Actually had the treat of attending last nights game, my first of the season. I brought Hip Jr with me so I guess we were the good luck charms the team was looking for. Before I get to the recap, it was great seeing some old faces and friends in CBGB and Adgy and meeting some of the new folks as well.
Thoughts-
The Blues first goal looked to me like a high stick. It was close enough where I won't call for a march on Washington nonetheless; with the Kings luck historically had the foot been on the other hand that would have been a goal that never would have counted.
Doughty- Every time I watch this kid I cant believe he's only recently turned 19. If you know nothing about but him and found out the Kings mortgaged the farm to trade for a 25 year old Dman-you would watch his play and think it will worth it. To be 19 is literally jaw dropping to think what he'll be like when he starts entering his prime. The Tripping penalty in the first was complete BS. Doughty had perfect position on the forward, and when the forward tried to jump around Doughty the forward simply couldn't do it-thus falling to the ice. Note to Refs-Because a guy falls to the ice doesn't necessarily mean a penalty occurred. Place anti-Bettmann rant here.
Purcell- Got a 2nd assist but you could see where having someone with talent with Kopi and Sully really makes a big difference. He made a couple of nice passes and one or two saucer type passes just to lead the rush that was pretty impressive. Barring a sensational lapse in play or prolonged scoring slump I'll call it now-Purcell has played his last game in the AHL.
On that note the new line combos for the most part make a lot of sense. With Brown on the 2nd line it looked he really got back to his game of driving to the net as opposed to trying to make the perfect pass or maybe be a little too fancy. Same with Kopitar on the 1st line in that Kopitar looked to simplify his game as well. Another item of note is now with two semi-talented scoring lines teams wont simply throw out a stopper line against the Big 3 which has been effective for opposing teams. Maybe its due to my first game in a long time but how many times was a Kings forward able to do a little toe drag move and bring the puck right into the scoring area and get a shot off?
Calder-well he's still Calder but at least on the 2nd line his role isnt quite as prominent and he can maybe serve as as effective decoy or screen. A true sniper in this position would be a real benefit to the team.
Quincey- This guy has a unique ability to seemingly get the puck on net on almost every shot. While other guys shots get deflected of miss the net entirely-he seems to have the magic in getting the shot on net. In the colorado game there must have been 10 shots that would have been a quality shot but missed the net entirely and last night we saw it a few times but nearly to the degree of the Avs game. I mentioned this last night but I am positive Quincey will set the new NHL record for most points in 1 season by a defenseman claimed off the Waiver Wire. Quincey is 12th in NHL scoring for Dmen, only 3 pts behind old whats him name who used to wear #4 for us back in the day.
Gentle Ben Ivanans-I give him his due in that he at least tried to start something and I wont blame him that no one dropped the gloves but I can only shake my head that late in the 3rd there where matching roughing minors handed out for what was in essence a large group hug. Remember the days when McSorely would lose his jersey and Gino Odjick would challenge the entire opposing team. Ah, how I long for the good old days. Place Second anti-Bettmann rant here.
Future D Corp- I am literally salivating over the prospects of out future D lineup-Doughty, Quincey, Johnson, Teubert, Hickey. We basically have 1/2 of the Canada's World Junior squads D Corp with Quincey and Johnson in there just to providing some balance. I know we have a lot of candidates for the #6 role but when your top 5 are those guys whoever play at #6 is almost irrelevant.
Finally, mega props to Dustin Brown-not for his Hat Trick but for giving Hip Jr his stick during the 3 star selection. Truth be told I was probably more excited then Hip Jr but all in all it was certainly a night he'll remember. Walking out of Staples holding the stick a lot of fans were walking up giving him high fives and what not and he was literally beaming. On that same note, if anyone Tivo'd a HD copy of the 3 stars clip and send it to me please let me know as Id love to have it for posterity sake and historical purposes once Hip Jr gets drafted in the top 10 for the 2020 NHL draft.
I'm sure I'll have more later to add but that's it for now. Thoughts?
Late Edit-Someone from LGK pointed this out to me and Ill be darned....Alex made the HighLight Reels!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment