Keeping it positive

That's briliant. Break up the only line combination that's actually producing.
And I don't think Armstrong has earned the right to play with Cammy & Fro. Even if they were together last season.
I'd rather see either Nagy or Sully center that line.
They've shown some hustle and grit of late.

Yes, positive. Please don’t sound so shocked. I know this blog is fun for the fans but I hope that knee-jerk reactions to this team’s play are kept to a minimum. Anyone who has actually played a sport knows that patience and positive thinking is absolutely mandatory for individuals and organizations. Last night sucked. Tonight, the Ottawa Senators had a bad night, too. It happens. It will happen more often than any of us wish for the first couple months of this season. But it’s a process and it lasts until the 82nd game, if not longer.

Anthony, stop being an idiot and try thinking before you post. Let me say it again, try to take notes here...

Kopitar can play with anyone and make them better. Hence, put a slacker or two up with him...they'll wake up.

NEXT, Camms will get his 30 goals regardless of who he plays with.

There ya go, not too hard to use logic, eh?

John Zeiler ur on this blog? humm......really?

Armstrong should be excited about the change since he's been absolutely awful in the last 3 games.

I think John Zeiler is a genius!
Maybe after I step it up, we can play on a line together. :heart

For all the talk of a run and gun offense and being aggressive with defensemen jumping into the play, all I have seen of Crawford is conservative line combinations, little evaluation of player strengths and not putting them in positions wherein they utilize their talents.

Jack with Modry
Blake with Visnovsky
O'Sullivan playing the PK
Bernier not getting the start in Dallas
Armstrong constantly on the faceoffs
Etc.

You know, this is just bad coaching. He coaches scared and gutless, and as a result renders player strengths impotent.

I doubt Lombardi gets too involved with coaching decisions so not much will change, but from the outside looking in, what is the point of having a young and aggressive offensive defenseman when putting him with a lazy defensive liability. Is he so obtuse that he doesn't see Modry's turnovers, penalties and non existent physical game as a handicap to a defensive partner? How many faceoffs does Armstrong have to lose before Cammy starts taking more? You want to finally beat Dallas and you do NOT put in your better goaltender?

I don't mean to sound flippant and hopefully this post hasn't come across that way, but these players are only as good as the coaches will let them. Let's play to our strengths for goodness sake and stop trying to be a team without an identity.

i fully agree with these line shuffles, now hopefully he lets them play the full game before shuffling them again.

Yeah I don't see what Armstrong had done to earn a top line spot. He's been invisible on the ice and taking stupid penalties so far this season.

He's usually a guy you don't notice because he doesn't make many mistakes and he's not going to be an all star but this season putting your name on the score sheet with penalties isn't going to do any favors. This team needs to stay out of the penalty box as much as possible.

We'll see what happens but there's always something to the "bird in the hand" philosopy and there's one line firing on all cylinders and Crawford just pulled the engine apart to swap with some Volkswagens.

Zad ... I'm sorry but first of all, you don't get to coach in the freakin' NHL if you are "scared and gutless." Second, Crawford is a proven winner. He has earned the opportunity and our patience while this team "finds itself." There are a lot of new players, young players and a system that has been broke for many years. I've followed this team for over 20 years and, although I get frustrated too (too often), this is the first time in many years that I see some light at the end of the tunnel. It may not be this year but it is not far away. And yes, we are doing it the "right" way by not buying a freakin' cup like the Ducks.

hey guys i got an extra ticket to the game tonight if anyone wants to go ... $60 face value... yours FREE ... my wife's got a cold

David, with all due respect, Zad is correct. His evaluation is right on. It seems to me that this team is being coached backwards.
Everything that should be up is down and vice versa. I blame the coach for his errors.
And as far as his one Stanley Cup championship is concerned, did you take a good look at the line-up of players he coached. That Avalanche team would have won the cup even without somebody to lead them.

I think Crawford is on the right track, keep it positive and work hard to get used to one another on the ice. The Kings have to improve the quality of their game as a team, the only way to do it is through work. Line combo's aren't everything, they all individually need to bring their best effort, then it'll collectively come together. I just hope it's soon, the last thing the team needs is the feeling that this is just another hopeless season.

Matt, I would be happy to take ticket off your hands. Do you still have it? How can I get it?

Thanks

Hey MattGeorge, I'll take of parking if you're interested.

Zad,

You better check out the Super Stats on the NHL.com site. Modry is only credited with 2 giveaways in 4 games (only Dallman has fewer and he only played in 1 game), and he has 5 blocked shots.

I can't believe that I am saying this, but I actually agree with Anthony.......yes Crawford HAS won the cup (operative word being HAS)and I think that just about anyone could have put the right players together on that team which didn't really have any weak spots! So all Crawford has proven is that he can coach a high caliber team. And we are not that team YET. That being said I don't think that he is a coach who has an eye or a talent for recognizing and developing young talent. He also seems to lack the ability to give motivation to players who need it.
I posted about a week ago that I felt that DL had brought Dave Lewis on board to learn Crawford's so called "run and gun" offense. I would be surprised if Crow remains our coach come January.

ok so my loopy wife just changed her mind so she's going... sorry about that ... i do have the entire season and there will be many a game that we can't make it to ... i'd much rather the tickets go to fans than my co-workers so if you guys wanna get in touch with me we can share some games ... yipshnip@yahoo.com

Anthony and Zad, I am not disagreeing with you guys completely. All I am saying is that I think we should give Crawford a chance. I guess it all comes down to how the players relate and respect Crawford. We heard how some of the players didn't like Murray and we saw what happened there. Rich, is there a sense that you get about how the players are "buying" into Crawford's scheme?

I find it odd that no one ever criticizes Lubomir Visnovsky despite the fact that he has played maybe 3 of the worst games in his Kings career this past week and a half.

So while Crawford does deserve some of the blame why not heap some on a guy who wears the A and is a season away from being the highest paid D-man on the team.