GDT: 2021-22 season game 18 LA Kings vs Arizona Coyotes @7:00pm 11/21/21

[ru4reals]

This is the unfortunate truth and until the prospects can start earning bigger roles and and developing into impact players, it'll just be more of the same.

Yup pretty much. I feel we just need one or two of these prized prospects to reach their potential and it will hopefully change the future of this franchise. Win or lose we at least have some glimpse of hope moving forward. Just like the years when we had Kopi and Quick burst into the league then Drew. Just look at Kaprizov grant it he's older but pretty much turned the Wild around in one season. But you're right until the young prospects can start earning bigger roles what we saw against the Yotes will be a norm unfortunately.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Unfortunately I missed the game live because I'm sick, but my feelings remain the same, this is a bad team. 25th in goals per game, 24th PP, 24th PK, and zero scoring from the blue line. You can look for moral victories or "they just ran into a hot goaltender" excuses, but it's going to be hard to win consistently when you can't score and your special teams suck.

TM is stubborn as crap, and I'm about done with him. There is ZERO excuse for Kopi's ice time to be so high, ZERO.

I was never a fan of bringing back AA, but if you are going to play him get him the hell off the Danault line. The second like is about puck hounding and board battles, AA is an extremely streaky counter attacker who brings nothing else. He has no business being on that line. Slightly better Austin Wagner shouldn't be getting top 6 minutes

Brown is done, he's killing every line he''s on. The fact that Brown is still getting PP time speaks to how stubborn TM is.

Play the damn kids, and put them in a position to succeed

 

[kinghock]

Your too reactive. Moore is a good 3rd/4th liner, keep him in there. Yes Brown should not be out for the pp, but take Kopitar off of the pk? That's insane.

We need a trade. Blake needs to make a significant trade here and acquire a guy that can bury it. A sniper. A Toffoli type that can play all 3 zones. A swiss army knife guy. We can't wait for Vilardi to 'get it'. We need to package him up and get somebody before this team loses all confidence and we become a cellar dweller again.

And you are not too reactive with your trade idea now?
Do you understand how much it will cost?

 

[lumbergh]

I drop rationale all the time, you just don’t agree with it. If I were just emotional and reactive, I wouldn’t have been critical during the winning streak.

here’s some rationale for you. The Dustin brown effect ladies and gentlemen.

Not saying that Dustin Brown had any impact, but xGF% is a crap stat and people should stop quoting it.

 

[Mats26]

I hate to repeat myself but if this team finishes with a .500 record consider it as progression. We still have aging vets, no impact prospects and a team held together by a 4th line. We need more Lemieux's on this team than redundant prospects\players trying to fit their "200 foot" game on a 3rd line. This team needs impact players and grit now. But the real turnaround will happen when Byfield and Clarke are on the roster.

 

[funky]

I know the last week has sucked, but we also have to realize that we’re missing 43 minutes a night over right side defense that is also our top two offense of defenseman. Drew is also our leader in shut down minutes and maybe would’ve helped protect against other teams coming back.

Right now our coaching leaves a ton to be desired. I think we missed the boat letting Stothers go to Anaheim. They replaced all the assistant coaches and left the coach and that is basically been the only difference between last year and this year’s team. They are attack in the middle and doing quite well on the power-play.

This team needs drew back for not only his defense and help on the power play but also his cocky swagger. They also have to get AA off this team. He is a one dimensional player in a three dimensional game.

Time to sit some vets and promote some youth as well. I love Dustin Brown to death but he is a ghost of himself this last three weeks.

 

[cyclones22]

Drew has somehow become underrated on our own board. People forget he's an all situations defender. Replacing him is not just replacing him on even strength, but the powerplay and penalty kill. While we should be excited at the growth of the young guys, there's not one of them who has the gravity that Drew has. I like Roy, but he should not be on any powerplay unit ever. Let's hope Drew comes back soon and Maatta goes to the press box.

I'm still not a fan of AA on that second line. He just doesn't fit with the strengths of Danault and AI and he'll soon start dragging that line down if he hasn't already. He's not a possession player and he's not a shooter/sniper. AA is a fast counter-attacker who scores on rushes. I don't feel like looking up metrics, but the eye test for me seems like they're not nearly as effective as before. I don't know, there's something to be said for chemistry of linemates. Hell, Vilardi and Tkachev lost Andersson and TMc created a line with skills that didn't match and banished both of them to Ontario.

 

[bland]

I hate to repeat myself but if this team finishes with a .500 record consider it as progression. We still have aging vets, no impact prospects and a team held together by a 4th line. We need more Lemieux's on this team than redundant prospects\players trying to fit their "200 foot" game on a 3rd line. This team needs impact players and grit now. But the real turnaround will happen when Byfield and Clarke are on the roster.

The progression shouldn't be measured in terms of wins and losses, it must be measured in the development of the prospects and their NHL readiness. The record will change organically as the higher quality players replace the non-productive ones over time.

There is no reason whatsoever to play Dustin Brown and Ollie Maatta. They offer nothing, nothing now and nothing for the future benefit of the franchise. Athanasiou offers "hope" now, but why the hell you continue to delay the NHL education of your assets in favor on a vet on a series of one year deals is so counterproductive. The only conceivable reason is that you are trying to placate the vets signed to longterm deals who frankly should have seen these days coming.

There is a stubborn resistence here to breaking an old, tired, cracked mold that doesn't hold water. Yet Blake keeps flex-sealing it instead of breaking in the new one sitting right next to it on the shelf.

I get it, the nepotistic veins run deep in this organization and honestly, I don't think they are ever going to pull the plug, they are going to let it die on the vine.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Not going to win many games when your most productive line is your 4th.

 

[LAKings88]

The progression shouldn't be measured in terms of wins and losses, it must be measured in the development of the prospects and their NHL readiness. The record will change organically as the higher quality players replace the non-productive ones over time.

There is no reason whatsoever to play Dustin Brown and Ollie Maatta. They offer nothing, nothing now and nothing for the future benefit of the franchise. Athanasiou offers "hope" now, but why the hell you continue to delay the NHL education of your assets in favor on a vet on a series of one year deals is so counterproductive. The only conceivable reason is that you are trying to placate the vets signed to longterm deals who frankly should have seen these days coming.

There is a stubborn resistence here to breaking an old, tired, cracked mold that doesn't hold water. Yet Blake keeps flex-sealing it instead of breaking in the new one sitting right next to it on the shelf.

I get it, the nepotistic veins run deep in this organization and honestly, I don't think they are ever going to pull the plug, they are going to let it die on the vine.

It’s a long simmer for sure. Im hoping this is the last season of transition. This team needs the youth movement to begin in full force. My expectations are to stay competitive and they have in spite of major injuries. Playoffs would be great but are still a long shot at best.

 

[LAKings88]

Not going to win many games when your most productive line is your 4th.

Team rarely ever seems to click all at once.

 

[kilowatt]

I hate to repeat myself but if this team finishes with a .500 record consider it as progression. We still have aging vets, no impact prospects and a team held together by a 4th line. We need more Lemieux's on this team than redundant prospects\players trying to fit their "200 foot" game on a 3rd line. This team needs impact players and grit now. But the real turnaround will happen when Byfield and Clarke are on the roster.

If this team finishes with a .500 record and isn't bringing rookies onto the team, then it's an abject failure. Put guys like Byfield and Kaliyev into the top six and I would agree. What I don't get is playing a lineup of mostly veterans, giving them all the ice time, and still losing.

Kaliyev played fewer than ten minutes at even strength. Kupari 10 on the dot. Clague 16:00, with only Maatta playing fewer minutes on defense. No other rookies on the roster.

My issue is that Todd isn't suddenly going to change his philosophy. He's probably not the guy to bring these rookies along.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Watched the game late. That was fun. Passing on O-zone attack plays is predictable. It's getting picked off & leading to easy saves. Start shooting for rebounds & go to the net. Did I just get possesd by Sutter? "Hrmf garble Hmm, Growl"

Kopi & Brown can not be separated. All this does is slow down & disrupt 2 lines. If you are tired of Brown slowing down Kopi, the bench is an option for 1 or both. Was going to suggest a Lemieux, Kopi, Brown 4th line, but Lemieux is the most consistent offensive threat this last week.

Drew saving the PP is hilarious. His passing is horrendous. Stop puck. Think about what you are going to do with the puck. Pass the puck after waiting too long. Don't look, bother passing the puck accurately enough to be shot off the pass.

Blake may not need to worry about trading the vets as they are not really effective at the NHL level.

If this doesn't straighten out soon, trade any short timer like AA you can & promote youth.

Stop riding Kopi. Obviously he doesn't have the legs for it.

 

[Fripp]

Dustin Brown is an extremely bad hockey player.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Not saying that Dustin Brown had any impact, but xGF% is a crap stat and people should stop quoting it.

If you had to guess, how closely do you think expected goals line up with actual goals over the course of an NHL season?

 

[AbsentMojo]

 

[tny760]

If you had to guess, how closely do you think expected goals line up with actual goals over the course of an NHL season?

isn't that like, inherent to it? that over the course of a season you end up with a sample size that falls in line with already normalized stats? i don't want to completely shit on it but using it period to period seems contrary to it's makeup

 

[eleventy]

I do miss me some DS pressers.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

isn't that like, inherent to it? that over the course of a season you end up with a sample size that falls in line with already normalized stats? i don't want to completely shit on it but using it period to period seems contrary to it's makeup

I don’t think it’s inherent that it should line up at the end of the season unless it’s a statistic that is actually reflective of what’s happening on the ice. If it’s as unrepresentative of a statistic as some people seem to suggest, then it shouldn’t line up at all.

I agree that singling out one period to try to create a narrative isn’t a good use of the stat, but if one line is 9% xGF in a game, that does at least give you an indication that the line was thoroughly out chanced over the course of the game.

 

[Mats26]

The progression shouldn't be measured in terms of wins and losses, it must be measured in the development of the prospects and their NHL readiness. The record will change organically as the higher quality players replace the non-productive ones over time.

There is no reason whatsoever to play Dustin Brown and Ollie Maatta. They offer nothing, nothing now and nothing for the future benefit of the franchise. Athanasiou offers "hope" now, but why the hell you continue to delay the NHL education of your assets in favor on a vet on a series of one year deals is so counterproductive. The only conceivable reason is that you are trying to placate the vets signed to longterm deals who frankly should have seen these days coming.

There is a stubborn resistence here to breaking an old, tired, cracked mold that doesn't hold water. Yet Blake keeps flex-sealing it instead of breaking in the new one sitting right next to it on the shelf.

I get it, the nepotistic veins run deep in this organization and honestly, I don't think they are ever going to pull the plug, they are going to let it die on the vine.

There is no magic leap from last place to cup contenders. It's one step at a time process until we sustain a winning culture that translates to a winning record and eventually cup contenders in a few years. Not going to get into the vets playing over the prospects, that issue is beaten to death on this board. Development is an issue I already brought up in the past as a big fail especially with top 6 forwards in the past.

We got 5 rookies\prospects in the lineup right now, maybe we finish the year with 6 or more in the lineup? If we end up a .500 record with 6+ rookies that should be seen as a step forward. We don't have impact players yet, folks on here need to realize that. We are going to build a 200 foot grinding team, bunch of potential 15-25 goal scorers, we need to get used to it. Don't judge the prospects for their current stats, Iafallo is a reminder of that, the kids should get better over the years.

My only hope to have impact players, to really flip the switch on this team is Byfield and Clarke.

 

[AbsentMojo]

If this team finishes with a .500 record and isn't bringing rookies onto the team, then it's an abject failure. Put guys like Byfield and Kaliyev into the top six and I would agree. What I don't get is playing a lineup of mostly veterans, giving them all the ice time, and still losing.

Kaliyev played fewer than ten minutes at even strength. Kupari 10 on the dot. Clague 16:00, with only Maatta playing fewer minutes on defense. No other rookies on the roster.

My issue is that Todd isn't suddenly going to change his philosophy. He's probably not the guy to bring these rookies along.

I think it started with the org selling the fans this was a playoff year.. so instead of setting the tone of continue to develop the team, it was ready to win now. Remember when they ditched Crawford and brought in the original TM to teach the core how to play.. that came with an announcement that management was going to be patient during the rebuild (cant remember the guy who was pres at the time, big AEG soccer guy).. but him and DL were 100% on board with rebuild mode. To me McClelland is like Crawford, and ideally the team makes way for the new era by moving or demoting Brown, Kopi, DD and hands the reigns over to a new coach.

 

[kingsfan]

I think it started with the org selling the fans this was a playoff year.. so instead of setting the tone of continue to develop the team, it was ready to win now. Remember when they ditched Crawford and brought in the original TM to teach the core how to play.. that came with an announcement that management was going to be patient during the rebuild (cant remember the guy who was pres at the time, big AEG soccer guy).. but him and DL were 100% on board with rebuild mode. To me McClelland is like Crawford, and ideally the team makes way for the new era by moving or demoting Brown, Kopi, DD and hands the reigns over to a new coach.

Lieweke I assume

 

[kingsfan]

There is no magic leap from last place to cup contenders. It's a step at a time until we sustain a winning culture that translates to a winning record and eventually cup contenders in a few years. Not going to get into the vets playing over the prospects, that issue is beaten to death on this board. Development is an issue I already brought up in the past as a big fail especially with top 6 forwards in the past.

We got 5 rookies\prospects in the lineup right now, maybe we finish the year with 6 or more in the lineup? If we end up a .500 record with 6+ rookies that should be seen as a step forward. We don't have impact players yet, folks on here need to realize that. We are going to build a 200 foot grinding team, bunch of potential 15-25 goal scorers, we need to get used to it. Don't judge the prospects for their current stats, Iafallo is a reminder of that, the kids should get better over the years.

My only hope to have impact players, to really flip the switch on this team is Byfield and Clarke.

Agreed. We are playing the kids already, and will likely only up those numbers when Byfield gets back and quite possibly Turcotte joins mid-season. We are actually playing a lot of kids and bringing them along.

 

[Mats26]

If this team finishes with a .500 record and isn't bringing rookies onto the team, then it's an abject failure. Put guys like Byfield and Kaliyev into the top six and I would agree. What I don't get is playing a lineup of mostly veterans, giving them all the ice time, and still losing.

Kaliyev played fewer than ten minutes at even strength. Kupari 10 on the dot. Clague 16:00, with only Maatta playing fewer minutes on defense. No other rookies on the roster.

My issue is that Todd isn't suddenly going to change his philosophy. He's probably not the guy to bring these rookies along.

We got 5 rookies\prospects in the lineup right now, maybe we finish the year with 6 or more in the lineup? If we end up a .500 record with 6+ rookies that should be seen as a step forward. Our top pairing are 20 and 22 years old, Kaliyev is better without the puck every game. Kupari still makes mistakes but he is learning adapting to the NHL game. Same for Clague.

I agree with TMac not being the best development coach, but guess what, the NHL is not a development league. If they are not ready send them to the AHL with Wrobo and hope he can deliver the prospects who are ready for the NHL.

 

[Lt Dan]

Lieweke I assume

*Lie-weekly