GDT: 2024-25 season game 47 LA Kings vs Detroit Red Wings @4:00pm 1/27/25

[Buddy The Elf]

The last time the Kings finished top 5 in points % in a season George HW Bush was President, The Soviet Union still existed, Warren Moon led the NFL in passing yards, The Silence of the Lambs and Dances with Wolves was in theaters, Baby Baby by Amy Grant was the #1 song, Rob Blake was the same age as Brandt Clarke and @Lt Dan collected his first social security check.

I feel like I just watched an episode of "I Love The 90's" on VH1.

 

[Schrute farms]

What are you saying...you are against facts?

I'm pro facts. Such as: Kings haven't won a playoff series EVER under Blake as GM (and none since 2014).

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I'm pro facts. Such as: Kings haven't won a playoff series EVER under Blake as GM (and none since 2014).

This is fun....so if you are claiming that I LOVE to post about standings and point % in the middle of the season, is it fair to say that you LOVE to post about everything that hasn't happened under Blake at any time of the year?

 

[FSL KINGS]

So the King's can't score more than 2 goals unless they play Demko, who clearly came back too early from injury. Crazy idea here. Maybe we should recall the AHL leading goal scorer?

 

[The Butcher]

I don't understand why some of you continue to feed the 5 or 6 obvious trolls on this board. It honestly eats up a lot more space than most of you realize.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I don't understand why some of you continue to feed the 5 or 6 obvious trolls on this board. It honestly eats up a lot more space than most of you realize.

Always find it amusing when the term 'troll' is used towards the posters who argue against the idea that everything in the Kings org is shit. Kinda ass-backwards, ain't it?

Wouldn't a better example of troll be the ones who have nothing but negative, basically horrible, things to say about the actual team that the board revolves around?...isn't that kind of the definition?

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Why did Hiller go away from Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe???? (Legit question - Does anyone know other than presumably just to "balance out the lines offensively"?? I was out of town over the weekend so wasn't able to catch the last 2 games)

They looked great together to end the Florida game last week and were a big reason the Kings ended up winning that game. If that line clicks, all of the sudden we have a legit 1st line with some serious scoring potential. Why not establish that first and then worry about generating more offense from your middle 6??

Hiller keeps going with the "let's spread the offense around" approach and then the team generates no offense, ends up trailing, and then Hiller starts to panic throw the lines in a blender to try to find something that works. Then no one can establish chemistry together because they never even play a full game with the same linemates.

One of the frustrating things about the Kings.... they make things more complicated than they need to be sometimes. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID... Play your best players together - especially when the team is struggling offensively. Put your best offensive players together and see if they can click. And the crazy thing is... It WORKED. We SAW it work at the end of the FLA game. And then Hiller just decides "nah, let's go back to what wasn't working and got us chasing a lead in the first place".

Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe
Turcotte - Byfield - Laferriere
Moore - Danault - Foegele
Jeannot - Helenius - Lewis/Thomas

Why not see if something like that works for a couple games (not 1 or 2 periods)???? You put your most offensively skilled players together, in your top 6, and you see if they can build chemistry. If it works, it helps SIGNIFICANTLY..... You get Fiala back on track and you no longer have a huge hole in your lineup at LW1. Hell, you might even get Kopitar going again offensively as a result, It also allows you to reunite Turcotte and Laf, who play great together and could potentially even help Byfield start scoring more consistently. And then you have Moore, Danault, and Foegele in a 3rd line shutdown/energy role where it's not the end of the world if they don't produce a ton offensively as long as they're responsible defensively. And sure maybe you still need to add a scoring winger in your middle 6 at the TDL but that's a lot easier to find than a 1st line scoring winger.

 

[Herby]

He’s celebrating that the Kings are the back to back holiday freeze champions, just like they recently 3-peated as the NHL’s offseason champions.

This is hilarious.

Maybe Bettman will copy the NBA for the 687th time and introduce a BS in-season tournament that nobody cares about.

If the Kings win, Axl and the Mayor can tell us that it's almost as significant as the Stanley Cup.

 

[bland]

Why did Hiller go away from Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe???? (Legit question - Does anyone know other than presumably just to "balance out the lines offensively"?? I was out of town over the weekend so wasn't able to catch the last 2 games)

They looked great together to end the Florida game last week and were a big reason the Kings ended up winning that game. If that line clicks, all of the sudden we have a legit 1st line with some serious scoring potential. Why not establish that first and then worry about generating more offense from your middle 6??

Hiller keeps going with the "let's spread the offense around" approach and then the team generates no offense, ends up trailing, and then Hiller starts to panic throw the lines in a blender to try to find something that works. Then no one can establish chemistry together because they never even play a full game with the same linemates.

One of the frustrating things about the Kings.... they make things more complicated than they need to be sometimes. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID... Play your best players together - especially when the team is struggling offensively. Put your best offensive players together and see if they can click. And the crazy thing is... It WORKED. We SAW it work at the end of the FLA game. And then Hiller just decides "nah, let's go back to what wasn't working and got us chasing a lead in the first place".

Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe
Turcotte - Byfield - Laferriere
Moore - Danault - Foegele
Jeannot - Helenius - Lewis/Thomas

Why not see if something like that works for a couple games (not 1 or 2 periods)???? You put your most offensively skilled players together, in your top 6, and you see if they can build chemistry. If it works, it helps SIGNIFICANTLY..... You get Fiala back on track and you no longer have a huge hole in your lineup at LW1. Hell, you might even get Kopitar going again offensively as a result, It also allows you to reunite Turcotte and Laf, who play great together and could potentially even help Byfield start scoring more consistently. And then you have Moore, Danault, and Foegele in a 3rd line shutdown/energy role where it's not the end of the world if they don't produce a ton offensively as long as they're responsible defensively. And sure maybe you still need to add a scoring winger in your middle 6 at the TDL but that's a lot easier to find than a 1st line scoring winger.

Because it totally negates the defensive value of using Kopitar as a matchup against the oppositions best. When you have an extremely risky winger leaving zones early, trying horizontal dekes at the top of the bluelines, trying one on three instead of simple dump ins, you lose the value of a shutdown center whose supreme skill is making the right reads.

Look at the damage Fiala has done to Danaults line this year. There are gaps in coverages everywhere, unnecessary lanes opened up in transition creating time and space for the opposition. Smart players see the coverages, read and react logically to make the best play possible in the situation. Fiala is chaos, it makes those reads so much more difficult because there are multiple options coming at you very quickly.

Kopitar has always preferred two way wingers for just that purpose.

Sure, it worked for one shift in one game, but it didn't work last year, it doesn't work on the PP anymore, and Fiala is killing Danault.

I don't think a lot of folks have really caught on to just how much damage Fiala has done to the team this year.

 

[Schrute farms]

This is fun....so if you are claiming that I LOVE to post about standings and point % in the middle of the season, is it fair to say that you LOVE to post about everything that hasn't happened under Blake at any time of the year?

Well ONE thing -- Blake's lack of any post season success whatsoever after 7+ seasons. I think that kind of matters. It's also an evaluation done after the full completion of the team's season. Not partial -- full. Thus, a much better time to do a complete/proper analysis of the team and the person in charge. I don't think it's that much to ask for a GM to win one series. How many more coaches is he gonna fire/hire.

Using Dec/Jan (heck even only the full regular season) is not a complete picture. Yet you do this every year. It's kind of embarrassing. I want the Kings to win a playoff series for myself -- but i'm also at the point where i feel so bad for you, that i hope & pray they can win a series soon one of these years for your benefit. Your annual foolish "Dec/Jan we're awesome" proclamations is getting to be like a bad SNL skit.

 

[Herby]

I feel like I just watched an episode of "I Love The 90's" on VH1.

I am always here to bring up the historical nostalgic stuff.

I do however want to apologize to @Lt Dan for my incorrect information about him in that post, I did not mean to add years to his age. He didn't collect his first social security check in 1991, that was actually when he moved to Leisure World. Sorry bud!

Why did Hiller go away from Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe???? (Legit question - Does anyone know other than presumably just to "balance out the lines offensively"?? I was out of town over the weekend so wasn't able to catch the last 2 games)

They looked great together to end the Florida game last week and were a big reason the Kings ended up winning that game. If that line clicks, all of the sudden we have a legit 1st line with some serious scoring potential. Why not establish that first and then worry about generating more offense from your middle 6??

Hiller keeps going with the "let's spread the offense around" approach and then the team generates no offense, ends up trailing, and then Hiller starts to panic throw the lines in a blender to try to find something that works. Then no one can establish chemistry together because they never even play a full game with the same linemates.

One of the frustrating things about the Kings.... they make things more complicated than they need to be sometimes. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID... Play your best players together - especially when the team is struggling offensively. Put your best offensive players together and see if they can click. And the crazy thing is... It WORKED. We SAW it work at the end of the FLA game. And then Hiller just decides "nah, let's go back to what wasn't working and got us chasing a lead in the first place".

Fiala - Kopitar - Kempe
Turcotte - Byfield - Laferriere
Moore - Danault - Foegele
Jeannot - Helenius - Lewis/Thomas

Why not see if something like that works for a couple games (not 1 or 2 periods)???? You put your most offensively skilled players together, in your top 6, and you see if they can build chemistry. If it works, it helps SIGNIFICANTLY..... You get Fiala back on track and you no longer have a huge hole in your lineup at LW1. Hell, you might even get Kopitar going again offensively as a result, It also allows you to reunite Turcotte and Laf, who play great together and could potentially even help Byfield start scoring more consistently. And then you have Moore, Danault, and Foegele in a 3rd line shutdown/energy role where it's not the end of the world if they don't produce a ton offensively as long as they're responsible defensively. And sure maybe you still need to add a scoring winger in your middle 6 at the TDL but that's a lot easier to find than a 1st line scoring winger.

@bland mostly said what I think, the Kings still expect Kopi and Kempe to do a lot of heavy defensive lifting, and when you put the worst defensive forward on the team in that situation it weakens them in that role. That is still a bottom 1/2 of the league first line offensively and can't be counted on to do much defensively.

And yeah, Fiala does add balance and a little bit of skill to the other lines, looking at your projected lineups with him as a 1st line winger, the 2nd and 3rd lines would both be pretty bad. That is why I think Hiller continues to run the lines he does, he'd rather have some semblance of offensive ability throughout the Top 9, even if it means having a third liner with the two best forwards on the first line.

People have come up with every combination possible with the Top 9, and Hiller has used many of them, but the scoring issues remain, it's the good old idiom of re-rranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I would be absolutely shocked if the Kings don't add a right-shot forward at the deadline, then the question is, which guy out of Moore, Turcotte, Foegele is relegated to 4th line. I think at this point it's tough to justify Trevor Moore sticking up there with the way he's playing, Turcotte has clearly been more effective.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Well ONE thing -- Blake's lack of any post season success whatsoever after 9+ seasons. I think that kind of matters. It's also an evaluation done after the full completion of the team's season. Not partial -- full. Thus, a much better time to do a complete/proper analysis of the team and the person in charge. I don't think it's that much to ask for a GM to win one series. How many more coaches is he gonna fire/hire.

Using Dec/Jan (heck even only the full regular season) is not a complete picture. Yet you do this every year. It's kind of embarrassing. I want the Kings to win a playoff series for myself -- but i'm also at the point where i feel so bad for you, that i hope & pray they can win a series soon one of these years for your benefit. Your annual foolish "Dec/Jan we're awesome" proclamations is getting to be like a bad SNL skit.

lol, what am I doing exactly? Oh, you mean not throwing a tantrum that the Kings have lost a few games despite being 10 games over .500 and firmly in a playoff spot at the end of Jan? There’s lots of things to cry about in the world, this ain’t one of them. But would it be better if I did?

Is that what I need to do to fit in with the cool kids?

 

[BaileyFan]

But I’m the troll…

Glad you came around.

 

[Lt Dan]

And yeah, Fiala does add balance and a little bit of skill to the other lines, looking at your projected lineups with him as a 1st line winger, the 2nd and 3rd lines would both be pretty bad. That is why I think Hiller continues to run the lines he does, he'd rather have some semblance of offensive ability throughout the Top 9, even if it means having a third liner with the two best forwards on the first line.

People have come up with every combination possible with the Top 9, and Hiller has used many of them, but the scoring issues remain,

And this exacerbates the development problem.
The King should have cheap scoring forwards coming up through the ranks on ELCs to fill in holes. Laferriere is really the only one
I don't watch nearly enough Reign games but does anyone know the ETA of say Pinelli? Is Jamsen an nhl prospect? What about Chromiak?

 

[Schrute farms]

lol, what am I doing exactly? Oh, you mean not throwing a tantrum that the Kings have lost a few games despite being 10 games over .500 and firmly in a playoff spot at the end of Jan? There’s lots of things to cry about in the world, this ain’t one of them. But would it be better if I did?

Is that what I need to do to fit in with the cool kids?

Nah, you are too busy crying and throwing a tantrum at people posting on an internet fan site that don't agree with your specific point of view.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Nah, you are too busy crying and throwing a tantrum at people posting on an internet fan site that don't agree with your specific point of view.

And you are sure you aren't doing the same?

 

[bland]

And this exacerbates the development problem.
The King should have cheap scoring forwards coming up through the ranks on ELCs to fill in holes. Laferriere is really the only one
I don't watch nearly enough Reign games but does anyone know the ETA of say Pinelli? Is Jamsen an nhl prospect? What about Chromiak?

The issue is the style of play, not really the players.

This heavy, staunch defense really requires an all hands on deck approach. Players taking a different approach throw the team off of its axis, no matter how badly production is needed. The Kings have drafted plenty of talent, the shortcoming is always trying to get them to buy in to the system. Some kids take too long because they aren't physically mature enough to play heavy, some have had a very difficult time merging their skill set into the gameplan, and some of them even gave up entirely.

I have been saying for damn near a decade now that nothing will change until Kopitar is gone. Its not a knock on Anze, at least not directly, it's an indictment of an organization that bought in so heavily on the type of game he plays and the respect he has earned that they aren't adapting to the qualities of players they have drafted. Anze's style of play is hyper-specific to his skill sets and physicality. In my opinion, that respect is detrimental because it has led to a decade of trying to force modern skill kids into a hyper-specific Anze shaped hole and it just hasn't worked.

Nothing will change here until they realize it's antiquated thinking. They need to cut loose of the past, bottom out, bring in talent, and let that talent grow organically into team leaders and respect THEIR ability to dictate the kind of game they should be playing.

Blake, Robitaille and Co have wasted 10 years trying to shape new Anze's and wasting what honestly could have been a new golden age for the LA Kings.

 

[FSL KINGS]

The issue is the style of play, not really the players.

This heavy, staunch defense really requires an all hands on deck approach. Players taking a different approach throw the team off of its axis, no matter how badly production is needed. The Kings have drafted plenty of talent, the shortcoming is always trying to get them to buy in to the system. Some kids take too long because they aren't physically mature enough to play heavy, some have had a very difficult time merging their skill set into the gameplan, and some of them even gave up entirely.

I have been saying for damn near a decade now that nothing will change until Kopitar is gone. Its not a knock on Anze, at least not directly, it's an indictment of an organization that bought in so heavily on the type of game he plays and the respect he has earned that they aren't adapting to the qualities of players they have drafted. Anze's style of play is hyper-specific to his skill sets and physicality. In my opinion, that respect is detrimental because it has led to a decade of trying to force modern skill kids into a hyper-specific Anze shaped hole and it just hasn't worked.

Nothing will change here until they realize it's antiquated thinking. They need to cut loose of the past, bottom out, bring in talent, and let that talent grow organically into team leaders and respect THEIR ability to dictate the kind of game they should be playing.

Blake, Robitaille and Co have wasted 10 years trying to shape new Anze's and wasting what honestly could have been a new golden age for the LA Kings.

Winning 2:1 isn't sustainable for long term success. Team struggles to integrate offense from AHL or from NHL.

Example: King's trade for Panarin, how does that workout?

The logical step from here is to dump expensive forward contracts for a top 9 filled with Foegeles & bring in physical D with some offensive skills, because the offense isn't coming from forwards & the team is too easy to play against.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Fiala is killing Danault.

Or, Danault is killing Fiala because his game has fallen off a cliff and he's analytically one of the worst finishers in the entire NHL this year. Danault's defensive game doesn't even seem that strong this year. In previous years I would marvel at the plays he would make defensively and how he would constantly win puck battles and out-compete opposing players. This year it just seems like he's going through the motions most nights.

the Kings still expect Kopi and Kempe to do a lot of heavy defensive lifting, and when you put the worst defensive forward on the team in that situation it weakens them in that role.

Or, when you put your most dynamically skilled offensive forward with two amazing 200ft players it helps cover up his defensive shortcomings while amplifying Kopitar and Kempe's offensive impact.

Part of my point/frustration is that they haven't REALLY tried it. So we don't fully know how it would work out. They played Fiala with Kopi and Kempe for like 5 games at the start of Fiala's first season in LA and have largely abandoned the idea entirely ever since (with the exception being late in games this year when the Kings are trailing and desperately need a goal).

And yeah, Fiala does add balance and a little bit of skill to the other lines, looking at your projected lineups with him as a 1st line winger, the 2nd and 3rd lines would both be pretty bad.

We don't know the 2nd and 3rd lines would be pretty bad. Have we tried Turcotte - Byfield - Laferriere for more than a few shifts (Or ever?)? No. Have we tried a 3rd line of Moore - Danault - Foegele for more than a few shifts? No.

Let's not forget the beginning of the season when Turcotte and Laferriere were essentially carrying this team and consistently two of the team's best forwards. It was clear they clicked immediately and complimented each other's games really well. They were split up in an effort to try to balance out the offence and it clearly hasn't worked - put them back together and let them cook. For all we know Turcotte - Byfield - Laferriere could be absolutely incredible together.

And like I said in my original post - Maybe Moore-Danault-Foegele would excel together, especially in a clearly defined shutdown/energy 3rd line role. Sometimes being provided with a clear role can have a hugely positive impact on players. The Kings are seemingly expecting every line to be balanced and do it all - Maybe that actually isn't the right approach.

Also, I know Hiller has tried a ton of different line combinations but part of my frustration is that he makes so many adjustments on the fly constantly in games that it doesn't allow players an extended look with the same linemates and that greatly hinders their ability to build chemistry. Throwing a line combination out there for a couple periods in a game doesn't qualify as giving it a legitimate look in my book.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Or, Danault is killing Fiala because his game has fallen off a cliff and he's analytically one of the worst finishers in the entire NHL this year. Danault's defensive game doesn't even seem that strong this year. In previous years I would marvel at the plays he would make defensively and how he would constantly win puck battles and out-compete opposing players. This year it just seems like he's going through the motions most nights.

Wow, it's such a weird coincidence that all of Fiala's linemates from team to team seem to be unable to finish, he must just be severely unlucky, nothing at all he's doing to cause that.

 

[Trash Panda]

Wow, it's such a weird coincidence that all of Fiala's linemates from team to team seem to be unable to finish, he must just be severely unlucky, nothing at all he's doing to cause that.

It’s baffling how many of the “Fiala is a top-line winger” types, fail to realize that his play style forces him to be marooned on his “own” line with two defensively oriented players.

Kevin is the single biggest problem with the forwards on this roster.

It’s not a good thing, and it’s costing the Kings dearly.

 

[AbsentMojo]

It’s baffling how many of the “Fiala is a top-line winger” types, fail to realize that his play style forces him to be marooned on his “own” line with two defensively oriented players.

Kevin is the single biggest problem with the forwards on this roster.

It’s not a good thing, and it’s costing the Kings dearly.

Couple games a go he had a 2 on 1 with Moore and just used him as a decoy (as well he should).. and after he scored tapped him on the helmet like - attaboy you grasp your role on this line. : )

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Wow, it's such a weird coincidence that all of Fiala's linemates from team to team seem to be unable to finish, he must just be severely unlucky, nothing at all he's doing to cause that.

Bro he had 44 assists last year. 49 the year before. 52 apples during his career year in Minny. That doesn't happen if you're playing with linemates from team to team that seem to be unable to finish.

Also, part of my point here is we should exhaust all options before the TDL so we can continue to evaluate this team. If you try Fiala on the top line for a solid 5-10 games and it doesn't go well - especially now when the team already isn't playing well - then maybe that tells you this forward group does in fact need a big shake up.

Fiala's played like 200 games for the Kings and has probably played on the top line for maybeeee 10 games max. That's like 5% of his time here. Do we really think that's enough time to definitively say "Kevin Fiala is not a 1st line forward and can't play with Kopitar and Kempe??"

Personally, I think it's worth trying again. What do you have to lose when the team is playing like this?

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Winning 2:1 isn't sustainable for long term success. Team struggles to integrate offense from AHL or from NHL.

Example: King's trade for Panarin, how does that workout?

This is why I really think the Kings offensive struggles are more organizational system / style of play than it is "well, our players just aren't skilled/good enough".

For years we've seen ex-Kings enjoy more offensive success as soon as they leave for other teams. Most Kings fans have also made the claim over the years that if Kopitar played for a more offensive team/system he'd probably be a 80-90 point player consistently instead of a 60-70 point player. Now we're saying it about Kempe - "Oh man Kempe is so underrated, if he played for a more offensive team he'd potentially be a 100 point player". We also saw it with PLD. Comes to LA, can't do shit. Leaves and immediately reverts back to a 60+ point VERY good 2C.

It's not the players - It's the organizational philosophy and how they've chosen to define "Kings hockey".

And to your point - Even if the Kings did have a guy like Panarin on their roster... Would that really change things? Would Panarin still be a 90+ point forward in the Kings system?? Of course we'll never know for sure but I highly doubt it.

The Kings would probably turn Panarin into a frustrated 60-70 point player and would find themselves right back in a similar boat where they're struggling to generate offense.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

It’s baffling how many of the “Fiala is a top-line winger” types, fail to realize that his play style forces him to be marooned on his “own” line with two defensively oriented players.

Kevin is the single biggest problem with the forwards on this roster.

It’s not a good thing, and it’s costing the Kings dearly.

Just change his first name to Trevor and it all makes sense.