I too wish that Doughty would have gotten that goal that went off Smittys blade but if you look close Drew is starting to rack up some points.. He might not finish with as many goals as he did last year but he definitely will surpass the amount of assists he had which will put him at 50-60 points.. and the guy was a BEAST on the defense end tonight. Taylor Hall is going to have nightmares about DD8.
Smyth says he didn't deflect either goal. Might see some scoring changes.
__________________ "I have been complimented many times and they always embarrass me; I always feel that they have not said enough." - Mark Twain.
Smyth says he didn't deflect either goal. Might see some scoring changes.
Never to discredit anything Smith does because the effort he shows on the ice his honestly priceless but it would be nice to put that goal on Doughty's stat sheet.. Just a confidence booster if anything..
I can see Drew finishing the year with 12 or so goals which would not be a failure on the offensive side at all.. He should surpass 40 assists easily (given that the team actually puts up some decent offensive numbers) and will get back up to around 60 points I believe.
You gotta love when the team plays well.. it makes you feel damn good
I love the Hall-Doughty rivalry and it's only going to get better from here. Two stars (hopefully Hall becomes a star player) going head to head and bringing the best out of each other. Just the thought of what's going to happen when these guys are in their primes or even better yet, if we manage to meet in the playoffs once the Oilers can compete will be very exciting. Also, I don't hate Doughty, still one of my favorite players but when it comes to Hall vs Doughty, I've got to go with my boy Hall
Also, I was just curious but how has Bernier been this year for you guys? Quick played spectacular today and he has been doing well for most of the year, does this mean that Bernier might be the one that gets traded?
Also, I was just curious but how has Bernier been this year for you guys? Quick played spectacular today and he has been doing well for most of the year, does this mean that Bernier might be the one that gets traded?
Bernier's been okay. He's still adjusting to a few things, mainly not playing all that much.
I can't fathom Lombardi has even contemplated trading either goalie. Both are signed to very cap friendly deals (Quick at 1.8 per; Bernier at 1.2 per and still an RFA) and neither has proved they're the clear cut guy going forward to make a trade worthwhile. Young, relatively unproven goalies just don't fetch enough on the trade market for it to make sense. We're better off keeping both on the cheap until the end of 2012/13 season when we have to make decisions on their next contracts barring them signing new deals prior to that.
I'd guess the "plan" is to hope by that point one of Quick/Bernier has clearly been established as our long term #1, one of our other goalie prospects such as Zatkoff/Jones has developed enough to take over the backup role full time, and the "loser" in the starting goalie battle can be moved similar to what Montreal did with Price/Halak this past off-season.
I really don't get your Martinez hate. He's a fine player, a good skater who plays the body well, has an active stick, moves the puck up ice with a good first pass and can contribute on the powerplay. You can't realistically expect our bottom pairing guys, rookies in particular, to play like top pairing defensemen.
All five teams from the pacific have a solid chance of making the playoffs +Chicago being the other team beneath 3rd place.
I didn't even notice that bro.. wow.. have all 5 teams from a division ever made the playoffs before in the same year? in any sport nonetheless?? and the 'experts' said the Pacific was ours to win because its weak this year? seems like the strongest overall division in the entire league.
I didn't even notice that bro.. wow.. have all 5 teams from a division ever made the playoffs before in the same year? in any sport nonetheless?? and the 'experts' said the Pacific was ours to win because its weak this year? seems like the strongest overall division in the entire league.
Dallas kind of caught everyone by surprise, but I think SJ, Phx, and LA are all a bit weaker than a season ago. Anaheim is kind of surprising and I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out and it keeps not happening. I think it's really 5 pretty much middle of the road teams, and 5 (maybe 6) middle of the road teams are making the playoffs in the West.
Bernier's been okay. He's still adjusting to a few things, mainly not playing all that much.
I can't fathom Lombardi has even contemplated trading either goalie. Both are signed to very cap friendly deals (Quick at 1.8 per; Bernier at 1.2 per and still an RFA) and neither has proved they're the clear cut guy going forward to make a trade worthwhile. Young, relatively unproven goalies just don't fetch enough on the trade market for it to make sense. We're better off keeping both on the cheap until the end of 2012/13 season when we have to make decisions on their next contracts barring them signing new deals prior to that.
I'd guess the "plan" is to hope by that point one of Quick/Bernier has clearly been established as our long term #1, one of our other goalie prospects such as Zatkoff/Jones has developed enough to take over the backup role full time, and the "loser" in the starting goalie battle can be moved similar to what Montreal did with Price/Halak this past off-season.
Great assessment. I will add that it seems in his past few games that JB has finally figured out the back up role. He's gone a little while between games, but in his last two+ games he's been the player he should be. He seems to have stopped over-analyzing each play and just falling back into his skill. His last two games, he is 0-1-1 BUT, he has a 0.97 gaa and a .962 save %. In the last 3 games, he's only given up 4 goals. Just shows how much the team is NOT scoring.
With how close the race is right now, I think 98 pts would clinch for an 8th seed..
It should do so easily. With the parity this year, it will take less points. Chicago (currently 8th) is on pace for 93-94 points (~93.25). So, if current pace holds, 98 should be plenty to make it in.
So now the LA Kings Twitter is saying that the 2 first goals will be credited to Doughty instead of Smyth. Doughty with 2 last night and Johnson with 1..
So now the LA Kings Twitter is saying that the 2 first goals will be credited to Doughty instead of Smyth. Doughty with 2 last night and Johnson with 1..
