Fire Hiller

[Statue4Deano]

Hiller has proven that it has been the players, not the coaching staff, who have made this year successful. Players need a closed door meeting and decide to play the right way, not the Hiller way. These last 4 games have amply displayed Hiller’ shortcomings as an NHL coach.

I believe the players are expecting to play 25% more minutes in any given game so they’re conserving energy and going into a shell. Forechecking without the puck takes a lot of effort. Sitting back and clogging the neutral zone gives these guys a chance to catch their breath if even for 15-20 seconds.

Everything comes back to rolling 3 lines and 4 d-men for me. It’s indefensible.

 

[Clif]

 

[Rog or Reg?]

I believe the players are expecting to play 25% more minutes in any given game so they’re conserving energy and going into a shell. Forechecking without the puck takes a lot of effort. Sitting back and clogging the neutral zone gives these guys a chance to catch their breath if even for 15-20 seconds.

Everything comes back to rolling 3 lines and 4 d-men for me. It’s indefensible.

I've been defending Hiller all year, but the last two games are indefensible. And if the Oilers come back and take the series, it will be one of the greatest choke jobs in Los Angeles sports history. And Byfield's brain fart will forever live in infamy. All he had to do was chip the puck out of the zone. What a horrible way to lose yet another game we had in hand.

 

[Statue4Deano]

View attachment 11908

Puck Daddy telling no lies.

 

[emsomaso]

I've been defending Hiller all year, but the last two games are indefensible. And if the Oilers come back and take the series, it will be one of the greatest choke jobs in Los Angeles sports history. And Byfield's brain fart will forever live in infamy. All he had to do was chip the puck out of the zone. What a horrible way to lose yet another game we had in hand.

I have always been one of Byfield biggest fan and always defended him when all bs talk about drafting Stutzle instead of him was at an all time high, but even I can’t excuse that stupid ass decision…

 

[Rog or Reg?]

I have always been one of Byfield biggest fan and always defended him when all bs talk about drafting Stutzle instead of him was at an all time high, but even I can’t excuse that stupid ass decision…

Quite frankly, I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for the kid. He had a rough night.

In fact, one of the main reasons I'm hoping the Kings can come back and win the series is because of Byfield's potential psychological fallout. If Edmonton comes back and wins the series, the long-term effects on Quinton's psyche could be devastating because that was one of the dumbest plays I've ever seen in my life. Chip the puck out of the zone and the game is over...and probably the series, too.

But his decision to carry the puck out of the zone was mind-boggling. I mean seriously, what the hell was he thinking?

And that 4 hour flight from Edmonton to Los Angeles must have felt like 40 hours. Can you imagine being Quinton Byfield this morning?

Ouch. That's gotta hurt.

 

[hokiecat]

What a bad day/weekend for LA playoffs. I was thinking earlier this morning...

JJ Reddick: I am going to play my 5 the entire second half with no substitutions. I will get the award for biggest idiot coach in Los Angeles.
Jim Hiller: Hold my beer.

 

[Rog or Reg?]

What a bad day/weekend for LA playoffs. I was thinking earlier this morning...

JJ Reddick: I am going to play my 5 the entire second half with no substitutions. I will get the award for biggest idiot coach in Los Angeles.
Jim Hiller: Hold my beer.

No sheet. It was like the Los Angeles sports version of Armageddon.

 

[emsomaso]

Quite frankly, I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for the kid. He had a rough night.

In fact, one of the main reasons I'm hoping the Kings can come back and win the series is because of Byfield's potential psychological fallout. If Edmonton comes back and wins the series, the long-term effects on Quinton's psyche could be devastating because that was one of the dumbest plays I've ever seen in my life. Chip the puck out of the zone and the game is over...and probably the series, too.

But his decision to carry the puck out of the zone was mind-boggling. I mean seriously, what the hell was he thinking?

And that 4 hour flight from Edmonton to Los Angeles must have felt like 40 hours. Can you imagine being Quinton Byfield this morning?

Ouch. That's gotta hurt.

Agree!! I really hope this sparks a huge fire in the hearts of the whole team so they totally demolish the scumbags Oilers next game. For themself and their own pride, but also for Byfield. Of course they didn’t lose solely because of him, but man how he must feel like they did…

 

[Rog or Reg?]

Agree!! I really hope this sparks a huge fire in the hearts of the whole team so they totally demolish the scumbags Oilers next game. For themself and their own pride, but also for Byfield. Of course they didn’t lose solely because of him, but man how he must feel like they did…

Absolutely. The Kings did NOT lose last night's game solely because of QB's brain-fart. But man oh man, that was one boneheaded play.

I assume his thinking was he didn't want to take another shot at the empty net and end up icing the puck. But all he needed to do was chip it out of the zone, and for all practical purposes the game is over.

That's a tough pill for anyone to swallow.

 

[King of Pentacle5]

I have always been one of Byfield biggest fan and always defended him when all bs talk about drafting Stutzle instead of him was at an all time high, but even I can’t excuse that stupid ass decision…

The Q is: Will he ever make a mistake like that again? Time will tell.

What I can’t get over is that the Kings should never have been in OT to begin with. A few posts hit, a few bad calls or no calls from the refs, the team turtling like Sean Avery in the 3rd…. All those led to #55 being in that position at all. Hiller needs to do better to NOT put his players in that position.

The biggest factor the next game will be if Hiller has learned to trust his bottom line players. The top lines can’t play 60 minutes.

I bought this hat last week because I was so excited about how the Kings looked. It’s the first Kings swag I’ve bought in over 20 years. And now I’m kind of feeling embarrassed to wear it.

 

[JETS GARAGE]

My 2 cents.

Take One Extra Second to AIM when shooting the Empty Netter. Games 3 & 4 would have been Kings "W"'s with an accurate shot.

 

[Clif]

Puck Daddy telling no lies.

It’s cool, what’s a little further humiliation mean to us?

This stuff is everywhere:

I’m not masochistic enough to listen all my hockey podcasts I love so much. While we’re at it I am thinking of skipping game 5 for the sake of my mental health. Never purposely missed a playoff game in over 20 years, and on the contrary bend my schedule around at times so I can see them, as I’m sure we all do.

If they win tomorrow I can handle game 6. But i’ve got a big week full of all-day meetings for work. Then my fiance and I have our Anniversary is this weekend, into Monday and Tues. I have a big day rock climbing Friday.

I don’t need to punish myself if they pull this same disappearing act again. I just don’t need the negativity.

 

[McSorleyFan]

1 of the difference between good and great is Mental Toughness. If QB has it he'll shake off this mistake and have a helluva game 5. I really hope Hiller, Kopi and DD had a talk with him on the flight home. Reassure him. The things a good leader should do.
Leave the roasting to the fans.

 

[Kurisu]

Another dumb thing about this strategy is that these kids need this experience and confidence to grow through and get the team as a whole better. Like, right now. This is prime time battling, and if the coach doesn't have the confidence in them, we end up with exhausted veterans trying to hold leads when there is fresh energy sitting bewildered but not getting the opportunity to prove themselves.

Because if we squeak out of this round, the road isn't getting any easier. They're wasting the best development opportunities that future group of Kings will ever get.

Doughty and Kopi looked gassed last night, and Kempe looked really confused at that ugly ending.

 

[shoot2scor]

The Q is: Will he ever make a mistake like that again? Time will tell.

What I can’t get over is that the Kings should never have been in OT to begin with. A few posts hit, a few bad calls or no calls from the refs, the team turtling like Sean Avery in the 3rd…. All those led to #55 being in that position at all. Hiller needs to do better to NOT put his players in that position.

The biggest factor the next game will be if Hiller has learned to trust his bottom line players. The top lines can’t play 60 minutes.

I bought this hat last week because I was so excited about how the Kings looked. It’s the first Kings swag I’ve bought in over 20 years. And now I’m kind of feeling embarrassed to wear it.

It's a sick hat- rock it.

 

[SirJW]

Completely disagree. The Kings 4th line and 3rd pair are no worse (and better imo) than what Edmonton has. Knoblauch is playing his 4th line and 3rd pair about twice as often as Hiller is and guess what his team is better for it. This isn't rocket science. If you save your best player's legs for when they're needed most they will be fresher than the other guys.

You can't win the Stanley Cup with out a strong 4th line. Doesn't matter what Edmonton has. BTW I know McJesus is fast but he never gets hit in the corners or anywhere else. Same for McD.

 

[05/29/93]

Something that is not being emphasized is the home ice advantage for the Oilers, and what comes with it. Not the crowd, but the last change. Hiller knows he can't throw the 4th line out there, because Knoblauch would counter with McDavid, Draisaitl, or probably both. We know how that would end up. So, because of matchups, Hiller has to shorten the bench. In LA, it's not an issue because LA can roll 4 lines.

As an aside, this is reminding me of the 1984 NBA Finals with the Lakers and Celtics (Yes, I know I'm dating myself). The Lakers led the the first four games in the last minute, and lost two of them, and eventually the series. Ok, many moons ago and a different sport, and the Kings do have home ice, but it still is somewhat similar.

 

[Statue4Deano]

It’s cool, what’s a little further humiliation mean to us?

This stuff is everywhere:

View attachment 11912

I’m not masochistic enough to listen all my hockey podcasts I love so much. While we’re at it I am thinking of skipping game 5 for the sake of my mental health. Never purposely missed a playoff game in over 20 years, and on the contrary bend my schedule around at times so I can see them, as I’m sure we all do.

If they win tomorrow I can handle game 6. But i’ve got a big week full of all-day meetings for work. Then my fiance and I have our Anniversary is this weekend, into Monday and Tues. I have a big day rock climbing Friday.

I don’t need to punish myself if they pull this same disappearing act again. I just don’t need the negativity.

Feeling so much of this. I can’t not watch because I’m such an addict but at some point maybe even I have a breaking point. I don’t know what else to say at this point.

The roster is in place. That isn’t the problem any more. The Oilers team is ripe for the picking. This is so simple and it’s almost rage inducing. The games have been given away by stubborn egotistical decision making from behind the bench. **** sucks.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Something that is not being emphasized is the home ice advantage for the Oilers, and what comes with it. Not the crowd, but the last change. Hiller knows he can't throw the 4th line out there, because Knoblauch would counter with McDavid, Draisaitl, or probably both. We know how that would end up. So, because of matchups, Hiller has to shorten the bench. In LA, it's not an issue because LA can roll 4 lines.

My friend, I implore you to go check the TOI for the 4th line and 3rd pairing in games 1 & 2 in LA.