Some notes from last night’s game…
– The Kings allowed a season-high eight goals as they lost to the Detroit Red Wings 8-2 on Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.
– The Kings had not previously allowed more than four goals this season, and they are 0-5-0 this season when they allow more than three goals. They had allowed four goals in losses to Buffalo (4-2 on Oct. 8), San Jose (4-2 on Nov. 7), Detroit (4-1 on Nov. 19) and Minnesota (4-2 on Dec. 8). The last opponent to score seven goals against the Kings was Detroit, in a 7-4 loss on Feb. 28 of last season. The last opponent to score eight goals against the Kings was Boston, in an 8-6 loss on Oct. 12, 2007. The last opponent to score more than eight goals against the Kings was Buffalo, in a 10-1 loss on Jan. 14, 2006.
– The Kings had allowed a total of only 20 first-period goals in 31 games this season. They allowed four first-period goals on Saturday.
– The Kings have now scored two or fewer goals in 11 consecutive games, a franchise record.
– The Kings outshot the Red Wings 29-27.
– The Kings went 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Kings are 2-for-34 on the power play in their last 11 games, and had killed 47 of their previous 49 penalties until Brad Stuart’s third-period power-play goal.
– The Kings fell to 6-5-3 on the road, 4-12-1 when allowing the first goal, 2-8-1 when trailing after the first period and 1-13-1 when trailing after the second period.
– Jonathan Quick allowed three goals on seven shots before he was pulled, 8:32 into the first period, in favor of Jonathan Bernier, who allowed five goals on 20 shots. It was the first time this season that a Kings goalie had been pulled from a game. Quick has allowed at least three goals in four of his last five starts.
– Davis Drewiske scored a goal, his second goal of the season and his second goal in his last two games. Drewiske had only one goal in his first 101 games before he scored Thursday in Columbus.
– Jarret Stoll scored a goal, his third of the season. Stoll had zero goals and one assist in his previous eight games.
– Justin Williams had two assists, for his sixth multi-point game of the season and his first since Nov. 12. Williams has 15 assists this season. He had one goal and zero assists in his previous 10 games.
– Dustin Penner had two assists, for his first multi-point game of the season. Penner has two goals and three assists in his last seven games.
– Jack Johnson had a minus-4 rating. The Kings’ only “plus’’ players were Dustin Penner, Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams, who were each plus-2.
– Dustin Brown, Matt Greene and Jarret Stoll each recorded a game-high four shots on goal. Trent Hunter was credited with a team-high four hits. Greene was credited with a game-high five blocked shots.
– Drew Doughty played a game-high 25 minutes, 6 seconds, followed by Jack Johnson, at 20:51. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar both played 19:47, a high for Kings’ forwards.
– The Kings won 30 of 59 faceoffs (51 percent). Anze Kopitar won 10 of 17 draws (59 percent). Jarret Stoll won 12 of 16 draws (75 percent). Colin Fraser won 5 of 12 draws (42 percent).
what a horrible game…
if you want to vented unedited…go for it…here…(!)
http://deepinsidethekings.com/2011/12/so-much-for-any-optimism-as-red-wings-dominate-and-the-bleeding-continues/
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variable Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
@variable,
vent…vented…
i’m so disappointed in this team that i can’t type anymore…
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Jeff Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@variable, I am actually happy about this loss. It will make it so Darryl Sutter will go hard on the Kings and know he has to work hard to get them back to the way we know they play.
The first thing he should do Tuesday is a bag skate.
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dMan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
@Jeff, except limited results; the problem was not coaching/system as I’ve been saying all along.
This is a fractured locker room. Until that changes, results will remain the same.
Jeff Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
@dMan, That is what Sutter will fix. He won’t take any of that. He will cure any fracture that their is and if they don’t follow suit then they will be benched or gone.
Dominick Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
@Jeff, Assuming that the system they play is offensive enough and the players are at fault for its failure, I could see punishing them for it not succeeding. Problem is that the system isn’t anything less than garbage offensively, and bag skating a team without establishing anything system wise is is just going to tire them out before he gets a chance to evaluate what he has to work with.
Too short sighted in a long term vision, and I’m sure he’s not going to be looking to shoot himself in the foot before he see’s where the changes need to be made to get this ship turned around, and functioning as a team.
variable Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
@Jeff,
i’m usually very optimistic when it comes to the kings…and in spite of all the problems that the team is going through, the kings are still only 5 points out of a playoff spot with more than half a season left to play…
but…
i’m just very leery of sutter…but i hope yr feeling that sutter will fix the mindset of the team rings true…
I am really glad I decided to go to sushi instead of watch last nights game. Lets hope Sutter can get these guys riled up a bit. This is the worst Kings hockey since the Darryl Sydor era!!!
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MJ Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
@MJ, By the way, I’m also a Lakers fan, a Rams fan and Dodgers fan…what a lousy year for LA
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2nd game that VV didnt play…..even thou he is one of three defenseman with a plus rating this year……
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Hadley Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
@neil, the so-called “interim coach,” whoever he is, is an imbecile. Slava Voynov has been the best defenseman on the team for the past month.
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vicarious Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
@Hadley, True VV has played great; however, VV had a bad game in Boston and so the coaches thought it best to let the young fellow rest a bit to make sure his head’s in the right place. No sense ruining the kid by playing him when the team’s in a huge funk. DD2′s played pretty well in his place. JJ not so much.
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“The last opponent to score eight goals against the Kings was Boston, in an 8-6 loss on Oct. 12, 2007.”
What isn’t included here is that Murray wasn’t the coach, Crawford was.
For all his faults, at least Murray can hang his hat on the fact that he never let it get this bad…even with teams far less talented than this one.
Conclusion: It’s as bad as it’s been since the days of Cloutier. And it can get worse…
Goofy Greene? Aloof Anze? Buttoned-up Brown?
“Guys have to wake up.” Finally, we actually heard from the leadership group of this team. I guess they have a voice after all. But sadly, it’s far too little too late. They might wake up but the plane of accountability took of years ago.
This team is the Rip Van Winkle of consistency and the only waking up they have done is only followed by another nap.
If there was a voice in that locker room this wouldn’t have happened. It’s not like this leadership group hasn’t had time to create the right atmosphere. Brown’s right. It’s on the players and more specifically him. This skid, this year, with this team is a giant step backwards and a reminder of all the things that have not been corrected over the past few years.
Obviously, Mute Murray was the voice of the team…and typically when the voice of your team is a Mute, it might present a few challenges to say the least. So now that he’s gone, it shows the world how little fight this team has. The fight, it turns out, left town with TM.
Which leads us to the new sheriff in town.
As much as Brown is right about it being on the players, he’s wrong when he said, “It doesn’t matter whether Stevens is our coach, or whoever they bring in.”
Not if Darryl has anything to say about it Dustin. He might not be on the ice, but he certainly determines who is. And that, last time I checked, plays a role in what matters and what doesn’t.
Sutter may not be the solution to all our problems, but I have confidence that he will at least make players accountable for their actions, even when the players themselves don’t. And that, my Captain, is what this team has sorely lacked for way, way, way, way, way too long.
Stepping back and looking at the arc of this current rebuild, it almost seemed inevitable this moment would come. That the lack of accountability by someone, anyone in that locker room would someday comeback to bite them. Fortunately, tomorrow is a new day and with it comes new opportunity.
I just hope the new Coach can instill this basic principle-accountability-because the players certainly haven’t been able to.
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P90X Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
@wavesinair, I agree with you to an extent, but I also think this runs a little deeper than just Terry Murray’s influence. There is a bigger problem in the room than that. There are too many players with leadership and experience not saying or doing anything right now. This team is not as tight as many would think.
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dMan Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
@wavesinair, I think you’re wrong about Mute Murray.
Lombardi stated it right; it’s about the players taking ownership of their team. The coaching staff provides a system and guidance, but the players have to come together and take ownership of their team – re Edmonton (glory days), Detroit, etc. This is where Brown has failed to take that step.
Murray was very very patient with a fragile team, so maybe now, some fans may realize now in retrospect why Murray did the things he did. (Ha! – who am I kidding?)
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Anyone see the tribute that Selanne got in Winnipeg last night? Pretty amazing. Must’ve been nice for Teemu to actually play in front of some fans that actually care about hockey. He almost cried afterwards at the press conference.
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wavesinair Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
@PP Anybody?,
There’s a link for Ducks fans to the OC Register blog on the right side >>>
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PP Anybody? Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
@wavesinair, Nice one
There’s not much to say about the Kings play at this point. I was just checking the highlights on TSN from last night. Regardless of loyalties, it’s still nice to see a very good hockey player appreciated the way he should be. If anything, last night in Winnepeg just shows that Duck fans aren’t real hockey fans.
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Oh well throw this past game into the trash bin. On to Toronto, where the leafs and Ron Wilson/Brian Burke have their challenges.
I find the Sutter hiring quite odd given DL past with him. Sutter left his coaching duties in Calgary to be GM. It seems like a unequal balance of power given their past. If DL couldn’t pull a cup in SJ with Sutter how is it going to be different a decade later? This league and generation of players play a faster game then the all defensive past.
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Jeff Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
@ice is nice, Darryl and Dean’s time in San Jose how it ended is a bit deceptive. The only reason it ended was because new ownership took over and they slashed the budget, causing Dean to play hard ball with his RFA’s including Nabokov. The holdouts lasted into the season and the team got off to a very slow start. SInce they won their division the season before and with new owners, expectations were high but thwarted by ownerships budget restrictions. This led to Dean firing Darryl and then when they missed the playoffs, Dean was let go. So he didn’t get to finish what he started and if you look at San Jose now, they still haven’t been to the Cup Finals.
As for Darryl Sutter and the faster play of today, as I have said in previous threads, the game today is more defensive ala when Darryl was coaching Calgary. We are a lot like that Calgary team that went to the FInals, except we are much better offensively, at least we should be.
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Dominick Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
@Jeff, Daryl Sutter will just bring his own brand of slow boring hockey. The year they went to the finals, Sutter had the team abandon their defensive style once the playoffs came, and his team over achieved. All season long they were a defense first team, and finnished 19th in scoring that year in the regular season. They entered the playoffs as underdogs, and adapted a “nothing to lose” mentality. The entire hockey world was caught off guard by it.
His core beliefs, and strategies are still defense first, and that 1 amazing playoff run only happened because he abandoned his system. That won’t happen here.
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2 for 34… just 5 more goals during those 1 goals losses and we would be near 1st in the division. Kompn. That’s all I got to say about that.
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