a coaching change…..jmo!!!!!
[Reply]
jason k for kings Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:21 am
@neil, jmo? what does that mean?
[Reply]
neil Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
@jason k for kings, Just my opinion..
[Reply]
AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:22 am
@neil,
TM isn’t going anywhere this year.
[Reply]
jason k for kings Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:24 am
@AZ King, possibly not, but it is my firm belief that if the kings don’t atleast get to the 2nd round of the playoffs this year that he’s history.
[Reply]
neil Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:28 am
@AZ King, disagree….even on the radio(xm)they have discussed if this is the right coach for the team.If we dont show improvements now that we are over the quarter mark and back on a regular schedule..I see changes.Also TM put some new wrinkles in the system and if those dont show an increase in scoring ,I think the Kings will have to make changes.If the fans see what is happening,then so does the upper mngt.That is why I say the next two games.Home games…no back to back….no excuses…If we keep losing to teams like S.J.,Chi,Det,Van, etc then we need to do something.
[Reply]
AZ King Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:46 am
@neil,
I’m not saying something doesn’t need to be done. I’m saying I don’t think anything will be done until the end of the year. What people say on the radio doesn’t really mean anything to me. They can talk about all they want, that’s their job afterall, but they’re not in the front office making the decisions.
A lengthy look at the third line production(or lack of)…..just look at the stats. Does anyone else think that the Kings went back to the old system the last two games? Lack of shots……lack of quality chances….only scored on turnovers……
[Reply]
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:39 am
@neil,
It did look a whole lot like the “old days”, didn’t it?
[Reply]
variable Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:48 am
@neil,
hing outshot st. louis 28-35 two games ago in a 3-2 win…
[Reply]
variable Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:49 am
@variable,
hing…(?)
kings…
[Reply]
variable Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:54 am
@variable,
apparently, i’m really out of synch today…
kings outshot st. louis 28-25 two games ago in a 3-2 win…
yikes…sorry…(!)
[Reply]
neil Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
@variable, not a lot of quality chances….28 shots but mostly weak ones..
No problem with playing Quick as far as I’m concerned. Moreau and Hunter otoh … ugh.
[Reply]
goldielocks Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:30 am
@KC23,
Bruce Boudreau scratched Semin for taking penalty 7 consecutive games to send the strong message. Where is the message to Moreau from TM?
[Reply]
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:40 am
@goldielocks,
No message, obviously.
[Reply]
Ethan Moreau and Trent Hunter… I’m sure they’re nice guys, but ever since the day these guys were acquired, I’ve repeatedly said … no upside… Win with the kids in the organization… Turns out the whole “leadership” thing is severely overrated in this case… Richardson and Lewis bring just as much to the table as Moreau and Hunter (offense: little, defense: a lot, locker room: familiarity and comfortability.)
Enough with this nonsense…
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:34 am
@Marc Nathan,
Marc, it’s funny that you commented on this. Because I was thinking about it wrt ‘leadership’. In other words, they are here to provide leadership for the others. Like who?!! Simon Gagne? Justin Williams? Dustin Brown (oh wait, he’s got the C), Mike Richards? Jared Stoll? Rob Scuderi?
I mean, if those guys need leadership then the team is definitely in trouble.
On Versus they show the league highlights and you always (as I’m typing Simmonds is in a fight vs. Prust in Ranger Philly game….), anyway you often hear ‘such and such, great acquisition for whoever. I suppose you could say that about Mike Richards, but giving up Schenn and Simmonds the person had better be a good acquisiton.
I’m talking about the second tier guys. Really does nothing imo but dilute what they already have on the team.
[Reply]
Shaking my head… but what I really don’t get is, why is Wesgarth playing against the ‘Hawks? Who is he going to fight? Carcillo? And I don’t want to hear anything about the fact that he scored last game. haha
[Reply]
neil Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@California Royalty, He was also on the ice in the third period when Dallas scored.He should never play in the third period. Double shifting is allowed.
[Reply]
the hockey don Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
@neil, Westie was on the ice in the third when Dallas scored. I distinctly remembet him covering the left point and calling for someone to cover the right point which is where the goal scorer came in from. That play wasn’t his fault.
[Reply]
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:44 am
@California Royalty,
Totally agree. Makes no sense, but TM doesn’t do logic always, does he? Mr. Spock he is not.
[Reply]
Cry Baby Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@California Royalty, John scott
[Reply]
KC23 Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
@California Royalty, Scott is perhaps the most fear guy in the NHL.
[Reply]
Coach?? System??? Players??? Richardson,Lewis,Moreau,Hunter,Penner, and Lotki(only 5 games)ALL with zero goals!!! Stoll on pace for 4……Williams …12 Brown….16…Cliffy….4 ..I dont think any other team has so many players not scoring that are playing.6 forwards still looking for their FIRST goal of the season….We will never make the playoffs if this keeps up.
[Reply]
trytodethroneus Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 11:49 am
@neil,
I am asking for an evaluation after 82 games
[Reply]
You have got to be kidding me! No lineup changes? Sit Moreau and Hunter and put Richardson and Lewis back in the lineup! If nothing else, Richardson and Lewis have speed and responsible defensively and haven’t been taking stupid penalties like Moreau has been. Bench him until he starts to actually play like a veteran.
[Reply]
RICH is right on the money…
the lack of bottom six scoring, specifically stoll’s line, (whomever flanks him), is a huge concern…
no one has given much to build on and something’s gotta give…
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@variable,
It’s so funny. I was just thinking b4 going back on line, how you can probably tell how I’m doing based on my comments…. what a riot…. or not
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
@variable,
But good mood, bad mood, or the ideal… ‘no mood’ I still disagree with the decision (Moreau). Maybe he scores the game winner on an end to end rush late in the third and then I’ll gladly bow down and say I was wrong.
[Reply]
variable Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
@number 6,
he’s making it a point to support moreau…so i guess we have to live with it…
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
@variable,
Good. You got it (my reply I mean…. not that he’s sticking w Moreau)
TM better get this going if he doesnt i hope DL fires him because no goals on some of the lines is embarrassing
[Reply]
Dont worry about Moreau, he’s on Wayne Westgarthsky’s line. Would’nt want slow guys like Lewis & Richadson in there against a fast Hawks team?
[Reply]
Northern Fan Reply:
November 26th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
@rumpa#19, Bang on – TM has no clue what he is doing, he is choking with a team that has talent but he doesn’t know how to use that talent. Do a comparison of the even strength goals for all of the players. The stats are not pretty for the top performers.
[Reply]
Let Trevor and Richie play!! I’m sorry, but in my opinion, Hunter hasn’t done much for the Kings, and with Moreau on the ice, you know for sure the Kings will have to kill off some penalties, which is not something you want against the Hawks. The Hawks are a fast team, so the Kings need Trevor and Richie who are two of the fastest guys on the team. Don’t know what TM is thinking on this one.
[Reply]