Lines/pairs

I hope that Gauthier is able to redeem himself after the last game, if not we lose. I think we need to win Thursday and get something going for this home stand. And pleas start Ersberg soon!

What is the plan for Boyle? Pretty weird to keep a potentially high end prospect up with the team & not play him. How has he looked during the practices?

Thank you Rich for one of the best Kings blogs ever.

Where does Preissing fit in if Gauthier is still playing after that horrendous turnover 2 nights ago?

Denis Gauthier 8GP 0g 0a -7 +/- 10 pim

these numbers are by far the worst on the team he needs to sit for a while we have Matt Greene and Sean O' back there

Two things that baffle me - why is Frolov, one of our most gifted offensive players, stuck on the third line and not in place of Calder on the second line? Also why in god's name is Harrold still in the lineup. If leaving Preissing out means leaving Harrold in, the entire team is suffering.

I agree. What is the plan for Boyle? He looked great at the end of last year. Played with an edge if I remember right.

Quite a bummer. We're letting one of our top young talent in Brian Boyle rot away as a healthy scratch.

And Gauthier doesn't get benched for his ridiculous mistake. Unbelievable. Hopefully he redeems himself, because I love this Kings team to death.

Thanks a ton Rich! Keep it up :)

Anonymous - I suggest that if you still have the Detroit game available on your DVR you go back and watch it. Without Gauthier the Kings would never have been in a position to win the game. He played outstanding on the night but had one mistake he'd love to have back and will likely not repeat.
If you look at the play leading up to the tying 3rd goal, O'Sullivan and Moller are both guilty of not working to get the puck out of the zone with 2 minutes left on the clock.

Numbers are deceptive and there's not much sense in looking at them right now because the team is REBUILDING. Lombardi knew what he was getting when he picked up Gauthier and his contributions have FAR OUTWEIGHED his one mistake.
If you could do better go tryout for the team and take us to the promised land...

I second the comment above about Boyle. Granted, I'm no professional hockey GM/coach, but it seems futile to have someone you're hoping develops into something more than an average joe player sitting from night to night. Wouldn't he be better served playing considerable minutes in Manchester with an edict from management to play more physical or risk staying in the AHL for the term of his deal? Is there something I'm missing about a need for Boyle to pass waivers? What is the full effect of the demotion/re-entry waiver rule/process?

Cristobal -- I agree with you re Gauthier, but I don't think you're doing yourself any favors with your "if you could do better"/"do you play goalie" arguments. I expect Gauthier to bounce right back. I also expect him to use the boards next time.

Re Preissing: he's in a dogfight with Gauthier and Harrold for the #6 and #7 spots. They've all got something to prove, so I see that as a good thing.

Re Boyle: looks like he's in a similar dogfight with Richardson, Moulson and Boyle, only two of which dress at a time. Calder will either show he's worth keeping, or he'll get waived or traded. I understand the logic of skating two veterans with Moller, but I would rather see Purcell/Stoll/Moller, and I think that's going to happen soon. As for Boyle, I was just reading somewhere (Hockey's Future) that he's a notoriously slow starter. I wonder if he'll be going down to the AHL to get jump-started. I kind of agree with the fan consensus that he's not going to have much of a shot at getting his groove back while playing 5 minutes a game on the fourth line with Ivanans and Armstrong.

Brown/Kopitar/POS
Purcell/Stoll/Moller
Simmonds/Handzus/Frolov
Moulson/Boyle/Richardson [Clune when he's ready]
Armstrong and Ivanans
[trade/waive Calder]

One more change is to move Fro up to 2nd line. Will happen in next 10 games. As for Boyle, he must not being doing in practice what is expected in games. He has about 5-7 game to work himself into the line up or he's going down, just as I predicted a month ago. If you can't out play Caulder or Army you should go down. If you haven't notice yet, you need to play a physical, gritty game to get in and stay in the line up no matter who you are. Boyle, Preissing, and Harold don't. Moulson is being given another chance. Its that simple.

Quisp - Maybe I'm not doing myself any favors by playing that card, but the LA fans have been ripping on the goalies for a long time. I'm sure you remember how Healy was treated before he went to the Rangers and was Terrific for them. Sometimes it really shows that California hockey fans are critical of things they don't understand. How Labs can get abuse after that game the other night is unbelievable. He was great throughout the game at dealing with shots coming through bodies and traffic, and his positioning forced Detroit's best players to shoot for small corners.
Unfortunately the NHL has this ridiculous shootout and he ends up looking like a goat after playing a lights out hockey game against the defending Champs.

O'Sullivan was rubbish against Detroit, and Moller failed to clear the puck at the top of the circles seconds before Gauthier's turnover yet these Smarties who are Uber-critical have not one word of criticism. They're just broken records who cannot be objective.

I'm really tired of the "be like Calder and Army" talk about Boyle.

How about "go be like Marian Hossa" talk? That I can support.

Rich, it's up to you to move Frolov up to the second line.

Go into your post, and edit it :)

If people see:
Patrick O'Sullivan-Anze Kopitar-Dustin Brown
Alexander Frolov-Michal Handzus-Wayne Simmonds
Kyle Calder-Jarret Stoll-Oscar Moller
Raitis Ivanans-Derek Armstrong-Matt Moulson

they will think he's on the second line.

Git' er done, Richie.

I hate to complain, but I'm tired of the "Frolov on the 2nd line" rant.

Skating on the third line against other teams top offensive units, Frolov has 4 goals and one assist, and plays 19+ minutes a night. He skates on the second power play unit, and kills penalties (and is a shorthanded threat).

Frolov is highly valuable on a match up line because he can eat up so much time down low in the offensive zone, he can harass puck carriers effectively, and he plays responsibly in his own zone. Frolov plays well with Handzus, making him more effective, and I'm positive that his style of play is making an impression on Simmonds, who is learning a great deal about "dots down" play.

Top offensive players are not always interested in playing a lot of defense, Frolov can turn their defensive lapses extended into shifts in their own zone and points.

Finally, you almost never see three right handed forwards playing together; Frolov, Stoll, and Moller are all right handed shooters. As far as Purcell on the second line, he would still have to earn that spot. Calder can dig around and bang a bit, leaving Stoll and Moller free to shoot a bit more.

cristobal, amazingly I agree with just about everything you've said, no, matter of fact, I agree with EVERYTHING.

Boyle is an interesting case. He must not be doing what's expected of him, or he would be playing. I for one, do not want him to play, just on potential. I want him to play when he earns it. But if he's not earning it, why is he still with the big boys? That's the question. Maybe TM feels he close to where he needs to be.

Why do some people want to take Fro off the Handzus line? By FAR they have been our best line. Have you not been watching the games? Seems a little silly to break up that line.

Will Hutchison, Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Thank you!!!!!

how the heck is Gauthier still in over Preissing? He should be starting in Manchester, not LA.

Quattro, that comment is so October 28th.