It’s not exactly an avalanche of scoring, but the Kings’ offense — both in 5-on-5 play and on the power play — is showing signs that it might be waking up from hibernation. It sort of depends on how you look at things. The Kings had a three-game burst in which they scored 13 goals, then scored one goal in Edmonton and two in regulation in Vancouver (albeit against a very good team and a sharp goalie). The power play, though, has six power-play goals in its last 17 chances. Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards talked about the Kings’ attempts to improve offense…
KOPITAR: “I think just the way we’ve been playing is a little different right now. There’s a lot more energy in our game. It doesn’t really matter, even on the power play, where our positions are. Brownie ended up on the half wall and he’s been doing a good job when he’s there. It happens so quick. Brownie had control and I just parked in front and made a play off of that. I was just fortunate enough that the puck squirted out, and I was able to put it in.’’
RICHARDS: “Maybe we’re a little more aggressive, which is causing more turnovers. But we knew that if we just kept with the system, stuck with the program, that eventually we were going to get some opportunities. We’re getting goals from all four lines, and all six defensemen are contributing, so we’re not just looking at one guy. It’s spread out, which is nice.’’
I will say yes more aggressive is good for hockey, the players and the fans, as well and the soul too.
Have fun and good time tonight guys, just stay by the net and the goals will happen for sure for you.
Go Kings Go!
Rich as always thanks for the great job!
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Kopitar gets 2 goals and an assist tonight! I can feel it. I was driving to work this morning thinking about the game as I always do but more so today since ill be there and for some reason the thought of Kopi having a huge night wouldnt go away. The guy is going to be a monster and i predict not only Kopi but at least one other King will have a multi point night.GKG! time to put out the flames once more!
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Forum Gold Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, Kopitar is the best unrecognized center in the NHL. He is worth the price of a ticket alone and always is having a good time on the ice and giving 100%. GO KOPI GO!!!
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
@Forum Gold, couldnt agree more!
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Kingstane9 Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, i have a good feeling too. GO KOPI, GO KINGS!
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No real point to this, but Matt Greene has as many goals as Drew Doughty and Doughty has over twice as many penalty minutes as Greene…Weird
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loskingpride Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
@crosschecked3, Because Greene knows when and where to hit without making it an obvious penalty.
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pr0cess Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
@crosschecked3, Dont forget that he leads the NHL in hits to!!
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
@pr0cess, and Brownie is 3rd in the NHL i believe. wouldnt have thought that would be true a month or two ago when everyone was on his case about not hitting like he used to.
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HeyChief Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
@pr0cess, Greene leads NHL defensemen in hits.
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wes Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
@crosschecked3, i do find a point. and Doughnut’s most recent goal was actually in off of Jack Johnson’s stick (check the video, Jack’s goal), so DD’s goal number is artificially high a 3.
as per the ‘hit’ replies above: Brown’s in the League’s top four in both hits and game winning goals.
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flex Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
@crosschecked3, DD is the best skater,puck mover,play maker in this team.He is only 22.there are too many in this board slow to understand this.also ,last 5-7 games he is the best player..at age 24-25 he would dominate the leage!!!
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Kopitar is the guy waking up from hibernation. The annual slumps are tiresome, thank goodness he at least knows how to play two-way. Mike Richards is back and is getting back to form, so that helps too.
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Bill M. Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
@Räikkönen, Many top 10 draft picks come into the league and put up big numbers at a young age. Most don’t learn to play defense until 25 or so, if ever, and most don’t start bringing consistency to their game until 25-26, if ever. So I think that Kopitars’ slumps are a normal characteristic of a young player who hasn’t peaked yet, and I’m hoping that now he should be hitting that peak within a year or two, the consistency will start to come. Sedins are a good example. They were dangerous scorers at 22, but they didn’t get consistent, and Vancouver didn’t get REALLY good, until they hit 26-27. I’m looking for a similar result from Kopi.
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KingsFsn79 Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
@Bill M., couldn’t agree with you more
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I think it’s been well established that the game against EDM was a bad one. The boys just got outworked in that game. I think the schedule had a lot to do with it, but it is what it is. I don’t think scoring only 2 goals against VAN is a bad thing, especially considering the way Luongo was playing. It could have easily been 3-0 after the first if it wasn’t for him. Even through all of that all the signs are pointing to this team getting their game back on track offensively. Tonight is going to be another big test. The Flames will be looking for revenge, and Kiprasoff (sp) seems to always play really well against us. I would not be surprised to see another 3-2 game tonight, in favor of the Kings of course.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
@AZ King, I say 5-2 Kings! we are going to light it up and Kipper gets pulled in the second.
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andy Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
@AZ King, I think the Kings looked tired having had to play just 19 hours before. I would have put Bernier in and added a couple of others to the lineup(Westie and…). Only for one game mind you. The Kings do indeed look better. And yes they could have scored a lot more on the Canucks. Definitely like to see the Kings beat the Flames in LA…
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The Kings offense is much more inline with where I’d thought it would be. Bottom line they won the Vancouver game and Luongo had to post a 951 save percentage to carry the Nuckleheads to OT. The PP is clicking much better. All-in-all a much more potent team.
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It’s great to finally see more pucks making it into the opposing net. Hopefully, the guys who have felt snakebitten most of the season are out of it and can continue the scoring.
Seeing Penner play the way he did last game (and the recent games as well) is really encouraging. I don’t think he’ll score 40 goals, but if he continues to play that way, good things will come to the team.
So far, DL appears to have made the right call bringing in DS.
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Calgary is going to come out with fire tonight (heh). If the Kings can match it, it will be a really good game.
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Forum Gold Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
@FiG17, One thing for sure is if DS does not see the intensity being matched he will call a time out at any time and get their attention. I think we are going to be the team with the fire. GO KINGS GO!!!
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After seeing the changes made by D Sutter, I thought it’d take about 3 weeks or so for this team to gain consistency. I think it’s there now.
This team is now developing chemistry and establishing a true identity.
The reason to feel giddy about the offense is that the PP is now on the upswing and the confidence level comes along with being able t score in all situations – PP, 5v5, and short-handed. Even the shootouts are improving. Another aspect that makes this exciting is that the scoring is now coming from all sources. By that I mean, the top forwards are scoring as well as several of the bottom-6. The exception is the Richardson-Loktionov-Lewis line, but even that line will start to get the odd goal, in my opinion. In the meantime, they bring energy, speed, forcheck, and some grit. Finally, the DCorps is also contributing to the scoring resurgence, especially from JJ, DD, and SV. With these guys, it shows up as the occasional goal, but more often with the assisst due to good shots that end up as rebounds or re-directs. Nice to see the occasional goal from Greene, Mitchell and Scuderi too!
The stretch run after the AS break really bodes well for this team!
I’d hate to draw the Kings in the playoffs!!
GkG!
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