GDT ***Los Angeles Kings @ Colorado Avalanche GDT Playoffs Round 1 Game 1 4/18/26 12:00pm on TNT & FanDuel SoCal***

I don't believe defense was a problem yesterday. First goal was a puck deflection then off the goaltender, right down to Lek's stick. Doughty tried to tie him up, however, just missed his stick for the goal. Next goal was a mistake by not getting the puck deep and out of the neutral zone. A great team like the Avs don't need much room to take advantage of those mistakes.

The Kings held the Avs to 2 goals. When most probably believed 4 would be the minimum. The Kings are obviously going to have to take more chances to open up their offense, and that provides the Avs the opportunity to quickly counter them.

Overall, for a heavy underdog, the Kings held their own for the most part.

Kings in five and that's no jive.
Best,
 
Nice to see a coach who realizes the importance of not running your 3 lines and 4 dmen into the ground in a playoff game.

Kings 4th line did get caved in at times including a disastrous shift by Mallot but DJ knew when to shorten the bench to allow his best players to have something left in reserve at the end when they did make a push to finish the game.

Lots of good signs through 1 game and we’re watching a team that needs to build off the moral victories if they want to get out of the 1st round.
 
I was frustrated before that 2nd Avs goal. The Kings had possession of the puck down low, behind their own net, with 3 players around it, and no Avs in sight. I don't remember who was on the ice, but the Kings player from behind the goal line did a soft pass towards the 2 Kings players that were a couple of feet in front of Forsberg. Neither of them saw the pass, an Avs player came in and took the puck. That possession turned into multiple shots on net, the puck finally coming out of the zone, but the Avs pushed right back in and scored the goal. That puck management was horrible and cost the Kings a 2 goal deficit.

I thought the Kings played a great game against the Avs overall, but there were a few plays like that where I literally threw my hands up in frustration, causing my wife to look up from her iPad and wonder what was going on. hahaha.

Gotta clean up the puck management a little bit and win Game 2. Then come home with that home ice advantage.

Let's go Kings!!!
 
jom said:
I don't think they were complaining about Kopitar at all. I think the complaint was directed at missing out on a higher draft pick due to making the playoffs. There is an argument to be made there about which is best for the team in the long run.

jom
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To be fair Holland traded Perry because it was obvious this team might not make the playoffs. Other teams like NSH and SJ controlled their own destiny but they weren’t good enough.

As it stands now Kings will pick 17th provided they lose this series as expected. If they missed the playoffs it would have been close so they’d pick 16h, maybe 15th with a 1 percent chance at 1st overall. Talking draft position here is super marginal.

Making the playoffs for the fifth year in a row however could make the team more enticing for a guy like Laughton to extend or other players to waive a NMC.
 
Statue4Deano said:
Nice to see a coach who realizes the importance of not running your 3 lines and 4 dmen into the ground in a playoff game.

Kings 4th line did get caved in at times including a disastrous shift by Mallot but DJ knew when to shorten the bench to allow his best players to have something left in reserve at the end when they did make a push to finish the game.

Lots of good signs through 1 game and we’re watching a team that needs to build off the moral victories if they want to get out of the 1st round.
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Playing a fourth line that gets caved is a risk, but so is not playing them and exhausting your team. I am glad DJ is showing a proper understanding of risk assessment.

I said happily to my buddy during the game “Look at Big Sammy out there in the 3rd period.”
 
Statue4Deano said:
Nice to see a coach who realizes the importance of not running your 3 lines and 4 dmen into the ground in a playoff game.

Kings 4th line did get caved in at times including a disastrous shift by Mallot but DJ knew when to shorten the bench to allow his best players to have something left in reserve at the end when they did make a push to finish the game.

Lots of good signs through 1 game and we’re watching a team that needs to build off the moral victories if they want to get out of the 1st round.
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That's why Kuzmenko might need to enter the lineup. Sure, he's no 4th line bruiser, but he'd provide some offensive threat at least, and another option for the PP.
 
As we know, the Avs are on the puck in an instant with the defense joining in as well. You don't have the luxury of time to look up for your next pass, so you better have a plan in place before you touch the puck. This is how the Avs create grade "A" chances. They don't back off. Obviously, the Kings need to find a way to make the Avs back off. Easier said than done.
 
Statue4Deano said:
Yup. Panarin surely didn’t come here for a rebuild.
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Exactly. I wanted a step back the next two seasons to elevate younger players, move Fiala for a guy like Shane Wright, etc.

That’s not happening so I will watch with interest at the balancing act Holland is trying to pull off. He has mostly made some really saavy moves.
 
Dr. Tran said:
Here's another one. Watch at the end. It's an epidemic on this Avs team.

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Seriously, since when did the Avs started becoming like the late-00s-early-10s 'Nucks? That's going to make me lose some respect for that team. Well, at least they're nowhere near as annoying as the Coilers or Blights.
 
I can’t remember when/where I saw the interview but Drew recently spoke about DJ’s coaching style and he made it a point to say DJ is loud, brash and not afraid to hold guys accountable but he’s also keep the room loose. He seemed to echo the statements we’ve heard before about Smith being a player’s coach.

I suppose if you can’t be a master tactician then good vibes are essential. Game 1 showcased a very engaged and loose Kings team. We also saw guys sticking up for themselves and each other more in one game than in 2 years of Hiller.
 
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