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

[T2M]

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.

I don't think we can find a piece out there that can save this ship. Last year, it was clearly a need that Gaborik filled (same as Carter the year before). This year, there just isn't anything that is going to fill the tank. They are gassed and just need a real offseason to train. I'm not even going to complain about Doughty because the guy only gets 2 months to train in the offseason and he has to use some of that just letting the deep bruises and surgeries heal. That's the thing, we don't know how many of these guys were just starting to really get rested and healed in the offseason when training camp started. I wouldn't be surprised if over half the team had some sort of significant surgeries or broken bone healing in the offseason. I've only broken a bone once and I remember 6 weeks of bone stitching followed by weeks of rehabbing. I know the team has great trainers, but there really is no substitute for time in this case and time is something we don't have.

Parity is a synonym for a word that I'm pretty sure HF has banned.

 

[Reclamation Project]

If they miss the playoffs or flame out in the first round, they'd be recharged for the following year. At this point it is what it is, no changing it. The Kings are a rough team to watch during the regular season. I'd be really surprised if they missed it though. This is still arguably the best roster in the NHL.

 

[CTKingsFan]

Y'all are funny. We go through this every year. The team gets super hot, then they get super cold. Then they start playing well down the stretch. Kopitar looks invisible for a month, then he looks like a top 3 center in the league. Carter is a goal machine, then he hasn't scored in weeks. Just this season we went from having the best line in the entire league, to not being a playoff team. This isn't gonna last the whole season. Just like the 70's line never was going to either. Hell, just last week we shut out 3 teams in 4 games. It's hockey. There is 4 months left go in the season, 4! Stop planing for the off-season. Break this road trip down and we lost two 1 goal games to two of the hottest teams in the league (one of which was in a shoot out), Carey Price played one of the best games of his career, and we even beat Ottawa. It is what it is.


I'm sending this one out to all you broken hearted Kings fans out there tonight.

 

[Kingspiracy]

I'd like to see Sutter try and take the pressure off Kopi a little, give him a chance to get back to basics. It'd be nice if he could reduce Doughty's minutes a bit too.

something like

70-77-73
12-10-14
74-11-23
13/71-28-22

6-8
44-27
3-2

 

[KingsHockey24]

Someone on the main board offered Lee Stempniak and a 2nd round pick for Dwight King, I would easily do that. Another person said they would give up Nick Spaling which is not that bad either.

Pretty good options for a shakeup.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I'd like to see Sutter try and take the pressure off Kopi a little, give him a chance to get back to basics. It'd be nice if he could reduce Doughty's minutes a bit too.

something like

70-77-73
12-10-14
74-11-23
13/71-28-22

6-8
44-27
3-2

Carter isn't in a position to be taking pressure off of anyone right now. He's in as bad a slump as Kopitar, if not worse. Stoll hasn't scored a goal at even strength. Richards is what he is. The Kings have almost nowhere to turn down the middle at the moment.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Y'all are funny. We go through this every year. The team gets super hot, then they get super cold. Then they start playing well down the stretch. Kopitar looks invisible for a month, then he looks like a top 3 center in the league. Carter is a goal machine, then he hasn't scored in weeks. Just this season we went from having the best line in the entire league, to not being a playoff team. This isn't gonna last the whole season. Just like the 70's line never was going to either. Hell, just last week we shut out 3 teams in 4 games. It's hockey. There is 4 months left go in the season, 4! Stop planing for the off-season. Break this road trip down and we lost two 1 goal games to two of the hottest teams in the league (one of which was in a shoot out), Carey Price played one of the best games of his career, and we even beat Ottawa. It is what it is.


I'm sending this one out to all you broken hearted Kings fans out there tonight.

The difference is minus the goaltending and one line for a couple weeks, the entire team has been super cold the entire season. I need to see some life from some of these guys because most haven't shown any since June

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I dont like this either but people here act like the Kings lost 8 out of 10 and there are just 20 games left to play.

Kings are still in a playoff spot, and 2 points away from spot 5 in the WC.

To be honest, I just cant believe what I am reading.

 

[AKAY47]

I dont like this either but people here act like the Kings lost 8 out of 10 and there are just 20 games left to play.

Kings are still in a playoff spot, and 2 points away from spot 5 in the WC.

To be honest, I just cant believe what I am reading.

Lmao absolutely ridiculous. And stupid articles, like the one from Pierre LeBrun today, is a perfect example of the national media being stupid. They should know by now that this happens every freaking season. I remember two seasons ago, the short NHL season, we actually were out of a playoff spot in January-February and people were talking about axing Dean Lombardi and Sutter. Everyone knows the Kings don't always have the best regular seasons, but we're in December and we're tied for a playoff spot! Why the overreaction? People forget we're missing someone who logs 22-25 mins a game, plays a 2nd pairing D and on the 2nd unit of the PP AND kills penalties in Voynov, right?

People need to relax, this team will be fine. In the words of the great Aaron Rodgers, R-E-L-A-X

 

[Butch 19]

And the annual December freefall continues.

remember Dec 2005 / Jan 2006? come one, who's with me?