The Los Angeles Kings’ basic statistics have improved in virtually every category since the loss in Detroit on February 10. Easily the most noticeable trend over the team’s last eight games is its improved defense; by holding eight consecutive opponents under their seasonal scoring average, the Kings have leapt 15 spots in the goals against per game rankings. As Darryl Sutter mentioned after the win over Detroit on Wednesday, the club’s save percentage is the most important factor in limiting goals against. Entering play on Friday night, the team’s save percentage is tied for 11th in the league at .910 – a rate that isn’t quite where the team wants it to be but a vast improvement over the first three weeks of the season.
“The thing we’ve got to work on, it’s not goals against, it’s save percentage. So Bernie continues to get [it] up…Jonathan Quick has to move up,” Sutter said Wednesday night. “We play 17 games in March. His save percentage has to be better. It’s simple. When you do it in the league, our goals against is now probably top-five, six or whatever it is. But our save percentage has to be better. There are statistics that hold true, and that’s one of them.”
Prior to Games on February 11 (Kings record: 3-5-2)
Goals / Game: t-25th / 2.10
Goals Against / Game: t-21st / 3.00
Power Play: 27th / 10.9
Penalty Kill: 17th / 79.6
Shots / Game: 5th / 30.8
Shots Against / Game: 2nd / 25.2
Faceoffs: t-19th / 49.0
Prior to Games on March 1 (Kings record: 10-6-2)
Goals / Game: 19th / 2.56
Goals Against / Game: 6th / 2.28
Power Play: 21st / 15.5
Penalty Kill: 16th / 81.6
Shots / Game: t-13th / 29.5
Shots Against / Game: 2nd / 25.4
Faceoffs: 8th / 51.3
Change
Goals / Game: +.46
Goals Against / Game: -.72
Power Play: +4.6%
Penalty Kill: +2.0%
Shots / Game: -1.3
Shots Against / Game: +0.2
Faceoffs: +2.3%
Another interesting statistic is that the club’s scoring has increased (really, there was nowhere to go), despite the team taking fewer shots. Faceoffs have also improved, which is partly due to the team having played more home games.
For more advanced stats, there’s always good material at Jewels from the Crown and McSorley’s Stick. The former keeps an excellent track of zone entry data, while the latter maintains points-blown standings. But you knew that already.
Ouch, ouch, ouch. Eyes blurry, coffee hasn’t kicked in, too many numbers. Headache coming on…
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So we are finishing as puck73 would put it (or at least finishing in a better sense).
I think the face off stat is super important.
The more we win the more shots we take, the more we win the less chance of a shot being taken against us. So long as we keep that up the other 2 will keep on improving.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:57 am
@Lake Forest, Winning faceoffs, especially in the offensive zone, when it comes to scoring goals is about the most important statistic you can look at.
This team is built to be a puck possession team. You can’t do that if you don’t have the puck off of the faceoff.
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:52 am
@mrbrett7, bingo, plus with the new4, the more time spent in the other end the better
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Anybody else notice that this all started when Brown started hitting and taking the body? I really think his physical play is a big catalyst for this team.
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Bradapiller Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:00 am
@RobSD, his physical play has definitely picked up and the team is getting back to its old self. I have a feeling Brown wasn’t 100% to start out the season but I guess we wont know until we lift the cup again.
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Mars Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:05 am
@RobSD, I agree, I keep saying Brown Hits = Kings Win.
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Dazed N Confused Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:08 am
@Mars,
Couldn’t agree more with you. I was telling my friend that the other night. When brown hits others follow and surprising enough that includes Penner.
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Mars Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:22 am
@Dazed N Confused, So far this year I find myself cheering for Pens, whereas most of last year I was cursing him. Its been an interesting ride, I bet he let a sigh of relief with the Gags trade, but it doesnt put him in the clear either.
Subby Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:10 am
@RobSD, this
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:15 am
@RobSD,
When he leveled Ryan Nugent-Hopkins…
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mrbrett7 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:04 am
@FKA PakiFro, That was the exact moment. This team has picked up their game ten-fold ever since Brown knocked that little punk into next week.
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PK Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:32 am
@RobSD, Yep you’re right. I think Brownie picked up some bad habits living the good life in switzerland. He’s back
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:53 am
@RobSD, and that started when Sutter moved him to the left side. He is better in every facet on the heavy side.
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Wow this months schedule is rough. Just flipped over my desk calendar for the month, with all the games filled in and we dont get more than a day off between games until the 26th & 27th. We need to get through this stretch injury free and we will be fine. Especially with the way Bernier and now Quick have been playing.
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Including the game in det on Feb 10 (9 games, 5 on the road), the KINGS have outscored their opponents
in the 3rd period 13-2. In the previous 9 games they were outscored in the 3rd / OT 9-3.
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17 games in march is the only stat that matters at the moment.
I want another full report in 17 games.
Great work Jon, thanks!!
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Bill M. Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:11 am
@Mars, Wow you don’t ask much. Don’t care what’s in it, just as long as we have the report, eh? Personally, I could live without the report. I’ll be far more concerned at whether the Kings are looking up or down at 8th place on April 1st.
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Mars Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:14 am
@Bill M., Jon seems to like the stats, its a fun fact on a non game day, something to fill a slow news day.
Right now, I am watching the standings and getting ready for tomorrow.
Sunday afternoon my kids are part of the Galaxy Dream Team, they will be walking with the players out on the field for the opening cerimony. Should be pretty awesome, they are doing the banner raising and all!
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:55 am
@Mars, I still cannot get my arms around 17 games in one month. This season is more like last team standing.
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King'ntheD Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 4:09 pm
@jet, I would argue that Al was awesome till 2002 when he ‘traded’ Gruden. But all in all, will put the Raiders record up against the other 31 any time. RIP Al, you are still OK in my book
GKG
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Great stat report JR – easy to read and easy to understand.
It definitely shows what many of us were saying at the beginning of the season. Due to the lock-out, the extended break, the lack of training camp,and the lack of the pres-season, the first 3 weeks of the season were not a good indicator of the true nature and abilities of any NHL team.
Players and coaches are now back in game shape and game mentality. Systems and timing are coming together and teams are starting to show their true colors. Chicago is the only anamoly that still needs watching since we are seeing the Ducks start to revert back to who they truly are.
The rest of the season is gonna be a wild ride and if the Kings can get and keep their playoff focus from last year, we are going to be in great shape come the playoffs.
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:08 pm
@DesertKing, But, also everything seemed stacked against us this season.
No games against the East. – While last year was even, we ususally do well against the east.
More condensed schedule. 17 games in a month is nuts. With our travel miles it is tougher to recover.
New rules that benifit smaller players. – faster clock on hitting attackers after releasing the puck. Tighter boarding calls (ex. Fraiser’s boarding penalty would only have been called this season).
SC target on our backs. Everyone wants to beat us.
Higher percentage of games within our division. We play in the toughest division in hockey.
Shorter season. We still have one of the yougest teams in the NHL and young teams are streaky in both directions. A short season does not allow a team to recover from a bad streak.
SC hangover – I dont believe this one
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I think Dustin Browns problem to start the season was the same as Anze Kopitars problem…THEY PLAYED IN EUROPE! And guess what? Europe is not the NHL…NOT EVEN CLOSE. And thats why it took these guys a couple of weeks to get acclimated playing with the best in the world again.
I think some of fans got to witness this fact up close in personal at training camp a couple of years ago when a 25 year old defensman name Johan Fransson came over to try out for the Kings. After watching this guy for only a couple of minutes, it was blatantly obvious that he was getting burnt to the inside….BY JUNIOR AND AHL PLAYERS!
After that camp, Ol Johann decided that it was much safer to play in Europe.
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Mars Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:19 am
@puck73, I had been pondeing the same thing, they said they were keeping their skills sharp, but its not really the same game. But then guys like MR who were fishing were not sharp either. So it seems like dammed if you do and dammed if you dont. Conditioning and staying game ready might be the best way to go, PA might have the best insight I think, he and MM seemed to be following what a lot were up too, I was too focused on what buttman was screwing up.
Honestly I could use another opinion and more insight in this one.
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tomb Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:28 am
@puck73, many elite NHL players learned how to play hockey in Europe: Kopitar, Sedins, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kovalchuk, Malkin, Ovechkin, etc. During the lockout, it was important for the players to stay in shape whether it was to play in Europe, or the AHL or ECHL. The players who have struggled the most this season are the ones who were inactive.
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KC23 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:33 am
@puck73, I look at all the Kings that started in Europe and not any of them came back looking all that great. There’s Gym Shape, there’s, Europe shape and then there’s NHL game ready shape.
Who came out looking ready to play this season? The guy with the rep of being a lazy partyer Jeff Carter that didn’t go anywhere but home. Who would of thought?
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Duncanz Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:36 pm
@KC23, To partially counter your point; Jonathan Bernier.
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:11 pm
@puck73, ture, but what if there was no deal? If 50$ of your lifetime earning depends on your skills, do you want to take 17 months off?
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rogiesbackup Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:48 pm
@puck73, Good point…then the NHLPA should’ve organized an off season event, maybe?? Of course, not hitting allowed.
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MmmmYummy Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 7:50 pm
@puck73,
Two Words: Kyle Clifford
’nuff said
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Wow! Talk about breaking it down
Outstanding work JR!!
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JUST WIN, BABY!!…R.I.P Al Davis
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puck73 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:25 am
@Gustavo, Al did some great things with the Raiders from 1963 til around 1985. After that, he lost it, and then became a meddling hands on control freak. What I like about Mark Davis, at least early on, is the fact that he is letting football people make football decisions.
However, alot of damage has been done, and its gonna take a couple of seasons to get the Raiders back to “Greatness”
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Speaking of stats, I saw last night that Loktionov scored his second goal of the season, a real pretty move around a veteran defenseman. That makes 2 goals, 2 assists, and a +3 for him in his 5 games with the Devils. He has been elevated to the number one line with Kovalchuk now, “justifably so” according to the Devils’ announcers. Gee, and he couldn’t even get a chance this year playing with us. Couldn’t fit into our system. Was too small, or not tough enough–that was I kept seeing on here. So let’s see, our 4th line center, Fraser, had two goals in 65 games last year. But then in our “system,” goals aren’t as important as hits and fighting. I keep asking myself, how many points do we get in the standings for outhitting the other team each game? Yes, things are looking good right now–5 wins in a row. I just hope that none of our goal scorers get hurt. We’ve just unloaded two–Lokti and Gagne (who scored in his first game with Philly). I keep asking myself how good our 4th line would have looked with Lokti centering Gagne and Clifford. But then we wouldn’t have had as many hits to satisfy our macho fans.
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puck73 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:49 am
@Russ Dynda, That sounds really good in theory, that being said….I think I will trust Dean Lombardi, Ron Hextall, and Jack Ferriera on this one.
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:19 am
@puck73,
Me too. The line he just described wouldn’t have scored many points, because they wouldn’t have been able to hold onto the puck, and cliffy would have been worn out. There is a difference between an individual effort and a team effort, something @Russ seems to ignore/forget. It’s as if these two weren’t given a chance here. Neither of them produced significantly enough to be considered.
I don’t know if he realizes it, but the Kings have a style of hockey that is distinctly theirs. And guess what? It works. There is no substitute for success, no matter how you slice it.
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:27 am
@kissmyblarneystones,
BTW… Holding onto the puck was a major issue for both of those players.
Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:47 am
@kissmyblarneystones, That’s why we won one Cup in 45 years and finished 8th in the regular season last year. We’re basking in our 17 game playoff run. I want more.
kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:48 pm
@Russ Dynda,
What has the past 45 years have to do with anything? It’s over and in the past. The only thing that matters is what’s happening now. I see a continuance of where we left off last year ans expect it to continue for a few more. This team was built with its present form intended.
Quit looking for problems that don’t exist. You gonna get another cup. I promise.
rogiesbackup Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:51 pm
@puck73, Yes puck, in DL I trust; in DS……mmmmm luke warm, but certainly better then TM.
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KOHO Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:50 am
@Russ Dynda, The Kings brass want a certain type of player and some guys have it and some don’t. Not to say they are bad players they’re just not effective in our chosen style of play.
Hitting is part of the game and it’s a big part of our teams identity. We beat teams up then we beat them on the score board which by the way has won us our first Stanley Cup.
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Cameron Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:59 am
@Russ Dynda,
I disagree completely. Lotki and gagne are good offensive minded players that are a defensive liability! Fraser plays on the PK and we all know that the east is far more offensive minded than the west. Good for former players getting a shot but our system, the last time I checked, won us the Stanley cup!!! And correct me if I’m wrong, but how much playing time did either one contribute towards that goal in the playoffs???!? Wake up bro, we are doing great without them. We still have toffoli, Pearson, vey, kozoun, we are fine without them!!! Go kings go!
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Duncanz Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:59 pm
@Cameron, Good post, among all the other good posts.
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Quisp Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 8:58 pm
@Cameron,
Strangely, Loktionov isn’t a defensive liability on the Devils. He’s playing tough minutes, he’s scoring, and — during a team-wide slump — he’s been on the ice for exactly ONE goal-against.
There are two issues here. One is that Loktionov is 22 years old. The list of offensive powerhouses who had not done as well as Loktionov by this age is very long. Lombardi sent him away prematurely. The second issue is that the choice was between a Loktionov line and a Stoll line. There is always going to be a Fraser type (energy) line, and Loktionov was never going to be on it. Lombardi could have gone with King or Nolan on the left and Loktionov and TOffoli, and you would be looking at forty or fifty goals instead of twenty. On a team that can’t score.
I am pretty sure in two years if not sooner no one will understand why we let Loktionov, Purcell and Moulson and their 70-80 goals walk away, while hanging onto Jarret Stoll, his excellent face off skills and his high-wide super hard shot.
I like JArret Stoll. I think he will age nicely into an excellent fourth line center. He can continue to win faceoffs and be an energy player. (He’s not good enough defensively to center a “stopper” line, but an energy role he’s well suited for).
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 2nd, 2013 at 10:27 am
@Quisp, Basically agree with everything you say here.
One87Money Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:02 am
@Russ Dynda,
No disrespect Russ, but it appears you are not familiar with the roles that players and lines are expected to play. Lokti and Simon both have the skill set of “Top 6″ forwards and need to play on the top two lines to be effective. Those are your skilled forwards who are expected to score for you. An analogy would be quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers in football.
Fraser and Clifford are generally your “Bottom 6″ forwards who play on the third and fourth lines. These guys are your defensive lineman when using the football analogy, and stop the other team from scoring. There are not too many D-lineman in the NFL putting points on the board.
For the Kings, there are no open “Top 6″ forward positions for Lokti and Simon to fill. When there was talk recently about Simon not fitting in, it had nothing to do with his personality or how hit fit in the locker room, it was all to do with there not being an open position for him regularly fill on the top two lines. Lokti was even further down on the depth chart for the Kings.
On other teams or in different systems, these guys have moved up because they are more talented than the other players around them. In Lokti’s situation with the Kings, he needed to be better than Kopi and Richards/Carter to be able to play. I would think you and I would both agree that Lokti does not have that kind of talent at this point in his career.
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:37 am
@One87Money, First of all, comparing hockey to football is absurd. In football everyone specializes–offense or defense. In hockey you play both ways and throughout the game everyone must immediately transition from one to the other. I don’t need a lecture about the roles that WE have created for our team. The coach creates the roles. Many teams have had 3 scoring lines. I’m also tired of hearing about how our physical play won us a Cup. How many years did our physical play fail to win us a Cup? Try to keep in mind the real situation last year. We had a magical 17 game run in the Playoffs and held on in the final series after losing games five and six. During the regular season we were mediocre-8th out of 15 teams–even though we were hitting everything in sight. Our coaches demand our team to be physical and then wonder why those scorers who are brought in to improve our goal production fail to do so. Creative coaches aren’t locked into doing things like everyone else. You see the abilities of the players you have and adapt to make full use of them. I want this team to be great for years to come and that won’t happen with shipping off our talented players because they can’t fit into some rigid, antiquated system.
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:56 pm
@Russ Dynda, a system is decided upon based upon the teams attributes, so, which system will give a team with the attibutes a majority of our players have the best chance to win. A coach cannot select a system that might benefit one player who may or may not be able to play 100 games a year.
Secondly, when drafting player and selecting a system, a coach must look at what give a team the best chance to be successful in the playoffs not just the regular season.
I would argue DL and DS have chosen the best system to win playoff games.
HockeyNerd Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 1:29 pm
@Russ Dynda, If that “rigid antiquated system” wins us a Stanley Cup, I’ll take it.
King'ntheD Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 4:25 pm
@Russ Dynda, Seriously?
One87Money Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 5:03 pm
@Russ Dynda,
The comparison to football is not absurd, as one can use just about any team sport as an analogy, since most involve offense and defense. If you would like me to rewrite this for you in crayon, I certainly can.
The point you obviously missed is that each player on the team has a specific role. In the case of the Kings system, the top 6 and bottom 6 roles are clearly defined, and Lokti is not a capable bottom 6 player.
Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:10 pm
@Russ Dynda, If you can’t see the difference between hockey and football and the continuous transition from offense to defense in the former, then I suggest you get out your crayons and maybe use them for something other than discussing this topic. My point you obviously missed is that I don’t agree with the rigid view that each player should hava a limited, specific role. It’s your privilege to disagree. Based on how Sutter has juggled lines up until recently, I don’t think your description is completely valid with the Kings. In fact, I don’t see our 4th line as a defensive line. They’re out there to generate energy; that’s different than defense. If they were the “defensive” line we would see them out there regularly against the number one lines of other teams. That seldom happens. In my view, generating energy is only valuable if it contributes either offensively or defensively to the team effort. Since our 4th line (Clifford-Nolan-Fraser) is not a defensive line and only contributed 9 goals in 180 man games last year, give me Lokti and Gagne.
Belexes Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:04 am
@Russ Dynda,
When other teams are eager to pick up our table scraps it becomes even more obvious just how loaded we are.
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fsd1 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:04 am
@Russ Dynda, its really very simple, the Kings won the Stanley Cup with size and grit on every line, Lokti had neither, and he would suffer a beatdown if we were to play the Devils in a series right now. Let him play his style back east. Gags was no different. Wonder how many hits Lokti has this year…..
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SLG1013 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:04 am
@Russ Dynda, The Devils lost that game, btw… And they lost the game where Lokti scored his first goal… Nice stats for Lokti, too bad his team lost the games…
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:23 am
@SLG1013,
Against the Caps and Jets no less.
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:42 am
@kissmyblarneystones, Well, Lokti is a +3. He must’ve done something right in those games.
Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:44 am
@kissmyblarneystones, In Kopitar’s first three years the Kings got 68, 71, and 79 points. I guess it must’ve been all this fault.
Quisp Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:04 pm
@SLG1013,
Loktionov has been out for one goal-against. He is the highest scoring player on the team in PTS/60. His plus-minus/60 is also tops on the team. It’s literally only when he’s been off the ice that the team has had problems. I don’t expect Loktionov to continue at a point a game pace, and I also don’t expect him to turn out to be a defensive powerhouse, but it’s absurd to suggest that somehow Loktionov isn’t any good because the team isn’t winning when he’s off the ice.
[Reply]
mrbrett7 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:08 am
@Russ Dynda, Loktionov…
He wasn’t going to supplant Kopitar, not on this or any other planet. So no 1st line there as a center.
He wasn’t going to supplant Mike Richards. Sorry…never in a million years. So no 2nd line center.
Those are your “scoring” lines.
So what do you do with an undersized center who isn’t going to be playing on one of your two scoring lines, and isn’t physical/strong enough to play 3rd or 4th line center?
You trade him.
[Reply]
Quisp Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:10 pm
@mrbrett7,
The problem with your logic is that the lines don’t really have numbers and Mike Richards is the one who gets the tough defensive assignments. And this will only get more and more glaringly obvious as he gets older. Richards’ line is the stopper line. In the traditional sense, it’s the third line. Stoll can’t be a stopper, because — well — he can’t really stop anybody’s top line. So he is ideally suited to fourth line center. Over-priced, but that’s his ultimate destination, just watch. Therefore, there is a “scoring” line center job to fill, and it’s the line that’s not Kopitar’s.
I would submit someone-big / Loktionov / Toffoli, eventually in a couple of years ending up with Pearson / Loktionov / Toffoli.
Of course, that ship has sailed.
[Reply]
Gustavo Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:15 am
@Russ Dynda,
Your arguments fit perfectly to those who believe the team systems should be molded to match a single player skill set. Most, however, think it’s the player that must match the team overall philosophy and style.
So far, the latter one has brought us a Cup and the promise of more to come in the near future.
So you’re wrong in your arguments. Both Lokti and Gagne will do well in the east. In the west, they’re useless.
[Reply]
Quisp Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 9:12 pm
@Gustavo,
Yes, the system won a cup, and also came within two wins of missing the playoffs entirely and getting Lombardi and Sutter both fired. I guess it’s a good thing Loktionov had that multi-point game in January when the wheels were about to fall off.
[Reply]
Russ Dynda Reply:
March 2nd, 2013 at 12:25 pm
@Quisp, We could be reading each other’s minds on this. Lombardi’s neck was certainly on the line, and justifiably so.
Kopi Bryant Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:24 am
@Russ Dynda, You have to be good on both sides of the puck if you want to play for DS. Lokti and Gags were defensive liabilites. Plus, when they were here they weren’t exactly lighting the lamp when given the opportunity.
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kissmyblarneystones Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:25 am
@Russ Dynda,
I hear crickets!!!!
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:40 am
@kissmyblarneystones, That one’s over my head. ???
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:50 am
@Russ Dynda, HEy, this is hockey. If you’re going to hit me, give me your best shot. Otherwise we might trade you like Lokii.
KC23 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 11:55 am
@Russ Dynda, “… I keep asking myself, how many points do we get in the standings for outhitting the other team each game? …”
I keep asking myself, who won the Cup last year and just how dominate were they?
I guess it’s just the type of questions one’s asks themselves.
[Reply]
jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:32 pm
@Russ Dynda, I understand what you are trying to say, but Lokti was land locked into only two spots C1 or C2. He does not have the size to play C3 or C4 in the Kings system, especially this year. The primary reason is our C has big defensive responsibilities. this year is has an even bigger spotlight on our C’s defence due to having 4 new defencemen. It was so important that Sutter had to move Carter into the C2 slot due to Richards not having the strength to defend for 17 minutes a game. Richards is an athlete, a racer if you will. He is not the best shooter, skater, passer, defender, but he will do anything to win. Unfortunately, his body was not where his mind was to start the season. So if Richards could not play there, there is no way a 5-9, buck seventy guy can defend that slot.
He has offensive skill, but he needs to be in a system that will cover his defensive liabilities. He will have a better shot back east to stay up.
Also, we got Ellerby, a player that is playing for us right now. Therefore, it was a win-win.
[Reply]
rogiesbackup Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 12:56 pm
@Russ Dynda, I do get concerned when the fan base, and DS gets excited when our fourth liner scores and put them in the top 6. I think it’s more of a sad state of affairs that our top 6 just a couple weeks ago weren’t producing. Those guys like Clifford and Lewie are have always played good like now…we’ve just been blinded that our top 6 haven’t been producing.
Still sad we let Gagne go too soon, I feel. DS didn’t put him on the top 6 enough to get him out of his slump which is sooo important to the Kings.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 1:37 pm
@Russ Dynda, 4rth line isn’t comprised of scorers. A team can’t overstock on scorers and survive. It needs different types for different roles. Lokti has a bright future (even the Kings believed that or he wouldn’t have been so high up on the depth chart compared to many in Manchester. Like Gagne though, the Kings are deep enough to make a run at the Stanley Cup as they are and need at least 1 more defensive defenseman to round up their line up (not that the Kings aren’t deep enough as is). Lokti was never a question of “if” but “when”. Unfortunately he can’t play the role the Kings needed from him, but he can play the ole the Devils need.
Only real complaint I have with losing Lokti is we didn’t get what I thought he was worth.
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Dominick Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 2:06 pm
@Russ Dynda,
Also, the Kings are built for “macho” Sooo what’s the problem with “macho”?
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KC23 Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 4:44 pm
@Dominick, Good question, just don’t ask it Vancouver, St. Louis, Phoenix or NJ.
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:18 pm
@Dominick, Macho is phoney toughness. Arguably, the best defensive player of the past decade was Nik Lidstrom. Check on his hit totals. To the macho guy he didn’t look like much. He just stopped people and put points on the board, too. And he’s not a rarity.
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Let’s start March off right with a good game against the Nucks tomorrow. Would love it for the Kings to continue beating that team.
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Go Kings Go!
Way to go boys keep going to the net the net and, more net!
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Dominick Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 2:19 pm
@gailweb, Are they going fishing?
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Kings Corsi and fenwick shot differentials have also picked up for all 4 lines in that time span. PDO is better for a number of players as well. Not like Penner in the playoffs “well” but overall better as a team. Kings are dominating the ice more consistantly for longer periods of time. As long as they’re doing better than their opponents 35ft and in, they’ll win more times than not.
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Thanks for the link! Actually, if you drill down into my site, there’s all sorts of cool hidden stuff. There’s all of Lombardi’s trades, a page for all his signings, multiple sortable charts for games-played for every player in Kings’ history, comparisons of Kings’ seasons, how many points after so many games, going back to 1988, complete draft history, complete current (sortable) Kings reserve list, every lineup going back to 2005, complete depth chart…
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 7:13 pm
@Quisp, hey, quisp, a few years ago, you use to post a list of the current 50 players. any chance you could put that together again?
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jet Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 7:15 pm
@Quisp, this is the page I got when I tried to find it. http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/los-angeles-kings#roster_tab
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Quisp Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 8:45 pm
@jet,
Yes, it’s on a page called “LA Kings Reserve List” and it is multi-colored and sortable. I expanded it awhile back to include cap hit, height, weight, in addition to all the other stuff, draft year and team, year acquired or signed, draft position, draft team, waiver-exemption status, current team…
And it’s sortable.
http://www.mcsorleys-stick.com/la-kings-reserve-list/
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Quisp Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 8:46 pm
@Quisp,
Did I mention it’s sortable?
One more time:
Loktionov is not a defensive liability. Jarret Stoll is a defensive liability.
Anybody notice that Lokti is mostly playing with that other defensive liability Alexei Ponikarovsky?
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Russ Dynda Reply:
March 1st, 2013 at 10:28 pm
@Quisp, Great point. (And Ponikarovsky is now doing some scoring, too.) Defense is not just about hitting. I saw Lokti last night stealing several pucks with slick stickwork. As I said above and will repeat, arguably the best defender of the past decade was Nik Lidstrom and he wasn’t known for his hitting. If we hadn’t been so focused on turning everyone into a hitter/forechecker over the past few years we would have kept some of our talented offensive players without sacrificing defense AND, we likely wouldn’t have ended up 29th in scoring last year. I know, we had a miraculous 17 game playoff run and won the Cup. I want more than one run at the Cup and I don’t see a team that was coached to mediocrity (8th seed) during the regular season being the serious contender it should be unless some coaching attitudes change. You can’t expect a miracle every year.
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