GDT: GM #5 LA Kings vs Ottawa Senators @11:00AM 10/13/18

[GoldenBearHockey]

They did diamond for one shift and nearly scored... What the **** are you smoking? Lol. Diamond and below the red line is the way good pps work. Not three at the blue line which maybe your eyes were closed the last few games, hasn't generated a goal. Yet you think you're smart.. lol.

There were quite a bit of three at the blueline as well that generated chances, the only thing you have said that is correct in regards to the PP, is that there has to be more movement.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

For today's game, giving Amadio and JAD 15+ ice time was solid, they deserved it,

But let me ask you this, on the 4th goal, whose decision was it to step up to a player who had ZERO chance of being a danger, was that Stevens, or was that Martinez?

How about the first goal, whose decision was it to look for a check, instead of the puck, was that Stevens, or was that Thompson?

He's put guys in a position to succeed, and they are failing miserably, so you have to adapt.

Everyone is *****ing about Kovalchuk on the PP, he doesn't have the same shot as Laine or Ovechkin FFS, those are the only two besides certain Dmen like Weber etc, who can be lights out on one timers, not only that, that they are so predictable, that the netminders are over there to stop them more than half the time,

As far as pinpointing great decisions, it's FIVE GAMES INTO THE SEASON, not sure if you can pinpoint ANY great decision on ANY team at this point...

When I have time I’ll go back and pull up all the quotes and lip service we heard from Stevens where he talked about changing up a few things to generated more offense.

I am sure you are well aware of them as well because the coaches and management was quoted discussing those talking points that needed to be addressed.

They talked about having the least amount of shots and scoring chances from the middle of the ice.

The lack of movement, the same entry attempts, the same soft point shot attempts, the lack of any semblance of chemistry between forwards, only sending out one fore checker while everyone hangs back, hardly pressuring the opposing team in the o-zone or causing turnovers with an aggressive fore check.

And these aren’t exclusive to the first five games of the season. We read the same book last season and in the playoffs. The things they talked about altering and changing? Nothing has changed.

 

[Sol]

Gtfoh it’s the system when you watch the same bonehead plays over and over . Players do what they’re told and in this instance it’s outdated system and coaching .

He doesn't get that concept.

 

[Kingsfan1]

And yet, you have people in here saying THERE IS NO SYSTEM....so which is it?

I think Stevens is trying to install a system that either the players aren't fully grasping, or not fully buying into yet,

We definitely have a system , just a moronic one . I can agree with you on the bottom part but I also think some things are just to predictable and the coaches aren’t adapting and changing some things up. Also obviously Kopitar looks terrible again , Kovalchuk has skill and speed but he hasn’t been put in a position to succeed . That’s my opinion of course

 

[KINGS17]

It's $11m on the cap until 2027, and he currently has full control of where he goes.

Yep, the Kings put Doughty in the driver's seat.

 

[Winger23]

I'm just simply amazed that not one of you guys complaining about coaching, has tried to get hired on by an NHL team, I mean, you guys make absolutely STELLAR points, no, seriously, STELLAR points about what the team should be doing, and why it's NOT doing what it's doing, I expect some of you to have some sort of high-level coaching background....

Yea, today's game sucked, there were a few bright spots, Kempe looked really good, Amadio and JAD, looked good, they are gonna have a tough decision on his 9th game, I expect you will see Clifford come out and see Wagner come in on Monday.

There are some downsides as well, Campbell's rebound control was horrid today, Martinez and Thompson both had brain farts that resulted in goals, Muzzin couldn't handle a beach ball let alone the puck.

But every team will have a game like this, Ottawa played well and capitalized on their chances, it's how they beat Toronto....

But back to my first point, some of you guys really should put in an application, I am positive you could make a difference.

Honestly stopped reading when you play the none of you have coached in the NHL before. Newsflash, neither have you and your opinions are no more accurate than ours.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

When I have time I’ll go back and pull up all the quotes and lip service we heard from Stevens where he talked about changing up a few things to generated more offense.

They talked about having the least amount of shots and scoring chances from the middle of the ice.

The lack of movement, the same entry attempts, the same soft point shot attempts, the lack of any semblance of chemistry between forwards, only sending out one fore checker while everyone hangs back, hardly pressuring the opposing team in the o-zone or causing turnovers with an aggressive fore check.

And these aren’t exclusive to the first five games of the season. We read the same book last season and in the playoffs. The things they talked about altering and changing? Nothing has changed.

I haven't read anything about what Stevens has said or has not said to be honest, don't put much stock in quotes to the media because RARELY are they honest, does anyone expect Stevens to come out and say, everyone sucked today, Martinez and Thompson directly caused two goals etc? No, nor should he, to the media.

I agree lack of movement, as far as forechecking, it depends, if they have complete possession, you can't send 2 guys in, you will get burned, if there is a toss up for possession, you have seen 2 guys go in etc,

I think the chemistry of the forwards is a work in progress, you had set lines right up until the final day, and Brown, a big piece is out, Wagner makes the team because of it, and lines are thrown around, I do like the lines that he has had the past two games.

One thing if you notice, you are seeing our wingers leave the zone way too early lately, when our D are still fighting for the puck, or they collapse way down low when their is pressure, which led to the first goal today, there is no cohesiveness there,

The problem is, with this group of players, is it the system, or is it their talent level?

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Honestly stopped reading when you play the none of you have coached in the NHL before. Newsflash, neither have you and your opinions are no more accurate than ours.

Actually, I do have high-level coaching experience, not NHL level, but higher than your local peewee coach etc.

As far as opinions, just because you have one, doesn't mean it's accurate, and I'm not saying mine are, all the time, but have SOME kind of fact or reasoning behind yours, when you put it out there, this endless stream of COACH SUCKS! and that's it....is as irritating as I am probably.

 

[KINGS17]

 

[Winger23]

LOL whateverman, you say he puts people in a position to fail, then you fail to name them,

With the exception of Muzzin/Martinez pairing, which we know you hate, WHO, Amadio? His ice time and gone up and up, kinda like I said it would, isn't it? Who else is in a position to fail?

Who is amadio playing with?

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Who is amadio playing with?

Carter and JAD, those aren't bad linemates, would you agree?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The problem is, with this group of players, is it the system, or is it their talent level?

It's a combination of both to me. A good chunk of this roster is the same group that hasn't won anything in what is approaching five years. To me, Stevens is exactly like what the Penguins went through when they hired Mike Johnston after ousting Dan Bylsma.

They then hired Mike Sullivan and things changed dramatically for them with how they attack. Look at the difference in Tampa Bay with Jon Cooper versus that boring, garbage coaching of Guy Boucher. The difference is night and day.

A lot of things with this team has gotten stale, and that includes the players and the coach behind the bench.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

It's a combination of both to me. A good chunk of this roster is the same group that hasn't won anything in what is approaching five years. To me, Stevens is exactly like what the Penguins went through when they hired Mike Johnston after ousting Dan Bylsma.

They then hired Mike Sullivan and things changed dramatically for them with how they attack. Look at the difference in Tampa Bay with Jon Cooper versus that boring, garbage coaching of Guy Boucher. The difference is night and day.

A lot of things with this team has gotten stale, and that includes the players and the coach behind the bench.

Gotta go now, but I will respond later, I do believe it's a combination of both, but I also don't think it's similar to Tampa, Pittsburgh either, Tampa was close to firing Cooper at one point.

 

[Winger23]

Actually, I do have high-level coaching experience, not NHL level, but higher than your local peewee coach etc.

As far as opinions, just because you have one, doesn't mean it's accurate, and I'm not saying mine are, all the time, but have SOME kind of fact or reasoning behind yours, when you put it out there, this endless stream of COACH SUCKS! and that's it....is as irritating as I am probably.

I'm not playing this game. Higher than pee wee cracked me up.

 

[Sol]

Actually, I do have high-level coaching experience, not NHL level, but higher than your local peewee coach etc.

As far as opinions, just because you have one, doesn't mean it's accurate, and I'm not saying mine are, all the time, but have SOME kind of fact or reasoning behind yours, when you put it out there, this endless stream of COACH SUCKS! and that's it....is as irritating as I am probably.

If you're being honest. You're clearly not reading because besides the Stevens sucks quotes there's plenty of people and reasoning placed in the comments that break apart idiotic coaching.

You should stop being an arrogant ass hole though because everyone sees through it.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I figured it out guys. October 13 is the unofficial play like ass day for the Kings.

Here's proof:
For Kings, still a zero-sum game

These being the Kings, who are still traveling a cursed course set by an excessively curved stick, a felonious owner and decades of bad drafting, there could be no silver lining to their 1-0 loss to San Jose on Sunday without a curtain of clouds.

Playing their Staples Center opener to complete a home-and-home set with the Sharks, the Kings won many of the small battles they had badly lost Saturday in a 3-1 defeat at San Jose.

But they didn't win the game, the difference being a wrist shot that Lukas Kaspar pinpointed over Jason LaBarbera's pad from the right-wing boards, catching the Kings' goaltender by surprise at 9:56 of the second period. Kaspar is a left-handed shooter and he placed the shot in an area above LaBarbera's pad that the goalie called a "dead zone."

LaBarbera faced only 19 shots by the Sharks, who tired toward the end of their third game in four nights but emerged a perfect 3-0. The Kings, held to 13 shots Saturday, took 21 on Sunday and saw that as a good sign.

"We had some fight," LaBarbera said. "We were a better team than we were [Saturday]."

That might turn out to be small consolation because they lost prize defenseman Jack Johnson to what Coach Terry Murray called "an upper-extremity injury" in the league-endorsed practice of being vague about players' infirmities.

It's Quite a Downer for the Kings

The Kings held a semi-private affair Thursday night -- their game against Dallas.

On the ice, the Kings were taken down, 4-1 by the Stars, a team they beat six times in eight games last season.

In the dressing room, they were taken to task by a loud and long tongue lashing from Coach Marc Crawford, as it took a village to fashion such a loss.

And at the box office, the organization seemed to be taking a beating, with an announced crowd of 14,167 at Staples Center, the smallest crowd to see a regular-season game since Feb. 1, 2001.

This came on the heels of Tuesday's game, which had an announced crowd of only 14,394 against the New York Islanders. The Kings sold out 28 games last season, including five of their first seven coming out of the lockout.

What those not in attendance Thursday missed was the early stages of a possible goaltender controversy.

Dan Cloutier, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks during the summer and given a two-year, $6.2-million contract extension, gave up a goal 19 seconds into the game and three goals on the Stars' first 12 shots.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Yes, it's classic black hole hockey. It's the BS we used to get from the Kings organization all the time before Lombardi's arrival. "All you have to do is make the playoffs, and anything can happen." Ah, those were the heady days of making it all the way to the 2nd round of the playoffs once every four or five years.

Lombardi believed that same thing after 2014.

I've said before, that 14 run will go down as a bad thing in the big picture. It was great as it happened, but Lombardi got caught up in it, and it ruined the franchise. If they go out looking the way they did in 4 or 5 to the Sharks, Richards is bought out, Greene is let go, Gaborik is let go, they don't trade what turned into the 2016 pick for Sekera, they don't trade the 2015 for Lucic. They would've had just the one run as the 8th seed, and then nothing else. There would've been a clearer picture of what Lombardi built. One hit wonder, got really hot for 20 games. It was a struggle in 2013. Maybe Kopitar gets traded before signing. Doubtful, but maybe.

Or, 2014 would've been fine, had they not had an emotional GM. They needed the Lombardi that he learned he should've been after all the post-2014 failures before all the post-2014 failures. Or, it would've been better to miss the playoffs in 2012, fire Lombardi and Sutter then, and bring in a GM that could actually build a good overall team that didn't require getting historically hot at the right time on two occasions.

Lombardi didn't want black hole hockey, but he ended up causing it. Sort of poetic really. A cautionary tale of best intentions.

 

[Little Psycho]

Y'all are wild for not blocking him by now.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

No, it's history and my word against yours, take a look at how many times in the NHL a coach is fired 10 games into the season.

Well past results are not indicative of future results, so i don't care for historical evidence
the time is different, the reasons are different, it's all different

Stevens actually got fired early in the season for the Flyers, ok it wasn't exactly 10 games

but if you add last year's results, LA losing their last 5 games of the year (including playoffs)

this team going 1-9 on top of that to start, id f***in fire the shit out of this Pejorative Slured coach

 

[KINGS17]

Lombardi believed that same thing after 2014.

I've said before, that 14 run will go down as a bad thing in the big picture. It was great as it happened, but Lombardi got caught up in it, and it ruined the franchise. If they go out looking the way they did in 4 or 5 to the Sharks, Richards is bought out, Greene is let go, Gaborik is let go, they don't trade what turned into the 2016 pick for Sekera, they don't trade the 2015 for Lucic. They would've had just the one run as the 8th seed, and then nothing else. There would've been a clearer picture of what Lombardi built. One hit wonder, got really hot for 20 games. It was a struggle in 2013. Maybe Kopitar gets traded before signing. Doubtful, but maybe.

Or, 2014 would've been fine, had they not had an emotional GM. They needed the Lombardi that he learned he should've been after all the post-2014 failures before all the post-2014 failures. Or, it would've been better to miss the playoffs in 2012, fire Lombardi and Sutter then, and bring in a GM that could actually build a good overall team that didn't require getting historically hot at the right time on two occasions.

Lombardi didn't want black hole hockey, but he ended up causing it. Sort of poetic really. A cautionary tale of best intentions.

Winning the Stanley Cup is never a bad thing, but failing to buy out Richards in the summer of 2014 was the beginning of the end.

Dean got too emotional about the players and their contributions. I know he called around and asked perennial champs in other sports how they maintained good performance over a long period of time. He probably should have only made one call, to Bill Belichick. Belichick hangs on to his best players, but is constantly reshaping his roster. Now that his best player is getting up there in age their run is probably over.

 

[KINGS17]

Y'all are wild for not blocking him by now.

What, and miss the entertainment?

 

[KingsFan7824]

Yep, the Kings put Doughty in the driver's seat.

Doughty was always in the driver's seat. Maybe not always, but the time to trade Doughty was years ago, while he still had multiple seasons at $7m. That's a valuable asset. Like with everyone else though, they waited too long. Signing Brown for so long was dumb. You don't give Quick a 10 year deal before the CBA changes either. Trading a 1st for Penner was a poor move. Took a risk on Williams in 2009 which ended up working out. Sort of got lucky Mitchell didn't get a career ending concussion in his time here, and we see how important he was to the whole show.

Looking back, the foundation of the golden age was quite fragile. The Hickey pick. The Forbort pick. Lewis over Giroux. Richards. Really set the team up poorly for long term success. Not surprising that it was only 3 years, and an inconsistent 3 years at that. Things after 2014 make more sense when you see what the Lombardi years were. Once he had to start making cap choices, it got difficult for him. That emotional stuff he had was a bad mix with math.

 

[Fishhead]

Not gonna overanalyze this one because of many reasons. It's a day game on the east coast, which we always suck at. The goaltending was shaky, which we've been spoiled with. Ottawa couldn't do anything wrong, and when they did, they got fortunate. The Kings would dominate play and the puck just wouldn't go in. I think if Kempe scores early it's a completely different outcome.

I'm not gonna blame this one that much on Stevens, because the players weren't ready to go. But there are some glaring systemic issues that are present, primarily on our breakout strategy and what we do with the puck when we retrieve it in our own zone. Hell, breakouts in general suck balls. That was a strength under Sutter because of how he required his players to come so far back, leading to short passes and quicker movement. I'm happy that we are starting to see a little better line and time management, but I sincerely believe that this team needs a completely new look and fresh approach. The predictability of our play is maddening.

 

[KINGS17]

Doughty was always in the driver's seat. Maybe not always, but the time to trade Doughty was years ago, while he still had multiple seasons at $7m. That's a valuable asset. Like with everyone else though, they waited too long. Signing Brown for so long was dumb. You don't give Quick a 10 year deal before the CBA changes either. Trading a 1st for Penner was a poor move. Took a risk on Williams in 2009 which ended up working out. Sort of got lucky Mitchell didn't get a career ending concussion in his time here, and we see how important he was to the whole show.

Looking back, the foundation of the golden age was quite fragile. The Hickey pick. The Forbort pick. Lewis over Giroux. Richards. Really set the team up poorly for long term success. Not surprising that it was only 3 years, and an inconsistent 3 years at that. Things after 2014 make more sense when you see what the Lombardi years were. Once he had to start making cap choices, it got difficult for him. That emotional stuff he had was a bad mix with math.

I was never in favor of trading Doughty. What I did say was if he didn't sign an extension last summer the Kings should trade him.

Doughty is still a valuable asset, and he could ask for a trade if he is as much into winning Stanley Cups as he claims. It would not surprise me as he has already said on camera he has already been through one rebuild (he really hasn't), and doesn't want to do it again.

 

[King'sPawn]

You're a good man KP. I think the construction of the roster is fundamentally flawed.

It is going to be a much longer and more difficult task now to right the ship if they keep embracing the black hole, but I think it's all Luc Robitaille knows.



Yes, it's classic black hole hockey. It's the BS we used to get from the Kings organization all the time before Lombardi's arrival. "All you have to do is make the playoffs, and anything can happen." Ah, those were the heady days of making it all the way to the 2nd round of the playoffs once every four or five years.

I agree the roster is fundamentally flawed, but I think the organization is, too.

Aside from Ranford and Imoo, I'm not really sold on any of the developmental staff or the coaches.

I think Stevens was good as an associate coach and I think he helped them with defense a lot, but:
1) he has lost his luster as a head coach, and he hasn't shown evidence of identifying the pulse of the team.
2) even though he coached defense well, we haven't really developed a d-man who's dangerous offensively
3) I think a lot of the staff are buddies, which is nice when it comes down to making the family culture Lombardi shot for, but the team needs a shot in the arm.