GDT: GM#53 LA Kings vs Edmonton Oilers @7:30

[johnjm22]

It doesn't feel like it, but the Kings have won 5 of their last 7.

 

[Stimpythecat]

Back into 3rd in the Pacific.

 

[johnjm22]

Collectively, the Oilers posters are probably the dumbest on average of any fan base on HF.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Collectively, the Oilers posters are probably the dumbest on average of any fan base on HF.

have you ever read anything written by a habs fan?

 

[Kingspiracy]

Beauty

 

[Stimpythecat]

Our best defensemen tonight were the post-crossbar pairing.

 

[johnjm22]

Not exactly a confidence inspiring win but I'll take it.

The Kings biggest problem this year is that they have a tendency to go into these lulls where they look completely listless. That's what happened in the second period.

Oilers missed open nets multiple times. Game could have easily gone the other way.

 

[tny760]

wow that goalie interference review was worthy of a main board topic?

good thing he's collectively being laughed out of the room for it

 

[regulate]

The Kings should forfeit the 2nd period for every game the rest of the season.

 

[kingsfan28]

wow that goalie interference review was worthy of a main board topic?

good thing he's collectively being laughed out of the room for it

It was too long to begin with live. It's gotten so bad the refs are looking for the smallest reason to overturn a goal.

 

[Stimpythecat]

the west is insane. colorado is barely out of the playoffs and they are on just under a 98 point pace. 98 points!

Yikes.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Paul LaDue is fantastic. Good to see his game come together on the wall. Even did well against the bigger stronger guys like Kassian. And his release is something else, it's like a trebuchet

Glad we could win in lucky, controversial fashion for the predictable meltdown.

Team showed flashes of amazingness and flashes of stupidity but much more good than bad and it was stellar to see the forecheck really get amped up.

Kids are taking a big step forward, props to Amadio, Iafallo, obviously LaDue, Gravel, Brodzinski....they were all flying. Granted the Oilers are a younger team for the most part so those guys should look good vs. their peers, but the decisiveness and confidence they showed was great.

Sick of Doughty getting stuck with anchors. I like Gravel but he's miscast there, Forbort needs to ride the bench a bit and watch some games to regain confidence/read a white board. Sucks that we could potentially figure the rest of the D out and Doughty will STILL get stuck with a Scuderi clone. I'd like to see Doughty-Gravel / Muzzin-Ladue / Folin-Martinez maybe for a bit. Just keep getting LaDue minutes and find a way to work Muzzin with Drew. I guess Forbort has that spot for the d-zone starts, but dude needs to step outside for a minute.

 

[tny760]

dude needs to step outside for a minute.

that's a very diplomatic way of putting it

i think gravel can grow into that role if he learns a few things from ladue on how to get tougher on the walls

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

that's a very diplomatic way of putting it

i think gravel can grow into that role if he learns a few things from ladue on how to get tougher on the walls

There's something to be said for height vs. strength vs. leverage. Not many 6'6" d-men in the league that are very good despite conventional wisdom. Chara is the exception of being awesome and strong and able to seal people on the boards. Maybe Hal Gill too, obviously Pronger. Most of the rest are lanky weaklings when it comes to anything but eating space and pokechecks where there is some advantage to the lower center of gravity LaDue has (like Voynov before him, leverage).

 

[Docgonzo]

So many gems...

“Nothing pisses me off more than a loss to Bettman's Californian teams. I hope Winnipeg takes care of these *******s in the playoffs.”

This one is my favorite just for the silliness of the Kings being in existence longer. But hey props to Bettman for making the Kings a NHL team when he was 15.

 

[Sol]

Paul LaDue is fantastic. Good to see his game come together on the wall. Even did well against the bigger stronger guys like Kassian. And his release is something else, it's like a trebuchet

Glad we could win in lucky, controversial fashion for the predictable meltdown.

Team showed flashes of amazingness and flashes of stupidity but much more good than bad and it was stellar to see the forecheck really get amped up.

Kids are taking a big step forward, props to Amadio, Iafallo, obviously LaDue, Gravel, Brodzinski....they were all flying. Granted the Oilers are a younger team for the most part so those guys should look good vs. their peers, but the decisiveness and confidence they showed was great.

Sick of Doughty getting stuck with anchors. I like Gravel but he's miscast there, Forbort needs to ride the bench a bit and watch some games to regain confidence/read a white board. Sucks that we could potentially figure the rest of the D out and Doughty will STILL get stuck with a Scuderi clone. I'd like to see Doughty-Gravel / Muzzin-Ladue / Folin-Martinez maybe for a bit. Just keep getting LaDue minutes and find a way to work Muzzin with Drew. I guess Forbort has that spot for the d-zone starts, but dude needs to step outside for a minute.

Very well put. I have high hopes in LaDue cause last year he stepped up and I saw a lot of flashes of a solid top3-4 defenseman in him.

I hope he continues to improve.

And yeah, either forbort puts his game together or they should trade for a defenseman and include him in a deal. Kings can't afford to have such a one dimensional defenseman getting 22 mins of TOI. Thats 22 mins of bad passes, ineptitude and guaranteed defensive zone time.

 

[Sol]

There's something to be said for height vs. strength vs. leverage. Not many 6'6" d-men in the league that are very good despite conventional wisdom. Chara is the exception of being awesome and strong and able to seal people on the boards. Maybe Hal Gill too, obviously Pronger. Most of the rest are lanky weaklings when it comes to anything but eating space and pokechecks where there is some advantage to the lower center of gravity LaDue has (like Voynov before him, leverage).

I think that's a good comparison, but he has one thing that Voynov doesnt have (a clean record, badumtss) quick acceleration. He's not as strong as Slava, but his quick acceleration helps him generate more power on the boards.


Look for that IMO.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think that's a good comparison, but he has one thing that Voynov doesnt have (a clean record, badumtss) quick acceleration. He's not as strong as Slava, but his quick acceleration helps him generate more power on the boards.


Look for that IMO.

Yeah he's got a real good first step and seems confident on his edges (like Slava). Neither guy looks like they're doing anything but cruising, then go fast feet once there's a reason. Honestly even last night his clean puck movement was very, very apparent and it was very clear why we were missing that. Only Drew is dynamic enough to shake guys out of position before making a simple pass; LaDue has that as well. That's a significant difference. Muzzin and Martinez have great passes out of the zone as well but not in the same manner where they force opposing players out of position.

 

[Little Psycho]

 

[Little Psycho]

Collectively, the Oilers posters are probably the dumbest on average of any fan base on HF.

Holy hell, just reading their GDT you would think they were just introduced to the sport.

And the bitching about the non-calls on McDavid; Kopitar has been pinned along the boards, interfered with, hooked numerous times throughout his career and still to this day but you barely see him drawing calls. They're gonna have to deal with that unfortunately.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The amount of salt on the Twitter threads tells me everything I need to know about a level of delusion in what they're watching.

Go back and watch the gif of Doughty hipchecking McDavid and watch the "LA gets away with everything, that's clear interference like 3 seconds after the puck's gone," etc.

That being said no trashing HF fanbases. I will say I've had great interactions with many Oil fans here and when they visit our forums 9 times out of 10 they're cordial and asking good questions.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

You guys must not be aware of the rules of hockey. You are not allowed to breathe on McDavid, let alone stare in his general direction.

 

[lumbergh]

Play of the game. Drew Doughty, difference maker.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Play of the game. Drew Doughty, difference maker.

27:11 TOI, 3:40 in SH/TOI to lead both teams, 2 assists, +2, 66.33 CF%, 80% HDCF%, all with only 2 o-zone faceoffs at 5v5, the hardest starts at only 28% ozone starts, and 13.5 5v5 minutes vs. the best player in the world. McDavid actually had zero high-danger scoring chances with Drew on the ice.

Overrated though, for sure.

Only real problem with LaDue's emergence is he's going to get force-fed preferential minutes which means Doughty will possibly get stuck with Forbort and an assload of d-zone starts.

 

[BigKing]

Have to enjoy LaDue flashing last night, but since he's been up:

-Responsible for the only goal against v. Calgary
-Limited minutes in the Dallas game
-Looked good against the Tuscon team
-Last night's game (Best of the bunch)

Edmonton has skill up front and I liked that I saw some positive progression with his defense, although getting caught up ice in a tie game in the 3rd for an outnumbered chance against was worrisome. That was my biggest concern with him last year: not his board work but rather being caught out of position. We could all see the skating and offensive spark, but his defensive deficiencies seemed to be ignored.

It is too bad he didn't play in the Nashville game since I'd like to see him play and get real minutes against a good team and have it look like the last two games. Hopefully he keeps progressing. This road trip should be a good test.

I'm not going as far to say "He's a Top 4 guy" yet, but he has the potential if his defense comes around. It is obvious he's better than my boy MacDermid and he's better than Fantenberg. I think everyone here knew this but there is a reason they had him marinate a bit longer in Ontario. For those making Voynov comparisons, he didn't make the team out of camp either and he was far more accomplished at that point than LaDue is.

Strange...it's like doing a Lombardi-type thing of having him get major minutes in the AHL for a bit longer might be good for his development.