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GDT: Capitals @ Kings 3/11/17 7:30 p.m. PT; FS-W, CSN-DC+, NHL.TV

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Raccoon Jesus said:
I will happily eat crow but it's a small miracle we hung in the game long enough to turn it around...but that team we saw with some moxie at the end there is a good confident sign, if THOSE guys show up nightly, we just might make something of this!
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i really feel this year's team is better than the last two seasons

the effort is there, which is very important

w/ Greene & Scuderi long gone

and McNabb's minutes reduced to something i'm comfortable with

that entire D is better

Quick is better too

you know me, i've been bashing the Kings like crazy the past two seasons, so maybe there's something to this team this time around

don't forget though, we are 9th despite the Budaj/Zatkoff tandem, don't underestimate how awful that tandem was; (forget the articles written by noobs stating how Budaj was amazing. and neglecting how much our entire team adapted and played conservative hockey in front of him)

clearly we would have been in a playoff spot by now with Quick in net

STL's next three games: @LA @ANA @SJ (3 games in 4 nights on the road)
LA's next three games: vsSTL vsARZ vsBUF (3 games in 4 nights at home)

it's almost a guarantee that STL won't win all 3
and LA is in a good position to win all 3
 
KingPuckChoo said:
i really feel this year's team is better than the last two seasons

the effort is there, which is very important

w/ Greene & Scuderi long gone

and McNabb's minutes reduced to something i'm comfortable with

that entire D is better

Quick is better too

you know me, i've been bashing the Kings like crazy the past two seasons, so maybe there's something to this team this time around

don't forget though, we are 9th despite the Budaj/Zatkoff tandem, don't underestimate how awful that tandem was; (forget the articles written by noobs stating how Budaj was amazing. and neglecting how much our entire team adapted and played conservative hockey in front of him)

clearly we would have been in a playoff spot by now with Quick in net
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Hey dont' get me wrong, I've been saying the same stuff all season, I've just worn out lately and want to see results like tonight. And they look rejuvenated with the growth of the youth. If Kopitar is waking up, as well as Toffoli who made a few more confident plays tonight, watch out. The question will just be if the damage is already done.

Fishhead said:
I thought they were just OK. They all made their share of mistakes, especially the young guys trying to get it out the zone. Doughty and Forbort do not look good together right now, might be time to try and mix it up a little. They got pinned in several times tonight, and the goal against was atrocious. Forbort gets some benefit of the doubt, but Doughty was crap tonight outside of a few nifty plays and a nice hip check.

I thought Martinez had a strong game, and even though LaDue made a few glaring mistakes he was impressive overall. Muzzin was like a fricken teeter-totter, really solid or totally terrible. Gravel was up and down.

But they were still in line with expectations, that's a young D playing one of the top offensive teams in the league. Not a lot of shots allowed, but many were grade A opportunities.

The biggest problem I saw with our D tonight (which is an ongoing issue) was a lack of punishment. This team really misses guys like Greene/Mitchell/Regehr who would make guys pay for coming into the zone. I get that it's a soft lineup, but Muzzin and Doughty used to really bring the wood and they rarely do anything of the sort any more. Forbort hits, but it's more neutralizing, safe hits. I don't think it really matters if they make it in at this point, because this D isn't going to wear down anyone in a series.
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I thought Forbort was playing very angry tonight, but I agree in general he's more of a 'contain' hitter.

Considering the youth of our D, I thought they played very well, particularly considering what I said earlier about the system--it can't be easy to make passes with two fast guys bearing down on your (predictable) spots. I appreciate that LaDue especially was trying to make plays fearlessly, and all three had moments where they made an extra protection move with the puck to buy themselves some time when they were in danger, which is a major step in growth imo. They were the ones most vulnerable to the Caps forechecking our breakout 'spots' and seemed to handle it at least as well as the vets.

Doughty and Forbort tonight looked like Muzzin/Martinez, just weren't reading one another well, I agree that maybe they've grown a little stale, but not sure what else we could do. Forbort/LaDue would be a lot of youth on one pairing especially since they'd be looking and 2nd pairing minutes.

Let's also keep in mind that's three rookies playing against a +69 team that hasn't lost three regulation games in a row all year until now :nod: and Kempe potting the GWG makes that extra special. The youth have arrived.
 
Record against the Central:
Cal, 17GP, 11-6-0, 22 points, .647
Edm, 18GP, 10-5-3, 23 points, .639
LA, 18GP, 10-5-3, 23 points, .639
SJ, 14GP, 8-6-0, 16 points, .571
Van, 16GP, 8-6-2, 18 points, .563
Ana, 17GP, 9-7-1, 19 points, .559
Ari, 14GP, 4-10-0, 8 points, .286

Record against the Metro:
SJ, 15GP, 10-4-1, 21 points, .700
LA, 15GP, 9-5-1, 19 points, .633
Cal, 14GP, 6-7-1, 13 points, .464
Ari, 14GP, 6-7-1, 13 points, .464
Ana, 14GP, 5-6-3, 13 points, .464
Edm, 16GP, 6-9-1, 13 points, .406
Van, 16GP, 3-9-4, 10 points, .313

Record against the Pacific:
Edm, 19GP, 12-4-3, 27 points, .711
Ana, 22GP, 12-6-4, 28 points, .636
SJ, 23GP, 13-7-3, 29 points, .630
Van, 21GP, 11-9-1, 23 points, .548
Cal, 22GP, 10-9-3, 23 points, .523
LA, 19GP, 9-9-1, 19 points, .500
Ari, 26GP, 9-12-5, 23 points, .442

Record against the Atlantic:
Cal, 15GP, 11-4-0, 22 points, .733
SJ, 15GP, 9-3-3, 21 points, .700
Ana, 15GP, 9-4-2, 20 points, .667
Edm, 14GP, 7-5-2, 16 points, .571
Van, 15GP, 6-7-2, 14 points, .467
Ari, 13GP, 5-6-2, 12 points, .462
LA, 15GP, 5-9-1, 11 points, .367

2-4-1 at home against Atlantic teams. 4-2-1 would have them 1 point up on the Blues.

A bad record against the Atlantic, and too many points given away against the Pacific. 20 points behind SJ. 18 points behind Anaheim. 15 points behind Calgary. 13 points behind Edmonton.
 
Biggest surprise for me this season is this guys level of poise and compete.

Derek+Forbort+2010+NHL+Entry+Draft+Portraits+GKT_Fr0sps3l.jpg


He's come out of hiding and is blossoming into a beautiful butterfly right before our very eyes. :tear:
 
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Great night for Kings fans against the Caps.

Kempe's goal and demeanor turned me into a fan. I'm rooting for this kid to give this roster the offensive jolt it needs. The fact he said after the game that his reaction to his first NHL goal was subdued because there was still a lot of time to play was great. He's showing he has mental skills to match hockey skills. Very exciting stuff.

I'm also rooting for Gaborik to keep finding the back of the net and getting breakaways. The hands are still there, you just wonder how far away the next slump or injury is. The Kings have no other game breakers at forward who aren't going to draw extra coverage down the stretch.

Toffoli has regressed since returning from injury. When you see Pearson outplaying him on Carters line and Carter in a drought till last night, you got to wonder what's up with TT?

Good to see the Kings be able to put up 3 against Holtby in regulation while playing within the system and coming back twice from being down one goal. Good to see Quick not hurt himself on some of the scramble plays and shots off the post, of which there were a ton.

Which goes to show that the Kings are going to need a little luck to go along with the rejuvenated vets and hungry kids they've got going here.
 
Watched it on DVR. Good game and much needed win.

Washington looks good. The speed of their backchecking was impressive.

Kempe looks good. Just needs some consistency. Great play.

Still miss Williams. He looked motivated against LA.

So thankful for Quick.

Go Kings Go!
 
KINGS17 said:
The goal by Kempe was a beauty. Hope it helps his confidence.
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From the practice notes at lakingsinsider.com:

In attendance for Adrian Kempe’s first career goal? His parents, who traveled from Stockholm to watch him play. They were also in attendance for the Nashville game and will remain in town for a week as the seven-game home stand continues. His mother had already caught him in Ontario this season, but his father, a hockey coach who also develops players and works in a number of roles with Göta/Traneberg IK, a team in Sweden’s Division 2, traveled to Los Angeles for the first time this season, Kempe said.
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DoktorJeep said:
Great night for Kings fans against the Caps.

Kempe's goal and demeanor turned me into a fan. I'm rooting for this kid to give this roster the offensive jolt it needs. The fact he said after the game that his reaction to his first NHL goal was subdued because there was still a lot of time to play was great. He's showing he has mental skills to match hockey skills. Very exciting stuff.

I'm also rooting for Gaborik to keep finding the back of the net and getting breakaways. The hands are still there, you just wonder how far away the next slump or injury is. The Kings have no other game breakers at forward who aren't going to draw extra coverage down the stretch.

Toffoli has regressed since returning from injury. When you see Pearson outplaying him on Carters line and Carter in a drought till last night, you got to wonder what's up with TT?

Good to see the Kings be able to put up 3 against Holtby in regulation while playing within the system and coming back twice from being down one goal. Good to see Quick not hurt himself on some of the scramble plays and shots off the post, of which there were a ton.

Which goes to show that the Kings are going to need a little luck to go along with the rejuvenated vets and hungry kids they've got going here.
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Holtby didn't play, Grubauer was in net.

Would love to see KEmpe play center and see if he can develop into a solid #2. he seems to have a very even keel demeanor which is good for a young player. That goal showed how good he can be.

I don't think Toffoli has regressed, I don't think he's 100%. He made a comment to that effect just before he was taken off IR during one of his last practices. I don't think Pearson is outplaying TT, he's just playing like Pearson. He's developing into a top 6 winger, skilled and tenacious. That aggressive pursuit of the puck and player, that's the best part of his game and something he brings fairly consistently.

Kings played a solid 2nd and 3rd and earned those 2 pts. And got a little bit of lady luck with the Caps hitting so many posts.

Huge game Monday nite...
 
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