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WCQF Gm#6: KINGS vs. BLUES - 5/10/13 - 4 outta 4 and Onto The Second ROUND! GO KINGS!

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Where has Kopitar's offensive game gone?:huh: His offensive play has been pretty much absent this series? Some say he is injured, If that's true he hides it well. He has played well defensively. I hope he finds his offensive game soon. We all know he is capable of so much more! :dunno:
 
id put tier the teams performance

quick

doughty

williams, brown

the rest of the team






ellerby and muzzin.
 
agentfouser said:
Voynov sometimes reminds me of Visnovsky at his best: a very smart player positionally, not big but with a ton of heart and skilled at putting what he has to best effect.
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Yes, that is a great comparison. There are differences but they those two are comparable. I think Vis had a better first step. He got up to speed allot more quickly but that may just be my memory of him at the time.

Those two compare favorably for sure.
 
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To everyone saying Penner should be on the 2nd line in place of King: my money is on it happening next round, just like last year's playoffs. King was on the 2nd line for the 1st round, then switched with Penner for the Blues series.
 
I love that the media compares A Pie to DD all of the time when DD is clearly and significantly the better of the two.

For my money the more fair comparison is A Pie to VV. I would give the nod to VV but then I am don't think how tall a player is matters. What matters is the amount of heart and skill in that player more than anything else.
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I actually winced at them comparing APie to DD. DD is top 3 or 4 in the league , A Pie had a ways to go. But then I thought there was a lot of overkill on the commentators part regarding the Blues.


Both teams where beat up but the Blues threw everything they had at us last night and I still think that Quick was the difference between win and lose.
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Scary good Quick stat (from a podcast from Fan 590 I heard this afternoon from a caller talking to the host) Quick's last 26 playoff games, 23 games giving up 2 goals or less, 3 with 3 goals. Only other goalie with numbers that impressive thru that amount of games was Patrick Roy.
I couldn't help but think of how scary the Kings would be now if Michell and Greene were both healthy. And cudos to the D and the forwards who helped keep the shots on goal 20 or below.
Quick is and will be the difference in the teams Cup runs. That's how it should be, a great team starts from the back forward. He's the biggest and strongest part of the Kings Spine.

Now bring on them "mighty" water foul, that would be a big win for me.
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they have to beat the Wings first. They should have done that last night and I saw nothing in their game to thing they'll win. If Howard plays a strong game, I'll take Pavel the world beater over just about any forward in a game 7 critical win situation.
I want the Ducks too, but I think the Wings will win.
 
deeshamrock said:
I actually winced at them comparing APie to DD. DD is top 3 or 4 in the league , A Pie had a ways to go. But then I thought there was a lot of overkill on the commentators part regarding the Blues.




Scary good Quick stat (from a podcast from Fan 590 I heard this afternoon from a caller talking to the host) Quick's last 26 playoff games, 23 games giving up 2 goals or less, 3 with 3 goals. Only other goalie with numbers that impressive thru that amount of games was Patrick Roy.
I couldn't help but think of how scary the Kings would be now if Michell and Greene were both healthy. And cudos to the D and the forwards who helped keep the shots on goal 20 or below.
Quick is and will be the difference in the teams Cup runs. That's how it should be, a great team starts from the back forward. He's the biggest and strongest part of the Kings Spine.



they have to beat the Wings first. They should have done that last night and I saw nothing in their game to thing they'll win. If Howard plays a strong game, I'll take Pavel the world beater over just about any forward in a game 7 critical win situation.
I want the Ducks too, but I think the Wings will win.
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Yes yes yes.


Imagine in a decade being able to compare Quicker to the all time greats? As a forever Kings fan I can't believe it. Those are amazing stats.

I liked JQ as a kid but he has eclipsed anything I saw in him by a long shot.

On the Ducks/Wings series I completely agree. Pavel is Pavel so any game he is in you have to like his teams chances. One of the greatest/slickest most talented players of all time. If he had been around in the late 80's/early 90's I have to believe that he would be right there with the best of them.

I want to beat the Ducks and eliminate them from the playoffs in the worst way. That said I agree, the Ducks have to win first.

I still want to see us really just shut down and dominate an opponent for a game or two as team like we did last season and last years cup run but without MG or WM I think we are going to have a hard time doing so.

Man, if we had those two (mg/wm) with us this year I think we might be watching the team walk through to the conference finals.

We have a great shot at it still but with those two, I think we would have been right where we were last year. Scary good.

I am still blown away by how much heart and compete that MR shows and level headed the plays around him. What a champ. I am also stunned by how fast JC gets his shot off. I was never much of a scorer though Kilrea did tell me that I had a "heavy" shot. It was the late 70's so "heavy" could have meant something else but I always took it as a compliment.

That said I still can't believe how fast accurate and quickly JC's shot gets out there. What an amazing talent. Brown is struggling but word is that he is playing with a severe contusion on his right leg so that could explain it.

What do you think of MR and JC's play so far this season and during the playoffs so far? I am curious how you see them since you have followed them more closely and for a longer period of time.

To me I think they are both amazing and better than advertised but respect your take on things and am interested to read what you have to say.
 
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Kings are the 1st NHL team to win 5 consecutive playoff series despite playing Game 1 on road each series
 
I am still blown away by how much heart and compete that MR shows and level headed the plays around him. What a champ. I am also stunned by how fast JC gets his shot off. I was never much of a scorer though Kilrea did tell me that I had a "heavy" shot. It was the late 70's so "heavy" could have meant something else but I always took it as a compliment.

That said I still can't believe how fast accurate and quickly JC's shot gets out there. What an amazing talent. Brown is struggling but word is that he is playing with a severe contusion on his right leg so that could explain it.

What do you think of MR and JC's play so far this season and during the playoffs so far? I am curious how you see them since you have followed them more closely and for a longer period of time.

To me I think they are both amazing and better than advertised but respect your take on things and am interested to read what you have to say.
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On Brown- I had a feeling as soon as he went hard into that goalpost the other game when both he and Elliot wen down, he had to be hurt. So that doesn't surprise me and he (and I'm sure he's not the only one whose playing hurt) and the other guys need a few days off.

Jeff Carter- Has always possessed that lethal release. He just snaps it and it goes. There was a goal he scored towards the end of the year and even on slow motion I couldn't see it. And that usually the reaction, the goalie can't get it because you can't catch what you can't see. Even in juniors he had that ability.
This whole year he's played better, a far more complete game, then Ive ever seen him. He's always been a great goal scorer and a good defensive forward (cudos to John Stevens there-got JC on the Phantoms in the spring they won the Calder and taught him how to use his size , that long reach, better to defend. Stevens is a defense first coach and that helped JC) But he's matured since he got here, and the fact that he committed in July to working out and getting in shape (usually he didn't get there until Sep training camp) and put on 10 lbs is a new facet for him. He said that part of it was the faith that Dean put in him bringing him to LA, frustration at being injured thru a large part of last years playoffs and that due to that he was 'hungry for it' this year, and playing on a line with MR, which is important to him. .
Sutter has brought out in him a far more complete player. He never backchecked like a demon in Philly, he never was physical ,usually shied away from that. he never busted his ass chasing down pucks and was never this aggressive. I think a part of him had to make some changes when he got traded out of phlly, he got more settled down, has a steady girl, they bought a house in Manhattan Beach, he's made a real niche here and wants to succeed (the 'hungry for it') I think in 82 games next year , healthy, he'll put up 50 but unlike his past, he'll also defend his zone, and not waste any minutes. He had a bad habit in Philly of lapses on the ice, floating in the neutral zone not checking his man. This is a much fuller, JC, and I think because of how much his game has improved, he'll keep on working on that.
Because he so comfortable with MR and they feed off each other, it makes his game easier, he has to think less. He can react and they've been best friends for 12 years and played in Junior Tourneys together and on the Flyers, he knows where MR is and what he does on the ice.. I think Sutter realizes that and has played them against the toughest assignments (see below for Robert's grade)
That comfort level is not something you can teach or force, that chemistry that comes from that is huge to a team's/line's success. They only had limited 5 x 5 time in Philly (JC came back during the ECF in 2010 and was put on Richie's RW. From the very start, they just had 'it', Richie can always thread the needle to where JC will be. ) I thought they played well but LAvvy changed all that in 2011.
I think MR/JC have played very steady and consistent two way game. I love when they are 4 x 4 and there's more room, they just move well together, fit well. Same with PK. I don't like King on LW , I feel he weakens that line a lot, doesn't have the finish. Penner for now is the better option and maybe Sutter will move him up.
Maybe it'll be Pearson next year on LW, or (I can dream right) Matt Read. But I know DL will fix that. They are far too talented and need rthe right fit for a complete lne.

MR- only knows how to play one way. And in the playoffs he goes into full predator mode usually lke a shark in blood infested waters. A lot of that is due to the fact he recognized early on (pre juniors ) that he wasn't the best skater , was smaller than most of the other players and didn't have a gift of natural goal scoring. What he did have was an insane hockey IQ (outstanding broad ice vision) , a huge set of balls, a mean streak and a work ethic. Because to compete, to be as good or better, he learned early on he would have to work harder than other players. His dad taught him that., that he'd have to work hard for everything he'd ever get and never forget that, and he never has.
When you see how much he sacrifices of himself during a game and for the team , you can understand why that heart, that will to win, that intensity earns the respect of every teammate. You won't find one he's ever played with that didn't love playing for him. I saw what he gave up of himself during the comeback in 2010 vs the Bruins. The 9 points in 7 games were important, as was setting up a lot of GT and GWG. But what was more important was physically dominated shifts and leading a team back from 0-3 by playing his ass off every shift with his back to the wall for 4 straight games. He was amazing and watching him (and the players commented on it) stand down Chara, going to the corner for a puck knowing that chara was 80 lbs heavier and gonna barrel in to him, never deterred him. He stood in front of the net and got his legs, back ,all hacked by that large stick. For 7 games. and that C on his chest never shown brighter, he mettle showed. He was amazing.
It' because of how hard he works, how hards he pushes, the intensity, all of it, he gets the rest of the team to follow suit.

He's a very good defensive forward, had a knack for knowing where the play will be going and reacts to it. It's why has more Shorthanded goals than any active player in the league. But it's the little things, the stick checks, the body block, the nuances you don't see as a fan because you're watching the puck, but coaches see it, that makes all the difference. He does all those little things right that add up to winning your shift. Things that you don't miss until he's not there.

Right now he appears to be 100% (but I think getting sick during the last game affected him, he didn't appear to be himself in game 1 ) but and he's playng/moving, reacting, much like in 2010, the last time he was healthy. He was on the ice for 7 of the Kings goals and didn't get an assist on the pivotal goal (IMO) in the series but it went him because of him. Had he not shot that puck at Elliot and followed it to the net, pile driving himself in the crease to get it to Voynev, the goal doesn't go in and maybe the Kings don' win game 3 1-0. You go down 0-3 and there is no comeback.

What the Kings need, as a young team, is a guy whose been thru the tough wars, whose shoulders have alwauys been broad and who never shrugs off a challenge, and thrives in pressure situations. He is usually the calm in the storm. He's already been thru 2 dozen playoff elimination games and even OT game 7's. That kind of experience is priceless, and I saw that affect when the Kings went down 0-2. He just is a great teammate, a real leader and always confident, that something young players, without that experience, see first hand and it makes a difference. I saw what it did for both Giroux and JVR, who both came up as young players and played under him as captain (Giroux when he got his C this year, gave full props to MR and said all he saw of MR as a leader, captain, etc and that the kind of Captain he would be; JVR mentioned pre playoffs when asked about his playoff success, how much he learned from watching and playing wit h MR)
He's well suited for tough, close, physical games and it's that IQ, the fact he doesn't panic, thrives in pressure , is a real 'gamer', that coaches love.
It's no surprise he has 70 pts in 89 career playoff games. Add the physical game, the PK, the ability to irritate, agitate and frustrate the opposition right off their game and that he's reputation has been consistent since Juniors, he delivers, he's got that reputation now and it's paying off in spades for the Kings

Sutter use of JC/MR - Robert from Jewels from the Crown analyzes every game and grades the lines and D based on how they are deployed. This is JC/MR from game 6 and by the fact they had the toughest minutes, you can see how Sutter trusts MR in those critical minutes, Because MR and JC know each other that well , it comes out in the game and they get the job done

2nd Line (King-Richards-Carter), Grade: B. Similar story for the 2nd line except they were a little sloppier in their defensive zone coverage. They also had even a tougher job than the Kopitar line. Whereas the Kopitar line benefited from some easier minutes when not matched to Backes, the Richards line spent pretty much all of their time against the top 6. In addition they started 11 of their shifts in the defensive end as opposed to only 4 in the attacking zone. So they were being used primarily in a defensive capacity. They managed to keep St. Louis off the score sheet but did give up 5 quality scoring opportunities. For their part, even with their heavy defensive role they managed more shots and scoring chances than any other Kings forward unit.
 
Also, per nothelen:

There have been 326 best-of-seven series in which one team lost the first two games. Only 44 have rallied to win the series (13.5%). The Kings became No. 44 on Friday with their 2-1 victory at Staples Center.
 
TonySCV said:
Also, per nothelen:

There have been 326 best-of-seven series in which one team lost the first two games. Only 44 have rallied to win the series (13.5%). The Kings became No. 44 on Friday with their 2-1 victory at Staples Center.
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I'd love to know how many were done in 6 games (4 straight wins) and how many were taken to 7. I bet the number gets significantly smaller.
 
KingsKnight said:
I'd love to know how many were done in 6 games (4 straight wins) and how many were taken to 7. I bet the number gets significantly smaller.
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I wonder as well. This win is quite remarkable, 0-2 in the series and 0-2 in game 3.
 
Looking ahead: Although I think King does a good job of creating space for Ricky & Carts, I'd like to see Toffoli get some time on the 2nd line.
 
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