***Playoffs Rd1 GAME 3 GDT Edmonton Oilers vs. LA Kings 4/26/24 7:30pm on BSW, TBS & max***

[Statue4Deano]

Through 3 games I count 6 guys who have met or exceed expectations:

Byfield
Kempe
Doughty
Spence
Laf
Lewis

Everyone else has got to be better if they want any chance of extending this series beyond 5 games.

 

[Kurisu]

This team was lucky in game 2. I think Edmonton came into that game a little bit too confident. That and an early goal had the Kings feeling good and playing pretty well in the 1st period. They were able to get the forecheck going which helped them slow down the Oilers. The Oilers came back and kind of took control of the game in the 2nd period and tied the score. A lucky bounce and a great shot by Kopitar won it in overtime.

I know this is not rocket science, but for the Kings to have any chance of winning another game they will need:

• Strong consistent forecheck. Without this, the Kings have zero chance.
• Shoot the freaking puck, put the darn thing on net when you have the chance.
• Score some freaking PP goals
• Kill some freaking penalties
• Get better than average goaltending.

Problem is, the Oilers have been a good defensive team this year and getting a solid forecheck going and maintaining it is going to be a big ask for this Kings team. Without that, Against the Oilers the Kings have no strong PK to save them, no PP goals to rely on. The goaltending has been bad in 2 of 3 games and "okay" in the 3rd.

Many teams have been getting better and better at beating the 1-3-1 this year. We have all seen that. If the Kings do not get their forecheck going it is often hard to get the 1-3-1 setup anyway.

That's my take on things anyway.

This is my exact take. We aren't beating this team three more times with conservative play. We had one good period and an extremely lucky bounce to get one game.

I've blamed the lack of forecheck the last two post-season's on why we couldn't win against them. You can't beat them with conservative play, they're too aggressive.

 

[HiFi]

Through 3 games I count 6 guys who have met or exceed expectations:

Byfield
Kempe
Doughty
Spence
Laf
Lewis

Everyone else has got to be better if they want any chance of extending this series beyond 5 games.

Unpopular opinion: PLD for maybe 75%. Compared to what we saw in the regular season. Expectations have gotten kind of low on him.

And Talbot given he won a game when everyone said start Rittich. Expectations low all around. So maybe they’ve all met them.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Unpopular opinion: PLD for maybe 75%. Compared to what we saw in the regular season. Expectations have gotten kind of low on him.

And Talbot given he won a game when everyone said start Rittich. Expectations low all around. So maybe they’ve all met them.

I agree about PLD. He has not been a problem but just like the other 3 Centers we need more out of him.

 

[waynet]

Kings are getting outplayed, but Talbot's 16 GA in 3 games is beyond horrible. Nearly a mirror image of last seasons playoff with Korpisalo. Rittich should have started game 2. Kings won even though Talbot missed 4, so Hiller stays with the guy that surrendered 10 goals in 2 games.

Rittich may not be the answer but Talbot definitely isn't.

 

[MiketheKing]

Lets hope so. Kings went all in with him. They also were impatient with Faber and wanted to win sooner, rather than later. This team will be as bad or worse next year. If there was no ability to upgrade the team at the draft, how are they going to do that in the offseason? Do they hope that Laf becomes Arvy 2.0? Try to keep Roy, but probably loose him. Why would he settle for less money than what his overpaid D partner is getting?

Dumpster dive for goalies again?

I heard on Islanders feed they are over Soroken in net. PLD for Soroken and money or pick. All day! We need a goalie any way

 

[MiketheKing]

Kings are getting outplayed, but Talbot's 16 GA in 3 games is beyond horrible. Nearly a mirror image of last seasons playoff with Korpisalo. Rittich should have started game 2. Kings won even though Talbot missed 4, so Hiller stays with the guy that surrendered 10 goals in 2 games.

Rittich may not be the answer but Talbot definitely isn't.

Exactly. Edmonton doesn't have much choice in net we do Riddick had better numbers and I feel more comfortable with him. Talbot is Niemi 2.0

 

[hokiecat]

Also, since you brought it up, England checks Kane with a clean hit and the result is an on-ice scrum resulting in 6 players in the penalty box. In Game 2, Hyman hits Danault with an equally clean but effective check….and nothing. Where is the heart in this team? Where is the standing up for your teammate? With the exception of Kopitar’s line and Doughty, it’s almost like the rest of them didn’t even want to be there

I agree with everything else you wrote

Yeah, the reffing can be a little inconsistent, but it doesn't matter. This series is going exactly as expected. The Kings are getting handled with relative ease. They're getting destroyed on special teams and the Oilers superior top talent is crushing the Kings. The Kings lack of depth compared to 2023 is killing them; PLD continues to be useless and hopefully gets Blake fired for giving up assets and a contract which ruined the Kings chances from jumping from a playoff team to a contender. We're getting unimpressive goaltending from bargain goalies.

That said, did anyone here actually think the Kings had a chance in the series?

 

[HiFi]

That said, did anyone here actually think the Kings had a chance in the series?

I did! Said it multiple times. Oh, you meant a chance to win. Whoops.

 

[symbology]

Yeah, the reffing can be a little inconsistent, but it doesn't matter. This series is going exactly as expected. The Kings are getting handled with relative ease. They're getting destroyed on special teams and the Oilers superior top talent is crushing the Kings. The Kings lack of depth compared to 2023 is killing them; PLD continues to be useless and hopefully gets Blake fired for giving up assets and a contract which ruined the Kings chances from jumping from a playoff team to a contender. We're getting unimpressive goaltending from bargain goalies.

That said, did anyone here actually think the Kings had a chance in the series?

I thought they had a chance to win one game out of 5. They have met my expectations.

 

[Nyssa42]

Through 3 games I count 6 guys who have met or exceed expectations:

Byfield
Kempe
Doughty
Spence
Laf
Lewis

Everyone else has got to be better if they want any chance of extending this series beyond 5 games.

I would replace Lewis with Lizotte. Or just add Lizotte. Lewis has been ok. But Lizotte has been Lizotting all over the place when given his chances

 

[MiketheKing]

Bottom line watching last night they're in our face not giving us any room, no respect on any aspect of the game especially special teams.

On the other hand, we're not aggressive and we're given them all day and way too much respect allowing them to Dipsy Doodle which either allows way too much time and space.

I think it boils down to playing scared

 

[orpheus]

We went three games without saying it, surprisingly, but....

I blame Mitchrock!

 

[VF]

Through 3 games I count 6 guys who have met or exceed expectations:

Byfield
Kempe
Doughty
Spence
Laf
Lewis

Everyone else has got to be better if they want any chance of extending this series beyond 5 games.

Lizette should be on your list as well. He isn’t great, he isn’t even consistently good, but the young man will skate his legs off for the team. He at least tries, which is more than most of this team.

 

[Dr. Tran]

One thing I wish they'd do is change the personnel on the power play. They should just go by lines, with the Kopitar-Kempe-Byfield line with Fiala & Doughty, and the Danault-Moore-Arvidsson line with PLD & Spence. The other thing I wish, whether they change personnel or not, is if the 1st unit is out there for a minute & can't do jack crap, get off the ice & let the 2nd unit have a chance.

 

[hokiecat]

One thing I wish they'd do is change the personnel on the power play. They should just go by lines, with the Kopitar-Kempe-Byfield line with Fiala & Doughty, and the Danault-Moore-Arvidsson line with PLD & Spence. The other thing I wish, whether they change personnel or not, is if the 1st unit is out there for a minute & can't do jack crap, get off the ice & let the 2nd unit have a chance.

It drives me crazy when the first unit doesn't do jack crap so the coaches give them extra time. "Hey y'all are sucking so why not take 1:20 or 1:30 to try and get things fixed?" Bleh.

 

[MiketheKing]

"Our special teams are special needs."
-Everyone at Crypto (probably)