Game 10: Kings vs. Red Wings - 2/10/13 - Heartbreaking Loss

[damacles1156]

The Kings haven't had a "good" regular season since 1991.

Really want to blow your mind.

46 Wins in both 09-10 10-11.

Was that just because Quick was a shootout God ? Quick was something ridiculous, like 20-8 those two years combined.

The Kings had less offensive talent then too. Stoll was the second line Center for both those years.....

 

[The Butcher]

Anyone that expected a Dynasty or Dominant Regular season from this group of Kings, was setting themselves up for disappointment.

The current Core of players, have never been world beaters for the regular season.

The Kings have largely been a 500. team since 06-07 (if you include OT losses).

There is nothing wrong with that, 500. teams make the playoff's. And in this instance, can Win a Cup. the Kings proved that.

But I didn't expect the Kings to come out gang busters and mop the floor with teams.

With Mitchell Out I don't expect them to be even 500. Mitchell for some reason is that important.

Yes I remember a lot of the chest thumping over the summer about how this team is going to be unstoppable this year and most of it made me a little uncomfortable. This team generally doesn't win until they absolutely have to (I think Telos said that at some point over the last few seasons). Fortunately, this team has shown that it can heat up at the appropriate times. It may not work out this season but I'd still put my money on this team to make the playoffs.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Really want to blow your mind.

46 Wins in both 09-10 10-11.

Was that just because Quick was a shootout God ? Quick was something ridiculous, like 20-8 those two years combined.

The Kings had less offensive talent then too. Stoll was the second line Center for both those years.....

That's what's mind-boggling. The more offensive talent we have, the less we score. We were 9th in goals scored in 2009-10. Since then, we've been in the bottom half of the league in that category including 29th last year and last this year so far.

 

[johnjm22]

That's what's mind-boggling. The more offensive talent we have, the less we score. We were 9th in goals scored in 2009-10. Since then, we've been in the bottom half of the league in that category including 29th last year and last this year so far.

That's because we had one of the best Power Plays in the NHL that year. (Thanks Kompon!)

 

[etherialone]

We finish the 5th through 8th seed in the west this season and make another run at the cup. That was my pre season prediction and I think we will pretty much do that.

 

[Butch 19]

We looked very good for long stretches of this game and clearly our struggles are largely due to our missing Dmen.

I can't believe anyone is talking about us not making the playoffs. One its way too early to even have a clue how things will end up going and two we have made the playoffs the past three seasons and won the cup last year.

I know panicking and going off all knee jerk seems fun but it is also kind of sad. Losing sucks and is very frustrating but we aren't even close to being out of it at all yet and I still believe we will put things together and be fine heading into the playoffs.

That is all that matters.

What's sad is 2 regulation wins in 10 games!

At this rate they'll finish the season with 10 wins,... but nothing to see here, all is going acording to plan.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I take it you don't notice I've actually been around these boards even longer than you, so no I'm not a new breeed Kings fan. In fact, I became a Kings fan the day Gretzky became a King, so I'm nearly a quarter of a century as a Kings fan. As such, I'm well aware of the Kings past, especially the recent past. That doesn't mean I blindly fall back into the 'the Kings suck' mentality, especially after we won a Stanley Cup. If you want to, go ahead, but you look rather dumb doing so just 11 games in coming off a very dominating game.

Given your longevity as a fan, then you should be all too familiar, just as I am and most of us are, of the Kings finding a way to disappoint us more often than not. Let's be frank, were we satisfied at all with the Kings play last season up until the playoffs? I think not.

That doesn't take away from their Cup win, but today is a different day and that Cup win is in the past. I would like them to erase the thought of them being a fluke and being another team like the Carolina Hurricanes who found magic in a bottle in one instance and that was it. I want the ride to last longer. I want to see the Kings string together a season of consistent performance where they play at a high level and prove that they are a contender for the division, conference, and championship.

20% of the season has passed, after two more games, a quarter of the season will be played. Thus far, their best performance has been in a losing effort. How can fans not be disappointed with the team thus far? They entered the season with lofty expectations due to their Cup win and were expected to win and persevere, even with the injuries to Mitchell and Greene. They aren't doing that now and we're still wondering how (or when) their offense is going to start clicking.

 

[etherialone]

What's sad is 2 regulation wins in 10 games!

At this rate they'll finish the season with 10 wins,... but nothing to see here, all is going acording to plan.

I agree we aren't playing up to our best just yet but then we are 100% healthy and have all of our best players on the ice every night so I just can't figure out why we haven't gone 10 and 0 to start the season!

But hey, that's just me. I know that my constant whining and griping about every little thing that goes wrong gets tiresome but I always come around in time to jump back on the band wagon once things turn around like have for the past three years.

(not directed at you really butch. just having fun right back at you and the sky is falling crowd.)

 

[bobafettish*]

i dont think anybody thought this team would streamroll or win the presidents cup, i do however thought days of kings being last in offense were long behind us.

 

[etherialone]

Given your longevity as a fan, then you should be all too familiar, just as I am and most of us are, of the Kings finding a way to disappoint us more often than not. Let's be frank, were we satisfied at all with the Kings play last season up until the playoffs? I think not.

That doesn't take away from their Cup win, but today is a different day and that Cup win is in the past. I would like them to erase the thought of them being a fluke and being another team like the Carolina Hurricanes who found magic in a bottle in one instance and that was it. I want the ride to last longer. I want to see the Kings string together a season of consistent performance where they play at a high level and prove that they are a contender for the division, conference, and championship.

20% of the season has passed, after two more games, a quarter of the season will be played. Thus far, their best performance has been in a losing effort. How can fans not be disappointed with the team thus far? They entered the season with lofty expectations due to their Cup win and were expected to win and persevere, even with the injuries to Mitchell and Greene. They aren't doing that now and we're still wondering how (or when) their offense is going to start clicking.

Let me ask you this ziggy,

Can you think of a reason why we aren't playing up to our best effort? Honest question. Can you think of a reason as to why we wouldn't have gotten off to a great start. I ask you this because of my respect for your understanding of the team and the game.

To me with this one I am truly taken aback by your position and I am hoping that I can get a better understanding of where you stand if you can answer my question in as simple a manner as possible (in deference to my addled old brain).

I can. I think our poor start (at least as far as win loss record goes) is due to one single type of problem that is or will be fixed in a short amount of time but I would really like to know where you stand on the matter.

I have read as always everything you have written in each of these types of threads and am still left with the same question.

You always bring it so I look forward to reading your thoughts.

 

[etherialone]

i dont think anybody thought this team would streamroll or win the presidents cup, i do however thought days of kings being last in offense were long behind us.

I wasn't certain but I have to admit that I thought we would have fewer offencive struggles then we do so far this season. Hoped anyways.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Let me ask you this ziggy,

Can you think of a reason why we aren't playing up to our best effort? Honest question. Can you think of a reason as to why we wouldn't have gotten off to a great start. I ask you this because of my respect for your understanding of the team and the game.

To me with this one I am truly taken aback by your position and I am hoping that I can get a better understanding of where you stand if you can answer my question in as simple a manner as possible (in deference to my addled old brain).

I can. I think our poor start (at least as far as win loss record goes) is due to one single type of problem that is or will be fixed in a short amount of time but I would really like to know where you stand on the matter.

I have read as always everything you have written in each of these types of threads and am still left with the same question.

You always bring it so I look forward to reading your thoughts.

I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. And neither do the players on the ice. All I can think of is that as a group, they have gotten stale offensively and lack the finesse, skill, and firepower to create more offense.

We all know that the scoring woes go a long way back. Last season they finished second to last in goals for. They only netted 118 goals at even strength. The season prior, the Kings offense was the 25th worst in the league, but they had scored 30 more goals at even strength. In 2009-10, the Kings had the 9th best offense in the league.

As well as Doughty has played, he isn't doing enough to help this team offensively. A majority of the Kings shots are blocked and deflected wide or out of play. They simply lack creativity on offense and are too predictable when they enter the blueline.

On the other side of the puck, this team is blowing simple assignments. Take the loss against the Ducks, the loss against the Oilers, and tonight's loss. A majority if not all of the goals could be attributed to blown coverage. A lot of players look to be a step behind and slow in their reactions.

I'm not going to use the short training camp as an excuse as every team has had the same amount of time to prepare. I would like to think that coaching isn't the problem and that this is more of a personnel issue. I'm a big fan of Darryl Sutter and think that Dean Lombardi generally makes the right decisions, but sometimes I think that Lombardi and his antiquated ways is dead set on having a rugged set of forwards and he places less of an emphasis on skill.

I posted this bit of info on the other games thread, but it is preposterous to see that David Clarkson's nine goals is higher than the combined goals for Dustin Brown, Mike Richards, Justin Williams, Dustin Penner, Simon Gagne, Jarret Stoll, Trevor Lewis, Dwight King, and Jordan Nolan. That's one player who has more goals than nine combined Kings players, five of whom are considered top six talent.

If you've read my comments, you'll see that I'm not unfairly negative on the team, but neither am I overly optimistic. I call it as I see it and at face value, this team is disappointing and not performing at the level they should be playing at. It is very reminiscent of the Kings we saw for a majority of last season. That concerns me.

 

[Shootmaster_44]

Well, I meant here in California.

Do SCF games on NBC get blacked out since CBC has the rights in Canada?

No they don't. Very few things get blacked out in Canada when a Canadian channel has the rights. Since CBC does their own broadcast they can't do this, but when a Canadian OTA channel (CTV, Global or CBC (though I've never seen CBC do it)) has the rights to rebroadcast a US program, there is a process called Simultaneous Substitution or SimSub. What happens there is that the local Canadian affiliate asks the cable system to place the Canadian feed on the channel where you would find the American feed normally. Thus, you see the Canadian commercials instead of the American ones.

This does not extend to cable channels though. So during NCAA March Madness, CBS carries a good portion of the games (though to the bane of my existence, the NCAA now lets TruTV, TNT and TBS show games), whereas TSN has the broadcast rights to Canada. This means TSN does their thing, but cannot SimSub CBS as they are not a broadcast network. I would be some upset if TSN could since I get a CBS affiliate from Spokane, where incidentally Gonzaga is based. So during March Madness, the CBS affiliate from Spokane, shows the Gonzaga game in its entirety, good, bad or otherwise. Being a fan of the Bulldogs, I want to see the entire game. TSN on the other hand might start with the Gonzaga game, but if it is a blowout or a more exciting game is happening elsewhere, they will switch. It always annoyed me when I'd be watching one of my favourite teams play and suddenly due to the score of the game, TSN (or The Score) would switch to a different game. Sadly, TruTV, TNT and TBS are not carried in Canada, so I have no option to switch to those channels. Also, March Madness On Demand was blacked out in Canada for the first time last year, so I couldn't even watch it online. I was forced to pay close to $50 for ESPN Player from Britain, as TSN decided to limit their online streaming to mobile phones on their parent company, Bell's network. You couldn't watch on a computer anywhere in Canada (maybe if you have Bell internet perhaps).

This process does lead to a few issues from time to time. Apparently, the cable operator needs 10 minutes notice to change a SimSub. Lets say CBS has college basketball on and following the game Global and CBS are broadcasting the same golf tournament. Global asks the cable operator to SimSub CBS' channel at say 3 PM. However, the college basketball game goes into OT and magically at 3 PM, SimSubbing occurs and no more OT, we are treated to whatever Global is carrying at the time awaiting the golf tournament. Luckily, as a rule they are only allowed to SimSub on the "primary" US network affiliate. So since in Canada, you can subscribe to timeshifting and get a second US network affiliate, you can switch to the other feed and see the OT.

Where most people are annoyed with the SimSubbing is during the Super Bowl. It seems the Super Bowl, on certain cable systems, is SimSubbed on both the East and West US network feed. Since for some reason people watch the Super Bowl, not for football, but for commercials, many Canadians are shut out of the US commercials and instead see badly produced local commercials for liquor stores or some tractor dealership. Thankfully, my cable operator, Shaw only SimSubs the one feed. I watch the Super Bowl for the football, but lots of people would whine here if they couldn't see the commercials.

The oddest situation arises on certain cable systems that retransmit another cable/satellite provider's feed. My parents have IPTV provided by their local phone company (think Verison FiOS), however Sasktel doesn't transmit their own feeds directly from the satellites. Instead, Sasktel retransmits Bell TV (think DirecTV) on their cable system. Occasionally, a program will be airing on an American network on Sasktel, that is also being aired on a Canadian channel at the same time, but is not carried by Sasktel. However, because Sasktel retransmits Bell TV's feeds, but selects its own channels from that feed, it is SimSubbed with a Canadian channel that is not received on Sasktel. Bell TV carries said channel and thus is fulfilling the request to SimSub the American channel. It always annoyed me seeing commercials for a syndicated show I liked and then realizing that Sasktel doesn't carry the channel I am kinda sorta watching.

Now you know more about the Canadian TV industry than you ever wanted to know.

 

[Shootmaster_44]

20% of the season has passed, after two more games, a quarter of the season will be played. Thus far, their best performance has been in a losing effort. How can fans not be disappointed with the team thus far? They entered the season with lofty expectations due to their Cup win and were expected to win and persevere, even with the injuries to Mitchell and Greene. They aren't doing that now and we're still wondering how (or when) their offense is going to start clicking.

Yes their play has not been stellar, however 17 wins and a few OTL should get the Kings into the playoffs. In 1995, Dallas made it in as the 8th seed with 42 points. As all of us saw last year, you simply need a ticket to the dance to win it all.

As Canucks and Sharks fans can attest to, winning the Presidents Trophy or even your division doesn't automatically hand you a Cup. If anything, it puts a target on your back. With a 48 game season, this isn't quite the issue likely, but pushing to win the Presidents Trophy or your division seems to tire teams out. I'd rather see the Kings get in at an 8th seed and still have gas in the tank, than bust their ass to win the Pacific and have nothing left come Playoff time.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

shootmaster, that was awesome.

 

[etherialone]

I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. And neither do the players on the ice. All I can think of is that as a group, they have gotten stale offensively and lack the finesse, skill, and firepower to create more offense.

We all know that the scoring woes go a long way back. Last season they finished second to last in goals for. They only netted 118 goals at even strength. The season prior, the Kings offense was the 25th worst in the league, but they had scored 30 more goals at even strength. In 2009-10, the Kings had the 9th best offense in the league.

As well as Doughty has played, he isn't doing enough to help this team offensively. A majority of the Kings shots are blocked and deflected wide or out of play. They simply lack creativity on offense and are too predictable when they enter the blueline.

On the other side of the puck, this team is blowing simple assignments. Take the loss against the Ducks, the loss against the Oilers, and tonight's loss. A majority if not all of the goals could be attributed to blown coverage. A lot of players look to be a step behind and slow in their reactions.

I'm not going to use the short training camp as an excuse as every team has had the same amount of time to prepare. I would like to think that coaching isn't the problem and that this is more of a personnel issue. I'm a big fan of Darryl Sutter and think that Dean Lombardi generally makes the right decisions, but sometimes I think that Lombardi and his antiquated ways is dead set on having a rugged set of forwards and he places less of an emphasis on skill.

I posted this bit of info on the other games thread, but it is preposterous to see that David Clarkson's nine goals is higher than the combined goals for Dustin Brown, Mike Richards, Justin Williams, Dustin Penner, Simon Gagne, Jarret Stoll, Trevor Lewis, Dwight King, and Jordan Nolan. That's one player who has more goals than nine combined Kings players, five of whom are considered top six talent.

If you've read my comments, you'll see that I'm not unfairly negative on the team, but neither am I overly optimistic. I call it as I see it and at face value, this team is disappointing and not performing at the level they should be playing at. It is very reminiscent of the Kings we saw for a majority of last season. That concerns me.

I would never accuse you of being overly negative nor wildly optimistic ziggy so no worries there. If I didn't respect your views (which you know by now over the years that I do) I wouldn't ask.

I have the belief that all of our woes for our poor start are due to two things and they are injuries to very key players and a new PP coach trying to establish an entirely new way of working the PP (at least for the Kings over the past few years).

The injuries problem does point out another more long term and equally serious potential problem and that is this, if we are going to struggle so much do to the loss of two veteran key defencemen as well as a nagging injury to Kopitar and our kids aren't ready yet or we don't have enough similar styled kids ready to step in then this is going to happen more and more over this and next season.

Take Muzzin for example. He is more of a PMD that can play with an edge (though he hasn't done so with us and only does so in MCH from time to time) and I wouldn't call him a stay at home type of D or the kind of Dman who can fill the shoes of WM or MG.

To me this is important because asking a PMD to step in and provide veteran leadership along with playing a completely different style of game at the highest level in their sport is more likely to fail than it is to succeed.

Had Muzzin been brought up to replace A Mart we would be talking about how good a job he has done so far or even if he had been brought up to fill in for VV though he wouldn't have likely provided close to the same amount of O that VV does I would expect Muzzin to have done pretty good job.

IF Gravel were ready for the NHL he is absolutely the type of player who could step in and play a stay at home style of game and that is what I see him doing in a couple (3 imo) years for us. Forbort, a player who I have just seen play 7 consecutive games live over the past few weeks is a tweener/hybrid type who might be able to play both roles (stay at home and PMD) but I don't see him as a top pairing type of kid. To me he will be a 4/6 guy but he still has a ways to go and can skate really well so time will tell.

The reason that this is so important imo is that we have structured our D to be a SAH/PMD pairing system and we have lost our #1SAH and our #3SAH who is the only really physical D man that we have (or at least most consistently physical dman we have).

Losing both WM and MG at the same time is crippling and largely the cause for our poor start.

That said.


I am a bit surprised so far with how we are still a team that is struggling at times to find any fluidity to our offence. I don't see us as having scoring troubles per se but more that we are having major transitional problems that is leading to our struggling in both the neutral zone and the O zone.

Now that could be due to the fact that we are missing WM and MG and that is causing everyone to do things that they wouldn't normally do and it also could be because we have different players trying to cover their jobs but to me it still looks like there could be a little bit more to it than that.

I won't know until we either address the losses of WM and MG in a manner that can truly fix the problem or each of them return to play but it is at least an interesting thing to see.

I didn't think that once DS came in that we had suddenly found the answer to all of our scoring woes and I didn't think that we had during the playoffs either. I believed that we gelled as a team under DS and that during the playoffs our size speed and skill made us truly impossible to beat night after night on a consistent basis.

That does bring me back to what I see being really our true reason for our poor start though and that is all offence begins with defence and when our D is missing its top pairing SAH and its 3rd pairing SAH too that we are going to struggle everywhere and that is as simple as that.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question, you do have allot of the answers or at least a solid and well informed take and are at worst food for thought and always very solid in each of your positions.

I may not always agree with each of your takes (though I do spend allot of time thinking about what you have written) but I do always respect what you have to say.

 

[etherialone]

No they don't. Very few things get blacked out in Canada when a Canadian channel has the rights. Since CBC does their own broadcast they can't do this, but when a Canadian OTA channel (CTV, Global or CBC (though I've never seen CBC do it)) has the rights to rebroadcast a US program, there is a process called Simultaneous Substitution or SimSub. What happens there is that the local Canadian affiliate asks the cable system to place the Canadian feed on the channel where you would find the American feed normally. Thus, you see the Canadian commercials instead of the American ones.

This does not extend to cable channels though. So during NCAA March Madness, CBS carries a good portion of the games (though to the bane of my existence, the NCAA now lets TruTV, TNT and TBS show games), whereas TSN has the broadcast rights to Canada. This means TSN does their thing, but cannot SimSub CBS as they are not a broadcast network. I would be some upset if TSN could since I get a CBS affiliate from Spokane, where incidentally Gonzaga is based. So during March Madness, the CBS affiliate from Spokane, shows the Gonzaga game in its entirety, good, bad or otherwise. Being a fan of the Bulldogs, I want to see the entire game. TSN on the other hand might start with the Gonzaga game, but if it is a blowout or a more exciting game is happening elsewhere, they will switch. It always annoyed me when I'd be watching one of my favourite teams play and suddenly due to the score of the game, TSN (or The Score) would switch to a different game. Sadly, TruTV, TNT and TBS are not carried in Canada, so I have no option to switch to those channels. Also, March Madness On Demand was blacked out in Canada for the first time last year, so I couldn't even watch it online. I was forced to pay close to $50 for ESPN Player from Britain, as TSN decided to limit their online streaming to mobile phones on their parent company, Bell's network. You couldn't watch on a computer anywhere in Canada (maybe if you have Bell internet perhaps).

This process does lead to a few issues from time to time. Apparently, the cable operator needs 10 minutes notice to change a SimSub. Lets say CBS has college basketball on and following the game Global and CBS are broadcasting the same golf tournament. Global asks the cable operator to SimSub CBS' channel at say 3 PM. However, the college basketball game goes into OT and magically at 3 PM, SimSubbing occurs and no more OT, we are treated to whatever Global is carrying at the time awaiting the golf tournament. Luckily, as a rule they are only allowed to SimSub on the "primary" US network affiliate. So since in Canada, you can subscribe to timeshifting and get a second US network affiliate, you can switch to the other feed and see the OT.

Where most people are annoyed with the SimSubbing is during the Super Bowl. It seems the Super Bowl, on certain cable systems, is SimSubbed on both the East and West US network feed. Since for some reason people watch the Super Bowl, not for football, but for commercials, many Canadians are shut out of the US commercials and instead see badly produced local commercials for liquor stores or some tractor dealership. Thankfully, my cable operator, Shaw only SimSubs the one feed. I watch the Super Bowl for the football, but lots of people would whine here if they couldn't see the commercials.

The oddest situation arises on certain cable systems that retransmit another cable/satellite provider's feed. My parents have IPTV provided by their local phone company (think Verison FiOS), however Sasktel doesn't transmit their own feeds directly from the satellites. Instead, Sasktel retransmits Bell TV (think DirecTV) on their cable system. Occasionally, a program will be airing on an American network on Sasktel, that is also being aired on a Canadian channel at the same time, but is not carried by Sasktel. However, because Sasktel retransmits Bell TV's feeds, but selects its own channels from that feed, it is SimSubbed with a Canadian channel that is not received on Sasktel. Bell TV carries said channel and thus is fulfilling the request to SimSub the American channel. It always annoyed me seeing commercials for a syndicated show I liked and then realizing that Sasktel doesn't carry the channel I am kinda sorta watching.

Now you know more about the Canadian TV industry than you ever wanted to know.

I was about to write a similar post but nowhere near as articulate and spot on.

You nailed it and thanks for writing it.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Thanks for taking the time to respond TG. Missing Mitchell and Greene has had a profound effect on the team's struggles inside their own end, but the puck possession numbers indicate that the Kings are still pretty decent at the transition game, the problem is that they aren't making most of their opportunities inside the attacking zone.

I also want to add this video that really highlights blown coverage, and it once again falls on the forwards more so than the defensemen. Some posters got on me for being upset with Jarret Stoll when the game winning goal was scored. Perhaps this will make some of you better understand why I was pissed off at Stoll. As Mike Johnson points out, he blew his coverage.

 

[RonSwanson*]

Those who say "we won the Stanley Cup last year" need to quit living in the past and look to the future. The Kings suck right now. Does last year even matter? No. As a matter of fact, it makes it even worst that we won last year and probably won't even make the playoffs. Someone remind me when the last time a team won the cup and missed the playoffs the next season?

I agree with this.

Yes, they won the cup last year. That doesn't mean I have to settle for the complacency and crappy play going on now. I want to see them win it again.

 

[RonSwanson*]

Thanks for taking the time to respond TG. Missing Mitchell and Greene has had a profound effect on the team's struggles inside their own end, but the puck possession numbers indicate that the Kings are still pretty decent at the transition game, the problem is that they aren't making most of their opportunities inside the attacking zone.

I also want to add this video that really highlights blown coverage, and it once again falls on the forwards more so than the defensemen. Some posters got on me for being upset with Jarret Stoll when the game winning goal was scored. Perhaps this will make some of you better understand why I was pissed off at Stoll. As Mike Johnson points out, he blew his coverage.

Three minutes later, and the video is removed. That was fast.

 

[Shootmaster_44]

I was about to write a similar post but nowhere near as articulate and spot on.

You nailed it and thanks for writing it.

Thank you. I am a bit of a TV industry geek. In fact, before I was reading this thread tonight, I was reading CRTC decisions and the board at digitalhome.ca (no I am not intentionally plugging them). Amazing all the technicalities of Canadian broadcasting. I can't imagine being a broadcaster or cable operator and having to deal with this mess of rules and regulations.

The only regulation I enjoy is the lack of regulations between midnight and I believe 5 AM. In this timeframe, Canadian broadcasters can show whatever they feel like, as long as it isn't illegal. Most of the traditional networks stick to the same sort of syndicated programming you will see in the afternoon. But there are some that go very risque.

We also get some oddball sports in the overnight hours. It is during this time that live Aussie Football is shown. Why they don't show live European hockey or Asian baseball during this time period I will never know. Then again, it would simply be another thing that fills my PVR along side the cricket, rugby, Gaelic football and the traditional North American sports.

Yet in this myriad of television sports, until this season, there was no room for the Kings on any of the channels. I saw 9 games per season, 4 Flames broadcasts, 4 Oilers broadcasts and 1 Habs broadcast, usually in French. I actually pay $2.95/month for RDS (French TSN) for that privilege. Due to where Shaw places it on the dial, I usually forget I have it. I bet there's other oddball stuff on there I would watch, if only I remember I have it.

 

[etherialone]

I am gonna have to spend a day looking at our transition game on tape again before I respond. It will be Tuesday before I get to it. I am in Stl for the Blues Kings game tomorrow (in Omaha tonight) so I won't get a chance until after the game tomorrow night but I will.

I agree that Stoll blew his assignment and think that his struggles are wreaking a bit of havoc everywhere right now. I do agree with DS's decision to play him in different situations in an attempt to get his game back on track but I am not certain that its going to happen.

For the record I didn't think that you were being too negative on Stoll. Passionate, sure but that's why were watch the game, right?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Three minutes later, and the video is removed. That was fast.

That was fast. For those who didn't see it, tune in to NHL Network and observe Mike Johnson's breakdown of the goal. It's mostly all on Stoll. He was assigned to cover Ericsson, he failed to do so and dropped low (and bunched up with three other Kings) leaving Ericsson all day to wind up and shoot without any pressure.

 

[kingsfan28]

After checking out the game again, did anyone else feel like the game was an NBC gush fest for the Red Wings, and the Kings were an afterthought that happened to win the cup?

 

[Live in the Now]

No. They were all over a few of our players. Martinez and Clifford in particular got the love machine in their favor.