Saturday, March 3, 2012

What to Look for Tonight

The Kings are back on the ice tonight for the first time since Tuesday in Minnesota. They practiced on Thursday and Friday and now face off against the Ducks tonight. The two days of practice probably mean more than we would normally think. Jeff Carter has played 3 games for the Kings already but has not had much time to practice with his new team. When Carter was first acquired he was thrown right into the fire. Carter was also used on the power play and penalty kill, which he had no time to learn about the Kings strategies on the special-teams. With the two days of practice Carter will have learned more about where he needs to be in certain situations and what Darryl Sutter wants him doing. I believe Carter and Mike Richards will feed off of each other and will both get each other going and will start to produce from their line. I spoke to Carter after practice at Friday, and I told him I was looking for him to score the first goal in tonight's game. His response? He laughed and said "Ok, good choice." Sure that's nothing major but that shows the obvious that he really wants a goal and it may also mean that he believes tonight is the night he scores his first goal as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Another thing to look for will be Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Brown has been on fire lately as he has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 5 games, including points in 3 straight games. Let's hope he can continue his point streak and help his line produce some more points. Anze Kopitar scored a goal last game, which is his 1st goal in his last 10 games.Hopefully that goal is a sign of good things to come from Kopitar. With Brown's increased production it can rub off on Kopitar and get his play going again. Let's look for Brown to continue his hot streak and also for Kopitar to get back to the Kopitar we expect. The Kings have played well the last 3 games even though they are 2-1 in their last three. The last two games they have had presence in front of the net, which usually equals goals. So hopefully that continues tonight. After some well deserved time off Quick will be back in net tonight. Let's hope the Kings can continue scoring tonight, can carry the momentum over from Tuesday, and can start a winning streak that will put them back into the playoffs.
-AllThingsKings

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Kings in Good Position?

Anze Kopitar celebrates after scoring a goal.
If the Playoffs were to start today, the Kings would be on the outside looking in. The players would be preparing to move back home for the off season and the management would most likely be going through changes. And the fans? Well we would all be disappointed, to say the least, and asking for Dean Lombardi to be fired. Many people may ask that Darryl Sutter be fired in favor of an offensive minded coach. If the playoffs started today, the Kings would be sitting in 9th place and would miss the playoffs by 1 point. Well luckily for the Kings, for the management, and for us fans the playoffs do not start today.

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The Goalie Situation

Jonathan Bernier watches as starter Jonathan Quick prepares for a game.
The Kings have two great goalies in Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier. Bernier, the backup, believes he is ready to be an starting goaltender in the NHL. Whether it be with the Kings, or any other team in the NHL, Bernier wants to start.

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