December Schedule

[Rooks]

I'd be pretty happy with #5, whether that's Perfetti, Drysdale, Lundell, Stutzle, Holtz etc.

right? If it gives any solace. We really are right where we need to be. Best way to fill out the future top 6 is with the draft. And that was never going to happen without a year or two of lottery picks.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings have the second worst winning % at .387, have the second worst overall save percentage at .881, and rank 26th in goals allowed per game at 3.29.

I guess relative to last season, this is good?

 

[Choralone]

The Kings have the second worst winning % at .387, have the second worst overall save percentage at .881, and rank 26th in goals allowed per game at 3.29.

I guess relative to last season, this is good?

Hey man, if you huff nitrous oxide, everything feels good. Well, for a couple seconds at a time.

 

[BigKing]

It's all playing out like many predicted before the season started: this group of defensemen was going to lead to a high lottery pick.

While there were many--including myself--that expected bounce back seasons from some of the veteran scorers leading to a finish anywhere from 6th-to-9th worst, it is just hard to overcome a defense this bad. Once Martinez went down and the dudes that were rotating in/out the #6/7 spot were both in the lineup, it was abound to get ugly.

I expect we see some more wins in the back half of the season as teams take nights off against the Kings and the Kings youth that are getting cups of coffee bust their respective asses out there.

It is all really working out as planned. Tanking has been Management's play for this season even before last season ended. The beauty of it for Blake is that he hasn't had to give away guys and replace them with garbage: the tank is just natural by keeping everything that was already here. Makes it look like they aren't tanking when they really want to finish in a spot that guarantees they don't drop too far in the draft, much like last season.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I certainly didn’t expect significant improvement from this squad, but I certainly did expect better performances by specific individuals who have been major disappointments.

Doughty is productive this year but he’s trying to do too much on the ice, probably as a result of him not having much help on the blueline. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli have been mostly invisible and the worst two forwards defensively (after Kovalchuk).

I expected Quick and Ilya Kovalchuk to bounce back, and for younger guys like Kempe and Wagner to start taking on bigger roles, but they haven’t shown they’re capable of that thus far.

The only pleasant surprises have been Walker and Lizotte. Kopitar, Brown and Iafallo have been doing what’s expected of them, but there really isn’t anyone else who I’d say has been consistently good beyond them.

 

[BigKing]

I certainly didn’t expect significant improvement from this squad, but I certainly did expect better performances by specific individuals who have been major disappointments.

Doughty is productive this year but he’s trying to do too much on the ice, probably as a result of him not having much help on the blueline. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli have been mostly invisible and the worst two forwards defensively (after Kovalchuk).

I expected Quick and Ilya Kovalchuk to bounce back, and for younger guys like Kempe and Wagner to start taking on bigger roles, but they haven’t shown they’re capable of that thus far.

The only pleasant surprises have been Walker and Lizotte. Kopitar, Brown and Iafallo have been doing what’s expected of them, but there really isn’t anyone else who I’d say has been consistently good beyond them.

Well, Kopitar is the most important one since he needs to be good once the prospects are ready to be a force. You're right regarding Doughty as he is going to try and do too much until the complete blue line is solid again: as well as the forwards defensively. Carter is still better than last year.

Kempe is disappointing but the fact of the matter is that he might be more of what he was last season as opposed to the 17 goal guy in 2018. Tough for Quick to bounce back with this team...isn't Campbell behind his numbers from last season as well?

It sucks for Wagner but damn if he isn't getting chances. He's never been a stud finisher but I'm still happy he is generating chances. I'm not too down on him. Kovy was never bouncing back with me but I understand those that bought in to the Willie D reasoning.

It's been mentioned before but the vets know this is a tank so it is hard to go out there and run through a wall when you know it doesn't matter. An injection of talented youth will, in my opinion, spark those Cup-winning vets that are still here. Of course, by then, we might be primarily talking about just Kopitar and Doughty. They are the only ones that are important to the future so as long as they don't look like complete garbage, I'm not too upset. Since I don't think Kempe is a legit Top 6 guy, I'm not really upset about anyone's lack of development so far.

I might be more excited and care more that Walker might be a legit player as opposed to being bummed about Kempe. I didn't think he had a future on a good team but he's playing well enough this season that he isn't on the "only playing in the NHL because it is the Kings" list. Defense is the biggest deficiency on the team and in the pipeline so it is fantastic if he is a piece for the future when this team is relevant.