Armstrong to play tonight
Greetings Kings fans. This is Jill Painter, and I'll provide you with Kings information today and tomorrow. It's been a while, but I've covered the Kings in the past, and it was nice to be back at the rink this morning.
Derek Armstrong, who had a sprained left knee, will be back in the lineup against Ottawa tonight, Marc Crawford said. Armstrong went through the morning skate and said he felt fine, though it will be tough to play in a game after not praciting for a couple of weeks. He worked out at the Kings practice facility in El Segundo while the team was on a roadtrip.
``He'll come back in the lineup tonight,'' Crawford said. ``It looks like he'll be ready to play. It's been physical, and he's been banged around the last couple of days and tested his knee out. It'll be nice to have Army and his energy back in the lineup. It's another skill player. We've been just short of skill. We haven't been short on hard work. We haven't been short of determination. The skill element, you can have another person that can play on the power play and maybe find a way to make a play at the opportune time. We're quite confident Derek will give us more of that tonight.''
Crawford figured Armstrong could play his usual number of shifts, depending on how well he was playing.
Will post more Crawford comments and tidbits today.
Welcome back Jill!
"It's another skill player."
I love Army, but good lord.
Thanks for filling in Jill. People around the office here don't like me when I can't get a good Kings fix.
Thanks for the update, and welcome Jill!
And I agree with Aaron. Calling Armstrong a "skill player" shows how little depth the Kings have.
Army's back just in time for the Stamkos final stretch. Did anyone really miss him?
Welcome Jill and thanks for the info!
Thanks for the updates, Jill!
Aaron, I had the same reaction at first, but then I thought about Ivanans and Willsie skating with Kopitar and Brown again, and realized that Crawford is probably right.
"It's another skill player"
We need laughing.emoticons
THIS IS MADNESS!!!
Welcome Jill! Any news on the starting goalie for tonight? Hope to see Ersberg in net again.
The addition of Army is the addition of skill?!? HAH! Purcell/Boyle? Yes. Nagy? Maybe. But Army?! No.
At least Army has some size on the ice and is a team person in the locker room. Let's trade Willsie for a case of Gatorade and some boxes to shop Clouts out of town. We'd be stealing!
What! Army's been out!? I thought they added 1 to his number and called him Ellis...
Kevco you're hilarious! And let me reiterate, please get rid of WONTsie. The most horrible FA signing ever!
Jill, with Army back in the lineup, do you know who will be scrathed? Will it be Willsie or Klemm? Perhaps Klemm will be moved back to defense and either Dallman or Harrold will be a healthy scratch?
Thanks Jill!
Let's count how many times Army skates past the net tonight and misses a rebound opportunity because he doesn't know how to STOP AT THE FRIGGING NET!
ladies, ladies, don't get your undies all in a bind! When Craw talks about "skill" he is referring to a particular skill on the ice, not necessarily scoring or assisting. Army brings a sense of work ethic in the corners that players like Cami and Kopitar either don't have or are not supposed to have because we need them around the net. I'll agree that Army has not been as effective this season in doing this but his job is to put pressure on the defensemen, force some turn overs, and provide time for our first few lines to rest on the bench so that they are not so winded when they are on the ice. PLEASE .. one of you try skating at this level for even 40 seconds and you will appreciate the time and effort that guys like Army, Ivanans, Calder, Handzus, and now Ellis put into a game. Their effort may not always show up on the score sheet but if you ask any scorer in the league, they will tell you that they are invaluable to any team success.
Scooter, do you really believe all that? True I can't skate for 40 seconds like that, but there are others who can and would love a place in the NHL, Boyle maybe?
I bet Armstrong can't do my job for 40 seconds, wait a minute, what is my job again, oh yea, complain about paying $18k for season tickets for a last place team. Maybe he could do my job.
But I do like his effort and hard work.
kevco, I understand that this is difficult to fathom especially when you are paying so much for tickets and you expect a goal on every shift, but hockey is a process. There is a method to this madness and shifts on the ice are not independent of one another. That is why coaches try to match lines as much as possible. They know that they need certain players in certain situations and there is no reason why to send out Cammi or Fro to check the top line. Army's job is to skate hard against the the opponent's top two lines, get some hits, break up passes, frustrate the other players and tire them out so that our top lines can, occasionally get a favorable line matchup and improve our chances of scoring. I don't mean to sound patronizing but the first 10 minutes of the game determine much of the game plan. Coaches and players know who's "on" and who's "off" and the match ups reflect that.
Right on Scooter. I like Army and what he brings to the table. He can be a 2nd, third on fourth line center, and is gonig to center the Fro and Cammy line, which will put Sully back up with the big 2. Cammy, Fro and Sully had one good game together, but since then havent been great. Now they have 2 very good scoring lines, with a good checking line and a good energy line. Its good to have Army back. Hopefully next year he will be the fourth line center, but who knows.
Thanks for taking your time for this Jill. It is very much appreciated.
First off, thank you Jill for your time and writing. We all appreciate it and if you're a hockey fan in LA you know you don't get much Kings news so this blog is a godsend to us fans.
"Let's count how many times Army skates past the net tonight and misses a rebound opportunity because he doesn't know how to STOP AT THE FRIGGING NET!"
Don't be silly. We all know that skilled players like Armstrong dont' have to go to the net and take that abuse.
it continually amazes me the lack of "hockey" knowledge displayed by King's fans on this site. Please do yourselves a favor and attempt to watch the game not from shift to shift. One shift is not independent of the others. There is a strategy that is involved in a game that many of you are missing. Look at Army's stats over his career; he is not a goal scorer and yet he continues to play in this league for a reason - and don't say its just because its the Kings. Look at any team in the league and you will see "role" players - Ian Lapperriere is a role player for example and you all loved him just because he fought, but his job is very similar to Army's on this team. Please, it will help out this team and the organization if some of you educate yourselves a bit and actually learn the intricacies of the game.
Scooter you're right and I blame the coach for not sticking Army on the 3-4 lines to play and keep him off of 1-2 and the PP.
He's a role guy but Crawford insists he's a 1-2 line guy and he's not.