GDT: Game 26: Kings vs Ducks @ 7pm Pacific

[The Midnight Burrito]

Zegras had a couple sweet passes but his most impressive play was slashing Doughty back after the slash he took. We literally have zero other forwards (maybe Getz sometimes) who'd do that.

 

[Bek]

Zegras had a couple sweet passes but his most impressive play was slashing Doughty back after the slash he took. We literally have zero other forwards (maybe Getz sometimes) who'd do that.

Agreed. Wouldn't surprise me if he gained a little respect from Doughty. Not that the respect is necessary, but that height and weight disadvantage would be enough for most rookies just taking it and skating away. Z has some confidence and swagger. I'm looking forward to his first goal. If he scores it early in a game I feel like he will be electric and buzzing for the rest of the game.

 

[Arthuros]

LOL, one of my favorite movies. Yeah I'm a big kid. lol.

Watched it a few days ago. Still holds up as a really good movie, even if it's coming up on like...14 years.

 

[McDonald19]

How has steel been playing? Was expecting more numbers from him

His lack of offensive creativity, now that he is in his third pro season, is frustrating. He has been good on faceoffs and in the D-zone though.

 

[Static]

Steel made several 66.7% good plays last night in the offensive zone. I thought he was skating really well and made space for himself with the puck in dangerous areas several times, then made the absolute wrong decision the last third of the play every time.

He's got the tools, he just has to relax and play.

 

[Leonardo87]

His lack of offensive creativity, now that he is in his third pro season, is frustrating. He has been good on faceoffs and in the D-zone though.

Just glad that 2 on 1 was not with Steel and Henrique, would likely end up in the back of our net. ha ha.

I kid, I still have some faith in Steel, but he needs to be more creative and take the shot more. He thinks too much and loses control of the puck.

 

[Arthuros]

His lack of offensive creativity, now that he is in his third pro season, is frustrating. He has been good on faceoffs and in the D-zone though.

Turns out he's the next Manny Malhotra and not the next Krejci or whoever the hell his comparable was.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I thought Steel was really good last night, that horrible decision not shoot notwithstanding. The 4th line had some solid shifts with him controlling the puck and setting people up.

 

[AngelDuck]

A bit alarming that Steels best attribute has sort of disappeared. In juniors he was a guy known for his poise with the puck. He could look guys off. That’s his biggest issue now. He still shows some promising traits though

He’s the one player on our roster I’m a bit worried about right now. Everyone else is either just what they are, or progressing nicely

 

[KyleJRM]

A bit alarming that Steels best attribute has sort of disappeared. In juniors he was a guy known for his poise with the puck. He could look guys off. That’s his biggest issue now. He still shows some promising traits though

He’s the one player on our roster I’m a bit worried about right now. Everyone else is either just what they are, or progressing nicely

He's internalized the idea that he can't beat guys at this level, so he's always looking to bail out to easy ice.

 

[Trojans86]

A bit alarming that Steels best attribute has sort of disappeared. In juniors he was a guy known for his poise with the puck. He could look guys off. That’s his biggest issue now. He still shows some promising traits though

He’s the one player on our roster I’m a bit worried about right now. Everyone else is either just what they are, or progressing nicely

I actually think he has been playing a bit better lately. He is obviously in the doghouse playing on that line but hopefully he can earn a spot higher up the lineup.

 

[Terry Yake]

Kings fans talking about Zegs quite a bit on their forum.

already growing disillusioned with turcotte?

 

[AngelDuck]

already growing disillusioned with turcotte?

They passed on Zegras and Stuzle in back-to-back draft.

I actually preferred Byfield to Stuzle at the draft(don’t anymore), but man, that has the potential to sting quite a bit down the road for them.

It’s way too early to give up on Turcotte/Byfield though

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

already growing disillusioned with turcotte?

1 point in 7 games with the Reign would do that to them.

 

[Terry Yake]

They passed on Zegras and Stuzle in back-to-back draft.

I actually preferred Byfield to Stuzle at the draft(don’t anymore), but man, that has the potential to sting quite a bit down the road for them.

It’s way too early to give up on Turcotte/Byfield though

yeah, i'm sure both will end up playing to their potential (unfotunately)

i wouldn't look much into turcotte's lack of production with ontario so far

 

[Mr Rogers]

It’s too early to call for sure but the early returns don’t look great on either pick

 

[AngelDuck]

yeah, i'm sure both will end up playing to their potential (unfotunately)

i wouldn't look much into turcotte's lack of production with ontario so far

I think Turcotte will be a solid 2nd line C. That’s not exactly what you want out of a top 5 pick but it’s not “bad”

I feel Byfield is one of the most radically boom/bust prospects we’ve seen in a long long time. He could be Malkin/Kopitar and he could also be a total dud who never makes it.

There’s no way after what we’ve seen so far out of Stuzle that you take Byfield over him. I didn’t expect Tim to be this good this quick but he has already completely removed the risk of busting, which matters

 

[SirQuacksALot]

What a pass. Big Z from Gen Z. Wow.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I only saw about half the game plus the highlights.

How the heck are the Kings + in GD, they look awful out there. With one more against them and then two against LA, we should be in for a fun week.

Gibson gets beat a lot lately when he has to move side to side. When he's in god mode, he makes those amazing athletic twists to get his leg over to the far post and then his body follows. When he's not at that level, he tends to square up to where the puck was and then just stare at it the play goes around him. He's still an above-average goalie, but I don't think we can complain when he's not in the Vezina conversation this year.

The defense without Lindholm shows how good Lindholm really is.

Goaltending is important. In the game telecast, Hazy denoted that when the Kings went on that big run it was because their goaltenders were on fire. In the Kings' 6-game win streak, the production was GF = 22 and GA = 7. That's a +15 goal differences.

This ties in with Gibby not being in Elite mode. We've seen big leads get blown and we needed Elite Gibby to show up. In our game last night, we may question the Kings' GD because we scored 6 goals on them, but Gibby gave up 5 goal in the same game. Where's Elite Gibby?

But we did see Miller also give up a 3-0 lead as well in one of the Coyotes' games. Lindholm was out due to injuries for both of those blown 3-0 Coyotes games. Lindholm's has been out for a while and will be out for about six more weeks. Also, we're missing some bite with Manson on the blue line as well. Manson just returned from injury and he missed the 3rd period last night. Our most consistent defensive guy outside of Lindholm and Manson is Hakanpaa.

No Elite G Gibby, no 1D Lindholm, and no 2/3D Manson can lead to a porous defense. The drafting of D Drysdale over any forward shows why GM Murray should stay as GM because we do need that high-end defense on the team sooner. (I wanted Holtz only because I believed Drysdale would be selected before 6th overall.)

This query about the Kings' goal differential (GD) is great to show how netminding is important for wins. Granted, Hazy denoted that Quick has been struggling recently after that 6-game winning streak. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's been wondering why Gibby hasn't been Elite because we've become accustomed to Gibby making those lateral saves. It's like his cat-like reflexes doesn't exists because he doesn't anticipate the occurrence happening. Wake up, Gibby! We need ya!

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Steel made several 66.7% good plays last night in the offensive zone. I thought he was skating really well and made space for himself with the puck in dangerous areas several times, then made the absolute wrong decision the last third of the play every time.

He's got the tools, he just has to relax and play.

Steel is waiver exempt. Maybe we should use that aspect to help him relax. I said last year that Steel looked overwhelmed and we couldn't send him down to the AHL because we had no center talent left available. Lundy was still meh and not much after Lundy. We now have Rico back at center, Lundy at center, and two fourth line centers in Grant and Backes. I want Steel to be better than what he is right now, but he's hitting a wall. Send him back down to the AHL so he can start seeing things offensively. If there's a possibility of Steel becoming a 2C, then send him down to the AHL. If Steel lights up the AHL in three games, then bring him back up.

We sent Terry down to the AHL last year to become a driver, not a passenger. We need to do the same with Steel as he's deferring too much on offense. Where did the Steel D+1 player go? He scored 50 goals and 81 assists for 131 points in only 66 games in his D+1 year! I want that Steel or close to it, but today's Steel is nowhere near that.

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

Anyone else notice Henrique's "celebrations" on his OT goal and Silf's goal were a little off, even for him? Looks like he's still miffed about his situation within the organization.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Anyone else notice Henrique's "celebrations" on his OT goal and Silf's goal were a little off, even for him? Looks like he's still miffed about his situation within the organization.

I think you're reading too much into it