John Stevens’ postgame thoughts…
(on the game…)
STEVENS: “Well, we got down 3-0 very quickly, which is never a good thing if you’re playing anyone, but it’s really a bad thing when you’re playing Detroit. Then I actually thought we kind of got our feet under us and got into the game, made it 3-1. Then I thought the fourth goal was critical, in terms of momentum. Then even at 4-2 in the second period, I thought we were playing. We were getting our opportunities in the offensive zone. We were spending time, but it just seemed like every time we tried to get our feet under us, we gave them another goal. I really thought their third and fourth lines tilted the scales heavily, because they were on the puck. There was work and there was sustained pressure. It tilted the scale in their favor. I really thought the bottom half of their lineup did a lot of damage tonight.’’
(on whether he knew, early, that something was wrong…)
STEVENS: “We actually felt good about the team. We thought the mood was good. We had a crisp practice yesterday. We thought we were ready. But, especially early, in the first five minutes, i thought they really came at us. They had five guys moving around the offensive zone. They had control of the puck. They’ve been the best team in the league at home this year, and they showed us why, but having said that, I still felt we got our feet under us. We scored that first goal and we had a good emotional lift on the bench, and then when we got to 4-2 I felt the same way. If we could have just held ground there, and just got out of that period (at) 4-2, I think we would have maybe had some hope going into the third period. But to give up two more like that really deflated the spirits of our team, and I think it showed.’’
(on only scoring two goals…)
STEVENS: “If we give up eight, the amount of goals we score is going to be a moot point, obviously. But you’re right. It’s obviously a concern. It’s gone from an acute problem to a chronic problem. We need to figure out ways to fix it, but we can’t get away from playing good defense. When I look around the league, it doesn’t matter who you’re talking about, if you want to win games, you’ve got to play defense. If you want to be considered to be a good team, that can go anywhere, you’ve got to be a good team defensively. But clearly you have to find a way to start scoring more goals. Two is not going to do it.’’
(on pulling Quick…)
STEVENS: “He’s played an awful lot of hockey lately, and sometimes that’s a momentum change. We actually got going for a little bit after that. When you spot Detroit a three-goal lead, it’s difficult. They seem to have done that a lot lately. I’ve seen them go up 5-0 in the first period and win 5-1. They just kind of cruise on through the game, because they’ve got such a good lead and they know they’re not going to give up five goals. It was probably the worst possible scenario for us to start a game in this building.’’
Sutter is gonna have his hands full….this team has got no moxie.
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k-dog Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
@Thrustable, we cant put the stuffing in the turkey, cant put the turkey in the oven….cant put the cat in the hat!
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NealyBoy Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 2:32 am
@k-dog, I miss those commercials..
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PurpleNGold Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
@Thrustable, Hope Sutter can turn these peewee QUEENS into REAL KINGS!!!!!!!!!! Definitively a hand full. All these player need to wake up and stop being sympathetic and earn their paycheck. Every average joe has to bust their butt off and earn their paycheck, so how are these overpaid excuse of athletes not having to earn their paycheck?! Go QUEENS.. oops i mean KINGS GO. :/
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rogiesbackup Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:35 am
@Thrustable, Tonight is NOT a good night to judge the kings. Just flat out a bad night. Kings actually haven’t been playing too bad last three games. Nothing to show for other then Columbus, but generally they seemed to have jumps on their legs.
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good thing about the game: no penalty in the 1st half of the 1st period (or even in the first period)
and thats about it…
It seems like there are a lot of times the kings don’t have enough net presence or they play too close and can never get the long rebounds. the kings were either cycling the puck and everyone was on the outside, not a single person on the inside.
Or, if we did have someone infront of the net, it was such a crowd of people, theres no way to get to a puck and score. I think the kings need to be around 5 feet away from the goalie, so when the long rebounds come they can be in position easier and get goals. If you are on top of the goalie, no time to wind up and a lot of the rebounds go behind you. If you are about 5 feet out, if the puck is short, you take one stride and jam it in, and you have 5 extra feet away from the goalie to get long rebounds and put them in.
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Thrustable Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
@kopitaristheman, I noticed that too…our first power play we had the puck along the wall and the only players surrounding the crease were redwings. This is what everyone is complaining about, the lack of creativity.
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Alex Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:04 am
@Thrustable, And thats why we do not need Sutter. We need to look at some young guy who is not stock in the NZ trap, who know what needs to be done, who has a new and fresh ideas…
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k-dog Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
@kopitaristheman, preferable to take a penalty or two than to give up 2 goals
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PP Anybody? Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
@kopitaristheman, I think you just might be onto something.
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i feel for STEVENS
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Boo!
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Not like it would of mattered but if you think Quick has “played an awful lot of hockey lately”, why not give him a game off?
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Thrustable Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
@pesus, Give our top goalie the night off against the redwings? Unless it was a back to back situation I don’t see any team doing that, especially a team that needs “W’s”.
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pesus Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
@Thrustable,
good point, why not in columbus then?
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Duncan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:02 am
@pesus, I was surprised to see JQ in net at CBJ.
rogiesbackup Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:22 am
@Thrustable, I’ve said this several weeks ago on this blog….Quick needs to sit after every 3-4 starts then put in Bernier for a game or even two…..point is, Quick needs to rejuvenate his hunger to play to keep him aggressive; that’s his style. If he plays too much then he doesn’t play aggressively.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:28 am
I agree however, that the Kings started jQuick. Just turned out that he AND the kings had a bad night.
I actually like the way the kings have been playing last 3 games except for tonight.
With the way Bernie played might as well have put Quick back in Bernie looked like he was not interested in playing what so ever tonight. 4 shots 2 goals when he comes in half the ones he allowed he looked like he was sleeping
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Räikkönen Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
@Kasey9,
It wasn’t like the Kings were playing good anyway. The game was over after Quick let the 3rd goal in. The Kings have lost all it’s basic fundamentals, the defense, the passing. At one point, Pavel Datsyuk was left all alone and tapped in a shot. That’s right Pavel Datsyuk. My point is this, goaltending should be the last thing to criticize. The whole team is dead.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
@Räikkönen, Basically, the game wasn’t on the goaltending. It was shameful they hung each of them out to dry like that.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:55 am
@Räikkönen, Thats true. The Kings were stinking and Bernier came out and fit right in. Just a bad night to judge anyone individually OR any position (Dmen, Forwards, or Goalies). The team stunk collectively, no one any more or any less than anyone else. It does seem clear to me however that Stevens has absolutely no business behind an NHL bench and Kompon is a bafoon who should be passing out towels. On another topic though, this collapse will only help Sutter’s credibility with whatever his message is going forward. I don’t think there’s any denying just how systemically broken the Kings are right now so there should be zero resistance to whatever changes Sutter wants to make. That might help make for a faster transition. I still believe in the players we have, but they are a dysfunctional group that has lacked ANY motivation or leadership for quite some time and that is true regardless how they perform against Toronto. Ther have been flashes, but they have been unable to sustain anything since the season began.
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It looked like Datsyuk and Zetterbeergs lines dminated our 1st and 2nd lines. Detroiy was able to roll all 4 lines freely all game. Just ask Quick and Bernier.
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KingInVegas Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:33 am
@Cpmc29, I agree. Especially early on in the game the first two lines of Detroit. I thought our third and fourth lines did well early on. Seemed like when we had some good offensive chances it was our third and fourth lines.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 8:02 am
@Cpmc29, Yeah, Babcock didn’t even have to pay attention to matchups. They showed him on tv in th second period I think, and he was at the end of the bench eating Nachos! Too funny.
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“We’ve got to find a way to score more goals.” Has been in nearly every single post game this entire year, thus far. Almost uttered as much as the dreaded shot mentality. It’s sad to the point of absurdity that no one has an answer to this, other than “but we can’t get away from our defensive structure.”
Why not just come right out and say it? “We want to win games, but only in a certain way.”
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@spencerlakings Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
@xeropoint, Someone needs to say…. “we lost because we just are not a very good team. Simple as that”
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Jason4kings Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:33 pm
@xeropoint, Defensive structure means nothing if you’re losing games. The Kings coaching staff and management acts like they’re on to something no one else has figured out, and they preach this as if they believe they’re more mature or serious than other teams who are somehow embarrassing themselves by scoring goals and being creative. I’m tired of it, and my frustration began last season. I don’t care if this system made the playoffs twice, it hasn’t won a series for us and I’m far from being happy with the culture and attitude Lombardi has created thus far. I’d like to see a big change in this team’s style when Sutter gets settled in, and if that doesn’t lead to the wins we need to make the playoffs and win at least one round I’m ready for the Lombardi era to be over. Your post is right on.
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miracle.on.manchester Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
@Jason4kings,
Agreed on the misconception that the Kings are on to something that 29 other teams have no clue. It appears to be the other way around. Heck, even Columbus pushes down the middle and clogs the front of the net with at least 2 skaters. The Kings avoid the slot as if it has trapdoors in it.
The Kings need to muck, crash and bang in front of the net and if DS can bring that out of them, then i would endorse the hiring.
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miracle.on.manchester Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
@Jason4kings,
Agreed on the misconception that the Kings are on to something that 29 other teams have no clue. It appears to be the other way around. Heck, even Columbus pushes down the middle and clogs the front of the net with at least 2 skaters. The Kings avoid the slot as if it has trapdoors in it.
The Kings need to muck, crash and bang in front of the net and if DS can bring that out of them, then i would endorse the hiring.
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Jack Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:19 am
@miracle.on.manchester, Its so childlike…I think DL is hanging on to that notion that defense wins in the playoffs a bit too much..You would think that professional coaches of this caliber would be able to see patterns with more reality and clarity. Stubborness will get them nowhere/
haha, just got head and i read the headline from stevens, only the first paragraph where it says “when you get down 3-0 early” i figured it was a loss but 8-2!! wow! blew em outta the water it seems like, ended missing the game, figured it would be a loss anyhow and lo and behold :O
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Kings Fan In Temecula Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
@Kings Fan In Temecula, TYPO, meant to say i just read the headline, got ahead of myself lol eh, probably get deleted anyhow
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gmo Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
@Kings Fan In Temecula,
“just got head” lol i had to read your first sentence 3 times……then read your correction, i could not stop laughing…………man you made me laugh on this crappy night lol
go kings go
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k-dog Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
@Kings Fan In Temecula, ha ha…if you got “head” like you first stated, we could argue that at least the fans are “SCORING,” but we fans cant even do that….it was a typo! The irong…..
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lots of goals were scored tonight…look at the Pitt game? We weren’t the only ones who lost badly. I am very excited to see a change. We still outshot our opponents but cannot score….however, the goalies were pretty darn awful tonight. Bernie is very strange…seems so…..uninterested. Never gets rebounds. It makes me sad.
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gmo Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
@tellmeY,
is BERNIE the next JAMIE STORR?
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This has been the most disappointing sports season for me as a fan ever.
They are disintegrating in front of our eyes.
Kopitar is not the player I thought.
And doughty has to be the most over-rated player in the NHL. He just is sloppy and hasn’t been very good.
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OldKingsFan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:02 am
@@spencerlakings, This going to be a throw away season. The wrong coach was let go. TAMPON should have let go last year. Murray is gone for being stupid. He was loyal to that idiot of an “offensive” clown we call a coach. He couldn’t teach a dog to bark. The worst offensive absurd hasn’t said a thing. Every fan ought to have a chance to kick him in the arse. The problem he would end up with a concussion. He must have his head buried there
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Interesting that Stevens talks about the Wings third and fourth lines… How have the Kings third and fourth lines done this year? Sarcasm would probably be warranted, but in the spirit of the moment let’s just say that Dean Lombardi has not done a good enough job building the forward depth on this team. They may have overall depth in the org but to even suppose that this team has depth at forward would be ludicrous. The Wings have depth at forward. Maybe not amazing depth… but depthj….. with a ‘j’. Just putting that in for the sake of it.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:23 am
@number 6, Third and fourth lines is just it; these aren’t truly gifted, dynamic scorers we’re talking about here who just lit up the Kings, we’re talking about regular guys put into a dynamic system that creates grade A opportunities for them. I sincerely doubt that if we swapped 3rd and 4th lines with the Red Wings, that the Wings would somehow become anemic and the Kings would become an offensive powerhouse. Seriously though, I could see Richardson, Lewis, Cliffy, and even Hunter all scoring quite a bit more if they were members of the Red Wings, and if that’s something that can be imagined, then something’s wrong with the philosophy here, not so much the players.
The Red Wings don’t start off the game thinking about how they are going to stop the Kings, or any other team for that matter. They start off thinking about how they are going to score. Until the Kings stop worrying so much about how to stop the other guy, and start thinking about how to be the ones to score, then it won’t matter what players get added or what more depth they have. Just the way I see it, and hope that Sutter actually sees it too.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:27 am
@PP Anybody?, P.S. I’m not saying I wouldn’t mind an upgrade over some of the players we have, just that I think the philosophy needs to change first, otherwise I just feel like it would be a waste of talent.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 8:15 am
@PP Anybody?, The philosophy does need to change. Trouble is the other teams have coaches and right now we have two vegetables behind our bench. As far as I’m concerned they can both just leave now and things might even improve against Toronto.
Kopitar is not a dominant player. He is a decent second line center. Kings lack grit and miss Simmonds and Handzus.
Mamy of the players are over the hill o not hustling after signing new conracts. Time to rebuild again. Boyle good enough to play on
Rangers Moulson n Ilanders and Purcell on TB.Lombardi has made terrible personnel decisions and bad draftas in Hickey. He needs to follow TM out the door. This team will not make the playoffs.
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Stuart Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
@rmartin1951, I wouldn’t doubt that when DS and MR get back, MR will be centering the #1 line.
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DEH Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
@Stuart, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kopi moves to the wing. He would be a winger with other top tier teams. The weakness in his game that keeps him from being an elite center is his faceoff. Let’s face it, it’s not his strong suit. Stoll and Richards are much much better at taking faceoffs than Kopi. A lines like:
Gagne Richards Kopi
Brown Stoll Williams
Lewis/Richardson Lotki/Lewis Penner
Clifford Fraser Westy (the goon line)
might be an interesting experiment providing 3 lines to carry the offense and a goon line to take care of the dirty work (provided that the goon line be the goon line, as in drop those gloves and be very physical).
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Ashykon Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 2:59 am
@rmartin1951, Lol
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scepin Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 6:23 am
@rmartin1951, Finally someone who sees the light.
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Stevens also said ‘they had five guys moving around the offensive zone”….. yep, that for sure sounds nothing like the Kings, but more like some of the teams the Kings play. So which approach is right? Well, I have my own opinion on that. Not black and white, but sure has some shades of tone in it.
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Unless tyhe Kings are at their best they arent going to win in Detroit, and everyone gets schooled once in a while.
Some things are apparent tho:
(1) The Kings as a whole cant perform at speed. They fumble way too many passes or miss the mark outright, and the finishing skills are awful. Forget about teaching D, make the squad do drills at top speed and without holding the puck for more than one second and improve the team tempo… fast. Show a video of Detroit passing-and-moving and passing-and-moving over and over until they get it.
(2) The PP is STILL awful, and HOW LONG till that gets addressed. The PP coaching is terrible. How is this not recognized?
(3) JJ & DD = fail. JJ & AM = extra fail… notice a pattern here? DO NOT pair JJ with another offensive D man, it doesnt work!
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Hadley Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
@bbb7, now that he is a Minus Nine and brings down every other defenseman he plays with, perhaps someone somewhere might ask if JMFJ might be less of a liability at a position other than defense. This is the NHL.
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number 6 Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
@bbb7,
BBB, I think your post should be deleted immediately. I mean, my God, that the Kings should actually be able to connect on passes and have even a minimum of speed breaking out and moving thru the neutral zone? What on earth could you be thinking dear boy?
Never mind Detroit, they’re just an illusion. It’s a hologram that was shaped after many many years of developing a special computer software program, and it’s just projected onto the ice. So it just Looks Like they’re actually moving w speed and skill. Silly you. You thought all along that that was the real thing. You probably thought there was a Santa Claus too.
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bbb7 Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
@number 6, Well.. Santa DOES dress in red …
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It’s really sad…Detwoit’s 3rd and 4th lines
scored more goals tonight..Then our’s have all season..
We just don’t have the talent there it seems..
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LA_1968 Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
@SLIM,
Good point. That IS really something. We have nothing going on at all with our 3rd and 4th lines.
Detroit also scored more in this game than our team has in our last 5 games TOTAL.
No wonder we are on pace to be the 3rd team in the last 55 years to average 2.1 goals for per game or less.
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Scot Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
@SLIM,
System. Coaching. Attitude.
Detroit has it, we don’t.
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number 6 Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
@Scot,
How about instead of consecrating like 78% of your first and second round picks over five years on defensemen, and then of course two on Kyle Clifford and Simmer, and then one on Oscar Moller, maybe you Concentrate on the D by managing to still concentrate on d by using 62% of those picks on dmen and goal and then the rest on forwards. And wow, maybe you now actually have an extra thrid line player or two instead of the Moreau’s of the world, bless him, but then you construct a real true third line instead of casting it to fate and hoping something will stick.
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number 6 Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
@number 6,
by managing to still consecrate – not concentrate twice…. sorry ‘franchise frustration’ got the best of me there
PP Anybody? Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:33 am
@number 6, “Franchise frustration”. I like that
Actually Jordan Nolan and Andy Andreoff might pan out to be pretty good 3rd liners. Just going to have to wait a couple more years before they have any chance though.
Scot Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:08 am
@number 6,
I love your posts.
I love my team and will always stand behind them but at this point in time I am embarassed to be an L.A. Kings fan. It looks as though these guys forgot how to be a team. Hopefully this problem will get resolved soon.
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My hope is this cements that Sutter blows all of these coaches out of here. They are all inept.
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I actually think (my opinion ONLY – and I know it’s been stated ad naseum before) that the fundamental problem is a lack of leadership – on the ice, behind the bench, and in the front office. The objective for this season is now one of surviving, not excelling. I question whether Sutter has the moxie to cajole us into the playoffs this year, and I have serious concerns whether he is the one to lead us to the Cup and whether this “Five Year Plan” has now re-set itself. I’m also concerned that the Doughty holdout affected team unity. It’s sad, I’ve been watching the Kings now for 44 seasons and we have never been at the top of the league for very long, for whatever reason. But, I’m.a die hard Kings fan, no matter what!
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number 6 Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
@Mike,
I actually did pose the same question to myself though never posted it wrt Doughty’s holdout. I wondered if some other players (not saying Brown specifically, but guys who are not making half of that) maybe didn’t appreciate the context of the holdout, and that that might have had a residual affect. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I were in their shoes. But lets be honest…. was Dustin Brown paid based on potential? No, I don’t think so.
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Mike Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
@number 6, I agree. I personally don’t think Doughty considered the ramifications of him not just holding out, but as a consequence, not jelling with the guys, and I also have to question, in retrospect, if management handled the whole thing as best they could have. As I’ve said, I’ve been a fan since day 1 back in 1967 (I was 12), and I would like to see them win the Cup once, just once, before I die. I never thought it would take more than four decades with no real “solution” in sight.
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IMO What needs or needed to happen,
When this team plays smash mouth hockey we are one of the best teams in the game. But when we play like sissy la la’s well this is the result.
1) FIRE KOMPON!!!
2) Get a young, fired up new NHL style coach able to run a goal scoring system (too late for that)
3) As much as I love Brown, we need a new Captain.
4) Hunter goes…
5) Brown is asked to start to hit agian or sit him that is his game he hits so good that that makes space for the other guys and keeps other team looking over their sholder all game.
6) Lewis goes….
7) My favorite player ever was Lappy, last year Clifford was the second coming of Lappy. This year??? He got the crap kicked out of him end of last year went out a few games and has not seemed to recover. (Not Scared just differnt)
9) TELL THE PLAYERS TO HIT THE FLIPPING NET! We miss more shots high and wide then any team in the game. I know sometimes it is a play off the boards but Damn come on just watch.
10) Quick is the # 1 guy, but you need to rest him so play JB more..or we are in trouble even if we do turn it around and make the playoffs.
11) GO TO THE NET and Shoot the puck…
12) Dont ever let Matthew Barry in the Staples Center again he is a moron.
13) Did I say shoot the puck, and HIT?
14) We look like the softest team in the NHL, 0 GRIT!
I could keep going….
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DEH Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
@Chris Bond, well Sutter will bring the grit and hitting back to the team. I agree with #1 and disagree with #2, it’s not too late to bring in a young new NHL style coach to run the offense. Bring in the young gun to replace Kompon, he can run the offense and power play while Sutter plays mastermind and motivator. Sutter will be the bad cop that lays down the law, Stevens will be the good cop who nurtures the younglings, we just need a young gun that will mastermind a puck possession offense to replace Kompon and then we would have a more balanced system that will emphasize slowing the gaming down, possessing the puck, and aggressive checking and net presence.
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If there was any game to have Loktionov and Voynov in, it was this one. And why was Moreau sent down? He took some bad penalties, but he finished all his checks, got the puck to the net and got in the other teams face and looked really good next to Faser and Clifford. Hunter has done crap and looks ineffective on almost every shift. I really don’t think Moreau’s penalty troubles out weighed Hunter’s lack of everything, Hunter should have been sent down. This organization’s decisions lately are scaring me.
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kings king Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
@kings king, Also, I feel this team may have been hyped up by management and coaching staff. The team is “good” from game to game-obviously not right now-but they’re not good from shift to shift. And I never really saw anything from Murray to push that. That’s the expectation they need to get to asap. Perfect example: Drew Doughty. Good from game to game, but not shift after shift.
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tomb Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
@kings king, I believe Dean Lombardi is to blame for the Kings problems so far. It is every GM’s job to try and improve the team every year but it does not always turn out as expected. Dean let some key guys go like Michal Handzus, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Wayne Simmonds, and Ryan Smyth. This season he brought Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Trent Hunter, Ethan Moreau, and Colin Fraser on board. Mike Richards has been a big plus so far but the rest of the group have not done much of anything. I am sure Hunter and Fraser could be easily replaced by players in Manchester.
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Kings king Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 11:00 am
@tomb, Just so you know. Poni was in no way a key guy. Ryan Smyth played half of last season with a bad back and requested a trade mostly likely to end his career in Edmonton. He did after all come to the kings as a favor to dean. Handzus would cost to much to keep, why keep him now that kopi Richards and stoll are centers? And Fraser came in one game and stole lewis’ job. Doubt any monarchs would replace him as none of them even beat out Lewis for a job. Dean definitely made this team better than last year. All players are underachieving and Murray didn’t seem to have his priorities or expextations in order. I fault dean for not firing him when we were losing to ahl teams. Now this team is in a slump and isn’t responding to leadership. Stoll? Brown? Richards? Even scuderi seems tuned out. You can blame the gm but don’t say he let a bunch of key guys go.
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Go Lakers! Ummmm…wait a minute
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tomb Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
@tornado12, NBA sucks. I hope that nobody goes to the games, but I am sure there are a handful of idiots who will support these greety b…d!
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Scot Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
@tornado12,
All about the Clippers this year!
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fourtunato Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
@tornado12, The NBA is crap. No interest at all.
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What are you guys complaining about? Kompon’s offense and PP got itz 2 goal minimum.
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Would not have been so painful if the Kings scored 3…….just saying. Talk about a glass ceiling.
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Scaring thing is that we are only 5 points out of 1st place in the Pacific. Hang on until Richards gets back. Hopefully Mitchell can stay healthy. Go KINGS Go!!!
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king of the upgrade Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
@king of the upgrade, **Scary**
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Lake Forest Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
@king of the upgrade, I like the optimism!!!!
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I was at a party and only got to watch a few minutes in each period. What did I see? Kings recover puck in D zone, skate out with difficulty, dump puck into O zone. Wings recover after a minor battle along the boards then a crisp outlet pass and they are attacking. Shot on goal, battle, shot on goal, score. Or we regain the puck dump into O zone then rinse, repeat. It was like that all night.
The new coach will need to address a team that has no clue how to maintain puck possession. I don’t know who’s responsible for that but someone needs to get that fixed, and fast.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:19 am
@fourtunato,
You mean to actually “coach?”
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I don’t know how many of you noticed it, but on Detroit’s first goal the RW was offside by 3 feet and as you klnow it didn’t get blown down. This isn’t the first time this season where the linesmen have missed the call, but then Detroit gets a gift right off the bat. It’s not sour grapes aor an excuse for the Kings losing, I’m just getting tired of seeing amateur refs and linesmen in the NHL.
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DoscactiKid Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 11:49 am
@HockeyOnlyAwaitingModeration, It seemed the refs delayed blowing the whistle for stoppage of play during goaltender cover. JB took a few stick pokes in the private area.
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This is the1st game I missed this season…and I’m glad I did.
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Alec should be benched next game. Voynov should pair with Willie Mitchell. Westgarth should sit, Lokti should get another chance. Toronto is pretty fast this year. They had a tough loss today. Brian Burke looked pissed off. MAybe DL and Burke will go out for lunch on Monday.
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petemagoop Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 5:20 am
@Harry, Burke always looks like he’s ready to chew someones head off
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I dont think Sutter is going to be the answer but please tell me he’s bringing in ALL of his own people….PLEASE?
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Jeff Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:58 am
@TiredOfIt, Looks like he will keep the Assistants for the moment, as he will need a little help in learning all about the team. I am sure he is reading a crash course on the team.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:16 am
@Jeff,
If he needs a crash course, just watch yesterday’s game.
Pretty big one to learn off of, I’d say.
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I dont think Sutter is going to be the answer but please tell me he’s bringing in ALL of his own people? Please
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There is no reason to use the word “Team”, it does not apply. As much as I care about the KINGS they are individuals doing what they feel is right, zero direction and zero cohesiveness. They are not playing for each other and very few are on the same page. Sutter has his work cut out for him and we will all be thankful if they can pull together and get into the first round.
Lets just make it into late April….somehow!
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k-dog Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:25 am
@Slapshot, solid use of the word “cohesiveness!”
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In the words of Ilya Bryzgalov, “the solar system is so humongous big,” so “don’t worry… be happy.”
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Kingsfanone Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:13 am
@FiG17,
I saw that. Funny!
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A friend of mine sent this to me via Facebook. No comment on the content, it just make me laugh. Not my doing, it lightened my mood….a little. Thought I’d share:
SUNG TO THE TUNE OF
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
Eleven games straight, with two goals or less
Your offensive designs are a complete mess
How does Kompon still have a job?
Your offense is last, your power play sucks
We wish you’d find a job with the Anaheim Ducks
How does Kompon still have a job?
The Maple Leafs are next, and I don’t have a doubt
That with you helming the offense, the Kings will get shutout.
When Sutter gets here, we can only pray
That he sends you on your merry way
How does Kompon still have a job?
The only problem with this is that I believe STEVENS is handling the offense now and Kompon slid over to Defense, correct? I still think Kompon is doing the PP though. Still funny.
Boy that game sucked.
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bbb7 Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 9:54 am
@Cynic, Let’s just pray the writer isnt composing the same kind of song to “Easter Bonnet” next year.
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It sure was a bad day for Philly West and Philly East. At least Philly West scored two goals. I also see we found our sniper….ALL HAIL LORD DREWISKIE!!!!!!!!!
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I think we all should go down to El Segundo Tuesday. I would love to see there first practice with Darryl.
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Remember last year and the year before when they would ask the other teams why it was difficult to play the Kings and the teams would respond by saying that the Kings were a difficult team to play because of our forechecking and hard work? Well, I don’t see that in the Kings anymore this season. It’s one chance in the zone, and then out. And I think the biggest reason, is because we got rid of two players who were great at keeping possession of the puck: Simmonds and Frolov and even Handzus with his big body was tough along the boards. And they’re all gone and we are trying to play in a system that doesn’t have the same players as we did that made it successful. Something needs to be changed, either the system or some players need to be dealt. We will see what happends with Sutter coming in.
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petemagoop Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 5:18 am
@KingInVegas, expect some trades
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PaulHB Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 6:01 am
@KingInVegas, I agree that letting Handzus go was a mistake. And Frolov was indeed impossible to get the puck off his stick. But he had stopped responding to Terry Murray and he needed a change in scenery. As for Simmonds he was becoming a fan favorite but last year he was not nearly as effective as the year before. And the Kings needed Mike Richards and to get him you had to give up top talent so the Kings traded Simmonds & Schenn. I don’t have a problem with the trade as long as Richards stays healthy and keeps producing.
And I agree that I see a big trade coming in the next month or so unless the Kings turn things around quick. I think guys like Brown, Williams, Penner, & Gagne all need to wake up and start putting the puck in the net if they want to remain in LA. I don’t know who is out there that the Kings would go after but I’m sure Lombardi has his eyes on someone. Nobody saw the Mike Richards deal coming.
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HockeyOnlyAwaitingModeration Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
@PaulHB, I don’t think we’ll see Penner or Gagne go because of the chem. between Gagne and Kopi. Penner is finally starting to show up and myself for one, I was impressed with his skating and hustle in Detroit. But I do think there are going to be at least 3 maybe 4 players moved right after Christmas.
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“If we give up eight, the amount of goals we score is going to be a moot point, obviously.”
The Kings that played in the first game of this playoff series would probably disagree with you on that one, Stevens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_Manchester
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The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if the Kings lost that game 3-2 or 8-2 they were outclassed on the ice and it wasn’t the first time this year that we’ve seen that happen. If this game, or Daryl Sutter, or something one of the veterans says, or whatever finally gets this team pissed off and starting to play the way we all know they’re capable of, the Kings will be fine. Plenty of time left in the season.
And if not, we’ll have another high draft pick.
Win-win.
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I actually think Kopitar is trying…he has absolutely zero support and he is discouraged. but overall, I think the Kings probably have 3 minutes a game of puck possession..
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Sunday morning and another loss to deal with. A new coach coming in my help, but unless the players come together and start playing the way veterans play we will be looked upon as a big disappointment. I do feel that the team has stopped playing for our GM. Losing a player of the likes of Smyth hurts. Watching him last night he was always around the net. Finding his way to whatever small space that was available to him. We miss that guy. Handzus we miss him too just because he was tough as nails. Until we find a guy willing to give up his body for the betterment of the team, we will struggle. Clifford is young, but since getting his head blocked last year he just seems to be skating scared. We need a masher. Again I sit here trying to play as if I have the answers. I wonder if some of our guys want to get traded. Like Simmonds, he seems much happier in what he calls a hockey town. LA has got to be tough to play in. Having some cartoon guy yelling Go Kings Go, sounding as if it’s some old lady is cheering them on. What a joke that is. The owner of the Kings would do good by firing who ever picks the music and pre game stuff. Lazer show is cool, but after that it simply needs to change. Back to the guys on the ice. Time to make a blockbuster trade. Bring in a player who needs to get his career… Great 8. Yes I said it. Bring the Russian stiper in. Trade away whomever and get that guy on. I know it’s crazy, but I Want The Kings To Win. Damn it!!!
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nykingfan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 7:54 am
@kinginsaltlake,
you my friend are one frustrated, pissed off Kings fan this morning…I agree.
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IceGuy Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 9:01 am
@kinginsaltlake,
You realize, of course, that this year’s disappointment can be linked directly to those “everybody loves them” Home Plate jerseys, don’t you?
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One thing I noticed and it isn’t the first game this season it is almost every game one guy deep on the boards in the offensive zone and four wings surround him 3 kings players up high the wings take the puck out of the zone enter our d zone as our d men are backing off and the wings players get scoring chances or score. This is a recurring theme like we are laying back trying to keep them from scoring instead of getting deep in their zone and putting pressure on them consistently trying to score. We play the wings and it looks like we are trying to not lose instead of trying to win.
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neil Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 8:25 am
@Kingsrule, Thats DL’s system….playing not to lose….Even Stevens comments after each game declares that you cant win without defense.Well if its nothing but defense that you preach..then you will be the Kings.The more time we have the puck is less time spent using energy on D…
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My lowly analysis of last night’s debacle is observing the depth of play of both teams. As a result of superior coaching, the Wings do not spend their time in their own zone, passing back and forth and then on the boards in a feeble attempt to get near the goal. The Kings, on the other hand have perfected cross ice passing and going nowhere. The middle of the ice does not exist for them. Too, once they do get in near the net, everyone is chasing the puck along the boards and no one is screening the goalie. The Kings shoot from the blue line and not one of the players is a true blue liner. Kopi is all b himself, plaing D and unable to score. Sutter will not change a darn thing and we are now going to see more of the same. Dean has let us all down to once again calling in an old buddy to coach this team. Crawford was awful and a screamer to boot, Murray overstaed this year and now Sutter.M suggestion is that the team watch the tapes of ast night’s game a see if they can emulate the Wings.
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Jeff Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 11:56 am
@Poe, Why are people trying to analyze the Kings at this point, when all that you say goes out the window starting with Thursdays game. Once Sutter has coach a handful of games, then you can start to analyze and criticize. I do believe that Sutter will get them back to being the REAL Kings and not this pee wee Kings that we have seen of late.
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FRANKLY SPEAKING:I already start to look at” 2012 NHL FREE AGENTS “—about two weeks ago….SORRY I’m out……GKG.
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Jeff Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 11:53 am
@john shaw, Your acting like the Kings are no where near a playoff spot. They are only 5 pts out of 3rd place (which is division lead) 6 if they don’t have tie breakers. Mitchell will be back on Monday and most likely Richards will follow closely behind.
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