Kings lose 2-1

Ahhhhhhhh the 40 minute team....

Just call me Nostradomus!

1st Overall Pick here we come!

Chalk one up for the refs.
The refs did this game like the kings play hockey. Both F_cked up.
Blake's goal was no way goaltender interference
Novtny's goal should have been whistled down. Barbs clearly had control of the puck before Novotny speared for the puck.
When it rain it pours.

I'm beginning to feel that that this team is cursed. If the team doesn't beat themselves, the refs will beat them.
There is absolutly no chemistry on this team. This was the worse passing game I've ever seen. Kings rarely controlled the puck, except on the PP, which they did zero. Even their one goals was kicked in by a Columbus player. How sad.
Why can't this team play as a unit. Why is it that other teams can start a cycle in the kings zone and dominate the game. Why is it that passes made by the other teams are more accurate.
Why doesn't Dumbardi do something about this.

Have any of you guys heard of a trade rumor.

This may be abit long winded,but I feel after 20 years a die-hard kings fan its time to chime in. I no longer have the stomach,the will,want,hope,dream,fantasies,wish and desire to watch this lack of work ethic, anymore.Hockey( the kings)have changed my life, it has taken the place of my first love(surfing)and replaced it with many years of watching my son play(ice and roller) and me playing roller hockey.I,like many of the kings fans don't see the same pride and work ethic going on this year (and for quit a few years previous).I wonder do the owners, management,coaches,and players read this web, cause somebody needs to tell them!.So long story short I will not waste my time watching this crap until they at least win 3 games in a row, I know thats asking for a miracle but I just can't take anymore letdowns.The only word I did leave out of this confession sums it up more than anything is "PATHETIC"

hockeybuzz has the rumor of ovechkin to LA for cammalerri and bernier.

Merry xmas, Mark & Dean.

Of trades?? Our old seer you know who says there are rumbles of Ovechkin for Cammy, Bernier and some one else. I could live with that.

From http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/29798

Kings coach on short leash
Posted: Monday December 10, 2007 07:55AM ET

"Marc Crawford is feeling the heat in La-La Land. Not only is the Kings coach under fire for reports last week he instructed Canucks players to make Avalanche forward Steve Moore "pay the price" in 2004, Crawford is fighting for his job. There is a strong belief among those in the NHL community that if Crawford's club hadn't knocked off the Sabres on Thursday, he would have been fired. Would that make sense? Not really. However, Crawford is on a short leash. Rumour has it Kings general manager Dean Lombardi is feeling pressure from ownership to get results and Crawford might not be the right fit with the young players."

If you expect them to lose how is it a let down???

in the words of Eddie Murphy from Delirious, "gooney goo goo"

matthew,
Since you've been a hockey fan for so long you must know that what the Kings are going through is the same thing that Detroit, Quebec/Colorado, Ottawa and Anaheim had to go through to get the neccessary youth needed to estalish a solid foundation upon which to build a SC caliber team.

Yes, it hurts. It's sickening. It's impossible to watch anymore. But there is no other way. We get a few more solid youngsters in the system after next years deep draft, let them develop and in another year or two we will have a team that is young, skilled, hungry and capable.

This is the first televised game that I have skipped this season. It is nice to already know the outcome so no time was wasted. Oh by the way, so what if the Kings get first place. The pick will be wasted anyway....see passing on Cherepanov for Hickey

You know, this loss really wasn't that bad. The sting of losing has once again all but disappeared for me. It took at least 60 games last year for me to come to peace with the fact that this team was going nowhere, but only 36 this time around. I didn't think it was possible for a team to be out of it before Christmas, but the boys proved me wrong.

And there's no truth to the statement that the refs blew this one for us. Don't forget the seven consecutive powerplays, with which we did very little.

Bottom line, the Kings lost this game because:
a) they played 40 minutes;
b) Babs couldn't control a rebound even though it looked like he was one of the few players at least trying out there;
c) they continue to fear the consequences of shooting the puck on target; and
d) Brown wasn't playing.

It was a winnable game. Yet it once again validated the 12-and-24 record. Reserve your Stamkos jersey now! I know I am.

In life there are often simple lessons.

DL needs to come out and state to the fans exactly what result his strategy is designed to produce. We as a community of hockey fans and Kings fanatics deserve an explaination of why OUR club is heading in this direction. Let's face it, we can't do any worse, we're at the bottom of the league.

I know that many of you are believers in the promise of a brighter future through rebuilding, yet you seem to be willing to tolerate another humiliating, shameful and wasted season based on the illusive promise of the No.1 pick as if there in no draft lottery. There is simply no guarentee of the number 1 pick.

So, what message should we collectively attempt to to send to team management?

The bottom line fact is this: This season, like so many in the past, is over.

I think that at this point we should try to contribute positive ideas about the future. There has been much deserved negativity and criticism on this blog recently. We need to move past that now.

I like LaBarbara but he is not a starting NHL keeper. I would be very happy to see him as a number 2 on any team, however we won't get to the cup riding him. That is not to disrespect him, just the truth. We MUST HAVE a legitimate No. 1 in the nets. I'm thinking we should build out from a solid, reliable anchor in nets.

We have solid players in several slots and should leave them there. It's our "character" players that are troubling. I agree with so many of you that Willsie is shite, so is Nagy. But more troubling than poor performance by a few guys is the larger problem of pride and desire. Our guys seem to have neither.

OUR team has performed shamefully. I love that Blake has been hitting, but WHO is leading this team? Somebody must step up and tell some of these player to perform. (Ref. Messier)

Acknowledging the point I made about being positive, certainly changes are past due. Crawford must go and the C should be stripped from Blake then passed to Brown. He seems ready to play to win and it wouldn't hurt to have a young, tough, badass leading the charge.

At this point I guess all we can do is hope for the number 1 pick. This endless process of rebuilding is growing tiresome. If entering every season we are going to be greeted with the same tired chorus of rebuilding, what's the point? Every fan wants what we have been waiting for a very long time, the Cup.

Do we have any hope of grabbing it in the next 5 years? What about 2 years? How about one playoff series next season?

It drives me crazy that we continue to wait for a prospect goaltender to develop throught the "system". This is a professional competitive sport, paid for by US. Both ownership and management should respect that and produce a quality product on the ice.

The corpse (AEG) stinks from the head.

Good luck lads.

Guys, relax....I lknow this is painful but I agree with Losesomemore. The team needs to get some high draft picks and eventually we'll crawl out of the cellar maybe next season or the one after. Look at Pittsburg and Chicago, two teams on the way up. They had to go through the same pain that we are now. Just suck it up and hope the team doesn't wind up with a late season push giving us the 10th or 11th pick instead of the 1st or 2nd. Besides, isn't this supposed to be a great draft year?

you know what I am sick and tired of? All of you so called "life-long" fans who continue to threaten to give up on the Kings. Loyalty is not contingent upon winning; if so, get on the 405 and park your ass on the Ducks bandwagon. We don't need you. I have been a King's fan for over 20 years and yes, I would love to see them win a Cup, but more importantly I enjoy the feeling of knowing that this is my team - win or lose. This is the team that I grew up watching and took a lot of crap from my Canadian friends for rooting for. Sure, it frustrates me that they are not winning, but they are still MY team and like all fans of "bad" franchises in every sports - I will be a fan regardless of whether they win or lose. So your criticisms are fine, your suggestions and thoughts on the future are better - it just sickens me that some people here think that they know what is best for us or think that they know how hockey should be played when they obviously have never played the game or only have a knowledge of the game by watching it. There is much more to the game than that - then again, if you knew that, you wouldn't be sounding like such an idiot (some of you more than others - Anthony).

I honestly didn't think they played a bad game last night. I guess after watching 30+ games, I'm so conditioned to a complete effortless waste of time, that that game looked fairly decent. A couple of questionable calls and the game could have gone the other way.
Was the Blake non-goal kicked in or goalie interference? If it was ruled kicked in, a replay would have been nice.
How does the goal LaBarbara had covered not get whistled down?
Still it wasn't a 60 min effort.
I did notice Lubo carrying the puck a little more. Any little thing from him is a godsend at this point.

On the proposed Cammy trade:
We have no goalie in our system other than Bernier. I understand Ovechkin is a great player, but you're weakening yourself in an area that if you don't strengthen, you can't win.
I make the trade if you can keep Bernier out of it, but I'm sure the Caps are thinking the same.

I am not watching the game tonight. This will be the first time I have not watched a game when I was available in 15 years.

Goodbye Matthew, TC and all you other fair weather fans. Go watch the Ducks, I hear they will be adding Chris Simon to the roster soon. We finally have a GM who not only won't give away top picks, but uses them effectively. Lombardi said from the beginning that the Kings have never been bad enough to be really good - he knows what he's doing. Sure, it will take a long time, but this isn't a fantasy team. So go surfing, or watch the Lakers or whatever...In a few years you will be back.

The Kings are the only team in the NHL that is below .500 when they score the first goal. Just heard that, thought I'd share. This is all starting to hurt, I can't even look disdainfully at a Ducks fan anymore.

losesomemore, "there is no other way"? How do you explain the Ducks going from the Cup Finals in 2003 to the Conference Finals in 2006 (2 seasons)with nearly 75% turnover in their roster?

Ethman, what makes you think that draft choices made this summer and next are going to be NHL ready any faster than guys like Boyle, Hickey, or Lewis? Are you really being "patient" or "doing it the right way" if you're expecting a very young player to step into the NHL and produce immediately?

Kings fans have been told to "relax" and "be patient" for a VERY long time already. That was the excuse used with TL and DT. DL was brought in to resurrect the shambles, but it has only gotten worse IMO. DL can speak in glowing terms of his past glory with SJ, but they never won anything either. It's time to put up results or blow them out and find someone who can.

... or just accept the fact that the Kings will never be anything more than a development team for other franchises

It doesn't have to take forever.

What do I want for Christmas from the Kings? Two things:

1-Trade all the old guys and load up on prospects and draft picks. Keep only the good young talent (Kopitar, Brown, O'Sullivan, Cammy, Johnson, Bernier, etc.) and deal the guys who no longer serve a purpose in L.A. (Blake, Lubo, Modry, Willsie, Thornton, Nagy, Armstrong, etc.). There are no playoffs to look forward to this season, so let's get a look at building the next few seasons with the good young talent we have in the minors - let them learn NHL life now.

2-Boys, shoot the puck. Every night, the Kings are out-shot by their opponents. Shoot the puck ... maybe you will score, maybe not, maybe create a rebound ... but just shoot the puck, be more aggressive, take the body, skate hard, hustle, bleed for the fans ... if you do that and still lose, we at least will be happy that you have given us the effort we expect and deserve.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

So, Gary - are you saying that Lombardi is INTENTIONALLY making the Kings a bad team so that they can be good later?

...and when your core players like Kopitar and Johnson get FA offer sheets like Edmonton gave Penner, do you just extend the timeline another 5 years and start over AGAIN?

Unless you have been able to watch other teams play on Center Ice, you really have no idea how bad the Kings are as a team and a organization. Every game I watch, I see a "playoff type" atmosphere - recently Devils&Rangers, Stars&Canucks,Coyotes&Sharks,etc. The conclusive results are the following, 1. The Kings don't have enough talent. We have 3 players with creativity for scoring goals. 2. The Kings don't have enough energy&passion for the game. We have a few players willing to play with the needed intensity on every shift of every game for 60 min. 3. The Kings don't have an effective system on the ice. We don't have enough size or grit to "dump&chase" or the talent for "puck-possesion" to enter the zone. (example- 3 guys behind the net battling for the puck & 2 guys strapped to the blueline, nobody in the slot to receive a pass. 4. The Kings aren't conditioned enough. We always seem to be on a line change. One guy goes in the zone and gets the puck with no-one to pass to or we don't pressure the puck on the penalty-kill. (maybe we need to change our training facilities from "sea level" to Arrowhead at "higher altitude". 5. The Kings don't have enough fighters. We need more guys able to defend the consequences of Brown&Zeiler hits. (Cammy's going to get hurt defending team-mates). Finally, the rebuilding doesn't have to be a long painful process. Look at what the Coyotes&Flyers have done since last year. More to say, but enough for now. Does anybody really care or listen in L.A.?

You guys love hockey???! Seems like all you can do is b!tch. It's coming, the kids are developing perfectly & that's ALL that matters!

And if you think that we didn't deserve that win, if not for the refs, your cyncism has made you fuk'n INSANE!

Everyone seems very frustrated with this team, but here's a few facts.
LaBarbara has a better save percentage than Hasek, Brodeur, Kiprusoff, Turco, Giguere, Kolzig, Khabibulin, Roloson, Emery...do you need more? Let's get off his back and ride him until Bernier arrives. I would hate to see another Huet, Legace or Giron dumped so they can shine behind a decent defensive club.
Lombardi plugged holes with some free agents who have had rough starts this year. We didn't get Gomez, Drury or Briere. Well, the Rangers got Gomez and Drury who have combined for 16 goals and their team sucks this year. Briere got a ridiculous high dollar contract and he doesn't even lead their team in scoring while being -10.
I don' think Lombardi is so "dum", he has a plan and he's building a team of different age players for a reason, you won't be able to keep a bunch of high priced players that all come up for new contracts at the same time. Look at the trouble Burke is in with the cap, Bryzgalov,Penner and McDonald are gone, what if Selanne wanted to return?
Lombardi seems to have a handle on the new NHL, let's see what he does with this team. This is just year 2 of the rebuild.

Just trying to give a positive spin this holiday season.

I just checked out the Preds fan board and they're predicting if the Preds lose this one, the coach is on the way out. Wondering what happens if the Kings lose this one? Kings ooach on the way out?

(Regatding the trade rumor from the Last thread: my response):

It is a dicey proposition, but it's not like we wouldn't receive some solid assets. Kolzig can play, he's just on a desert island called Washington. The Caps D has always sucked. Even though we're not much better, we've got some good youth coming and anything is better than where he is at now. Besides, I've seen MAJOR improvement from LaBarbara this year. He plays positionally and uses his size much more instead of flopping all over the place. Working with Hextall has helped him guaranteed. Kolzig/Labarbara is a NICE duo in the pipes. They could do damage. If we lost Bernier to get that, we'll get another goalie prospect in the next 5 years while these 2 shore things up. It would be worth it IMHO.

But ONLY if we get AO and I'd trade Cammi and a 1st rounder for him. We're stocked on picks, we are getting value for that 1st rounder. Not to mention, AO is ULTRA competitive, and we NEED that fire on this team. Without losing those 3 assets Maverick mentioned, this IS a win for us. Add the open door Garrett mentioned (Reebok, 10 million) and it makes it possible.

Eklund is hardly ever right, granted, but he's been right before. I honestly think I'd do this, regardless of the diceyness. It could be the shake-up this franchise needs.

On the other stuff:

I agree w/ DogKing, as I've said before, Crow must go, but He's right: Strip Blake of the C and give it to Brown! Why Not! Let him build his leadership on a wasted season. Maybe he can help turn things around a bit this season so we can have momentum for next year.

Did anyone notice the 19 year old rookie for Chicago with the A on his chest when we played them last??? That's right JONATHAN TOEWS. http://blackhawks.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=TeamPlayers&type=roster&location=/roster
If he can be an assistant as a rookie, why can't a 4 year vet be a captain???

Its time for the Kings to ditch the season. Crawford has been a flop, Visnovsky has turned into the second coming of Samsonov, and Nagy is playing himself out of the NHL. Lombardi has failed to fill the 2 biggest holes in this lineup, goaltending and 2nd line scoring. If you look at it now, the Kings have a better chance of drafting Stamkos then making the playoffs.

Fairweather?

I have been a fan for all of my 37 years. I am not going to watch bad hockey anymore. I will watch when I see a modicum of desire to win or commitment from management.

I wish I could like the Ducks. Great hockey, great management...Stanley Cup. Questions?

Brad,

DL has addressed 2nd line scoring & goaltending i.e. O'Sullivan-Lewis-Purcell-Moller, Bernier-Zatkoff-Rowat. We are rebuilding. Questions?