GDT: 2023-24 season game 27 LA Kings vs Seattle Kraken @7:00pm

[johnjm22]

I feel like I'm pretty good about being patient. I try not to be a reactionary.

But damn PLD is getting on my nerves. I can't remember the last time I disliked a King's player this much.

It's like he doesn't want to engage in the board battles / cycle, so he just lobs blind passes through the offensive zone, almost always resulting in a turn over.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Haven’t watched the postgame in a long time, did they can O’Neal?

 

[Gjwrams]

Bally's +kcal = disaster! my god what a mess . even the OA feed was crap!

Throw in my At&T wi-fi and you gave the trifecta.

 

[tny760]

Haven’t watched the postgame in a long time, did they can O’Neal?

his dad died, he's taking a break

 

[AbsentMojo]

his dad died, he's taking a break

I think most corps give 2 weeks bereavement as a matter of course... I believe his dad had been battling cancer for quite awhile

 

[Gjwrams]

Troll just cuz I dislike a player?

Make a list of all the King’s players. He should be last on your list of players to dislike.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

his dad died, he's taking a break

Ah shit, forgot his dad was Ryan O’Neal. RIP

 

[VILARGOD]

TM just said it was Kopi's decision for Lewis to go out there. "He has a good move"

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

So the kings traded Vilardi for a center in PLD but he's really just a center because he's listed there. What does he do that Vilardi couldn't at center? PLD is worse defensively. He plays slower. Faceoffs are average.

 

[King'sPawn]

Troll just cuz I dislike a player?

Saying a player is "meh" while he's having a career league and offering no actual obsrrvations or criticisms you dislike about his game was clearly just to rile people up.

You're not only an obvious troll, but you're acting innocent when called on it.

 

[Nasti]

So the kings traded Vilardi for a center in PLD but he's really just a center because he's listed there. What does he do that Vilardi couldn't at center? PLD is worse defensively. He plays slower. Faceoffs are average.

Yeah to go from a player I loved watching last year to this is a tough pill. Someone needs to get fired for this assuming there isn’t a drastic turnaround.

 

[Nasti]

Vilardi with 2 goals tonight, Iafallo with a goal and an assist.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Ugly win but a win.

 

[VILARGOD]

I loved Vilardi as a King and when he was on the team he was my favorite King to watch skill and hands wise. I always believed in him and I really do agree that going from watching him play to PLD has been so shitty

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Take the extra point and run., cause this team has not played quality hockey in weeks

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

 

[Fishhead]

I feel like I'm pretty good about being patient. I try not to be a reactionary.

But damn PLD is getting on my nerves. I can't remember the last time I disliked a King's player this much.

It's like he doesn't want to engage in the board battles / cycle, so he just lobs blind passes through the offensive zone, almost always resulting in a turn over.

I just got back from the game, actually got to go tonight. He looked a bit better in person, he wasn't coasting as much as I thought he would. He was more engaged, but still nowhere near where he needs to be. That line was better tonight, but you can still see he and Laf are polar opposites. He does grate on you simply because he could be a monster on the cycle and he's not controlling the puck down low. He did that constantly last year, not sure what the deal is. He was hitting tonight and was being physical, so hopefully more engagement follows. I think he's had enough time to adjust now where it's put up/shut up time for him.

I'm a little concerned about Spence, he's missing the net, starting to make riskier plays, and is struggling a bit out there. When he does get it through it's right at the goalie. Overall he's solid defensively, but I don't know if he's hitting a bit of a wall or is gripping his stick. He does thrive on the PP and doesn't do anything glaringly bad, which is fine for a young 3rd pairing guy. I'm just wanting more, I guess. It probably doesn't help that Englund has come down to Earth a bit, but they still look more than passable.

I still think Laf needs some AHL time. He doesn't understand entering the zone as a unit, I was sitting on the end and all night you could see Arty and PLD coming up together and Laf flying off to the side trying to go around people. He's very quick and he got into the zone often which is good, but he skates himself out of support. As a result, he was out there at least 4 times where he got stuck on an extended shift because he went in and couldn't hang onto it while his line was changing. What's worse, is they were followed by the Danault line a lot of the game and it was keeping Fiala off the ice, who looked really dangerous tonight.

Everyone in my section was laughing after the first goal, the crowd was pretty fun. They were griping a lot because the Kings did outplay them handily for most of the game. Didn't see many ugly people. Climate Pledge is a nice place inside, but the outside is dated and a tad ugly to me. I don't think it can be changed though because it's in the area built for the fair in the '60s.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Vince Dumb

 

[ZJames]

Just finished watching the replay. Did anyone else notice the screaming child in the 2nd period? My goodness, that was annoying.

 

[kingsfan28]

What was with the screaming kid on the broadcast? He must've been right below Nick.

thats a suspension with that whack on Fiala.

 

[ru4reals]

Should have received 2 double minors. Two slashes and two punches to the face. 8 total minutes. WTF. I mean it wouldn't have mattered kings still would have f**ked up the remainder of the OT on the pp, but still should have received the penalties. Lol.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I just got back from the game, actually got to go tonight. He looked a bit better in person, he wasn't coasting as much as I thought he would. He was more engaged, but still nowhere near where he needs to be. That line was better tonight, but you can still see he and Laf are polar opposites. He does grate on you simply because he could be a monster on the cycle and he's not controlling the puck down low. He did that constantly last year, not sure what the deal is. He was hitting tonight and was being physical, so hopefully more engagement follows. I think he's had enough time to adjust now where it's put up/shut up time for him.

I'm a little concerned about Spence, he's missing the net, starting to make riskier plays, and is struggling a bit out there. When he does get it through it's right at the goalie. Overall he's solid defensively, but I don't know if he's hitting a bit of a wall or is gripping his stick. He does thrive on the PP and doesn't do anything glaringly bad, which is fine for a young 3rd pairing guy. I'm just wanting more, I guess. It probably doesn't help that Englund has come down to Earth a bit, but they still look more than passable.

I just think Englund and Spence aren't a surprise anymore, they've been scouted now like others have for years, and are being played a little differently. Still good, not superhumanly good. Noticeable drop in play overall. NHL season is a marathon and different structure than AHL, so some learning going there too, where ideally youd like to swap a guy in and out for a game at this point but unfortunately don't really have the luxury to

 

[Fishhead]

I just think Englund and Spence aren't a surprise anymore, they've been scouted now like others have for years, and are being played a little differently. Still good, not superhumanly good. Noticeable drop in play overall. NHL season is a marathon and different structure than AHL, so some learning going there too, where ideally youd like to swap a guy in and out for a game at this point but unfortunately don't really have the luxury to

Yeah, the report is out on them. I think teams were surprised at how well they could handle the physicality, now they are just trying to put them in situations where they have to make quicker decisions. But it's really the whole team that the opposition has adjusted to. There has been a drop-off in play, but not that much of a drop-off. You could see the Kraken collapse tonight, just like we've seen the last few weeks. Teams have stopped trying to make things happen and force turnovers and are basically saying try to shoot through us. The points were open all night, they were just trying to jam up the slot. It makes it look like they are hanging on for dear life a lot of the time, but it's effective at countering what we try to do.

Possession numbers are starting to go way up, but it's because teams are giving us more in return for trying to limit the higher danger chances. It's working, but luckily the Kings are still good enough to overcome it on most nights. The Kraken got away from that on Moore's goal, instead of staying put they went out to challenge the puck carrier. Same on the PP goal, the forwards tried to pressure Kempe when he brought it in (down a man, of all times), the defense backed off, and bam it's in the net. The team needs to adjust where they are putting the puck on net and simply not take it to the middle by the blueline when they have time and space. Gonna have to mix in some wide shot-passes and stuff like that. Also with the high cross pass being open usually, I'd like to see the forwards move across earlier if it looks like that pass is going to be made. With all the traffic they are getting tied up and the goalie is getting better looks at the shots.

 

[Bandit]

Definitely should have got more than one penalty, but that was a pretty bad flop by Fiala.

Totally forgot there was a game last night. Seems like it wasn’t too pretty but at least they pulled it out in the end.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

So the kings traded Vilardi for a center in PLD but he's really just a center because he's listed there. What does he do that Vilardi couldn't at center? PLD is worse defensively. He plays slower. Faceoffs are average.

Stays healthy?