Practice update

Can somebody go into what TM needs to do to improve his coaching (common sense, creativity, less favortism).

Ersberg deserves another start after last nights performance........psssst, Simmonds should have gone 3rd in the shootout last night.........

Anthony, TM's coaching has gotten the Kings playing their best hockey in years. He does use common sense as he has gotten them playing well using the basics building from defense and playing with energy, getting shots, basically what you need to do to win consistently. Creativity I'll give you a little there but their 5 on 5 play has been very solid especially lately and PK and PP are more of the assistants responsibilities so I'd say he's solid. The basics are necessary to win and TM uses them well.

Finally, favoritism???? Really? He rewards players that play smart and with energy. Its not really that hard. The biased ones are the people on this blog that always complain about player x or player y and like players a and b. All players have good and bad games. Everyone has a different role and plays within that so I wouldn't say he shows favoritism

kings give up 1 goal to San Jose and anthony still criticizes TM. amazing! never underestimate anthony's hate for TM. no matter how well the team plays, if they still lose, it is TM's fault...no questions asked.

Rich -

I take it Dean Lombardi watched a game or two in Manchester this weekend. Any chance of getting an update from him?

The kings-Blackhawks game on March 22nd was supposed to be broadcast on NBC nationally.

So today the NHL announced they will air the flyers-penguins game instead of the kings-hawks game. What a crock of sh*t.

You can have the east coast, it's miserable over there.

First the coaching. TM has done a tremendous job instilling a bit of old school hockey to blend with the new NHL..Defense first, toughness, watching each others back. The stats show his system has improved this team, shots allowed, face off's for example.

Then on the other hand, he does not make good decisions with line combinations. For example, Harrold should have never, ever been on the 2nd line, period end of story. Moller should have. If coaching feels Moller needs to be stronger, then send him down to Manchester. The Stoll, Brown Calder line should have been kept intact.

There was also no need to dress both Westgarth and Raitis last night.

3rd, and my last point, Simmonds should have shot 4th in the shoot out, at the very least, prior to Zues.

I do have a question for Rich, being that Williams will accompany the team and he is about a week away, does this mean he has been cleared for full practice drills??

Anthony....dude, please, chill.

The Kings lost the SJ game against a better SJ team that I thought they outplayed, period. I'd have liked to see Oscar in there but against the size of SJ, I can't complain about TM putting in a bigger team. The funny thing was that the game was decided because none of the Kings could put the puck in the net in the shootout even after chance after chance after chance to win it with a final shot. The Shark who did win it ultimately was someone who hadn't taken a shot in a shootout for SJ this year, Cheechoo. I'd have liked to see Simmonds shoot over Purcell but the coaches know this team a whole lot better than we do.

TM and DL have this team in a playoff hunt. CBJ is slipping away; they should make the playoffs. Positions 7 & 8 are still very much up for grabs. The Kings will see St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas twice and the Oil before it's all over. They can still make the playoffs although time is running out. The upcomming road trip against some tough Eastern clubs is going to be a real test for LA.

With Justin Williams due back in about a week, the timing of his return couldn't be better, although we certainly could have used him in the shootout. I think a little rest for Quick who has carried this team since January will do him good and Ersberg is playing back to his old form. Good signing (again) by DL extending his contract.

No matter what you say about the Kings, TM & DL have done wonders with this team. I hated seeing Sully being traded but somehow I think it will work out. Sully has struggled with the Oil and had only 13 goals for LA. More importantly, the Kings are in a playoff race for the first time in five years. This team has already exceeded my expections for this year. If they make the playoffs I'll be ecstatic, if they don't I'll be disappointed but thrilled with the prospects of the next season and beyond.

Who ever thought the Kings would be this close this time of the year this season? Somehow I think TM & DL did, I know I didn't.

It is curious that Simmonds didn't get a shootout chance when he has had them before and he was the one with the goal...

Tell me there was a part of the practice dedicated to 2 on 0's..

TM: "So Anze and Dustin.. line up side-by-side right here here and just break away on your own, all by yourselves, and score on Erik? Put the puck IN the net, and at least get a shot off, please.."

But seriously, I love hearing that TM is praising Johnson's play, hopefully we keep for years..

"But seriously, I love hearing that TM is praising Johnson's play, hopefully we keep for years.."

But,but,but...didn't you hear, he expendable, and is going be a problem to sign,he not a warrior and doesn't have LA KINGS tatoo'd on his butt. Or so I've read elsewhere.

@GK09 Well put...

1 point when you need two is not good enough.
It makes it worse when the coach picks a lineup like ours does.
It also sends the message to the team that you've given up on trying to make the playoffs when you trade one of the few players with double digits in goals away at the trade deadline and acquire an injured player who can't help the team when it's this close to 6th place in the West.

If you don't understand these things, don't criticize those who do.

Upset that NBC took the Kings off a national telecast?
Why would they stick with them on the schedule when they look like they've raised the white flag on the season?
Do you think the rest of North America want's to see Harrold skating on the wing and a lineup that includes an Ivanans/Armstrong/Westgarth line in a game with no playoff implications?

Is that Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy??? NOOOO it's the Cristobal and Anthony show. One moves his jaws and the other talks.

I agree... couldn't believe Simmonds played so strong and never got a chance in OT

Oh really cristobal, is that the message that is sent to the team, ya diviner- thank you o holy sage

Cristobal,

I agree with everything you've said, lmao. NBC is so smart not to play televise our game, and to be honest, at first I was surprised we were going to be on NBC playing the Blackhawks. Of course they change that later on (shocker). The Kings have no jump, it's so annoying.

Dear TM,

1) Why is Peter Harrold playing on the 2nd line and not replacing Denis Gauthier on defense?
2) Why are we playing a line that consists of Derek Armstrong, Raitis Ivanans and Kevin Westgarth?
3) Why dont you go back to pairing Drew Doughty with Jack Johnson, instead of pairing Gauthier with Johnson?
4) Why in the WORLD would you make oscar moller a healthy scratch and play kyle calder?
5) Why are you giving Brad Richardson SO much playing time (sarcasm)..

Hopefully DL won't disappoint this summer and re-sign Jack & Fro.

Ersberg had a great night last night
so starting tomorrow should be rad
going to the game tomorrow

GO KINGS GO!!!

I was thinking exactly the same thing PUCKBOY25...

I can't believe the cr@p that I'm reading on here.
Anthony, Crostobal and the other King haters..
Did you watch the game against SJ? If you did you would have seen that against some tough odds we outplayed arguably the best team in the Western Conference on the road....They didn't get into SJ until 3am coming off a brutal game against Vancouver. They more than held their own against the Sharks..IMO they outplayed them. They deserved to get 2 points out of the game. At this time of the year, 2 points is what you're looking for and need, but you need points from every game. The Vancouver game was a waste because we came out of it with nothing. If we make the playoffs by 1 point, maybe you can look at the SJ game and say that was a huge point..who knows...we'll find out soon enough.

People...enough with the line combo knit-picking. TM has the pulse of this team a lot better than any of us. If he feels putting Harrold on the 2nd line is the right move, I'm all for it. The coach, GM and the players have put the Kings in a position we haven't beeen in quite a while..in a playoff race.
Anthony, you hate TM so much but you also hated Crawford last year and wanted him gone. Who's next...if we had Al Arbour, you'd want him gone too.

How nice to read how Kings fans don't think their team deserves to be on national TV....Pardon my french, but you people really suck.
We raised the white flag to surrender? Yeah, they played their asses off Saturday night...that was a helluva surrender I saw there.

The problem was that the refs screwed us royally in that last game... San Jose didn't need their help...and would have been on the short end of the stick if they called even HALF of what they got away with...and only a quarter of the Kings penalties would have been called...

Thanks nykingsfan
Took the words right of my mouth.
And Al: Which one's the dummy???

pesonally, I don't have a problem with the coach sitting out Moller. At first I was pissed, extremely pissed. But after thinking about this yesterday Murrray sees the potential that Moller has, and will push him HARD to become the best player he can be. Sort of like what didn't happen with Frolov and past coaches. It just seems nobody really "coached" Frolov, until Murray came here and lit a fire under his ass, now he's playing the best hockey we've seen.

There's nothing I'd love more then to see the Kings on NBC on sunday.. Instead we got replaced by Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.. It's a slap in the face. Now tell me, why in the world would they remove us from being televised nationally? If you can give me a reason other then NBC not thinking it's an important game, I will personally walk to New York and shake your hand.. The Kings-Blackhawks game is a lot more important game than the Philly-Pittsburgh? Aren't we sick of always watching Eastern teams on NBC? I live in Ottawa, so I never get to see the Kings, hence why I'd love for them to be on NBC. It's just disappointing..

As for the lines.. Peter Harrold is not a 2nd line winger man. I don't understand what TM is doing. Mark Streit never played the 2nd line, Christoph Schubert never played the 2nd line.. What do all three of those guys have in common? Defenseman that play the offensive lines. What is TM thinking?

Those were a big 2 points, especially since we could've won it on that 2 on 0. Erik Ersberg played his heart out, and that's how dustin and anze repay him.. St. Louis is climbing up, and we keep losing games that we should win..

I love this team to death, but it sucks that I can't see them play on Sunday. I want to know what the NBC crew has to say about these young kings and the job DL has done. Winning against the Blackhawks on Sunday would've been huge for our playoff push, but not just that, it would've sent out a statement to the NHL. It's such a slap to the face that we're scheduled to be televised nationally, but we get replaced by a game that barely even matters.

As nuch as I understand you being upset the game got pulled, why would they leave a game that means nothing on instead of playing the red hot pens against the flyers...two teams battling for the playoffs.

Would you rather see thsat gane or the hawks vs ducks if you had a choice? That's what I thought

This was touched on in the game thread, but to me, it's currently the single most important topic for this team and we're not really discussing it much.

WHERE THE F IS DUSTIN BROWN?

During the most crucial time of the year, the captain of our team has gone missing. He had not one, but two clear, open chances to win the game and he didn't even shoot the puck!!!

What is his mood in the locker room?
Does Dustin have anything to say about his performance?
Are personal problems overwhelming him right now?
Does he feel he is capable of leading this team right now?

After all the talk and all the focusing on playing a full 60 as a team, stepping up, and getting the job done I can't believe the one person who is failing horribly is Brown.

Don't get me wrong. I love how he plays the game. He is an incredible player. He is a King through and through. I hope he stays here his entire career.

But I've said it all along. I just don't believe he is captain material.

AK47
I agree with you 1000% on how we and the rest of the Western conference get short-changed in the promotion of its teams and players. The only team that gets publicity in the West is Detroit, who just happens to be in the Eastern time zone. The NHL has and will always be an East coast league. That's why the sport will never grow to what it could and should be.
I always see how ABC/ESPN/TNT will show and promote Western conference NBA games and make sure the fans on the east coast are aware of what's going on out there.
If it wasn't for the center ice package and this blog, I would have no clue what is going on with the Kings. The league doesn't care about the west coast or the fans that watch those games.
It's really sad, but you can lay the blame squarely on Bettman's shoulders for this.

Again, I refuse to knit-pick the lines. Every team is different, so don't compare our personnel to other teams.
You can blame Kopitar and Brown, but there were other opportunities as well. You have to look at the full 60 minutes and accept it for what it was....a great effort by the Kings.

More surprising than Simmonds not being in the shootout was that Cheechoo was SEVENTH? That guy is a King killer and should have been in the top 5 if not the top 3 if I was coach.

I won't complain about TM's coaching and I won't complain about DL's management. Do I agree with everything they do? no. Are we a better team than last year and showing improvement? yes. That's the key.

Ersberg got the team a point, and at the 7 spot they might as well have let him shoot in the shootout. Nobody else was doing anything and he could have gotten them the second point maybe.

Missed the SJ game, but after seeing the highlights, I thought we'd get blown out after that early SJ goal, but our guys are committed, and keeping SJ to only 1 goal in regulation, having our PK step up, and EE playing like a Vezina Trophy candidate...

I'm ready for a nice 10-2-2 run to finish the regular season to sneak in to the playoffs. Anyone with me?

I'm with you CupRun
This sure beats last year when we were just playing out the string from Christmas on....
I guess guys like Anthony forgot about that.
It's amazing how an "ignorant, senile coach" can take a team that was as close to dead last as can be, and made them into a playoff contender in 1 season. It must be dumb luck..same as in Philly.