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Rumor: 2018-19 Kings News/Rumors/Tidbits

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Kovalchuk is not the ideal winger for Kopitar. Kopitar is not playmaker in the traditional sense. He's at his best when he's trying to generate scoring opportunities for himself. A good winger for him is one that can pick up the trash and knows how to be in the right place at the right time.

My fear is whenever Kovalchuk is on the ice the Kings will be very predictable and defer to him offensively. Especially on the PP.
 
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Everyone says our PP is predictable and bad, but we had one of the best PP in the league for the second half of the season.
 
johnjm22 said:
Kovalchuk is not the ideal winger for Kopitar. Kopitar is not playmaker in the traditional sense. He's at his best when he's trying to generate scoring opportunities for himself. A good winger for him is one that can pick up the trash and knows how to be in the right place at the right time.

My fear is whenever Kovalchuk is on the ice the Kings will be very predictable and defer to him offensively. Especially on the PP.
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That's why when Brown is on his game Kopitar does so much better, and why Lucic and him seemed to gel. Brown needs to park his ass in front and open up space for Kopitar and Kovalchuk.

The thing Kovalchuk doesn't get enough credit for IMO is that he can play physical when need be. Or maybe i should say he could play physical. Not sure if he still can.
 
lexlavender said:
Everyone says our PP is predictable and bad, but we had one of the best PP in the league for the second half of the season.
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Overall, they finished 18th. In the playoffs, the powerplay was putrid.

The Kings also were among the worst at gaining the man-advantage. Only six other teams drew less powerplay opportunities. To me, that's a sign that they didn't really pressure the opponents that much when they had possession of the puck. Most PP opportunities are gained when the opponent is trying to prevent a scoring opportunity and is facing mounted pressure from the attacking team, which the Kings did infrequently.
 
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KingsOfCali25 said:
I have a bet with a buddy of mine (he's a pens fans)...the over under for Kovy goals this year is 28 goals. I said over. I think he can get 32 goals and my buddy said he'd get 24.
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The good news is that goalie equipment is going to be more streamlined next season, so hopefully we see an uptick in GF leaguewide.

Goalie chest protectors and pants are going to be more form fitting and less bulky.
 
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Ziggy Stardust said:
The good news is that goalie equipment is going to be more streamlined next season, so hopefully we see an uptick in GF leaguewide.

Goalie chest protectors and pants are going to be more form fitting and less bulky.
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I feel like you could post this same thing each of the last five years
 
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Ziggy Stardust said:
Overall, they finished 18th. In the playoffs, the powerplay was putrid.

The Kings also were among the worst at gaining the man-advantage. Only six other teams drew less powerplay opportunities. To me, that's a sign that they didn't really pressure the opponents that much when they had possession of the puck. Most PP opportunities are gained when the opponent is trying to prevent a scoring opportunity and is facing mounted pressure from the attacking team, which the Kings did infrequently.
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Gaining the advantage isn't the same as having a good PP, but whatever.

Obviously it could be better, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that for a time recently it was really strong.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Overall, they finished 18th. In the playoffs, the powerplay was putrid.

The Kings also were among the worst at gaining the man-advantage. Only six other teams drew less powerplay opportunities. To me, that's a sign that they didn't really pressure the opponents that much when they had possession of the puck. Most PP opportunities are gained when the opponent is trying to prevent a scoring opportunity and is facing mounted pressure from the attacking team, which the Kings did infrequently.
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Kings also don't sell calls like other teams do. I'm not saying that's the only reason why they draw so few penalties but it is a reason. Doughty is awful at it. He oversells it. Kopitar is a tank and never goes down. Brown is the only one who knows how to embellish and sell a call. Any time a stick is near his feet he's going down.
 
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lexlavender said:
Gaining the advantage isn't the same as having a good PP, but whatever.

Obviously it could be better, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that for a time recently it was really strong.
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I realize that, but I'm pointing out the fact that they finished 18th out of 31 teams and in the most critical time, during the post season, that PP that was going fairly strong for a stretch was a complete non-factor.

The friggin' Canucks, Devils, and Canadiens ranked higher than the Kings in PP success rate, and look at who they send out on the ice compared to the Kings' 5-man unit.
 
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Ziggy Stardust said:
Overall, they finished 18th. In the playoffs, the powerplay was putrid.

The Kings also were among the worst at gaining the man-advantage. Only six other teams drew less powerplay opportunities. To me, that's a sign that they didn't really pressure the opponents that much when they had possession of the puck. Most PP opportunities are gained when the opponent is trying to prevent a scoring opportunity and is facing mounted pressure from the attacking team, which the Kings did infrequently.
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They were also 10 PP chances from being 13th overall in the league instead of 24th. Not that 13th is great. They were 5 goals away from being in the top 10 in PPGF. They only scored 6 fewer than Washington. All out no quit Vegas had 8 more PP opportunities in 82 games than the Kings.

Probably plenty of reasons that contribute to that. No Carter for 50+ games. Kempe can't win a faceoff, so his line starts behind the 8-ball. Maybe just a lack of overall talent/speed. They're not the same shot/possession team anymore.

Higher PP% at home and on the road in 17-18 than in either 11-12 or 13-14. However, 45-50 fewer PP's this year than in those other years. I don't know what that means. Is it more important to get the chances, or to cash in when you get them?

Since 09-10, the most PP chances a team has gotten was Carolina in 10-11, with 346. Colorado led the league with 296 this year, and sit 40th on the list since 09-10. So fewer PP's all around these days.
 
The Kings PP is not the problem. The PP is average. Kovalchuk probably isn't going to improve the PP.

Go look at the NHL teams Kovalchuk played for. How good were their PP's?
 
Bandit said:
Yeah, not worried about his shot at all. Just will be the question of if he can get open to use it in the NHL still. I'm sure he'll be fine.
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I know it's been discussed to death already, but it seems clear that if Kovalchuk can stay healthy, he will produce. I highly doubt he cracks 40 again in the NHL. But judging by his recent stats in the KHL, and how those stats historically translate to the NHL, he should have no problem cracking 30 if he plays 70+ games.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
I realize that, but I'm pointing out the fact that they finished 18th out of 31 teams and in the most critical time, during the post season, that PP that was going fairly strong for a stretch was a complete non-factor.

The friggin' Canucks, Devils, and Canadiens ranked higher than the Kings in PP success rate, and look at who they send out on the ice compared to the Kings' 5-man unit.
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Not true, I'd say if you look at the Kings stretch going into playoffs, the primary reason they made the playoffs was the powerplay.
 
KingsFan7824 said:
They were also 10 PP chances from being 13th overall in the league instead of 24th. Not that 13th is great. They were 5 goals away from being in the top 10 in PPGF. They only scored 6 fewer than Washington. All out no quit Vegas had 8 more PP opportunities in 82 games than the Kings.

Probably plenty of reasons that contribute to that. No Carter for 50+ games. Kempe can't win a faceoff, so his line starts behind the 8-ball. Maybe just a lack of overall talent/speed. They're not the same shot/possession team anymore.

Higher PP% at home and on the road in 17-18 than in either 11-12 or 13-14. However, 45-50 fewer PP's this year than in those other years. I don't know what that means. Is it more important to get the chances, or to cash in when you get them?

Since 09-10, the most PP chances a team has gotten was Carolina in 10-11, with 346. Colorado led the league with 296 this year, and sit 40th on the list since 09-10. So fewer PP's all around these days.
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Players don't get "Browned" anymore. He used to draw the most penalties in the league but now he falls down and the refs don't buy it, for the most part.

If the Kings power play is average, then being above average or great would be a significant difference as long as the defensive numbers are maintained, namely the PK.
 
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BigKing said:
Players don't get "Browned" anymore. He used to draw the most penalties in the league but now he falls down and the refs don't buy it, for the most part.
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No, he doesn't really go down any more. He doesn't even attempt to draw penalties like he used to.
 
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johnjm22 said:
No, he doesn't really go down any more. He doesn't even attempt to draw penalties like he used to.
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True, because they stopped calling them. Seemed the more the Kings were in the spotlight, the more the hatred of Brown became a thing with even the talking heads on the NBC intermissions referencing Brown as a diver.

He got a rep and, honestly, it was very much earned.
 
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johnjm22 said:
The Kings PP is not the problem. The PP is average. Kovalchuk probably isn't going to improve the PP.

Go look at the NHL teams Kovalchuk played for. How good were their PP's?
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.... Kovalchuk was easily the best player on every nhl team he's been on. He's got a cast here. He will improve the PP. Kopitar and Doughty are phenomenal passers.
 
lexlavender said:
Not true, I'd say if you look at the Kings stretch going into playoffs, the primary reason they made the playoffs was the powerplay.
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What's not true? I pointed out a series of facts, you're cherry picking a hot stretch where the PP from March and onwards was the 9th best in the league. That doesn't change the fact that the PP also completely disappeared in the playoffs. So what are you saying that is not true? Is it not true that the teams I listed finished with a better PP success rate? Is it not true the Kings PP was horrendous in the playoffs? Is it not true that the Kings had the 18th ranked PP in the league?
 
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Sol said:
.... Kovalchuk was easily the best player on every nhl team he's been on. He's got a cast here. He will improve the PP. Kopitar and Doughty are phenomenal passers.
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Kovalchuk is a supreme offensive talent. He's averaged a 42 goal pace over the course of his entire career. Adjusted for the time period in which he's played, that probably makes him one of the better goal scorers ever.

But he's never been really made a team's PP particularly good. Go watch the PP's he's been on. They setup and predictably feed Kovalchuk for the big one timer which he usually blasts wide. Considering Luc's comments, my fear is the Kings might fall into the same predictable trap as well.
 
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