Game #1: Kings lose to Blackhawks 5-2

[Rod Buskas*]

Id sit Gagne. He was about worthless out there.

i agree. honestly, i don't even really think he's a great fit here. i know, i know, it's only 1 game. But if we have to sit one of Clifford or Nolan to keep Gagne in the lineup, id rather just let him go.

 

[damacles1156]

i agree. honestly, i don't even really think he's a great fit here. i know, i know, it's only 1 game. But if we have to sit one of Clifford or Nolan to keep Gagne in the lineup, id rather just let him go.

That's why I was hoping he would retire, He is just not the Forward he was years go.

 

[goosh]

Mike Richards was absolutely useless today. Hopefully he'll pick things up.

 

[Bandit]

Not pretty, but not unexpected. They looked better in the 3rd but by that time it was of course too late. Pretty par for the course for Kings afternoon games the last few years, so I'm not too worried. Quick looked shaky but again, first game, short training camp, whatever. I agree that we need Mitchell back asap, but I'm not sure if that's gonna happen. A few other random thoughts:

- New guy was fine, but it was weird without David Courtney. The tribute they did for him was nice.

- I find it odd that the new banners for the retired numbers don't use the font that was actually used on the particular jerseys. It's just some random font...

- Watching the Kings without Kopitar is just odd. In fact the whole experience was just strange. I dunno. No Kopi, no David Courtney, Late season start... It just didn't feel like a real game. Hopefully the team gets over that way quicker than I do.

- This is where I miss Hammond. Would like to hear what some of the players thoughts were after today's game.

Oh well, onto Vancouver!

 

[SCARFACE909]

Lol, let's get rid of Gagne after one game, jeez you people..

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Oh well, onto Vancouver!

You mean Colorado?

 

[damacles1156]

Lol, let's get rid of Gagne after one game, jeez you people..

I never wanted Gagne on the team, so I am just being consistent.

 

[Muzzinga]

 

[KingLB]

Lol, let's get rid of Gagne after one game, jeez you people..

Same people that were talking about getting rid of Clifford all offseason and JW 2-3 years ago. A few months (or mins I guess) below a previous level and you should be dumped.

 

[etherialone]

Meh....

CHI scored 4 goals in transition and 1 goal on a 5-3. Fixing transition D is easier than fixing other types of breakdowns. Sutter will adjust. No worries.

This ^.

This is what was happening. Some of the problem was that we had unusual pairings but we should have been better than we were. I agree that Sutter will adjust.

 

[DocWest]

I was at the game today and it was great to see the banner raised in person. However starting the game off on a 5 on 3 was painful. Anyway, glad the Kings didn't get shut out. It's hard to be mad at them since they just gave us our first Cup. Hopefully they'll step it up against the Avs on Tuesday.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Not going to over analyze this game, I expected them to be sluggish and it was an ugly game full of turnovers and misplayed pucks.

It's going to take two weeks to a month for these guys to get back into playing shape. And the missing presence of Kopitar and Mitchell was strongly felt.

The game almost felt like preseason hockey since it was the first competitive game these guys have played since June. No need to lose sleep or stress out over the first loss.

 

[Sydor25]

At least jack Johnson is already a minus one.

Wasted two points, but that first period was atrocious and completely expected. It was 2-2 after the first. Kings will be fine.

Kopitar will be back on Tuesday.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Just gonna write this one off. Highly emotional day. Afternoon game. Most players haven't seen hockey in 7 months. Two key players out.

Road trip will be good for them. No families, no distractions, just work.

 

[Bandit]

You mean Colorado?

Um, yeah... somehow I skipped a whole week of the season when I looked at the schedule.

 

[CTKingsFan]

Gagne will be fine! It's his first real game as top 6 forward in over a year!

I thought Dustin Penner had a good game was moving his feet, creating plays, scoring chances, etc.. Defiantly good to see him have good start.

Greene is gonna have to cut down on his move there. Looks like they'll be calling that interference a lot this season.

As bad as the game was... It wasn't that bad.... couple of bad breaks (off doughty and martinez) and that early 5 on 3 goal was killer!

Not a fan of the Martinez/Voynov paring or the Greene/Drewiske paring. I guess Sutter is going for the left hand/right hand shot.. But I would've gone with puck mover/stay at home combo.


On to the Av's!


Watching the Monarchs game right now 2-0 Monarchs over the Bruins after 2!

 

[Whiskeypete]

exactly what i expected. i called a 4-1 loss, so i was right on track. it wouldnt surprise me if they were like kids on Xmas and couldn't sleep. a lot of adrenaline and excitement that is hard to contain, so the outcome was no surprise.

today (even though there was a game to play for this season) was more about last season's accomplishment for the team, the org and the fans.

i was the only Kings fan in a bar in Chicago and sporting the colors. i left still smiling and all i had to say was we just hung the banner. it was one loss that to me never did and never will mean jack.

move on, move forward. nice long roadie to start the season, which gives them time to pull together. let Sutter work his down farm charm on them.

my only concern is Quick. he is not 100% and my main worry is conditioning and the possibility of injuring himself by playing and trying to do to much, to early.

it was great to see NHL hockey again

 

[kingsholygrail]

Scuderi is on pace to score 48 goals.

 

[Sydor25]

Scuderi is on pace to score 48 goals.

Clifford's on pace for 96 points.

 

[Mindcircus]

- New guy was fine, but it was weird without David Courtney. The tribute they did for him was nice.

Glad to hear there was a tribute for David, cause it was not televised... I was waiting for one too and thought it was weird that there was no mention of him whatsoever. Not even in the Kings Live pre game show either.

 

[Model62]

The captain was ready to play. Nos 10 and 77 sure weren't.

On to the next one.

 

[RonSwanson*]

One other note... Willie Mitchell is critical to this team's success, and if he's out for 2 months, the Kings will be scraping for playoff spot #8. They need Mitchell back in a hurry. More critical than Kopitar.

I agree. Huge loss for this team. It was painfully obvious today.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

I thought Gagne had a couple really nice plays...until it was time to shoot...SHOOT GAGNE!!!

Cliffy/Nolan/Doughty only players that played well imo.

Carter/Richards/Greene played real bad imo.

After seeing the Peg' score I think anyone associated with Mod Holden was jinxed today

It was a really really rough day for me Small bright side is seeing Red Wings getting owned, that's always fun.

Oh well, the raising of a Stanley Cup banner in the Staples center makes it all worth it

Rough game, I watched the first 25-28 minutes before moving to primarily the Jets game (since it was closer for longer), but it looked like a typical Kings Saturday afternoon game, little emotion, no legs, poor passing, just not a good effort. Hopefully Kopitar and Mitchell are back soon, those are potentially the 2 most irreplaceable players in the Kings lineup.

But this is just one game, not a big deal. Hopefully they bounce back on Tuesday.

 

[Martyros]

It's nice how the Kings forgot what counts as penalties from the get go...

 

[Martyros]

When Kopi gets back someone has to sit, it's Clifford or Nolan at this point

No. After that game? Those two showed up to play, unlike the other forwards.