FIRST ROUND: Kings Vs. Oilers

[New User Name]

Copley has earned the playoff start. He's going to have to play his azz off if the Kings have any shot of winning any games. The way the last three games against the Oilers went, I have zero faith in a series win. It would be super nice of the officials called the game the same way against both teams.

My tradition is to get my large glass Kings mug, thrown in two beers, put on my Kopitar away jersey, and not get much sleep. At least Edmonton is only two hours behind the East Coast and not 3, but then again, they haven't announced the times yet. Would be nice if they were all 9 pm Eastern games, but we'll see.

There is NOTHING like the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

GO KINGS GO!!!

 

[New User Name]

Anyone doing a bracket?

 

[Bill Hicks]

I am terrified that coach Todd will once again be out coached.

QB CAN NOT be on the 1st line in the po's. EDM is already gonna be keying on Kempe & Kopi and there HAS to be another option on that
line. It's a must. He is just not ready for this. Switch him and Grundstrom, or have Arvidsson there and juggle a bit.
The last 2 games against them proved they adjusted, now it's time for the same.
Coach said in the pre season that the work really starts this season. So coach, time for you to up your coaching as well.
Think outside the box, be daring and creative. This po's should decide his future, imo. If he's not willing to adapt and change on the fly
then it's time for a different coach. JAD needs to play over MacEwen, who brings little to nothing.
Hoping Gabe & Fiala are close.
Even with his deficiencies, we need Edler's size and experience.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

Korpi's numbers in the playoffs have been stellar to this point. Between that and him outperforming Copley during his time with the Kings I think he gets the nod.

Outperforming Copley is very debatable. Wins trump everything. Especially consistent, timely wins. Which Copley brought all year. He earned it. He won't get it. But he earned it. Their numbers this year are virtually the same, besides wins. A playoff round loss of experience 3 years ago doesn't really impress me enough to give him the start. But it's debatable as I said, and just my personal opinion that Copley should start. I think the team plays better in front of him. If playoff experience is all that matters, why the hell did we get rid of Quick? His playoff numbers are literally awesome. Kinda my point.

Outside of defending Copley's season - I don't think who starts matters. The Kings have 2 excellent goaltenders, and it's a good problem to have. Either will perform well.

Anyone doing a bracket?

Yeah I'm curious too. I won last year

QB CAN NOT be on the 1st line in the po's. EDM is already gonna be keying on Kempe & Kopi and there HAS to be another option on that
line. It's a must. He is just not ready for this. Switch him and Grundstrom, or have Arvidsson there and juggle a bit.
The last 2 games against them proved they adjusted, now it's time for the same.
Coach said in the pre season that the work really starts this season. So coach, time for you to up your coaching as well.
Think outside the box, be daring and creative. This po's should decide his future, imo. If he's not willing to adapt and change on the fly
then it's time for a different coach. JAD needs to play over MacEwen, who brings little to nothing.
Hoping Gabe & Fiala are close.
Even with his deficiencies, we need Edler's size and experience.

Toddfather is I think a bit "married to the player" with QB. My 2 points are 1) Copley, 2) QB. #1 is a toss-up, and doubtful, #2 has to be adjusted, fast. I think TMac is already considering starting him lower, he's been dropped lines a few times leading up to this. He will undoubtedly cost us some big goals on the 1st line.

 

[New User Name]

A must is to keep the Moore-Danault-Arvidsson line together.

 

[dannybuoy1]

Per @PR_NHL
: #LAKings vs #Oilers

Game 1: Monday, April 17
Game 2: Wednesday, April 19

Both games start at 7:00 PM PDT.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

Per @PR_NHL
: #LAKings vs #Oilers

Game 1: Monday, April 17
Game 2: Wednesday, April 19

Both games start at 7:00 PM PDT.

I reserve the right to use this again on the 17th.

 

[aragorn]

[*]Are there any adaptations to our game that we need to win this series? What might the Oil do adapt to us?

No adaptation needed if we get Vilardi and Fiala back. Not sure if anything will help if we are missing both of them. If we get one of them back, then we need to not breath on the Oilers or they'll start their fish flops.

 

[Rogie-Vachon]

Per @PR_NHL
: #LAKings vs #Oilers

Game 1: Monday, April 17
Game 2: Wednesday, April 19

Both games start at 7:00 PM PDT.

Game 3: Friday, April 21 7:00 PDT
Game 4: Sunday April 23, 6:00 PDT

Game 5: Tuesday April 25, TBA*
Game 6: Saturday April 29, TBA*
Game 7: Monday May 1, TBA*

*If necessary - LAKERS & CLIPPERS playoff games create the break between Games 5 & 6

 

[Nyssa42]

Here's the schedule in "graphics format" - that's crazy a 4 day break between games 5 & 6!!!


***All times PACIFIC TIME***

 

[Nyssa42]

QB CAN NOT be on the 1st line in the po's. EDM is already gonna be keying on Kempe & Kopi and there HAS to be another option on that
line. It's a must. He is just not ready for this. Switch him and Grundstrom, or have Arvidsson there and juggle a bit.

Hoping Gabe & Fiala are close.
Even with his deficiencies, we need Edler's size and experience.

I'd put Gabe on that top line if he's healthy. Just have him dish to Kempe all night long. Grundy on the top line is a good option, too, play JAD on the 4th line and sit QB.

Agree about Edler, too. He's not the fastest, but, dang that dude is always in the right place!!

 

[DryKing]

Outperforming Copley is very debatable. Wins trump everything. Especially consistent, timely wins. Which Copley brought all year. He earned it. He won't get it. But he earned it. Their numbers this year are virtually the same, besides wins. A playoff round loss of experience 3 years ago doesn't really impress me enough to give him the start. But it's debatable as I said, and just my personal opinion that Copley should start. I think the team plays better in front of him. If playoff experience is all that matters, why the hell did we get rid of Quick? His playoff numbers are literally awesome. Kinda my point.

Outside of defending Copley's season - I don't think who starts matters. The Kings have 2 excellent goaltenders, and it's a good problem to have. Either will perform well.

Actually, since Korpi arrived he has has a higher save percentage, lower GAA and last I checked they were tied for wins in that span. That said, the thing I worry about most with Copley is his lateral movement which Edmonton will likely take full advantage of. That said, Korpi's didn't look that great last game either and a big plus for Copley is consistency. It'll be interesting to see what direction the Kings go as it doesn't feel there is truly a right or wrong decision, to your point.

 

[Statue4Deano]

****. This sucks.

 

[Kurisu]

I'd put Gabe on that top line if he's healthy. Just have him dish to Kempe all night long. Grundy on the top line is a good option, too, play JAD on the 4th line and sit QB.

Agree about Edler, too. He's not the fastest, but, dang that dude is always in the right place!!

I agree with all this, but is TM really gonna make that change in the playoffs? I don't see it. Should have tried this a month ago.

 

[DryKing]

I'd put Gabe on that top line if he's healthy. Just have him dish to Kempe all night long. Grundy on the top line is a good option, too, play JAD on the 4th line and sit QB.

Agree about Edler, too. He's not the fastest, but, dang that dude is always in the right place!!

Grundy did step up in the playoffs last year, so it's worth a try but otherwise Moore or Iafallo make sense on the top line (Gabe being the best choice if healthy). If QB is our future star, though, we can't afford to sit him in the playoffs as he needs the experience. That said limit his minutes and put him in a bottom six role if the coaching staff doesn't feel he is ready to stick on the top line.

For all the complaining about QB, he has been a good fit on the top line with Kempe and Kopi but I do worry about him getting injured if left in that spot during the playoffs against Edmonton.

I agree that Edler is needed from both an experience and physical perspective.

 

[Illegal_Stick]

I’ll say it even though I have my own concerns. The line with QB has more chemistry than the line without him. So you go with QB. Not just as a learning experience but also because - Vilardi may not be back. You don’t break up the second line to “fix” the top line and Grundstrom doesn’t need that much ice time. When the goalie’s pulled is QB out there? No. But regular play I think it’s got to be him.

 

[F**e_Off]

Well we all know, even me, that Kempe's going to be even more tightly marked this series, than he has already been this year against the Oilers. So we will surely have a more flexible plan for the top line, won't we? Skinner will have to be on edge about Kempe off to the side, so we surely should often use Kempe as decoy shooter and, unless the stars happen to be perfectly aligned, instead of taking the shot plan to have him looking to dish off, say, to Kopi or maybe Vilardi (if fit) or possibly even, at a stretch, Kaliyev for the actual shot. Putting Kaliyev on that line would add a second known shooter who Skinner will be aware is a real sniper and who will take a shot every chance he gets. That'll keep the goalie edgy and less inclined to cheat in anticipation, as he will now have two guys to watch instead of just Kempe. Surely this series we not only have to be unpredictable, but we absolutely must keep Skinner moving if we are to have a solid chance of beating him. Also, the added threat and potential benefit of distraction in itself of Kaliyev will surely go a long way towards compensating, if not entirely negating, his perceived shortcomings. I'm no great fanboy of Arthur, which is why I mentioned him "at a stretch", but he has played on the top line before and the playoffs do often call for the unorthodox to make the difference and also the hockey equivalent of horses for courses and so he's one I'd certainly give a try out for a game.

 

[Pickle_Pucks]

I am completely baffled as to why TMac didn't at least experiment with someone else on the first line in lieu of QB.

You can cite Kopi + Kempe's numbers all you want but you can just as easily argue he is holding the first line back at the same time.

If TMac is going to stick with QB (and I see absolutely no reason why he would be open to any change unfortunately), he's got to be ready with a VERY SWIFT plan "b".

Iafallo deserves another look on the 1st line IMO. He's earned it big time. Can offer so much more than QB at the moment. Let QB grind it out on a bottom pairing. Unfortunately I don't see Gabe at 100% but he'd be an instant upgrade. Even if he does come back I think he'll be sheltered and used on the PP. Not fit for first line minutes likely, and unfortunately. Even Grundy offers a massive upgrade IMO.

TMac is going to have to throw some sort of curveball at Edmonton. QB is the perfect piece to switch up. You can bet your bottom dollar EDM will have a plan for our first line that will involve taking Kempe out of the game at the expense of a little more freedom for QB.

 

[symbology]

We need to be healthy to have a chance to beat these guys. We need at least one of 13 / 22 to play. And JAD for 17 would be good to.

Also, stumbled upon this vid and thought I would share. No, this is not mine.

 

[Birdman]

This is gonna be tough. Hopefully things can come together. Oilers have 11 game win streak going.

It’s playoff time. Throw everything else out the window and we start over.

McDavid must die.

****. This sucks.

It is what it is. We were going to have to run into them at some point, might as well get I over with early. Makes the 2nd round that much easier.

We need to be healthy to have a chance to beat these guys. We need at least one of 13 / 22 to play. And JAD for 17 would be good to.

Also, stumbled upon this vid and thought I would share. No, this is not mine.

Somebody wake up JMSalsa and tell him to get to work.