Game 4 10/20/16: Los Angeles Kings 4 @ Dallas Stars 3 F/OT

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yeah I will never forget how much we haunted Turco. Why would they even ever play him against us

 

[Martyros]

After taking a beating, this is how I feel!

 

[goosh]

I thought the newcomers played pretty well yesterday. Gilbert should absolutely play over Greene, based off Gilbert's offensive instincts and his ability to move the puck well. Setoguchi is acclimating to the pace but has been better over the past couple games, and Dowd is a clear upgrade over Jordan Nolan (not saying much). I hope Purcell gets in over Clifford, and that Deano can acquire a stopgap goaltender. Otherwise, the team is better than its 1-3 start indicates...

 

[Trolfoli]

If you need TWO disallowed goals to win against the Kings with Budaj in net, you lost fair and square.

Sorry Budaj. You did play great last night and got the team a win!!!

 

[Little Psycho]

If you need TWO disallowed goals to win against the Kings with Budaj in net, you lost fair and square.

Sorry Budaj. You did play great last night and got the team a win!!!

Which game were you watching? The team kept coming back after Budaj allowed those weak goals.

 

[Choralone]

I have more confidence in Budaj then Zatkoff at this point.

 

[Bandit]

Still confused as to why with 2:30 left in the 3rd period with a 1 goal lead, a d-zone faceoff and 6 attackers for the Stars, Sutter thinks it's okay to put Shore, Adreoff and Brown out there.

Did I miss something? Was it icing?

It was a teaching moment for Shore. What are you going to do? Put Kopitar out there in every game in that situation forever? More guys need to be able to handle that ****.

 

[Bandit]

I have more confidence in Budaj then Zatkoff at this point.

Budaj at least seems calm in net, but he plays too deep, IMO. Zatkoff is a spaz.

Dowd and Pearson were great last night, no Idea why Dowd sat the first two games. Kopitar seems like he might be trying a little too hard, but he'll come around.

 

[AlphaBravo]

The speed of Dowd and Pearson was what made this game different then the past 3. Even if neither player scored a goal, they were difference makers. Specifically, Dowd gave life to our third line and was able to move the puck from the defensive to offensive zone with good skill. He is definitely an upgrade over Shore who has been unnoticeable at best.

Also, I continue to be impressed with Andreoff. He is going to the crease and creating chances. Although he didn't score a goal, I appreciate that he would wack and hack loose pucks in front of the goalie (take notice Brown). Obviously, I am not saying he is going to be some great player, but he is the ideal player to have on the 4th line. I would take him over Nolan or Clifford any day.

 

[KingTrouty]

Not Brown, Gaborik.

Touché, bud. We can only hope.

 

[sinister6000]

Tanner Peason has come out blasting, he's hopefully going to take a big step up this season. The only way the Kings will get Browns contract off the books is if they trade Kempe with him. Florida had to trade Lawson Crouse to get David Bollands contract off their books. Unless Brown starts scoring I don't see Las Vegas Taking him in the expansion draft.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Good thing Nic Dowd is the Dustin Brown whisperer.

Something about Brown and Right handed centers

 

[Trolfoli]

Good thing Nic Dowd is the Dustin Brown whisperer.

Something about Brown and Right handed centers

The last time Brown was sucessful was with Stoll. Stoll played a simple grind it out game. That is what Brown needs.

Kopitar's game has evolved. He's moved from playing the grind game with Brown which had Williams lurking around for rebounds. Now Kopitar is playing closer to Carter/Toffoli's style.

This has left Brown without a center. Well he looked great with Shore, just the puck wasn't going in the net. If they are going to keep Brown they need to bring in a center that sees the game the same way. If that can be Dowd we may be saved!!!

Edit: This would be the opposite of say sticking Toffoli on a line with Brown/Shore. We wouldn't expect Toffoli to fit into that play style and be productive. Stick Brown with Carter/Toffoli may not work great either. The trick would be to find grinders that might be able to put the puck in the net.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

 

[Riposte!]

Ah yes, who can ever forget about this?

I remember turning this game off after the 2nd and leaving the house, and listening to the game on the radio. When they took the 5-4 lead, I pulled off the freeway and devoted my full attention to listening. When Kopitar scored that, I was flipping out on some random road in the Inland Empire that they had won.

 

[kingsfan28]

You know I was going to say before the game that with Budaj's size vs. NHL snipers he's gonna get picked at least once. If he would have only let one of those in like I expected we would have been okay; two was unacceptable. But not many teams will have that kind of skill either so.



It's still a 50-50 call, no reason to get in the media and blow up about it. He just lost his **** last night and it carried into today.

Besides that yeah, Lehtonen was doing that all night, basically just charging out of the crease and contacting people.

I thought so too. He was looking for contact all night, and even in the end couldn't draw a call. Judging by Ruffs comments, you'd think Pearson threw a chicken wing at Lehtonen head and knocked him back.

I looked at the replay 5 times and still couldn't find the contact. Does he think if a jersey brushing his mask count as contact now?

 

[kingsfan28]

The last time Brown was sucessful was with Stoll. Stoll played a simple grind it out game. That is what Brown needs.

Kopitar's game has evolved. He's moved from playing the grind game with Brown which had Williams lurking around for rebounds. Now Kopitar is playing closer to Carter/Toffoli's style.

This has left Brown without a center. Well he looked great with Shore, just the puck wasn't going in the net. If they are going to keep Brown they need to bring in a center that sees the game the same way. If that can be Dowd we may be saved!!!

Edit: This would be the opposite of say sticking Toffoli on a line with Brown/Shore. We wouldn't expect Toffoli to fit into that play style and be productive. Stick Brown with Carter/Toffoli may not work great either. The trick would be to find grinders that might be able to put the puck in the net.

If that's the case, why the hell is King on the top line? He might be the worst forward on the team and is always 3 steps behind Kopitar on the rush. He's like Charles Barkley trying to catch up on a fast break, but without the hands or smarts to set up in front of the net.

 

[Trolfoli]

If that's the case, why the hell is King on the top line? He might be the worst forward on the team and is always 3 steps behind Kopitar on the rush. He's like Charles Barkley trying to catch up on a fast break, but without the hands or smarts to set up in front of the net.

"Why is King on the first line?"

Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why King was on the first line, we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe then we do now.

 

[Legionnaire]

If that's the case, why the hell is King on the top line? He might be the worst forward on the team and is always 3 steps behind Kopitar on the rush. He's like Charles Barkley trying to catch up on a fast break, but without the hands or smarts to set up in front of the net.

Because it's only partially true. Kopitar's game hasn't evolved so much as Kopi is such a good player that he can play to the strength of his linemates.

 

[Battle Hymns]

It was a teaching moment for Shore. What are you going to do? Put Kopitar out there in every game in that situation forever? More guys need to be able to handle that ****.

thank you. people need to relax. the young guys are going to make mistakes. it's part of the process.

 

[Quattro]

So what the heck do the Kings do with Teddy Purcell, that guy has no NHL future, he is just not good at anything. Also can't play in the Kings system.

He doesn't even have speed, or very good hands anymore.

agree on the purcell problem

terrible signing. dowd now settling in and making a difference.

lmao @ "problem". He's signed to a low dollar 1 year deal. What exactly is the "problem"?

Also, lmao @ drawing conclusions after 2 games

 

[Trolfoli]

thank you. people need to relax. the young guys are going to make mistakes. it's part of the process.

The players are working really hard to carry the goalie right now. Sutter doesn't need to be making it any harder. I would love to have seen what team moral looked like if Martinez didn't bail Sutter out in OT.

 

[Trolfoli]

lmao @ "problem". He's signed to a low dollar 1 year deal. What exactly is the "problem"?

Also, lmao @ drawing conclusions after 2 games

Purcell will be the extra forward. He'll probably be told to have his agent ask around to see if anyone wants him or they'll waive him when someone is ready to come up.

On the other hand Seto is looking really good. 550k or so. Gilbert is looking decent at 1.4M. So that's 3.55M between Purcell/Seto/Gilbert for filling a top 6 role and the bottom pairing. That worked out pretty ****ing well. Could even get 900k of that back to bring up another player by sending Purcell down.

What was the Purcell problem again? I'm not seeing it either.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Ah yes, who can ever forget about this?

I was at that game. My mind was blown. The best was all the people after the game celebrating like they won the cup. Cars were blowing horns and everything.

 

[Trolfoli]

Because it's only partially true. Kopitar's game hasn't evolved so much as Kopi is such a good player that he can play to the strength of his linemates.

In addition to the skill game of Carter/Toffoli, Kopitar is also around 230 pounds. It makes it possible for him to play the half court game and post up. King is actually pretty good at playing along the boards with Kopitar in this style.

Brown is not so good at out muscling guys on the boards. He used to knock them over and cause chaos but not so much any more.

Guess I could have used that "Multi" reply button. Oh well too tried