Getting Richards back is huge. We started to tank the second he got injured. Even though he missed the last 8 games, he is still the leading goal scorer on this team... That is as big of a slap to this team's face for being horrible as it is a testament to just how good this guy is. Hatty for Richards! GO KINGS!
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"It has not been a good day. I lost my glasses early this morning and I had to go buy a pair of 79 dollar reading glasses today. 79 bucks. You can literally get them at Costco, three-for-20." - Darryl Sutter's response to going up 2-0 in the series.
Get Sutter his first win as coach against the Ducks, to return the favor of Boudreau getting his first win against us.
Great that Mike is back. I hope he can have as good a game as Giroux had last night, his first game back.
OT: If anybody knows how to connect via Wi-Fi at Staples Center, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know. Email me offline. jrosene28 @ gmail dot com.
Getting Richards back is huge. We started to tank the second he got injured. Even though he missed the last 8 games, he is still the leading goal scorer on this team... That is as big of a slap to this team's face for being horrible as it is a testament to just how good this guy is. Hatty for Richards! GO KINGS!
If it only was that easy. Richards gone is not the reason why the team played the way they played in my opinion. There is no player in the league whose absence can change whole profile and character of the team. We are not talking about being better or worse at all.
I am optimistic because the team showed improvement in last couple of games, without Richards, without Sutter.
If it only was that easy. Richards gone is not the reason why the team played the way they played in my opinion. There is no player in the league whose absence can change whole profile and character of the team. We are not talking about being better or worse at all.
I am optimistic because the team showed improvement in last couple of games, without Richards, without Sutter.
Three dudes on this squad have earned their paychecks this year, and Richards is one of them. Don't tell me him being out had no impact. If anything, it has more of an impact on the Kings than almost any other team to lose a star, since hardly anyone is producing anything offensively.
If it only was that easy. Richards gone is not the reason why the team played the way they played in my opinion. There is no player in the league whose absence can change whole profile and character of the team. We are not talking about being better or worse at all.
I am optimistic because the team showed improvement in last couple of games, without Richards, without Sutter.
The smallest/simplest changes can have the most profound effect on a team. He is not THE reason, but he is certainly an important factor. Losing Richards and Mitchell raised the alarm and put out a call for the rest of the team to step up. No one answered. At least, not until this road trip, and not as a whole. Richards is a highly influential figure, you would be hard pressed to find many others like him in the NHL that can perform at such a high standard and exude such confidence, passion, and desire to succeed. It is infectious. He is a man that can will goals, there is no one else on this team that can at the moment, some that could but not that can.
His return is a big boost to morale and takes some of the burden off others, like Kopitar.
I think it is impossible to keep this player away from a letter. Longest signed King, he may very well find himself with the C one day, but I think he will get an A no matter what in the future. He just plays hockey. When the chips are down, there is no hope, he is injured and requires surgery, he is still going to dive into those skates and sacrifice everything to try and stave off that extra goal. That is hockey in it's purest form and it resonates across the benches and locker room.
His very last shift as a Flyer before he became a King:
The smallest/simplest changes can have the most profound effect on a team. He is not THE reason, but he is certainly an important factor. Losing Richards and Mitchell raised the alarm and put out a call for the rest of the team to step up. No one answered. At least, not until this road trip, and not as a whole. Richards is a highly influential figure, you would be hard pressed to find many others like him in the NHL that can perform at such a high standard and exude such confidence, passion, and desire to succeed. It is infectious. He is a man that can will goals, there is no one else on this team that can at the moment, some that could but not that can.
His return is a big boost to morale and takes some of the burden off others, like Kopitar.
I will put it this way and tell me if you disagree:
The morale of the team (I will define that as whole team minus Richards) was better on Dec 19th than it was on Dec 1st, last game that Richards played.
I respect the player a lot and he is one of the most important leaders we have. But to say that limbo started the same moment he left is incorrect. Morale of the team sucked even before that. Richards was not able to fix that issue, he was helping only the best way he could - by playing good hockey and scoring goals when other players weren't doing so.
The morale issue will not be fixed by Richards, that is my main point. Each player will have to fix that by himself, hopefully Sutter will be able to help them.
I will put it this way and tell me if you disagree:
The morale of the team (I will define that as whole team minus Richards) was better on Dec 19th than it was on Dec 1st, last game that Richards played.
I respect the player a lot and he is one of the most important leaders we have. But to say that limbo started the same moment he left is incorrect. Morale of the team sucked even before that. Richards was not able to fix that issue, he was helping only the best way he could - by playing good hockey and scoring goals when other players weren't doing so.
The morale issue will not be fixed by Richards, that is my main point. Each player will have to fix that by himself, hopefully Sutter will be able to help them.
I'm not saying it doesn't exist without him, but it is hard to say that he is a not an important factor just because we had scoring difficulties when he was playing for us, and we continued to have the same difficulties (even worse) afterward, but we had one good game against the Leafs and felt good about it therefore the morale rests with the team and his return doesn't provide a boost/solution to the issue. We were 6-2-1 with Richards in the lineup, afterwards we were 2-6. His goal scoring streak was huge for us and kept us in games. Not to mention his ability to provide Kopitar space and provide additional options on the powerplay. Just the fact that after missing 8 games, he is still the goal scoring leader on this team is a pretty big statistic. He is a natural leader and an important part of the team. His return absolutely helps us offensively and helps build morale.
I disagree that morale was higher after the Leaf's game than it was when Richards was injured on the pure basis of the insurmountable odds this team is faced with now. Our chances of making the playoffs before this losing streak were 60% when Richards went down. Our odds of making the playoffs now that Richards has returned to the team? 20%, now with a new coach, and the amount of games we can afford to lose throughout the remainder of the year rapidly approaching single digits... I beg to differ.
I disagree that morale was higher after the Leaf's game than it was when Richards was injured on the pure basis of the insurmountable odds this team is faced with now. Our chances of making the playoffs before this losing streak were 60% when Richards went down. Our odds of making the playoffs now that Richards has returned to the team? 20%, now with a new coach, and the amount of games we can afford to lose throughout the remainder of the year rapidly approaching single digits... I beg to differ.
I was talking about on-ice morale of the players. A team can be already eliminated from the PO race and the players could still show determination on ice. Before last couple of games there was a long stretch of games when players looked like zombies, terrible to watch. They started getting better after Murray left, gradually, and all they needed in the end was a king-size Dairy Queen choco-beef menu. The whole situation is very fragile, though. They desperately need a 5-goal scoring game, as part of the therapy process. What better team to get that against than Disney Ducks?
I was talking about on-ice morale of the players. A team can be already eliminated from the PO race and the players could still show determination on ice. Before last couple of games there was a long stretch of games when players looked like zombies, terrible to watch. They started getting better after Murray left, gradually, and all they needed in the end was a king-size Dairy Queen choco-beef menu. The whole situation is very fragile, though. They desperately need a 5-goal scoring game, as part of the therapy process. What better team to get that against than Disney Ducks?
The definition of on-ice morale is Mike Richards. The video above and just about any Youtube video in existence of Mike Richards is personifying his intensity on the ice. It is why people attribute leadership with him. He isn't a media star or all that vocal off the ice, but you put him on the ice and he is everything you want to emulate in a hockey player. That's what he is for and that is why he will help the Kings get their feet moving. I would argue the "king-size Dairy Queen choco-beef menu" had little effect far ahead of Mike Richards.
I expect a win tonight. I don't think there will be too much of an adjustment period with this change. They are similar style coaches, but hopefully Sutter brings out much more emotion, which seems like his goal. It's not like he is coming in and doing a complete overhaul with the system etc etc. I'm thinking Kings 3-2 tonight since that's the kind of league this is
Quote:
Originally Posted by FootKnight
**** the Ducks!
I'm a bit drunk right now.
Lucky mo fo, I work tomorrow morning at 0600
Last edited by KingNothing4: 12-22-2011 at 06:19 PM.
Richards will be all the difference. And he's gonna push a bit harder the next span of game sbecause he knows the Kings need points badly. He hasn't played in 3 weeks , and that will take a bit of time, but just having him be Mke Richards should be enough for the next couple of games until his legs are back. And he will score tonight...and assist as well.
Was anybody at practice today? I know the team practiced the Powerplay, i'm curious as to who Sutter put out for the A squad and if he made any changes.
Anybody know?
Have to beat the sucks, love seeing Richie and Lewis get top 6 time, hopefully they can get shots on target. Get Sutter his first win as Kings' Head Coach. Go Kings Go!
