GDT: Carolina Hurricanes at Los Angeles Kings - Dec 8, 2016 - 730pm

[damacles1156]

On to the next game,

Need Kopitar/Gabo/Toffoli to get out of the funk. That would help a lot.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Sell what exactly ?

Cause if you're talking someone like King etc.

Well, just what exactly is a 3-4 rd pick going to make or break the Kings next year ?

If you're talking Sell Kopitar/Carter/A-Mart etc, and rebuild, then you have some meat of a debate.

I dunno. I think they're closer to a rebuild than being contenders.

 

[HookKing]

Forbert, Gravel and Greene were the best defenders tonight. When you're best players aren't you've got big problems. Same story on forward side.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Of all the forwards, how many have met or exceeded expectations after more than a quarter of the season?

Same goes for dmen. I can count on one hand with missing fingers how many have exceeded expectations, and Budaj is one of those.

Good question. I'll go with Carter and the bottom six (plus King and Lewis, who knows what we classify them as now ). Martinez started to but tailed off, Forbort and Gravel have been good, Gilbert and Greene have been good.

Really the biggest disappointments in all around play, imo, have been Doughty, Toffoli, Muzzin, in that order. Production wise, we need more out of Kopitar and WILL need more out of Gaborik--though I'm hesitant to burn those guys at the stake because Kopi had been a monster and Gabby just returned.

So basically, we're back to where we left off at the end of last season, but with depth, haha.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I dunno. I think they're closer to a rebuild than being contenders.

Go ahead and look at some contenders and I promise you you'll find the same sorts of 'holes' we have.

IMO this isn't a GM fix up time, this is a players/coaching on-ice performance fix up time.

And coming into tonight, we had an all situations save percentage of barely .900.

 

[bouncesonly]

When was the last time toffoli scored a goal or had a primary assist?

 

[kingsholygrail]

When was the last time toffoli scored a goal or had a primary assist?

Before Kopitar came back from injury.

 

[Fishhead]

Nolan > Kopitar.

I'm only half kidding.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Before Kopitar came back from injury.

I really do hope he isn't expecting to make $6M or more. Based on what we've seen so far, he isn't worth that.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I really do hope he isn't expecting to make $6M or more. Based on what we've seen so far, he isn't worth that.

I don't know what's going on with the team really. Just seems like a mental game issue.

 

[Kingspiracy]

Nolan > Kopitar.

I'm only half kidding.

Road trip might be good for the guys, It will get Kopi away from the nappies for one thing.

Whats TTs big number next year if he tops out at 20goals this season? Could we see another bridge deal?

Perhaps Doughty is trying too hard to protect the struggling netminder tonight.

 

[Bandit]

sorry don't believe you

i've played many team sports, and most of the time when there was a ****** player that had a direct negative impact on the score sheet, more than a few of us played differently

we were more worried about goals coming in than scoring goals

and also, a few of us weren't as motivated to give 110%

unless you had some crazy intense luck where your hockey team was made of 21 supermen that were completely immune to anything psychological for a solid 25 years mind you... (which i guess it could happen....), then no i'm afraid i have to call you out on this one

LMAO "I don't believe you." You can believe whatever you want.

I didn't say that the performance of a teammate can't affect the psyche of a team, but your assertion that "people who say X have obviously never played a sport" is obnoxious and absurd.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

LMAO "I don't believe you." You can believe whatever you want.

I didn't say that the performance of a teammate can't affect the psyche of a team, but your assertion that "people who say X have obviously never played a sport" is obnoxious and absurd.

I also don't think Zatkoff is preventing Kopitar or Toffoli from creating offense. The top guys have not been playing like they're the top guys. That's more of a problem right now. I kind of expected this with Zatkoff or Budaj, but I didn't expect Kopitar to only have two goals through December.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Sutter roasting the effort appropriately

On whether the effort was “disappointing” after several days off:
No, it’s disappointing because it’s the third time this year we’ve had three days between games, and that first game after the three days we’ve been, for lack of a better word, [road apples]. Go back to Philly-Minnesota, San Jose the last time they played in here, and this one here. Our top guys were not very efficient out there maximizing what their God gave ‘em. [Reporter: Is that because they’re taking things for granted, you think?] No, I don’t think that’s the right word. I think the word would be ‘using the time properly to prepare to be a great competitor.’

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Pleased to see the coach noticed the same problems we saw from our living room. The nonchalant approach they take with these games bothers me. It reminds me too much of their attitude and approach in the last couple of months of 2014-15 and 2015-16.

And we are all too familiar with the December doldrums...

 

[kingsholygrail]

Sutter roasting the effort appropriately

On whether the effort was “disappointing†after several days off:
No, it’s disappointing because it’s the third time this year we’ve had three days between games, and that first game after the three days we’ve been, for lack of a better word, [road apples]. Go back to Philly-Minnesota, San Jose the last time they played in here, and this one here. Our top guys were not very efficient out there maximizing what their God gave ‘em. [Reporter: Is that because they’re taking things for granted, you think?] No, I don’t think that’s the right word. I think the word would be ‘using the time properly to prepare to be a great competitor.’

Would rekt be appropriate? There also seems to be some "stop being lazy when it's not game day" criticism mixed in there.

 

[kingsfan28]

Sutter roasting the effort appropriately

On whether the effort was “disappointing†after several days off:
No, it’s disappointing because it’s the third time this year we’ve had three days between games, and that first game after the three days we’ve been, for lack of a better word, [road apples]. Go back to Philly-Minnesota, San Jose the last time they played in here, and this one here. Our top guys were not very efficient out there maximizing what their God gave ‘em. [Reporter: Is that because they’re taking things for granted, you think?] No, I don’t think that’s the right word. I think the word would be ‘using the time properly to prepare to be a great competitor.’

Sutter dropping "horse____ " during the presser when talking about some of the guys was vintage Sutter. He sees what we see and doesn;t sugar coat it.

 

[Omni Owl]

Classic Sutter.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Would rekt be appropriate? There also seems to be some "stop being lazy when it's not game day" criticism mixed in there.

Yup, that was a shot at the players' day off prep. Love it.

Bag skate tomorrow?

 

[KingsFan7824]

Another relatively easy game for the opponent. At home no less.

Too many days off and they're not good. Too many games in a row in they're not good. There's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle of that where they're really good for like a game.

Kopitar - 15 games without a goal, and 1 in 18.
Toffoli - 8 games without a goal, and 1 in 12
Pearson - 7 games without a goal, and 1 in 10

Good to see Doughty get schooled a couple times in his own zone by non all-stars. Muzzin keeps his season long solid play going.

5v5 scoring:
Dowd - 0G, 6A, 6pts
Brown - 1G, 5A, 6pts
Shore - 1G, 4A, 5pts

 

[The Tikkanen]

​

Another relatively easy game for the opponent. At home no less.

Too many days off and they're not good. Too many games in a row in they're not good. There's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle of that where they're really good for like a game.

Kopitar - 15 games without a goal, and 1 in 18.
Toffoli - 8 games without a goal, and 1 in 12
Pearson - 7 games without a goal, and 1 in 10

Good to see Doughty get schooled a couple times in his own zone by non all-stars. Muzzin keeps his season long solid play going.

5v5 scoring:
Dowd - 0G, 6A, 6pts
Brown - 1G, 5A, 6pts
Shore - 1G, 4A, 5pts

The writing was on the wall that Kopitar would have a down season once Lucic left. Teams can focus on shutting him down since he does not have first line wingers on either side of him.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

LMAO "I don't believe you." You can believe whatever you want.

I didn't say that the performance of a teammate can't affect the psyche of a team, but your assertion that "people who say X have obviously never played a sport" is obnoxious and absurd.

so then you should know that no one can fairly judge this team as long as those two buffoons are tending goal for us

and actually, to be where we are despite all this says a lot about the team

last year the hockey gods took away Price and Montreal showed they didn't even belong in this league

by that logic, LA is a solid team for sure, but they can't work miracles

you can read their body language (especially when Zatkoff is in net) that they have a huge chip on their shoulders, it's a climb

games don't start 0-0 for us, we start every game in a deficit because unlike other average goalies (Ward, Halak, Allen, etc) we are GUARANTEED at least 1 bad goal.... unless we play defense so tight that we eliminate all those chances

this team battles and i'm more positive with this year's team than the previous two seasons

 

[fsanford]

There are a couple of teams that when they come to town, they suck the life out of the building before the game even starts.

Carolina,
Panthers
Devils ( regular season version)

Its like getting a root canal, building is dead, Kings players have no energy to feed off of. Even though Kings have had success in the past

It reminds me of the movie Lifeforce, and the Canes are the team that just sucks it out of the crowd.

Senators used also be one of those teams, but with a guy like Karlsson, you can at least focus on his high level skill set and enjoy watching him.

 

[KingsFan7824]

The writing was on the wall that Kopitar would have a down season once Lucic left. Teams can focus on shutting him down since he does not have first line wingers on either side of him.

I'm not sure what to make of it yet. He's gone long stretches without a goal before Lucic was here too. 17 games in 11-12, and 16 games in 2013. He didn't have a goal against either the Hawks or the Rangers in 2014 either, which was 12 playoff games. Kopitar's 14-15 season though, that's the one that put questions in your head. Not only did he have a career low in a full season, but the team failed altogether.

If Kopitar ends up with 15 goals this year, then there's an issue somewhere. He still has time to at least get up to near his career average of 26. He had 25 last year, 29 in 13-14.

Can't expect more production out of Kopitar just because he has a bigger contract, but they do need him to remain at his normal level. They already have one guy that saw his stats plummet after signing a big contract, and the Kings have been paying for it since. They can't have their 2 highest paid forwards go down that road at the same time. Plus Gaborik, who sits 4th on the cap up front. The Kings will not recover if they have 3 of their top 4 paid forwards not producing at the clip they need.

Plus Quick is out, and Doughty, Martinez, and Muzzin are all struggling to one degree or another. These are all their biggest cap hits. Toffoli and Pearson need new big contracts, and they're both slumping.

They don't have the luxury of Bernier or Jones backing up Quick anymore. Quick makes too much money for that. It should be a young goalie that they developed for a few years getting these starts with Quick out, but of course another domestic violence situation took care of that option.

Someone has to step up somewhere for this team. Actually, a few guys have to. Carter can't do it all by himself. They're sticking around because of that 3v3 point, but it's not going to last if they lose more often than win in regulation.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

I'm not sure what to make of it yet. He's gone long stretches without a goal before Lucic was here too. 17 games in 11-12, and 16 games in 2013. He didn't have a goal against either the Hawks or the Rangers in 2014 either, which was 12 playoff games. Kopitar's 14-15 season though, that's the one that put questions in your head. Not only did he have a career low in a full season, but the team failed altogether.

If Kopitar ends up with 15 goals this year, then there's an issue somewhere. He still has time to at least get up to near his career average of 26. He had 25 last year, 29 in 13-14.

Can't expect more production out of Kopitar just because he has a bigger contract, but they do need him to remain at his normal level. They already have one guy that saw his stats plummet after signing a big contract, and the Kings have been paying for it since. They can't have their 2 highest paid forwards go down that road at the same time. Plus Gaborik, who sits 4th on the cap up front. The Kings will not recover if they have 3 of their top 4 paid forwards not producing at the clip they need.

Plus Quick is out, and Doughty, Martinez, and Muzzin are all struggling to one degree or another. These are all their biggest cap hits. Toffoli and Pearson need new big contracts, and they're both slumping.

They don't have the luxury of Bernier or Jones backing up Quick anymore. Quick makes too much money for that. It should be a young goalie that they developed for a few years getting these starts with Quick out, but of course another domestic violence situation took care of that option.

Someone has to step up somewhere for this team. Actually, a few guys have to. Carter can't do it all by himself. They're sticking around because of that 3v3 point, but it's not going to last if they lose more often than win in regulation.

yeah the issue is that his linemates are Setoguchi, Purcell, Lewis, King, Brown, Gaborik and other players that have no business being on the first line

even Crosby never had players this bad to work with