The Official ARE WE TRYING TO MISS THE F**CING PLAYOFFS THREAD?
 

I know some of you will say I am over reacting. But seriously...Since 2 weeks before the Olympic break this team has played like complete garbage.

All these Playoff ticket commercials and Playoff ticket pitches by Jim Fox are really starting to piss me off I feel like its a jinx.

Calgary's doing that all on their own. The Kings won't outsuck the Flames at this point. Magic number is only 8.

A young team has to figure out how to win. Last year they did a decent job up until February-ish of that. Now they gotta figure out how to do it in March.

An 8th place finish followed by a 4-5-game 1st-round annihilation is seeming more and more likely.

Getting a modern era coach would help. I'm sure teams have scouted the Kings and noticed how easy it is to stop the dump and chase style that the Kings play.

Yup. If this team doesn't pull it together, they're gonna get obliterated in the first round.

You'd think that the Kings would have learned their lesson:

Andy Murray - Dump and Chase
Marc Crawford - Dump and Chase
Terry Murray - Dump and Chase

Ugh.

Its not the coaching thats the problem. Unfortunately, the Kings are their own worst enemy. They played SO hard in the first half of the season, that they're feeling it a bit later in the year. Also, Quick has played SO many games, he's also gassed. This is a tired team, i dont know how they're going to get back their energy in time for the playoffs.

Due to your avatar, I cannot take you seriously.

At least we don't have to play Nashville in the 1st round, that would be a guaranteed 4 and out.

Everyone does the dump and chase more than people think. Otherwise they'd be killed at the blue line all the time and trapped to death.

LOL I just watched a commercial saying KINGS SURGING INTO THE PLAYOFFS YEAH ****EN RIGHT.

I think its time the Kings call Bernier up and put Quick on the bench for a while because hes clearly gassed and has alot of personal issues going on in his life.

And I think its time to put Williams in the press box because hes stinking up the joint and is obviously still not in shape.

Halpern is getting more and more useless as the games go on.

We're also lucky if we get NHL quality officiating during these games... The last bunch so far have been so bad the ECHL wouldn't want them back...

getting scary rite now.

This and we are gonna get smoked in PO.

There's a REASON I have this avatar...and it appears that the Kings may not have taken the message the right way...

GET RID OF THE BUGS IN THE SYSTEM!!!

Quoted for truth.

Thats exactly what Im talking about. If we keep playing like this all of will be eating No playoff **** in 2 weeks.

Or maybe... just maybe... many coaches (dare I say, most) use dump and chase as a way to move the puck?

Of course, every team uses the dump and chase, but that is not their primary style. I don't know any other team that doesn't use their defensemen to help support the attack. Watch the Kings D at the blue line, they are always caught flat footed at the blue line because they are not used by the forwards in the offensive zone. Watch when the defense actually join the attack, the forwards have no idea what to do.

Watch other playoff teams and they use their defense and forwards as a 5 man attack, the Kings do not. The Kings use the cylce as their primary attack "style", but the defensemen never pinch back door to make the other team's defense move around. Watch when the Kings get a good cycle going and look at how wide open the opposite side is for a back door play, yet no Kings ever shows up in that space.

Now watch other teams when they cylce the puck, the have players skating through the slot and they also activate their defensemen to keep the defenders chasing.

This is how modern hockey is played, using all 5 in an attack.

Why do you think that the wrap around is used by so many Kings? They have no other options in the slot. The defensemen are all the way back at the blueline, they are not supporting the play.

The Kings also are not even supporting the breakout from their defensive zone right now. Watch how many times the defensemen have to pass from their zone past the red line. Too much space between the forwards and defensemen right now and this is something the Kings used to be much better at earlier in the season. I don't know if the players are getting frustrated with the Kings attack "style" and are trying for the homerun pass or if other teams have adjusted their defensive posture to frustrate the Kings.

Never really understood dump and chase. I thought the object of the game was to have the puck. Why give it away as soon as you get it? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?

I guess that's why I prefer the Olympic game to the NHL game. Loads and loads of more skill.

No wonder the NHL is having trouble taking off in the US. I wouldn't watch either if todays game is what I was first introduced to. Show them a few old tapes of Gretzky and his Oiler buddies. Ahhhh, those were the days.

The strategy of dump and chase is not to give away the puck. Its simply used to move the puck in their zone and beat them to it if you think you cant get around them.

Yep.

And, dump and Chase isn't a "style" really. It's what you do when you have no other options, and is dictated by the opposition 90% of the time. You can come with a 5 man attack and speed, but if the other team stacks 5 across the blue line and stands you up, you are going to have to get the puck deep and go get it. If you don't, you risk a turnover with your team moving forward which almost always results in an outnumbered attack the other way.

Relax Kings fans. Chicago last year was terrible between February 22nd and the end of March (6-9-3) and that didn't stop them from going to the WCF.

Have you been watching other games? They do not dump it 90% of the time. Plus, when they do dump it in, they support it with all positions, the Kings only use 1 or 2 forwards and the defensemen stand at the blue line at all times. The Kings are not hard to defend and the play after the olympics shows it. Teams have figured it out and Murray will not adapt.

I think they are missing a huge pressence in Matt Greene. Hopefully he will be back soon.