GDT: pre-season finale LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks @7:30 9/29/18

[lordjedediah]

Stevens on the hot seat if we are sub .500 after 20 games?

Our “window” is getting smaller and smaller.

He should be on the hot seat now. The Kings were barely over .500 in the second half of last season and seemed to get worse as it went on.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Stevens on the hot seat if we are sub .500 after 20 games?

Our “window” is getting smaller and smaller.

10 games, hard to put value in pre season games with a veteran club. If the Kings get off to a slow start and it's the same down 2-0 after 2 periods then try to fire it up only to lose 2-1 the Kings need to fire Stevens. Playing safe and losing=boring hockey. Playing safe and winning=dominant hockey.

 

[KINGS17]

Glad Drew signed already instead of waiting and seeing how the team does first

I don't know how much Doughty loves the Southern California life style. He seems to like it quite a bit, but I could see him asking for a trade some day.

 

[johnjm22]

I can't believe how much complaining there is about these pointless preseason games. They mean nothing and are not representative at all of how the team will perform this season.

 

[KINGS17]

I can't believe how much complaining there is about these pointless preseason games. They mean nothing and are not representative at all of how the team will perform this season.

I don't think it is based solely on the preseason. A lot of it is based on the lack of success the Kings have had over the last 3 seasons.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Sounds like we got our butt kicked?

Eh, it's preseason.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

At some point every single NHL team takes away your ice, regardless of the system you're running. There are only so many systems you can implement, and they are all over 40+ years old.

The players make the plays, not the system.

Agree to an extent, but you're absolving the coaching and structure too much imo.

Putting a bunch of defensemen on their backhand and asking them to make passes is a terrible coaching decision.

Asking your system, in spite of opposing quick and heavy forechecking systems, to make one of your breakout forwards completely stationary after controlling the puck and ensuring every 'clean' breakout results in a 2-on-5 is a terrible coaching decision. There's not enough for a forecheck, and there's not enough to sustain offensive pressure unless it's Kopitar and he can literally go full running back on 3-5 players.

Going from literal best possession team in the league by several percent to below average despite almost exactly the same personnel is a pretty good visual for how much impact system does have.

My complaints are still the same. There's literally no identity. And I'm way, way less concerned about the 'result' last night because outside of self-inflicted shotgun wounds and a great Gibson peformance that game was pretty even--I'm more concerned about what I saw about how we got there. There's a minimal forecheck, there's a minimal backcheck, there's barely a breakout. The PP looks mostly confused and ineffective, the PK suffers without the presence of Drew Doughty. So we're back to last year--A handful of phenoms in Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick saving Stevens' ass because he couldn't break his way out of a paper bag. Pretty f***ing sick of him saying one thing and then drawing up something else. At least Terry Murray was honest about home plate hockey; stevens is talking bout 'lol we're going to back pressure so fast' and then puts 5 guys between the faceoff dots and red line. That's not player execution. That's visibly coaching/system.

 

[Bandit]

Don't care at all about the game, but I do care about Brown's injury. The way he went off it didn't look great.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Don't care at all about the game, but I do care about Brown's injury. The way he went off it didn't look great.

The way Stevens is talking about re-shuffling the lines scares me. Granted he was asked about the top-9, but still. Too many references to Brown's absence to my liking.

 

[Martyros]

what happened with Brown? I missed the game entirely but he was trending on twitter regarding an injury.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings scored 18 goals in 8 preseason games, that's an average of 2.25 GPG, which is towards the bottom of the league. Hell, Buffalo, the lowest scoring team last season, had a 2.41 GPG last season. I can't imagine that scoring pace would hold up for the Kings.

Last season the Kings were a middle of the pack team when it came to scoring, 16th in the NHL with a 2.89 GPG. Teams with less firepower on paper produced more goals. And of course, we saw how much worse the offensive production got in the post season.

 

[damacles1156]

Agree to an extent, but you're absolving the coaching and structure too much imo.

Putting a bunch of defensemen on their backhand and asking them to make passes is a terrible coaching decision.

Asking your system, in spite of opposing quick and heavy forechecking systems, to make one of your breakout forwards completely stationary after controlling the puck and ensuring every 'clean' breakout results in a 2-on-5 is a terrible coaching decision. There's not enough for a forecheck, and there's not enough to sustain offensive pressure unless it's Kopitar and he can literally go full running back on 3-5 players.

Going from literal best possession team in the league by several percent to below average despite almost exactly the same personnel is a pretty good visual for how much impact system does have.

My complaints are still the same. There's literally no identity. And I'm way, way less concerned about the 'result' last night because outside of self-inflicted shotgun wounds and a great Gibson peformance that game was pretty even--I'm more concerned about what I saw about how we got there. There's a minimal forecheck, there's a minimal backcheck, there's barely a breakout. The PP looks mostly confused and ineffective, the PK suffers without the presence of Drew Doughty. So we're back to last year--A handful of phenoms in Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick saving Stevens' ass because he couldn't break his way out of a paper bag. Pretty ****ing sick of him saying one thing and then drawing up something else. At least Terry Murray was honest about home plate hockey; stevens is talking bout 'lol we're going to back pressure so fast' and then puts 5 guys between the faceoff dots and red line. That's not player execution. That's visibly coaching/system.

Ive already said, a high tempo more offensive structured system towards transition hockey (not possession) to run with perfection was going to require a full re-draft of the roster. Something more similiar to the Hawks style in their heyday, requires a different type of player.

 

[damacles1156]

The Kings scored 18 goals in 8 preseason games, that's an average of 2.25 GPG, which is towards the bottom of the league. Hell, Buffalo, the lowest scoring team last season, had a 2.41 GPG last season. I can't imagine that scoring pace would hold up for the Kings.

Last season the Kings were a middle of the pack team when it came to scoring, 16th in the NHL with a 2.89 GPG. Teams with less firepower on paper produced more goals. And of course, we saw how much worse the offensive production got in the post season.

I would argue the wheels came off down the stretch. I already posted last year how Kyle Clifford a strictly fourth liner kept up his own ES goal production and matched some middle six players.

 

[kingsholygrail]

what happened with Brown? I missed the game entirely but he was trending on twitter regarding an injury.

He blocked a shot with his hand.

 

[LaFan1967]

Damn that kids fast, hope he doesn't turn into gene Carr lol
Need to have Nichols work with him

Thanks for the flashback that I didn't need .

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Ive already said, a high tempo more offensive structured system towards transition hockey (not possession) to run with perfection was going to require a full re-draft of the roster. Something more similiar to the Hawks style in their heyday, requires a different type of player.

I agree with you there and always have, I'm just not convinced that's what Stevens is doing.

 

[damacles1156]

I agree with you there and always have, I'm just not convinced that's what Stevens is doing.

Stevens is doing what all NHL coaches do. Try and win by throwing everything at the wall, see what sticks. We all forget that NHL coaches have to win or they get fired.

Stevens probably understands he is on the hot-seat this year. He will be trying everything you can possibly imagine.