GDT: 2020-21 season game 23 LA Kings vs St. Louis Blues @6:00pm 3/6/21

[kingsholygrail]

What's funny is that it was such a hockey thing. The Kings could have easily lost in the other end with all the scrambling around the net, Quick losing his stick, etc, but it turned right around instead. Feels better being on the other side for once.

 

[Sol]

I reverse jinxed Kopitar. You are all welcome.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I feel like I must be the only person that hasn’t put andys on ignore...

Sometimes I just dont understand what is going on. People respond but I am missing context.


Rough game for Björnfot. That first goal should never have happened, take out the pass. That second goal...ok...bad.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

vilardi wasn't even looking wtf

he looked off the pass the whole way then puts it between krug's legs... that's unbelievable

Mind boggling indeed.

I could do it with soccer but a ball and hockey puck are not comparable.


Gabe Vilardi is just the best of the bunch, he is our future 1st line center as soon as I saw him play for Kingston.

 

[KingsFan7824]

All a desperate come from behind win after being down 3-0 at home in the 1st period to stop a 4 game losing streak does is keep the team in the conversation. But at least they're still in the conversation. 6 of the next 8 games are against the top 3 teams in the division. To make those 6 matter though, they have to take care of the Ducks. If you assume the 2 against Vegas will be difficult to get points in, and break even against Col/StL, they almost have to get 4pts against Anaheim. 2 SO wins would be fine.

 

[Mats26]

We need to get that start figured out. Really bad habit of starting the game late will cost you more than help you. Good bounce back game from the first line, Kopi played with purpose.
For me if this team ends at .500 or higher... that is progress. I am not dying on the hill for a successfull year if we make the playoffs. Making it is just a bonus. Most of the loses are really just about beating ourselves, we need to fix that to take the next step.

I said before the season started that for me I need to see Vilardi develop into what we think he can become. He is slowly getting there, starting to play every shift without just floating but trying to make somethng happen. I hope he can gain a bit more speed, that would make a huge difference. I see similaries to Mark Schiefele.

 

[21Dog]

Mind boggling indeed.

I could do it with soccer but a ball and hockey puck are not comparable.


Gabe Vilardi is just the best of the bunch, he is our future 1st line center as soon as I saw him play for Kingston.

One minute he's prone on the ice after trying breaking the scoring chance, next minute he's making the highlight reel pass to win the game.

 

[21Dog]

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason the Carter-Kopi-Drew OT unit was broken up?

 

[KingsFan7824]

We need to get that start figured out. Really bad habit of starting the game late will cost you more than help you.

Since 14-15, the Kings have scored first in a game 225 times, which is 27th overall. They have given up the first goal 278 times, which is 3rd most. Outscored 415-356 in the 1st. Even between 14-15 and 17-18, when the team was still thinking about winning, they were outscored in the 1st by a 252-222 margin.

In 13-14, the Kings scored first 52 times during the regular season, best in the league. 16th in win% when scoring 1st though. In the playoffs, the Kings scored first 12 times, gave up the first goal 14 times. It was starting to seep into the team then. Easily could've lost in Chicago. Trailed in every home game against the Rangers, and easily could've lost any of the games in OT, potentially altering the entire series.

What would be even more interesting is the GA within the first 5 min of the game.

 

[LAKings88]

Vilardi has an it factor I don’t see in our other top prospects yet.

Turcotte has some swagger I guess. I think Fagemo has it a bit.

Vilardi is slow tho. Jason Allison always comes to mind in style when I see him.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Vilardi has an it factor I don’t see in our other top prospects yet.

Turcotte has some swagger I guess. I think Fagemo has it a bit.

Vilardi is slow tho. Jason Allison always comes to mind in style when I see him.

Back in '17, this article had him as #3 best prospect in the draft:

2017 NHL Draft profile: Gabriel Vilardi is the best of the rest

 

[cyclones22]

I know we're all hoping for the playoffs, but to start the season the most important things to me is the team is trending upwards, getting younger and are actually fun to watch. The vets being re-engaged was a hope too, because they need to help teach these kids what it's like to play at an elite level. Before the season started, we all looked at the division and thought we were toast. But the team has shown they can compete at the very least.

 

[Bandit]

Maybe I missed it, but what is the reason the Carter-Kopi-Drew OT unit was broken up?

That was like 3 coaches ago...

 

[kilowatt]

I know we're all hoping for the playoffs, but to start the season the most important things to me is the team is trending upwards, getting younger and are actually fun to watch. The vets being re-engaged was a hope too, because they need to help teach these kids what it's like to play at an elite level. Before the season started, we all looked at the division and thought we were toast. But the team has shown they can compete at the very least.

That's my thing too. Making the playoffs would be awesome, but I care much more about seeing our rookies show that they can reach their potential, even if they don't show it every night. Consistency is learned through practice and effort outside of game day. But we've seen Vilardi show flashes of being a 1C, JAD looks like a 3C at worst, Bjornfot, Clague, Anderson, and even Strand all look like top four defensemen at times, and what is there to even say about Petersen? Compared to the absolute garbage of the past three seasons, this has already been such an exciting year. Let's just enjoy it no matter what happens and set loftier goals for next season, without all the COVID craziness.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Vilardi has an it factor I don’t see in our other top prospects yet.

Turcotte has some swagger I guess. I think Fagemo has it a bit.

Vilardi is slow tho. Jason Allison always comes to mind in style when I see him.

He’s slow and that can hurt him in a foot race but I don’t think it’s a factor with the way he slows things down with his hands and vision. Allison was like that as well. Spezza and Getzlaf are like that and can really slow it down with the puck on their stick.

 

[kilowatt]

He’s slow and that can hurt him in a foot race but I don’t think it’s a factor with the way he slows things down with his hands and vision. Allison was like that as well. Spezza and Getzlaf are like that and can really slow it down with the puck on their stick.

The only time Vilardi's speed will ever really hurt us is if he's the last man back in a footrace against a fast player. In the normal flow of play, he never looks out of place. He's never lagging or dragging. He looks just fine. And what he lacks in speed, he makes up for in control.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Can't stop watching this (from this angle)...

 

[Herby]

I agree about the Allison comparison. Although no reports yet about Gabe being the biggest ahole on the team, expecting him to reach that level of Allison is probably to much to ask though.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

I agree about the Allison comparison. Although no reports yet about Gabe being the biggest ahole on the team, expecting him to reach that level of Allison is probably to much to ask though.

Allison is a better bowler.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

Pretty sure Vilardi is the greatest player in NHL history

Thanks for pointing out the obvious

 

[All The Kings Men]

I agree about the Allison comparison. Although no reports yet about Gabe being the biggest ahole on the team, expecting him to reach that level of Allison is probably to much to ask though.

I got curious about the direct comparison and obviously different times, different leagues, different players etc etc etc yadda yadda

BUT

Allison drafted 17th overall in 1993

1st season - 2 games in the NHL/56 games in the OHL
2nd - 12 games in the NHL/8 games in the AHL/15 games in the OHL
3rd - 19 games in the NHL/57 games in the AHL
4th - 72 games in the NHL - 34 points

Vilardi drafted 11th in 2017

1st season - 32 games in the OHL
2nd - 4 games AHL
3rd - 32 AHL games/10 NHL games
4th - 23 games (on pace for 56, full season) - 11 points (on pace for 39 points)

So... other than missing basically his entire second season... I'd say he's keeping pace with Allison.

 

[Martyros]

I got curious about the direct comparison and obviously different times, different leagues, different players etc etc etc yadda yadda

BUT

Allison drafted 17th overall in 1993

1st season - 2 games in the NHL/56 games in the OHL
2nd - 12 games in the NHL/8 games in the AHL/15 games in the OHL
3rd - 19 games in the NHL/57 games in the AHL
4th - 72 games in the NHL - 34 points

Vilardi drafted 11th in 2017

1st season - 32 games in the OHL
2nd - 4 games AHL
3rd - 32 AHL games/10 NHL games
4th - 23 games (on pace for 56, full season) - 11 points (on pace for 39 points)

So... other than missing basically his entire second season... I'd say he's keeping pace with Allison.

except he seems to bring a better attitude towards the game.

 

[Herby]

I got curious about the direct comparison and obviously different times, different leagues, different players etc etc etc yadda yadda

BUT

Allison drafted 17th overall in 1993

1st season - 2 games in the NHL/56 games in the OHL
2nd - 12 games in the NHL/8 games in the AHL/15 games in the OHL
3rd - 19 games in the NHL/57 games in the AHL
4th - 72 games in the NHL - 34 points

Vilardi drafted 11th in 2017

1st season - 32 games in the OHL
2nd - 4 games AHL
3rd - 32 AHL games/10 NHL games
4th - 23 games (on pace for 56, full season) - 11 points (on pace for 39 points)

So... other than missing basically his entire second season... I'd say he's keeping pace with Allison.

I text one of my buddies after the pass to Kempe last night

"Man that looked like Allison to Palffy"

I think he moves a bit better than Allison (who doesn't) but isn't quite the ox that Allison was. They both use their body well to shield the puck. I wish Gabe had a bit of the mean streak that Allison had, but as stated before it's nice that he doesn't seem have the ahole attitude that Allison had.

Either way, it's nice that he has been able to become an effective player for the Kings after everything he went through. His offensive numbers aren't great but he is one of those guys who would really benefit from having a really good sniper on his wing. I'm excited about him, I think he could really have a big breakthrough next season, he is starting to gain the confidence at the NHL level now, and that is important.

 

[All The Kings Men]

I think he moves a bit better than Allison (who doesn't) but isn't quite the ox that Allison was. They both use their body well to shield the puck. I wish Gabe had a bit of the mean streak that Allison had, but as stated before it's nice that he doesn't seem have the ahole attitude that Allison had.

I've mentioned this before but the first point he got in the AHL he immediately whipped around and started barking at the visiting bench and thumping his chest. He wouldn't tell me what he said when I asked him about it but I think he's definitely got... chutzpah, passion, balls whatever you wanna call it.

Without being a prick.

 

[LAKings88]

I've mentioned this before but the first point he got in the AHL he immediately whipped around and started barking at the visiting bench and thumping his chest. He wouldn't tell me what he said when I asked him about it but I think he's definitely got... chutzpah, passion, balls whatever you wanna call it.

Without being a prick.

I like his confidence. Highly skilled player who can play keep away at will. Thinks two steps ahead. His speed isn’t such an impediment when you factor it all together. Give him a Palffy and a Deadmarsh and watch him go.