And now you know how I've felt about Lokti since his Memorial Cup days. Ever since we drafted the kid and I first saw him play, I knew he'd be a great player for us.
I got on that bandwagon this summer. His camp this year was unbelievably impressive - so much more assertive than last year.
I absolutely love this kid, and seeing him start to get numbers to back up the rest of his solid play is just gravy.
Awesome win! Didn't see the end of the game due to internet cutting out, but I kinda thought we would give up the tying goal. Rick Nash just owns us, and Murray on the road with the lead turtles like a boss.
Only bad thing is that we might not have the tiebreaker if it comes down to tied points due to all our shootout wins. Stupid new rule. Oh well, just need to keep winning.
We like quadrupled the points total on this road trip than we had the crappy eight game homestand.
Brown turned it on in the last minute and played pretty well in the OT. Dude clearly is out of it right now though. Could be having marital problems, family health issues, who knows. Hate to speculate but his mind's definitely elsewhere.
Well, his skating picked up, but he was still dropping the puck at the blueline like it was his intention.
I would hate to think that this slump would effect his confidence so much that his entire game would go as downhill as quickly as it did. Fox sort of half heartedly mentioned that Brown was banged up after Sarich put it behind Kiprusoff for him. The way his physical play has dropped of, you kind of wonder if he isn't nursing a bum back or shoulder.
Loktionov better not be sent back down when Strum is ready to play again. That kid is ready for prime time. Quick was amazing today, he kept us in the game when the mental lapses started to sent it. I'm also glad TM has decided to switch up the SO lineup and that wasn't just a one-time thing.
I'm also worried about Kopi, for such a big star and one of the main anchors of our team, he has been fading into the background quite a bit lately. When Nash striped him of the puck in our own zone, it was hard to watch.
As for Brown, there are no words. He just has to figure it out and soon.
Finally, our powerplay....is this real life?!? Seriously, is this real life?
Its pretty crazy when you think about it, Loki was on the Kings at the beginning of the year (when they went 12-3) though he wasn't here the whole time...and now during this streak....he might have the highest career winning percentage of any NHL player.
Just did some rough numbers crunching but I think he is 13-3-2 this year.
GOD DAMN Loktionov is a beast. Without him, there's no way we would be 8-0-2 in our last 10. NO ****ING WAY. The scary thing is, he's still getting better every game. I don't want to put such high expectations on him, but I see a little bit of Datsyuk in him. He's very sneaky, always seems to be in the right place, and is responsible defensively. He needs to stay on this roster for good. In a few years Kopitar-Loktionov-Schenn down the middle is going to be dangerous. Second only to Pittsburgh's centers.
Doughty is playing like the baller he is once again. He's more offensively gifted than most of our forwards. He has 23 points in the last 34 games (55 point pace over 82 games) and 4 goals in the past 7 games! As if that wasn't enough, he's clearly improved the defensive aspect of his game, clearing the slot like a boss. John Stevens is an excellent defensive coach, I think he has a lot to with this. And obviously having mentors like Greene, Mitchell, and Scuderi helps a lot too. The fact that he's playing so well this late in the season tells me his slow start had nothing to do with physical conditioning. If he had conditioning problems you'd think he would show it more this late in the season. Especially since he's in the top 10 ice time leaders in the NHL. I think the first couple months were a wake up call that Doughty really needed, and he has responded very well. Doughty KNOWS he has the potential to be the best defenseman in the league, and now he knows he'll have to WORK to reach that potential. It won't just come to him.
I had my doubts about the Handzus-Kopi-Simmonds line, but it's produced a goal in every game since it was created. Sure it isn't the ideal line but it beats any other top line we've had for a while. We've always thought Kopitar needed speedy wingers but this line's size has been effective. Because of this, I think Penner would look nice on Kopitar's wing. I doubt we make a move before the deadline but maybe a draft day deal? 1st + defensive prospect for Penner? We might need to add, but I don't see many options.
Quick is a stud, plain and simple. If he keeps playing like this, he'll get Vezina consideration. He won't win (Thomas has it pretty much locked up at this point, barring a late season melt-down), but a even a nomination would be great. I never thought I'd say this but the Kings are SET in goal. At this point we have 2 possibilities: 1) Quick proves to be better than Bernier despite the hype and we get to see Quick play like this for years to come, or 2) Bernier lives up to the hype and surpasses Quick, who is already one of the best goalies in the league. In either case, we trade the "loser", probably getting something fairly significant in return, and bring up Martin Jones (who is currently playing great in the AHL as a rookie) to be the back up.
Loktionov is going to make next camp very interesting. He should come to camp even stronger and should really be centering the second line. It will be a huge battle between Schenn and Loktionov.
Could be a good battle between Voynov and Martinez too. I wonder if Martinez will be used in a package for a top 6 LWer. A lot of teams need NHL quality defensemen.
If Loktionov continues to improve his game and produce as he has been of late, then he absolutely should be penciled in as the #2 C behind Kopitar. Every Cup winning team has been three deep with a #1A, #1B and a #2 center. The Wings had Yzerman, Fedorov, Larionov. The Hurricanes had Staal, Brind'Amour and Cullen. The Penguins with Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Kopitar, Loktionov and Schenn have that potential to make a similar impact on the Kings.
If Loktionov is the guy for the 2nd line center, then the 3rd line should be Clifford-Schenn-Simmonds, I've been asking for that line since the off-season, plllleeeeaassseee
If Loktionov is the guy for the 2nd line center, then the 3rd line should be Clifford-Schenn-Simmonds, I've been asking for that line since the off-season, plllleeeeaassseee
That is our third line next season, guaranteed, for at least 15 out of 80 games...remember who our coach is.
Schenn as the fourth line center depends on how much Dean spends for a top six winger and/or Williams' raise. Schenn may end up in Manchester due to his full cap hit of $3.1 million without the bonus cushion.
Love Quicks swagger during the shootout. Once he stopped Nash, you could tell he wasn't letting anything by. Did anyone else catch Doughty skating down the ice after he scored to get a high 5 from Quick? Hadn't see that before, and thought it was pretty cool.
Good goaltending says goodbye...I know, I know, he is a God among many Kings' fans...
Hrudey was a symbol of Bruce McNall's desire to bring us a winner. He came to the Kings during Gretzky's first year and gave the team a lift going into the playoffs. He also was on fire during the Cup run in '93.
Hrudey was capable of stealing a game and played a style that you don't see in the NHL any more. He would give up a lot of goals while he was flopping or via his gaping five hole, but one thing you always knew about Hrudey is that he was going to battle hard every night no matter what. He was a great team player, too.
As for Quick, he is hands down better than Hrudey ever was and is the best goaltender I have ever seen for the Kings since I started watching in '89.
Potvin had a great run for a few months, but we all know that didn't last. Stauber, Fiset, and Storr all had potential but never worked out. Fuhr, Cloutier and Cechmanek were castoff garbage from other teams, and LaBarbera and Dafoe just plain sucked. I may be forgetting one or two scrubs like Weeks, Burke, or Knickle.
Thanks heavens for Quick AND Bernier! This organization could be set in goal for 10+ years.
Great win, sucked to give a point to CBJ but it was nice to see the Kings get 2.
Loktionov continues to get impress at the center postion.
Where is Kopitar and Brown?
I am so tired of watching Kopitar with the puck come down a wing on attack and not drop his shoulder and get to the net. There was a play in the 3rd where he was behind the goal line in the corner, had the puck and there was an small opening between the CBJ defenseman and goaltender and instead of making a quick power move to stuff the puck and create some confussion in front, he just gave in and kept skating behind the net to start a new cycle.
