GDT: Los Angeles Kings at Toronto Maple Leafs - December 14, 2014 - 2:00 p.m. (PST)

[deeshamrock]

That's a valid point and something that should have alerted DL early on. Even Jones helped out recently by stealing some W's. And God help them if Doughty gets hurt, nobody on the team comes close to doing what he does close to 30 min a game, they'd be done.
Not taking advantage of banking points fhru this part of the year, throwing games away could really hurt them.

Oh well...Eagles Cowboys are on, hopefully the Eagles kick some Dallas butt tonight

So much for that idea, Cowboys up 14-0 and the 1st quarter isn't over yet Gonna be a long night.

 

[deeshamrock]

Yep, we are firmly entering Terry Murray Fired territory.

Of course, it doesn't matter what kids are brought up / trades are made if our best players aren't our best players.

If one or two players are playing poorly over an extended period of time, you can fault the players. But when most of the team is going thru the motions, you have to wonder if Sutter's intensity is wearing on them??? Maybe if they can keep their head above water until xmas, the 4 dsay break without hockey will do them some good, come back with fresh legs and a new attitude or even their old attitude.
I haven't agreed with some of his decisions and I was hoping DL watching the games would notice a few things but so far, he hasn't.
I keep hearing that DL is hunting for a D man...not sure adding 1 blueliner will fix the malaise, but they do miss Mitchell's ability to control the pace of the game aqnd those breakout passes. He seemed to have a knack of getting the puck out of harm's way when they were in trouble

 

[KingsFan7824]

Not taking advantage of banking points fhru this part of the year, throwing games away could really hurt them.

It's these eastern road games. 4 out of a possible 16 points so far.

They're averaging 1.33 goals for against the Metro, and 2.2 goals for against the Atlantic. It's the Kings lowest offensive output against everyone but in home games against the Central, where the Kings are averaging 1.4 goals per game.

On top of that, the Kings haven't given up less than 3 goals in a game on the road against the East, except for in Buffalo. They're giving up 3.25 goals per games in these games, and 3.57 if you don't count that Sabres game, by far the worst against any group of teams.

 

[kingsfan28]

What bothers me most about Kopitar is that he's getting not only knocked off the puck on a regular basis, but losing board battles , stuff he never used to do. Getting out worked by the other teams smaller centers is pretty alarming. When Kyle Turris hits him in the corner, steals the puck and almost scores, that's when when you know he's playing bad.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I figured it all out. The appropriate reaction to the Kings' play should reflect the level of performance from many of its high paid players. And the word to describe that is indifferent. That's how they play and that's how we should react to their performance. Indifferent.

They seem comfortable in winning two Cups in three years with three consecutive long playoff runs. I'd like to think that they're not living in the past and are still hungry to chase another Cup, but getting closer to the midseason point, I am at unease with the nightly performance of this team.

How many more times are they going to be able to forge a playoff push deep into the season? How many more deadline deals are there that can turn this team around? And why is this an issue every damn year at the same damn point of the season?

This team truly is mystifying.

 

[kingsfan28]

It's these eastern road games. 4 out of a possible 16 points so far.

They're averaging 1.33 goals for against the Metro, and 2.2 goals for against the Atlantic. It's the Kings lowest offensive output against everyone but in home games against the Central, where the Kings are averaging 1.4 goals per game.

On top of that, the Kings haven't given up less than 3 goals in a game on the road against the East, except for in Buffalo. They're giving up 3.25 goals per games in these games, and 3.57 if you don't count that Sabres game, by far the worst against any group of teams.

I think only EDM has a worst record against the east. The other teams in the west are getting points against east right now and it may end up being the difference making the playoff.

 

[kingsfan28]

I figured it all out. The appropriate reaction to the Kings' play should reflect the level of performance from many of its high paid players. And the word to describe that is indifferent. That's how they play and that's how we should react to their performance. Indifferent.

They seem comfortable in winning two Cups in three years with three consecutive long playoff runs. I'd like to think that they're not living in the past and are still hungry to chase another Cup, but getting closer to the midseason point, I am at unease with the nightly performance of this team.

How many more times are they going to be able to forge a playoff push deep into the season? How many more deadline deals are there that can turn this team around? And why is this an issue every damn year at the same damn point of the season?

This team truly is mystifying.

Bingo!

Would it kill these guys to actually put a solid season together for once? Every team has hickups during the season, but with this team you can predict it like the seasons.

 

[kingsfan28]

Here's some good news:

lisa dillman ‏@reallisa

Asked one of the players, and yes, Kings got their mumps booster shots a couple of weeks ago.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Here's some good news:

Honestly surprised more teams haven't just done this.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Here's some good news:

Jenny McCarthy is going to lose it.

 

[onlyalad]

Honestly surprised more teams haven't just done this.

Teams offered it to players
Funny story
Every Wild player was offered a booster shot last month when the virus surfaced. Suter decided not to take it, and paid the price. He was the fifth Minnesota player -- all defensemen whose cubicles are next to each other -- to come down with the mumps.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/12/11/nhl-mumps

 

[MynameisKing]

Here's some good news:

It may not be comforting as the Kings may be the carriers of this disease. An estimated 20%-30% of cases are asymptomatic and its affect is benign, but still of not full health. That could be an EXCUSE!

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

Teams offered it to players
Funny story
Every Wild player was offered a booster shot last month when the virus surfaced. Suter decided not to take it, and paid the price. He was the fifth Minnesota player -- all defensemen whose cubicles are next to each other -- to come down with the mumps.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/12/11/nhl-mumps

Whooping cough has been floating around OC. the herd immunity concept works but when people skip around it, it can bring on some pretty nasty cases.

 

[deeshamrock]

Here's some good news:

Should be for most of them but it's not fool proof. Crosby had the shot too and he got it and so did some of the others.

 

[Jeff18]

Teams offered it to players
Funny story
Every Wild player was offered a booster shot last month when the virus surfaced. Suter decided not to take it, and paid the price. He was the fifth Minnesota player -- all defensemen whose cubicles are next to each other -- to come down with the mumps.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/12/11/nhl-mumps

Is he one of those people who think vaccines will cause them to "contract" autism? Not vaccinating can result in serious epidemics that can pose a threat to everyone.

 

[Reclamation Project]

^ The same people who believe the US Government makes chemtrails and Obama is a the lizard man.

Watch the Kings torch the Blues.

 

[deeshamrock]

What bothers me most about Kopitar is that he's getting not only knocked off the puck on a regular basis, but losing board battles , stuff he never used to do. Getting out worked by the other teams smaller centers is pretty alarming. When Kyle Turris hits him in the corner, steals the puck and almost scores, that's when when you know he's playing bad.

He seems disinterested. Head not in the game and not caring that it's not there.

One of Sutter's post game questions from LA KIings insider

On whether he sees signs of improvement in the big picture, or whether he’s “frustratedâ€:

We’ve played as well as we can. We’re a different team than we were last year. We need great goaltending and we need guys to score big goals. Usually that comes out of your top guys. I think the best thing, probably when you ask that, taking out of tonight, is that Gabby scores. We’re 30-something games into the year and he’s finding his way. Hopefully this is good for him tonight.

Okay, he's not seeing the same team, if this is as well as they can, he isn't doing his job.

 

[Reclamation Project]

I don't put any stock into anything he tells the media.

 

[DocWest]

I don't expect us to win the Cup this year or even go to the WCF, but to miss the playoffs entirely is unforgivable and would be profoundly embarrassing. Lombardi and Sutter better find a way to right this ship before we cross the point of no return. Maybe the loss to the Blues (who are usually our *****es) on Tuesday will finally get something going instead of all this complacency we've been getting.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Should be for most of them but it's not fool proof. Crosby had the shot too and he got it and so did some of the others.

The thing about vaccinations is they take time to work, like 4 weeks. If you've already got it, it won't matter. I don't know what the incubation period for Mumps is though.

 

[T2M]

I don't expect us to win the Cup this year or even go to the WCF, but to miss the playoffs entirely is unforgivable and would be profoundly embarrassing. Lombardi and Sutter better find a way to right this ship before we cross the point of no return. Maybe the loss to the Blues (who are usually our *****es) on Tuesday will finally get something going instead of all this complacency we've been getting.

I think mental fatigue is following physical fatigue. Like you, I don't expect the team to go far this year, but I agree that missing the playoffs is inexcusable. The stars need to rest and heal. After what they did in the playoffs last year, I think it's catching up to them in a bad way.

 

[KingsKnight]

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think mental fatigue is following physical fatigue. Like you, I don't expect the team to go far this year, but I agree that missing the playoffs is inexcusable. The stars need to rest and heal. After what they did in the playoffs last year, I think it's catching up to them in a bad way.

I think the additional piece of all that is contributing is that the other teams are bringing their best to test their mettle vs the champs every night. It's hard enough to play 82 games a season; it's harder to play 16-28 more games plus Olympics repeatedly and come into this season with a huge target on your back. When you consider the beating these guys have taken--and that they're mostly not 21 or 25 anymore--it's truly understandable. I'm not making excuses because I agree that missing the playoffs or just crapping out early at this point would be unacceptable, but I'm trying to understand that they are human beings and not hockey robots.

From a hockey perspective, I'm pissed that kopitar looks gassed and mostly pathetic. From a human perspective, he's been through three hard seasons playing more hockey than anyone else, plus olympics, got married, now has a kid on the way...I sympathize. The guy has been a monster and a physical freak his whole career and we've been spoiled by it. And he's just an example, there are quite a few on our team just like him. I can't imagine what doughty will look like at 30 if he doesn't start taking better conditioning of himself in the offseason too.

It's hard for me to keep that perspective when we go into games where we should perform better and we instead watch our team seemingly float carelessly. But it is what it is.

Winning three cups in four years seems a pipe dream at this point though if there is a team that can do it it is this one. We may be on the verge, though, of having to take a step back to take a step forward by exiting early this season, tweaking the roster, and coming back stronger next year. The teams around us have gotten much better. This will be the biggest test of DLs career.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Also from Rosen which corroborates what I said earlier re opposing goaltending vs ours:

@lakingsinsider: Kings have outshot their opponents in seven straight, averaging 35.6 shots/gm. Opposing goalies stopped 94.4% of the shots, so LA is 3-3-1.


...encouraging uptick in carrying play, discouraging downtick results.

 

[MynameisKing]

I think mental fatigue is following physical fatigue. Like you, I don't expect the team to go far this year, but I agree that missing the playoffs is inexcusable. The stars need to rest and heal. After what they did in the playoffs last year, I think it's catching up to them in a bad way.

I wouldn't be opposed to sitting some of the regulars every now and then. I believe fatigue is a very big factor. Both mental and physical. It's a shame we couldn't move kids up and down like all the other teams are able to do.