Murray postgame quote

Obviously we don't have any of those players.....yet.

At 7 mil+ a year, maybe we should...

Cynic -

Indeed. Maybe's he's waiting till next year. I did read that as a (not so) veiled criticism of our so-called best players.

That's because our best guys are second liners on the the good teams at best. Even Brown and Kopi are the second squad on the top 6-8ish teams in the league.

Disclaimer: I do like our guys, and I'm not trash talking them. It's just a fact at this point.

People are complaining about the Kings attacking with only 3 players, Ha, that's funny. Here's why,

with about 2 minutes left in the 3rd, trailing by a goal, the Kings have the puck in the CBJ's zone, the BJ's get hold of the puck, and the camera zooms out and what do you see but a line of three Kings players back, the two D-men with Kopitar in between. So in a pretty much must-win game, at crunch time, losing, we were attacking with only TWO players. Don't blame Kopi for not making a play TM, he was exactly where he was supposed to be under your system which defines success, not by winning, but by preventing goals-against.

It's a perfect illustration of the contradictions of TM, both on the ice and off. So, please, all you TM fans and apologists, go ahead and try to reconcile the demands of "dropping back" and "stepping up."

TM will not put his best players on the ice.Goat is just to slow for the new nhl.Harolds is twice the d-man as Goat, i don`t understand his thinking.I thought Moller was the best king player tonite.A good coach would have given him more ice time.Another night when i couldn`t eat my dinner.

(Besides being hopeful for a #1 sniper in a trade)

Quisp-

'Not So' is correct, but it was more of a wake-up call that things need to be different when the new contract kicks in. He has 19 more games and next years pre-season to figure it out.

With more money comes more pressure.....

....and more PANCAKES!! LOTS AND LOTS OF PANCAKES!!! and new Homer Simpson slippers made out of 24 carat gold!! (Still punchy)

At the end of the day a winning coach will play his best players to win.Tonite we saw a coach fail miserably again by not playing the better players more and conversely playing his 4th line more minutes.The lines were jumbled yet again for another now expected result.

Kings and Jackets played the game very close, and the outcome could have gone either way. Mediocre goaltending on both ends, momentum shifts and more goals and scoring chances allowed by each team than they would be willing to admit. Both teams got some lucky bounces and goals as well, so I think that evened out.

That said, when it came to crunch time in the third, you could just tell Columbus was working harder and wanted it just a little more. Maybe being at home helped for Columbus, but the Kings have proved in the past that they can overcome that at times.

Unfortunately, this bad stretch of games over the past week has put the Kings in a pretty poor position as far as a playoff run is concerned. While it is not impossible yet, their window of opportunity has become extremely small. It looks like the Kings will be sellers rather than buyers at today's trade deadline, if they do anything at all.

Most disappointing, though, is the team's apparent lack of urgency. I know it's a young team, but you think that someone or something could light the proverbial fire under their butts. I mean, experience is one thing (and true, this is a young team), but I mean even kids and pee wees know the hunger of wanting to win and wanting to compete when push comes to shove. The Kings' game intensity is just so puzzling. The post game interviews and quotes are a good illustration. Everyone just seems so non-chalant ("we're just going to have to pick it up, play harder and hope for the best", etc.). I just don't see the passion and that is what is most disappointing.

Oh well, I guess that's what it means to be a fan of the Kings... 40+ years of humility and counting.

i`ve only been a kings fan for 37 years,so i feel for you anonymous.Disapointing,yes, but we have to look ahead to the game tonite,you never know, we still may sneak into the playoffs.

Where has Dustin Brown been? He's the Captain and the heart and soul of this team. I'm not sure if it wasn't him that just had the baby and not his wife, but he just laid a couple of eggs on the ice the last few games when the season was on the line....very disapointing!

I love Dustin and this team and we're headed in the right direction. What is so disappointing and obviously missing is HEART! The team is lacking urgency and effort. No one likes to watch the Kings lose a hard fought game, but when you consistently getting outworked by your opponent, something needs to be addressed and no coach can do that. It needs to come from within the dressing room.

Its plain to any hockey loving fan that even if the Kings made the playoffs it would just be the 4 most unpleasant games any Kings fan could watch. Until they find that next gear, no point in making deadline trades.

The Kings are just one or two players away from contending for a playoff spot next year. Leadership should be of the highest priority next season and than a sniper if we can find one.

Dave