Agree, I was going to comment this because of the mild debate that was transpiring about Roy and Gavrikovs performance vs salaries(or potential payday for Roy). Neither of these dudes looked sharp in game 1(but no one else did either).. but they were both making some critical errors in game 2. Englund of course had his usual mental and physical gaffs, while Spence continues to look woefully undersized, without any sort of dynamic talent to balance out his size deficit. That aside, Gavy and Roy.. woof!
I think these are fair assessments of Roy and Gavrikov so far in the series. Roy was very steady all year and has not played like himself in the first two games. Gavrikov is having trouble with the speed.
Both have to be better for the Kings to win the series.
Re Spence & Englund, both are going to struggle in this playoff series. Both have some attributes but their shortcomings are glaring. Size with Spence, mobility with Englund. Spence just doesn’t have enough, which became clear throughout the year.
Moverare is solid enough, but isn’t an option due to his lack of speed.
This is what they have. Roy & Gavy have to step up a bit, and Spence & Englund need to find a way to not hurt the team. The defense isn’t terribly deep on this team, and that will probably change reasonably soon. But for now, these four guys have to play better.
Roy might be feeling some pressure with the contract, and he’s got a newborn. Lots going on for him. He’s always been consistent so I’m hopeful he can bounce back at home.
This series is really unpredictable. My question going in was whether this inconsistent team could play four good games. If so, they could have a chance.
I do not see them winning all three in LA which means needing another win in Edmonton. And getting wins in Edmonton will get more difficult the longer the series goes.