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PuckinUgly57
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Game day again, 1pm start on FDS. This is the rescheduled game from January when it was canceled due to the heavy snow storms that hit Ohio. A 1pm start on a Monday feels odd, especially because the Kings play in Boston tomorrow in a B2B.
No skate held today with the early start but expecting the same lineup as Saturday against Montreal although Joseph and Moverare are available. The Kings are carrying 13F/7D/2G on this trip.
I would like to see Forsberg, Kuemper has looked off the last little while plus I think he deserves to go against his former team who drafted him. Kuemper gave up two softies from what I saw on the replay yesterday of the Habs game which IMO cost the Kings 2 points. He needs to make those saves and has been giving up suspect goals recently.
The Kings do not have 2 points to lose with 19 games left and chasing down a PO spot. They are currently 4 points out of WC2 because of ROWs, they rank 27th in the league with only 14. That's embarrassing.
The Sabres are grabbing all the headlines, tearing it up the last few months and going from the bottom of the Atlantic Division to taking over AD1 yesterday with that wild 8-7 win over the Lightning. But Columbus has been quietly sneaky good as well since January, going 14-3-2 since Jan 1. They too are 3 points out of WC2 in the East and playing well and gaining points, they're chasing Boston for that spot so ideally for them they want to beat LA today and have LA beat Boston tomorrow.
I remember Marchment was traded from Seattle ro Columbus and in his first game he put two up on the Kings, he has continued that with 11 goals and 19 points in the 20 games since that trade. The BJs also acquired Garland who has yet to score in two games since he was traded but he seems to score against LA and is very familiar with them coming from Vancouver and the PD.
They have some good pieces as well, the BJs play an up tempo aggressive style, and Disc Jockey is stressing that same style of play and physicality since he took over the wheel in LA. I expect that to continue but Olivier will have something to say about that and is a premier heavyweight in the league. Should be some good hits in this game between the two teams, the BJs finished their last game (loss) to Utah on Saturday with a good old fashioned line brawl.
I don't see anyone on the Kings roster who can respond to Olivier, Helenius but I don't think he can match him in the throwing hands department. On top of that Olivier has 12 goals as a B6 winger tough guy, one less than Buster who is an all situations 20+ nightly TOI player. That too is embarrassing.
And speaking of Buster, Disc Jockey had this to say about him which is telling. He was being diplomatic but it's easy to read between the lines:
“There’s another guy that can really skate and I’m going to push him to forecheck, be physical on the forecheck, hitting guys and getting to the net,” Smith said. “I think that can help him take his game to the next level, is getting some ugly goals and making it hard on the defense. When you just walk by Q, he’s a big dude. When you [play the Kings], you’ve got to feel our speed, but you’ve also got to get hit. I think he’s a guy that can really do that for us.”
So basically everything we have been saying about him, nice to see this coach call him out instead of brushing it under the rug and saying he's doing fine although he's been a dumpster fire all season. At least Smith seems to be showing accountability for players unlike Jill.
Magic 8 Ball says: Absolutely. Hope it's right.
Let's Go Kings!
No skate held today with the early start but expecting the same lineup as Saturday against Montreal although Joseph and Moverare are available. The Kings are carrying 13F/7D/2G on this trip.
I would like to see Forsberg, Kuemper has looked off the last little while plus I think he deserves to go against his former team who drafted him. Kuemper gave up two softies from what I saw on the replay yesterday of the Habs game which IMO cost the Kings 2 points. He needs to make those saves and has been giving up suspect goals recently.
The Kings do not have 2 points to lose with 19 games left and chasing down a PO spot. They are currently 4 points out of WC2 because of ROWs, they rank 27th in the league with only 14. That's embarrassing.
The Sabres are grabbing all the headlines, tearing it up the last few months and going from the bottom of the Atlantic Division to taking over AD1 yesterday with that wild 8-7 win over the Lightning. But Columbus has been quietly sneaky good as well since January, going 14-3-2 since Jan 1. They too are 3 points out of WC2 in the East and playing well and gaining points, they're chasing Boston for that spot so ideally for them they want to beat LA today and have LA beat Boston tomorrow.
I remember Marchment was traded from Seattle ro Columbus and in his first game he put two up on the Kings, he has continued that with 11 goals and 19 points in the 20 games since that trade. The BJs also acquired Garland who has yet to score in two games since he was traded but he seems to score against LA and is very familiar with them coming from Vancouver and the PD.
They have some good pieces as well, the BJs play an up tempo aggressive style, and Disc Jockey is stressing that same style of play and physicality since he took over the wheel in LA. I expect that to continue but Olivier will have something to say about that and is a premier heavyweight in the league. Should be some good hits in this game between the two teams, the BJs finished their last game (loss) to Utah on Saturday with a good old fashioned line brawl.
I don't see anyone on the Kings roster who can respond to Olivier, Helenius but I don't think he can match him in the throwing hands department. On top of that Olivier has 12 goals as a B6 winger tough guy, one less than Buster who is an all situations 20+ nightly TOI player. That too is embarrassing.
And speaking of Buster, Disc Jockey had this to say about him which is telling. He was being diplomatic but it's easy to read between the lines:
“There’s another guy that can really skate and I’m going to push him to forecheck, be physical on the forecheck, hitting guys and getting to the net,” Smith said. “I think that can help him take his game to the next level, is getting some ugly goals and making it hard on the defense. When you just walk by Q, he’s a big dude. When you [play the Kings], you’ve got to feel our speed, but you’ve also got to get hit. I think he’s a guy that can really do that for us.”
So basically everything we have been saying about him, nice to see this coach call him out instead of brushing it under the rug and saying he's doing fine although he's been a dumpster fire all season. At least Smith seems to be showing accountability for players unlike Jill.
Magic 8 Ball says: Absolutely. Hope it's right.
Let's Go Kings!
