Postgame notes (1/21)

Great game to watch tonight.
Kopitar was great in the faceoff circle 9/13, had 3 hits and 2 assists. Even though the guy didn't score and played almost the least out of all the premier forwards on our team, the people criticizing him are just crazy. The guy isn't gassed, it's just the way he plays.
You probably weren't watching his important defensive plays at the end of the game. He played really good defense when it mattered the most.
So maybe he won't net 30+ goals this year -- booo hooo hooo.
The guy will still have around 70+ points working mainly on his defense the whole year even with the lengthy period of his offensive struggles.
Once and for all give the guy a break as he is leading the team in points, so if you think he isn't all that then just look at all the other forwards (disregarding the past 2 games against MIN and COL)!!!

a win is a win is a win.
i know 2/3rds of our games remaining are on the road, but this is a good way to start things out with 5pts in the last 3 games. the Kings need a touch more than a point a game to be in the thick of things.

by the way, screw espn.com for giving the Kings a D+ on the year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3849521

a C maybe, but not a D+. you're telling me that if the Kings had 3-4pts more only then they'd be considered as good as the BJackets? i know i'm biased, but this team isn't one grade away from failing.

WOw fun game but lucky for us we hung in there....they should learn from those almost come backs by the opposing team...just keep playing hard...Don't let down...you just have to focus on that type of play.

Shakes - that has to be a sarcastic D+. I have never seen any team play .500 with all new defensemen. JJ was hurt. In addition, half the team is made up of rookies. I do consider Quincey, Harold and even Johnny Z rookies even if the league does not. In addition, we implemented an entirely different system this year. There have been a handful of bad games, but I love our effort night in and night out. Let's make it a B+.

BTW, the Avs have to be steaming at that loss. They are going to have an incredibly lousy week off. Oh well.

first off, rich, thank you for the above list of stats. your hard work is appreciated and overwhelming!

secondly, what an f'ng game. holy cow. i really have no answer to why the kings have scored 11 goals in the last two games, after scoring 10 in their previous 8. i can only harken back to a friend of mine who sits in 329 who said "the damn is about to burst"! i guess it was just their time. and boy did it come at a great time.

nearly .500 in the standings after 46 games is huge. six lowly points out of the playoffs. could it be? can it be true? who knows, but at least we all have something to root for come after the all-star break. the last two seasons were already over come the new year. too many players showed some metal tonight to mention. how about calder - his best two games of the season. handzus was solid and quick got the job done despite and couple of poor decisions.

i hope the poor start to this month was only a short, momentary lull that has passed. look how good we can play when we get it going. i think jmfj had something to do with it. i think when moeller comes back he will also add another spark to o-ffense.

i will have to agree that gauthier is a problem. i like his toughness and grit, but he seems to always be on the ice when we give up goals. i think harrold, even with his smaller frame, should play in gauthier's place. preissing and gauthier should be done for the year - at least with the kings. if calder can keep playing like this, why trade him.

now the kings get a week off (except for brown and doughty) to rest and heal up (ee and om). then they get to enjoy the friendly confines of staples for one game before heading out on a 5-game roadie to the northeast. it will also be decision time for tm. what does he do with the d? - we are carrying 8. one or two have to go. then tm has to decide about richardson who was rehabing in manchester, does he bring him back up? does he keep the same team that skated tonight? they did score 6 goals. except for one d change, they have scored 11 goals in the last 2 games. questions, questions.

i do look forward to all of your opinions!

enjoy the all star break folks and rich, please take a day off - it is well deserved.

T M prevent defense dosen`t work with this team.You got six by goals by applying pressure why change? And please keep Harold in the line up. Gautier just isn`t the guy for this team.Thank you Quick for saving our rear tonite.

Playoff race UPDATE at ASB:

TEAM/LOSSES-TIES/LOST PTS/PTS OUT OF PLAYOFFS

EDM 19-3 41
PHX 19-5 43
MIN 20-3 43
DAL 18-7 43
VAN 19-7 45 -2
CBJ 20-5 45 -2
LAK 20-7 47 -4
ANA 21-5 47 -4
COL 23-1 47 -4
NSH 23-3 49 -6
STL 23-4 50 -7

Note that ANAHEIM LOST TONIGHT and COLUMBUS "TIED." The Kings are but two games out of a playoff spot, and, tied with Anaheim, although the Ducks have played something like fifty more games than the Kings (actually, it's only three).

18 of the Kings' 36 remaining games are against teams we are competing against for the final four spots.

That 3rd period was a wild one. I've got to give credit to Calder, Zeus, Quincey, Brownie, Greenie and especially Jon Quick for keeping LA in the game and securing the victory. This is a game the Avs could have easily won; the norm would have been for the Kings to fold up their tents when the score hit 6-5. This time they didn't, it shows character, it also shows how young this team is but how far they've come. LA is one game below .500 and only six points out of a playoff spot. They've survived a bad slump and now have several goalies that can keep the puck out of the net. If the Kings can step up their offense which, if the last two games are any indication, they get Oscar back, there is no reason the Kings won't be there come playoff time.

My grade for LA...a solid B. Jet, I agree...The Kings deserve a much better score than a D+ for what they've accomplished. New defense, new goalies, rookies, and only one game below .500 at the break? Much, much better than a D+.....

Strange game....... Why doesnt Fro use that cannon more often?, Him and Jack both sure showed they have a hell of a shot.

Hopefully Quick learns a few things from this one, looked great thru 2 at least.

Westgarth has been non-existent for two games, hes got to be headed back i'd imagine.

Lets not cool off over the break.....Go Kings!

Also, Detroit has 24 of their remaining 36 games against teams we want to lose. San Jose has 21.

Old habits for this team is very hard to get rid of. They have never been known to be a solid defensive team and that tradition or more specifically ailment seems to be still afflicting this team. After the score was 6-2 they began to display signs of fear in their game. They don't have the killer instinct to shut down teams and not give them a chance for a comeback. Break downs in their zone were numerous that led to goals by Colorado needlessly. A team has to take pride in the way they play and do battle on the ice by not giving any breathing room for the opposition to even contemplate a comeback. I just hope that TM would be the one to vaccinate this team from this affliction. My criticism may be a little harsh after a win, but I think it's warranted. Considering the lead that they had almost turned into a loss. Winning teams don't play like that.

Roger

Old man you are as quick as our goalie. You speak the truth in that TM almost cost us the game by panic'ng He was the one that took the time out and told the team enough O' now all drop back and pray we hold on. This is not that type of team. As you can see we have had numerous games in the beginning of the season leading after two periods. Of course we had La-Crapstra in the pipes but the overall TM move is to all fall back to "Home Plate" and hope we hold on. We need to sufficate these teams in their zone and not let them out. Go for the throat Murray! Quit making the team and us nervous when trying to hold a 4 goal lead. All for now..Have a Happy All-Star break..Please dont get hurt (Brown,Doughty) ala Moller...

Some roster thoughts:

Moller is presumably coming back soon after the break. Richardson is on a conditioning stint in Manchester. Ersberg is on IR. Bernier is an emergency call-up. Right now, the Kings have 22 on the active roster. I'm assuming Richardson counts as the 23rd, even though he's on loan to Manchester for conditioning.

Frolov/Kopitar/Simmonds
POS/Handzus/Zeiler
Calder/Stoll/Brown
Ivanans/Armstrong/Westgarth

Doughty, Johnson, Quincey, Greene, SOD, Harrold, Gauthier, Preissing

Quick
Bernier

So, what happens when Moller is ready to return? Does Westgarth (waiver exempt) go back down? I think Zeiler is earning his keep, so waiving him is not in the cards (DL would rather trade him than do that, right?). Does DL trade one of the usual suspects (Calder, Preissing, Gauthier) for picks, creating a roster spot? I guess it's probably Westgarth who goes down, unless someone gets dealt first.

And what about Purcell? After the AHL all-star game, is he coming back? My guess is, not as long as Calder is playing so well. Then, if room is created by a trade, we'll see whichever of Purcell or Lewis (or Boyle or even Parse, or evennnnnnnn...point-a-game Azevedo???) is hottest.

It's going to be an interesting few weeks.

What the hell was TM thinking. Your up 6-2 and your 4th line is getting no play in back to back road games. No wonder they were gassed in the 3rd. They should have been out there pounding on the AVS. Why is OD dropping the gloves when you have Ivan and Westy sitting on the bench. Play them TM, let them get involved. Its 6-2!!

Good stats Quisp...That gives us something to look forward to the 2nd half of the season....

Go Kings!

Agreed with those happy with 2 points, but wondering how this turned into the white-knuckle affair.
Murray, again, may hold responsibility for the breakdowns although he doesn't see it.
Once again Gauthier and Zeiler on the ice for a goal against.
Zeiler has played great, why put him out with the 3rd defensive pairing guy?
gauthier + x = 0
gauthier + z = -1
Also, Murray spoke to the players, who looked admonished, during the TO when it was one line breaking down to contribute to the 3rd goal. I didn't think the Kings were playing poorly. On the contrary, they played much worse after the TO.
Finally, I have to say I was smiling and thinking I'd been so wrong about TM, but between the 2nd and 3rd he told Foxy that he wanted the young guys to learn how to shut down a game. Really?
I think I speak for everyone when I say I think we'd like to see more of what got the team up 6-2.
We let a great opportunity to embarrass the team that manhandled us last game in their own building.
We were dominating and punishing.
Then, we became the dominated and the punished.
Please, please, please Terry Murray make me eat my words and play like you did in the first 30 minutes of the game for 60.
Please don't come out and say we need to shut the game down.
Come out and say you want a full 60 minutes of hockey.
These guys are fully capable of maintaining the assault.
I agree that the 4th line should have been hunting for blood at 6-2. Play them.
Again we let Cody Mcleod have a good laugh. Where's Westie?
Quick is a young kid, but give him the night off after a great win and its a back-to-back.
Everyone wants a look at Bernie anyway.
Quick made a key mental error that could have cost us the game but surely Murray knows that a fatigued mind leads to mistakes. Murray must claim that mental error as his own.

We won a game in St. Louis 4-0 early in the season and I said I've never seen a Kings team play such a complete game.
What happened to that 'idea' of believing that these young guys can maintain that intense pressure for 60 minutes.
Quit "preventing" the team from winning like they're capable of winning
Dominantly.

I know I'll get killed for this, but sometimes I think Doughty should sit instead of Harrold. If they want the muscle of the other guys you need to consider that maybe Harrold is a bit more mature and will make some better decisions.
Doughty really needs to stop trying to make the save for the goaltender and play his forward. He got beaten hard on the goal by Svatos (going from memorty, i think it was Svatos).

I know Gauthier isn't popular, but I think that unless we're out of the playoff picture we should keep him. Same with Calder. Preissing is the only one I find expendable while we've got a shot to make it. If we make it, those guys add depth and experience. We'll need that if we do get there.
Gotta hand it to Calder again. I don't know if he's playing for his career, but he's really been leading the charge lately.

Last thought is - Great win by the team, coaches and all. It wasn't pretty, but it was 2 points and the bleeding was sutured before it was too late.
Plus, a lot of nice goals are always fun.

my pathetic attempt at humor for the night.

You can only hope to contain Willsie. I think we did that tonight.

A win is a win it wasn't pretty. Something needs to be done about the penalties they are taking way to many, that was one of the few things they did right last season. Quick made a big mistake luckily it didn't cost the win. Hopefully the break doesn't mess up this little win streak.

Hummm...I saw the game but failed I guess to see all you folks standing on the bench to hear and know exactly what TM said. The give away from the suddenly wandering Mario LaQuick was blatantly a huge rookie mistake, gave Colorado an incredible lift and took the air out of the tired Kings. If the talent is on the 3 top lines I do not want line 4 on the ice in nervous time. Quick wandered all night and got himself in a ton of trouble for it. That trouble wears a team out, especially on B T B games. That kind of gaol can put just that tiny bit of doubt in your head, start the here we go again thoughts and make everyone play differently trying to make sure this very important win is secured. Which usually leads to a loss but tonight we had just enough to hold on. TM can not stop the thoughts and the resulting actions...once that seed of doubt happens. Gauthier deserves every bit of heat on his very marginal game...but tonight it was Mario LaQuick that started the free fall that almost cost us the game.

A solid roadtrip has put them back into possible playoff contention. O'Sullivan isn't likely to pick up many even strength assists playing with Zeiler as his other winger. Recall Richardson and put him in Zeiler's spot.

We can obviously analyze the third period until we are blue in the face. From my standpoint, its simple. A very young team on the road had a great learning experience with what happens when you don't "shut down the game" as TM said. I don't even want to bother picking this one apart honestly. I myself play hockey and I can tell you from plenty of experience, sometimes s**t happens. Quick made a mistake here, we took a strange penalty there...whatever. we won and in the standings there is no room for description. only points.

Looking forward to this weekend's festivities. Rich, will you be covering the events in Montreal?

Cristo, How is TM to blame for the Kings not being able to settle down into their game? He can only instruct them. If they can't calm down, then that's a team play issue. It's all psychology. The only thing I would have done differently that TM didn't was play Harrold rather than Goat, since he skates better, and could have kept up with those fast skating transition attacks CO was throwing at us.

This was a wacky game. The Kings should've won this game 6-2, or at least 6-3. However, when you're in April and these two teams are fighting for a playoff spot, all that matters is that the Kings got two points and the Avalanche got none. A 6-5 win is the same as a 6-0 win. It's like in the Anaheim game, when Bobby Ryan had that impressive natural hat trick. That means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things because they didn't get a single point in that game.

Good for the Kings' offense to pick up. Everybody who is supposed to score is. Brown, Frolov, and Kopitar are all putting points up. We're getting goals from Calder, assists by Simmonds and the defense.

But even with that good offense these two games, this was a hard victory. But a victory is a victory. The Kings don't play until next Thursday, so there is no reason for us to be concerned about the way the Kings finished this game. They have plenty of time to work it out in practice. The all-star break kills all momentum of a team, good or bad.

The Kings are 2-0-1 in their last three games (all on the road, unbelievably). But that doesn't mean anything come next week against the Blackhawks. TM knows that, the players know that. If you're going to nearly cough up two points, yet still somehow squeak out a regulation victory, this is probably the best time to do it.

Conversely, because the next game isn't until Thursday, I can't even guess whether Quick should get the start in that game. It's too far away from this recent performance for me to think that he's struggling, and we don't know if Ersberg will be healthy or not. Personally, I'd like to see Bernier at least get one start while he's up here (even if he was only recalled on emergency basis), but we'll let time tell.

Jedi...I can tell you how they have scored 11 goals in the last 2 after scoring almost none lately.

It's very simple, and I have been harping on this, and on certain players for not doing this all season.

DRIVE TO THE NET! DRIVE TO THE NET AND GOOD THINGS HAPPEN. Play on the perimeter (Patrick O'Sullivan), and you don't have success, period.

I can't believe you guys are still complaining about TM. We just finished with 5 out of 6 points on this road trip. What more do you want from the guy?

Kingsince1967 hit the nail right on the head. Quick played the puck poorly and got Colorado back in the game. He also made some incredible saves and helped win the game.
None of you know what he said during the timeout so stop trying to pretend you know more than you do.

I thought the timing of the timeout was correct. I thought after we gave up the 5th goal, they settled down and played a smart defensive game to the end. They deserved to get the 2 points and it would have been tough to swallow not getting it.

Zeus won a couple of huge faceoffs at the end. He's been really good all season.
Great game again by Calder. I think it would make sense to trade him. His play has been too inconsistant this year and maybe it's best we get something for him while he's hot. Just my opinion.

As for the sudden outburst of gaol scoring over the last couple of games. This is the ebb and flow of a hockey season. sometimes you go into slumps, and sometimes you break out in a big way. Instead of everyone over-analyzing what's wrong with the players after each shift, each game...let this play out and see where they end up. There's nothing wrong with being pissed when a player isn't playing well, but thinking you know the lines better than the coach is a joke. Not only that, but you get pissed when he doesn't follow your suggested line combinations..which is even funnier.

As the un-official 1st half of the season comes to a close, I think the Kings are in a lot better shape than they were last year. They are going to be playing meaningful games during the 2nd half. That's all we could have asked for from this team. I like the way the team is shaping up and I like the job the coach and GM have done. This team makes me proud to be a Kings fan.

Kopitar seems lost in his own zone,doesn't know when to cover his man and release to join the play.Playing along Fro this is a combo for disaster defensively.

With the All Star break coming up, does anybody know if the Kings will be practicing? I called the Toyota Sports Center & they did not know. I thought somebody here might know what they did in past seasons. Thanks.

only one reason we won yesterday...

Handzus

nykingfan - Thank You!

Your post is right on.

I agree with you that this team is much more fun to watch and has achieved more this year than that painful last year.

BRS... no practices for any team in the NHL till monday afternoon--agreed on by the players union and the league.(CBA)

Marty - thank you. That will save us a trip to El Segundo.

Great road trip. They played 30 minutes last night and it was enough. I wish they'd done better but I'll take two points and chalk it up to a young team making mistakes in crunch time. That's what this season is all about.

I see the love for Quick has already ran out. Too bad, he's a good goalie but it doesn't take long for the sharks in Kings jerseys to turn on the goalie for all problems.

He made one mistake last night, the rest weren't his.

I hope they keep driving to the net and getting shots through and the goals will keep coming.

one post script to my post.
a final critique of Murray's decisions for that game.
Why does Harrold's VERY strong play lately get rewarded with a "healthy scratch?"
I don't understand that decision based on what the coach has been saying all season in reference to rewarding the players who are showing commitment.

Maybe this decision was more based on trade maneuvering, but its very confusing trying to make sense of it based on what info. is available.

*gasp* A Dan H. sighting!

quisp...

i think the kings have 45 points (19 wins and 7 o/t losses = 45). they are 2 pts behind the ducks and 6 out of the playoffs.

Quisp.

Why is it that your "playoff picture" confuses me so much?
After reading it I came out thinking we're tied with the Ducks in points and plowing up the league, when we're still 22 overall at best.

I'd prefer it if you posted your algorithm, but of course we're failing at it currently.
But, you never know, we may outperform in the 4th group of 13 before it's up.
I'm not trying to be negative or cynical, i just find that system you used confusing.
Isn't it just easier to look at points and games played?
The end of the season, 3rd 1/3, will be interesting for sure, though, and I do really like how you broke down who we're playing and who the teams we're competing with are playing.

jedi/cristobal -

Teams have played different numbers of games. Kings have played 46. Anaheim, 49. Phoenix, 48. Dallas, meanwhile, has played only 45 games (the fewest in the conference). The most common way to discuss the standings is to say, for example, Anaheim is six points ahead of the Kings, but the Kings have three games in hand.

The "truest" way to look at the standings is by winning %. This takes into account games played. The problem is, it's hard to see just by looking at the numbers how far behind or ahead one team is compared to another.

This is why I prefer only to look at the number of losses and SOL/OTLs. Because this shows you literally how many points a team has "lost" out of the total possible points. Consider the following example:

Team A: 10-0-0, 10 games, twenty points, undefeated.
Team B: 7-5-6, 18 games, twenty points.

They would be tied in the standings, point-wise. But team A is perfect, while Team B has lost 5 games and lost 6 in OT/SO. That's 16 points they could have had that they didn't get. Therefore, by my way of looking at it:

Team A -- 0-0 (i.e. 0 losses, 0 OTL/SOL)
Team B -- 5-6 (i.e. 5 losses, 6 OTL/SOL) -16 (i.e. 16 points behind Team A)

Of course, with only two teams, it would be easier just to say, hey, Team A and B are tied, but Team A has 8 games in hand. But when you're dealing with 11 teams instead of 2, it's much more messy. So I eliminate wins and games played entirely and look only at the lost points.

So, back to Anaheim and LA. Anaheim is six points ahead of the Kings, but the Kings have three games in hand. But Anaheim has 21 losses and 5 SOL/OTLs; the Kings have 20 losses and 7 SOL/OTLs. As you can see, they have both lost 47 points this year.

Similarly, the points-based standings hides the fact that EDM and DAL have played fewer games than the rest of the pack.

Okay, now back to the "standings" I posted above, which I will paste below. It shows losses and OTL/SOLs, followed by total points lost. The first four teams are the current 5-8 seeds. The teams that follow have an extra column showing the number of points they are out of the playoffs (i.e. number of points behind the 8th seed).

EDM 19-3 41
PHX 19-5 43
MIN 20-3 43
DAL 18-7 43
VAN 19-7 45 -2
CBJ 20-5 45 -2
LAK 20-7 47 -4
ANA 21-5 47 -4
COL 23-1 47 -4
NSH 23-3 49 -6
STL 23-4 50 -7