Several notes I took during the Kings’ 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets Tuesday evening:
-Slava Voynov was excellent for the second consecutive game. His second period laser beam from inside the right point served as the game winner, and was clearly the right decision after it appeared there was a thought process over whether he should approach the puck and fire off a shot or drop back defensively. That slight hesitation allowed Vinny Prospal and Nick Holden to move into Steve Mason’s line of sight as screens, and I’m not sure if the right-catching goaltender ever really got a good view of the pinpoint shot. He’s also been keeping his shots low on the power play, increasing the potential for tips, deflections, and juicy rebounds. There were several Voynov point shots that were deflected just wide – Jarret Stoll had a piece of one – and because of a less-than-borderline call on a shaky incidental contact assessment in the first period, he was denied another point.
-Mike Richards may have played his best game of the season. Obviously, his third period insurance goal and his fight with Brandon Dubinsky caught the most attention, but his ability to get back while manning a point on the power play and get down on the ice to disrupt a Columbus shorthanded two-on-one attempt in the second period made life easier for Jonathan Quick. Jeff Carter scored a goal on that power play just over a minute later.
-Though he is still developing his play deep behind the goal line – and has made significant strides over the past year – I don’t worry much at all over Drew Doughty’s play on the Blue Jackets’ goal that tied the game at two in the second period. Though Doughty lost the handle on the puck near the goal line, there had been several opportunities to clear the puck prior to that moment by other members of the team, and a goal was appropriate at that moment following a sloppy shift. When you average over 28 minutes of ice time per game – Jack Johnson (28:38) and Doughty (28:20) rank first and second in the league in TOI – there are going to be the occasional hiccups. Doughty finished with three shots, tied for the team lead with three hits and led the team with three blocked shots and remains a horse that L.A. continues to ride.
-One game after recording nine shots on goal against Anaheim, Justin Williams earned the game’s first star with a terrific all-around effort. His move to cut towards the center of the ice to set up Richards’ insurance goal was vintage Williams – though it came from the opposite side of the ice and was deeper in the zone, it reminded me of the goal he scored in the Game 5 loss to New Jersey in last year’s Final. His quick cuts and slashes make him awfully adept at getting the puck quickly from the perimeter into central areas of the offensive zone where goals are scored.
-There’s still plenty of work to get to where the Kings want to be. The second period was one of the team’s best periods of the season, though there were stretches in the third period in which L.A. was back on its heels a bit. Had they been facing a team with elite goal scoring ability – Columbus now ranks tied with Dallas for the fewest goals-per-game in the league, at 1.90 – this could have been a game that went the other way. Fortunately Quick didn’t over commit and made an excellent lunging save on Derek Dorsett to preserve the lead in the third period, and the team achieved exactly what it had set out to do – open the road trip with two points.
I just hope Scuds will play the next game and Willie is close.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:34 am
@fourtnuanto, He’ll be on the ice for sure against Chicago. If there were any concussion symptoms, he would not have continued last night.
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goldielocks Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 8:30 am
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
Landeskog came back but was out following day.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 9:20 am
@goldielocks, Interesting. Didn’t know that. With the protocols now, I’m surprised. They have all but eliminated that as a possibility. Almost.
Kenny44 Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
Sometimes the symptoms don’t show up right away. That’s why at the youth sports level coaches are supposed to keep out a kid after a big head shot no matter what.
A mind is a terrible thing . . .
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What is Voynov’s contract situation? If he puts up better numbers than Doughty we might have a problem come contract time.
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JD Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:29 am
@Pesus, lets hope that’s a problem , but I sont think Voynov is in doughtys league
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:33 am
@Pesus,
He’s still on an entry level contract through next year. Plus, with the new CBA rules and the Kings overall solid salary management, I don’t see how this will be a serious issue at all.
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Pesus Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:46 am
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
I agree with your points but I can see his agent trying to get a big pay day if he continues to put up better numbers than Doughty. I know points aren’t everything but these agents don’t care.
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:53 am
@Pesus, The CBA limits a ‘big pay day’ on the second contract now. I’m pretty sure it can’t be an issue like you’re thinking it can…like it used to be. I could be wrong but I think that’s generally how it works now.
KC23 Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 8:57 am
@Pesus, The one thing DD is better than Voynov at is getting the puck out of the zone from along the boards and behind the net. It is the one thing Voynov needs to work at. Voynov is better at the stretch pass and way better at one timers than DD.
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RobSD Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 10:15 am
@Pesus,
I think VV is going to be a star defenseman in the next few years. He is so smart with the puck and has excellent offensive capabilities.
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Scuds is a tough dude, he’ll play
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Besides motivating Doughty to be even better, Voynov’s rise will most importantly make other teams account for his increasingly better play, which in turn will give DD a few more looks he might not otherwise have. And that’s not even accounting for Martinez who stands to gain the most in key situations.
This title of this post could be Richards waking up with the Kings.
I don’t recall MR trying one of his patent no look snap wrap around shot yet this year. I recall that it worked at least a few times last year. I love that move.
With Sutter’s usual desire to roll four lines, I’m beginning to wonder if that strategy is changing a bit for the short term. Fraser and Nolan’s TOI seems to really be dropping off. The 4th line identity, which completely solidified when Fraser took over at center last year, seems to me to be a key missing ingredient on the team so far this year. The Kings need that line to eat up quality minutes.
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Cav Pilot Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 7:45 am
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com), My thoughts exactly on the fourth line. That is one area that you can point to that is lacking compared to last seasons run. It used to be that the fourth line just simply outworked everyone. We haven’t seen that yet this season. I’m hoping that it’s merely a lockout/conditioning thing and that they will be back to form soon.
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blahblah Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 10:25 am
@Cav Pilot, Was Clifford playing on the 4th line in those first 3 games when he got 4 or 5 points?
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Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com) Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 10:40 am
@blahblah,
No. He moved up to the 2nd line after the 2nd game.
Kenny44 Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
@Paul Armbruster (KingsNewsDaily.com),
Most of the recent games have featured too many special teams situations to roll that 4th line out there consistently. When we have an honest game, I’m sure DS will roll with it.
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Does anyone know why Anson Carter was on the broadcast? Frankly I like him better than Daryl for that role. Daryl’s opinions are too close to Foxy’s, they kind of say the same thing. Will we be seeing more of Carter, or was that a one off?
____
Today is 25th day since the end of the lockout I’ve spent zero on the NHL.
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crashin'da net Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 4:44 pm
@Donald_S, I like Anson as commentator.
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Great work Jon. It’s baffling that VMFV didn’t get one of the three stars.
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rick Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
@Michael J., Agreed. I appreciate the direct and honest appraisals of player performance.
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Funny I didn’t think doughty had large Centrsl incisors….
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Voynov can AND should show Doughty a thing or two about being an all around solid defensman. Slava is doing great and getting better, it shows.
GO KINGS GO!!
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Remember Slava deflected the puck and scored some own goals in the playoffs? He seemed very preoccupied, busy boxing out the attacking player. But so far, what I see from him is that he’s taking care of the detail while he’s battling or seeking a seam to shoot through. That’s a heck of improvement, and he is now taking his game beyond the next level. Nice to see young talent blooming but it’s almost scary.
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Slava was world-class last night. Great shooting, accurate breakout passes, smart defensive plays. It’s fun to watch good players develop.
On the other end of the spectrum, Muzzin should really be in the AHL right now (I’m trying to put it politely).
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mr_higgns Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 9:57 am
@GregDM, If not for injuries Muzzin would be there (AHL) – and logging major minutes – developing further. However I’m not seeing the glaring errors and poor play by Muzzin that would warrant (putting it politely) continually dumping on him. Maybe consistency issues, but he’s developing – Slava had Mitchell, Martinez had Greene – Muzzin has DD2 (no disrespect). It’s a work in progress, and takes some time – sheez…forget the +4 goal and assist game..(obviously a fluke) – off with his head!
He’s making the most of the minutes – which I suspect are being managed (look at game situation play) – and is an asset investment by the club ( see exit of Hickey). If he’s so terrible, they’d test the waiver with him and I’m sure other clubs would be interested
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GregDM Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 11:29 am
@mr_higgns,
Consistency is definitely not there and I think there have been some glaring errors in the last couple of games. He’s making sloppy, hurried passes and he’s been caught flat-footed several times. It’s great to see that he’s a +3 on the season, but I hope the last two games aren’t a trend.
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mr_higgns Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 2:45 pm
@GregDM, true to some extent — we tend to have more forgiveness for glaring errors made by others at times – I think there’s been a noticeable change from his first call up in 2010… he’s progressing and D is a tough position to adjust to in the NHL ( not all are Doughty ..) – hopefully he’ll be given the chance to develop..
Another Slava-related observation: someone criticized Stoll’s play in another thread. There’s heady play that doesn’t show on the score sheet: last night, Voynov pinched in from the point to keep play in the offensive zone. And there was Jarret Stoll at the point, supporting the puck. Maybe his numbers aren’t great presently; a lot of guys are in that boat. But I love to see smart plays such as covering for a teammate too.
BTW: Kings’ First Star: Tyutin, our man down low near the crease.
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Williams move on the Richards goal reminded me of the goal in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Fake outside/fake shot and move to the middle. great play.
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…..’tips, deflections, and juicy rebounds’….
Reminds me of Jeff Spicoli’s …..Cools waves and tasty buds….. line.
Great work Mr. Rosenpenis. Keep it up!!
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Wasn’t this the second game of the road trip? I believe that the Sat. game in Anaheim was the first.
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Pesus Reply:
February 6th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
@Steve W,
They don’t count sleeping in your own bed a road trip I guess
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