My take on the game after being there last night:
I thought that for large chunks of the game, the Kings controlled play. I could see the logic of our team set-up, rolling wave after wave of quality players and wearing down the opposition over time.
However, our lack of true game breaking star power is still evident. Dubois and Fiala had some good chances but did not take over the game. The Danault line controlled play but didn't have a scorer on there to capitalize. While Byfield played well, Kopitar looks completely cooked despite making some decent plays in the micro.
Meanwhile, the D is great when they can clog the neutral zone and then force a bad dump or zone entry to quickly get the puck out, but they are incapable of retrieving the puck once a sustained press happens. This compounds with the Dubois line, which gets stuck in its own zone far too much. Dubois needs to figure out how to use his size to retrieve pucks in the D zone, instead of standing up straight like a pylon, going for the easy, high risk stick check, and then having people blow right past him.
This team does not need an Englund, it needs some sort of offensive spark on every line. A Brandt Clark, who has an offensive gift, would be way more useful.
Finally, the goal tending situation needs to be fixed. What this team is, essentially, is an incredibly deep but top end light team that needs to be focused at all times on controlling play. It folds completely on small lapses in process. Small lapses will inevitably happen, so the goal tender needs to be relied on to make consistent saves, honestly just making the saves that they need to. The first two goals I thought were just really good chances, but the second two were saveable and letting those in is bad. Talbot looks absolutely cooked, hoping Copely can right the ship next game.
Overall, the problems of last year seem to still be there; lack of high end, game breaking ability, and lack of ability to retrieve the puck while receiving sustained D zone pressure.
