Practice lines

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Here’s how they’re skating this morning…

Calder-Kopitar-Brown
Armstrong-Handzus-Moller (not sure who center will be here)
O’Sullivan-Richardson-Simmonds
Frolov-Stoll-Zeiler-Ivanans

Not sure what to make of that last group. All four players are in red, so perhaps there is an injury being tested?

Also, Denis Gauthier is on the ice, even though he limped onto it,

More details after practice…

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  • KingRu

    Its official TM is an idiot!

  • killface

    Hey Terry,

    WTF?

  • gwil21

    Rich, why does Murrey continue to roll with Calder on the 1st line. It is starting to become rediculous. I am down with his approach to team play(defense first) but this puzzling decision has proven itself to be an unproductive line combo. Please try snd get a plausable answer as to why this continues becasu Calder should be no more than a 3rd/4th line energy winger.

  • MasterAL99

    I can’t think of worse line combinations with the players that we have. The lines should be:

    Frolov-Kopi-Brown
    Moller-Sully-Stoll
    Zeiler-Handzus(regretfully)-Simmonds
    ???-????-???

    The question mark spots are irrelevant since the rest of the players pretty much stink.

    You can’t change lines every other game.

  • anthony

    This 58 year old coach has lost his mind.
    Now he has Stoll and Frolov playing with Ivanans and Zeiler.
    We all know what dead weight can do to a top line. Just look at what Calder has done to poor Kopi and Brown. He’s ruined them. He’s turned two of my favorite players into below average players.
    And now Zeiler and Ivanans is gonna do the same to Frolov and Stoll.
    And I’m sure Armstrong will help poor Moller end his goal scoring streak and start a new drought for him.
    I can’t believe how of touch this coach is. His constant failure to recognize his poor judgment and his failure to correct it.
    I don’t know. Maybe its his age. He’s starting to show signs of being senile.

    I mean in 15 or 16 games together, I’ve never seen the Kopitar line score a goal yet. Is he that lame.

  • Josh

    what good would playing frolov w/ ivanans do?

  • Anonymous

    Sully-Richardson-Simmonds is interesting. Lots of speed on that line.

  • Mark

    Did the official “The Kings select……for the 1st pick of the 2009 Draft” party start already? These lines make no sense even for the Kings. If they’re planning to tank the season they can at least make it less obvious.

  • Deano Lombardo

    Unbelievable….If anything Frolov should be on the 1st line with Kopi and Brown. Then you can have Sully with Handzus and Moller…..Unbelievable.

  • Tompa

    Not to be an alarmist or whatever, but honestly I could not come up with worse lines if I tried. What a mess!

    If he wants to shake things up split Kopitar and Brown or put Frolov on the first line.

  • CBGB

    Tavares here we come!!!!!!

    I wonder if the players have tuned him out?

    I wonder if DL is regretting his decision to hire Murray.

    I wonder who get fired first.

    I wonder if Mark Hardy is ready to be head coach.

    I wonder how long Frolov lasts before he is traded in a package for Kovalchuk

    This is just flat out idiocy – flat out

    Last night TM had O’Sullivan on a line with Simmonds and Richardson at the end of the game!!!

    Idiocy I tell you! Idiocy!

  • Deano Lombardo

    SERIOUSLY????? I thought about it and came to the conclusion that today is April 1. Does TM have a dart board with players names on it that he throws darts at while blind-folded to come up with these lines? At least that would make SOME sense!

  • simonsez

    Wow those lines look Calderiffic.

  • Irish Pat

    Calder must have something on Terry Murray, maybe from his short-lived days of playing with the Flyers while TM was one of the coaches. I’m still shaking my head on this one.

  • Mike

    Seriously get O’Sullivan up there with Kopi and Brown already. Call up Purcell to shate with Frolov and Handzus.

    O’Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
    Frolov-Handzus-Purcell
    Moller-Stoll-Calder
    Simmonds-Armstrong-Ivananns

  • Anonymous

    This is stupid. The only line that continually gets the free pass is also the only line that has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the last 5 games. So he keeps the line that doesn’t work, and continually shuffles things that do.

    Note to TM: OSCAR MOLLER HAS MORE POWER PLAY GOALS THAN KOPITAR-BROWN-CALDER COMBINED THIS SEASON. MAYBE THAT’S A HINT YOU SHOULD START SPLITTING THEM UP. and for god sake put back the 24-26-28, the only thing you’ve done right.

  • Anonymous

    It must be December. It’s all downhill from here. None of this surprises me.

  • Ibleedkings

    For the love of God, whats wrong with Terry Murray????? This is not good people. I am already questioning his moves more than I ever did with Crow and AM.

  • Anonymous

    Those lines are disgraceful!

    How about:

    Frolov – Kopitar – Moller
    Brown – Stoll – O’Sullivan

    or

    Brown – Kopitar – O’Sullivan
    Frolov – Handzus – Stoll

  • Nick

    WTF is up with Calder…this guy has 1 goal! Get rid of this dude. We are rebuilding…Call up Purcell, Meckler or whoever but get this dude off the top line.

    Kopitar is a #1 center, Brown is a power forward…what they need as a compliment is a finisher…not a slow, overpaid grinder. Put Frolov, Moller or anyone else on that line. Jesus. Murray is pissing me off already.

  • Simi Kings Fan

    Wow, I find myself laughing out loud. Guys these are PRACTICE LINES. as a head coach (not Hockey) if I want my players to improve their skills I want them to practice against players of equal or better skills. In PRACTICE when you have all the best players on the same line there is no challenge. You need Kopi burning players like Brownie not Richards. Remember these are not Game lines but practice lines. Let’s not freak until game lines are announced.

  • Mac from northern europe.

    Um, yeah I have to agree with the previous posters. I usually have faith in the coach(es), they work with the team on a daily basis and have more insight than we ever could have. But we are well enough into the season now where you can start to see tendencies -> what lines do actually work, what players have developed some chemistry etc.

    With the players posted by Rich I’d like to see the lines something like this:

    O’Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
    Stoll-Handzus-Frolov
    Simmonds-Richardson-Moller
    Zeiler-Armstrong-Ivanans

  • Marc Nathan

    anyone here remember when Andy Murray refused to play Allison with Palffy and Deadmarsh? Then, Andy Murray got into his car accident in Minnesota and Dave Tippett put them together and the LAPD line brought life back into the vapid abyss known as the Los Angeles Kings.

    So… someone cut the brake line on TM’s car… ;)

  • Marty

    As usual Murray fails again in adjusting the lines in order to score more regularly.I predict more 1 goal losses and underperforming from whatever you consider our top 6 now that they aren’y used in that capacity.FIRE MURRAY CHANTS WILL NOW BE NEEDED AT HOME GAMES.Be loud be proud.
    Total misuse of Chokitar,Brownish,Sulky,Froloaf,Stalled,Oscar Weiner and total overuse of the rest.
    The Forwards and the Coachs are the problem with this squad.

  • Quisp

    Uh, guys? It’s a practice. I wouldn’t get too worked up about it, really. If these end up being the lines in the next game, which is of course possible, it’s pretty clear what the rationale is. I’m not advocating these lines, mind you. But I can explain them.

    Calder/Kopitar/Brown — Murray wants balance and he wants the unit to be defensively responsible. I don’t agree with Calder’s placement on the first line, but I see what it gets him (Murray).

    Armstrong/Handzus/Moller — the rationale here is rewarding good play. Armstrong and Handzus both had good games. Handzus has been consistently great this year. Moller is, as I have said before, the best defensive forward playing on the top two lines. Before the season started, I said I thought Handzus had a good shot at being the number two center, and so far, I would say he’s been better than that. He’s been our #1. I don’t love Armstrong on this line, but I get it. And he’s worked his ass off. So, in that sense, he’s deserved it.

    O’Sullivan/Richardson/Simmonds — I like this line. Richardson is a natural center. There’s a lot of speed and skill here. It’s not really a third line. It’s a second second line. That works for me.

    Frolov/Stoll/Zeiler-Ivanans — I’m going to assume there are no injuries and Frolov is in the dog-house for his missed assignment. Stoll has been fairly useless this year, except that he’s winning all his faceoffs. For that reason alone, I assume if Murray scratches Ivanans (please do) and skates a line of Frolov/Stoll/Zeiler that this line will get more icetime than the usual fourth line minutes.

    It’s only the presence of Zeileranans on this line (and the red jerseys) that tells you this is the fourth line. 2/3 of the line is the usual second line. If you put Trevor Lewis on this line, I think you’d really have something. Or Purcell.

    Bottom line: these lines don’t suck if Murray rolls four lines with relatively even ice-time. We know Murray lines balance. We know he likes to roll four lines. We know he likes each line to be defensively sound.

    Second bottom line: swap out Zeileranans for a better player and all three of the non-first lines are arguably better than the first line.

    Third bottom line: I really think bringing up Purcell and Lewis and getting rid of Calder and scratching Ivanans is the solution. The line juggling, at the risk of seeming like I’m a shill for Terry Murray, makes sense to me.

    For all we know, Murray is playing Calder on the first line to force DL to get rid of him.

  • Lososaurus

    With lines like those, Tavares here we come!

  • WhoThePuck

    Okay who pissed TM off?

    Clearly we are being punished with these lines.

  • anthony

    Quisp,
    and in the process, before Calder gets traded, our top line continues to be scoreless.
    What if DL doesn’t trade him. Does Murray play him on the top line until the season ends. Which looks more and more like then end of December.

  • Slim

    Rich,

    Is TM aware of the fans frustration with his line selection and uneven discipline? If not, could you make him aware.

    Thanks.

  • tiger

    Two bad losses yes, but I cant believe how all you people freak out and turn on your team so quickly. I dont like Calder on the top line either, but lets look at rationaly. We werent run out of the building in either game. Do you guys really think he would skate frolov with Ivanans for more then a game? Sometimes you got to make a statement to your team, and that message is I dont care if you can score or not, you need to stay accountable to the system. Dont freak out about Kopi and Brown, they will come around, but IMO calders not the guy…. maybe simmonds could work if you want balance….. Hey Quisp you must have played some sort of competitive hockey huh?…….. nice breakdown

  • BringBackKingston

    i can’t wait for

    Ivanans – Zeiler – Calder
    Frolov – Handzus – Armstrong/Simmonds
    O’Sullivan – Stoll – Moller
    Harrold – Kopitar – Brown

  • john

    to be honest this is just plain stupid.

    the line swapping is worse then crawford.

  • 28 KINGS

    Army couldn’t buy his way into the line up last month and now he’s on the second line AGAIN (see previous seasons)? I can’t wait to see him on the pp replacing O’Sullivan. I wish Murray would put as much time into fixing the pp that he does with moving lines around.

  • mr. marbles

    Why hasn’t Murray tried Moller on the first line with Kopitar and Brown?
    Last night Ivanans was out with Kopitar and Brown and there was some turmoil for Phoenix. Maybe Murray should try that more and allow Ivanans to take some instigators if he feels Kopitar is being manhandled.
    If a big man in front of the net on the power play is a proven tactic, who better than Boyle to place there?
    Does anyone know Shanahan’s phone number? A hall of fame veteran could do a lot to take the heat off our young stars this season while they’re maturing. Plus, the guy could probably give Ivanans a run for his money in the fisticuffs dept.

  • Anonymous

    Stopped reading @ CALDER-Kopitar-Brown ……..

  • 4thlinechecker

    I think it is hilarious to listen to you all this, not to sound arrogant but maybe because its SOCAL I dont think to many people here truly understand the fundamentals of the sport……. I cant believe people can even say “Fire Murray” who has taken the worst defense in the league last year(which had Blake (subpar),Lubo, and stuart), and transformed it, with what I thought would be an atrocious backline on opening night, into the #1 team in shots against and #4 team in goals against. Yes he has had help from Hardy, but this is Murrays show. Yes we lost 2 games in a row in the 3rd, but it is far better then watching lazy ass hockey like last year and giving up 4-5 goals a game. This isn’t roller hockey, it takes alot more balance and its alot more of a 2-way game.

    I agree, I dont think Calder is a good fit on the top line. It also sounds like Murray had a hunch about Calder and I think by his comments he is going to “tweak” things cuz he realizes the chemistry isnt what he thought it would be. I wouldnt mind seeing him try Simmonds on the first line for more balance(call me crazy, but he was a pretty creative player in junior). Or going with Kopi/Sully/????, and Brown/Stoll/????……. but who am I, I gaurantee you Murray knows a hell of alot more about his team then any of us.

    Last thing, dont worry about Kopi and Brown…. They are just learning how to be even more responsible on both sides of the ice……. Once they get comfortable watch out…… think about the Datsyuk’s and Zetterbergs of the league who learned the importance defense and system first, then balance that with a nose for the net…….. Lets face it, we arent a contender, but we will get there you will see… I am more hopeful now then I have been in the 30 years our family have had seats…. (Well except for the Gretz years ha!).

    Marty and Anthony, you guys drive me up the wall, but I enjoy you (kinda like I like Avery….really)Thanks for stirring the pot enough to get me to actually get my lazy ass up and type out my opinion. I like hearing you guys get all worked up…. Somebody likened you to Cubs fans, and it is so true!

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