Murray, on the defensive changes
The Kings made a defensive change today as well. Kyle Quincey swapped spots with Sean O'Donnell, meaning Quincey will skate with Drew Doughty in a pairing that should get huge minutes. O'Donnell will skate with Matt Greene while Denis Gauthier stays with Peter Harrold. The reason, as Murray gets to below, is that O'Donnell's play has fallen off, while Quincey and Doughty remain strong. O'Donnell was one of the early-season surprises, but in his last nine games, he hasn't recorded a point and has a minus-5 rating. Here's what Murray said about the swap...
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Question: What were the thoughts behind the defensive changes?
MURRAY: ``I think we're using some players a whole lot out there. We've been talking about it as a coaching staff, starting four or five games ago, and I also talked to somebody else about it. It was a concern, that I was playing some players quite a few minutes, minutes that maybe they weren't used to playing in past years. It can be very demanding out there, to dig in that deep night after night. So hopefully by doing this, it can give us an opportunity to look to Quincey, who has played very well for us, to play a little bit more in crucial situations with Doughty. Then maybe on the other side, we can back off on some players so they can feel a little bit of a regroup time. I don't believe in taking good players out of the lineup to give them an opportunity to get some rest. I do believe that you keep going with them, and you can back off on minutes and it will make a bit of a difference. Over a short period of time, it will give them an opportunity to regroup.''
Question: Was Doughty part of that concern at all?
MURRAY: ``No he wasn't. He is not a concern for me at all. If he gets to be tired, I'll just tell him to go home and go to bed. He's (19) years old.''
Question: O'Donnell has been playing about four minutes more per game than he did last season. Was that a concern?
MURRAY: ``Not early, but in the last half-dozen games I think there's a concern on my side of it. It's very demanding. He has played well but I just see a difference from the first 15 games, when he was outstanding. He still has a huge contribution, but his play was very, very effective, and there are some situations that have developed over the last five or six games. I know it's just a matter of having to dig down too deep, night after night, to get the job done. So this is going to give him an opportunity to regroup.''
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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Makes total sense, lets hope it works!!
... Quincey and Doughty remain strong.
I think this is debateable. Goat and Harry had a stronger game in Colorado while Greene, Quincey, and Doughty weren't too hot.
O'Donnell has had some shockers, however. In Colo. he looked like he was still getting paid by the Ducks.
We're going to get a real good look tonight and going forward if Quincey can play top minutes. I personally think he can excel at this level. Lets hope so.
This morning on Center Ice radio program (XM Radio), one of the hosts talked for quite some time about the great job Dean Lombardi has done in LA. He said "I am going on record, that within three years the LA Kings will make a legitimate cup run." coooolll
We'll see how Doughty plays w/o his mentor out there with him, but
switching Quincy's and O'D's minutes seems to make sense.
ROFL....
MURRAY: ``No he wasn't. He is not a concern for me at all. If he gets to be tired, I'll just tell him to go home and go to bed. He's (19) years old.''
This team is really showing the signs of missing JJ. He was supposed to eat up huge minutes on the back end. The Kings replaced JJ with Harrold, obviously this is going to hurt. It does not make sense for DL to go and get another Dman with JJ coming back in a month (altho I personally would grab McLaren and demote Gauthier). When JJ comes back, ice times will get back to a more reasonable load, there will be less critical mistakes on the back end, and the team will be much stronger. Right now Doughty and Quincey are getting a real trial by fire. I think TM hoped SOD could play a bit more in the first half and get his rest in the second half but there is obviously a reason the Ducks let him go so cheaply.
Hey, O'D has been a stud out there until the past week. But, he is not a 24 minute guy any more. This is a great move for the future also, with two rookies getting their experience against the best players in the league.