Game Thread: G77 40-25-11 Kings @ Orcas 4/6/24

[PuckinUgly57]

Sharts won 3-2OT, so only 1pt.....thats gotta hurt them a ton lol

Blues are done. They needed 2 to keep pace. They'll be missing by 2 points or less.

Even more proof though these bottom feeders LA will face these last 5 games (Anaheim x 2, SJ, Chicago and Minnesota) shouldn't be taken lightly and will do whatever they can do to play spoiler.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Just circling back to Buster, two dates: 2/20 and 3/7. Last 2 goals.

He's streaky, and learning consistency but the Kings absolutely need him to get back to putting some pucks in the net.

Last 2 months he's looked like Buster 2022.

 

[Kings4OT]

Just circling back to Buster, two dates: 2/20 and 3/7. Last 2 goals.

He's streaky, and learning consistency but the Kings absolutely need him to get back to putting some pucks in the net.

Last 2 months he's looked like Buster 2022.

Announcers keep saying hes doing the little things, i disagree....he hasnt been there much lately doing much positive. Hopefully this will change and he get back to foing those right things in the PO. PLG lost his stick 4 or 5 times last night 1 of those became a direct goal against another a lost great chance at a G....he have broken fingers or something?

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Announcers keep saying hes doing the little things, i disagree....he hasnt been there much lately doing much positive. Hopefully this will change and he get back to foing those right things in the PO.

Same narrative we heard for 3 years when he wasn't scoring. Obviously his most productive season in the league but has shown he still has a lot of growing to do.

He's just gone straight up cold - 4 goals in Jan, 4 goals in Feb, 1 in March and 0 in April. Hopefully he finds his offense again in 2 weeks, the Kings will need it.

The good news is it's looking more and more like a bridge deal which will allow more cap flexibility to retain Roy or Arvdisson if so desired (I'd do what I can do keep Roy but that's going to be really difficult. My guess is 5 years/$27.5 million on the open market, Arvidsson absolutely has to be a PBC with a base of no more than $1 million) instead of giving him a max 8 year deal.

PLG lost his stick 4 or 5 times last night 1 of those became a direct goal against another a lost great chance at a G....he have broken fingers or something?

Not one of his prettier games, especially getting a punch in the face. Seemed like he stumbled around a lot last night and overall just struggled. Didn't have much impact on the game.

Very curious to see how he performs in the POs now that he's on a much more talented team with legitimate expectations. In an overall disappointing first season in LA, a strong PO performance could help quell the let's lynch him crowd.

Poor performance and he will have an even bigger public target on his back come TC.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Caught the games but been busy. As mentioned, Canucks came out being chippy because they're obviously tired of the LA narrative, and early penalties hurt them bad. Kings actually capitalizing was great. Kempe with initiative on the first and 6th goal. Absolutely abused Hughes on that final goal to seal it.

I agree that the Canucks miss Demko bad, and this feels like probably a different team when he's back. He's been gone awhile on what was originally supposed to be two weeks. Hockey is very weird though as Kings simply cannot beat Calgary, but Vancouver struggles against LA. "Make it make sense". Obviously, as a Kings fan, it looks more favorable than Edmonton or Dallas. Id even rather play Colorado than Dallas or Edmonton.

Couple of gripes on the game. Zero response on the Byfield hit was concerning. I won't go as far as Ottawa feeling this need to respond to anything and everything to the point where it's more important that the game. But this is a problem for sure. I saw you guys arguing before but Byfield doesn't get a full pass, and his slump is a problem for sure, but it's definitely different than PLD. My only thing is he's 21 on a rookie contract so Kings are free to make moves. PLD is a few years older making $8.5 Milly for almost a decade, so Kings aren't getting away from that. Time will tell obviously , but those situations are so different to me. When Byfield gets his new contract next year, depending on what it is, narrative can/will instantly change. If they sign Byfield next year to $8mil for 8 years, it's game on for criticism. I know any criticism of Kopitar is sacrilegious, but my man loses every single major faceoff seemingly without fail. Major draw, for my money, I'm trying someone else. I'm talking late game, PKs, seems to be a lot of the time. Do Kings have another viable faceoff man? Good question. Miss the random specialist that Stoll was. And that entire 3rd period power play sequence for LA. Lose the draw and somehow end up with like a 3-1 rush for Vancouver and they score immediately. Talbot not hugging the post. I know his numbers are good, but he plays like a very immobile 6'5 guy sometimes. When he's stuck, he's stuck. But anyway. It happens. Kings get gifted the delay of game and now have a 5-3 PP for like almost two full minutes (1:44 I think). First 35-40 seconds it's pinned in the corner. I can't recall ever seeing that. Vancouver wins that battle and clears it of course. Again, with 3 skaters. Kings rush up and come up offsides. I think they finally get a chance when it's 5 on 4, but man. Just a 5-2 game and your team gets a power play, then a two man advantage for almost the full two minutes, and when it's done you're in a 5-3 game, and you're sort of holding on. Anyway. I was just dumbfounded at that whole sequence.

From my understanding of playoff hockey, you basically load up the roster and in each individual series, you might get a different MVP. Especially if you hope for a long run. Guys get in slumps at inopportune times, so if other guys can steal a series, it might be enough to buy you time until another guy (or guys) can find their groove. Kings have some guys who can do things, but for sure they're going to need the whole gang, and hopefully a few can come through. Look, PLD's first playoff? I'm here for it if he pulls a Dustin Penner and becomes a hero of some random series or even a game. OT hero. Something.

 

[Kings4OT]

Caught the games but been busy. As mentioned, Canucks came out being chippy because they're obviously tired of the LA narrative, and early penalties hurt them bad. Kings actually capitalizing was great. Kempe with initiative on the first and 6th goal. Absolutely abused Hughes on that final goal to seal it.

I agree that the Canucks miss Demko bad, and this feels like probably a different team when he's back. He's been gone awhile on what was originally supposed to be two weeks. Hockey is very weird though as Kings simply cannot beat Calgary, but Vancouver struggles against LA. "Make it make sense". Obviously, as a Kings fan, it looks more favorable than Edmonton or Dallas. Id even rather play Colorado than Dallas or Edmonton.

Couple of gripes on the game. Zero response on the Byfield hit was concerning. I won't go as far as Ottawa feeling this need to respond to anything and everything to the point where it's more important that the game. But this is a problem for sure. I saw you guys arguing before but Byfield doesn't get a full pass, and his slump is a problem for sure, but it's definitely different than PLD. My only thing is he's 21 on a rookie contract so Kings are free to make moves. PLD is a few years older making $8.5 Milly for almost a decade, so Kings aren't getting away from that. Time will tell obviously , but those situations are so different to me. When Byfield gets his new contract next year, depending on what it is, narrative can/will instantly change. If they sign Byfield next year to $8mil for 8 years, it's game on for criticism. I know any criticism of Kopitar is sacrilegious, but my man loses every single major faceoff seemingly without fail. Major draw, for my money, I'm trying someone else. I'm talking late game, PKs, seems to be a lot of the time. Do Kings have another viable faceoff man? Good question. Miss the random specialist that Stoll was. And that entire 3rd period power play sequence for LA. Lose the draw and somehow end up with like a 3-1 rush for Vancouver and they score immediately. Talbot not hugging the post. I know his numbers are good, but he plays like a very immobile 6'5 guy sometimes. When he's stuck, he's stuck. But anyway. It happens. Kings get gifted the delay of game and now have a 5-3 PP for like almost two full minutes (1:44 I think). First 35-40 seconds it's pinned in the corner. I can't recall ever seeing that. Vancouver wins that battle and clears it of course. Again, with 3 skaters. Kings rush up and come up offsides. I think they finally get a chance when it's 5 on 4, but man. Just a 5-2 game and your team gets a power play, then a two man advantage for almost the full two minutes, and when it's done you're in a 5-3 game, and you're sort of holding on. Anyway. I was just dumbfounded at that whole sequence.

From my understanding of playoff hockey, you basically load up the roster and in each individual series, you might get a different MVP. Especially if you hope for a long run. Guys get in slumps at inopportune times, so if other guys can steal a series, it might be enough to buy you time until another guy (or guys) can find their groove. Kings have some guys who can do things, but for sure they're going to need the whole gang, and hopefully a few can come through. Look, PLD's first playoff? I'm here for it if he pulls a Dustin Penner and becomes a hero of some random series or even a game. OT hero. Something.

My only real argument with any of that Buster/PLG stuff would be....Buster Slumps playing with the top talent on the team.Top power play minutes top offensive opportunities all of that....PLG "seems" To become a lot more productive playing with better talent..... Just rarely has those opportunities

Lack of response for anything has been a real concern the entire season, It's also what will probably cost them winning in the playoffs....

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

I guess that's fair. I know they do those advanced stats all the time like even though Byfield isn't scoring, their line is. Basically saying that he elevates Kopitar and Kempe. I don't know what that's worth overall because I don't know how they base all that. Little late in the year, but I'd be all for throwing PLD on that top line over Byfield so see what sticks/happens. In that sense, they almost trust PLD more than Byfield on his own line.

PLD is definitely the scapegoat overall, but he just leaves so much to be desired. I want him to hit someone, or make his name front and center in any number of ways, and he leaves (me at least) wanting more. The coughing the puck up in Winnipeg when they booed him just felt very on brand. Would love even see him go crazy and get ejected. Show some passion.

Anyway, this is Year 1 of a lot of years, including a real main stage chance to do something coming up (Assuming Kings just take care of business and make playoffs). Was PLD on a Columbus team or Winnipeg team that made the playoffs? I honestly don't know. I feel like this might potentially be his first taste of playoff hockey.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

You guys know I'm not a big fan of advanced stats, IDGAF what the numbers say, the eye test is 110% accurate compared any advanced metric out there to me.

I really soured on analytics believe it or not very early - within 3-4 years of them becoming a thing (most will put the birth date at the 2007 season) - because they became the be all end all of evaluating a team or player. I believe they have their place, but should be complementary and not decisive.

Teh Blog busts me up, there's a lot of tools reciting advanced stats from one of many to sound like analytical wizard. Seriously, STFU dude. I got your PDO right here.

=)~~

Look no further than the early years' analytics darlings, our very own Kings who controlled massive possession between 2009-2013 but couldn't score a damn goal to save their lives. Cycle, cycle, cycle, cycle, point, low percentage shot, recover the puck, rinse and repeat. Because they held onto the puck so much it inflated their possession and OZ time but ultimately led to a whole lot of nothing in GF. Possession doesn't win games, goals do. I guess you could say it increases your odds of scoring and prevents the other team from scoring, but the Kiings proved that isn't true, they generally were in the lower third in scoring even through those years consistently. Teams with lesser advanced stats scored way more than the Kings did.

So that brings me to Buster, Kopitar and Kempe were productive players before him, and last season he jumped that line for sure when he was put in it after coming back from that illness in January 2023 but you can also look at this season and see Kopitar and Kempe still having productive seasons without him doing much of anything in recent months. With or without him on that line, those two are putting points up.

I no longer think Buster is a flop, but I don't think he's been that great either. I can see him being a T6 player but also being a B6 player when his career is done. He's had a very odd statistical season if you look at it (9 assists in a 6 game span, quote a few multi goal games, etc). Consistency but I think that'll come as he matures and overall I think he improved dramatically this season bur compared to his prior 3 anything would have been an improvement, even 10 extra points.

He's still not averaging more PPG than his peers from that draft and that includes factoring in the significant uptick in points this season. THAT'S how far behind them he has been overall and he will not catch them unless he significantly outscores them throughout the remainder of his career.

I do agree with you regarding PLD, while he's been a scapegoat this season he certainly hasn't done anything significant to shed that label. Like do something on a nightly basis dude. Get in a fight, level someone, score a highlight goal, anything. Hopefully next year he comes out firing off the bay because I think we can all agree he did not have a successful first year in LA.

The playoffs are his last shot this season to change the perception he has, and we will find out soon exactly if he can do that. If he doesn't and this continues, I'd be embarrassed as hell were I him once the season is over and do everything I can do leave this year in the past and focus on improving.

And he actually has played in the POs 5 times ( 2017-20 with CBJ, 2020-21 and 2022-23 with the Jets) for 36 games so this isn't his first rodeo. He damn near singlehandedly beat the Lightning in the 2019-20 playoff bubble where they shocked thw President's Trophy Lightning in a 4 game sweep. He was an absolute monster putting up points and physically imposing himself on them.

That's the guy Blake is hoping he acquired, we will find out soon.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Lack of response for anything has been a real concern the entire season, It's also what will probably cost them winning in the playoffs....

Lack of response slowly went out the door in 2017 when Bowlby took over.

The game did change, and skill and speed were bumped up to the top, but you're always - always - going to have the Wilsons, Perrons, Reaves, etc in this league. I'm not saying designate a goon, cap world won't permit that. But a guy who can play a little, like Lemieux, 100% necessary no matter what.

Englund is the toughest player the Kings have employed in some time and he isn't bad for a 3D role. Need some more of those guys.

That said, no matter how much I rip on Buster someone needed to confront Zadorov for that hit. Look at the response difference between Zadorov hitting Byfield (Kings gem) vs TOTM hitting Hughes (Canuck gem). Night and day, Vancouver didn't hesitate at all to go after Moore, who is now a 30 goal scorer.

And with the POs starting, we all have been around enough to know it's only going to get more intense, hitting will pick up and guys are going to get run.