GDT: Welcome to the Black Parade: WCQF Game 1, (1) Vegas Golden Knights vs (WC1) LA Kings @7:00

[Reaper45]

My only issue with Thompson and Mitchell last night was that they're not very fast. Its was evident last night.

 

[Reaper45]

Really? It was I think one of those calls you have to make or you risk having that game get truly out of control, all night it was on the edge, scrum here, scrum there, you let that go, and those scrums turn into something else,

Didn't like it at the time, but looking back, it was the right call.

I mean it's not like he ran him, he backed into him when Fleury was out of the crease. I could see calling it if he plowed into him and you as a ref wanted to get a handle on things sure. That was ticky tack to me.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Actually wouldn't mind seeing Kempe up there with Kopitar and Brown, with the way he's been playing of late, it's worth a shot, as Pearson and Iafallo haven't done much up there.

Kempe - Kopitar - Brown
Iafallo - Carter - Reider
Pearson - Amadio - Toffoli
Clifford - Thompson - Lewis

I think Mitchell is still the odd man out,

Not crazy about that 2nd line, but I don't see putting Reider with Amadio, that's TOO weak defensively

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I mean it's not like he ran him, he backed into him when Fleury was out of the crease. I could see calling it if he plowed into him and you as a ref wanted to get a handle on things sure. That was ticky tack to me.

It was a back as far as I can get away with if I get him, whoops type deal, I see what you are saying, I am just saying from the officials perspective, it was the right call at the right time,

That happens 2-3 minutes into the game, I'm not so sure you see that called.

 

[KINGS17]

Really? It was I think one of those calls you have to make or you risk having that game get truly out of control, all night it was on the edge, scrum here, scrum there, you let that go, and those scrums turn into something else,

Didn't like it at the time, but looking back, it was the right call.

On this one I am more in the camp of no harm no foul, but if the puck had gone in the goal should have been disallowed.

 

[KingTrouty]

Amadio is not very strong physically. Considering how game 1 went, I wouldn't feel comfortable with him in the lineup. I agree that Thompson was strong on the dot, but Brodzinkski has a better shot and could do more damage offensively with Kempe and Reider. I am okay with moving Thompson to the fourth line instead of having Mitchel there.

He may not be the strongest, but Amadio would be fine centering the third line provided Muzzin is back and they can shelter him some. I like Brodz, but he isn't gonna be the one setting up Kempe and Rieder, and they likewise. Amadio has the vision and natural playmaking ability that centers are born with. Brodz might pot more, but I think Amadio has a more rounded game. And really, Brodz or Amadio, Rieder is really the only plus defender on that line at this point

 

[KingTrouty]

Actually wouldn't mind seeing Kempe up there with Kopitar and Brown, with the way he's been playing of late, it's worth a shot, as Pearson and Iafallo haven't done much up there.

Kempe - Kopitar - Brown
Iafallo - Carter - Reider
Pearson - Amadio - Toffoli
Clifford - Thompson - Lewis

I think Mitchell is still the odd man out,

Not crazy about that 2nd line, but I don't see putting Reider with Amadio, that's TOO weak defensively

I think Carter is left with too little skill for the second line. AI needs to wake up, man

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

On this one I am more in the camp of no harm no foul, but if the puck had gone in the goal should have been disallowed.

Normally it would have been, I think but the tone of the game would have majorly shifted after that and i don't think the officials wanted that, it was edgy as it was without adding that into it.

 

[KingTrouty]

Actually wouldn't mind seeing Kempe up there with Kopitar and Brown, with the way he's been playing of late, it's worth a shot, as Pearson and Iafallo haven't done much up there.

Kempe - Kopitar - Brown
Iafallo - Carter - Reider
Pearson - Amadio - Toffoli
Clifford - Thompson - Lewis

I think Mitchell is still the odd man out,

Not crazy about that 2nd line, but I don't see putting Reider with Amadio, that's TOO weak defensively

I was using the hypothetical of keeping the 70's line intact, same as Alpha Bravo

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I think Carter is left with too little skill for the second line. AI needs to wake up, man

Possible, that's why I wasn't crazy about it,

Clifford - Carter - Reider would be fun to watch, I think Reider has that skill, and Clifford has just been motoring the past month or so

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

My only issue with Thompson and Mitchell last night was that they're not very fast. Its was evident last night.

And they were on the ice for the lone goal that was scored in the game, and that occurred because of horrendous coverage from the forwards up top.

 

[KingTrouty]

Possible, that's why I wasn't crazy about it,

Clifford - Carter - Reider would be fun to watch, I think Reider has that skill, and Clifford has just been motoring the past month or so

Clifford has absolutely cemented his status in the starting lineup, but that would be a waste of Carter as well, imo

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Clifford has absolutely cemented his status in the starting lineup, but that would be a waste of Carter as well, imo

Maybe, but can you really argue that Carter has been a waste of Carter the past 3-4 games?

 

[KingTrouty]

But Thompson at least did something, guys. I didn't notice Mitchell once. Maybe it's just confirmation bias because I think his spot belongs to Amadio.

 

[Reaper45]

And they were on the ice for the lone goal that was scored in the game, and that occurred because of horrendous coverage from the forwards up top.

Yeah. I understand going the vet route but put Amadio out there at least. Even Andreoff for his speed alone.

 

[Herby]

I was on the Amadio bandwagon early in the year but he hasn’t been the same since Stevens sat him after he had 1 poor game after about 15 mostly good ones. Kind of similar to McNabb his rookie year. Not sure he can be trusted right now, his confidence is shot.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I was on the Amadio bandwagon early in the year but he hasn’t been the same since Stevens sat him after he had 1 poor game after about 15 mostly good ones. Kind of similar to McNabb his rookie year. Not sure he can be trusted right now, his confidence is shot.

The games i've seen him in, he's been fine offensively, in the defensive zone, he makes the wrong read, tries to hold onto the puck too much, loses his coverage...

 

[KingTrouty]

I was on the Amadio bandwagon early in the year but he hasn’t been the same since Stevens sat him after he had 1 poor game after about 15 mostly good ones. Kind of similar to McNabb his rookie year. Not sure he can be trusted right now, his confidence is shot.

I thought he started playing well again before he was sat this last time, Herby. And when he was struggling, he was still used on the 2nd PP. I'm sure he knows he's on the bubble right now, hopefully getting intermittent play doesn't mess with him too much.

 

[BigKing]

And they were on the ice for the lone goal that was scored in the game, and that occurred because of horrendous coverage from the forwards up top.

For me, that goal happens because Folin doesn't get rid of the puck quickly, gets smashed and turns the puck over. It was all downhill from there, including Folin seemingly unaware of what was going on while he battled in front.

Evidence what a strong fore check can do. Kings might want to look into it tomorrow.

As for the Brown penalty, it was total trash. Fleury came out to meet him and there was so little contact. No-call but you can wipe out a goal there for incidental contact.

 

[KingTrouty]

The games i've seen him in, he's been fine offensively, in the defensive zone, he makes the wrong read, tries to hold onto the puck too much, loses his coverage...

Yeah, that and his board play is really noticeable (in a bad way) when he's off. When he's on, he's crafty and shifty as f*** on the boards

 

[SFKingshomer]

Rieder is freaking terrible

 

[RONNIEC]

Let's have our best players on the first 2 lines and the 3rd and 4th line concentrate on defense only.
Kempe - Kopi - Brown
Pearson - Carter - Toffoli
Whatever combination for the 3rd and 4th.

The 70's line has to wake up to support Kopi and DD offensively.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Count me in the camp of “Kopitar needs to shoot the f***ing puck and not try to pass it into the net.”

 

[riznat]

... just nervously waiting for news about Doughty's hearing ...

 

[DoktorJeep]

I was at the game last night with a pretty good view from a seat in the end the Kings shot twice, so here are my takeaways.

Pregame
- Outside the arena was busy with fans. Plenty of bad music and worse dancing. But people were in a good mood.
- Saw way more Vegas fans than Kings fans throughout the event. Maybe there were Kings fans like me who chose not to wear team paraphernalia. It’s not like the Kings their fans any reasons to cheer, so who knows.
- The pre game ceremony was hokey and theatrical. But well done for what it was.
- I got to my section during player introductions, so maybe I missed it, but there was no moment of silence for the victims of last years tragedy.

Game
- As expected the Knights came out with a ton of energy and scored an early goal. Pretty sure it was on the first shift of the 4th line and the fault of Mitchell for not keeping the puck on the boards on his side of the ice.
- The Kings did a good job on probably 75% of the shifts in the first two periods with managing the puck in their zone and disrupting the Vegas breakouts by back checking through the neutral zone.
- In the third period, I thought Vegas picked up their forecheck and did a better job of pinning the Kings 3rd and 4th lines in the defensive zone.
- Of course the Kings squandered early power play opportunities so it definitely hurt the team when they had to kill penalties in the second half of the game and it takes Brown and Carter off the ice
- The game felt like a classic Kings game, with the low score and tight checking. I thought the team did a good job in the neutral zone, but as the game went on VGK went into a shell and had 3 men back at all times.
- You’d like to think the Kings would find a way to beat that, but of course they didn’t and got called for penalties.
- They killed the penalties but it also chewed the clock and prevented them from building any momentum
- you could see the Kings were driving the middle of the ice, both in the neutral and offensive zones.
- VGK was composed and hard on the puck, they outplayed the Kings when it counted most at the start and end of the game.

Players
-Fluery was the emotional leader for the Knights, you could just see it from bringing the team out on the ice, to his play on the ice.
- Folin was very good from the Kings in their zone. He squashed plays when he didn’t have the puck and impressed me with his good breakout passes from his blue line across the neutral zone
- Quick was a beast and in Jedi form. I thought for sure Haula was going to score on the PP until Quick exploded out to the front of the net to just smother a sure goal.
- Kopitar, Brown and Doughty put in a ton of effort. It wasn’t theIt fault the Kings lost.
- Carter and Lewis still don’t look 100% percent to me. With Carter, he doesn’t have that first step back where he can separate from his checker and carry the puck. For Lewis, it looks like he’s nursing a shoulder problem. He was terrible on the boards in the 3rd period.
- Kempe and to a lesser extent Reider were effective in their roles and ice time. Kempe looked dangerous and Reider was solid on the forecheck.
- Pearson was slow on the forecheck and didn’t handle the puck well.
- Toffoli was also slow on the forecheck, but he got shots off. He failed on some passes too, but I give credit to Vegas’s coverage down low and at the points.
- Mitchell started the game bad and got worse as it went on.
- Clifford was brutal trying to backcheck in the neutral zone. He let his man blow by him multiple times. Someone should tell him you’re still allowed to hit people away from the back of the net.
- You could see how Fantenberg was being sheltered. He did his job, but in a game with such a tiny margin of error for a loss, even being a bit of an anchor can help sink the line.
- We need Muzzin back ASAP and he better swap in for Oscar. I think Phaneuf is ok to carry LaDue since Folin has stepped up his game.

Overall
- Vegas put on a good show, as expected. Crowd was loud and into it, didn’t see any poor fan behavior and the folks sitting around me were good hockey fans. Based on some of the cheering it felt like the majority of fans were locals and not tourists. Everyone had local team paraphernalia, tons of customized jerseys.
- In game entertainment was twice as moronic as Staples, which I would have thought impossible. I guess today passion is confused with noise, sad for a fan of the sport IMO.
- Arena restaurants and beverages were on point. Was a bit upsetting to see a Pinks hotdogs there.
- Was in Vegas all week for work, so I was looking forward to this game. Even though the Kings lost, it was by far the highlight of my trip and I’m glad to see another city embrace the NHL.
- Can’t wait to watch game 2 from the comfort of home. Best thing about Vegas is the airport WiFi. Everything else has a 36 hour limit before you begin to miss home.