Once again the Kings showed rolling 3 solid lines playing as a team buying into the system and not abandoning that approach will win a lot of games. Given the overall youth of the team in conjunction with the young talent in the minors.....its a great time to be a fan. Dean Lombardi if you are reading this.....Thank You!
Jack Johnsons play is much improved but Im curious as to why theyre pairing him with Randy Jones. Jones was responsible for at least 2 of the Ducks goals. I was ready to write about goal #4 solely until I saw the recaps and I think it was Ducks goal 2 or 3 he had botched as well. Honestly I would rather see Harrold as a #6 dman and Jones benched. Are the Kings a better team with Harrold at D and Parse back on the Wing? I think so. Drewiske cant come back fast enough for my liking. And if the Exelby rumors are true Im all for it-provided Exelby is the 6 or 7 Dman and it means Jones gets no more time at all.
IMO, the most important goal of the game was goal #1 at the end of the 1st period. Hiller was amazing the night before against the Wings and looked to be on that same streak before that goal dropped in. It may have been one thing had it been a clean wham bam type goal in which Hiller had no chance but to have Hiller get a piece of the puck and still go in at the end of the period was huge.
Segal played a great game but I would love to see us get Owen Nolan in that role. He can play the boards better the Segal and has not only the veteran savvy but leadership as well. Segal has been great and tonight he was good-but in the playoffs in that Role I would love to see Nolan.
I surely wasnt the only guy surprised TM didnt call his timeout after Ducks goal #4. Had the Ducks scored to take the lead, and at the point it wouldnt have been surprising, he would have been criticized without question and berated unmercifully. Given the team won, chances are it wont be mentioned. I guess sometimes Hockey 101 isnt always right.
God I cant wait for tomorrow mornings "What theyre Saying" Ducks edition. That will be golden.
Bob was very diplomatic regarding the Ducks comeback and heaped a lot of praise to them. Jim not so much. I can only wonder what the Ducks crew would have said in the same situation only the Ducks on the winning end.
On that same note-the ducks crew last night talked about the home and home series against the Kings saying its a rare Thursday-Monday home and home. I guess they didnt bother to check the Kings schedule that showed we play saturday. Dont home and home series normally refer to Back to Backs?
On that same note; Saturdays Game is not going to be easy. On one hand I was kind of hoping the Kings could play a patsy to get the record for consecutive wins and hope the schedule could have landed us Edmonton or Columbus. Then again a win against Detroit to get the record will mean the club really honest to god deserved it 110%.
Did I mention how much I love the Depth on this team? Case in point-without JJ or Simmonds and with a Kovalchuk in this game do the Kings still win?
I am not a Patrick Oneal basher. I like him actually and think he does a good professional job-that said he looked "tired" tonight with bags under his eyes and what not. I know he covered last nights ducks game and all but Im pretty certain he wasnt attending a post game victory party in OC.
Im excited about the Olympics but on that same note hate to see this run interrupted. Im also afraid of seeing Dustin Brown running Doughty. I hope they have a gentlemens agreement-if not Lombardi should force one out of them.
On that same note Brown had a couple of chances to run a couple of Ducks and didnt. Not sure if he was not trying to stir the pot or he is concentrating on becoming a better 2 way player. Either way I found it curious.
Its late and Im out but look forward to reading your thoughts in the morning as well as the Pre Game Happy Hour Tail Gate Monday in Anaheim. I will be there and look forward to hanging with all the LGKers for pregame drinks and hopefully seeing the streak stretched to 10 games. Caps are currently at 12 wins so its possible.
Some other things I forgot to add...
Was Kopitar final goal in the game, along with his razzle dazzle shootout move, making him look more and more like Jagr?
Stoll finished -2 on the night but I love how for a non pest/antagonizer type player he consistently goes right to the opposing teams goalie at the whistle. He doesnt chirp or spary them with ice but he is always the one guy who will stand right over him or be in his field of vision.
Jon Quick is now 5-0 against the Ducks. As if you needed you more reasons to like him.
Jonas Hiller has given up 14 goals in 3 games against the kings. Without doing the actual math thats like an avg of 4.6 something per game. I like.
A win over DET on saturday will give the Kings an 11 pt lead over the Wings. Same can be said for Calgary provided they lose against Florida today.
Pacific is the best division in hockey right now.
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