2017-18 Kings News/Rumors/Tidbits

[Ziggy Stardust]

I feel like the driver for giving up scoring chances is Jake "The Dumpster" Muzzin.

 

[Little Psycho]

So much salt on the main boards.

 

[Esteban Tornado]

I love it when Pandion haliaetus posts anti kings on the main boards then gets defensive when confronted with facts.
Best part is when they pm you an essay trying to smooth things over and that theres no animosity, confrontation blah, blah, blah

 

[Ollie Weeks]

Do people actaully interact with each other on here to that depth?

Thats nuts. Like go have a sandwich or something.

 

[Stimpythecat]

30 seconds of kings talk at the 1:00 mark. Basically, the kings are happy with the offense and will not be looking to move muzzin/martinez. Of course, things can change but for now, things are quiet.

Insider Trading: KHL considering a boycott on upcoming Olympics

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

30 seconds of kings talk at the 1:00 mark. Basically, the kings are happy with the offense and will not be looking to move muzzin/martinez. Of course, things can change but for now, things are quiet.

Insider Trading: KHL considering a boycott on upcoming Olympics

The emergence of Kempe likely stopped that

 

[lumbergh]

30 seconds of kings talk at the 1:00 mark. Basically, the kings are happy with the offense and will not be looking to move muzzin/martinez. Of course, things can change but for now, things are quiet.

Insider Trading: KHL considering a boycott on upcoming Olympics

Those two defensemen are playing 23-25 minutes a night. I don't understand any of the trade talk. You can't just replace those minutes. It's not like the Kings have a surplus of top-4 defensemen.

 

[BallPointHammer]

In general, if the previous couple of seasons the possession numbers were "inflated" so to speak (how many shot attempts were really essentially turnovers) than wouldn't this years numbers be less noticeably lower.

 

[The Tikkanen]

I don't care about any of the numbers, I'm not an accountant. The one thing that has changed drastically is the Kings are entertaining to watch. Players are stepping up each game and putting up offense minus Laich and Andreoff. I can't stand Shore but he scored a big OT goal. You just can't have players who play night in and night out and fail to put up points like we have seen the last couple of seasons under Sutter. There really isn't anything to complain about.

 

[KingCanadain1976]

Oh damn Kempe out

 

[kingsfan28]

I don't care about any of the numbers, I'm not an accountant. The one thing that has changed drastically is the Kings are entertaining to watch. Players are stepping up each game and putting up offense minus Laich and Andreoff. I can't stand Shore but he scored a big OT goal. You just can't have players who play night in and night out and fail to put up points like we have seen the last couple of seasons under Sutter. There really isn't anything to complain about.

Sutter basically killed his confidence after he was called up. He is more than capable of putting up 10 or so goals , just needs to find his scoring touch.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I pray to god that I'm wrong about Gaborik. I really think his gamebreaking days are over. But man. If he can recover even 75% of his prime speed and scoring ability, and Carter returns, we're suddenly one of the deepest teams in the league.

 

[johnjm22]

I pray to god that I'm wrong about Gaborik. I really think his gamebreaking days are over. But man. If he can recover even 75% of his prime speed and scoring ability, and Carter returns, we're suddenly one of the deepest teams in the league.

The thing about Gaborik is that his hands are so good that he doesn't even necessarily need to be fast to be effective. Even with average speed he's still a dangerous player in the offensive zone.

 

[Shellz]

11 more games for Gaborik and he will be celebrating his 1000th game. Even with all his injuries, he's still dedicated.

 

[cyclones22]

The thing about Gaborik is that his hands are so good that he doesn't even necessarily need to be fast to be effective. Even with average speed he's still a dangerous player in the offensive zone.

For real. For what it's worth, I thought Gaborik looked plenty fast last season as well. If he's healthy, I can't think of a better offensive threat coming from the 3rd line than him until Carter returns and who knows what the lines will look like. Play him between 13 and 15 minutes a night and he's going to pot some goals. Stevens and Turgeon have unlocked just about everyone's offense from last season's shackles. I expect the same from Gaborik when he returns.

 

[mrkolice]

what do you think about kopi's defensive performance so far? i watched only a few games but i've noticed some things i didn't like, for instance too many of his mistakes resulted in a goal for the other team. is he showing a different focus to the game, with radically more weight on offence? new coach? new linemate iafallo? i just wish he could continue with his solid offence but without sacrificing his best part of the game.

 

[kingsboy11]

what do you think about kopi's defensive performance so far? i watched only a few games but i've noticed some things i didn't like, for instance too many of his mistakes resulted in a goal for the other team. is he showing a different focus to the game, with radically more weight on offence? new coach? new linemate iafallo? i just wish he could continue with his solid offence but without sacrificing his best part of the game.

To me it looks like he's taking more risks this year than previous years. The last 3 years he always making the safe play and circling around the net and laying it off to the point man to keep possession. But this year you're seeing him make more high risk plays taking shots and cross ice passes and taking more guys on. But with more risks means more opportunities for the other team. I think defensively itself he's doing just as well as he usually is, but there's more risk to his game which is something that i think a lot of us wanted.

 

[BigKing]

Been saying it, but I'll do it again:

Gaborik is the type of player that would be most frustrated with Sutter once they stopped winning. Hot shot sniper playing in the most boring offense in the league while playing with stiffs and then being scratched.

Prime bounce back candidate. He's better than MC for sure, IMO.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

To me it looks like he's taking more risks this year than previous years. The last 3 years he always making the safe play and circling around the net and laying it off to the point man to keep possession. But this year you're seeing him make more high risk plays taking shots and cross ice passes and taking more guys on. But with more risks means more opportunities for the other team. I think defensively itself he's doing just as well as he usually is, but there's more risk to his game which is something that i think a lot of us wanted.

Exactly. Byproduct of opening up the offense. And frankly, he hasn't been taking risks that are resulting in goals that are HIS fault--I assume this is coming as a result of the TB game, or maybe the OT turnover vs. Nashville? He's the first guy in on all of those, so yes bummer that he turned it over, but there were other players that could have anticipated and covered him; if you want him to challenge the d and take some risks, there are going to be some turnovers in the high slot. If you don't? Cool, he'll stick to the walls and cycle like the last few years. I'll take the over PPG version, thanks.

Been saying it, but I'll do it again:

Gaborik is the type of player that would be most frustrated with Sutter once they stopped winning. Hot shot sniper playing in the most boring offense in the league while playing with stiffs and then being scratched.

Prime bounce back candidate. He's better than MC for sure, IMO.

100% agree. Though I want to give Cammy credit for being gritty and a good soldier out there. He's very aggressive on the puck, he's just not fast. That's about it. Gaborik, aged or not, is dynamic and agile. Just get him near the net and he's a threat. Not that I ever want to break up the 70s, but can you imagine rolling Kopitar-Iafallo-Brown / Kempe-Pearson-Toffoli / Carter-Gaborik-x / Clifford-Shore-Lewis? And I'm sure I"m missing more than one good player in there

 

[cyclones22]

You're missing Cammy from that 3rd line. Kempe started his surge with Cammy and Lewis as his linemates. Even if you drop him to the 3rd line, I would still expect him to be a threat with Gaborik on his wing replacing Lewis. Honestly, you can play Carter with anyone. His speed, shot and defense make him a 2-way threat regardless of who his wingers are. If you ease him back with Gaborik and Cammy, it could be viable. Those 4 lines are splooge worthy. There's at least 1 major offensive threat on the 1st 3 and at least 1 defensively responsible player too.

 

[Statto]

what do you think about kopi's defensive performance so far? i watched only a few games but i've noticed some things i didn't like, for instance too many of his mistakes resulted in a goal for the other team. is he showing a different focus to the game, with radically more weight on offence? new coach? new linemate iafallo? i just wish he could continue with his solid offence but without sacrificing his best part of the game.

He's had a couple of giveaways in the last couple of games that resulted in goals. Aside from that I think he's been fine defensively and simply just been better offensively.

Opening up the game will cause a few team issues and as noted our puck possession needs to improve. Kopi has been great in the dot, is blocking shots etc. Offensively we are making cross ice passes and skating the puck into the OZ, both things always result in more turnovers. On the whole Kopi has still tended to take those risks in the 'right' areas. There's no concern, especially as he's starting to show the rest of the league he's elite offensively as well as defensively.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I've noticed the new system seems to ask Kopitar to play low in our zone a bit less too--i'm sure that helps as he doesn't have to skate the whole 200 as much. He's mostly in the high slot, it's often the wingers coming down the boards at least.

 

[mrkolice]

thx for replies. this new calculated risk should be visible in team stats as well, being a stats guy i'll take a look when i can, probably is hidden somewhere in shot charts, last season vs. this year.
i must admit, the last time i enjoyed lak's game so much was jan 16, just after all those new guys joined the horde, and back then it lasted only a few weeks. but this time is different, it's a much less one-sided game, it's a joy to watch.

 

[LAKings88]

So, to beat a dead horse, Barzal looks pretty good. Him and Konecny were the two guys I wanted when Lucic was traded.