GDT: Preseason Gm 5: Anaheim Ducks at LA Kings | Tues, September 29, 2015 - 7:30PM PDT

[PJ Kings Hockey]

The Kings are quite possibly the most offensively inept team in the league

2014 Kings say hello. (IDGAF if that's in the past)

You've got a point, Zoner, but tell me watching our Kings struggle to score one measly goal doesn't want to make you bang your head against the wall sometimes. So much effort, so little on the scoresheet to show for it.

 

[Whiskeypete]

* im liking Enroth so far. calm, cool and collected in net. i always like that in a keeper, because it calms the guys in front of him down.

* Mersch imo, will be a first or mid-season call up. he needs to keep getting game time, not practice time and scratched. he still needs to work on his first step quickness to compete

* Andy Andy, ehhhhh. the Kings have to many pluggers in the lineup and AA is just a carbon copy of far to many roster players. lack of bottom 6 scoring? look at what is out there, pluggers playing a structured defensive system. the focus is more about not having the opponent score, than on creating opportunities.

* D King, ehhhhh. i see and get his value, but he is AA. he is Lewis. he is (insert name here), because the bottom of the line up is about as exciting as a bowl of oatmeal

* its all about getting out of preseason with no injuries at this point.

 

[cali101]

any thoughts on who you'd like to see on the bottom lines whiskeypete?

 

[Reclamation Project]

Not remotely concerned because it's the preseason, but the offense seems to be in mid-season form (i.e. unwatchable).

 

[The Tikkanen]

Not remotely concerned because it's the preseason, but the offense seems to be in mid-season form (i.e. unwatchable).

The Kings have to spend the most time with the puck on the perimeter out of any team in the league. They almost refuse to attack the center of the ice. As for those panicking IMO the Kings team is designed to wear you down with their depth, take away Kopitar, Gaborik, Muzzin and Sutter can't work his line blender to it's full extent.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

You guys can pass this off as "meh preseason" all you want, but the Kings are not a offensively gifted team, historically. And their depth this year is the worst it's been in a long time.

We have zero scoring when 70s or Kopitar/Gaborik goes cold. This is like clockwork.

 

[damacles1156]

You guys can pass this off as "meh preseason" all you want, but the Kings are not a offensively gifted team, historically. And their depth this year is the worst it's been in a long time.

We have zero scoring when 70s or Kopitar/Gaborik goes cold. This is like clockwork.

More concerned with the (attitude), and (effort) being displayed. I figured these Veterans would be pissed off after being embarrassed last season in the final Five games with the playoffs on the line.

We shall see game one vs SJ.

A loss won't cause concern, but some effort and FIRE better be displayed by the veterans. I want to see some blood, and sweat on the ice. If this Core mails in game one of the season, we are in for a long, long season.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Lockout season they were a fantastic team in all three areas.

 

[fsanford]

You guys can pass this off as "meh preseason" all you want, but the Kings are not a offensively gifted team, historically. And their depth this year is the worst it's been in a long time.

We have zero scoring when 70s or Kopitar/Gaborik goes cold. This is like clockwork.

Well that can be said about most teams when their top 2 lines go cold.

This is still a system team, its not about gifted, its about Corsi and controlling the puck. Its an analytics team. Back check, do not take chances.
I have no doubt Sutter will figure out a way to muck up 3 on 3 play to limit shots.

The challenge for them will be applying that grinding style to the regular season and scoring enough points to get into the playoff's. They tend to have lull's during the year, so it does not surprise me you are not seeing supreme effort from most of the veterans in the preseason. The turn it on when they need to mentality still exists

 

[The Tikkanen]

How many 3 on 3 OT's do we see before Trevor Lewis is on the ice? I have to believe Sutter despises the 3 on 3 format, it might be worse for the Kings than the previous OT format.

 

[cali101]

The Kings have to spend the most time with the puck on the perimeter out of any team in the league. They almost refuse to attack the center of the ice. As for those panicking IMO the Kings team is designed to wear you down with their depth, take away Kopitar, Gaborik, Muzzin and Sutter can't work his line blender to it's full extent.

agree: too much time along the boards. the net's in the middle!

 

[Fishhead]

How many 3 on 3 OT's do we see before Trevor Lewis is on the ice? I have to believe Sutter despises the 3 on 3 format, it might be worse for the Kings than the previous OT format.

I actually think the Kings have an advantage 3v3 vs 4v4 because their top line centers are good at faceoffs. 3v3 is more about possession than skill, and the Kings have that in spades.

 

[417th]

You guys can pass this off as "meh preseason" all you want, but the Kings are not a offensively gifted team, historically. And their depth this year is the worst it's been in a long time.

We have zero scoring when 70s or Kopitar/Gaborik goes cold. This is like clockwork.

Our depth is better than it has been in ages and our scoring difficulty is more due to our system then anything else. We have the talent in our bottom 6 available to put up great numbers but we play a structured system that has everyone in defensive positioning deep in our own zone which makes it difficult to put any up ice pressure together with any real consistency. Our coaching style/staff has won us 2 cups and taken us to the WCF's 3 x's in the past 4 years so I don't see us making any real changes but that is why we aren't in the top 10 in the league in scoring. We are however always in the top 8 or better in defense and with our size we wear down our opponents and as it has been said a billion times on these boards we are built for the playoffs where our elite level scoring talent (which have plenty of in Kopitar/Gaborik/Lucic/Pearson/Toffi/Carter as well as some solidly skilled support players and guys like Doughty Martinez Ehroff and Muzzin on D) has more opportunity to force and capitalize on our opponents mistakes. Wear the team down and make the best of your chances.

I do see a problem with our drive/motivation but it is hard to gage if it is a real concern or a bit of a slow pre season start. I mean the Ducks are supposed to be a super team and they only scored 2 goals/1 more goal than we did and that was with Schultz on D. I will give the guys some time to find their identity again before I am even a little concerned. I am going to factor in all of our off ice troubles this past season and the roster changes before I even begin to worry. I believe that this team has everything it needs to be the best in the league again when it is all said and done and I also believe that DL above everyone else feels that he has something to prove this season and won't let us fail again.

 

[Martyros]

We have zero scoring when 70s or Kopitar/Gaborik goes cold. This is like clockwork.

lol the whole point of the top two lines of any NHL team is to pick up the slack of the other slumping line.

Kopitar and Carter have to deliver when the other is in a slump, Not Lewis or Andreoff; although it would be nice to have a scoring 3rd line which Brown SHOULD be bringing to the lineup.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

i was going to echo the same thing here, it is the pre-season but it really feels like typical Kings games

2 wins vs Arizona
1 down to the wire vs Colorado
2 losses (but tight games) vs Anaheim

this is exactly LA lol

 

[Captain Mittens*]

this is exactly LA lol

Our city
our home
Los Angeles
You never walk alone

 

[Whiskeypete]

any thoughts on who you'd like to see on the bottom lines whiskeypete?

I'm a firm believer in attacking your opponent, rather than playing with a 'defensive' nature. the old saying, "the defense is a good offense".

Skate one true defensive checking line that is out there to kill momentum and shut down an opponent. the other lines should be set up to maintain possession and score.

I believe in playing smart defense, but LA is so damn defensive minded it kills the offense. When they are in the offensive zone, the first thought/read for them is their defensive responsibility. It stymies the offense far to often.

Lucic - Kopitar - Gabi
70s line
King/Mersch - Weal - Brown
Clifford - Shore - Nolan/Lewis

Top three lines are offensive in nature and a fourth checking line. In reality, Sutter could flip the mindset of line 3 to defense when needed.

Attack the opponent, attack the center of the ice. they need to stop trying to 'play it safe' from the perimeter or the points as much as they do. I've got issue with trying to bang in point shots that get blocked, than i do for passes into the middle from the mid slot area down.

Kings don't score often, because their offense is predictable and teams can counter it fairly easily. They need to mix it up and keep the opposition guessing. Cycle, cycle, go to the point, cycle, point, screen and then point shot. Or some variety like that.

It is no different than football teams that run or pass the ball to much, it makes it easy to defend because you know what to expect. this is why i love teams with a strong run game and utilize play-action passing game. The defense doesn't know what to expect and they get gashed.

Bringing in someone like Weal I think is what they need, because they can then begin to create an offense imbalance for defenses. We have already seen what happens when teams can only defend the Kopitar line. The 70s line can destroy someone. Now add a third line that can finally score and perhaps it takes some pressure off the top line, so they can score.

for years we've seen what 3 and 4 lines of grinding defensive hockey can produce. yes they've won 2 SC's, but it has put tremendous pressure on the D and goalies. Pressure that I don't believe they can continue to achieve and surpass leading back to the SC.

 

[driller1]

Kings are set up to be an aggressive, heavy forecheck team. When the team is tired or a step behind, everything suffers - offense, defense, pp opportunities.

Forget personnel. If the Kings have jump in their step, they will be a buzz saw, turn the puck over, counter attack, and score. If they can't get in on the oppositions defense, then the Kings will suck. Simply as that.

If you look at the cup runs, our forecheck was amazing. Last year, we were tired and you could see it on the ice. It's a hard system to play - it takes lots of energy, which can't be maintained over 82 games. But there's a reason we were amongst the highest scoring teams in the postseason for both our cup runs.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Kings are set up to be an aggressive, heavy forecheck team. When the team is tired or a step behind, everything suffers - offense, defense, pp opportunities.

Forget personnel. If the Kings have jump in their step, they will be a buzz saw, turn the puck over, counter attack, and score. If they can't get in on the oppositions defense, then the Kings will suck. Simply as that.

If you look at the cup runs, our forecheck was amazing. Last year, we were tired and you could see it on the ice. It's a hard system to play - it takes lots of energy, which can't be maintained over 82 games. But there's a reason we were amongst the highest scoring teams in the postseason for both our cup runs.

Well said


#retweet

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

The Manchester Monarchs of last season were taught the same system the Kings play, but somehow we got good scoring out of the Monarchs.

While the finish wasn't there last night, I liked the creativity and relentlessness I saw yesterday from the younguns.

I'm going to go re-watch my Stanley Cup DVD of 2012 on break and tell myself that's what we're going to see this season.

Good posts, Whiskey and Driller.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

The Manchester Monarchs of last season were taught the same system the Kings play, but somehow we got good scoring out of the Monarchs.

While the finish wasn't there last night, I liked the creativity and relentlessness I saw yesterday from the younguns.

I'm going to go re-watch my Stanley Cup DVD of 2012 on break and tell myself that's what we're going to see this season.

Well said


#retweet

 

[theMajor]

Kings are set up to be an aggressive, heavy forecheck team. When the team is tired or a step behind, everything suffers - offense, defense, pp opportunities.

Forget personnel. If the Kings have jump in their step, they will be a buzz saw, turn the puck over, counter attack, and score. If they can't get in on the oppositions defense, then the Kings will suck. Simply as that.

If you look at the cup runs, our forecheck was amazing. Last year, we were tired and you could see it on the ice. It's a hard system to play - it takes lots of energy, which can't be maintained over 82 games. But there's a reason we were amongst the highest scoring teams in the postseason for both our cup runs.

Agreed 100%. am I alone in thinking they looked tired last night? everyone seemed to be skating very sloppily

 

[goosh]

Still not impressed with Lucic (or the trade)...

This. You basically give up two first-round picks and a prospect for a guy who's fighting Josh Manson. And he's a FA at the end of the year. Don't really get it.

 

[Zero Pucks Given]

You've got a point, Zoner, but tell me watching our Kings struggle to score one measly goal doesn't want to make you bang your head against the wall sometimes. So much effort, so little on the scoresheet to show for it.

Honestly, I think we're taking the crazy scoring that the Kings had in 2014 for granted.

 

[bob77]

The Kings system can be difficult to generate offense from, but the lack of offense creates extreme pressure to be sound defensively, because it's going to be low scoring. If you ate actually more talented than other teams, all this does is give that team more of a chance to hang with you, as such all the losses last year to teams we should beat. When playing teams of equal or greater talent than us, our system becomes a way to slow them down more. It's like we are inviting every team to a zero zero hockey game, and then take our chances as to whether the other team blinks first. During our first cup run we had perfect personnel to pull this off. During the second cup run, I believe the system was somewhat desperately abandoned by the players in each and every series, consciously or not, after digging big holes. What we witnessed was more risk taking, we got rewarded with comebacks in each series, and all DS could do was watch in amazement. But I do believe the system is what got the Kings down in each series and what also left them out of the playoffs last year. There needs to be more emphasis on some offense, and most certainly so at key points within games, for instance when we are behind going into third periods. You get the feeling a player is more worried about getting a minus with five minutes left than actually scoring to tie the game, all because at the following days practice session DS pulls out the video and shows you how you broke down defensively. I'm sure some players want to look at him and say, but coach, we were losing by one and needed a goal. DS almost believes well you should have been more patient and waited for the other team to make a huge mistake. I know I'm ranting, but DS believes the first team to zero wins the game, as in zero allowed!! That's a tough order all the time. If you have a great PP, then you try to become a team that banks on almost only that. But, the PP has been lacking, so we need to have more scoring in other ways.