***San Jose Sharks vs. LA Kings Opening Night GDT 10/05/18 7:30pm***

[Nyssa42]

- Kovalchuk was interesting. He had some speed and also had some "fancy" breakout moves to get the Kings moving on offense. But there was one play that stuck out in my mind when he was overpassing. He passed it to Kopitar and Kopitar immediately gave it back to him. Then he passed it to Kopitar again and I believe Kopitar tried to give it back once more but turned it over.

- Players who I thought had terrible nights were... Lewis, Clifford, Phaneuf, and Amadio.

- I want to talk about Evander Kane's goal real quick. Holy crap, what a snipe. Seriously, why can't any of our players ever do something like that? Also, Karlsson may have been on the ice for almost half the game for SJ but he was an absolute pylon on defense. Some of our players were able to skate circles around him because he wasn't willing to take the body. But I think SJ knows that and it's all about their offense winning games for them.
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I remember this Kopi-Kovi exchange (early 3rd period, I think)....I was like, "Stop passing to Kovi, Kopi!! He's not doing anything!!" And then Kopi had the puck right by the SJ net and coughed it up to the D.

Lewis had a rough night. At least he's got the "I've got twins" excuse. I thought Amadio was pretty good, actually.

That Kane snipe was sick. Karlsson has not impressed me one bit - watched him be invisible for 2 games now. Sorenson, on the other hand....that's a dude to watch out for. Great in both zones.

[KHenry14]

Terrible cheap shot, DD lucky he wasn't down for the count. Someone better run that idiot into next week when we play the Sharks again.
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FWIW, last night's Reign game, Eyssimont got boarded and MacDermid skated across the ice a pummeled the guy who did it. He got 2, 5 and a game, but boy that's standing up for your guy.

[Kingsfan626]

All I saw last night was Kovi remembering quickly that the NHL is not the not hitting leagues like the KHL/Euro Leagues.

[triplcrown]

Ummm, we started last season 2-0. Wins against PHI and SJ.

Oops. My bad.

I thought SJ was our opener last year.

I stand corrected.

but at least we did a notch better against SJ.

[triplcrown]

FWIW, last night's Reign game, Eyssimont got boarded and MacDermid skated across the ice a pummeled the guy who did it. He got 2, 5 and a game, but boy that's standing up for your guy.

In saturday's game, MacDermid had 3 assists and was a +4 to lead all players in
Ontario's 6-5 OT win over Stockton.

The Pummeler was the most dominant player in the game.

Mac can do more than just throw 'em.

[BDTR]

I'll throw my late/random thoughts into the fray too.

I was totally impressed by Kempe tonight. This kid is playing with piss 'n vinegar; that combined with his raw skills I hope will translate into a great sophomore season for him. It will be critical for him to find a way to play the same but take less minor penalties, at least in critical moments.

Iafallo also impressed. I was a big fan of him last year and definitely think he played/plays very well with Kopitar, but he was showing the enhanced tenacity and confidence you'd hope for in a second year player.

I also like what I saw from Amadio. I think he's going to be a very useful player that can contribute in many different rolls. He has vision and creativity as a puck distributor and doesn't seem to get caught out of place in any zone.

Kovy definitely has incredible hands and a level of offensive vision this team has not seen for a long time. However, you could tell he was getting a bit winded past the 30 second mark of his shifts. I think it shouldn't be overlooked that he'll need some time to readjust to the smaller surface and the heightened skill level of the NHL, but I'm not worried about him. I think by game 15/20 we'll really start seeing where he's going to fit on this team.

Speaking of Kovy, I'm skeptical that he's the best fit with Kopitar. I don't want him over-thinking about getting it to Kopi when he could just as well make a play himself, and they both do best when they're the one with the puck. I would love to see him play with Kempe. Kempe can bring the speed and the grit of getting to lose pucks or making quick plays to Kovy, and I just see a possible fit there. When healthy, I'd be really curious to see these lines:

Iafallo - Kopitar - Brown
Pearson - Carter - Toffoli
Kovalchuk - Kempe - (Vilardi)*
Wagern - Amadio - Lewis

It's a relatively soft line up, but it gives you the ability to roll a Vegas-style 4 line combo that keeps the pace flowing at opponents.