So, we panic yet?

[Raccoon Jesus]

If you rubbed a bottle last year and a genie popped out of it and said "If you accept 5 years of Kings mediocrity from 2013 to 2018 then I'll guarantee a Cup win for you in 2012", what would you have said?

Any of you?

DONE!

But the genie didn't and we got ambushed with a Cup win we didn't expect....and now we're on the 2013-to-2018 side of that, so it sucks

Kidding. Countdown 5 games to panic for me.

 

[kingsfan]

I agree it's early, but it's certainly OK to be discouraged now. I agree the Kings have played some excellent hockey of late, but they are still losing.

Borrowing from Quisp who does a good job taking the good with the bad...

http://www.mcsorleys-stick.com/2013/02/kings-fans-you-want-some-good-news/

Going back to the arrival of Gretzky (1988), the Kings have had fewer than 8 points after ten games only once. In 2009 (the year we finished fifth from last and drafted Brayden Schenn).

Since 1988, the Kings had 8 points after ten games five times.
They made the playoffs once out of those five. 2001-2002. (So I guess that’s the first bit of good news?)

The Kings are currently in 14th place, second to last, in both the official and in my points-blown standings.

However, in points-blown, they are only 2 points-blown out of 7th place. (So that’s the second bit of good news.)

The Kings have the worst 5-on-5 save-percentage in the league."

- T

The bolded is the third piece of good news I read there, because you know that won't last unless Quick is hurt or something.

A few key saves and some better luck around the net and we can all step away from the self-destruct button.

 

[Sydor25]

Guess it is time to panic:

LOS ANGELES KINGS

Time for: Panic

Why: The champs are in a rut and don't seem to be able to find their way out. They are struggling to score and aren't playing well enough defensively to overcome it.


They're minus-9 in goal differential (22-31). Anze Kopitar and Kyle Clifford lead the team in scoring, but they have only six points each. Mike Richards has just one goal and Jeff Carter doesn't have an assist yet this season. Dustin Penner has been a healthy scratch and Drew Doughty is a minus-10.

If they could have pulled out a win in Detroit on Sunday, maybe the Kings would have something to build on, but instead Jonathan Ericsson scored with 4.5 seconds left in regulation to lift the Wings to a 3-2 victory.

"They didn't score easily in the playoffs, but they were able to be really comfortable in tight games and were able to find a way to play with the lead," Button said. "This year, they haven't had the same luxury."

Why has it been such a struggle?

Part of the blame has to go to injuries to key defensemen Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell -- a pair of penalty killers and big, physical blueliners who can eat up lots of minutes. Greene is done for the season after back surgery and Mitchell hasn't played yet due to offseason knee surgery.

"It's not that you don't have depth, but now you're asking players to carry more minutes and are they capable of contributing when they do," Button said. “Drew Doughty has to carry more of the load. Slava Voynov is asked to do more. Rob Scuderi is asked to do more. [Alec] Martinez fell into that 5-6 area and when you get those injuries, you're asking him now to play top-four minutes. Everybody gets extended and from a defensive point of view, that becomes a challenge.

"I mean, Mitchell and Greene, it's penalty killing and being able to clean up the front of the net. Those aspects are so key to not spending time in your own zone. The more time you spend in your own zone the less time you have to try to generate offense. That's the one thing I thought L.A. did a tremendous job of last year in the playoffs -- they were able to not give up very much in their own zone and not spend a lot of time in their own zone."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=655009&navid=nhl:topheads

 

[Reaper45]

Panic? Not quite. Reload and call it a season. Ditch Gagne, Penner, Scuderi, Bernier, Richardson and Stoll. Add kids and picks. Get ready for next season. Hope Vey and Toffoli are ready for next season.

Brown-Kopitar-Williams
XXX-Richards-Carter
XXX-XXX-Lewis
Clifford-Fraser-Nolan

Doughty-Ellerby
Voynov-Mitchell
Greene-Martinez

Quick
XXX

 

[KINGS17]

Panic? Not quite. Reload and call it a season. Ditch Gagne, Penner, Scuderi, Bernier, Richardson and Stoll. Add kids and picks. Get ready for next season. Hope Vey and Toffoli are ready for next season.

Brown-Kopitar-Williams
XXX-Richards-Carter
XXX-XXX-Lewis
Clifford-Fraser-Nolan

Doughty-Ellerby
Voynov-Mitchell
Greene-Martinez

Quick
XXX

Don't you think it's a little soon for this?

If they are still next-to-last in the West in another 10 games, then I would think about it. There will be time to deal guys like Scuderi, Gagne, Penner, and Stoll right up until the trade deadline.

 

[damacles1156]

Don't you think it's a little soon for this?

If they are still next-to-last in the West in another 10 games, then I would think about it. There will be time to deal guys like Scuderi, Gagne, Penner, and Stoll right up until the trade deadline.

Scuds most likely gets resigned, there is no one available like him in the market, and no prospects like him(that are ready).

 

[DocWest]

Out of everyone, I really hope we resign Scuderi. We need his veteran presence to help guide the younger guys. Plus, he's a warrior.

 

[KINGS17]

Scuds most likely gets resigned, there is no one available like him in the market, and no prospects like him(that are ready).

I would like to see him back as well. Just pointing out that there is almost always a market for the four guys I named.

 

[Reaper45]

Scuds most likely gets resigned, there is no one available like him in the market, and no prospects like him(that are ready).

I can see it go both ways. If Ellerby gets his **** together and the Kings get blown away on a
Scuderi offer, he's gone.

 

[kingsfan]

Guess it is time to panic:




http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=655009&navid=nhl:topheads

Yeah, it's time to panic when Button says something negative about the Kings.

This is the guy who said we blew it on the Carter deal because we didn't need more goalscorers, we needed more defnesemen.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Yeah, it's time to panic when Button says something negative about the Kings.

This is the guy who said we blew it on the Carter deal because we didn't need more goalscorers, we needed more defnesemen.

You need to go watch NHL on the Fly from tonight (and look at the post game thread). More Button hate.

Who wants to start the "Time to plan the parade?" thread?

 

[MSRinkRat]

If you rubbed a bottle last year and a genie popped out of it and said "If you accept 5 years of Kings mediocrity from 2013 to 2018 then I'll guarantee a Cup win for you in 2012", what would you have said?

Any of you?

Well, the only bottle I ever rubbed popped out a hangover, no Genie. I can take this post so many different ways.

Are your trying to say is that because we won a cup we should just be like "whatever it's perfectly fine to smell up the league, and go back to being run of the mill hockey for a few years"? Or are you trying to say because LA won a cup (By nobody from LA) that we should just sit back and kiss our reflection in the mirror for the next few years thinking what once was? Or perhaps you have a fixation with Genies?!

I'm sorry, I strongly disagree with what I think your trying to say here. I am a King's fan, therefore I want my team to win... no I want my team to destroy the rest of the NHL and become a dynasty of such proportions that all sports will talk about them for the next 100 years. Yes I want to see that, because I am a fan and they are MY team and I hold my head up high and tell people I'm a Kings fan, not because we finally won a Cup, but because of where they came from to get where they are now. It sure as hell wasn't complacency and moderation by any means.

To the rest of the "We won the Cup I don't care" people.. Are you still Fans or just want down off the mountain for fear of heights? Or are you just "Break glass in case of a cup run" type fans? Just wondering.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Yeah, it's time to panic when Button says something negative about the Kings.

This is the guy who said we blew it on the Carter deal because we didn't need more goalscorers, we needed more defnesemen.

I believe his quote was words to the effect of... "Mobile defensemen are hard to find and they traded one of the better ones in the league for a player with a questionable work ethic." He's a clown.

 

[kingsfan]

You need to go watch NHL on the Fly from tonight (and look at the post game thread). More Button hate.

Who wants to start the "Time to plan the parade?" thread?

For my personal health, I avoid Craig Button in large doses. His draft previews are nice, but that;s where his strength ends.

Well, the only bottle I ever rubbed popped out a hangover, no Genie. I can take this post so many different ways.

Are your trying to say is that because we won a cup we should just be like "whatever it's perfectly fine to smell up the league, and go back to being run of the mill hockey for a few years"? Or are you trying to say because LA won a cup (By nobody from LA) that we should just sit back and kiss our reflection in the mirror for the next few years thinking what once was? Or perhaps you have a fixation with Genies?!

I'm sorry, I strongly disagree with what I think your trying to say here. I am a King's fan, therefore I want my team to win... no I want my team to destroy the rest of the NHL and become a dynasty of such proportions that all sports will talk about them for the next 100 years. Yes I want to see that, because I am a fan and they are MY team and I hold my head up high and tell people I'm a Kings fan, not because we finally won a Cup, but because of where they came from to get where they are now. It sure as hell wasn't complacency and moderation by any means.

To the rest of the "We won the Cup I don't care" people.. Are you still Fans or just want down off the mountain for fear of heights? Or are you just "Break glass in case of a cup run" type fans? Just wondering.

No, we just try to not cry that the sky is falling 10 games after we win the stanley cup.

I believe his quote was words to the effect of... "Mobile defensemen are hard to find and they traded one of the better ones in the league for a player with a questionable work ethic." He's a clown.

Agreed.

 

[etherialone]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=655009&navid=nhl:topheads

While I think that it is silly to even consider panicking yet (like I have said, frustrated somewhat sure but panic is just goofy to me) I will say that the rest of this article is *exactly* what I have been saying only in less detail.

WM and MG play two different styles of D then the players that are having to replace them and as such are making everyone play differently in trying to cover for their (WM and MG) loss.

The PP is coaching and it doesn't happen in a vacuum. We have a new PP coach who coaches a different style of play and it is going to take awhile for the players to pick it up. If we had a pre season I would expect that we would have picked it up and being doing well by now but we didn't.

Couple that with the losses of our top SAG defender and our most physical SAG defender and along with Kopitar having to play through an injury and there you have it.

No reason for panic, not yet anyways. Not even close.

Pretty insightful article for Button, the bitter hack.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

Expect a Fallout from me on our boards after a loss aha.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Ya, sure. Don't resign Scuds.

"...you don't know what you got till it's gone."

 

[etherialone]

Well, the only bottle I ever rubbed popped out a hangover, no Genie. I can take this post so many different ways.

Are your trying to say is that because we won a cup we should just be like "whatever it's perfectly fine to smell up the league, and go back to being run of the mill hockey for a few years"? Or are you trying to say because LA won a cup (By nobody from LA) that we should just sit back and kiss our reflection in the mirror for the next few years thinking what once was? Or perhaps you have a fixation with Genies?!

I'm sorry, I strongly disagree with what I think your trying to say here. I am a King's fan, therefore I want my team to win... no I want my team to destroy the rest of the NHL and become a dynasty of such proportions that all sports will talk about them for the next 100 years. Yes I want to see that, because I am a fan and they are MY team and I hold my head up high and tell people I'm a Kings fan, not because we finally won a Cup, but because of where they came from to get where they are now. It sure as hell wasn't complacency and moderation by any means.

To the rest of the "We won the Cup I don't care" people.. Are you still Fans or just want down off the mountain for fear of heights? Or are you just "Break glass in case of a cup run" type fans? Just wondering.

I haven't seen any of the posts where people say that its alright to suck now because we won the cup but I have seen a ton of knee jerk over reactionary fire everyone trade everyone its time to panic posts.

We just played our tenth game of the season and are missing two essential players but we are getting better every game and WM will come back before too long. The world isn't ending and just because I and others aren't running around in a state of panic doesn't mean that it isn't concerning or frustrating nor does it mean that we don't care about winning the cup this year and are willing to accept mediocrity.

It means (to me anyways) that panic and freakouts are for people who lack any confidence or faith in their team to begin with. It seem to me that it is the same people (not all but allot of them) who wanted to fire everyone and blow up the team last season even after we hired DS.

This team is and will continue to benefit from winning the cup. Last years experiences matter and they are still very important to the success that we will have going forward.

Panic comes when we are about to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and even then I will believe we can make it until the moment that we couldn't for a fact. Panicking now says that you haven't any faith in the people who just won you the cup.

I believe that DL is an exceptional GM who will do everything possible to try and bring us the cup this year and every year he is our GM. I believe that DS doesn't owe us anything accept to continue coaching this team in the manner that he did to win us a Stanley Cup and I believe that our players only owe us and each other the same effort that it took to win the cup.

I believe we are doing better all the time and I also believe that we will return to the playoffs again this year (for the fourth year in a row) and once there I will say again what I said all of last season and that is that we will do some serious damage.

Panic? No way.

 

[Puck U]

Tonellisghost may I just say it's a pleasure to read your posts

 

[The Tikkanen]

I think last nights game was a "turn the corner" type effort. That was the team I watched in the playoffs, they just imposed their will, won all the loose puck battles and dominated the front of the net.

 

[kingsfan]

Tonellisghost may I just say it's a pleasure to read your posts

Agreed. He's my personal fav. to read. Much more calm than me

 

[DaAnimal]

Don't sign scuds?? I hope you are joking. The guy is a stud. You will not find a better veteran defenseman than him. He's everything you want from a DFD. Blocks shots, cuts off the angles, poke checking, and a few good hits. If you think ellerby can do that then you must give me what you are smoking.

Sorry but losing scuds is like losing Mitchell. Give him another year or two let him keep developing and mentoring our young defenders.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

I think last nights game was a "turn the corner" type effort. That was the team I watched in the playoffs, they just imposed their will, won all the loose puck battles and dominated the front of the net.

I was having a hard time deciding if that was the case or St. Louis was just that awful. I think it was a bit of both but it actually reminded me of the Vancouver game where I personally thought the Kings were winning all the little battles and outplaying Vancouver, they just weren't getting the result.

 

[The Butcher]

Ellerby is a band-aid on a gaping wound and I see it as part of a panic button being pushed. Is Bernier's valued enough to get something we can use? Can we all agree that we got pancake Penner and not playoff Penner? Can someone please please please post some missing posters for Mike Richards and Dustin Brown. Just saying. Penner is not helping the team sitting in the stands wearing a suit. Has King made an impact on the team this year? Where the hell is Mitchell? Quick someone check the beaches, bars, and tacorias in the greater LA area for him. Wait, did someone bring him down off that mountain in Vancouver? Check there too.

Yes, we DID win the Cup last year, but wake up people, that's over and "The Time is Now" to move on to winning ANOTHER one. This team is as close to winning the cup as the '97 kings were. OK maybe a little closer, but still you get the point. I say yes, make the changes that should have been made in the off season while everyone was drunk and decided to keep the group together.

Complacency breeds failure. Unless your the US Government

 

[KINGS17]

I was having a hard time deciding if that was the case or St. Louis was just that awful. I think it was a bit of both but it actually reminded me of the Vancouver game where I personally thought the Kings were winning all the little battles and outplaying Vancouver, they just weren't getting the result.

BIG TEST coming in Chicago soon.