FINAL: Sharks 4, Kings 2

Maybe the Kings could use some reinforcements like a line of Purcell/Boyle/Moller.
Or, at least one or two of them to tow along as a healthy scratch for when we're in back to backs like this.
Boyle's size would have perhaps been welcome tonight?

Anyway, nothing to be ashamed of in this one, but losing the points hurts.

And the stinking Coyotes won tonight. I was in PHX for the game, they had 40 shots and 3 goals. They skated very fast too. We need to win on Saturday!

Terry Murray ought to be ashamed of himself!!!!!
Not only did he use poor judgment by allowing his uesless players like Gauthier, Armstrong and O'Donnel to go head huntng against the Sharks, but his line combinations drove me mad.

Can somebody explain to me why Rita was playing a regular shift with Kopi and Sully in place of Fro. Did he feel sorry for him for benching him last night.
And why did he place Fro on the 4th line with Army and Harrold. Did he punish him for something I didn't see.
Can somebody enlighten me here.

TM is starting to show his true colors as a coach. In his view, showcasing his favorite players like Guathier, Calder and Armstrong is more important to him than playing his better games.
Once again we lost this game because of that worthless head hunter Gauthier. I hope he gets suspended for the rest of the year. Because this team has no chance of making the playoffs with him in the line-up.
That 4th goal scored was all his fault. He gift wrapped the puck to Pavelski who fed Michalek. Then he dumps his frustration on the teams captain by going after his head - taking a double penalty.
If Drewiske played the Kings might have won. He wouldn't have gift wrapped a goal and he wouldn't have taken all those penalties.
Keep showacasing your favorite players MR. TM. It will be your undoing.

I have to get control over myself here. Sure I want to see the playoffs. I'd move mountains (if I could) to see that happen. But realistically, in todays NHL, no team will make the playoffs if they have a bad coach. And the Los Angeles Kings have a very BAD coach. I mean real bad.

And forgot to mention.
Even the Shark announcers were scratching their heads over these stupid line combinations the anointed one threw out there.

Because the Battleship was needed as a deterrent against any possible retaliation to the team's best player.

You cant win when the calls are as bad as they were. Unreal.......

The thought occurred to me as well. But Even in the last 3 minutes of the game.
Did TM actually try to win the game.
Its like he just gave up and accepted the loss before the final buzzer.

Also, O'Donnel is starting to look like a waste of a jersey. He looks old, slow, and tired. Taking way too many retaliatory penalties and putting his team in down a man.
Greene has been playing terrible as well. With him, I'm beginning to wonder if Edmonton knows something we don't.

That other game in the back-to-back was against Colorado, not Minnesota. The Los Angeles Times made the same error this morning, also.

I think the back to back that they last won was against Minnesota and Colorado, not Buffalo. Buffalo smoked us 5-0 this year.

The Kings played a faster, more talented and more rested team tonight on the road, one of the best teams in the league in the back end of a back to back series after having played a very emotional and tough game the night before against Anaheim and held their own. Yea, they looked a step behind against the Sharks but at only a 4-2 loss and actually had them tied twice in the game....

The Kings gave it their best tonight but we're beaten by a better team, tonight.

I got to agree with anthony on this one. I think TM would be a better defensive coach or something. Those line in the third killed me. Ivan doesn't deserve to wear a jersey let alone play next to Kopi and Sully when the games on the line. And moving your number one scorer Fro to the fourth line was even more ridiculous. The Kings would have had a better shot had they had someone behind the bench that knew how to win the tough games. Keeping Goat up and playing Ivan has got to stop or this season is as good as done.

I wasnt home for the 3rd period. but one thing I noticed is that O'Donnell had a tough night. He's iportant to the team, but maybe at his age he shouldnt be thrown out there in back to backs. It's nothing that he can control, but maybe harrold speed on D, and Zeilers running around and hitting would be better then having Odie try to handle a back to back against two tough teams. I dunno...

according to the TOI shift report... after the Goat hit in the 3rd, Kopitar played 4 shifts, Sully 3, Fro 2 and Ivanas 2.

Of Kopitar's 4 shifts, 2 were with Ivanas and Sully at even strength. 1 was with Sully on a 4on4. and the last 1 was on the PP with Fro, Zeus and Brown.

Of Fro's 2 shifts, 1 was with Brown on a 4on4. and 1 on the PP with Kopitar, Zeus and Brown.

With the way the game was going at the end, it's also the coach's responsibility to make sure his players are protected. Can't fault him for that.

yeah...
agree w/ a lot that has already been said tonight....

kings didn't play well at the start for the fourth consecutive game and got grossly out-played in the second, which is usually our best period of late...

a couple of things:

- goat took a bad penalty and prob. will get a call from colin...he has to understand that regardless if it's fair or not, he's got a target on his sweater and anything remotely close will be called against him...

- fro still led all forwards in t.o.i...i think t.m. was trying to get the forecheck presence out there...and raitis did have a good forecheck going on tonight...it's also quite common for t.m. to double-shift fro on the fourth line...but, yes, t,m, did skip a couple w/fro...even though he was a -2, i think neither goal given up was his fault...there was some coverage issues on the first two tallies...but, i don't think fro was to blame...i'd be surprised if t.m. singles him out...i know fro was credited w/a team-high 4 giveaways, but the last 2 during the final minute were very questionable...

- greene had one of his worst games as a king...he was awful tonight...

- odie wasn't much better, but wasn't completely absent...he was physical...

- sully made a couple of questionable plays...especially neutral zone passing...

- drew also had a rough night...not his best game either....

- stoll was impressive and continues his sharp play...

time to have a short memory and remember the important reasons as to why we lost this one...

anthony-
you seem to have all the answers. why didn't you submit your resume to DL after crawford was fired?

'cause he wouldn't pass the drug test...!

actually, he made it to the interview stage, but deano was not impressed when he constantly referred to lombardi as "dumbardi", hextall as "blechstall", raitis as "rita", and murray as, "that senile guy that coached the ottawa senators to their several stanley cup victories in the early 1900's."

the kings looked tired late in the 3rd. kind of confused about the frolov 4th line duty, but will reserve judgement until i hear quotes.

Anthony,

I find it very entertaining that you praise Murray after a win last night against the Ducks but come back with all the hate tonight. Coaching is important but the players have to play as well so I'd give a little less praise and blame on the coach for good or bad play.

Now to try and address most of the issues you brought up:

1)Ivan playing at the end of the game with Kopi wasn't so bad. A little odd of a choice but he was forechecking like a beast tonight as the Sharks announcers pointed out. This also ties into #2

2)Fro playing with Army and Harrold. Just like last night, Fro got a lot of double shifts with Army and Harrold in place of Ivan and in my opinion he may have been a little gassed at the end which is why Ivan may have been out there in addition to solid forechecking and it becoming a rough game. A little puzzling about Ivan on top line but it didn't cost us the game in my opinion.

3)Showcasing players as you called it. Calder I thought had a solid game not great but not bad. Not a particularly great game for Gauthier but not as bad as I'm sure people will say he had as I'll get to in a moment. Army generally puts in a lot of hard work and doesn't wow but plays good 4th line hockey.

4)Gauthier and Army's penalties and head hunting. In my opinion Army's hit was a lot worse than Gauthier's. Army is a standup guy and I think he just got a little carried away and didn't mean to hit the guy from behind. A good call on the penalty by the refs tho. Gauthier's hit was not nearly as bad as it looked. He kept his elbow and shoulder down and Marleau saw it coming. It would have been fine except as Marleau slowed he lowered his head down and Gauthier's elbow hit his lowered head. Not Gauthier's intention at all. Should be called a penalty maybe but it was not a very dirty hit.

5)Gauthier's turnover for the 4th goal. Hate to say it but it was Doughty's fault mostly. Yea Gauthier's pass hit a skate and came back in the zone as I remember but he positioned himself well and Doughty just lost his man as he snuck back door for an easy tap in goal.

6)O'Donnel being "old, slow, and tired" as you put it. Old yes he is starting to show his age and is tiring a bit i think down the stretch but his play is still pretty solid and he doesn't hurt the Kings with his play often. In regards to putting his team down often because of head hunting and retaliating, OD generally takes penalties of the roughing on both sides wash out in terms of being a man down. He sticks up for himself and his teammates which is a very valuable thing. Look at Setoguchi for the Sharks tonight standing up for Marleau, its important.

I think that covers just about everything. Let me know if I forgot anything
:)

-GoKings09

Oh, I forgot to mention. Variable love what you had to say about the game and I agree with you about pretty much everything.

Not to mention the refs missed THREE periods... They MUST be pregnant by now...

Anthony--I don't even know why I bother because you have a tendency to ignore all logic and reason when you post. Regardless, I'm going to try to introduce a few indisputable points, and you can do with them what you like.

Frolov was on the ice more than any King's forward tonight; only Kyle Calder and Peter Harrold saw less ice time than Raitis. Frolov was also -2; Raitis was even.

Gauthier lost the game for the Kings? His penalty came when the score was 4-2. If you want to blame the fourth goal on him, the Kings still would have lost 3-2.

You cannot honestly believe that Terry Murray is showcasing his favorite players, can you? This is a billion dollar industry. Forget a Stanley Cup, Terry Murray's livelihood is on the line. Do you really believe that he is going to skate only his favorites? Calder and Armstrong both had less than 10 minutes of ice time tonight (and by the way, Calder has been playing exceptional hockey lately); only OD had less ice time than Gauthier, and OD spent six minutes in the penalty box, and had to retreat to the dressing room for some time. So you believe that the Kings are losing because TM is showcasing his favorite players...who get the least amount of ice time?

People on this blog might take you more seriously if you didn't have such an obvious agenda, and you if you toned down the extremes. OD is a waste of a jersey? He had one bad night. He has been a terrific addition to the Kings this year and I challenge you to prove otherwise. Green terrible lately? He's a plus player; top 10 in the league in blocked shots; and 21st in hits. Who would you rather have in top four pairing?

The most ludicrous part? The Kings lost to a team that will probably be in the Western Conference finals. And you know what? They were right with them for most of the game. There was probably a ten minute span in the second where they looked truly outclassed, otherwise, we were right there with them playing the second game in two nights.

So Anthony, care to retort?

You can't deny Anthony's point, Ivanans on the ice greatly reduces the likelihood of scoring at the end of the game.

But the anti-Anthony side is right too, I saw it as TM sending out a deterent and/or fighter if it came to that.

The answer is simple, and Anthony had it elsewhere, they shouldn't have sent Drewiske down, but instead should have sat Gautier. No way is Gaut THAT much better defensively than Drew#2 to offset how much his penalties, bad hits, and turnovers hurt the team. But because Gaut is out there you now have to play Wrongias during crunch time, and that is not a winning formula.

Army's hit compounded the problem, yes, but without Gaut's hit, SJ wouldn't have been soo pissed, and would have dealt with Army 1-on-1.

Sending Drew down was a mistake. There's no need to "showcase" Goat for trade possiblities; other teams already know what he is. And Drew certainly seemed to "seize the opportunity" as Lombardi said he was looking for call-ups to do.

For once, I'm going to agree with you guys regarding the lines. I was baffled at the line combos in the 3rd as well.

At any rate, we got beat by the team that has a very good chance of being the western conference representatives for the SCF.

SJ is a tough team, and we hung with them for a good part of the game. The Kings should be proud of their results despite the outcome.

At least Edmonton lost and Min lost in OT. The Kings need the W on Saturday in a big way.

Hey Rich, Kopitar wreaks in the faceoff circle whereas Handzus and Stoll are pretty good. Do these guys help Kopitar during practice at all so he can get better? Sure hope so.

ANTHONY...the team was exhausted. Use your head, it's 3 feet above your booty. He wasn't playing with line combos, he was trying to get his top guys a bit of rest.

Why are certain things so hard for people to understand.

ETR...Boyle WILL NOT BE CALLED UP, PERIOD. Good lord man...the guy is getting 4th line minutes in Manchester!

Nah, he was mixing it up. You can't sit back and say you're tired when it's all hands on deck for the playoff push. The Kings are off today, that's when they'll rest.

If you'd asked any of the top Kings guys sitting on the bench if they could get back in and help during a game in which they're supposedly "tired", their answer would be "hell yes". I could understand if TM wanted to rest his guys earlier on in the season, but not now, not during a playoff push.

The Kings will get their rest when they're NOT playing a vital game.

Anthony - friggin Anthony...

The Kings just played against the top team in the west. And if it hasn't dawned on you yet, games like these are proof of how much work is left to be done in order to be a Stanley Cup contenteder. Go ahead, do what you have gained a reputation for...which is bash the management, and gush about the Manchester lineup.

Bottom line is, this team isn't going to consistently beat the top tier teams yet. For pete's sake...the Kings haven't beaten the sharks at all this year. So you need to relax and for once just realize that all the heat you get on this blog is because YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

I'm thinking about starting a charity fund so we can send you to a couple hockey coaching clinics. What we saw last night was simply a better, more experienced lineup knowing how to finish a game. Get over your tirade and move on. It must suck being so bipolar.

Is there practice today at 11 for all players? It says so on lakings.com but I wasn't sure because of the late flight and all.

Practice changed to noon today.

Sorry Ersberg...they were exhausted. Kopitar, O'Sullivan, Brown, Frolov, Handzus...none of them had their legs.

If you have never played, trust me. Playing games, hard physical games like these, two nights in a row (I don't care what kind of shape your in) takes it's toll.

There is a reason why the 3rd/4th line guys got more minutes last night. He wasn't playing with the lines.

They were exhausted.

Moondoggie hit it right on the head...
This was one of those games you look back on and say...it would have been nice to get a point out of it, but it wasn't likely.

Anthony
It must be an act of God that we're over .500 with a coach as lousy as TM.
I'm glad you have that kind of confidence in Driewiske that you can guarantee that if he was in there, we would not have lost the game. I highly doubt that! You cherry pick info that the announcers gave last night. While I don't specificaly recall them talking about the line combo's, they certainly did discuss Ivanans and pointed out the he was the most effective forechecker we had going last night.

My perception watching the game in the 3rd period was that we were only down 2 goals, but it felt like we were down by a lot more. SJ controlled the game...especially from the 2nd period on. We looked like we didn't have that jump that we've seen from them recently.

We're not going to run the table the rest of the way, so games like this are going to happen. Its time to turn the page and get ready for Saturday and get the 2 points there.

Mrbrett.

Come on, brother. The line coming from you all year is that we're not good enough to make the playoffs. While you may be correct, we also may never know because of some of the crap decisions being made.

I'm not trying to be as "anti" as Anthony (who's just frustrated) is, but there is absolutely no way to explain sensibly some of the coaching and management decisions.

1. How did Harrold play his way out of the top 4 defensively. He's outplayed pretty much every defenseman we've got with the exception of Quincey, and yet he's just tossed aside.

2. Why has Tom Preissing NOT been waived? He's sitting there dizzy taking up a roster spot (even if its as a scratch) when we need some reserves for games just like last night. There is absolutely no reason NOT to have serviceable players in tow to give out other guys a rest.

3. They sent Boyle back to Manch in Dec. for about 2 weeks with the command, "get meaner," and then they call him back up because he's leading Manch. in scoring. Surprise, surprise, Boyle gets jacked around again and is literally being asked to be a 3 dimensional NHLer after 24 games in this league...
It's quite obvious to me that Lombardi and Murray love ONLY certain types of players, and merely tolerate guys like Frolov and Kopitar because they can't run them out the door claiming there's "nothing there."

4. Even if you hate Boyle's presence and game, Moller, Lewis, and Purcell...heck, even Westgarth, would be good to have as fresh legs. Look at Richardson who got nothing early on in the season, but is playing well with something around him (instead of as a 4th line throwaway).

5. I like Gauthier, but it cannot be denied that he's hurt us, seemingly, whenever he gets dressed lately. I didn't get to see much more than the final 4 or 5 minutes last night, but was the 4th line and 3rd defensive pairing the order of the day again? All season long the 4th line/3rd defensive pairing (i.e. the weakest possible lineup to put out on the ice) has burned us for goals against. Why does Murray CONTINUE to frustrate his top scoring lines who are battling hard by sending out the "weakest" lineup to get scored against?

6. Frolov and Kopitar are the glue on the first line. Not O'Sullivan. If anyone should have dropped to the 4th line last night it would obviously be O'Sullivan. I think even Ivan may have scored had Fro and Kopi been kept together last night. Hard to believe that, but Ivan Kopi Sully isn't going to get much done...

7. Our management just doesn't want to win by out-skating other teams. Lombardi and Murray are hell-bent on "breaking the will" of every team they play through aggression. OKAY if it works, but there will always be tough teams in the league, and until you have all Teuberts skating, it ain't gonna work.
Thats why we play Ivan not Boyle.
Gauthier not Harrold.
Zeiler not Purcell.
Calder not Lewis.
Nobody instead of Cammalleri.
Matt Greene instead of Lubo.

You may be correct that we're not good enough to make the playoffs, but if the coaching and management don't believe we're good enough, it doesn't matter if we really are.

Finally, you may be correct that Boyle won't get called back ever again and will just disappear to another team, or to a new career in business, but he may right now FINALLY be pissed enough to be that angry player they want.
Boyle was undone, IMO, by being set up to fail. I'll never not think that. Just think back to the last home game against Detroit when again the 4th line was sent out with the weak 3rd defensive pairing and Gauthier committed 2 turnovers behind the net. Result? Boyle is on the ice for goals against and all faith is lost.

It comes down to the details, and if we do miss the playoffs by a point or two it will be coaching and management who are responsible. The players have delivered thus far.

Cheers and let's hope for better luck against Pho....

Mrbrett-

I understand your point of view, but when it's time to dig in, it's time to dig in. Having played Soccer for 10 years, Baseball for 9, and Hockey all of my youth, and some of my earlier adult life, I have an idea of what they go through.

My point is simple: The good teams get it done on back-to-back nights. The Kings are not exempt from this. If they want to win, and compete against the big guns of the league, they MUST step up on nights like this.

Voice of Reason,
argument well taken.
But I'm convinced that TM and DL are showcasing their garbage players prior to the trade deadline. And these players are hurting the teams chances of making the playoffs.

Who would you rather have in your lineup:
Goat, Army and, Rita
Or
Drewiske, Moller, and Westgarth

The point about Preissing taking up a roster slot is indicative of a shortcoming TM has had all year: he is not strategic with his healthy scratches. If you're going to play Ersberg on a back-to-back cause Quick is tired, why wouldn't you do the same for your skaters? But no line-up changes took place. Why not even Zeiler, he's there for what reason? And why not call someone up for a back-to-back, especially if the second opponent is better than us (like SJ) to give us some fresh legs? It's like a minor league pitcher being called up for a spot-start. If anyone makes the claim that Rongias was playing more and the "top" players were playing less because of fatigue factors (neither of which helps us win games) then you have to question the coach's strategy.

Eat,

The reason Fro was playing with the 4th line is because he was getting double shifts much of the night to keep him on the ice more. He wasn't dropped down. Also, I think its ridiculous to insinuate that Murray only plays Fro and Kopi because he "tolerates" them since he cant possibly sit them and say they don't help the team. He often praises them and knows they are the best players on the team.

"But I'm convinced that TM and DL are showcasing their garbage players prior to the trade deadline."

YGBFKM

Brainguy,
Then can you explain why Gauthier is playing instead of Drewiske..
When Drewiske played 5 games in LA, He played smart and steady. He was a plus 1 and was not a liablity.

That useless headhunter Gauthier is an accident waiting to happen. The mistakes he makes are countless. He takes a lot of stupid penalties and is a liabilty.

What DL and TM are doing are criminal. They're playing an inferior player who hurts the team instead of a better player who helps the team.
With the team knocking on the playoff door, you have to wonder why those two haven't had their heads examined.

Wow...I don't even know where to start, nor do I have the time right now.

1. Harrold was never in the top 4 d-men. He played ONE GAME where he got top 4 minutes, and that was due to injuries, and an inordinate amount of PP time that the Kings had.

2. Do I even need to answer this? They need his salary to remain at the cap floor. Good lord man, that's not hard to figure out.

3. Um...no he wasn't. Since Boyle has been in Manchester, he has been pulled aside numerous times to discuss his lackluster play. He has been absolutely horrid in Manchester. You want these kids to be handed jobs in the NHL. THAT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN AS LONG AS LOMBARDI IS THE GM OF THE KINGS. PERIOD.

Montreal has a team rule. The don't care who you are, or where you were drafted. Every player spends a minimum of 1 years bussing it in the minors...all those cups later, I think it's worked. Crawl before you can walk...pick any line you want.

Brian Boyle is a 6'7" 250lb. man who plays like he is 5'7" 150lbs. If he doesn't play with more of a mean streak, there isn't a team in the NHL that will let him play. He has terrible feet, and his legs are worse. He has INCREDIBLE hands, and super vision on the ice, problem is, you can't use those hands or vision if your constantly 2 steps behind everyone else.

4. Who do you send down? You can't just keep everyone up in the NHL genius. Your only able to keep so many on the roster. I would rather see Moller in certain games than Ivanans. But, I will tell you this, Lombardi and Murray know more about this game than you or I could ever in a wet dream. I think I'll take their insight over anyone's around here.

5. Did I say anything about Gauthier? No, I did not. I've never cared much for the day. WHEN WILL ANYONE UNDERSTAND? A 5th/6th/7th defenseman is just as important to a team as a 4th line forward. They are there for depth, and nothing more. A defenseman playing 12 minutes a night is equivalent to a forward playing 4 minutes a night. Wake up man! Pay attention! Personally, I'd rather have Drewiske playing, but guess what, he's playing 25 minutes/night in a playoff race down in Manchester instead of 10-12 minutes per night in LA. He's one of the top defenseman down there, getting PP and PK time, as opposed to LA, where he barely plays. What's better for his development?

6. Kopitar and Frolov have been playing more minutes than any other forward. THEY NEEDED A BREAK. Murray took them off to keep them from getting hurt. Did ya notice he did this right after Marleau got hit? Or were you only busy complaining that Boyle was toiling on the 4th line in Manchester?

7. Your seriously going to sit there and complain about the Vishnovsky trade? We traded an aging defenseman, making 7 million/season, for two positions this team desperatly needed. A tough stay at home defenseman and a center who can win faceoffs.

In one trade, Lombardi made the Kings faster, tougher, younger and less expensive, freeing up money to sign others he needed to. But no, keep the midget.

Your really bringing up Cammelari? You know he isn't staying with Calgary, right? The man is already looking up real estate in Ottawa.

You can blame management all you want. You will wrong, but you can blame them.

Salary Cap Floor Anthony...Salary Cap floor. Once again, not hard.

Anthony, I get the feeling you don't watch many other NHL teams. If I'm wrong I do apologize, but I cannot understand why your only gripes are with 4th line players. They are 4th line players for a reason. Do you think Toronto really enjoys sending John Mitchell over the boards for 10 minutes a night? Nobody expects Wade Belak to be a point per game player. 4th line players largely suck, that's all there is to it. They are a necessary evil on at least 25 of 30 NHL teams.

As for your question of who I would prefer--Moeller is on a conditioning assignment, so he's not available. Westgarth is a terrible, terrible hockey player. I've seen him play maybe 20 times in my life, and he's just awful. Dude can throw with the best of them in the AHL, but I assure you that he is far more of a liability than Raitis. As for Gauthier, he's a borderline NHL defenseman for a reason, and it's not surprising that he gets the least minutes every night. And as for now, I'd prefer Gauthier and his 536 games of NHL experience than Dreweiske.

I still cannot understand why you are so furious over the Kings getting beat on by one of the top teams in the NHL. On back to back nights no less.

Mrbrett.

While I do tend to forget that we're stuck with Preissing because of numbers, all your other points miss the mark of what I'm saying.

I'm not complaining about the Lubo trade, just pointing out that its a "player-profile" that Murray and Lombardi want.

They want to be tough, just like the Ducks.

In my opinion, they're choosing the "tough" team over the "talented" team.

Cammalleri in a Kings uniform this year gives us a chance at making the playoffs. Teubert is still only a "prospect" and at this stage he's not certain to have been a better move than haning on to Cammy until this trade deadline.
Who knows what we could be getting ready to trade him for THIS deadline.

Boyle has been jacked around by coaching/management. There's no doubt in my mind that the kid needs the NHL games in order to adapt to the league and play HIS game, not the one envisioned for him by Murray.
The guy IS large, but it doesn't diminish the fact that he's a talented hockey player if he's not more mean-spirited. I also seem to remember him annihilating Neidermeier AND Phaneuf. I think the Kings could use one of his game changing hits per night.

Finally, on Harrold. I would remind you that HARROLD was a key player in turning around a horrible streak of losses and draws throughout December and early January. He's outplayed Doughty when he gets the ice-time, and when Doughty went out of that Ducks game (1st of the season) after little over 20 minutes of action, Harrold and the boys stepped up and choked out the Ducks. I think you do him a disservice by claiming he's not a top 4 guy on this team simply because the coach chooses not to use him. In my opinion, it's one of Murray's greatest enigmas and I've been asking "WHY?" for weeks. Its nothing new.

Gauthier, I said, I do like, but is he giving us the best chance at winning? Or, is he in there for the muscle. Again, go back to a great game against Minnesota last month, and Harrold's big part in that win, and then realize that Harrold was then scratched in favor of Gauthier. We did get the win, but it took "holding on" to what was a 4 goal lead and squeeking it out. Colorado is now bottom of the Western Conf.

I think Harrold has been really misused and, frankly, insulted by the lack of faith in him.
I'd just remind you at the very least, this is supposed to be a rebuilding team. How can you justify NOT giving Boyle and Harrold the ice-time to work themselves into the league? Especially when it's in favor of doling out ice-time to Ivan, Armstrong, Zeiler, Preissing, and Gauthier.

It seems we're too confused about what's the goals for this year.
For Murray, he obviously wants post-season.
For Lombardi, obviously its team-progression.

I feel that a few of our guys have suffered due to the confused nature of what this organization is trying to accomplish.

Complain about Boyle all you want, but all I see is a guy who's new to the league and eager to do what is asked of him. He's tried to be the BIG BODY, but too often he's been held accountable for minus play. The reason for that? Murray's 4th line - 3rd defensive pairing penchant.

At the very least, the team is getting better all-around. But it doesn't mean some of this stuff doesn't make sense.

One last thing. While the coach and manager may be more hockey-wise than I, they still have yet to earn a ring. Either one of them.

So, in a sense we're even. hee hee.

Cheers, brother.

I'll take tough and talented over talented. That's what the good teams are.

Talented was/is the Ottawa Senators...talented as could be, a bunch of wimps all over the place.

Tough and talented are the Sharks, Red Wings, Bruins, Ducks, among others.

The Penguins were a mixture of tough and talented last season, and rode that to the finals. They spent the offseason losing every tough player they had (Malone, Roberts, Laraque, etc.)...looky here...they probably won't make the playoffs as it looks right now.

Talent only takes you so far. Hockey is not a game played on the perimeter, it's played in front of the nets, and in the corners. If you don't have the guys who can get the job done in those areas on both offense and defense, your screwed.

Voice of Reason,
The reason why I'm furious, is because I'm sick & tired of seeing our season end every early April.
We're fans. We spend a lot of time and money supporting this team. We deserve better.
And I really want this team to make the playoffs.
And when we're this close, we cannot allow this coach to get away with bonehead decisions.
Every time Gauthier and Rita take the ice, the team is vulnerable.
Those two either do nothing, make a mistake, take cheap shots, or take a penalty.
Every time it happens, I'm gonna make a big deal out of it.
You and I deserve better.

Anthony,

We all know how you feel. You spout the same thing over and over again. Gauthier and "Rita" are going to be on the ice plenty more, and I doubt you will be too happy with their replacements. Not every 4th line is going to feature Kris Draper and Darren McCarty. That's just the way it is.

"That 4th goal scored was all his fault. He gift wrapped the puck to Pavelski who fed Michalek"

You could not be anymore wrong. To say he gift wrapped the puck just shows how much you can't stand certain players and are always looking to put the blame on them.

Pavelski gets the puck behind the net, tries to pass it out front and it is BLOCKED BY GAUTHIER ( the announcers even call it) preventing a wide open Lemueix from a scoring chance. Unfortunately, the puck is blocked back into Pavelski and he then finds an open Michalek who was not picked up by Doughty and they score. How the hell is that gift wrapped? It was a lucky break for SJ. He was doing his job at preventing the first pass, yet when Doughty blows his assignment by not picking up Michalik, it Gauthiers fault.

Thank you 28 Kings. Couldn't agree with you any more. Absolutely correct on why that goal was scored.

Yeah, its his fault.
He's in uniform.

"Yeah, its his fault.
He's in uniform."

I rest my case.

Yes please rest.