GDT: 2020-21 season game 44 LA Kings vs Minnesota Wild @7:00pm 4/23/21

[Statto]

He reminds me of one those players that gets bogged down from playing in a losing environment where he's being over used.

He's 21 years old and they have him playing 21:22 minutes per night. Not sure that's particularly good for him.

I like him, but he’s not going to be a top pairing defenceman. I think he projects more as a second pairing guy that eats some decent minutes and plays PK primarily. So I’d agree he’s being over used but I think looking at the big picture he’s done well. I think he will improve things like his first pass out so I’m not too concerned long term.

Björnfot is the one with the greater upside and could end up a genuine top pairing guy but both have played a bit more than we’d have ideally wanted, but needs must. I think long term it will have done them good because they’ve been reasonably consistent over the season and have certainly been plus points on the year.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Russians and LA just don’t mix.

And the biggest shit-show was the signing old man Kovalchuk to millions of dollars with little to no return...ouch!!!Blake's biggest brain fart that and the trading of Kubalik for a 5th rounder

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

The Big 4: Kopi,Brown,Quick & Doughty. They're runnin on fumes. This core is in desperate need of some young guys stepping up.

Doughty has 7 years left and he's outta gas...oh no!

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I like him, but he’s not going to be a top pairing defenceman. I think he projects more as a second pairing guy that eats some decent minutes and plays PK primarily. So I’d agree he’s being over used but I think looking at the big picture he’s done well. I think he will improve things like his first pass out so I’m not too concerned long term.

Björnfot is the one with the greater upside and could end up a genuine top pairing guy but both have played a bit more than we’d have ideally wanted, but needs must. I think long term it will have done them good because they’ve been reasonably consistent over the season and have certainly been plus points on the year.

Like Bjornfot too...he's got potential top pairing for sure and he's 19 years young

 

[Reaper45]

Maybe the d is just feeling too redundant with little to no offense d men in Roy, Anderson and Bjornfot.

 

[Bandit]

Man Kopitar looks so done on some shifts and then he scores. I could actually see him slowing down big time soon. And Anderson worries me he’s never going to be better than what he is. He’s just so slow and has zero offense. I know @Bandit compared him to Scuderi but he’s not nearly as good as Scuderi.

I wasn’t really comparing him to scuderi the player, just pointing out that we won the cup with one of our top 2 D being a total black hole on offense.

Minnesota is a decent team, better than us no doubt so the points clearly shouldn’t be “gimmies” but this isn’t game 10 of the season. They needed to step up and make a statement, and instead they laid an egg again. Not winning two in a row in over two months is pretty pathetic, no matter how bad you’re supposed to be.

 

[Fishhead]

I wondered aloud about midway through the season that he's just a reskinned Forbort. I think he's smarter, and seems to have more resiliency to bounce back--i mean, he didn't skip a beat after getting toasted by Kaprizov--but I wonder if we're doing him a disservice. I don't at all doubt his mental fortitude and I think he'll be a great shutdown dman for a very long time--but it's hard to tell. Is he best served in these crazy killer minutes? Or does he have more to give that he'd learn best down the lineup?

I do think he's going to be an animal with some man strength, he was already manhandling people the other night.

His use and deployment does warrant care, I think. Pairing him with an offensive guy on the 2nd pairing is surely worth a look. I don't think he's really like Forbort, he's already more dynamic. DF didn't even get a shot until he was 24 so there's that. Some of that was roster logjams, but most of it was because he wasn't ready. Jumping into a first pairing situation at 21 is no small feat even on a sucky team, but I don't think he's ideal for Doughty and vice-versa.

 

[tny760]

I did not realize the Kings are dead last in shots on goal from defense. Wow. I say at least get Clague up and playing the rest of the way. Give him a real chance.

almost makes me miss sutterpuck a bit

frustrating to watch when i see so many teams effectively get the puck to the point off a cycle and immediately walk the line looking for a shot.. i've seen it more out of walker lately and obviously the occasional doughty flash but it seems like a talent absent from a lot of these guys. it's just that instinct you see from guys like burns/karlsson where as soon as the puck hits their stick their first thought is to walk the line and hit the hole. maybe it's a systems thing? i don't know but it's hard to watch

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

almost makes me miss sutterpuck a bit

frustrating to watch when i see so many teams effectively get the puck to the point off a cycle and immediately walk the line looking for a shot.. i've seen it more out of walker lately and obviously the occasional doughty flash but it seems like a talent absent from a lot of these guys. it's just that instinct you see from guys like burns/karlsson where as soon as the puck hits their stick their first thought is to walk the line and hit the hole. maybe it's a systems thing? i don't know but it's hard to watch

I don't think you're wrong, but Clague does it.

 

[Reaper45]

I’d almost go for a MA Bergeron kind of all offense dman at this point.

 

[Sol]

I find it funny that when you look at my posts about the Kings during the offseason, I'm optimistic about the next season. Then 10 games in, my optimism comes crashing down in a blaze of glory, and then I become pessimistic the rest of the season. Dumb team.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I wasn’t really comparing him to scuderi the player, just pointing out that we won the cup with one of our top 2 D being a total black hole on offense.

Minnesota is a decent team, better than us no doubt so the points clearly shouldn’t be “gimmies” but this isn’t game 10 of the season. They needed to step up and make a statement, and instead they laid an egg again. Not winning two in a row in over two months is pretty pathetic, no matter how bad you’re supposed to be.

Minnesota Wild are abetter all round team than the Kings! They have scoring throughout their lineup a good Defense and decent goaltending...Kings have ah,none of those right now,maybe the decent goaltending though it is inconsistent...I think the Kings scoring will come with better personnel at the Centre position outside of Kopi-Star and JAD though I thinking Anderson-Dolan is a better LWinger than a Centre...Byfield,Kupari,Turcotte represent the future at Centre and I like it

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I find it funny that when you look at my posts about the Kings during the offseason, I'm optimistic about the next season. Then 10 games in, my optimism comes crashing down in a blaze of glory, and then I become pessimistic the rest of the season. Dumb team.

Reality sets in for all of us

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I’d almost go for a MA Bergeron kind of all offense dman at this point.

Is he still playing? Isn't he like 50 years old? MA Bergeron or L Vishnovsky type! Kale Clague could be that guy though the Kings want him to play Defense...why? Boggles my mind!

 

[bland]

Wow, it's almost like rookie defensemen make mistakes or something...

This is a developmental stage, guys. Kids are getting shots in advanced roles for future benefit. The real problem is the that the "core" has been committing lazy, brutal mistakes of late. Kopitar gave - literally handed - the puck to the oppositions most dangerous player in one of the most dangerous areas of the ice while his defense was changing behind him. Brown gave away two on one goals in back to back games by not supporting the defense. Then he goes 0 for 740 on simple passes last night while Doughty coats his blade in Crisco. Quick has given up a least one softy in every game he has played over the past three weeks.

The kids are learning on the job and giving a damn good representation of themselves. The roster is in a mismatched state because some players with similar roles happened to mature first or faster than others. Its a work in progress and will be for at least another year. Hopefully the vets realize that they need to work just as hard at even strength as they do on the PP, but that may be a pipe dream.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Is he still playing? Isn't he like 50 years old? MA Bergeron or L Vishnovsky type! Kale Clague could be that guy though the Kings want him to play Defense...why? Boggles my mind!

Because he's likely NOT one of those guys. If Clague showed the instincts to put up 60-70 points a year, you could tolerate some defensive give, or use him as an MAB-style 'specialist'. But he's not THAT good offensively, he's going to need to balance both to stick. I think he's good, and should be in the NHL, but my worry was always that his O wasn't good enough to cover his D; he's closed that gap pretty admirably IMO. But there's no point in sheltering him to unleash him offensively.

 

[Sol]

Reality sets in for all of us

 

[Ghetty Green]

Wow, it's almost like rookie defensemen make mistakes or something...

This is a developmental stage, guys. Kids are getting shots in advanced roles for future benefit. The real problem is the that the "core" has been committing lazy, brutal mistakes of late. Kopitar gave - literally handed - the puck to the oppositions most dangerous player in one of the most dangerous areas of the ice while his defense was changing behind him. Brown gave away two on one goals in back to back games by not supporting the defense. Then he goes 0 for 740 on simple passes last night while Doughty coats his blade in Crisco. Quick has given up a least one softy in every game he has played over the past three weeks.

The kids are learning on the job and giving a damn good representation of themselves. The roster is in a mismatched state because some players with similar roles happened to mature first or faster than others. Its a work in progress and will be for at least another year. Hopefully the vets realize that they need to work just as hard at even strength as they do on the PP, but that may be a pipe dream.

Agreed im glad to see they are making mistakes and responding well. That's the whole purpose of this season

Mikey is a 2nd pairing d man

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Agreed im glad to see they are making mistakes and responding well. That's the whole purpose of this season

Mikey is a 2nd pairing d man

Even if he settles in on the 2nd pairing--it's nice to know he CAN play a 28 minute game if needed and won't get shook up entirely. Never would have pegged him as so good so early.

That goes for f***ing teenage Toby, too. Good grief, 19 year old just cruising the length of the ice. We all need to step back and appreciate the poise of those two kids.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Our lineup is missing an infusion of high-end talent that can score. I would love to see Byfield and Turcotte get a few games down the stretch. They don't have to be brought up all at once, but call up Byfield first and put him on the second line. What do we have to lose? Even if this team makes the playoffs, they will get sweep with the current lineup.