Thread: Heartless, Hopeless or Today's Scapegoat

Originally Posted by lakings20

..it is the coach thats dosen't know how to let them play together like champion !!!!

I hear you. Believe it or not, Crawford has been keeping juggling lines a lot less than earlier in the season. I don't think if the guys stayed on the same line, they would be playing like champions, not this year anyway.

If that was all it took, Crawford would leave it alone -- as would every coach in the league. Therrien in Pittsburgh does this incessantly with the Penguins as well.

Last night's lines, for the most part, looked like this:

Brown, Kopitar, Thornton/Cammalleri
Calder, O'Sullivan, Frolov
Guiliano, Handzus, Thornton
Ivanans, Armstrong, Zeiler

Blake/Johnson
Stuart/Preissing
Visnovsky/Modry

Of the above combinations, Thornton was really the only one who got thrown a bit, as did Cammalleri.

This team is a work in progress. Patience and stability is the starting point for this team to turn it around IMO. I have no earthly idea if fans' impatience will force Lombardi to do something he otherwise might not do. I am crossing my fingers DL shows the strength to only make the moves he believes in, not a desperate move solely to look like he is doing something.

hi,
tks for the fast reply,
but in my situation here in quebec the hockey is life and when the borring montreal canadiens loose the do something, but my team (LA) dosen't seam to care... i don't want mister lombardi to made a trade of shi... but we have to do something fast because we are not going to the playoff again this year, and that suck

tks and merry christmas and haapy new year to all Kings fan around the globe !!!
Alain Nadeau

[QUOTE=CarlaMuller;1023857]
The first period the Kings managed a meager four shots on goal... Double ouch! I still submit this team while challenged, possesses far more heart than fans give them credit for, by a mile. The following players came back from injury, most likely all, before their bodies were ready:

• Ivanans (broken orbital bone)
• Cammalleri (groin)
• Frolov (groin)
• LaBarbera (rib soft tissue damage, uses a heating pad between periods to function and a scant 2 weeks ago couldn’t drive without pain)
• Aubin (2 injured groins)
• Calder (thumb far from fully healed from surgery)

I get this team appears ‘heartless’ on the ice. Surely, since Smyth spent the game unscathed by Kings’ retribution that is further evidence they lack their collective souls...not. Fans need to take a step back, take a deep breath and appreciate that this house of cards otherwise known as the Kings is a work in progress. It just is. Trying to make them something more than this is why everyone is looking more for a scapegoat than a solution.
[QUOTE]

Every single team in the NHL has a handful of guys playing hurt Carla, but good teams play through that and work together to get on track.

Originally Posted by Averyoverott

Every single team in the NHL has a handful of guys playing hurt Carla, but good teams play through that and work together to get on track.

I think my point is I don't believe the Kings are a good team right now. I think they are becoming one, albeit slowly. Also, I used the injury points to address the suggestion of many that the Kings are playing without heart. I don't their collective hearts are the problem. There execution and their trust in each other to do this as a unit is a huge issue.

Originally Posted by lakings20

here in quebec the hockey is life and when the borring montreal canadiens loose the do something, but my team (LA) dosen't seam to care...

Here is where I disagree. The Kings care. The problem at least in part is due to the fact that they are trying to change things individually rather than as one cohesive unit. They also are most likely deflated emotionally individually which is a factor too. When a person lacks confidence, it generally shows up in how they function. The Kings are not a confident team right now, not individually, and even worse than that as a unit.

This is not an easy fix. It is hard to watch, and even harder to permanently address. The process is, will and does suck. I see no instant fixes that would change the future. Rather, a quick or emotional trade or firing would feel good for the moment. When the same play was on the ice, what then? It is for THIS reason I am pleading for patience.

why do all the kings players always say in their interviews this....

"i just dont know why we cant put together a full game, i dont know what our problem is..."

How is it possible that the kings are still searching for answers on their sloppy play??
Isnt it obvious that the team cant play defense in their own zone?
Isnt it obvious that sometimes it takes up to 5 minutes to break out of thier zone and get a decent shot on net, or even a whistle in the offensive zone??
Isnt it obvious that they seldom play with the passion that other teams have, or at least enough emotion to spark some kind of chemistry.. (with the exception to dustin brown who leads the league in hits by almost 50% YES!!!)

i'd have more patience with the kings if they would just admit their mistakes more often... its obvious to the fans that show up, why not the leaders on the team?

i think they are throwing games.

Originally Posted by CarlaMuller

Right now it seems like the players are not skating as a unit.

I find one area for improvement is shorter shifts and better timed line changes. Both of these items can also be traced to the guys being more aware and more relentless as a unit, not as individuals. When the Kings get 3 line changes on power plays and penalty kills, they start to show what they can do. That takes some heads up play and far more urgency than I currently see during games.

The Kings are also playing like a bunch of individuals not working in sync. I would actually like to see some practice exercises that prove this point. I saw a movie when this when an issue. The players were put on the ice with a rope around their collective waists. The exercise had the skaters having to go from one end of the ice to the other. The challenge is they go nowhere unless they move as a unit. When these players can do that, something as simple as that, the difference will eventually become evident on the ice.

Doesn't this make the point for firing the coaching staff? All these areas of improvement or contol rest almost 100% on the coaching staff. This team does have heart, and we do have some skill, but until they are properly coached to work as a team...we will see what we have been seeing.

Originally Posted by Blueline

Doesn't this make the point for firing the coaching staff? All these areas of improvement or contol rest almost 100% on the coaching staff. This team does have heart, and we do have some skill, but until they are properly coached to work as a team...we will see what we have been seeing.

If this team had ANY stability and far less turnover I might agree.

A season and a third ago, this team had 100% turnover for management, coaches and training staff. The notion that anyone could get a team with 50% turnover at the NHL and AHL level in a third of a season to me is wishful thinking in its best light.

When the Sabres and the Predators were missing the playoffs for more than a year, they did not fire Lindy Ruff or Barry Trotz. Both teams IMO are the better for it. Right now blaming the coach gives all the players a pass and I want them to be held accountable and if the Kings fire Crawford, that will preclude culpability with the players and I loathe that possibility.