GDT: GM#23 LA Kings vs Edmonton Oilers @7:30pm 11/25/18

[KingsFan7824]

Desjardins has no confidence in Kovalchuk. I don't think it's anything more than that. He is a typical head coach, with a short term/current game mindset, and wants guys that play defense. If Kovalchuk is going to be soft, he's clearly not going to play any meaningful minutes. Kopitar gets the benefit of the doubt. Carter gets the benefit of the doubt. It's going to be a problem, because either Kovalchuk or Desjardins is going to have to bend. If neither guy does, Desjardins controls who gets on the ice. I doubt anyone wants Blake or Robitaille telling him who to play, so, it is what it is.

They're still 31st.

3rd in the Pacific is still on pace for 82 points, so to hit that number, the Kings only have to hit 65 points in their remaining 59 games. Even Dallas is only on pace for 89 points for the 2nd wild card. Unless someone in the Pacific starts wanting that spot, the Kings are sadly still in the race. But only if they put together more than 1 out of every 5 games that are decent. Plenty of road to travel before they're even out of dead last.

 

[KingTrouty]

He had 1G 2A in 9 games this year before tonite. But again, maybe its Kopi that is hurting him. I dont want to take much away from tonite, he played great.

I hear you, brother. I'm probably getting a bit carried away, need to rein 'er in a little.

 

[damacles1156]

Desjardins has no confidence in Kovalchuk. I don't think it's anything more than that. He is a typical head coach, with a short term/current game mindset, and wants guys that play defense. If Kovalchuk is going to be soft, he's clearly not going to play any meaningful minutes. Kopitar gets the benefit of the doubt. Carter gets the benefit of the doubt. It's going to be a problem, because either Kovalchuk or Desjardins is going to have to bend. If neither guy does, Desjardins controls who gets on the ice. I doubt anyone wants Blake or Robitaille telling him who to play, so, it is what it is.

They're still 31st.

3rd in the Pacific is still on pace for 82 points, so to hit that number, the Kings only have to hit 65 points in their remaining 59 games. Even Dallas is only on pace for 89 points for the 2nd wild card. Unless someone in the Pacific starts wanting that spot, the Kings are sadly still in the race. But only if they put together more than 1 out of every 5 games that are decent. Plenty of road to travel before they're even out of dead last.

The Tank is still safe for now.

 

[kilowatt]

So why doesn't he bench the other vets that have been sucking all season long?

such bullshit

 

[AbsentMojo]

What is Fox targeting with this bullsh*t.. 12 yr old girls? mani pedis. some scrub getting mic'd up. Why are they pushing this guy down our throat.

 

[KingsRule]

WD is a fricken moron! Played Kovy 6 minutes to “ keep him away from McDavid”

 

[bouncesonly]

Man, I actually feel awful for Oilers fans. Their boards are a tough read right now.

f*** 'em, they lost to the worst team in the league, to an AHL goalie, on his second straight night. They suck, bad calls or not.

 

[Reclamation Project]

So why doesn't he bench the other vets that have been sucking all season long?

I understand where this approach is going - he doesn't play when everyone else plays well, but when everyone else is playing poorly he'll play and shoulder the blame.

Less than 7 minutes is f***ing outrageous, don't even bother playing him. No one believes this BS excuse.

 

[kilowatt]

it is pretty clear that kovalchuk doesnt mesh with the team. he is too creative to play with anyone on the kings and as such cant generate any chemistry. still, playing him six minutes per night isnt going to help his trade value. brown and kopitar basically won this game by themselves tonight. carter was particularly hot garbage

 

[AbsentMojo]

it is pretty clear that kovalchuk doesnt mesh with the team. he is too creative to play with anyone on the kings and as such cant generate any chemistry. still, playing him six minutes per night isnt going to help his trade value. brown and kopitar basically won this game by themselves tonight. carter was particularly hot garbage

Excellent assessment.

 

[deaderhead28]

What is Fox targeting with this bullsh*t.. 12 yr old girls? mani pedis. some scrub getting mic'd up. Why are they pushing this guy down our throat.

 

[dman3474]

McDavid must be tired, played almost 54 min tonight

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Kovalchuk was PPG before WD.

Scapegoating him at this point to the tune of not even using him on PPs is flat out insulting.

Something f***ing stinks behind the scenes.

 

[deaderhead28]

I posted this earlier on the main board.

Kovalchuk was PPG before WD.

Scapegoating him at this point to the tune of not even using him on PPs is flat out insulting.

Something ****ing stinks behind the scenes.

 

[kilowatt]

im not a fan of what is happening right now with this kings team and i dont know who the problem is. kovalchuk? mayor seems to think not. desjardins? possibly. management? why, they signed him. leadership? maybe... kovalchuk hasnt played with kopitar or brown at all, even though that seems like a hell of a line. are we protecting iafallo for some reason?

 

[funky]

I posted this earlier on the main board.

View attachment 158473

can someone translate this, I am to tired to read between the lines.

 

[KingsFan7824]

WD is a fricken moron! Played Kovy 6 minutes to “ keep him away from McDavid”

Do you think that's real? Amadio played less than 5 minutes. It's called zero confidence in those players. LaDue played less than 10 minutes. He had to find a way to put him into the lineup without an injury, and still didn't play him. Desjardins is nothing more than a normal NHL head coach, who doesn't like the way Kovalchuk plays. He's the interim guy, so he doesn't care about Kovalchuk. He's auditioning for what he hopes is his next job in the NHL somewhere. What will people look at? Wins and losses. If he doesn't feel that Kovalchuk gives him a chance to make money down the line, Kovalchuk will not play much.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Do you think that's real? Amadio played less than 5 minutes. It's called zero confidence in those players. LaDue played less than 10 minutes. He had to find a way to put him into the lineup without an injury, and still didn't play him. Desjardins is nothing more than a normal NHL head coach, who doesn't like the way Kovalchuk plays. He's the interim guy, so he doesn't care about Kovalchuk. He's auditioning for what he hopes is his next job in the NHL. What will people look at? Wins and losses. If he doesn't feel that Kovalchuk gives him a chance to make money down the line, Kovalchuk will not play much.

He's making his boss look pretty bad, im not sure thats a good strategy

 

[tny760]

i just find it very odd that all the warnings we got about willie were that he rolled 4 lines constantly but we've not seen much of it so far, and yet again we see a 25 and 30 minute night for kopi and doughty

that said, it's about damn time we see kopi, brownie and carter hitting the scoresheet. better stay that way

 

[KingsFan7824]

He's making his boss look pretty bad, im not sure thats a good strategy

Is that WD's problem? That's more a Blake/Robitaille problem. He was brought in after a coach was fired. Maybe Stevens asked for Kovalchuk, but WD didn't. He was given him. They won tonight, that's all any future boss will look at.

It's annoying to watch, but Kovalchuk isn't doing something that Desjardins wants him to do. Unless he gets told to play IK more, as long as he keeps not doing whatever that thing is that WD wants him to do, he's not going to play in close games. Might not even get PP time. If nothing gives somewhere, that seems to be what it's going to be.

 

[Sol]

I posted this earlier on the main board.

View attachment 158473

Yup and the worst part is, with that quote by Bernstein, Kovalchuk was the only one who sucked.

 

[kilowatt]

i just find it very odd that all the warnings we got about willie were that he rolled 4 lines constantly but we've not seen much of it so far, and yet again we see a 25 and 30 minute night for kopi and doughty

that said, it's about damn time we see kopi, brownie and carter hitting the scoresheet. better stay that way

surely you dont mean carter’s assist on brown’s empty net goal

carter was ass all f***ing night and was directly responsible for the oilers powerplay that they scored on. he attempted a weak ass deke to enter the offensive zone and it got poke checked away, and then on the backcheck for his mistake, hooked the oiler with that puck

clifford is the best player on that second line

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

I understand where this approach is going - he doesn't play when everyone else plays well, but when everyone else is playing poorly he'll play and shoulder the blame.

Less than 7 minutes is ****ing outrageous, don't even bother playing him. No one believes this BS excuse.

So what happens when Willie can't control matchups this week at Edmonton? Is Kovalchuk going to get 2 second shifts in fear of McDavid stepping on the ice?

At what point is Brown no longer considered a bad contract? Insane the way he has turned his play around.

At what point do we consider shopping him? Have to imagine he has one of the highest trade values on the team right now. A team like Nashville would kill to have him I'd think.

Brown is trying to drag this team over the finish line. What a beast.

Brown played really damn well but those first 2 goals were pretty much Kopitar doing all the work. I know Brown did a lot the rest of the game but his goals were a result of Kopitar.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Is that WD's problem? That's more a Blake/Robitaille problem. He was brought in after a coach was fired. Maybe Stevens asked for Kovalchuk, but WD didn't. He was given him. They won tonight, that's all any future boss will look at.

It's annoying to watch, but Kovalchuk isn't doing something that Desjardins wants him to do. Unless he gets told to play IK more, as long as he keeps not doing whatever that thing is that WD wants him to do, he's not going to play in close games. Might not even get PP time. If nothing gives somewhere, that seems to be what it's going to be.

I understand that point. WD may be his own man and wants to do things his way as it should be, but a GM and head coach need to work together. Kovy was producing. Its not like he was 3 points in 10 games like Kopitar. Whatever role WD is looking for him to do, its nuts to try to shape a guy like Kovy into anything other than what he is a pure scorer. Also, it is not helping his trade value. Add it up, and it is not a good move by WD. It may be a short term ploy to wake up the establishment in the room. I think he'd be afraid to do that to Kopi Brown or DD who all deserved that and more.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

I LOVE CAL PETERSEN!

I am pretty impressed by Luff....is a player and will get better in every area.

I HATE, LOATHE, DESPISE, AND REMAIN UNIMPRESSED WITH AMATEUR WILLIE INTERIM DESJARDINS.