Jordan Nolan made a small, easily overlooked but very important play in the second period last night in Nashville, with the game tied 2-2. Nolan got the puck in the Nashville zone and started to take it to the net, but then took a look around. Nolan showed great poise as he paused, backed off the defender, then saw — or perhaps heard — Drew Doughty pinching down over his left shoulder. Nolan spotted Doughty and made a quick, accurate pass, and Doughty scored on a nice shot to give the Kings the lead.
Nolan, with 11 NHL games now under his belt, seems to be settling into that fourth-line right-wing spot. Nolan is played anywhere between 7-9 minutes per game and is skating well, showing good instincts and staying out of the penalty box. Expectations aren’t super-high for Nolan, so he has the ability to thrive in a lower-key role if he does the little things expected of him, as described in part by Darryl Sutter.
SUTTER: “We’re trying to get Jordy to take the puck to the net a little bit more, not turn the puck over in the neutral zone, not loop in the neutral zone. So, he made a good play there (on Doughty’s goal). I expect him to that. It’s basic puck possession, and not turning the puck over.’’
Amazing patience on that play. I’m guessing he heard DD8 coming, on the replay it looked like he was going to break his stick he was slapping the ice so hard.
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Forum Gold Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:40 pm
@370455vinSD, See below.
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Ezra Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
@370455vinSD, Exactly my thought. Doughty was banging his stick so hard, there was probably indents in the ice where he hit it.
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PurpleBlacknGold Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
@Ezra, Yeah, Willie Mitchell tripped over them….
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Duncanz Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
@PurpleBlacknGold, Niiice!
PRMan Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 5:28 am
@PurpleBlacknGold, Funny.
SDGolfer Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
@370455vinSD, are you in SD?
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I love what Nolan is doing. Compared to the guy he’s “replacing” (Westgart), Nolan is bringing more speed, more smarts, and more skill. He probably isn’t up to the full enforcer role yet… but at this point in the season the Kings need to be winning games, not fights.
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Poonagi Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
@Poonagi, Oops. I meant no disrespect to Kevin WestgartH lol.
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anonandonanon Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 8:44 am
@Poonagi, I think, especially at this time of year, it’s great to have both guys. There may come a time in the next month that you see both in the line up. Say VS. the San Jose Sharks, season-ending, home and home, potential grudge-match extraordinaire? I don’t want to get slapped hard and lose points. There will be some desperate teams out there. We may be one of them. If, “we gottas let it all hang out”, then I’ll take those two.
I hope Brad Richardson has a post season like last year but the magic 8 ball sez…
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BigMikeonD Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
@Poonagi, I recently watched the Kings practice. Westgarth has a lot more skill than I thought. The one thing Westgarth has is a work ethic. He was the first guy on and the last guy off of the ice.
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Duckbasher Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
@BigMikeonD,
Kevin Westgarth seems to me like a super nice guy. Everything I’ve ever seen from him has been positive. But unfortunately with him a one-diminsional player (or at least that’s all I’ve ever seen out of him), I don’t think we can spare a roster spot (at least not dressed) for a guy who can play 4-5 minutes and brings nothing more than an occasional dance with the opposing team’s heavyweight. Honestly, I think he’s too nice of a guy to be an enforcer in the NHL. For the life of me I can’t figure out why he doesn’t hit and hit often. He’s not once that I’m aware of came to the aid of our best players. I’ve watched kopi get ran, Richards get ran, elbowed… but no Westgarth. He’s just not a force to be dealt with for the opposing teams. So as far as I’m concerned, give him a job doing something besides wearing the Jersey.
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4Kingsfans Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 8:43 am
@Duckbasher, Wetgarth can’t come to the aid of teammate when he’s not on the ice. The problem with being a fourth liner is you can’t protect anybody on the first three lines. If you want to have someone to retaliate against an opposing player you need someone on the ice when toe problem occurs. The reason Gretzky never got bothered is because McSorley was on the ice with him. At some point if you want to protect your stars you need rugged players that can play with them.
Very impressed with a 4th liner making that play, even guys like Brown and Stoll often don’t have the presence of mind to make a good read like that…instead just throwing the puck at the net.
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That was such a beautiful play. My jaw hit the floor.
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
@FiG17, Sweet play, huh? Nolan’s puck handling and patience on that play were spectacular!
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I want to see more of that kind of play from us. Ton more to shoot at comming down the slot. BTW, How was your stay in LA last Saturday? You and I saw a good game although I though it would be more physical. GO KINGS GO!!!
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Forum Gold Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
@Forum Gold, This was directed to 370455vinSD.
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370455vinSD Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
@Forum Gold, It was awesome, the wife and I went up early and checked into a hotel in downtown. Subsequently I imbibed a bit more than I usually would have but all in all it was a fantastic game. It was one of the first times I’ve been down that close and still surrounded by other Kings fans. A few even knew a thing or two about hockey.
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Forum Gold Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
@370455vinSD, The only downside of sitting in the 100′s is the corporate giveaways that have no interest in the game or try to learn. Glad you found some Kingdom dwellers and don’t forget you can always go up to the 300 level during intermission and hang out with the Die Hards. GO KINGS GO!!!
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Forum Gold Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
@Forum Gold, 2nd note. Always so many empty seats in the 200 level. I would love to find someone who has these but could care less about going and hand them out to some of us Die Hards. GO KINGS GO!!!
yea i love that the Kings are scoring more than 1 goal a game..Not happy with Quick of late….
Seems like every time Kings score about 4 to 5 goals Quick lets 3 goals in…That needs to stop and also bad goals in.
I hope the Kings can keep on scoring goals they need to…Got to keep winning games or getting points….
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I love the way this kid plays. Hopefully he gets better and becomes a regular.
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Anyone see the Calendar Ice Crew email?????
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JackKent Cooke Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
@Lake Forest,
Too busy re-watching last night’s Carls Jr. ad…
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Forum Gold Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
@JackKent Cooke, Pause and then forward arrows for slo-mo. GO KINGS GO!!!
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JackKent Cooke Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
@Forum Gold,
+1 for the Tech Guy
“small, easily overlooked play”
Are you kidding me?
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Duncanz Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
@BobKnob, Yes, an eyebrow went up when I read that too.
I think some folks were so happy with the Penns feed on the Greener goal that Nolan’s (even better) play got overlooked a little.
Personally, my favorite assist last night was Voynov’s inch perfect bullet to Williams on his 2nd goal.
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Overlooked? Heck no. That was great patience and easily recognized as a good play.
No, for a possibly overlooked play did you notice that Weber intentionally fired a shot from way up the left hand boards since NSH had already scored twice from there. He didn’t get all of it and it turned out to be a rather soft shot, but Quick had to butterfly to make the save.
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Stuart Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
@Weasel, I posted in the Quick quotes thread about fearing that a book was being started on JQ… after the Kotsytsin (?) goal, it seemed the preds were all too eager to send pucks on net from along the boards… and even the softest ones made me nervous.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
@Stuart, that goal by kotsystin was a laser to the upper corner of the goal, i cant think of any goalie in the league stopping that one so i dont consider it a softie. But he did let in one i thouhgt he should have stopped and he did make several great saves, so im happy with his performance. Also, if we open up the offense we can expect more goals scored against us.
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Stuart Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
@fsd1, and it was a sick tuck and drag move to change the angle, to boot… all that aside, it was from a bad angle, regardless of how sweet a snipe it was. But my point was that JQ seemed to be off his angle at times recently, and I’m hoping that opposition hasn’t found a chink…
I’m looking forward to the post that Rich alluded too wrt Ranford talking about Quicky…
Weasel Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
@Stuart,
I hope that’s just a fluke game. I can’t recall him having problems from any specific spot on the ice. But that was a really nervous win for the Kings.
One thing that I am convinced of is that Quicker should almost never leave his crease to handle to puck behind the net. He just doesn’t seem to puck handle very well or comfortably when back there.
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Stuart Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
@Weasel, but then there was that goal he gave up to the ducks, too… I thought THAT ONE was the fluke. I’m still not worried. As long as we score 4, I can deal with JQ’s GAA going up to 3.
PP Anybody? Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
@Weasel, I can be overly critical during losses, but I love how people are still discussing Quick’s winning performance. Bottom line is, he still won and made the saves that mattered to win the game. I think we are just spoiled by the fact that JQ has put up ridiculous numbers this year, and usually only gives up 1 or 2 goals a game. It’s OKAY to give up a goal, if they still win.
Duckbasher Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
@Stuart,
Quick’s numbers have for sure benefited from the King’s defensive “system” that murray put in place. And granted, that same system that has been hard to get away from in order to score goals. The Kings have opened things up some as of late and Quick naturally has had his weaknesses exposed some because of it. I’ve noticed for the past couple of years that team’s that shoot high on him have better success. I originally first noticed it in shootouts. Personally, I have always and still believe Jon Bernier’s numbers would be just as good as Quick’s had he been given the same opportunities as Quick. the past couple of season’s Quick’s game has seemed to falter during the latter part of the season (and playoffs). A result of over use? I think so.
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Don’t know if any of you care about Corsi numbers, but in his limited ice time Nolan is right up there.
Also, an interesting post about a secondary player helping talented player be more productive has Penner listed as one of the guys that helps the other two guys be productive. Not sure if I buy it, but it’s an encouraging thought. That post is over at http://hockeyanalysis.com/ it the post titled “Mixing in Toughness with Skill”
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Stuart Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
@Weasel, I can think of one other insider that cares about the Corsican numbers…
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KC23 Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
@Stuart, Yes, but he is probably tapping his fingers on his desk wondering why no King’s fans are mentioning Fenwich numbers.
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I really hope the nickname “Jordy” doesn’t catch on.
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Duncanz Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 7:47 pm
@aKinginVancouver, You will be aking even more if it does!
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Hey Guys – what are your thoughts?
Prior to the last 4-5 games we were all yelling at our lack of goals, bottom of the NHL !
The last 4-5 games we are getting some reasonable production (the Carter effect) yet we have been letting up goals as well.
How much do you think our tight Blueline play had to do with our lack of offense – and considering that, how has that inversely effected the play of Mr Quick the last few games?
Defense Loosens up – we are scoring goals but JQ is letting some through. I love JQ but is his status as an elite goalie more a product of our stellar defense ?
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YoBro Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
@Ventura Ice, My answer to your last question is Yes.
Go Kings
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Duckbasher Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
@Ventura Ice,
100% correct. by the way, can you mail me a burrito from Coralles?
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Ventura Ice Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
@Duckbasher,
no worries, I will go buy a few stamps and make the handoff to my Postman tomorrow
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 8:24 pm
@Ventura Ice, you in Ventura?? Me too dude!
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YoBro Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
@TeamJMFJ, Another Ventura-ite here too!
Go Kings
P.S. And for the killer Ventura burrito, ya gotta go to Lalo’s, or Maggies. carne asada Mmmmm.
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YoBro Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
@TeamJMFJ, Dude, just noticed the pic, your avatar? Is that you climbing out of a Kart?
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Ventura Ice Reply:
March 8th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
@TeamJMFJ,
Very cool, glad to see Ventura is in the house!
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“I expect him to that.”
I ‘expect’ that is Darrylese for ‘I expect him to do that.’ Which is a kind of jerkwadish thing to say of someone he is only assigning 6-7 minutes to (we’re using minutes here since DS doesn’t like to use line numbers). It was an inspired play and would be an inspired play even if Richards had made it. When hardly any of his other teammates seem aware and capable enough to make plays (or even passes) like that – that’s a pretty unfair thing to say to a rookie. I say “expect THEM to that” before you start expecting your 4th line rookies to that. Nolan deserves more than a ‘So what. I expect you to that.’
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Duncanz Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 7:55 pm
@MmmmYummy, Maybe that’s just DS keeping it steady for the media.
Do you believe that in private he wouldn’t be praising ‘Jordy’ heartily for his efforts?
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I would like to see Nolan play a few shifts with Carter and Richards.
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rick Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
@King Cobra, He could never keep up. I like him, but he is pure fourth line material at this point in his career.
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uknojata Reply:
March 7th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
@King Cobra, I totally agree. he seems to have better vision and hands than King. “He could never keep up.” I think that is just plain false.
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Nolan has brought a tremendous spark to the team. I can’t believe he was basically an after thought in the pipeline until a few weeks ago. Keep it up Jordy!!!!
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