***LA Kings @ Anaheim Ducks GDT 4/19/22 7:00pm on >>ESPN<<***

[Illegal_Stick]

Easy to look at it and say they were lucky and they're barely hanging on etc. etc. I certainly thought it BUT, they DID hang on. Their goalie stole one? Okay, they've had to steal a lot for both goalies this year. God bless Quick for that performance, but Quick is part of this team, it counts. They were dominated, but they stayed with it. Just look at the way the PK improved throughout the game so that by the end, they were mostly shutting them out from quality chances. The team worked hard and did what they needed to do. To me, the goal is making the playoffs and then whatever happens happens. Go back and look at all the experts' predictions, this team is not supposed to be here yet. Through sheer force of will they are.

 

[Illegal_Stick]

Now, the one issue that did stand out to me: Lemieux seems lost. Maybe still injured, maybe just hasn't found his way back. Now that Brown looks a little ordinary again and Kupari didn't play great, maybe try the Lizotte, Lemieux, Kaliyev line again?

 

[hokiecat]

The Kings barely beat a team that had won only three of their last twenty games, and other than Quick they didn't look good doing it. Opponents are applying a hard forecheck on the Kings d-men, and it's working much of the time. The Kings board work in their own zone is suspect, and the long outlet passes are not getting the job done on a consistent basis. As [MENTION=24492]Clif[/MENTION] said, the Kings are hanging on by a thread the last couple of weeks.

To their credit, when they gain the o-zone, they are still looking dangerous, but do they have another gear, when the playoffs start.

Oh we are mediocre right now. Look at the prediction sites like The Athletic and Five Thirty Eight. The Kings have 85-90% chance of making the playoffs but are something like the 18th or 19th best team in the power rankings. I think part of it is missing Doughty and Anderson. You can only paper over missing a top pairing guy and a top-4 guy so much. Durzi has been fantastic offensively but its an adventure every night to fill Drew's 26 minutes. We still lack an impact rookie. Quick was amazing last night but has been pretty average and Cal has been streaky and overall below average. On the bright side, Kempe has finally lived up to his first round status. He's a 30 goal guy rather than an Ovechkin but I'll take it. Danault has been amazing! So much more than I though he'd be. Arvidsson is a Kempe lite who will shoot from anywhere. Durzi is an offensive dynamo. I want to see Clarke in a Kings uniform because Durzi has been everything that Clarke was supposed to be. His vision and skating on the PP last night was amazing.

I don't think we have another gear at this time but the key is the experience that the team is getting. They are learning how to win in pressure situations. Guys like Durzi, Spence, Moverare, and Kaliyev are getting 'dog years' of experience in these super competitive games. 2022 is all about building the foundation for the decade. Is Danault the 1C now? He's put the team on his back the last 2 games. He played the most minutes last night. I still think it is Kopi's team but Danault will be the glue guy when the Kings can make a run in 2024. These games are the training to find that next gear in the coming years.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

I can't help but imagine Durzi as a forward. Watching last night was fun. With the injuries this year we should be tied with the Kraken, not holding onto 3rd. Next year should be something special I hope. But for now, brute force into the playoffs is fun and emotional to watch. Worked 10 years ago Watching Quick kick into beast mode is pure joy for a fan of goaltending and hockey. Love it.

 

[What party?]

Hokie, Illegal you omitted one key phrase from your description of this team: gutty. Damn it, don't make me myopic with your puuurty Kings talk, there will be an ulcer to be name later.

 

[MiketheKing]

Oh we are mediocre right now. Look at the prediction sites like The Athletic and Five Thirty Eight. The Kings have 85-90% chance of making the playoffs but are something like the 18th or 19th best team in the power rankings. I think part of it is missing Doughty and Anderson. You can only paper over missing a top pairing guy and a top-4 guy so much. Durzi has been fantastic offensively but its an adventure every night to fill Drew's 26 minutes. We still lack an impact rookie. Quick was amazing last night but has been pretty average and Cal has been streaky and overall below average. On the bright side, Kempe has finally lived up to his first round status. He's a 30 goal guy rather than an Ovechkin but I'll take it. Danault has been amazing! So much more than I though he'd be. Arvidsson is a Kempe lite who will shoot from anywhere. Durzi is an offensive dynamo. I want to see Clarke in a Kings uniform because Durzi has been everything that Clarke was supposed to be. His vision and skating on the PP last night was amazing.

I don't think we have another gear at this time but the key is the experience that the team is getting. They are learning how to win in pressure situations. Guys like Durzi, Spence, Moverare, and Kaliyev are getting 'dog years' of experience in these super competitive games. 2022 is all about building the foundation for the decade. Is Danault the 1C now? He's put the team on his back the last 2 games. He played the most minutes last night. I still think it is Kopi's team but Danault will be the glue guy when the Kings can make a run in 2024. These games are the training to find that next gear in the coming years.

I'm completely fine with seeing more 24 over 11 on the ice. Kopi sincerely looks like he's skating with a piano on his back this year

 

[jammer06]

Congratulations to the following posters who correctly guessed 14 PIM for both teams and/or were within 2 minutes of the first penalty being recorded at 4:19 of the first:

Total PIM 14:
srm1105
Rusty
pray4mojo
LeftyKing
forum gold
Bill Hicks
hornman
Liz4LA

First Penalty 2:19-6:19 (1 Point):
jammer06
VegasHockey
Byron
hokiecat
empire
sonnyboy11
AngelEyes
Rogie-Vachon
Bill Hicks
hornman
Liz4LA

First Penalty 3:19-5:19 (2 points):
Kurisu
srm1105
Rusty
Shackleford

First Penalty 3:49-4:49 (3 Points):
JETS GARAGE
forum gold
Nyssa42
Busted Chops

Congratulations to forum gold for maxing the 4 points awardable at this point, and to Busted Chops for being within 9 seconds of the actual time. Everyone is still alive on the Getzlaf question as he was not awarded any points. I missed most of this game to play in my game (won 2-1 woohoo, just like the kings) but I did catch the last 4 minutes on radio and the post game. Sounded like Quick was vintage, glad to hear that considering how much it can help settle down a D core when they know he can make up for a mistake. Lets not rely on the help and just go get in the playoffs!

 

[LAKingSteve]

Game wasn't pretty though Quickie's play was a thing a beauty. As someone said above, we need a goalie to steal a game for us and that's exactly what JQ did last night. And always great beating the Duckies, no matter how bad either team is the games tend to be competitive.

 

[jammer06]

I can't help but imagine Durzi as a forward. Watching last night was fun. With the injuries this year we should be tied with the Kraken, not holding onto 3rd. Next year should be something special I hope. But for now, brute force into the playoffs is fun and emotional to watch. Worked 10 years ago Watching Quick kick into beast mode is pure joy for a fan of goaltending and hockey. Love it.

Durzi's game would not translate well at all as a forward. A lot of his skill is predicated on having great vision from the point to see the play in front of him. Wingers might not get a lot of credit for their vision a lot of times, but that's because their biggest asset in the O zone is quick first steps, board work and in tight one touch passing/shot. The Panarins/Kanes of the world are very much an anomaly for wingers styles, and due to just how much better they are than everyone else in the world at it.

 

[KingJ]

The Kings barely beat a team that had won only three of their last twenty games, and other than Quick they didn't look good doing it. Opponents are applying a hard forecheck on the Kings d-men, and it's working much of the time. The Kings board work in their own zone is suspect, and the long outlet passes are not getting the job done on a consistent basis. As [MENTION=24492]Clif[/MENTION] said, the Kings are hanging on by a thread the last couple of weeks.

To their credit, when they gain the o-zone, they are still looking dangerous, but do they have another gear, when the playoffs start.

Imo the main issue is patchwork defense. These are the times you miss the heavy minute d-men like Doughty and Anderson.

It has a major trickle down effect. Durzi struggles with extra TOI, Edler shouldn?t be playing 20 minutes at this stage and Maatta is basically the 6/7/8 guy trying to play top 4 minutes too. That leads to the forwards exhausted trying to help which leads to just dumping the puck in and having no juice as a PP unit. The PK unit looked dead tired last night and it?s not like the Ducks are the Avalanche or anything.

Next time Doughty and Anderson get criticism (some of it fair), just remember what it?s like not to have the ice time eaters who can sustain. It?s not easy [emoji6]

 

[Pevsfreedom]

I'm completely fine with seeing more 24 over 11 on the ice. Kopi sincerely looks like he's skating with a piano on his back this year

Absolutely.

Durzi's game would not translate well at all as a forward. A lot of his skill is predicated on having great vision from the point to see the play in front of him. Wingers might not get a lot of credit for their vision a lot of times, but that's because their biggest asset in the O zone is quick first steps, board work and in tight one touch passing/shot. The Panarins/Kanes of the world are very much an anomaly for wingers styles, and due to just how much better they are than everyone else in the world at it.

I see Durzi as trying a bit too much most times. I think he'll settle down moving forward and hopefully be a strong offensive D for years ahead.

 

[Nyssa42]

Imo the main issue is patchwork defense. These are the times you miss the heavy minute d-men like Doughty and Anderson.

It has a major trickle down effect. Durzi struggles with extra TOI, Edler shouldn’t be playing 20 minutes at this stage and Maatta is basically the 6/7/8 guy trying to play top 4 minutes too. That leads to the forwards exhausted trying to help which leads to just dumping the puck in and having no juice as a PP unit. The PK unit looked dead tired last night and it’s not like the Ducks are the Avalanche or anything.

Next time Doughty and Anderson get criticism (some of it fair), just remember what it’s like not to have the ice time eaters who can sustain. It’s not easy [emoji6]

Yes, all of this! These young D men have been thrown into the fire and have somehow made it through. Hopefully the league gives us a few days of rest before the playoffs because I have to imagine they are all running on fumes. Kempe looks like a zombie in his interviews. Nick even talked on Kings Talk on Saturday about how Kopi looks tired, most likely because of the heavy, heavy D zone minutes he's absorbing. (and it's not like him to criticize a player that way!)

 

[Dr. Tran]

I just have to say that Quick’s performance last night is the reason why I’ve been such a huge fan of his over the years. That was a vintage 2012 performance. And when I think about seeing him come in as a rookie & stealing a job that shouldn’t have been his, & backstopping this team to 2 Cups, to dragging this team hopefully to the playoffs, I really feel privileged to have watched his career. He’s the freaking man.

But I think the narrative that the Kings played horrible is a little overblown. Yes the Ducks had spectacular chances where Quick had to stand on his head to keep the puck out. But as bad as they are in the standings, they still have a lot of talented guys who can put the puck in the net. Anyway most of that was in the 2nd period & we played better in the 1st & 3rd.

However it happens, the most important thing is we got the 2 points. And also Vancouver lost in OT last night & Vegas lost the night before. So now we’re 5 points ahead of them both with 4 games for us & 1 more for them. If we just went 2-2 they’d both have to go 5-0 to pass us in the standings.

Go Kings Go!

 

[hokiecat]

Durzi's game would not translate well at all as a forward. A lot of his skill is predicated on having great vision from the point to see the play in front of him. Wingers might not get a lot of credit for their vision a lot of times, but that's because their biggest asset in the O zone is quick first steps, board work and in tight one touch passing/shot. The Panarins/Kanes of the world are very much an anomaly for wingers styles, and due to just how much better they are than everyone else in the world at it.

Thanks Jammer. I was going to say something similar but more poorly written. Durzi has impressed me in the past for his ability to make long passes out of the defensive zone. Last night, he was on another level moving his feet in the offensive zone to set up the 4 forwards on the PP. The Ducks overall did a nicer job trying to move the puck laterally to set up great shots (which Quick was amazing at stopping). But Durzi was setting up guys like 9 and 11 for the same sort of plays in the first.

Durzi is still a tough call for me. I like his game but also understand the eagerness to sell high on him. That said, some of the moves he made last night plus 6 blocked shots gives me pause. I feel like he is already showing 90% of what we hope that Clarke will become. Do you go with the sure thing or do you try and press your luck with the top-10 pick?

P.S. I had almost posted this earlier and then Dr Tran had the great point about Quick so I'll add this postscript. Quick was always supposed to be a placeholder until we got to Bernier. What if Durzi is Quick and Clarke is Bernier? I'm sure glad Rob Blake is in the corner office and not be. The loaded RD position is a tough one to sort out.

 

[waynet]

Gutty performance last night. Quick somehow flipped on the 2012 switch, remarkable at this point in his career. Gibson was pretty good also. Been awhile since our goaltender stole one and we were watching meaningful Kings games in April. Kopitar looks painfully average on the ice. Cool stick tap between JQ and Getz at the end.

GKG!!!

 

[Pevsfreedom]

I just have to say that Quick’s performance last night is the reason why I’ve been such a huge fan of his over the years. That was a vintage 2012 performance. And when I think about seeing him come in as a rookie & stealing a job that shouldn’t have been his, & backstopping this team to 2 Cups, to dragging this team hopefully to the playoffs, I really feel privileged to have watched his career. He’s the freaking man.

I'm a mega Quick fan. I agree with all of this. We're lucky to have such a high caliber guy/player with the team for so long.

Yes, all of this! These young D men have been thrown into the fire and have somehow made it through. Hopefully the league gives us a few days of rest before the playoffs because I have to imagine they are all running on fumes. Kempe looks like a zombie in his interviews. Nick even talked on Kings Talk on Saturday about how Kopi looks tired, most likely because of the heavy, heavy D zone minutes he's absorbing. (and it's not like him to criticize a player that way!)

I'm beginning my 2800 mile road trip to SC on May 2nd. Guess we'll have to plan to be at hotels around 7pm lol. Fun. I'll bring my Quick jersey on the road trip for games (playoff ritual ). I bought it (avatar) just before the playoffs started in 2012 so it's my mainstay now lol.

 

[AngelEyes]

Oh we are mediocre right now. Look at the prediction sites like The Athletic and Five Thirty Eight. The Kings have 85-90% chance of making the playoffs but are something like the 18th or 19th best team in the power rankings. I think part of it is missing Doughty and Anderson. You can only paper over missing a top pairing guy and a top-4 guy so much. Durzi has been fantastic offensively but its an adventure every night to fill Drew's 26 minutes. We still lack an impact rookie. Quick was amazing last night but has been pretty average and Cal has been streaky and overall below average. On the bright side, Kempe has finally lived up to his first round status. He's a 30 goal guy rather than an Ovechkin but I'll take it. Danault has been amazing! So much more than I though he'd be. Arvidsson is a Kempe lite who will shoot from anywhere. Durzi is an offensive dynamo. I want to see Clarke in a Kings uniform because Durzi has been everything that Clarke was supposed to be. His vision and skating on the PP last night was amazing.

I don't think we have another gear at this time but the key is the experience that the team is getting. They are learning how to win in pressure situations. Guys like Durzi, Spence, Moverare, and Kaliyev are getting 'dog years' of experience in these super competitive games. 2022 is all about building the foundation for the decade. Is Danault the 1C now? He's put the team on his back the last 2 games. He played the most minutes last night. I still think it is Kopi's team but Danault will be the glue guy when the Kings can make a run in 2024. These games are the training to find that next gear in the coming years.

If Kopitar has truly declined in a significant way -- and not just hiding an injury -- then it will be hard to declare him the 1C next season. If its a true decline, then the org has some serious soul-searching to do about his role going forward.

 

[Nyssa42]

Hey! You all probably forgot, but there was a 2 game poll question for this game - here's everyone who guessed that Getzlaf would only get 1 point in his final 2 games against the Kings

Drice
jammer06
CIrvine
VegasHockey
kingsmen93
srm1105
Rusty
KHenry14
hokiecat
John a90
pray4mojo
JETS GARAGE
empire
sonnyboy11
LeftyKing
kingrussell
AngelEyes
forum gold
STONE
Shackleford
Bill Hicks
hornman
Liz4LA
Busted Chops

 

[hokiecat]

Woohoo, I got a point from the Necro-poll question.