GDT: 2022-23 season LA Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights @7:00pm 10/11/22

[YAYSAY]

To me the real elephant in the room now is Kaliyev, he is way too good to still be on the 4th line, with proper support he could be a 40 goal scorer easy. Just so crazy to me that we have such a pure goal scorer in such a terrible position to score goals. He still scores in spite of his deployment which is credit to his skill, it must be frustrating being him though knowing you can score goals just as good if not better
than anyone else on the roster and you're not being given the chance.

Also I think Villardi was sent out with Kempe and Kopi on the last shift, perhaps a reward for his game. Was good to see.

 

[The Lukeman]

FWIW, Durzi was the first person on the ice, and last person to leave the ice at today's practice.

 

[kinghock]

Thats because he was paired with Durzi.

No, Roy was brutal on his own without help from Durzi

 

[Little Psycho]

 

[bland]

Absolutely agree. I just think people are lightning rodding Durzi for this terrible play in particular while giving some other guys a pass for some pretty big issues throughout the game.

Like, I'm pretty sure Durzi won't be doing that again soon--what's to stop Roy from handling the puck like a grenade and backing off checks next game? That might have been the worst game I've seen him play in the NHL.

It's low hanging fruit and an important discussion point given it ended the game, but Durzi wasn't solely responsible for 50+ shots against, the worst defensive performance in 12 years.

Roy yipped it for sure, but lets look at the whole instead of just the individuals. Durzi was barely a speed bump against the rush, his off-side handedness has an impact on pass placement from his partner. Any extra half second trying to figure out where your partner is or where to put the puck is going to hurt you. Factor in four lines of forwards moving up ice and not supporting the play, and you are asking defenders - not just that 2nd unit - to take the lions share of the blame for poor team defense. Edler wasn't any slower than before, he was just isolated too often. Walker had that one odd pinch in the third and I don't think he had another shift after that.

Defensemen were constantly being isolated last night. I don't think it was a scheme problem, just some guys individually going for it and leaving their teammates in trouble. Roy didn't handle it well at all, he was pressured into poor reads and decisions, and it showed over and over.

I would like to think its just new partners, a desire to put on a show, and some rust instead of a significant issue, but the lack of a solid third LHD is going to be a problem for this team. Its too risky to play righties on the left, it just doesn't need to be done, and its been an obvious issue coming for a while now. It truly is bizarre that Blake didn't address it. With Edler guaranteed to get nights off, you are looking at 5 RHDs playing. Why on earth would you hand that advantage to your opponent?

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

I don’t believe Kopitar and Kempe work well together. Kopitar’s whole career is more of a cycle and grind game, Kempe is more of a rush player. And I think that’s why that line suffers. Kopitar likes to use his size and strength to wear down defenses but when Kempe goes for a scoring chance off the rush Kopitar is just skating back and forth down the ice, which he can’t do anymore.

There was that image they put up that Kings were 1st in shots off the rush but 26th in scoring chances. I think it’s from the top line chemistry/style.

I’d rather see Kopitar with Kaliyev and Vilardi more cerebral thinkers that can work and pass well from the board and receive passes.

Kempe would be better fitted properly for Byfield since he scored a lot of goals off the rush in juniors. Unsure on Fiala since I’m not familiar with him.

I saw that and it honestly baffled me where they could have gathered information because it is 100% not true. The Kings were one of the best teams last season at generating scoring chances; they just couldn't finish.

Sorted by all scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 and all strengths:

If they were talking scoring chances off the rush instead of all scoring chances then that wasn't clear at all to me but I would be interested to see where that information was sourced from.

 

[YP44]

To me the real elephant in the room now is Kaliyev, he is way too good to still be on the 4th line, with proper support he could be a 40 goal scorer easy. Just so crazy to me that we have such a pure goal scorer in such a terrible position to score goals. He still scores in spite of his deployment which is credit to his skill, it must be frustrating being him though knowing you can score goals just as good if not better
than anyone else on the roster and you're not being given the chance.

Also I think Villardi was sent out with Kempe and Kopi on the last shift, perhaps a reward for his game. Was good to see.

Is the true elephant than Arvidsson? Kaliyev and Vilardi cannot both be in the top 6 when we have Kempe, FIala, Arvidsson in there (plus Moore, but book is out if he is a top 6 or 9 forward).

FWIW, Durzi was the first person on the ice, and last person to leave the ice at today's practice.

I think that is great!

 

[Schmooley]

Is the true elephant than Arvidsson? Kaliyev and Vilardi cannot both be in the top 6 when we have Kempe, FIala, Arvidsson in there (plus Moore, but book is out if he is a top 6 or 9 forward).

Bringing in Arvidsson, Danault, Fiala, extending Iafallo instead of trading him a couple deadlines ago when he was worth a ton to a contender, bringing Athanasiou back an extra year, giving Brown top line minutes most of the last year, putting tweeners on pp1 unit in nhl and ahl, bringing back Edler, gifting Walker a roster spot etc.. This is the elephant in the room and though it seems like a lot of different things it really stems back to one thing.

 

[Nasti]

Maybe it’s been said but it’s worth repeating. The Kings have too many left handed forwards and too many right handed defensemen.

 

[cyclones22]

I'm not saying let's cut the dude and send him to Siberia. But that Durzi play was run of the mill Durzi. If you described the play to someone who follows the Kings and said choose one defender who you think was responsible for it, it's Durzi all day everyday. That is what's frustrating. That's not an outlier performance. We're going to find out soon enough if they stay paired together if Durzi has the AA effect on his partners. He is simply not good enough at this point to be playing second pairing minutes and matchups.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm not saying let's cut the dude and send him to Siberia. But that Durzi play was run of the mill Durzi. If you described the play to someone who follows the Kings and said choose one defender who you think was responsible for it, it's Durzi all day everyday. That is what's frustrating. That's not an outlier performance. We're going to find out soon enough if they stay paired together if Durzi has the AA effect on his partners. He is simply not good enough at this point to be playing second pairing minutes and matchups.

Well yeah, he's the only gunslinger on the team, the only 'unsafe' player we've had since like 2010...

To call that not an outlier play though? I'm not sure I agree with that.

 

[Lt Dan]

Maybe it’s been said but it’s worth repeating. The Kings have too many left handed forwards and too many right handed defensemen.

Maybe it’s been said but it’s worth repeating. The Kings have too many left handed forwards and too many right handed defensemen.

Maybe it’s been said but it’s worth repeating. The Kings have too many left handed forwards and too many right handed defensemen.

Maybe it’s been said but it’s worth repeating. The Kings have too many left handed forwards and too many right handed defensemen.

There you go Marvasti. Mission accomplished

 

[Eagle Fang]

Well yeah, he's the only gunslinger on the team, the only 'unsafe' player we've had since like 2010...

To call that not an outlier play though? I'm not sure I agree with that.

Not sure I'd agree either. It was a horrible play, but I don't think it's common of him. Durzi's weakness is defensive play in his own zone; positioning, defensive reads, blown coverage, running around like a chicken, etc.. I would say outlet passes and transition out of the d-zone are things he generally does well.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

To me the real elephant in the room now is Kaliyev, he is way too good to still be on the 4th line, with proper support he could be a 40 goal scorer easy. Just so crazy to me that we have such a pure goal scorer in such a terrible position to score goals. He still scores in spite of his deployment which is credit to his skill, it must be frustrating being him though knowing you can score goals just as good if not better
than anyone else on the roster and you're not being given the chance.

Also I think Villardi was sent out with Kempe and Kopi on the last shift, perhaps a reward for his game. Was good to see.

The top 6 six wing "problem" is going to be the next RHD situation, and it's going to make Moore's contract situation very interesting

 

[cyclones22]

Well yeah, he's the only gunslinger on the team, the only 'unsafe' player we've had since like 2010...

To call that not an outlier play though? I'm not sure I agree with that.

Well the absolute worst time to have that gunslinger mentality is from your own goal line with 30 seconds left in a tie game. I'm not going to get mad if you try and make something happen in the offensive zone. But not in your own zone.

I'm glad he's owning up to it and practicing hard today. TMc basically called him out in post game. It's a sign of maturity which is a definite plus. But the reality is that he is not second pairing quality. Certainly not today, and maybe never. He should be playing at best the Cup Martinez role. Third pairing 13 to 14 minutes of even strength time and power play. Does anyone here think he's better than Martinez was back then? Or that he can become as good a player as Alec is now? It's no shame to be a really good third pairing defender.

Durzi is being played above his ceiling and that's not his fault. But decision making when the game is tied near the end of regulation is magnified and rightfully should be because you need to value time and situation. You have little time to make up for a mistake that gets made at that point of the game. I don't think the negative post game reaction to his play was an overreaction at all. If Drew makes that same play or even Mikey Anderson, same bitching would be happening.

 

[KingsFan7824]

One of the biggest problems this team had last year was their play at home, which often lacked energy and looked flat.

That happened again last night.

Other than that, I don't think there's too much analysis you can really take away from this game.

That's been a thing since Game 5 against the Rangers. I wouldn't doubt we complained about it at times during the Cup days either. Likely the years before that too.

 

[cyclones22]

That's been a thing since Game 5 against the Rangers. I wouldn't doubt we complained about it at times during the Cup days either. Likely the years before that too.

What's double irritating is the amount of Vegas fans that are in the arena. I was at last season's opening night game against the Knights and it's the same thing. Season ticket holders selling their tickets to the visiting fans for profit.

 

[Statto]

To me the real elephant in the room now is Kaliyev, he is way too good to still be on the 4th line, with proper support he could be a 40 goal scorer easy. Just so crazy to me that we have such a pure goal scorer in such a terrible position to score goals. He still scores in spite of his deployment which is credit to his skill, it must be frustrating being him though knowing you can score goals just as good if not better
than anyone else on the roster and you're not being given the chance.

Also I think Villardi was sent out with Kempe and Kopi on the last shift, perhaps a reward for his game. Was good to see.

It basically means, if they continue to knock the door down, that Blake can use a combination of Arvidsson, Moore and/or Iafallo in a deal to upgrade a different area if the team as the season progresses towards the TDL. It’s fundamentally a good problem to have as competition is a good thing and it should raise everybodies game. That also helps maximise the value of any player they choose to move on. It’s far better than trying to move apathetic players on a poor team.

 

[BigKing]

What's double irritating is the amount of Vegas fans that are in the arena. I was at last season's opening night game against the Knights and it's the same thing. Season ticket holders selling their tickets to the visiting fans for profit.

Not close to as bad as it used to be with the Vegas fans though. That bandwagon tossed off a couple of tires.

 

[KingsFan7824]

What's double irritating is the amount of Vegas fans that are in the arena. I was at last season's opening night game against the Knights and it's the same thing. Season ticket holders selling their tickets to the visiting fans for profit.

That, plus Kings fans are pretty quiet. It takes a decent bit for there to be any kind of home ice buzz. It's not really inherently part of the crowd.

 

[cyclones22]

It basically means, if they continue to knock the door down, that Blake can use a combination of Arvidsson, Moore and/or Iafallo in a deal to upgrade a different area if the team as the season progresses towards the TDL. It’s fundamentally a good problem to have as competition is a good thing and it should raise everybodies game. That also helps maximise the value of any player they choose to move on. It’s far better than trying to move apathetic players on a poor team.

Iafallo and Arty should be Kopi's wingers. We know that Kopi loves playing with AI and I think a maturing Kaliyev game fits with that line. I know that he got a tiny audition last season, but hardly enough time to come to any conclusions. I mean what did it last like one period? Arty is more Kopi's speed, does well in board play and is a shooter.

 

[Bandit]

Just realized we’re getting Seattle on the second night of a b2b for them. 0-2 here we come.

 

[King'sPawn]

Not sure I'd agree either. It was a horrible play, but I don't think it's common of him. Durzi's weakness is defensive play in his own zone; positioning, defensive reads, blown coverage, running around like a chicken, etc.. I would say outlet passes and transition out of the d-zone are things he generally does well.

I agree with this. Durzi's a skilled puck mover to accompany his infectious enthusiasm and heart. He struggles on the defensive side with reads and assignments.

It was an icredibly bad performance for most Kings players. But Durzi's play at the end is among the least defensible and most irresponsible.

It was an unforced error where after burning a lot of time on the clock, he had 3 decent outlet options (along with carrying the puck himself). And he launches it to the one player who was the least viable option.

This isn't Monday Morning Quarterbacking. Any attempts to defend or rationalize the sequence will not involve any good arguments. Defensive d-men are too careful to try that shit. Offensive defensemen just know better about generating an attack.

There's a reason why Todd "Teachable Moments" McLellan used "idiotic" and "self-inflicted". There were bad plays, sure, but that type of play changes any type of reflection on the game.

 

[Surf Nutz]

It's just one game, one (enormous) mistake, but Durzi continues to make mental errors in the defensive zone. I would bench him in favor of Clarke, but we'll see if that happens.

He is too good offensively to be benched. He needs sheltered minutes and extensive pp time. Not on the ice in the last minute of a game you are about to steal a point in.

 

[KingsHockey24]

View attachment 593082

Just realized we’re getting Seattle on the second night of a b2b for them. 0-2 here we come.

You're a boob.

We win if Lemieux is in the line-up. *Correction, if Cal starts we lose no matter what.