GDT: 2022-23 season game 53 LA Kings vs Carolina Hurricanes @4:00pm 1/31/23

[GoldenBearHockey]

More TMac examples for you... Kings on 2 game winning streak and inexplicably decided to roll with 7 dmen against Dallas, which now also happens to be Clarkes 9th game, meaning 1 more game burns the elc deal.

More recently over the last 3 games- Kings get a Win in Florida; Tmac says he wants more energy and plays Edler and Lemiuex who dont provide energy losing in Tampa; and then repeats the same losing roster to choke the lead in Carolina. I know ive only been watching the game since 1987, but dont ever recall a coach so willing to change a winning lineup, and unwilling to change a losing one.

View attachment 645313

Jesus Christ....now I've seen it all......back to back, and he changes a winning lineup to a losing lineup.....because...we all know Dallas is a f***ing cakewalk....right? Right after playing that other cakewalk....St Louis.....

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

More TMac examples for you... Kings on 2 game winning streak and inexplicably decided to roll with 7 dmen against Dallas, which now also happens to be Clarkes 9th game, meaning 1 more game burns the elc deal.

More recently over the last 3 games- Kings get a Win in Florida; Tmac says he wants more energy and plays Edler and Lemiuex who dont provide energy losing in Tampa; and then repeats the same losing roster to choke the lead in Carolina. I know ive only been watching the game since 1987, but dont ever recall a coach so willing to change a winning lineup, and unwilling to change a losing one.

View attachment 645313

Almost like.....he doesn't change a losing lineup.......and turns it into a winning lineup....

They lost to Chicago, but the SAME lineup.....won in Florida......holy shit it's MAGIC.....

 

[mysterman2]

3 games in 4 nights and you are confused why they went with 7 dmen? Really?

I'm guessing if the Kings had a competent coach, they'd be 53-0 right now.

Pretty rare for a team to go with 7 dmen.....can you acknowledge that basic truism? typically rolling 7 is done out of necessity due to injuries or some other strategical decision as part of matching up against the other team. Once again- basic hockey 101 here.

I know the 2nd half of your post is the snark self congratulatory claptrap that sounded brilliant in your head but the points stands and the Ws/Ls back it- he made changes from a winning lineup, into a losing lineup, and burned off the last game of Clarkes Pro Eligibility as well. If that is the hallmark of a brilliant coach and basic coaching 101 well what can I say and to pull a page of your inane abiltiy to conflaguate...Tmac is Scotty Bowman.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Pretty rare for a team to go with 7 dmen.....can you acknowledge that basic truism? typically rolling 7 is done out of necessity due to injuries or some other strategical decision as part of matching up against the other team. Once again- basic hockey 101 here.

I know the 2nd half of your post is the snark self congratulatory claptrap that sounded brilliant in your head but the points stands and the Ws/Ls back it- he made changes from a winning lineup, into a losing lineup, and burned off the last game of Clarkes Pro Eligibility as well. If that is the hallmark of a brilliant coach and basic coaching 101 well what can I say and to pull a page of your inane abiltiy to conflaguate...Tmac is Scotty Bowman.

You can't fathom that there was an injury you didn't know about? Or Lemieux...as he was the one that was sat, was a bit chipped up? Or that Dallas was a heavy team so spreadin git out to 7 D that would never make sense in your world?

Shit, I'm not even saying it was right or wrong.....but to continually shit on it was the wrong side all the time like you do, is absolutely mind bending.....how in the f*** are you not involved in the game given this twist of facts? (Yea, being a bit hyperbolic) but to proclaim something like you did (omg he always changes the lineups and then loses) like it was a given that if he left the lineup alone, they would win....is so f***ing idiotic, there's not much room for any other words in there....

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Pretty rare for a team to go with 7 dmen.....can you acknowledge that basic truism? typically rolling 7 is done out of necessity due to injuries or some other strategical decision as part of matching up against the other team. Once again- basic hockey 101 here.

Aren't you answering your own question here?

 

[kilowatt]

Aren't you answering your own question here?

Well there weren’t injuries so what was the strategy? It was crucial to play 7 defensemen to get Clarke 14:00 of ice time?

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Well there weren’t injuries so what was the strategy? It was crucial to play 7 defensemen to get Clarke 14:00 of ice time?

How do you know their weren't some minor injuries that would lead the coaching staff to want to minimize playing time? Problem here is you guys are all just making assumptions, but none of us have any clue to the reasoning behind it...and because the result was a L, you automatically assume that the reason isn't valid and you are smarter than the coach. I think that about sums it up.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Axl is right on this one....Kings beating the Canucks was a huge upset. Very Few thought the Kings had any chance against the canucks who won the presidents trophy for most regular season points and lost to the bruins in the finals the previous year.

No. Casuals who had no comprehension or knowledge of underlying statistics thought the Canucks would win. The Kings were the statistically superior team in every way besides overall regular season record.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

No. Casuals who had no comprehension or knowledge of underlying statistics thought the Canucks would win. The Kings were the statistically superior team in every way besides overall regular season record.

That all sounds cool, but there were no legitimate analysts out there picking the Presidents Trophy winner to lose that series.

 

[Lt Dan]

No. Casuals who had no comprehension or knowledge of underlying statistics thought the Canucks would win. The Kings were the statistically superior team in every way besides overall regular season record.

I think you are both right. You are logically right but MM and Axl Foley's take is what I clearly remember.

A lot of the media, especially the Canadian media was already crowning the Canucks the champs heading in to Game 1. Canucks fans expected to sweep us and, if you remember, mostly called 2012 a fluke and a year of lowered competition, until 2014 happened
Watch the first few minutes, I know Hughson is a giant homer but that cockiness was pretty much the Canadian media , especially the Vancouver media. They expected the series to be a cakewalk after 2010 and were probably looking more towards that later rounds.


I'll see what else I can dig up

 

[Lt Dan]

Roenick was still bitter about 2005 lol

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com

The official National Hockey League website including news, rosters, stats, schedules, teams, and video.

www.nhl.com

 

[kilowatt]

How do you know their weren't some minor injuries that would lead the coaching staff to want to minimize playing time? Problem here is you guys are all just making assumptions, but none of us have any clue to the reasoning behind it...and because the result was a L, you automatically assume that the reason isn't valid and you are smarter than the coach. I think that about sums it up.

So are you

 

[Schmooley]

How do you know their weren't some minor injuries that would lead the coaching staff to want to minimize playing time? Problem here is you guys are all just making assumptions, but none of us have any clue to the reasoning behind it...and because the result was a L, you automatically assume that the reason isn't valid and you are smarter than the coach. I think that about sums it up.

You sit here and make excuses for a mediocre team/coach/management at the same time you are making posts dissing a team and era of Kings that won Stanley Cups.
That is the weirdest thing of all.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

You sit here and make excuses for a mediocre team/coach/management at the same time you are making posts dissing a team and era of Kings that won Stanley Cups.
That is the weirdest thing of all.

Dissing the team that won cups? What the F are you talking about?

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

So are you

Bullshit, what assumptions where being made, other than, we don't know the reasoning behind the lineup change....

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

So are you

Not really, I’m not accusing anyone of doing the wrong thing, that’s what you guys do. I have no idea what’s behind these decisions.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

You sit here and make excuses for a mediocre team/coach/management at the same time you are making posts dissing a team and era of Kings that won Stanley Cups.
That is the weirdest thing of all.

I swear some of you guys live in an absolutely alternative reality......the bolded.....is specifically what I am referring to......

People go, OMG the Kings are mediocre (9th in the league in points) (10th in GF)

People go OMG, the Kings are mentally fragile and blow every lead (22-3 when leading after 2)

It's like facts don't f***ing matter in this reality you guys are creating....

 

[Statto]

Axl is right on this one....Kings beating the Canucks was a huge upset. Very Few thought the Kings had any chance against the canucks who won the presidents trophy for most regular season points and lost to the bruins in the finals the previous year.

I had us winning, I thought they were made for us. A great style match up.

 

[Schmooley]

I swear some of you guys live in an absolutely alternative reality......the bolded.....is specifically what I am referring to......

People go, OMG the Kings are mediocre (9th in the league in points) (10th in GF)

People go OMG, the Kings are mentally fragile and blow every lead (22-3 when leading after 2)

It's like facts don't f***ing matter in this reality you guys are creating....

What are the facts? You think they are a contender? They are pretty good. There are better teams and worse teams. That is mediocre. Under this management and coach they have not gotten out of the first round. That is mediocre.
They are sometimes fragile yea I think most could say that. The Buffalo game they gave up 6 in the third? Nashville they blew the other day. Carolina they blew the other day. Blew that Bruins game in the third. Washington they gave up 4 in the third? Got beat bad by Pittsburgh.
Almost blew Panthers game they were dominating.
Who said they blow every lead? I dont see many saying that. They do sometimes give up goals in droves though as I posted just some games I remember off the top of my head.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I think you are both right. You are logically right but MM and Axl Foley's take is what I clearly remember.

A lot of the media, especially the Canadian media was already crowning the Canucks the champs heading in to Game 1. Canucks fans expected to sweep us and, if you remember, mostly called 2012 a fluke and a year of lowered competition, until 2014 happened
Watch the first few minutes, I know Hughson is a giant homer but that cockiness was pretty much the Canadian media , especially the Vancouver media. They expected the series to be a cakewalk after 2010 and were probably looking more towards that later rounds.


I'll see what else I can dig up

View attachment 645347



View attachment 645348

I’m not disputing that the mainstream hockey media saw “Presidents Trophy winner vs 8th seed” and made a safe pick. That was the popular narrative at the time.

But again, anyone who was actually paying attention to underlying statistics saw how dominant the Kings were post-trade deadline.

You see it right there. Bruce and Dirk offer cliched platitudes and pick the Canucks. Eric quotes actual statistics and picks the Kings.

 

[bmr]

Blake has won nothing as a general manager in the NHL. Nothing.

If and when he puts together a Cup winning team, we can compare his post-Cup years to Dean Lombardi's. Until then, there is no comparison. GMs are operating in another world of pressure and expectations after winning a Cup, and most of them wind up making the same mistakes Lombardi did. IF Blake ever gets to that world, we'll talk.

If Blake had his pulse on the team's needs, he would've seen Bjornfot and Spence knocking on the door last season, and made room for them this year. Clarke's ascension, at least, came somewhat out of left field. But there was absolutely no reason for Blake to be okay with going into 22/23 with Doughty, Durzi, Roy, Walker, and Spence all right handed and NHL ready. That is a colossal failure of roster construction.

I won't take Petersen and Kovalchuk out of the equation because they're direct evidence of Blake's issues as a GM. Both of these contracts were one year too long at the time of their signing. Both of Roy and Walker's deals were one year too long at the time of their signing. Blake has not demonstrated the ability to see 3+ years ahead, and it continues to hurt the team's long term future.

In a vacuum, yes, the Fiala trade was fantastic. We added a PPG top flight winger for futures. And how much did it improve the team? Not at all.

This is the problem with the discourse on Rob Blake among Kings fans. Blake gets showered with praise for making a shrewd trade or UFA signing. Meanwhile, the team continues to tread water if not outright regress. Enough is enough. This is year six of Blake's tenure as GM. No more excuses.

No GM is going to be without mistakes. If this team doesn't make a serious run at the cup within 2 years, then I'll definitely agree with what you're saying.

I don't think it's fair to say the Fiala trade didn't improve us. We actually got worse this year on defense and goalie, which is causing most if not all of the issues. If we had the same defense and goalie performance that we had last year, we would be leaps and bounds ahead because of the increase in offense/powerplay.

I'm not showering him with praise, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. We made the playoffs last year and if we had Arvidsson/Doughty healthy there was better than a decent chance we would have made it past that round.

Wait and see for me.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

No GM is going to be without mistakes. If this team doesn't make a serious run at the cup within 2 years, then I'll definitely agree with what you're saying.

I don't think it's fair to say the Fiala trade didn't improve us. We actually got worse this year on defense and goalie, which is causing most if not all of the issues. If we had the same defense and goalie performance that we had last year, we would be leaps and bounds ahead because of the increase in offense/powerplay.

I'm not showering him with praise, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. We made the playoffs last year and if we had Arvidsson/Doughty healthy there was better than a decent chance we would have made it past that round.

Wait and see for me.

That’s exactly the problem, though. Despite adding a major PPG offensive threat and fixing the power play, we’re still treading water in a historically bad division. We’re just switching seats on the Titanic at this point.

Blake’s failure to address logjams at D as well as the goaltending situation have torpedoed whatever progress this team would’ve made otherwise.

I was “wait and see” with Rob Blake three years ago. It’s year six now, and the team is barely hanging on to a playoff spot despite adding major prime players and spending to the cap.

Like Herby asked in another post, when is it reasonable to expect some success in Blake’s tenure? When can we expect to win a playoff round? Year 7? Year 8? When are we allowed to actually measure the real world performance of this GM?

 

[mysterman2]

Aren't you answering your own question here?

Direct quote is below, and note with those 3 bang bang bang goals- think he called a Time Out?

 

[mysterman2]

You can't fathom that there was an injury you didn't know about? Or Lemieux...as he was the one that was sat, was a bit chipped up? Or that Dallas was a heavy team so spreadin git out to 7 D that would never make sense in your world?

Shit, I'm not even saying it was right or wrong.....but to continually shit on it was the wrong side all the time like you do, is absolutely mind bending.....how in the f*** are you not involved in the game given this twist of facts? (Yea, being a bit hyperbolic) but to proclaim something like you did (omg he always changes the lineups and then loses) like it was a given that if he left the lineup alone, they would win....is so f***ing idiotic, there's not much room for any other words in there....

your ability to accurately transcribe your angry Tourette's laden stream of consciousness is amazing. Funny how those who provide and contribute the least are the most vitriolic. Havent seen someone this angry since I volunteered to lead the "how to paint Muhammed" class at my local mosque.

 

[johnjm22]

I mean, even Deano was talking about holding onto picks after the Kings missed the playoffs. The general consensus was that it was time to hold onto some picks, which I will credit Blake with doing, but they also had an eye on competing. Which was stated clearly when Luc held the press conference firing Sutter/Lombardi and putting Blake and Stevens in charge. They clearly still believed in the roster, hence the signing of Kovalchuk and firing of Stevens/Bring in Desjardins for an entire season. Hell, the odd Pearson for Hagelin swap kind of spoke to that same mindset. They also didn't move on from players as soon as they could/should have. It was a similar half in approach that we are seeing now.

I don't think it matters what they say in the press conference. Just my opinion, but of course they're going say what they said. It's like being a politician.

I think the basic approach they took was correct. Let's make a change here, see what happens, but do it while holding on to futures so the farm builds up in the meantime.

If they really believed in the roster like you say they do, they wouldn't have held on to all their futures.

In Kopitar's rookie season the top 5 scorers were 24, 24, 19, 30 and 22. In his sophomore season the top 5 scorers were 20, 25, 23, 22 and 25. His 3rd season the top 5 scorers were 21, 26, 24, 31 and 26. They made the playoffs the following season with a top 5 in scoring that was 22, 20, 25, 33 and 27.

This season the top 5 scorers are 26, 35, 26, 29 and 29. It's just a different progression, especially because Kopitar joined the team at 19 and was immediately an impact player, finishing 3rd in team scoring his rookie season and 1st the rest of the way. The team as constructed doesn't have 7 seasons to wait to win a playoff round.

It's a very different situation, I agree. It's not as clean of a rebuild as before. But successful rebuilds don't all take on the same form or have a clear demarcation point. They're usually messy.

Most rebuilds fail to result in a SC championship, and this "rebuild" will likely fail as well. I won't disagree with the critics on that.

What?

Blake and Luc literally say “we think this team can continue competing for Stanley Cups” during their first press conference.

They're selling a product. Of course they're going to say that. That's how this works.