Williams is opening ice for Smyth and Kopitar who are playing very well. No problem so far with Williams right where he is.
He is working his ass off but shouldn't he be an offensive threat as well.. don't get me wrong because he does alot of things right but is he a scorer or makes the plays a forward should do (passes)?
I am not sure so that is why I want to see more of him so I can take a stand...
I thought he handled the Blake goal poorly, but didn't really notice him otherwise. Probably a good thing.
I thought the PK was bad bad bad though. Way too passive.
agree about doughty. i thought tonight he was merely good, and not the great that we're used to.
as for the penalty kill, it was porous, whether through passivity or otherwise. they weren't shutting down passing or shooting lanes, and the paid for it.
interesting game tonight, because i'd say the kings had the better of 5-on-5 play for the balance of the game. i wouldn't say dominated, but they certainly outplayed san jose for long stretches. and yet, because of the awful penalty killing, it took two very weak goals to win a game that they probably should have lost.
??? Why do you hate them? They were good early the way they should be. Their forechecking was fine and they helped the Kings have a good start to the game.
Ultimately a pretty good game. The PK was terrible, but considering the firepower that the Sharks can put out there, it's not too surprising. If you take out the dumb too-many-men call and take out the unfortunate Frolov double minor, I think it would've been more along the lines of a 5-2 final.
Freaking Setoguchi always seems to put up multi-point games against LA.
The team's performance in the first and into the second and their performance towards the end of the third have me feeling better about this season.
And, not that it's indicative of his play, but Quick's GAA and SV% must be terrible now.
I have a feeling that Sharks fans will generally blame their loss on bad goaltending, but honestly I think that only two of the goals the Kings put up were remotely stoppable. Even then, Kopitar's shot was perfect, and I don't think anyone thought Purcell was going to try to score from the corner (doesn't excuse Greiss from coming off the post, though).
that shot from behind the goal line...i love it...this killed the sharks fans after that comeback...and i appreciate shelly getting his face mashed as usual...that had to of been one of the best 2nd periods for the kings in awhile
Kings have to be better about tying up sticks in front of the net. The Setoguchi goal (#2) and Blake goal both could have been prevented with better body and stick positioning. The first Setoguchi goal and the Heatley goal were just impossible shots to stop; those two are proven snipers who will drill it if given that much time and space.
The top line is on fire. Great chemistry between all three. Williams doesn't get enough credit for all his hard work and hustle. He's always the first guy in the corners and creates turnovers.
Much better game from the second line, but I think that that line is sorely lacking is a playmaking center. Brown needs someone to feed him the puck for his goals. He's not going to create his own goals with his skill set, but, Brown does have a terrific shot and he needs someone to set him up. Stoll isn't a playmaker and is better suited on the third line.
Speaking of third line, that line was on fire tonight. Great strong play from all three forwards, great puck control and support.
Ivanans smashed Shelley's face. That's what I like to see. Richardson and Lewis had some jump in their game. After the fight that line didn't get to jump on the ice, mainly due to all the penalty killing the team had to do and that they needed the top three units to generate offense.
I was very pleased with the defensive pairings. Drewiske and Doughty work perfectly together, Harrold compliments Johnson's play and he proved tonight why the organization values him so much. Scuderi and Greene were rocks in their own end. Keep those pairings intact from here on out, although with O'Donnell back, the Kings should possibly shift Harrold to forward and O'Donnell paired with Johnson.
that shot from behind the goal line...i love it...this killed the sharks fans after that comeback...and i appreciate shelly getting his face mashed as usual...that had to of been one of the best 2nd periods for the kings in awhile
Anyone else hear the Sharks post-game doofs saying the reason we must not have made the playoffs in 7 years is because that's what we cover in practice?
Our 3rd line is outstanding. The fact that they can shut down that kind of firepower 5 on 5 while still getting quality chances at the other end is hard to comprehend.
Our PK is not. There are several words I could use to describe it... there will be lots of quality practice time spent working on it tomorrow.
Kopitar was a beast tonight. Frolov looked quite good as well, save for that untimely double minor. Simmonds might be my new favorite player.
Actually a lot of Kings looked good tonight. What a world of difference from the last game. It's nice to see it was just a lot of nerves.
It's also nice to see the Kings bounce back after the PK letdowns to still win. This is a game we would have mailed in last season after losing a 4 goal lead.
- T
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"In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened." - Vin Scully being clairvoyant in 1988.
The Los Angeles Kings - 2012 Stanley Cup Champions
??? Why do you hate them? They were good early the way they should be. Their forechecking was fine and they helped the Kings have a good start to the game.
I will like them better when Clune comes back. Not sold on Richardson or Lewis. At least Ivanans actualy beat the crap out of someone tonight.
Brown had one of those games where you find it hard to criticize him because he did some things right, but at the same time, didn't do as much as we have come to expect of him
Here's to hoping that having enough confidence that you can win even during a major breakdown continues throughout the season.
Pros:
Even strength (inc. 4 on 4) was much better.
PP is still good.
Kopitar-Smyth-Williams has a ton of chemistry and we're only two games in.
More aggressiveness from Purcell on putting the puck towards the net.
Doughty was better because he simplified things.
Cons:
PK needs work. O'Donnell will help but there transition down low is very slow. The second Setoguchi goal should not have happenend.
4th line is awful. Granted, they don't get full times minutes, and their role is very defined, but they are awful.
Defensemen need to do a better job with their passing. Wrapping around the boards all the time leads to turnovers. Scuderi doesn't do that...keep it simple, when in doubt, chip it out.
Jarret Stoll is not very impressive.
I personally don't hate Williams, just don't see him as a 1st liner and think Simmonds would be a better fit.
I think most can agree that Simmonds is just fine where he is. He has the Kings' best goal scorer right there on his line with him.
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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.
Is it just me, or did Frolov look absolutely terrible out there tonight? He seemed slower than ever and just didn't get to any loose pucks. He seemed very lackadaisical out there.
Williams was very good tonight. It's the little things he does that makes him valuable.
Brown will come along. A sure sign of maturity was his position and determination on the Smyth goal. Just being there and battling shows progress. BTW, I think he's still hurt because he's not throwing his weight around as much.
Is it just me, or did Frolov look absolutely terrible out there tonight? He seemed slower than ever and just didn't get to any loose pucks. He seemed very lackadaisical out there.
His puck possession is disgusting...when he stays on his feet. Personally, I think he's out of shape (that is coupled with the fact that he had groin issues for a few preseason games, which is a tell tale sign that conditioning is an issue).
In about 5-10 games from now, he'll be at full speed.
BTW, all this line changing talk is out of hand. There is no problem putting the puck in the net. 9 goals in 2 games is great. If anything, maybe make a change on the 4th line. Hell, I'd take Harrold on that line (who I thought played his balls off tonight).
