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GDT: 2020-21 season game 50 LA Kings vs Arizona Coyotes @7:00pm 5/3/21

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bland said:
His penalty kill is top 5. The defense has two rookies and two second year guys. I think Yawney has done a terrific job. Seems to me the biggest defensive problem has been with forwards blowing their assignments.

What do you dislike about Yawney?
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Or forwards getting into position to support the puck and accept a break out pass. Sooo many times forwards left the zone last night before the defensemen had properly obtained possession. If your defenseman is being pressured, get into a safe spot to be a safety valve rather than sprinting passed the blue line.
 
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cyclones22 said:
Or forwards getting into position to support the puck and accept a break out pass. Sooo many times forwards left the zone last night before the defensemen had properly obtained possession. If your defenseman is being pressured, get into a safe spot to be a safety valve rather than sprinting passed the blue line.
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I’m starting to think this is a systemic issue. The forwards flying the zone and not giving the D good passing angles has really stuck out to me the past couple of weeks. It’s very frustrating because more often than not it leads to the Kings not being able to carry the puck through the neutral zone with speed. As a forward you’re taught to not skate straight ahead of the defenseman because that creates a terrible angle for both the D to send the pass and you to receive the pass. You’re supposed to support laterally in order to create a better lane. Todd seems to want them to do the opposite for some unclear reason.
 
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Chazz Reinhold said:
I’m starting to think this is a systemic issue. The forwards flying the zone and not giving the D good passing angles has really stuck out to me the past couple of weeks. It’s very frustrating because more often than not it leads to the Kings not being able to carry the puck through the neutral zone with speed. As a forward you’re taught to not skate straight ahead of the defenseman because that creates a terrible angle for both the D to send the pass and you to receive the pass. You’re supposed to support laterally in order to create a better lane. Todd seems to want them to do the opposite for some unclear reason.
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I think so too. It doesn't give the defense much option than to pop it off the boards or glass and hope a forward can get to it first. 90% of the time, that's not going to happen because that's way too hard to control and it's going to end up in the oppositions stick and then immediately back into the zone. Either way, it's killing the Kings possession opportunities.
 
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Chazz Reinhold said:
I’m starting to think this is a systemic issue. The forwards flying the zone and not giving the D good passing angles has really stuck out to me the past couple of weeks. It’s very frustrating because more often than not it leads to the Kings not being able to carry the puck through the neutral zone with speed. As a forward you’re taught to not skate straight ahead of the defenseman because that creates a terrible angle for both the D to send the pass and you to receive the pass. You’re supposed to support laterally in order to create a better lane. Todd seems to want them to do the opposite for some unclear reason.
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Yes puck support is huge because it limits mistakes and the puck can always move faster than the players.
 
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Chazz Reinhold said:
I’m starting to think this is a systemic issue. The forwards flying the zone and not giving the D good passing angles has really stuck out to me the past couple of weeks. It’s very frustrating because more often than not it leads to the Kings not being able to carry the puck through the neutral zone with speed. As a forward you’re taught to not skate straight ahead of the defenseman because that creates a terrible angle for both the D to send the pass and you to receive the pass. You’re supposed to support laterally in order to create a better lane. Todd seems to want them to do the opposite for some unclear reason.
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This is definitely Todd's type of system. Thinking how San Jose used to play, the forwards were well spaced and they were very quick to move the puck out of the zone. It's much different than the system the Kings traditionally use when they try to come up the ice as a 5 man unit. This is why the Sharks always looked faster than us - not because they were a bunch of speedsters but because they did longer passes with less focus on puck support.

The biggest difference is a huge one. Instead of having Burns, Boyle, Pickles, Demers, etc. moving the puck up to the forwards we have Doughty, Walker, and a lot of inexperienced guys trying to do it. DD and SW can adjust, they've been around the block and have it figured out but the others are struggling. It's still a visible issue, so what do you do? Do you make it a simpler system like Sutter's with a ton of puck support, or do you go through the growing pains of having the younger defensive guys learn it? Based on how the team is being built, the 2nd might be the better option. I'm sure this is being taught to the Reign as well. I haven't seen many games, but it would explain the struggles earlier in the season.
 
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Reclamation Project said:
Very interesting stat...

"Medium picture: Kings have only lost 2 games In regulation this season when scoring more than 2 goals. (16-2-5)."
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Awesome / depressing

snu_snu.gif
 
Reclamation Project said:
Very interesting stat...

"Medium picture: Kings have only lost 2 games In regulation this season when scoring more than 2 goals. (16-2-5)."
Click to expand...
Yeah, the Kings have actually been decent defensively.

Just a little bit more offensive skill in the lineup could make a huge difference. An extra goal here or there over the course of a season and suddenly you have a much better record.

If some of the kids can provide that extra goal scoring next year (Byfield, Kaliyev, Andersson, Vilardi), while the overall team is still playing relatively good D, then things can turn around quickly.

There's hope.
 
johnjm22 said:
Yeah, the Kings have actually been decent defensively.

Just a little bit more offensive skill in the lineup could make a huge difference. An extra goal here or there over the course of a season and suddenly you have a much better record.

If some of the kids can provide that extra goal scoring next year (Byfield, Kaliyev, Andersson, Vilardi), while the overall team is still playing relatively good D, then things can turn around quickly.

There's hope.
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They could sign Kovalchuk like in 2019 because all they needed was a scorer.
 
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