GDT: 2020-21 season Game #1 LA Kings vs Minnesota Wild @7:00pm 1/14/21

[Token]

Can't have Doughty playing 29:12. That's 8:00 more than the next closest D-man.

9 minutes of special teams will do that when you only got 4 serviceable D.

Don’t blame Dewey, blame the luck of the Rona protocol.

It’ll get better.

 

[Token]

At what point do we consider moving Brown off the first line, by the way?

October?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[ru4reals]

rU4reals.......sliding your skate into the goal crease and having the puck bounce off it is not a distinct kicking motion. Plenty of goals scored like that have counted, why should this one be different? Quick flubbed it, the rookie got lucky, whatever you choose....don't look for outrage where there isn't one.

also don't understand the hate for amadio....he's on the 4the line.....what do you expect a 4th line center to be? Auston Matthews?

Ummm I'm agreeing with you. You seem so hostile. It's the first game....Breath.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Pretty much as ugly as I expect a season opener, even MORE so with 10 months off and probably the worst third pairing we've iced since Randy Jones/Denis Gauthier were actively trying to lose. Guys were toe picking and fumbling the puck everywhere. I'm just stoked hockey is back and even though there were some self inflicted shotgun wounds, they didn't look like "ok this guy is washed/doesn't get it" mistakes, they looked like rust and chemistry.

yeah puck on a kings stick means they're good since they're within the dots IMO.. that seems like it's usually the standard for a defensive line change. only reason kings got popped was cause amadio handled it coming off the bench, i think if he would've let it go through they probably would've let the change happen

i do think fiala deserved that call though, no matter whether he lost an edge or not, you just can't barrel into a goalie skates first like that

maatta hold should've definitely been offset with an embellishment but fiala learned from the best in nashville..

I think this is not-so-affectionately called "The Chris Kreider"

The Matt Roy +forever machine is in full effect.

I just love watching that guy play. So many clean clearances on the PK, breakups at the blueline, key breakout passes, even gave Greenway a little right after Lizotte nearly killed himself by skating directly into him.

I noticed this too, zero hesitation to find the biggest dude on the ice and at least give him something to think about.

I thought it was even funnier a few minutes later when Greenway tried to interfere with Lizotte and Blake just f***ing tossed him...then Greenway looked at the ref to bail him out.

Rested: Carter, Athansiou, Anderson, Quick, Iafallo, Vilardi, Wagner, Kempe,

Rusty: Kopi, Brown, Lizotte, Doughty, Maatta, Roy, Clague, Alt, 4th line

About half the team played well and the other half didn't which I guess is to be expected. Carter was the best player by far and I thought Quick looked pretty solid most of the game. Would loved to see Vilardi up on AA and Carter's line next time out because Lizotte got bullied out there. I think Doughty-Maatta could have something together, but it could take time which we don't have a whole lot of this year.

I want to like Clague, but man he just looks completely lost in the defensive zone. I think Alt did about well as you could've hoped, but this team clearly needs MacDermid and Walker back in asap. Would also like to give Grundstrom some time instead of Moore

Pretty much agree wholeheartedly with all of this. Carter looked fantastic, pretty much old Jeff, it was great. AA came right in and did some good and creative things, showed some chemistry. Kopi looked like he was skating with a piano on his back, was extremely disappointed with him tonight. I actually thought Brown looked really good until OT. Clague is worrying me because I don't think his offense/puck skills are gonna offset the defense, but I didn't think he was that bad tonight. Drew...same thing. I actually thought he was pretty good till he started running out of gas. Was thinking and moving the puck well, not being lazy. Him and Maatta looked like they've played together for years, frankly, but just some goofy ass puck fumbles and bouncing pucks ended up making them both look pretty stupid at times. TM summed it up well, said something like they looked great at times, they'd want some of those back.

All in all, I really don't expect anything from the first five games but chemistry building and shaking off friggin 10 months of rust. This looked how I thought it would look. The first game a guy doesn't toepick faceplant is the first game I'll really criticize

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Also, Kaprizov gives me Panarin vibes. Maybe not quite as handsy but just in terms of thinking and finding spaces. Guy is a total gamechanger for the Minnesota offense.

 

[kilowatt]

Randy Jones/Denis Gauthier

can u not

 

[bouncesonly]

Ummm I'm agreeing with you. You seem so hostile. It's the first game....Breath.

Oh I thought you were being sarcstic

 

[BigKing]

Special teams is what has kept this team from being more black hole v. total shit. PP goal tonight and strong PK. They get a point. Last seven of last year saw a big boost in special teams play.

That isn't a magic potion because it can apply to most teams.

Anyways, I'm not discouraged because I don't expect them to make the playoffs. What I want to see is growth from the guys that are going to be important when this team becomes a contender. Let's face it though: there are a lot of dudes out there tonight that won't be a part of that.

Carter keeps playing like this and he might want to rethink that retirement threat come the trade deadline.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

can u not

Would you rather:

Randy Jones/Denis Gauthier
Kale Clague/Mark Alt?

 

[kilowatt]

Would you rather:

Randy Jones/Denis Gauthier
Kale Clague/Mark Alt?

i would not rather

wheres my boy peter harrold these days?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Nailed it imo

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

i would not rather

wheres my boy peter harrold these days?

The rotating role of 'smallish #6 puck moving RHD who dies on impact' formerly filled by Peter Harrold and Jamie McBain has been upgraded to Sean Walker.

 

[Docgonzo]

i would not rather

wheres my boy peter harrold these days?

3rd pairing of Harrold/Drewiskie

 

[kilowatt]

The rotating role of 'smallish #6 puck moving RHD who dies on impact' formerly filled by Peter Harrold and Jamie McBain has been upgraded to Sean Walker.

3rd pairing of Harrold/Drewiskie

Johnson - Doughty
Hickey - Teubert
Martinez - Voynov

https://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/10524/kings_top20_prospects_fall2008/

 

[Sparky206]

Great to see Carter just burn a D man on the outside for the AA goal, wound the clock back 5 years

 

[Sol]

Greenway pretty much made the case of why the Kings need MacDermid in the line up.

 

[deeshamrock]

I only saw half the game before the medicine kicked in after midnight or s0, but there were some positives.

First, no preseason and off almost 10 months, there will be a lot of rust, bad passes, turnovers and timing issues . So the first couple of weeks will have lapses and oversights.
Second, new players adjusting to new system, teammates w/o benefit of proper camp and preseason games is also going to lead to miscues.

Postives
Carter- looked great. The panademic time off served him well, and he looked very good with AA. First game together and they seemed in sync.. Not sure about Lizotte at center. Would love to see Vilardi there eventually. I think playing with two veteran players would serve him well.

Vilardi- has all the tools to be a top 6 two way center. He just needs time and stablity to adjust to the NHL, which is a huge difference from juniors or AHL. Spending a lot of time on the bench due to special teams and bottom 6 minutes didn't help. But he's gonna be really good ,you can see his instincts , and skill. He just needs to get his minutes in, which takes time.


Not so good
Defense. Was surprised at DD, didn't look good and not all from rust. Anderson and Roy were good. But, Defense didn't look good all around. Maybe some new faces for Sat's game. will help
Maata- will be better. Adjusting to a new team, new system and new defensive partner w/o any preseason is tough.

Brown- isn't a top line winger anymore. Eventually the younger faster more skilled wingers will need to replace him. SHouldn't be out in OT (saw that on TV this morning) when speedier players are needed.

Timing/miscues- some from the cast, some from no preseason, but the show will be better with each game.

Kings have shown interest in PLD and he'd be a great additoin. Would have been nice to see him between Carter and AA.

Onto the next game.

 

[KingsFan7824]

A little too similar. Almost all the same guys on the ice too.

Bad defense, or at least bad situational defense, plus a soon to be 35 year old Quick, that's not going to protect many 2 goal leads. He's not going to get that extra save he used to get 10 years ago to keep it 3-2. Whether that's because of his holes, or the team in front of him, or the likely combo of both.

 

[KingTech]

The good
We kill 6 penalties (seemed like more)
We scored a pp goal (a major weakness last few years)
Carter looked better then he has in years.
AA looked good with Carter
Vilardi had some good shifts ( I hope he ends up with carter and aa)
We were right with them despite not having at least 2 regular players (Frk and Walker)

The bad

Taking all the penalties far to many to expect a win.
Alt Clague need to improve last pairing
Matta looked lost on a few plays but more offensive minded then i thought.
Despite two assists Kopitar was still a minus
Need to figure out how to stop Kaprizov he was the best player on the ice last night

 

[lumbergh]

Luff and Amadio were pretty invisible to me. Only saw Wagner use his speed once really.

Quick wished Luff was more invisible on goal #2.

 

[regulate]

Would you rather:

Randy Jones/Denis Gauthier
Kale Clague/Mark Alt?

Alt and Clague has the highest D corsi on the team last night, at 73.3% and 69.2% respectively, and were the only D pairing not on the ice for any goals against. Alt played 11:32 and Clague 15:19.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Alt and Clague has the highest D corsi on the team last night, at 73.3% and 69.2% respectively, and were the only D pairing not on the ice for any goals against. Alt played 11:32 and Clague 15:19.

I said I thought Clague looked fine. Alt even mostly acquitted himself well. But they also played against the depth of the wild--their most played against forwards were Bonino/Johansson (and then it goes to the 4th line) and their literal LEAST played against was Kaprizov. And their most common linemates were the Vilardi line.

Not making excuses for Doughty/Maatta who need to be better, but Clague and Alt had by far the softest assignments and minutes, I'd be worried if they didn't break at least even on a night when the team as a whole was 55%.

If anything, the bigger problem was TM's trust in that line as well as the PK having to do so much, jacking up Drew's minutes and pulling down Alt's.

 

[lumbergh]

At what point do we consider moving Brown off the first line, by the way?

I posted something like this a while ago. He didn't look like a first-line winger last year and is riding Kopitar's coattails at this point. Brown is now a checking line winger, and it's time to put him on a checking line.

I've always liked Carter on Kopi's wing. You can see that chemistry on the Kings' s first goal last night.
Iafallo-Kopitar-Carter

 

[lumbergh]

Alt and Clague has the highest D corsi on the team last night, at 73.3% and 69.2% respectively, and were the only D pairing not on the ice for any goals against. Alt played 11:32 and Clague 15:19.

Clague looked like he was playing on some local hockey rink on a warm muggy day in Florida. Every time he went to pass the puck the puck seemed to hit some wet patch and stop. Staples Center was evidently not prepared for a hockey game, for some reason.