Ducks Suck.

Well there was the chance of grabbing a win tonight, but all-in-all i gotta say that it was a great road trip. A lot more than I could’ve hoped for.

I think I’m gonna now just reserve judgement on who should stay or go until the trade deadline. While I think Stuart may get moved I think I actually like him more and more lately…

Anthony, we cant trade Cammy because of the arbitration.

Anthony …. in the game of hockey, you don’t lose your spot when you get injured, you lose it by L.O.F.T. aka Lack Of Friggin Talent and SENORITY. Cammi has been here alot longer then Sully and even though I like Sully more then Cammi, it’s Cammi spot to lose and I would say about two more weeks and that will probably happen. JBarb better work nights on those pads and catching glove.

After watching this game I have determined that Cammi is NOT the pure goal scorer on the team. He’s not even close. He won’t go near the boards because he’s afraid to hit or be hit which allows the other team to control the zone, he turned the puck over when he had it inside the blue line and could have sent it deep, and he makes some really dumb decisions with the puck. The real workers on that line are Kopi and Brown. They work the boards and make things happen in front of the net. Why the hell is Sully off that line when they had such success when Lord Cammi was out. Check the shot and the shot pct. stats on the Kings web site and see who the real leaders are on the team. Deal this guy (& some others) while he’s still worth something to another team and get some help for the real future of the Kings.

wowzerz i totally agree with anthony. cammi has been a joke since his hot start to the season. lubo has just been a joke, which is unfortunate because i really like what he brought to the table for the last two seasons.

i love o’sully and kopi and brown and frolov and boyle though. i’m turning the corner on moulson too, he’s been effective most nights.

i KNEW when cammi got back crow would go back to juggling the lines. what a terrible hodgepodge of combinations that was in the third.

The team just ran out of gas come the 3rd period. A 16 day, 8 game marathon will do that to you. Nobody would’ve guessed this team would’ve came out with the record that they did.

I think the last 2 games showed that the Kings were just exhausted from this abnormally long road trip, especially the 3rd period last night.

As for Camalleri, he just came back from 17 games missed. I think he’s just trying to hit his stride again. I don’t remember him being an overly selfish player in the past.

Vishnovsky though is a really troubling case if I’m DL and MC. What happened to this guy? He was never great defensively, but we could always count on his offense. Is it just a bad year or has something changed for him? He’s been pretty awful all year.

So I certainly wouldn’t trade Camalleri, but if I’m DL I would entertain offers for Lubo.

Regarding the goaltending situation, I think Cloutier is the better option for the Kings for the rest of the year. The problem is, if you bench or trade LaBarbara. you’re telling your team you had no confidence in your supposed #1 goalie. On the other hand, we don’t know what the players actually think. Maybe they’d favor a change in goal.

I know many of you want the Kings to tank the rest of the season, and that would most likely give you what you want.

And of course I’ve advocated all season for a change in goal, and I still do. But I’d prefer it be next season, since there’s really no sense in making a change now. The Kings made their bed with LaBarbara. Now they’re sleeping in it.

OH No, but Anthony’s right.
God I hate agreeing with Mr. Hot Air.
Lubo is a defensive liability on the ice. He’s completely forgot about the simple rules of playing defense. Like covering your own ass.
His play of late, for a player who just signed a $25 Million Plus Deal has been absolutely PITIFUL.

As far as Cammy is concerned. I believe the other teams have figured out his one knee on the ice shot. Time to stop playing for personal stats and start playing for the teams success.

You would think some people would realize by now that players don’t play as well when they’ve been injured. When everything is back to normal, they usually become their old selves. Hockey players are back toughing it out way before they should be.

Dean Lombardi, the Kings’ president and general manager, is expected to meet with defenseman Rob Blake today to discuss Blake’s future with the team.

Before the start of the Kings’ trip, Lombardi gave Blake a list of 10 teams that had expressed interest in acquiring him before the Feb. 26 trade deadline.

“There are a lot of things involved in making this decision, and a lot he has to process,” Lombardi said from St. Louis before the game against the Blues.

Hey Matt,
You think you can give us an update… whenever you hear something?

!!GO KINGS GO!!

Seriously Anthony, when you get that urge to blast off a post 2 seconds after the game, just don’t. Throw it in reverse, back away from the keyboard and put on some smooth, easy-listening music and find your happy place. Your absurd “fire or trade” everyone posts make you look like an ignorant Duck fan. Trade Cammy??? He’s coming off a tough injury and is trying to play his way back to his previous elite level, you should know by now that he’s competitive and can contribute big time to Kings success, let him regain his form. And Lubo as the “worse (worse?) defensive defenseman I’ve ever seen”?!? Do you really think anyone, player, coach, management want Lubo to be a “defensive defenseman”?? He has high level skill, with that type of play comes occasional turnovers, often also he makes great plays, maybe not as many as the past few years but he’s still good. And you want a 2nd line center for both of them? Come on shake yourself, and don’t be posting your nutty rhetoric as “anonymous” either, that’s weak.

I say let Cloutier play, if he plays well or not the kings have a lot to gain either way.

Enough w/ hating on Cammi. I never been his biggest fan but the guy is barely back from injury and needs to get his timing and chemistry back. He had some good shots. I’ve never liked his defensive play in his own zone but that’s not new.

It seemed the Boyle/Moulson/Giulaino line was a little overwhelmed a few times vs Kariya and Tkachuk. Not sure why Crawford didn’t get them off. I like Boyle’s progression so far but he did look a little lost a few time when Blues were cycling the puck. He seemed unsure as whether he should chase the guy into the corners or stay near the front of the net. I would have liked to see him use his size to pin a guy in the corners.

So I guess with Blake out of the line up, Lubo is the new whipping boy. Sometimes the stuff on here is so ridiculous you have to laugh. I don’t know what happened to him but sometimes players struggle and have bad years. It’s going to happen. I can’t wait until Kopitar or Brown or Sully stuggles and everyone starts demanding they be traded. I hope to god DL is not listening to this nonsense on here.

Oz,

You have to admit his play has been alarmingly bad. Sometimes you can chalk it up to injury or age, but I can’t see the reason for his poor play. The turnovers make you scratch your head. The goal scored by the Islanders came off a pass in his own end with nobody around and it was right on Berard’s stick.

I hope you’re right and its just a bad year. I wouldn’t trade him for 2 reasons.
1-As you said, I’m hoping it’s just a bad year.
2-His value is in the tank right now. You trade when the value is high, not low.

Ludwig is right, Cammy can be traded. I have heard nothing to the contrary all season from many sources. that would be an almost absurd rule in the CBA, were it to be true.

I really don’t care if we won or lost this game, I just want to maintain the healthiest draft position. oh yeah Cammy hurry up and have a 2- or 3- goal game so we can trade you.

Lubo will be fine, he just needs more confidence right now. him ending up in the net was just an unfortunate tangle, but it epitomized this season.

I actually think Lubo has been showing a little more offensive flair lately. The last few games he’s been getting a handful of shots through on net. That hasn’t been happening all year. Also last year he and Rob Blake played the points on the #1 power play unit. They would always switch sides from their normal positions so they could take one timers. For some reason they never do that this year and as a result Lubo can’t get as many shots off. Maybe you need to be yelling about Crawford on this one. In the 2006-2007 he scored he scored 8 of his 18 goals on the PP, 25 of his 44 assists on the PP and in 2005-2006 he scored 10 of his 17 goals on the PP and had 31 of his 50 assists on the PP.

I think that’s the main reason for his scoring slump. As far as his turnovers go…I haven’t really noticed more than usual.

I think you guys are all hilarious…I’m a Kings fan living up here in Vancouver…I get a real kick reading everyone’s comments about how Lombardi should trade this guy, Crawford should bench that guy…we saw the same thing about 8 years ago here in Vancouver when Crawford took over the Canucks…it’s a process…there are going to be some long seasons and it will take time before this team is a real contender…but I’m pretty confident in saying that this Kings team will be a contender…are there areas that need to be addressed?…absolutely…
but by and large this team is progressing and as a Kings fan, I have faith in Crawford and Lombardi’s plan…everyone should take a deep breath and not rush to judgement…Mike Cammalleri isn’t going anywhere.

I can’t believe how many of you guys are on the Cloutier should be playing more games than LaBarbs bandwagon. No doubt Barbs is by no means a No. 1 goalie, but let me just remind everyone how much hatred there has been for Clouts aka Beachball over the past year and half. You can argue that he was injured the entire time, but does he really have the mental strength to come back and dominate after being the biggest piece of swiss cheese in the NHL? I admit he had a fantastic game the other night, but that was only one game. Anyway, hopefully we can just make it through the season respectably and still stay low enough to grab a good lottery spot. Kopi and Stamkos would be a knockout punch.

Actually, various sources have reported that Blake wants to stay in the west, but will NOT go to Detroit.

It looks like the 2 most likely destinations are San Jose and Colorado.

LA Kings 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Champions!

This is not how LaBarbara’s played all year. I won’t argue with the rebounds he gives up, but the flopping around like a fish out of water is something I’ve noticed recently. He’s had his bad games and maybe the other night was just one of those. He’s had plenty of nights where he’s been outstanding.
I’m not blaming Crawford for not teaching D. If you’re talking about D positioning, that’s basic stuff that all NHL D know.
Look at the job Crawford did teaching Sully about playing in his own end. He was a one way player when he came up and now has become a complete player. Who do we give credit for that?
Compared to what this team was earlier in the year, I now expect them to win games like the other night. I wouldn’t have expected that back in Nov.

To Mike
Finally a man who speaks the truth. I so agree about it being a process. Lubo is having an off year, Cammy is coming back from injury although I wonder if he will ever sign an extension with us. But what I find interesting is your positive thoughts on Crawfish. I have heard the Vancouver fans hate him and were glad to get rid of him. Was he just the fall guy or were there legit reasons for his firing? The Kings in Dec. lost 8 in a row and struggled something horribly causing fans @ Staples to chant for his firing but the team stayed together, I heard of no inside squabbles or blaming. Craw could have a very good chemistry in the locker room.

To kingkongkorab:

Crawford had a reputation here for being difficult with the media…he was short tempered at times and towards the end of his tenure, there were definite issues in the dressing room. Plus, many Canadians still harbour resentment towards him for losing the shootout in the 1998 Nagano Olympics…But I look at the Canucks before he got here…the Canucks had been struggling for years…the building was half-empty many nights…Crawford and Brian Burke lead that team out of the basement to respectability and legitimacy…they played an entertaining brand of hockey and now you can’t get a ticket here in Vancouver…look at some of the players he’s had over the years…Joe Sakic had his best seasons under Crawford…Markus Naslund had his best seasons under Crawford…The Sedin twins are where they are now because of him…and I think every Kings fan has to acknowledge the development players like O’Sullivan and Kopitar and others have made…when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996, the Detroit Red Wings were coming off a regular season where they won an NHL record 62 games…people never seem to remember that…in the Western Conference Final, the Avalanche were the underdog…yet they knocked off the Scotty Bowman-coached Wings and won the Cup…Crawford was the coach. I’m not saying the man is flawless…do I think he could be a little better with the media?…absolutely…have there been times in the past, especially towards the end in Vancouver, when I’ve been left scratching my head…yup…but by and large he is qualified, successful and I think the right guy to do the job…hopefully I’m not wrong!!!

Keep making excuses for Cammi not going into the corners. He very RARELY went into the corners. How come when Brown hurt his shoulder he was back in two games banging bodies, but when he slowed down in the first couple games after the All Star break there were comments about his mind being on the birth of his baby and he needed to step it up? Cammi had a tough injury no doubt, but if he wasn’t ready to come back he should have stayed out until he was ready. What happened is he got caught up in all the hype about his team leading stats he had last year and it went to his head. He has a good year last year so he gets an A on his jersey? BULL! Cammi is about Cammi and that’s all there is to it. He’s the show and you can see it in the way he plays the game unless you are watching the game with blinders on.

“They would always switch sides from their normal positions so they could take one timers. For some reason they never do that this year and as a result Lubo can’t get as many shots off. Maybe you need to be yelling about Crawford on this one.”

Amen brother. My wife would laugh if she saw you write that because I scream it at every game. I coached kids for 10 years and I knew to have them on the off wing so you can get the one timer from the middle to get it through.

Cammi is hurt guys. Give him a couple of weeks. Lets face it, he’s not a physical guy, never will be. Don’t forget he got hurt sticking up for a teammate because he’s the one that would stand up when none of the other softies on this team would.

Brown isn’t himself lately but he’s still playing well. I think it still hurts him when he hits someone hard with that shoulder of his. Probably won’t be right until next season.

Cloutier #1? Where is the pipe guys? I need to smoke what you have. Nobody remembers the guys shooting from behind the goal line almost every game becuase they’d go in on Clouts? If there was a noose outside Staples center last year, old west justice would have been done. He was horrible. Labs isn’t GREAT but look at the streak he’s put up in the last 15.

Lets keep our eye on the brass ring gentlemen. It’s hard to cheer against my team but that #1 and Stamkos does a lot more than some wins this season…

Put the kids in, let them play. Of course they just sent two down. Go figure.