On Boxing Day, the Kings received an offensive outburst. Goals from Rob Scuderi and Willie Mitchell, in the same game? Maybe it was more like a Christmas miracle. Whatever it was, the Kings were able to end their two-goal-or-less run at 14 games, and picked up an important 4-3 victory over Phoenix, the team directly ahead of them in the standings. What was the key aspect of the Kings’ shootout loss to San Jose last night? I’ve presented three options, and you can vote for your choice as well…
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For those who enjoy reading the traditional game recap, it can be found by clicking here.
“What was the key aspect of the Kings’ shootout loss to San Jose last night?”
You mean the win against the Coyotes last night?
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KFII Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 8:49 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, And he says he’s not a Kings fan…he was celebrating along with the rest of us!
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:43 am
@KFII, I think it was a cut and paste fail. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t happened to me in the last week.
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King4life Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:58 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Definite fail, no more egg-nog while typing Rich!
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All around good performance and effort! Was glad to see the offense coming through…even though LaBabarbi was the goalie…and I’m surprised they didn’t get one or two on Mcheleny.
The kings are looking a lot more energized and confident…loving it!
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Well, I think it was not scoring goals in the shootout.
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I suspect a copy/paste error.
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Things could be turning around. Phoenix has some significant injuries, dallas is coming back down to earth, SJ is touchable, and the Ducks are in such a hole that they might not see daylight until next year. If we stay healthy and put together 3 or 4 five-game winning streaks, we can take the Division. Hopefuly Sutter can find a way to bump up the offense and the PP. Unfortunately, we won last night because WM and Scuds scored goals last night. We can’t count on those guys to be our offense and our forwards really need to get back on track in the offensive zone. If they can find their game and start peaking during the second half of the season, we could do some real damage in the play-offs.
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KC23 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 8:52 am
@DesertKing, I agree, the division is very winable. SJ is not all that impressive this year. Dallas will continue to slip out of the playoff picture. The Ducks are way way out of it, no chance for them. Phoenix isn’t that good when their healthy and they are very banged up, they’ll drop out over the next month or so. Gonna be tough catching SJ though.
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safaribear1218 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:43 am
@DesertKing, but when the defense steps up and participates in the offense more, we will see more 2nd and 3rd chances for the forwards to pick up
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Another factoe was cetainly facing Lababea in net. He was overdue to revert to form against the Kings. Couldn’t have come at a better time.
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The fact that we are 9-0-0 when we score three or more goals is the key takeaway, IMO. We aren’t that easy of a team to score against, so we need to use that to our advantage.
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Quick needs to be sharper when facing breakaways…If he had played like he did in the last two weeks, the score would have been 4-1, at most.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:10 am
@Gustavo, Yeah, Quick was definitely not at his best. But that made it all the more important to get the 2. It was nice to get a win without Quick having to stand on his head.
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puck73 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:32 am
@Gustavo, You are 100% correct Gustavo, Quick had a very pedestrian game by his standards. That being said, wasnt it refreshing for a change that the team bailed him out instead of the other way around? Also lets be honest here, if it wasnt for Quick’s spectacular play the last 2 seasons, TM would have been fired alot sooner.
Oh, and before I forget, one last thing, TM….BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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fsd1 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:35 am
@puck73, trying to get moderated?
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puck73 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:56 am
@fsd1, It will take alot more then booing the simpleton TM to get me moderated. Usually you get moderated on this site if Rich determines that you are in a running gun battle with another blogger. Let me give you some examples. I got moderarted earlier this year back in March because I kept going after @poorman and @MBrett7, and I deserved it. My good friend @ShotOnGoal is on moderation because he cant stop ripping @Stuart a new one!.
And here is something else for you to think about dude. Like @nyKingfan, I know you are a big fan of TM, so having a guy like me constantly kick TM in the mouth really hurts a guy like you because you feel that I am bashing you as well. Thats why I am telling you to be careful! You look like you might not be mentally strong when it comes to this subject, and you just might SNAP, and post something that you might regret, and then Rich will have to wish you into the cornfield like he has so many others.
My advice to you? Stay away from my post for awhile until I have gotten TM out of my system. I dont want to see you break down, go postal, and get moderated. Your posts are way too good not to be on this site, we need you!
fsd1 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:18 am
@puck73, Oh, I wont snap, just dont understand why it is taking you so long to get it out of your “system” and there is that note at the top of the page about Posts that continually express the same opinions might apply. Actually, Im trying to help you stay here…..
DesertKing Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:35 am
@puck73,
Dude, vacations are supposed to help you relax and mellow out. Who is this TM you keep booing?
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:46 am
@Gustavo, He generally is. I think it was a fairly sloppy game overall, though.
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I was taking a hard look at the recent performance of Chicago. Basically 8 – 2 over their last 10 games. Man they must be doing awesome, right? Upon closer inspection.
Their wins came against:
Columbus (one of the worst teams in the league)
Montreal (one of the worst teams in the league)
Calgary (very average)
Anaheim (one of the worst teams in the league)
Minnesota (in a terrible slump and it took a SO for Chicago to win)
SJ (took a SO)
Islanders (one of the worst teams in the league and it went to OT)
St Louis (only decent win and it was way back on Dec 3rd)
Their loses:
Pittsburg
Phoenix
Chicago’s record looking good, but their recent play hasn’t been anything to write home about.
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DesertKing Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:06 am
@KC23,
Of the next 10 games, the ones against the Hawks, the Canucks and the Avs look the toughest on paper. If we take care of busines with the other 7 (Jets, Oilers, Flames, Yotes, etc.) we could be in pretty good shape. Chicago and the Avs just always seem to have our number, but then again, so did Phoneix the last few years also
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:18 am
@KC23, Interesting stats. I think its really important for the Kings to start making a statement with the better teams in the west and Chicago is a good place to start. Even if we just take a point, we need to prove we can skate with these guys.
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bonvivant1 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:30 am
@40YearKingsFan, I agree. Our record is abysmal against the top teams. Chicago’s D is not that good. They just have about 5 guys that can put the puck in the net and do.
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Naturallawyer Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
@KC23, the Kings’ schedule in January is even easier. Golden opportunity to go on a good run after the Vancouver game. Hopefully it doesn’t go like January 2011…
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Other…”the sum is greater than the parts”. Kings are playing differently and with a different attitude, which is why they are looking better.
Any update on D Courtney?
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KC23 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 8:53 am
@Whiskeypete, From what i heard it was just the flu. Probably sore throat and lost his voice. It has been going around.
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The key to the SJ loss last night was that the Ducks won.
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puck73 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:37 am
@DesertKing, The Dorkheads are 3-0 against the Sharks so far this season.
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DesertKing Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:01 am
@puck73,
Go Dorkheads!!! (I can’t believe I said that)
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The key 3
La
Bara
bar
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bbb7 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:08 am
@39scars, Indeed, given a gift of a very substandard goalie performance against doesnt make an offensive breakthru in my book. The offensive is still a bit too deliberate, tho it’s speeding up some under Sutter. We’ll see if the improvement continues on this road trip.
DD has definitely looked better lately and they need him!
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puck73 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:41 am
@bbb7, Funny how DD has started to look better after TM left. I remember back in November when Mark Hardy told one of the insiders at El Segundo that if he was on the coaching staff that Doughty would be playing alot better hockey then what he has been showing.
Once again, TM….BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:49 am
@puck73, I don’t think it’s too early to say, that even in their poor performances (and I’d say other than defensive scoring, last night was a fairly poor game) they’re looking more…”inspired”…than they did under TM. I don’t regret the change one bit.
I’m soo glad that we traded him several years ago! He did better than I thought. He usually gives up rebounds in the frequency that I drink coffee–way too much. Cant wait to see the KINGS play hard against the Hawks! It’s a new beginning.
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I put “other” for traffic in front of the net
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I like the look of the speed guys on the top two lines. Penner is taking more of a Kopitar esque approach—holding on to the puck and cycling, and finding the open man. That’s a good thing. Doughty is starting to just play. Pucks will start going in. We must continue to get to loose pucks and creating chances.
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THE KEY WAS FACING JASON LABARBERA.
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EJ Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 11:15 am
@JOSH, absolutely correct. Most starting goalies in the league stop all four of those goals. I might be convinced that the Richardson tip on the flutter-puck would have beaten a solid goalie, but . . . . So I still await a “legitimate” goal-scoring breakout.
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simonsez Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@JOSH,
My thoughts exactly.
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IMO Kopi needs to start getting selfish!!! On several occasions last nite he had the opportunity to shoot on net but instead passed. Since I sit down low, I thought he had clear winners..but did not shoot. Please, Kopi shoot more, even though our passes are spectacular
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On researching it, here is a trivia question for you. In the last 10 years, if you rank it 1 to 300 for shooting percentage (30 teams x 10 years, i.e. the 2007-2008 Kings, the 2009-2010 Capitals, etc, etc) where does the 2011-2012 Kings rank?
Answer: 300th.
They are the lowest scoring team per shot even going back before the lockout. No other team, not even the bad Carolina and Florida teams of clutch and grab era scored on less than 7% of their shots like these Kings. Even with last nights scoring ‘outburst’ they are on track for 187 goals for the season, one of the lowest goal totals going back to the early 2000′s.
So I would say the 3 Goal Breakthrough is a very big deal. It’s amazing as bad a scoring team as they are, that they are 1 point out of 8th in the West. Incredible really. If they can start putting the puck in the net, they will certainly make the playoffs, and… who knows?
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That’s what I call “shot mentality!”
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 9:54 am
Oops…that was @Donald_S
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puck73 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:01 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, So thats what TM was trying to teach our players, OHHH, now I see.
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The defense and goaltending seemed shaky last night. But fortunately, they scored more than 2 goals. It really seemed like Mitchell and Voynov weren’t in sync, having difficulty getting the puck out. Even DD and Scuds seemed off in getting the puck out.
Chicago will be a tough game, but hopefully, things keep going in the right direction.
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puck73 Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:04 am
@vplaza, You are right. That being said, it sure was nice to stop making the other teams backup goalie look like Patrick Roy for a change wasnt it?
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vplaza Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:24 am
@puck73,
Definitely, it was nice to see them make a goaltender look “normal”.
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Jeff Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:10 am
@vplaza, It might of been more of the fact that the Kings were scoring goals, shocking them into not knowing what to do causing the lax defense
. Hopefully the offense continues going up and the defense gets it straight and back to how they played during the slump. However we still rule on the PK.
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vplaza Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:25 am
@Jeff,
The PK is absolutely solid.
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Deirdre Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 10:50 am
@vplaza, I like the fact that DS is using PK teams, the same 2 forwards and keeping their shifts very short. I never liked the fact TM would just rhrow two forwards out there without using teams. You get to know how the other guy is reacing and where he is…it works. HOpefully he’ll keep that up.
And if they can replace Compost, I mean Kompton, and get the PP working, they’ll have a good shot and going deep. Scotty Bowman strssed if your team is in the top 10 in goalteding and speciality teams, you win more.
And I still hope there is a skilled winger coming…
sutter magic.
kopitar-richardson- lewis
never would have thought of it, serious skating line that was breaking out of our D zone well and forechecking keeping the puck deep in the O zone. no goals but plenty of chances and easy minutes in their zone..
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vplaza Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
@hapakid,
Kopi was definitely one of the hardest workers on the ice. Richardson wasn’t too far behind. Lewis seemed behind or lost in some places, though.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@vplaza, He looked great on the forecheck.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Lewis, that is.
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vplaza Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
I think he did have a few good shifts, but he seemed “off”.
I’m glad Kopi is still contributing the assists even though the goals aren’t coming. I’m sure they will.
It seems like without offense from the blue line, we would have not had more than two goals. Also, I’m not sure Richardson even touched Voynovs point shot, so maybe three of the goals came from the blue line.
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The key to victory was simple! Labarbara sucked
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