Another enjoyable game in the Twin Cities, if you’ve never taken in a game, highly recommended.
I love PLD, he fits this team like a glove. He was overdrafted and will never live up to where he was taken in the draft, but he’s a damn good 2nd line player. I think we are a better lineup with PLD/Kaliyev/Laf and $2.5m less space than with Vilardi/Iafallo/Kupari. C depth is a tough thing to get and the Kings have 3 guys capable of centering a line that can score.
The Kings just present such a challenge to check because of the skill level of the 2nd and 3rd lines. Even if the top line gets cancelled out, which may happen against top checkers, how do you contain the other lines, you have Fiala and PLD as great secondary scorers and Danault/Moore are now your third offensive option, they may not have been good as second options but as third? They are elite. Another reason to love that trade and bringing in a true 2C.
Moore is playing great, but to me that just means if you can use him for a goalie down the road you still do it if his value is back fo where it was 2 years ago. Moore was a negative asset last year based on his cap hit, and so far this year he’s been producing at a level that makes him a big value.
The goaltending is probably not going to hold up in the playoffs, the playoffs don’t grind to a 2-1 or 3-2 halt as much as they used to or people still think, but the games do get slightly less scoring. I still think Moore or Roy dealt and replaced by a competent #1 and then either Turcotte or Clarke. I do worry a bit about counting on Turcotte for offense (especially with how Moore is scoring).
The total for this game was 6 again (no sweat with 6 in the first. Lol, I’m hoping this is 2011-2012 all over again except instead of unders it’s overs (also more enjoyable to watch). 36 total goals in 4 games vs 24.5 Vegas expected.
Btw, speaking of a team playing a lot like the Kings right now? Carolina is up to 48 goals total in 5 games. It feels like we have returned to the early 90’s.
