Post-Game Talk: Game #19: Kings 5, Canucks 1 - Two Minutes For Hitting The Boards

[vanuck]

I wouldn't say gooned it up, but mucked it up for sure, slowed the game down, a lot of uncalled hooking and holding and interference well away from the puck. Problem was, the Canucks were slow on the uptake in realizing it was gonna be that sort of game, if we'd been doing that on a few of their scoring plays those plays never would have ended up as goals. Everyone assumes that the Canucks would be called if we tried to play that way cause we usually do get called on that stuff, but you can't know it unless you try it! If they call it on us then they have to also start calling some of that same stuff on them, then it becomes a special-teams game.

Canucks never really tried to go to that level and it burned them tonight. Sutter is a master of that sort of thing and has been going way back, Sutter is one guy Torts needs a couple games against to figure out his style and match it with something appropriate of our own.

Very good point, and I think it often gets overlooked. IIRC Sutter has the refs' tendencies down to a tee so they try and get an edge that way too. Doesn't help that the Kings don't have a 'rep' like the Canucks do, of course. It's just annoying because when they do let all the stuff they were pulling tonight go, it plays right into how their team is built too.

 

[Derp Kassian]

Blech. Didn't think we were that bad for the first 30 minutes of the game - scoring chances were pretty even, but they got some bounces and big saves, and we didn't.

Then Bieksa makes a lazy play to concede a goal, and the team just collapses after that.

Sloppy defensive play all night. Our defense didn't contend with their physical play well at all. Forwards - especially the Sedins - terrible on the backcheck.

- Luongo not good enough tonight. The other guy stood on his head at took back at least two sure goals, while we couldn't get a big save. Wasn't the reason we lost, but was out-dueled by a wide margin.

- Sedins generated some chances in the first 30 minutes and were unlucky not to get a goal, but their effort on the backcheck on two of the goals was just ghastly. Wonder if Daniel should have been playing.

- 2nd line also showed jump early before disappearing once it turned into a blowout. Burrows needs to finish his chances when he gets them.

- biggest disappointment tonight is Kassian. In a game where the other team was hitting everything in sight, you expect your big, physical players to step up. He was putrid. 0 SOG, 0 hits through 40 minutes. Managed a single hit on his last shift of the night. Totally invisible. I've been reasonably positive about his improvement, but games like this don't bode well for the playoffs.

- the effort was there for Archibald tonight but he was a day late and a dollar short. Thought the pace of the game was too much for him - still a ways away from being a regular although he's progressing well.

- Sestito sucks but at least tried to make a physical statement.

- Welsh looked decent in his minutes.

- Garrison and Edler were both poor tonight. Garrison has fallen off a cliff lately and again played less than Tanev. Edler is playing too many minutes.

- Bieksa was our best defender but that lazy mistake was just a killer.

- PP setup is just horrible. Hamhuis should not be on the #1 unit. Neither should Burrows. I like almost everything Tortorella has done but his handling of the PP has been a mess.

- Dustin Brown is a POS. Would have loved to see Bieksa feed him his lunch.

- Mark Lee ... the usual. Just horrible. Not really much more can be said.

great summary

Must have been nice for the Kings to have young players like Toffoli and Vey contributing. Here we are just crossing our fingers that guys like Jensen, Mallet and Grenier can be contributors at the AHL level.

Kings haven'y developed any top 6 forwards under Dean Lombardi... Toffoli might be it.

 

[Bertie]

We lack what we have always lacked.

A big sniper who can rough it up. Sad that 3 years down the line we STILL lack the same asset/s
LA were not dirty, they were just big AND good..............like Boston.

It is a lot harder putting these guys off their game than it is putting the Sedins, Burrows, Santorelli and even Kesler off their game.
Our only chance we have are nights where Lu stands on his head AND the whole team plays on the top of their game. Sadly, that was not the case last night.

We may struggle to get into the playoffs but if we do, a best of seven against ANY team that adopts the LA tactics will lead to our early demise.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

Every team in the NHL wants a big sniper who can rough it up.

 

[Saturated Fats]

I don't know, we just didn't have the horses in that one. The Kings are such a physical team, and our top-6, though tough, is not physical. They can't keep up with the likes of Brown and Richards when it comes to bruising.

Luckily, we play again tonight, so there is a chance at redemption. Wondering if Lu gets the start. Can't really fault him for much of what happened in that one, though I'd like to see him make the down-low stop once or twice there.

 

[timorousme]

Every team in the NHL wants a big sniper who can rough it up.

yeah you'd need an exceptional first round pick to pull this off

 

[thepuckmonster]

I don't know, we just didn't have the horses in that one. The Kings are such a physical team, and our top-6, though tough, is not physical. They can't keep up with the likes of Brown and Richards when it comes to bruising.

Luckily, we play again tonight, so there is a chance at redemption. Wondering if Lu gets the start. Can't really fault him for much of what happened in that one, though I'd like to see him make the down-low stop once or twice there.

Lack starts.

 

[thepuckmonster]

yeah you'd need an exceptional first round pick to pull this off

Yup. Soooooo we need to draft either Lemiuex, Lindros, Clark or Howe? Seems easy enough.

 

[Outside99*]

There's always too many reasons why after such a loss. Some I don't agree with:

Luongo - he had no chance on goals 2,3,4. Everybody knows a pass from behind the net to a forward all alone in front is almost a sure goal.

Sedins, 2nd line - to the extent they failed to cover defensively yes.

Kassian - he's not been good on the backcheck (big round turns + a few strides and then coast = useless) or in his own zone since day 1. Nothing new.

Bieksa/Hamhuis "miscues" - in and of themselves, minor. Its what happened after.

What did happen:

1) hemmed in our zone for long periods of time. The first 4 minutes of the 2nd was like that. Eventually you get scored on. We hemmed them too (that's how Hamhuis scored), they hemmed us more.

2) terrible d zone coverage - Richardson (goal); Santo (goal); Edler (goal); Garrison (goal); and I'm sure there were many more. Whether it was execution or the system or both, it was exposed.

As others have said, Kings got away with a lot of dirty work though this would not have affected the outcome. Still, the fact they know they can get away with it repeatedly speaks poorly for the stripes.

 

[HiggsBroson]

Glad they play tonight. Quick to forget this game and move on. Cause it was a stinker.

 

[carolinacanuck]

Last night the Kings used the 'here's how you beat the Canucks in the playoffs' formula....

1. hit everything that moves, and as a result the Sedins disappear

2. dominate below the hashmarks

I felt like I was watching the 2012 Canucks/Kings playoff series.

 

[Intangibos]

Last night the Kings used the 'here's how you beat the Canucks in the playoffs' formula....

1. hit everything that moves, and as a result the Sedins disappear

2. dominate below the hashmarks

I felt like I was watching the 2012 Canucks/Kings playoff series.

The Sedins looked really in their ice time, and produced a number of scoring chances. Then Torts literally stopped playing them to rest them for the Ducks, once the game was too far gone.

I guess the Kings hit them so much, the Sedins asked to be benched for the night. Expert analysis.

 

[NYVanfan]

Kings are a really good team.
Played w/o Carter, Stoll and Greene and didn't miss a beat. Young guys like Vey and Toffoli stepping up, and Nolan and King are beasts.
When Quick is on this is the best team in the league.
Anyway, we were due for a turkey..hope they bounce back tonight.

When the Sedins aren't dominating we look pretty ordinary.
Feels like Torts is doing a good job getting a lot out of a lineup we all know doesn't have the depth to go really deep. I wonder where Gillis is at.. On the one hand, don't want more Roy-like moves, but then we do need to augment this lineup. Maybe a 1st for Moulson? Also need something like Chicago's Handzus move last year ...
Wouldn't mind gambling on moving a core D man for a core top6 F.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

The Sedins looked really in their ice time, and produced a number of scoring chances. Then Torts literally stopped playing them to rest them for the Ducks, once the game was too far gone.

I guess the Kings hit them so much, the Sedins asked to be benched for the night. Expert analysis.

Yup. The Sedins, and most of the team, played fine in the first 30 minutes or so. Then the Kings scored three quick goals and the 4th line came out.

The line between wins and losses is nowhere near as stark and drastic as posters seemingly want to believe.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Next GDT is up.

Closed.