Is it just me but when it comes to having one dman take that crucial shot from the point with a screen i want it to be willi mitchell?
Guy always hits the net, low, hard and always a rebound...
Good win
Its because opposing teams know Doughty, Voinov, and Martinez are the offensive one and that every pairing consists of an offensive D and a stay-at-home guy. Therefore, the opposing teams do not allow DD, VV, or AM as much space in the offensive zone by keeping the defending winger close to them and slacking off of Mitchell, Scuderi, and Greene. So ultimately Mitchell, who doesn't have a bad shot anyway, gets a lot of those opportunities. Where as DD, VV, and AM have less time to get the shot off (but are more prone to try and shoot it anyway) and therefore send a lot of shots high and wide.
Dallas remaining schedule: Vancouver, SJ, SJ, Nashville, St Louis
SJ remaining schedule: Phoenix, Dallas, Dallas, LA, LA
Phoenix remaining schedule: SJ, Anaheim, Columbus, St Louis, Minnesota
Based on that, it looks like LA and Phoenix have the best chance of winning the division. But we all know that means squat until the games are played on the ice
Dallas remaining schedule: Vancouver, SJ, SJ, Nashville, St Louis
SJ remaining schedule: Phoenix, Dallas, Dallas, LA, LA
Phoenix remaining schedule: SJ, Anaheim, Columbus, St Louis, Minnesota
Based on that, it looks like LA and Phoenix have the best chance of winning the division. But we all know that means squat until the games are played on the ice
Wow. What a crazy schedule for San Jose. Talk about having control in your own hands.
And with the Sharks that's a good thing for everyone else.
Just finished watching, and what a great effort all game. I loved the pressure we put on in the opening 10 minutes. As the game wore on, Calgary looked like they were trying too hard, just like we were playing a few weeks back. Quick looked solid even with broken plays.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydor25
Los Angeles Kings Playoff Chances
Beat Calgary 3-0, playoff odds up 17.1 to 79.4%
88 points * 38 27-12
At the end of the day we jumped 19%. Biggest single day swing all season.
Watching the Flames play badly was like watching the Kings when they play bad. Its like they are mirror images. The Flames fumble, flub, misplay, and overskate the puck all over the ice and at especially the most critical times like when they are wide open!
I was thinking the same thing. We all complain with what goes on here in LA but those people bleed Flames hockey up there. As beautiful as it was to watch the Kings take care of business I could feel the pain of those fans sitting in the seats. Someone even took off their jersey and threw it on the ice.
Must have been frustrating to watch your team lay an egg on home ice so late in the season.
Oh well, off we go! Things are looking pretty good for us as of tonight. I like the game from the Kings tonight but I think Edmonton is going to give us a bigger fight than that.
The game play and strategy by the Kings was executed perfectly. Minimize scoring chances, pounce on errors from the opposing team, suffocate the middle of the ice... they couldn't have played the game any more perfectly (ok maybe a few more connected passes, better PP, and less dumb penalties).
Amazing that Quick just set a Kings record with 9 shutouts in a season. Goes to show you just how bad LA's goaltending has been throughout its history that he broke a record held by Rogie Vachon since 1977. Quick's already third on LA's record books of wins by a Kings goalie (behind Rogie and Hrudey) and second behind Rogie in overall shutouts, trailing him by 11 shutouts with 22. He'll eventually surpass Rogie in all categories.
If this team (post trade deadline) get an early goal in the first, they really excel and keep pushing and playing hard throughout the game. If, like I've seen others mention in various threads, they get down by a goal they'll have a real hard time getting any confidence back and making a push to get the win. Obviously the first goal is always huge, but even more so with this team it seems.
I thought Richards and Doughty were showing signs of improvement, if they can get hot for the last few games I think the Kings have a real good chance of making the playoffs.
Willie Mitchell has been the Kings' best defenseman all year long. It's hard to understate how important his addition has been to the Kings the last two years. Every night he's on the ice he's making it hard for the opposing forwards to get free.
Calgary fans not so pleased with the Flames effort last night:
Quote:
Frustrations on all sides boiled over in the final minute of Wednesday’s sobering fizzle against the L.A. Kings when an irked fan tossed his Calgary Flames’ jersey onto the ice in disgust. Tom Kostopoulos tossing it back. Apparently something of a derogatory nature was uttered by said patron, and Kostopoulos — who declined comment afterwards — noisily slammed his stick on the glass.
The particulars are still hazy.
Honestly, Tom Kostopoulos was probably the only Flames player to show up last night. One of the most important games of the year for the Flames and they lay a turd. Good for the Kings!
Willie Mitchell has been the Kings' best defenseman all year long. It's hard to understate how important his addition has been to the Kings the last two years. Every night he's on the ice he's making it hard for the opposing forwards to get free.
great result, good game, but i am taking it in stride. CAL was flat and played with little emotion in a game that essentially means they are in or out of the PO's. anyone that puts forth that effort doesn't deserve to win - including LA which they have done too many times all season.
Kopi line looked very good. still hoping that 11 will rise up to the next level and go Datsyuk on teams though. once he does he will get the credit he deserves by other fans and media, but he won't ever get the same credit the guys back east will. if you play west of CHI and don't lead the league in scoring then you aren't on anyone's radar.
still waiting for MR. he looked a bit better last night, but he still isn't the same player. i would put everything i have on him playing very guarded and protective of himself due to the concussion. since it happened this is the softest i have seen him play. he isn't taking the body the way he has in the past, or hitting seams down low for scoring chances.
Quick looked like Quick. he was composed and held the fort when he had to a few times. it was a slow night for him, which also shows he had great concentration to keep his head in the game. Vezina will come down to either him or Lundquist. i would love to see JQ win it, but let's face it Lundquist will win it and we all know why.
one thing i am eagerly awaiting for when it comes to the end of the Kings season (whenever that may be), is the departure of Penner. i can't stand watching him out there any longer. at this point i would rather see Richie, Westie or a call up out there. Penner's lack of effort makes my blood boil every shift he is out there. as big as he is and with his stride he should be dominating battles, but he doesn't. the only battles he seems to win are the occasional corner scrum with a defender and he can get one arm out to push off the defender. it's a soft tactic to create space initially, but once the defender (or a second one) puts the body on Penner he is done.
Stoll yet another stupid penalty with the cross check. the guy is 3 feet from the boards and on his toes. you lay your stick into the small of his back, what do you think is going to happen? another guy that i won't miss next season.
Bouwmeester had a good game for CAL also i thought. the guy was everywhere and logged huge minutes for the Flames. i got a good laugh also during the post game show when Fox said he didn't say it during the game, but all along was thinking how quiet Iginla was. LA did a great job of keeping him, Glencross, and Cammi in check the entire night. LA's defense all night was just smothering CAL. only late in the 3rd (maybe the last 5-8 mins) did i feel the forecheck started to back off to far. CAL started to get some chances and easier breakouts, because LA was sitting back to far.
good result, but against a team that LA should beat 7 or 8 times out of 10. to me then it was LA doing what it should do against a team like CAL. the same is true of EDM and MIN. the Kings need to get away from always struggling against teams like these.
AAAAAAAND Bob Miller just chanted "Go Ducks Go" on live TV. Hell has now turned in to Winnipeg (or is it vice versa?)
Hell isn't in Winnipeg anymore. We got the Jets. Hell has relocated to Columbus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pRisly
yeah!! go anaheim.
is this allowed
Until the end of this season, yes it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy Stardust
Amazing that Quick just set a Kings record with 9 shutouts in a season. Goes to show you just how bad LA's goaltending has been throughout its history that he broke a record held by Rogie Vachon since 1977.
In the last 50 years, there has only been 18 times where a goalie has reached 10 shutouts in a season (one more than Quick has this year). Of those 18, Broduer has four of them and Dominik Hasek, Tony Esposito, Henrik Lundqvist and Bernie Parent each have two. In total, only 11 goalies in the past 50 years have reached 10 shutouts and Quick could do that before the end of the season.
The Kings goaltending history is pretty pitiful, I agree, but there's nothing sad about the fact Quick broke the Kings shutout record. Most teams likely don't have a record as high as Vochan's was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VEGASKING
While we're playing Edmonton twice and Minnesota the Sharks have got Dallas twice and Phoenix. I guess we decide who to root for on a game by game basis. Let's just hope they all end in regulation.
I know already I'm rooting for Phoenix against San Jose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiskeypete
good result, but against a team that LA should beat 7 or 8 times out of 10. to me then it was LA doing what it should do against a team like CAL. the same is true of EDM and MIN. the Kings need to get away from always struggling against teams like these.
The weaker teams just never get the credit they deserve. Calgary had a bad game tonight, but they aren't a team we should beat 7-8 times out of 10. LA isn't the best team in the league by any stretch, so if that were true for LA, it would also be true for about a dozen other teams when they play teams like the Flames, Oilers, etc. Those teams are a lot better than you give them credit for, and there's a reason why the Oilers have 31 wins while the Flames, had they beat us last night in regulation, would have actually passed us in the standings.
No game is easy and few have been since the days of the early 90's with the pitiful Nordiques and expansion teams like San Jose and Ottawa. Every team brings it night in and night out most times and there's a reason why the NHL has seen 275 games, or 22.35 per cent of all games, go into overtime or a shootout. That's almost one in every four games reaches extra time. The three teams you mentioned have reached extra time a combined 55 times this year, including 20 for the Flames. The only reason Calgary isn't kicking our ass in the standings right now is because they are 5-15 in overtime/shootouts. If they had even gone .500, that'd be an extra five points and a playoff spot.
As for the game, glad to see LA come out and dominate like that. We didn't NEED that game, but we'd really have had our work cut out if we'd lost it. Instead, we played a smart game, like I thought we would. The team buried it's chances and contained the Flames, who were having an off game it seems. Hopefully the peddle stays down for the Oilers and Wild, who've we've had trouble with in the past.
I love posting in the PGT's when we win. There's so many fewer posts to read through. I guess the Kings aren't "not trying", "disgusting", "horrible", "should just blow this team up and start over" etc. like they are every time we lose. Funny that many of the usual sour apples always seem to have something else to do on the days we win. If that's the case, I hope those people get REALLY busy at work/home in the next months.
I finished watching super late last night so I didn't get a chance to read the boards yet or comment.
It was a complete game for the whole team minus Penner and Greene (well and the PP). We looked great out there and dominated practically the full 60 minutes.
Doughty had a beast of a game IMO, offensively (his two assists) and defensively, shutting down the Flames' top guys. I laugh that JBo got 3rd star when Doughty deserved it. Some Flames fans had their panties in a bunch before the game in the Western Conference playoff thread on the main board before the game because Doughty said that the Kings were better than the Flames. Looks like he was right!
Congrats, Quick, on another solid game and the record. Also, congrats to BOTH goalies on tying the club record on most shutouts in a season by the duo. Sucks that the game Bernier went 0-0 through regulation and gave up a goal in OT doesn't count.
ETA: OH, and Voynov and Mitchell were also beastly! I think it was Voynov's best game D-wise. That kid is special. I haven't missed Johnson for one moment.
I was thinking the same thing. We all complain with what goes on here in LA but those people bleed Flames hockey up there. As beautiful as it was to watch the Kings take care of business I could feel the pain of those fans sitting in the seats. Someone even took off their jersey and threw it on the ice.
Must have been frustrating to watch your team lay an egg on home ice so late in the season.
Oh well, off we go! Things are looking pretty good for us as of tonight. I like the game from the Kings tonight but I think Edmonton is going to give us a bigger fight than that.
Exactly what I thought. I even said to my husband last night, "wow, I really feel bad for the Flames fans. We know how it feels to watch your team look like they don't care in the most important games of the season." It was almost scary it was so Kings like. You could just feel the frustration from the fans in that arena through the TV.
Exactly what I thought. I even said to my husband last night, "wow, I really feel bad for the Flames fans. We know how it feels to watch your team look like they don't care in the most important games of the season." It was almost scary it was so Kings like. You could just feel the frustration from the fans in that arena through the TV.
It's virtually impossible to bring that do or die mentality every night for weeks on end. Kings are fortunate Calgary didn't have it last night just like the Kings were flat against Vancouver.
The weaker teams just never get the credit they deserve. Calgary had a bad game tonight, but they aren't a team we should beat 7-8 times out of 10. LA isn't the best team in the league by any stretch, so if that were true for LA, it would also be true for about a dozen other teams when they play teams like the Flames, Oilers, etc. Those teams are a lot better than you give them credit for, and there's a reason why the Oilers have 31 wins while the Flames, had they beat us last night in regulation, would have actually passed us in the standings.
No game is easy and few have been since the days of the early 90's with the pitiful Nordiques and expansion teams like San Jose and Ottawa. Every team brings it night in and night out most times and there's a reason why the NHL has seen 275 games, or 22.35 per cent of all games, go into overtime or a shootout. That's almost one in every four games reaches extra time. The three teams you mentioned have reached extra time a combined 55 times this year, including 20 for the Flames. The only reason Calgary isn't kicking our ass in the standings right now is because they are 5-15 in overtime/shootouts. If they had even gone .500, that'd be an extra five points and a playoff spot.
As for the game, glad to see LA come out and dominate like that. We didn't NEED that game, but we'd really have had our work cut out if we'd lost it. Instead, we played a smart game, like I thought we would. The team buried it's chances and contained the Flames, who were having an off game it seems. Hopefully the peddle stays down for the Oilers and Wild, who've we've had trouble with in the past.
I love posting in the PGT's when we win. There's so many fewer posts to read through. I guess the Kings aren't "not trying", "disgusting", "horrible", "should just blow this team up and start over" etc. like they are every time we lose. Funny that many of the usual sour apples always seem to have something else to do on the days we win. If that's the case, I hope those people get REALLY busy at work/home in the next months.
yes the league is tougher and there aren't the patsy's out there like back in the 90s BUT..... i look at LA and see a collection of players that when you rate LA's top 10-12 players on papers should be better than other team's top 10-12 players. those teams being the CAL, EDM, MIN, ANH, etc. all the teams that LA should beat those 70-80% of the time.
yeah i know, "on paper" doesn't meant anything. the game is played on the ice, not paper. when you look at the talent LA has assembled so far there is no reason they should struggle against these teams. i look at the teams struggles this season and previous against these teams as a sign of weakness. good teams come prepared, don't take an 'inferior' team for granted, then go out and beat the crap out of them. they do this almost every night, so when it comes to late March they aren't sitting in 4 team race for the last three PO spots. you go out and take care of business.
that is the stage this team needs to get to next. that stage is the step it HAS to take to bring it into the upper echelon of the league. this is the stage every Kings crack addict level fan like myself are and have been waiting for this team to become. the fact they still haven't got to this level is why there is up/down frustration with this team.
Wow what a start to the game. We came out flying. The only time I was worried was when we didn't score on our initial boost. THought maybe the flames would pot a lucky one.
The Division is going to come down to our last two games against San Jose. San Jose and Dallas have a crazy hard schedule and one of those two will not get in.
As far as what team I would rather face in round one (yes I think someone should start that thread). If Toews is still injured come the playoffs I would want Chicago in the first round. I would love to eliminate Vancouver more than anything, just not sure if I want the kings to face them.
