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About This Page: This is a discussion on LA Kings Talk within the LetsGoKings.com forums, at Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum. We've seen how good this team can play.
We've seen how bad this team can play.
We've seen how this team can beat the best teams in the league.
We've
We've seen how good this team can play.
We've seen how bad this team can play.
We've seen how this team can beat the best teams in the league.
We've seen how this team can lose to the worst teams in the league.
We've seen how this team can come back from far far far behind to win.
We've seen how this team can blow a big lead and lose.
This team's problem is not a particular player or line or anything other than CONSISTENCY. And that is something that comes with maturity and experience, something this young team lacks. If this team can mature into a team that can avoid making the little mistakes and can capitalize on all of the fortunate breaks, this team will be FIERCE. I have no doubt that this will be an epic team in 2-3 years, assuming they can keep all the right pieces in place.
Think about it, do groups of 20 vary wildly in terms of production each night? No.
Do groups of 1? Yep.
Lombardi never got the team an average goaltender, let alone a consistent goaltender. I blame the ridiculous contract extension given to Cloutier as the source of all of this years problems. Without that ridiculoous extension money would have been available to trade for a half way decent goaltender. I'm not saying he should be fired, I'm simply saying that his mistake cost the Kings the season and he probably knows it.
Last edited by 236nOT; February 23rd, 2008 at 05:47 PM.
Think about it, do groups of 20 vary wildly in terms of production each night? No.
Do groups of 1? Yep.
Lombardi never got the team an average goaltender, let alone a consistent goaltender. I blame the ridiculous contract extension given to Cloutier as the source of all of this years problems. Without that ridiculoous extension money would have been available to trade for a half way decent goaltender. I'm not saying he should be fired, I'm simply saying that his mistake cost the Kings the season and he probably knows it.
To be fair I don't know what people were expecting from a goaltender that hadn't played for a while and was still affected by injury. I blame management before blaming Cloutier himself. His record as a goalie prior to injury should be proof of that.
Consistency is certainly something that the team needs work on. They beat some pretty strong teams and lose to some pretty weak ones. They need to settle things down and start sticking with certain lines to build chemistry. A confident goaltender is also something that can lead to consistent play. A hockey team is a vicious circle. If your defense doesn't play well the goalie won't play well. If the goalie doesn't play well the forwards won't play well and so forth.
Goaltending and Coaching are both to blame for inconsistent play.
Yes the kids lack maturity in some aspects, that is why DL tried to bring in some veterans to stabalize the group, but subpar goaltending on some nights, or allowing the first goal of the game 70% of your games really effects a teams mental toughness. Additionally the constant line changing and the trash that spews from Crawford's mouth yelling at the players also has to weigh heavily.
If one or both of those aspects were to change, I think we would see a very dominate offensive team and a contender every single night. Bernier may still be one more year away from being a starter in the NHL, but you can bet he will still get his chance to prove he can be the starter during training camp. I don't think the question is his ability. Everyone knows that he can start right now. It is more a question of having a solid team in front of him, that will not give up 4+ goals a night and damage his psyche. I have also read rumors I think tsn.ca or nhl.com that he is likely to be recalled again later this season for a few games until his ineligibility forces him to be sent back down. While I love seeing the kid play, I don't think it would be beneficial to recall him this year.
Get ready for next year kid. Let us fill in the gaps in our team this offseason, and you can come prove you are our #1 in training camp, and JLB can back you up!
As for Crawford... I really dislike him, and I didn't see us playing much of a system at all in the first couple months of the season, but I am not sure if firing him this summer would be good or bad. My mind has kind of changed now. You would think that after a couple seasons with him as coach now, that players would know the system by now. I think I'd still like to see us make a change, even if it means adjustment in the first 15-20 games of next year.
I would expect that a goaltender that hadn't played for 10 months and still had a year left on his contract wouldn't be elegible for a two year extension. I was wrong.
As for the vicious circle, it's sort of true, but I don't think the Kings have ever had to worry about scoring goals. Confidence to score goals has always been there, confidence that the goaltender won't give up a huge lead, no.
If you think in terms of a game, your defense isn't as sound when it's behind. They attack and are more prone to error. The defense in my opinion hasn't been that bad (5 vets, 1 rook who's freakin awesome). LaBarbera and Cloutier have been awful at giving up soft goals early and forcing the team to attack making the defense look worse than it is. Get the Kings a decent goaltender and they're in the playoffs.
Last edited by 236nOT; February 23rd, 2008 at 07:03 PM.
Additionally the constant line changing and the trash that spews from Crawford's mouth yelling at the players also has to weigh heavily.
As for Crawford... I really dislike him, and I didn't see us playing much of a system at all in the first couple months of the season, but I am not sure if firing him this summer would be good or bad. My mind has kind of changed now. You would think that after a couple seasons with him as coach now, that players would know the system by now. I think I'd still like to see us make a change, even if it means adjustment in the first 15-20 games of next year.
I'd say that people overreact to Crawfords style. None of us want to be yelled at but those who bring out the best in others don't do it by making them comfortable. I've sat directly behind the bench several times this season and have seen Crow go at the players, but, for mistakes or effort. He is known for developing young players and that's what we've seen with this team. Dave Lewis can be their friend, Crawford is going to light a fire under their ass and that's fine with me. Whether that works past the '09-'10 season is a different matter.
Consistency 
taz42
