And i watched both of this disastrous games ..
Fire Hiller
- Thread starter Bill Hicks
- Start date
shoot2scor
Top Forward
Yea, I cant comment on that one but I do have similar feelings about this series to the 2013 series verse the Sharks (Kings went up 2-0) home team won every game with Kings winning in 7 and the 2014 series verse the Ducks (Kings up on the road 2-0, to then go down 3-2 and then win in 7).
Heino
Top Forward
POTY candidate.
DryKing
Power Forward
I can see that being true, but the problem is he has shortened the bench every game (Home games included). You can't expect to hang in there rolling only 3 lines and 2 defensive pairings. Additionally, key players like Kopi and DD aren't exactly on the younger side.
Hiller got absolutely out-coached during his last playoff run due to his inability to make adjustments as the series went on. He built an initially effective strategy which led to early success, only for the opposing coach to counter and Hiller to have no answer to the counter once his strategy was no longer effective. I don't think Hiller is a bad coach, but he clearly lacks seasoning.
Hoping he proves me wrong in game 5 and comes out with a fresh gameplan to put the Oilers back on their heels.
Bill Hicks
LGK Agitator
The players have to battle the oil, the refs and their coach.
That's just too much to ask of any team.
We all know Q crapped the bed but, if the ref calls the clear as day trip
on Edmondson with 1:27 left, which he's staring right at, it's game over.
That's just too much to ask of any team.
We all know Q crapped the bed but, if the ref calls the clear as day trip
on Edmondson with 1:27 left, which he's staring right at, it's game over.
Dr. Tran
Super Star
Wow, 4 pages of Fire Hiller in less than 1day. I’m not quite there yet. We still have a chance to win this series. But if we don’t, the loss is largely on him.
We’re the better team, that’s a fact. It was true when we won the regular season & it’s true in these playoffs. But we have to stop playing so passively in the 3rd. Win the faceoffs, get the puck in the offensive zone, and stay there until you score. And if they have it, hound them until they turn it over.
And I still think the biggest thing is ice time. I know you’re not playing everyone equally. But get those bottom guys in early in the game. Have faith in them that they can do the job. Then when it comes to the 3rd period & you need to shorten your bench, you can do that & not wear your top guys out. BTW, this issue with ice time has been going on all season long. And even though it worried me, we were winning so I thought maybe it’s not a problem. But now it’s biting us in the butt.
We’re the better team, that’s a fact. It was true when we won the regular season & it’s true in these playoffs. But we have to stop playing so passively in the 3rd. Win the faceoffs, get the puck in the offensive zone, and stay there until you score. And if they have it, hound them until they turn it over.
And I still think the biggest thing is ice time. I know you’re not playing everyone equally. But get those bottom guys in early in the game. Have faith in them that they can do the job. Then when it comes to the 3rd period & you need to shorten your bench, you can do that & not wear your top guys out. BTW, this issue with ice time has been going on all season long. And even though it worried me, we were winning so I thought maybe it’s not a problem. But now it’s biting us in the butt.
Birdman
TEAM LGK
Birdman
TEAM LGK
Do It!
orpheus
The Dolphin Cares!
Me neither.
But depending on how this series ends, lol, save us a seat in this thread just in case.
Well, I haven't do so, but the game 1 near epic collapse certainly supports your point.
gonzoa99
Prospect
QB's gaffe was bad but DD made a sh*t ass play on Burchard's goal for the Oiler's second that had me throwing the remote. On Draisaitl's shot, DD"s clearing attempt with his backhand was weak and straight up the middle onto Bouchard's stick. Anderson was five feet away at the dot by himself. Forget about the non-calls and bad luck. The Kings were one or two plays away from making it 3-1 and could not close the deal. SMH.
King of Pentacle5
3rd Line Winger
He can’t do any worse than Hiller. We don’t have any Crosby/Malkin level players, but I think he could work with the guys we have.
symbology
TEAM LGK
Yeah, not a good look for Hiller. I will say, he was probably in a pissed off mood and frustrated with the game. He also may have been aware of DB going on EST with Tom Gazzoloa and offering up his detailed opinions on how the Oilers could exploit the Kings weaknesses. I thought that was pretty bizarre of DB to do that. Hiller may have taken offense to that.
symbology
TEAM LGK
QB's was way worse than Drews. Drew was trying to block/deflect a puck heading for the net. Unfortunately, it is rather difficulty to control the puck in that situation. QB had complete control and went brain dead at the wrong time. Fatigue may have been a part of that.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
My guess it was the opposite of brain dead. I have a feeling he was overthinking it. He had too much space and time and decided to think instead of just react. Instead of trusting his instincts and chipping the puck out into the neutral zone he got overly aggressive exiting the zone to ensure the victory with an empty net goal.
It’s a hard and painful lesson to learn but if he’s in the same position again he won’t make the same mistake.
symbology
TEAM LGK
Pretty much the same thing, combo of both.... whatever. He forgot "where" he was and what he needed to do.
symbology
TEAM LGK
I get it, folks are mad at how Hiller managed the game. Everyone wants to focus on just that. The problem is, the Oilers dominated the game in the 3rd partially because McDavid and Draisaitl played a ton in the 3rd and the Kings had no answer. They also continued to run the 4th line in limited use and ran the Kings into the ground. Look at the number of shifts for those two guys in the 3rd, unless you think that statisticians lie about that stuff. Not only the number of shifts, but McDavid had I think 6 shifts of over 1 minute long, and one over 2 minutes. No King had more than 2 shifts in the 3rd that were over a minute. Those guys were on the ice for almost 1/2 the 3rd period. The Oilers were pushing with all 4 lines and the Kings tried to defend with 3. By the time OT started it was just a matter of time before the Oilers scored and won the game. The Kings were done, and only some bit of luck could help them.
I am not saying that it was not a mistake to roll with 3 lines. Putting Lewis out there in the 3rd to play on the top line was pretty dumb. I am sorry but that guy is done and he could not accomplish much out there. He was a literal anchor for the top line. There are plenty of things to question on how Hiller let things play out. However, that does not mean that the Oilers had nothing to do with what happened.
Clif
Super Star
I can handle an honest loss, especially when the team is the underdog. Watching self-sabotage in real time is something else.
This feels like the Sharks meltdown in 2011 only twice in a row. Also I hate these Oilers even more than that Sharks team. I also, very rightly, expected the Kings to win this series. As you said, they’re ripe for the picking.
After game 3 i just sat on the couch hockey doom scrolling. Suddenly it’s 11pm. I usually go to bed between 9:30-10am before climbing the next day. It’s an intense sport. I have trouble sleeping after big games when they win too, but the excitement carries over in the morning. This time i woke up and just felt drained. I climbed well, but could have been better.
Had a ton to do at work yesterday. I got it done, but I was just kind of down.
I still give the Kings a coin flip chance at winning the series. Im heartened they have two home games still. But i’m hedging my bets tonight. It’s just such an intense week personally, if Hiller pulls this prevent defense again I just can’t put my eyes on it. He’s become one of my favorite coaches and if they blow this series I want to hear he’s fired the day after.
