Notes and quotes from the locker room
This game was pretty much a microcosm of the season. A bad start and horrendous penalty killing undid all the good work the Kings put out.
``It’s happened so much lately, starting off on the wrong foot,’’ defenseman Tom Preissing said. ``It’s so detrimental to the team. We’ve got to figure out a way to get by the first 10 minutes without giving up a goal.’’
Calgary's first goal was just bewildering. Robyn Regehr's long-range slap shot shattered Raitis Ivanans' stick right after he shot it, knocking the puck to an upward angle. It slowly fluttered down over LaBarbera's shoulder as he stood motionless. LaBarbera said he didn't know the puck was in the back of the net until he heard the crowd groan and looked back.
``I'm sure everyone in stands can see it and everyone on bench can see it,'' said Crawford, who quipped that he could read the commissioner's signature on the puck as it went in. ``Unfortunately, the guy who needs to see it doesn’t see it. those things are unfortunate and, when you're not playing with the type of confidence that winning gives you, those things do take the wind out of your sails.''
The Kings quickly fell behind 2-0, the fifth game in a row they've trailed early. For the fifth game in a row, they also fought back to at least tie the game. Nagy and Stuart scored within 35 seconds of each other early in the third period as the Kings tied it up 3-3.
Then the Kings got on a two-man advantage and Anze Kopitar gave them the lead just past the midway point of the period when he finished off a puck that was loose in the crease behind the goalie.
But the momentum turned on a tripping penalty to Alexander Frolov, leading to Kristian Huselius' tying goal. Another penalty for holding on Brian Willsie led to the winner from Daymond Langkow with 5:05 to go.
``We were sloppy,’’ captain Rob Blake said. ``We turned the puck over and had bad penalty killing. That’s why we’re in last place. We’ve been in last place all year because of that.’’
The Kings allowed four shots in the third period and Calgary scored three times. The Kings won this game for the middle 49 minutes, but the first four and the final seven killed them.
``You’ve got to love the way our guys are battling,’’ Crawford said. ``If you could take the result out of it, which you can’t, we’re doing more good things than bad.’’
Somrbody forgot to mention about the goaltending. Or the lack of iit.
Words cannot express this bull****, but I'll try.
Jason plays like a wall instead of a sponge and gives up WAY too many rebounds. Aubin can't play like either one of those and just gives goals up while gettin paid to do 'Yo Mama' commercials for Mountain Dew. I'm ready to lose a year of Bernier's contract/RFA/UFA status, whatever, to bring him up now. Let him play this year to get some real NHL time in for next year. 5 games did wonders for Jack Johnson, what would 40 games do for Jonathon? I'm ready to take that plunge.
Our offense is truly unbeatable when they are firing on all cylinders. Reminds me of the 41 games of dominance the LAPD line had (Palffy, Allison, Deadmarsh). Sully, Kopitar, Brown is our first line for the next 10 years. Cammi should be our 2nd line leader or trade him for a goalie. (Yeah, I said it...) My fear is the frustration those offensively gifted players have right now will lead them to want to leave LA and leave us high and dry for another 12 years.
The following needs to happen NOW:
-Fire Crawford. While everything is not his fault, 60% at least is and that's too much for me. Line changes galore, system over creativity, no continuity, no motivation. 1.5 years is enough to know he doesn't fit.
- J. Bernier up NOW! Radical move? Yes. Show these 2 crackers attempting to play in net at the NHL level that they are about to be one-upped by a 19 year old who could smoke their salmon with his glove behind his back. Let 'em fight for the backup job where they can't hurt us. Prime this kid up NOW for NEXT season.
- Brown gets the 'C' NOW! Blake being upset tonight is about 20 games too late. He is playing better, so give him an 'A' but prime Dustin this year with the captaincy. He deserves it. His return to the bench tonight after that spill shows it. THAT is the pride I want my team to have. Brown 'C', Blake 'A', Cammi OR Sully 'A'.
Things that need to happen SOON!:
- Stuart is trade bait. He let 2 passes to him at the point get by him with NOBODY AROUND HIM WHATSOEVER that f-ed up 2 good opportunities to set up in the o-zone. He's not accomplishing what we paid him to do. GONE,
- Preissing gone too. Dude is lazy on the backcheck, weak on the blueline, why did we get him again??? In the interview between periods, he says "It's FUN to challenge yourself against the best in the NHL to see what you're made of". HOW ABOUT BEING THE BEST IN THE NHL AND LETTING PEOPLE CHALLENGE YOU!!!! Wrong mentality for this team. Gone.
- Thornton, Dallman, Willsie, replaced with Moulson, (Piskula or Petiot) and Tukonen.
- MAYBE Army replaced by Boyle. Let Brian stay at center and let him play the 3rd line. Imagine the monster he could become in that position 2 years from now. Make Boyle work with Frolov on how to hold onto the puck in the o-zone.
- I even think we need a 2nd cementhead like Westgarth, but with all the talent we have that I believe is ready to come up, there's no immediate room for him.
- Modry stays (He's been pretty solid for once.) Blake stays at 1.5 mil 1 year deal, otherwise move on and go get a free agent D stud for 4-5 mil.
I could go on but why? That's plenty for this season alone. Posting here is a good way to relieve the stress of having your team SUCK for years, but it's wearing thin. I'm not leaving, but a new outlet (Like moves that make sense) would be nice.
It's time for DL to get off the airplane food and sit at his desk and make some decisions at home.
By The Way...Crow says "``You’ve got to love the way our guys are battling. If you could take the result out of it, which you can’t, we’re doing more good things than bad.’’ Sounds like a guy trying to lobby for his job. Also sounds like he doesn't believe it's going to change.
why is blake crying??? HE IS THE RASON WE LOST TONIGHT.
why does that jack ass continue to turn the puck over? watch highlights of calgary's 4th goal, he had all day to clear the puck and he turned it right over.
i hate that guy, and people are jumping on the bandwagon. I cant wait to see which dummy organization will take him off our hands. whatever we get for him at the deadline, its an upgrade.
great atmosphere inside staples tonight, thanks a lot rob. way to throw the team under the bus...I CANT WAIT TO BOO EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH THE PUCK!!!!
Okay...I'm sorry guys. I've been on Crawford's side for the most part, but after seeing his pregame interview on LAKings.com and reading the last quote on this post, I'm gonna have to say it's time for a change.
"'You've got to love the way our guys are battling...'" -- Wait...does he not remember the first and third period? So when the Kings are down 3-1 and come back to take the lead 4-3, shouldn't that give our players the confidence and momentum needed to squeeze out one measly win? This was not battling 100%, because if it was, they would have held onto the lead.
"'If you could take the result out of it, which you can't, we're doing more good things than bad.'" -- Hey!! That sounds familiar!! He said that about last game too!! Guess what...nothing has changed at all. We still gave up early goals, we still tied the game after defecit, and we gave up the game in the last minutes because of the lack of effort by this Kings team.
I've been screaming for a GM change for about 3 months now, and I'm gonna have to scream for a new coach. Hell, let's clean house again.
I'm confused...Where the hell is Lubo? This guy gets a raise and security and he goes into hiding. This team has about 8 players (if that) that I would keep and then replace everyone else.
Also, since the Kings are pretty much dwelling in the cellar all year, let's have a 25% discount on all tickets for the rest of the year. The organization can only hope to make money at least at consessions and parking -- and maybe merchandise (poor souls).
Who are the losers: the team and management...or our sorry a$$es for wasting our time with the goon squad?
As i watched the game and saw what was going on, i think the guys are trying but what made me go WTF? was the interview with jamie kompton, was like what you need to do too get back in the game, And it was score some goals? WTF lol i mean is that what is being said too the team hey guys we need to score some goals to win. LOL really? i dont know its sad when we are down 2 and i think its the norm, And OMG how did viz miss that open net
Absolutely terrible...
Blake is gone at least. There is no way, after Blake admits he will lift his no-trade clause, that Lombardi will pass up on Blake's good play recently and try and trade him off to a playoff team before the deadline. Blake is gone no matter what. You have to capitalize on his recent good play because it is only going to get worse and we are not resigning him anyway.
Lubo was absolutely horrendous. You don't even need the last 60 seconds to know that. Not to mention he gave up two sure-fire goals... Sure the second one was understandable because it was tipped and very few would have gotten it but that first one almost made me want to bang my head against the wall and turn the channel >.
Stuart wasn't that stellar either.. Sure he had a decent game, got some points but those two wide open misses at the point within minutes of each other were ridiculous.
Goaltending was a C-/D+ as usual, lower tier offensive lines were lackluster. I think a trade is definitely in order, I hope Lombardi holds onto Frolov over Cammi though.
Finally Crawford needs to be fired... Not next week, month, or season... NOW.. Somebody needs to show this team that they can win and make it at least somewhat appealing for someone to sign from free agency. But this bum needs to be thrown out on his ass tonight, we are not getting any results and he will never change his philosophy or system.
Not to get in the way of all this hand wringing and gnashing of teeth, especially since I agree with most of the sentiment others have stated, but was there any update on Brown?
I know he came back and played a shift or 2 after his injury, but he certainly wasn't "in" the game. It looked like he was just begging the Flames not to hit him.
Paul, Crawford said Brown was OK. I'll check on him Monday.
Paincorp--Keep Modry?? What, are you a relative? Did you see the last two PPGs calgary scored? Where was he on the first one? A left side defenseman(?)in the opposite corner,loses the puck(as usual),creating a outnumbered attack down low,not even accounting for the unchecked player on "his" side,who scored the goal. Second goal? Comes sliding out,hoping that something happes. It did........................a goal for calg. Who is the coach in charge of the penalty killing(us)unit? Whoever it is, he sure hasn't figured it out over the last year and a half. Modry on our top stopper "d" unit on the penalty kill? April Fools Day isn't for another couple months.....
Thanks Matthew. I know we all appreciate the hard work you and Rich put into this blog.
Paincorp....Well written, except for Bernier. He's not ready yet, not until we have some real defense back there to protect him. Remember what happened in the first of the season? He still hasn't recovered from that explosion. Poor guy didn't even start for Canada in the World Junior Finals....too bad. Nah, as much as I'd like to see him up, keep him where he is until he can get his head back into the game. I'm guessing he'll probably start at Manchester next year unless something miraculous happens. Blake is playing better, his hip has healed and he seems to have his heavy shot back. I think he'd make great bait for a couple of young ones or draft picks. All the contenders will be looking for defense upgrades and we know the next two years are going to be good draft years. This would be a good time to trade him, Stuart and Preissing too. I'd like to see Boyle come up but as a forward and you know that's not going to happen. He's getting good scoring but his +/- is aweful. He still hasn't learned to play defense at this level yet but is coming along. Next year should be interesting, again. Personally, Stamkos in 08, Tavares in 09 and the playoffs in 2010. Did I actually say that??? Ouch!!!
The team started off really poorly once again but man, all you want out of your goaltending is to make some CRUCIAL saves!
I can't fault LaBarbera on the game tying goal but letting a rebound just hang there for the go ahead goal was just inexcusable.
The Kings beat themselves once again and unfortunately this will be the case for the rest of the season.
Also remember that when you are in the bottom of the league, the trading during the deadline will be one-sided. This is where the Kings have been consistent in their history. Letting go of their talent believing they are getting good players in return.
Lubo's play is bafflingly horrendous. But I think the Kings need to hold on to him and see what happens next season. Any good player is allowed an off year. If he is this bad next season then by all means, trade him. But trading him now could mean he will become stellar again wearing another team's uniform....
Blake has always been a whiner and an in-grate. He is certainly entitled to his opinion about management and for the most part he is right, but criticizing and talking about being traded should not be the words coming out of your captain's mouth. It only means he is looking out for number one which is himself...
As the top teams battle for playoff spots, the Kings should concentrate on the only attainable goal this season: Avoid finishing in last place overall.
Why would you not want to finish last? The team stinks this horribly they will finish somewhere towards the bottom. Might as well be the best of the worst and get a 1st round pick out of it.
The only untouchables on this team IMO are:
Kopitar
O'sully
Brown
Frolov
& JJ
@Beavis
If you throw in Bernier I will agree with you completely. He has a contract so he counts even if he isn't on the team right now :) The only good thing we have right now is Lombardi... You know that he will never trade a future key player like that, he is always building a team for 2-4 years down the road :P
This season is clearly now about the trade deadline and the June draft. If Crawfish was going to be fired he would have already been gone. DL is clearly positioning for the draft and will continue to build the organization from the bottom up. Look for Blake and Stuart to be gone by the TD and if the deal the is right maybe a Cammy or Frolov.
Bernier will need to play in Manchester for at least half the season next year.
After the TD look for the top kids to come up and play the last month or so.
That's it....as for the Kings themselves enjoy the improved play of Kopi, Brown and Sully. They are fun to watch.