Who do we have for the two units?
1. Kopitar
2. Brown???
3. Richards
4. Carter
5. Williams--ouch
6. Stoll
7. Doughty
8. Voynov
9. Martinez
10. Toffoli?
That is not that great of personnel when you're talking pp. We don't have the right chemistry and we don't have the skill team identity. We have the grinding, hitting identity still that won us the cup and everyones still in this denial we're a skilled team. Yes we have some skilled players but not in the right mix. Losing penner was a detriment to this team and now were finally starting to see.
Lombardi has to choose: is he gonna turn us into a skilled team, ie chi, pitt, tb or a grinding team ie ana, stl, sj or a crappy hybrid ie. Dal, van, phx.
We don't have an identity. That's why we don't have a pp. How can coaches plan the pp when they don't know who the hell we are? Crash the net or methodical passing???
i don't know if identity is the right term. i see where you are going with it though and it makes sense. i think mindset is perhaps a better way of describing this.
we know what they are 5-on-5. in PP situations though they have to leave that mindset at the bench, it's destroying them. they have a out manned advantage, so stop playing like you have to grind and cycle the puck down low for opportunities.
for all the depth at C the Kings have, this is where the lack of skilled forwards makes it very apparent. not just in lack of goals, but when you consider how to best use player assets LA comes up short. the lack of a strong top D man being able to QB the #1 unit, means that either Richards or AMart are the best candidates. without digging through a bunch of stats but from the top of my memory, when the Kings get in a PP groove it seems to be with Richards and Martinez being involved up top.
similar to eliminating Sutter's "elite" line, they are better breaking up Kopitar-DD and Richards-Carter. spread out the skill so it is harder for the opponent to defend and pick their poison. it isn't about overloading the skill of one unit (which isn't working), but putting out two units that working parts that may possibly work together. without DD, VV or another Dman being able to QB the unit this means Richards is the best option for one of the units.
by continuing to put 11-77 and 10 out on the #1 unit most of the time. the #2 unit has no C out there that is a threat. Stoll? high and wide Stoll, give me a break. the #2 unit for weeks now has become an afterthought and total mess, because no one out there is taking charge of the situation. i recall to many JW turn overs down along the right wing half boards, with the puck getting cleared out.
CF 1 (Clusterf*** 1 - because LA doesn't have a Power Play)
Brown/King - Kopitar -Toffoli
DD - Amart
* King is there to be the big body down low for screens, corner isolations, etc
* Kopitar is working off the half boards TO THE SLOT, or backside isolation. exploit and crash! don't passively sit on the half boards (Kopitar), or take high angle shots from near the goal line. work the damn slot, or get off the ice.
* TTT in combination with Kopitar are working seams and picks for shots.
* DD is on the left side for one timers and snappers. DD sucks at QB-ing the unit and has never shown the ability to do so since he got here. dude is a great Dman, but this is one skill he doesn't possess.
* Amart up top as the QB of the unit. Alec has shown numerous times he has a good shot up top, makes good and quick decisions with the puck. this is the one skill he has that he surpasses DD, VV and Muffin.
* stop with the dump and chase mentality on the CF unit, because for weeks now neither unit has shown the resolve to chase and outman the PK unit for the puck.
CF #2
King/Brown -Carter -Williams
Voynov - Richards
* swap DB or King Kong. i don't care, because at this point they are interchangeable when it comes to contribution and what they bring. important thing is havoc in the low slot and screens.
* #2 unit runs through Richards on the right point
* both units need to slide the back side D men down more often then they do currently. get the PK unit out of the static box they allow them to play now. get them second guessing, so the points get that extra second now and then. remember the goals Voynov had last season? many of them were him crashing the backside
* if there ever was a time to pour on shots it is during the PP. use that outmanned situation to crash the slot/crease for garbage. they sit and squander 2:00 to often looking for that perfect shot. as a team when your shooting % is as bad as LA's is, you don't have the skill to sit and try pick corners.
* both units need to rotate, crash and move more than they do now. they allow a PK unit to just sit comfortably in their structure. LA does not do enough to cause and create confusion for the PK, because they will sit in the same umbrella, or 2-1-2 structure. lack of movement makes it easy for any PK unit to succeed.
some of my thoughts on what they need to do