Darryl Sutter’s postgame thoughts…
(on whether he thought the Kings let up in the third period…)
SUTTER: “No, not at all. They’re not machines. I thought we played hard. Five (games) in eight nights. We played hard. Quite honestly, the second period, we stopped shooting. We played our game. We just stopped shooting the puck in the second. We played hard. That’s a pretty simple way of putting it.’’
(on whether the Kings deserved a better fate…)
SUTTER: “I don’t know. When you get the opportunities, we start trying to make that little play across the net and those sort of things, in the second period, instead of putting it to the net and getting to the net. I like the percentages better when the goalie has to make the save. I don’t even know how I’d say it. We deserved a point.’’
(on the no-goal call in the first period…)
SUTTER: “I disagree with the way we handle that. I think every puck that goes in the net, unless the whistle went, should be called a goal, and because of what we have in Toronto, then they should rule from there. You look at what we talk about, with goal scoring and offense in the league, that’s what I believe. Every puck that goes in the net, unless there’s a whistle or the act of blowing a whistle, should be a goal, and then they can rule it that way. To me, it makes more sense that way. Hey, we can critique it and look at the replay and say, `It’s a goal,’ but it shouldn’t be left to (being) inconclusive, and then the call on the ice stands. It should be the other way. That’s how I see it.’’
(on the Kings not losing in regulation under him…)
SUTTER: “We’re just trying to battle and get everybody to play hard. Even on the tying goal they scored, Cliffy makes a mistake along the wall. It’s one of those things where you’re just trying to get him to do it right, over and over and over. You just learn from it. I don’t look three or four games back or anything like that, or ahead. I just keep it real even in there.’’
Yup. Clifford’s turnover was real bad. It was the turnover that our D-men can’t controll the gap quickly enough. Then again a mistake happens. Like DS said they aren’t machines so it happens. The only way to ensure winning is score more goals. And that begins with fixing the pathetic PP, outnumbered attack, and breakaways. I believe if we get 3 goals, the deal is pretty much done cause our defense is very much capable of keeping opposing score within 2.
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puck73 Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:33 pm
@goldielocks, Totally agree. I think you will see more changes as Sutter begins to get a better feel for this team. And of course, lets not kid ourselves, we need a finisher on this team. On the powerplay is where a Iginla or Selanne type of player would make this team so much better.
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:35 am
@puck73, I don’t know why Williams doesn’t play the off-wing on the PP. He’s got a good one-timer that not used at all. Gagne would fill that role on the second unit. (when healthy).
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In the Net Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:59 pm
@goldielocks, Well Cliffy wasn’t really that close to it. Yeah it was a mistake but if you look at the goal, the guy totally undressed Mitchell on the play. Faked him out of his shorts, which does not happen often. It can be forgiven.
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goldielocks Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:13 am
@In the Net,
Yea, it was a tough play. But that’s where the trust take the place. Mitchell trusted or thought Cliffy will chip it out of the zone so he didn’t close the gap. The guy took advantage on it.
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andy Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:17 am
@goldielocks, Lets fix the PP by trading Doughty and puting Voynov in his place. Doughty is such a liability on defense that he costs us 1-2 bad turnovers a game. And defensively I cringe when he has to defend!
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sraycraft Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:43 am
@andy,
For as highly regarded as Doughty is, he costs us more than he helps us. To me it seems like Doughty doesn’t know when to shoot the puck, and by the time he has shot it, it’s too late.
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nykingfan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:00 am
@andy,
yeah good thouyght..lets trade our most talented player!
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Mark Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:54 am
@nykingfan, Just because he demands the most doesn’t mean he’s most talented.
Duckbasher Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:33 am
@nykingfan, – Drew Doughty will be the biggest bust in LA kings history. At this point, I’d pretty much give him to whoever wants him just to rid the team of his undeserved salary. One decent season does not make him the kings most talented player nor worth $7.2 million dollar a year.
nykingfan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:34 am
@Duckbasher,
wow…If you don’t realize the talent that DD has and what he was able to accomplish so early in his career, you are sorely lacking hokcey knowledge.
Maybe things came a little to easy and early for him, but there’s no way in heck I’d give him up for anything.
D’men take longer to develop and mature.
Let’s remember to have this same conversation in a year or two. I’m confident you’ll be singing a different tune.
Mark Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:52 am
@andy, Totally agree!
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nykingfan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:54 am
@Mark,
He’s the highest paid defenseman and the most talented defenseman we have or have had since Larry Murphy!
He’s still a kid learning his craft…same as JJ.
remember the last time we traded away a young stud D’man? (Murphy)
He was traded before we let him develop into a hall of famer..shame on the Kings!
johnjuan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:59 am
@andy, Nobody would take that salary hit for DD. He will get better so at least theres an upside. I kind of like his play the last few games aside from some bad moments. The PP can be fixed without any trades. We had some great looks last night .
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KC23 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:32 pm
@andy, don’t agree, but I respect your opinion.
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Harty Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:50 pm
@KC23, I really want Kopitar and Doughty on the point 1st PP.
With Penner, Richards, Brown
g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:07 pm
@goldielocks, how about after a long extended shift…with 6 or 5 minutes left in the game we call time out! I thought for sure that Sutter would call a time out…sure enough, 10 seconds later, …goal…tie game…mistakes happen throughout the game…that’s just hockey, but they tend to happen more when a line has been out on the ice too long…sure if Cliffy gets a piece of the puck and brings it out of the zone, JQ might have had another shutout…Fine lines these days and that is the way it goes in the NHL
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Hard to believe with the changes that Sutter has made that he continues to use Stoll, Kopitar, and Brown in the shootout in that order. I was really expecting him to change it up a little. After seeing that, it makes me think that he is referring to Kompon when it comes to this. I certainly hope not, because Kompon is as predictible and easy to read as TM was so it was very disapointing to see the same lineup in the shootout again.
Anyway, at least we got another point, and for that I am grateful as a fan.
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
@puck73, Who would you use?
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King Cobra Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:37 pm
@Mikey J., I have 3 letters for our shoot out problems ZUS
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:39 pm
@King Cobra, Beat them snucks, didn’t he.
puck73 Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:39 pm
@Mikey J., Tonite my 3 guys would have been in this order…Johnson, Stoll, and Williams since you are interested, thank you.
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:45 pm
@puck73, Doughty, Stoll, and Brown for me.
Perro Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:28 am
@puck73, I thought Williams should have been in there to. he created a lot last night. I’m surprised we are not seeing Johnson in the shootout as much this year. I like him in there.
Mark Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:56 am
@Mikey J., JMFJ, Kopi, Stoll
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goldielocks Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:36 pm
@puck73,
Saw Valramov’s position on Stoll? His right side was wide open. They studied our shooters well. But where was our counter strategy? The same shooters, the same moves. Jesus, they looked like monkeys out there.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:38 pm
@puck73,
The team needs wins. It needs the 2 points. I don’t like “settling” for 1 point when they obviously could have got 2.
1 point here and there will bite them in the rear at the end of the season.
As for TM…….he’s gone. I think we should move on from the TM references and stop living in the past. I like what I see out of Sutter. Let’s concentrate on and support him, shall we?
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puck73 Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 pm
@Kingsfanone, Just calling it like I saw it on tv. The fact is, they keep useing the same 3 shootout guys in that order. That has been going on since TM was here, and Kompon is the only link to TM’s offensive strategy that is left.
If you dont like it, dont complain to me about it, talk to DS and DL about it.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 pm
@puck73,
You point out the 3 shooters, but don’t offer any suggestions. Who would you pick, Richards? He’s 0-7 or 0-8.
You are the one complaining. Offer some different suggestions or ideas,
I’m not complaining to you. I’m telling you that you are complaining without offering any thing. Give us something to use instead of complaining about it. We know its a problem.
CB14 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:02 am
@Kingsfanone, “The team needs wins. It needs the 2 points. I don’t like “settling” for 1 point when they obviously could have got 2. 1 point here and there will bite them in the rear at the end of the season.” Exactamundo. The Kings can’t afford to NOT get 2 points when they outplay the opposing team like they did again tonight.
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jeff Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 am
@Kingsfanone, amen to that i was pissed to lose that game last night what happen to finish what we started know it was nice to get a point but we should of had 2
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McCheese Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:39 pm
@puck73, I still like Stoll, but Kopi and Brown are not great. How about JJ? He had some success early on. Definitely not Richards!
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goldielocks Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 pm
@McCheese,
I would choose JJ. He’s got so many moves.
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KC23 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:33 pm
@puck73, I’d of used JJ in place of Kopitar. Kopitar is obviously struggling at shoot outs.
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g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:11 pm
@puck73, I get that he used Stoll…everybody in the building knows what’s coming and more times than not he beats the goalie anyway…however, those efforts from Brown and Kopi left a lot to be desired….Freakin Colorado is 10-0 this year in shoot outs! That’s rediculous
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Still undefeated in regulation under Sutter. He’s doing something right folks.
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Dominick Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:46 pm
@Mikey J., I keep telling everybody that, but everybody’s to busy slapping their knees. 6-1-3 in our last 10 is not a signal to start over, and rebuild. Yes we have problems scoring, but plays improved, and Sutter needs more than 2 weeks to address this teams problems.
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:52 pm
@Dominick, Yeah, after all the bleep we’ve been through, the last couple weeks have been a breath of fresh air.
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:02 am
@Mikey J., Thing that amazes me is that Sutters done what he’s done to improve the team with no practice time, Christmas, the hiring itself, a loaded schedule, and travel. He also had to figure out where to live, deal with transferring a lucrative business, and the pressures of sorting out the Kings problems.
I’m impressed with the guy, and I think with time, the Kings will be in good hands.
CB14 Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:58 pm
@Dominick, Not counting the 1 regulation loss to Detroit that was a fluke, the Kings have allowed only 12 goals in their past 9 games. That won’t keep happening, and when it stops the offense better pick up the slack if they want to continue climbing up the standings. 14 goals in 7 games equals 2 goals per game under Sutter. I know it’s early, and I’m not saying things won’t improve offensively, but it better happen sooner rather then later.
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:08 am
@CB14, I’m only concerned with the play at the moment. The scoring woes aren’t going to just suddenly go away, but if the play improves, than I don’t mind being patient. Even if we get a franchise player like all these fantasy league, Playstation (that’s for KC
)NHL 12 fanatics believe, it will still take weeks to work him into the line up, and get used to a new system, and get his life organized in another city he’s never lived in.
CB14 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:32 am
@Dominick, I understand what you’re saying about the play improving, the effort has certainly been there. I expected that from the start with Sutter coming in bringing a new voice with him.
I’m just sort of pointing out that the great goaltending has been covering up this teams continuing lack of scoring, AGAIN. I wasn’t expecting it to change overnight, I know it’s going to take some time, it just seems like alot of people see Sutter’s record and think everything’s great, while the problem this team has had for the last 3+ years still exists.
Sutter’s done pretty much everything I expected him to do, minus the not yelling. He’s made little tweaks offensively, kept with the defense first mentality, improved the effort from the players, and provided a new voice that was badly needed. Having 100% effort from these players will, and has, improved the play to the point where they look like a playoff caliber team. My only question, one that I believe you had as well when heard of the hiring, is will those tweaks be enough to make this team balanced enough to make them a true Cup contender?
Only time will tell but, I still haven’t changed my opinion that this team needs a more opened up offensive system in order to be a threat come playoff time. I know that may sound stupid after we just beat the top 2 teams in the West, but for anyone who disagrees with me ask yourself this, do you honestly expect the Blackhawks and Canucks to score 1 and 0 goals per game against us if we play them in the playoffs? Yeah, neither do I.
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Mikey J. Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:07 am
@CB14, All of your points are as clear as day about the playoffs, but they still have to play the games.
Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:32 am
@CB14, surprisingly I am with you. I have been extremely vocal about hiring a defensive minded coach to improve the offense. I do feel like the team is only a slightly better version of Florida a few years back sometimes. Great goaltending, carrying an entire teams season on his shoulders, because those teams couldn’t score. I do feel we’ve had the talent to score all along though. It’s just been mismanaged.
Only time will tell, and the Kings are improving. So from that stand point, I’ve reserved myself to watching for signs that were coming out of it, and that the people in charge are at least working on the things I would work on if I was in their place.
I do have the same concerns, but I do see improvement.
g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:25 pm
@CB14, My concerns lie with the fragile nature of this team…I think that some on this team ( JQ, MR and Kopi) are comfortable playing a low scoring game and in fact, JQ relishes it, but most on this team do not. I am Ok with the Kings only scoring a few goals a game as long as I see a consistent effort shift in and shift out from this team…They played hard and they played well last night and diserved a better fate…I’m hoping that they are seeing the results of their effort…I fear that if goals don’t start to go in regularly, they will end up right back where they were before TMs dismissal…I just think this team is still very fragile at this point…and yet they are 4-0-3 under Sutter…glass is still half full
At least Darryl’s way of handling goals makes sense. Toronto’s War Room needs a nuke; let’s start over. This system has totally worked against the Kings. Can’t think of a call off the top of my head that has gone the Kings way in over 2 years.
Why can’t, in 2012, we triangulate the puck from several different points and figure out if the puck is higher than the crossbar or not definitively.
We aren’t in a third world country (although it seems like it sometimes), we have the technology to do this now, why hasn’t the league done this to take the subjectivity out of the game? Don’t talk to me about cost either.
When you stand still on the power play, even I can defend it. Kompon, why don’t you try something novel, like giving the players more than one option on the power play? If they play the lanes, let’s try this. Hello?! This is your third coach, Jamie. This is not rocket science.
Why do we have to complain about the power play year after year? Save the Vancouver playoff series, our power play has looked inept.
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puck73 Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
@Brent, I would be surprised if he still has a job before the regular season ends.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:32 am
@puck73, I and some others have called for Kompon’s firing for obvious reasons. Obvious enough that Rich questioned Sutter about it and for whatever his reasons were, Sutter said he’s keeping the staff. That said, I now hold Sutter accountable for both Kompon and the PP. It’s his baby and he’s seen enough hockey to know something’s wrong. I’m hoping with time, practices, and video Sutter can assess it and fix it. It’s his deal now, and it’s clearly costing us games and points.
To call for Kompon’s head now is calling for Sutter’s, and I think Sutter is still the right guy at the right time.
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King Cobra Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:40 pm
@Brent, You are talking logic. The NHL is a Political East Coast biased monster.
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tantrum4 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:25 am
@Brent,
I still can’t believe some Kings fans think Kompon is the sole reason for the power play woes. HE’S THE ASSISTANT COACH!! The head coach is who runs the power play in practice, NOT THE ASSISTANT. Never has been, never will be. Sure he has some input with ideas and what not, but the head coach draws up the system and teaches the players.
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If you compare how we are playing now and where we are now compared to a month ago, we all should be happy. I am disgusted with a lot of the negative crap being posted tonight!!
Thanks for playing hard tonight Kings.
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kingarella Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:50 pm
@King Cobra, +1
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Dominick Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:51 pm
@King Cobra, Agreed! The game was dominated by play, possession, and scoring chances. Results are tough, but we’re not even at the 1/2 way point yet, and plays improving. Lets give it some time before jumping ship.
As long as I can see improvement, I’m not jumping ship.
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Lake Forest Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:27 am
@King Cobra, Misery Loves company unfortunately. I’m with you. I have been pumped up after a few of our games, specifically CHI and VAN. Great games. Cup contender games. We just need to harnest that type of play for every game. We are on the right track to make play offs.
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Getting a point in every game so far under Sutter is pleasing, still struggling to score goals is concerning. It’s still very early under Sutter so I’m not willing to give up hope, but the season is almost half way over and we still can’t consistantly score goals.
I feel sorry for JQ and JB having to pitch a shutout or only allow 1 goal in order to win. I posed this question previously after Quick’s 3 straight shutouts, what’s gonna happen when Quick, and now JB too, both come back to Earth? In our last 8 games we’re 5-0-3, but our goalies have only allowed 10 regulation goals in those 8 games. That won’t keep happening. You’ve got to score goals in order to win games in the NHL.
After Quick’s 3 straight shutouts earlier in the year, he was cooled off (by TM) and subsequently allowed 3 goals against in 6 of his next 7 games(1 of those games the 3rd goal was in O.T.). The Kings went 1-4-2 in those 7 games. I hope the Kings don’t suffer the same fate this time JQ cools down.
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was the first kings game i’ve gone to in a LONG time, kings were owning the 1st period and we missed a few really close chances. the goal they scored was mitchel’s fault I believe, he held the puck up right at the blue line and stopped it so he could play it instead of pushing it along and out of the zone. they recovered the puck and scored.
a lot of times kings seem to hold onto the puck way to long and don’t shoot. look at all of our goals recently. they have come off rebounds and when people crash the net. keep shooting, get long rebounds in
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sraycraft Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:37 am
@kopitaristheman,
I couldn’t agree with you more on the second comment! The Kings need to stop waiting for the pretty play and just throw pucks at the net.
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Mike J Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:32 am
@kopitaristheman,
Shoot the puck? Hmm, didn’t a former coach talk about that? Now it seems the current coach is now learning this team’s biggest offensive problem, they won’t shoot the friggin puck! I don’t mean from long range, but when you have a two on one, shoot the friggin puck and let the second guy get the rebound goal. Kopi, we’re talking to you buddy.
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g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:41 pm
@Mike J, …no finishers and not enough finess on the passes…also, the other team knows that…unless the kings go out and get a couple of finishers, we are all going to be complaining about this until we are elimanated
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Careful King fans Sutter sold the exact same kool-aid in his other stops.
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:24 am
@Seth, Very true. He has done a good job of addressing the Kings problems though. As long as he’s doing that, I don’t mind backing him.
Many coaches failed in many cities before getting it right. Quenville didn’t start out in St.Louis, but he’s doing a hell of a job there. Babcock was fired from the Ducks, but I would say is one of the best system coaches in the entire league right now. Sutter?……..We’ll see.
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:27 am
OOOPS! meant Chicago with Quenville.
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Stuart Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:00 am
@Dominick, I thought Babs contract had come up and he just signed with DET… I could be wrong.
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tantrum4 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:28 am
@Seth,
And according to past players that have played for him and other coaches around the league, he was an excellent coach and the players all have tons or respect for him in his other stops. What’s your point?
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g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:47 pm
@tantrum4, I think Seth is trying to warn us about the good cop, bad cop that exist in DS…we are seeing good cop Daryl right now…if adversity arises, we may see the evil DS and that could spell CURTAINS FOR THE KINGS!….Also, although I think DS is doing a great job handling this current team…I do not think he is a long term solution for the Kings going forward
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Williams got robbed of his goal. Kings could have scored a few more tonite. Wondering why Martinez played and Voynov did not. The Kings need to make a deal to get some scoring help!Penner needs to play with Kopitar and Williams. Richards with Brown and Gagne/Stoll
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CB14 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:23 am
@andy, VV was a little banged up, that’s why Amart played in his place.
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g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:53 pm
@andy, It just doesn’t even phase me anymore…anytime the Kings have a goal reviewed I just expect it to be “no goal”…Incidentally, did anybody notice how quickly that ref waved it off AFTER it went into the net? The replayed showed that that ref didn’t react until after the puck was in the net and I watched his head(in the replay) follow the puck into the net…I get it…it’s a slow motion replay, but still…c’mon! Kings are skating uphill every night…no breaks this year…let’s hope it makes them tougher
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look at the parity of the league.
last year the pacific division was the strongest where almost all made the playoffs. however as of now only the kings is in the playoffs with the other 4 looking in from the outside. crazy isnt it?
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Why not get rid of the stick above the crossbar rule completely? The current rule depends totally on a judgement made on a snap basis by a referee, and then seemingly can only be corrected if there is compelling video evidence to do so. Just get rid of the whole thing, why does it matter if a stick is above the crossbar or not?
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luna Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:16 am
@ForumFan, because this isn’t lacrosse, goalies wouldn’t stand a chance
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gcheng Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:16 am
@ForumFan,
exactly? why would it matter at all?
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luna Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:23 am
@ForumFan, its also for safety reasons. If they were allowed to do that then there would be sticks swinging around everywhere and many more high sticking penaltys/injuries.
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 2:18 am
@luna, Exactly. When the puck is in the air, players are conditioned to at least wait till the puck comes down. I was conditioned that way from a kid, and it is just habbit to wait. Deflections are a little harder because your trying to get your stick on it while it’s coming at you at 80 mph.
If the puck was allowed to be redirected high up in the air, then when ever it was high up in the air, players would be swinging for it, and guys would be getting sticks up in the face area, so guys could get hit in the face, or even worse someone could lose an eye.
Even if you made visors mandatory, guys would lose teeth from someone lifting his stick up, and catching him with a good one.
Rules 80, 80.1, and 80.3 are there to protect.
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Duncan Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 2:28 am
@Dominick, Great Answer.
I was conflicted on this situation too but your post crystallized everything.
N
I feel like the Kings keep getting gypped by the referees not just at home, but on the road as well. The call tonight was without a doubt a mistake in Toronto; that being said, let’s go back to the non-call earlier in the year against Phoenix in which Lombardi expatiated his ideas out loud of how poor that call was. There needs to be an investigation at Staples Center because the teams that we are facing are getting away with murder. Aside from that thought, the Kings need to spice up on whom they choose for the shootout; Stoll’s famous top corner shot is becoming banal, Kopitar is only 1/6 this year, and Brown is not the greatest producer either (15/45 lifetime).
The Kings need offense and they need it badly. The Kings should trade Doughty, Penner, and a #1 to Washington for Backstrom, and Green. Quick is doing his job but he has no one to support him on the other end.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:08 am
@sraycraft, It was early, and they should have been able to work through it. The Kings got away with a few bad penalties too.
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Stuart Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:02 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, I thought I saw DB contact that AVE after he put Loki in the bench.. I saw DB’s stick hit the AVE in the helmet… that could’ve easily been a 10-minute gamer…
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:10 pm
@Stuart, Yeah, and they got away with at least one trip that wasn’t called, in addition to some marginal hits, etc. I could say it was poorly officiated overall. I wouldn’t say last night’s dive, for example, was the best example of diving, but even though it went against the Kings, I like seeing diving getting called for a change.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:13 pm
@Stuart, The Avs goobers really liked the Kings’ power play too. It got a little stale a couple times, but mostly it has been better lately–the same sort of improvements they’ve had 5-on-5. Still, missing the net is a big deal, and the Avs goobers had a lot to say about that, too (and in that case, they were right.)
Mount a dang camera in the flipping crossbar already. This is the 21st Century for goodness sake.
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 2:28 am
@LittleRhody,
I wouldn’t mind bringing the smart puck back. I’ve wanted to invest in the glow puck system, and convert it to keep track of the goal lines, and crossbar heights so that there is no confusion on wether the puck crossed the goal line, or if it was above the cross bar when it changed directions. Could also be used to accurately keep track of shot speed.
With that information being accurately kept, there would be no more need for Toronto to make those calls based on endless video replays, and long TV time outs to hold up the game. I just need money, and those systems weren’t cheap.
I’d call it the Dominick smart puck.
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OK, now I’m Mr. Positive. I’ve switched roles. No offense, but what I’m reading here is pure garbage. Let me set you all straight. The Kings have played 5 freakin’ games in 8 days traversing 3000 miles and their record is 3, 0, and 2. That’s 8 out of 10 points. You could totally see they were running out of gas in the 3rd period. Yet, they hung in there and got a point. Sutter is 5, 0, and 3 since he took over the team. He’s a great coach for this team. All you complainers, let me say it again. 5 games in 8 days covering 3000 miles, and they’ve gotten points in all 5. I’d say this team is playing brilliantly and this coach is awesome. Until this productivity changes, you should all be enjoying the resurgence of the LA Kings.
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Eggplant Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:36 am
@Poorman, I agree. Thankfully the Pacific Division has really helped us stay in the race by sucking even more than the Kings under TM. The real test begins now, as the Kings have been known to get off their routine during long homestands, playing a lot better on the road. I’m hoping Sutter, who’s known for his work “cheerleading”. Maybe he can stop the players from getting too complacent and keep this hot streak going. Go Kings, go!
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Dominick Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:57 am
@Poorman, There are times when I can’t believe this is really Poorman writing this post. Right now is 1 of those moments. I shouldn’t be surprised, because normally winning is all that matters to you. Just that many don’t think we are winning. Great post! and way to point out the obvious.
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nykingfan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:08 am
@Poorman,
We don’t usually agree..but we do with your post!
Well said man!
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Kingsfanone Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:06 am
@Poorman,
Nice to see Mr. Positive now! Good for you!!
I hope you make it out to the game on the 21st, as many of us would love to see you, Jim!
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Poorman Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:23 am
@Kingsfanone, Thanks dude! Would love to go to the game, but I just returned from L.A. less than a week ago. But, I told Puck, we’ll see what is arrangeable. I’ll let you guys know. Really appreciate the kind gesture.
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neil Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:18 am
@Poorman, also Col. is one of the hottest teams in the league…
tellmeY Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:31 am
@Poorman, AMENNNN!!!
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With the stretch of games we just went thru, I’ll take the point last night and live to fight another day.
Every night the boys are playing hard. As I’ve mentioned hundreds of times, you can’t win every game. You’d like to, but remember there’s another NHL club on the other side of the ice trying to do the same as we are.
we got robbed on the Williams goal no question…as usual a terrible job done in the war room.
I agree with Sutter. If the puck goes in call it a goal and let the video decide if it is or isn’t. In this case it was a goal and we got screwed. I’d say these types of things even out, but they don’t. Poor officiating even’s out over a season. Poor reviews kill you.
Plenty of positives to take from the game. the main thing being just the hard work every shift that we’re seeing on the ice. We had plenty of chances…at some point they will start to go in.
The PP is another story. Not sure why Kopi didn’t shoot when he had the chance during the OT.
I thought our best player was JW. He was flying all night and putting pucks to the net. That line has been good over the past couple of games.
As far as the shootout and the players selected….there’s no guarantee that anyone will or won’t score. It’s a crapshoot and a gimmick which is why I hate the shootout.
Still, I’ll take the point and be happy. Plenty of gams left and plenty of points out there to be secured. Good job boys!
Go Kings!
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puck73 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:31 am
@nykingfan, Solid post.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:40 am
@puck73, I agree, solid post. I agree with everything NY said. He hit on every “takeaway” I got from this game. Everyone would rather win, but a point, improvement, and a good effort I’m not going to complain about. We’re heading the right direction at the right time.
But then Puck, didn’t that guy point out yesterday that most all of us are “hockey novices” which he could tell by our “utterances”? Nice guy, huh? Not at all arrogent, huh?
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KFII Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:21 am
@nykingfan, Just what I needed, a reminder that the glass is half full so to speak. I let myself get too down after the loss last night. I am usually more positive than that. I know it stemmed from the loss of that awesome goal last night, but I lost my perspective and I thank you for bringing it back for me.
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It’s funny, the Kings are supposedly in 3rd in the West, but that’s all because they’ve played more games. Right now they are really 9th. They are on track to have 92 points, which won’t be enough to get into the top 8. As many points as they’ve wracked up under Sutter, they have to keep it going. They are 6-1-3 in their last 10, and that wasn’t enough. They have to do something similar over the next 10. An offensive breakout would really be a good idea about now. But their shooting percentage keeps dropping. They are scoring on 6.7% of their shots now. In the last 10 years, *no* other team has been under 7%. At this rate, if Quick goes into a funk like he did two years ago, about the time his kid was born, it will be all over.
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nykingfan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:02 am
@Donald_S,
I look at it as the glass is half full.
We’ve played subpar hockey for a good portion of the season so far and are still in position to do damage. Teams have games in hand, but they have to win those games.
there’s penty of hockey left to be played. No reason to worry about the point toal now or trying to estimate what our total will be at years end.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:44 am
@nykingfan, That’s a take I completely agree with. We’re beginning to find out stride and a lot of other teams are beginning to struggle. I think we’re in good shape.
The PP WILL improve and have a dramatic effect on our entire offensive game while our D is rock solid and we’ve got the best goalie tandem in the league. The glass IS half full.
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I don’t like putting our three best players on same line. 7 goals in 14 games is very scary .
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These open looks that arent ending in goals will end…or at least it should. But focusing on it just ads pressure and makes you try short term band aid changes. If the team keeps this level of possession and pressure on opponents nets, the good results will come. At least the good scoring chances are there and it has to be an indication of good things happening before the dreaded DOH!! moment when the puck misses or hits a post or the blade of the goalie’s skate.
Things will happen for the best. And count your blessings that they havent panicked and started neglecting defense.
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puck73 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:33 am
@Jack, I agree with this post for sure. That being said, I still think they need to add a finisher for the powerplay.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:18 am
@Jack, I had to listen to the Avs goobers (or turn down the volume) throughout the whole game. They’re goobers, but that was one really valid point they kept making.
First, they noted that Quick has been probably the best goaltender in the league over the last few weeks, but second, they are amazed the Kings generate so many prime chances and fail to finish. They don’t understand how such a talented team can fail to actually put the puck in the net. Then, of course, they pointed to THAT as the reason they can’t score any goals at all. These aren’t players who can’t score. There’s something systematically (not necessarily in “the system,” but scientifically repeatable) wrong with their shooting. Sutter hasn’t corrected this yet, but I have confidence he will.
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g smith86 Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:06 pm
@Jack, Just as i posted earlier…but my concern is that the team will get too frustrated and start to try too hard to make things happen if they don’t see pucks going in the net…I think we all can agree on the fact that the effort has been solid and seems to be building with every game…we weren’t seeing this 10 games ago and that is why The Kings have a new coach…I agree…keep up the intensity and pucks will start going in
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Well, you can’t win them all – take the point and move on. Joe Torre used to say that if he won 2 games out of a 3 game series he was in pretty good shape.
Definitely looked like the shifts were working hard – maybe less so in the 3rd period but all of the lines looked pretty agressive most of the night. My only exception would be Penner. I liked him in Edmonton but he’s been looking like the LA production of Frankenstein on Ice the last few games. Maybe TM needs to put him on the Blueline.
I was thinking about the shootout last night and lack of quality shots. Could this truly is the reason for lack of scoring ? If you can’t score a goal one on one it stands to reason that you may have a hard time finding the back of the net in regulation. Although it does seem like we are doing a slightly better job of putting guys in front of the net.
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Yes, the Kings have gotten a point in every game since Sutter came on board (which is a very good thing). The problem is we cannot continue to give single points to teams like Winnipeg and Colorado (especially on our home ice) while SJ is taking 2 points from the Casucks. When you are not the best team on the NHL, every point counts. Our focus should be on winning our division which then sets us up for a more favorable run to the Cup. An improved PP would completely compliment our great defense.
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Can we get Dean’s opinion of that legal goal that was stolen from us last night (or does he have enough money to cover the fine)?
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:52 am
@Buster, Does it seem kind of blatant, or is it just me? I can’t remember us getting a call out of Toronto since that whole “war room” thing started. What exactly did we do to piss them off? Last night’s call was tough and it WAS ruled a no goal on the ice, so I’d be willing to let it go if we had gotten a call in recent memory. But it’s as if they didn’t even look at it.
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Buster Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:54 am
@40YearKingsFan,
It’s as if they hired Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Jose Feliciano specifically to do Kings replays.
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I like his take on how goals should be officiated. If it’s in the net, it should be up to Toronto to indicate why it should NOT be a goal–with irrefutable visual evidence. This includes kicking, interference, and all that.
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It was disappointing to see them lose, but I felt it coming in the third period when they stopped moving their feet. I’m glad to see them keep the point, though, as it could be the point that puts them over the top at the end of the season. It’s remarkable they haven’t had a game without a point yet.
Remember, Sutter hasn’t really had a chance to string together any real practices. That all starts tomorrow. Hopefully, he keeps this team focused by pushing them to improve over this home stand and they deliver like they’re the home games they are. I, for one, think the negativity around here is all emotional drivel. I didn’t feel good at the end, but I’m not going to let their failure to get two points get me upset, in the context of how things have been going.
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johnjuan Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:06 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Totally agree, the PP started to look pretty good to me. Passing across the crease with two men low a good backdoor chance with Richards that I bet he bury’s 9 out of ten times. We just need a little time to try the new stuff out. I think this team is gonna start to score more goals.
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All is well in the land of Royalty…..I continue to be optimistic about Sutter and I believe he will get the best out of all these players…(even perhaps Doughty will grow up a little and stop giggling on the bench and PAY ATTENTION)!!!
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I think they need crash/traffic/people messing with their sticks around the crease drills. a few days focusing in the chaos environment that is the crease and its surroundings when teams collapse in that area.
Also, having a finisher should help, but I wonder if that same finisher might not be such a finisher in this team the way things are going…I think the problem is that after the initial large improvement, come the smaller ones, imperceptible things that demand patience and attention to detail. we adjusted the main knob, now its fine tuning time. But given that this is the first decent rest and time to recoup the team has had in a while, Sutter will come up with something.
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Definitely a good number of positives to take from all the games since Sutter took over. The team hasn’t lost in regulation yet, so he’s doing something right. The team’s effort and activity is there every night.
The main concerns obviously are the lack of goals and the PP. Hopefully, with meaningful practices ahead, Sutter can make real changes and adjustments to address these.
But make no mistake, this team cannot go deep into the playoffs if they can’t score more than 2 goals consistently. There are too many good teams in the league to try and keep them to to 1 or zero goals every night in hopes that your 1 or 2 goals is enough to win.
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