Did Darryl Sutter Cost The Los Angeles Kings The Playoffs?
- Updated: April 9, 2015
(Photo via Twitter User @HockeyWebCast )
Sometime during the All-Star weekend break, Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter, his coaching staff and GM Dean Lombardi made the decision that they were going to “ride” Jonathan Quick for the rest of the season. Quick up to that point, was having a poor inconsistent year but after that decision was made he returned like a man possessed and started being the reliable Quick of old with some solid “lights out” performances and game winning thievery. This decision also included going with Quick in most back to back games which left backup goalie Martin Jones becoming cold on the bench.
On Tuesday night Sutter decided to rest Quick after he played phenomenally the night before in an unfortunate shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks and have Jones face off against the lowly Edmonton Oilers. These are the same Oilers that the Kings humiliated 8-2 just last week. What could go wrong right?
I am a firm believer that if everything is on the line and there’s a giant possibility the a team is not going to make the playoffs or are in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs then the team is going to have to use all their best players and top talent to fight for survival. With Jonathan Quick sitting awkwardly on the bench, a man who is famous around the hockey world for stepping up and coming through in exactly those types of stressful and tense situational games, Sutter went with Jones instead. The result was a 4-2 loss. Did Sutter make a giant error by going with his cold back up goaltender Jones and not with the first string and red-hot Quick?
Another player absent from the lineup (again) was experienced center Mike Richards. In his place was rookie Nick Shore. Richards’ struggles this season are well-known and documented but was having him as a healthy scratch in yet another important game, yet another strategic error on the part of coach Sutter? Shore, who has shown a lot of energy and a nose for winning face offs is still young and inexperienced when it comes to high pressured NHL level games. Richards on the other hand, has been there and done that, a winner on every level he has played at and a leader both on and off the ice. Struggling or not, one can’t ignore that experience in desperate times like these. With everything on the line and the stakes at their highest, did coach Darryl Sutter make a giant error by keeping Richards off the ice? And did these combined decisions just cost the Los Angeles Kings their only true chance of making the playoffs this year?
I believe the answer is …. no. Both Martin Jones and Nick Shore are not the reasons why the Kings lost to the Oilers on Monday night. The Los Angeles Kings roster as a whole is responsible for the loss and for being in the tight, back against the wall situation that they are now in and face.
Let’s be honest, lowly or not, the Oilers outplayed the Kings. Whether it was poor turnovers, a weak presence in the neutral zone or lethargic play, the result still would have been a loss even with Quick and/or Richards in the lineup. This game was a perfect example of how this whole season has gone wrong for the Kings.
I’m not going to point out all the strange and outright bizarre things that have happened to the Kings this season when they are still mathematically in the playoff hunt but things are looking bleak now. The Kings players on Monday night, with the exception of Martin Jones, came across and looked like they didn’t want to win as badly as their fan base do. Anything can happen in the NHL and any given team can beat any other given team on any given night but with the regular season ending and the Kings not securing a playoff spot, the Kings should have done anything and everything possible to win and get 2 more points against the long out of the playoff scene Edmonton Oilers. Now they have lost control of their own destiny and there is no one to blame but the players themselves.
Look at the teams that the Kings have been chasing all year. The Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets are playing like there is no tomorrow. They look hungry and focused. They are going all out, even with some of their top and best talent on the injured or suspended shelf. Then look at our Kings, especially on Monday night. The difference is a gap as wide as the Pacific Ocean. Where is the urgency? Where is the passion? The hunger? Where are the unique intangibles that have made these Los Angeles Kings famous, successful and feared?
So even if I was coaching the team (which I know, I know, I am obviously not), I would have played Jonathan Quick in every game for the rest of the regular season but that’s just me. Even though the decision of playing the second string Jones in such an important game does make me scratch my head, I don’t believe Darryl Sutter’s game day decisions are to blame for the Oilers loss or if the Kings do end up not making the playoffs now. He can only do so much, positively or negatively. Martin Jones played fine and most definitely isn’t to blame either. It’s the entire Los Angeles Kings roster in front of him that I’m pointing the finger at. The players just never bothered to show up on Monday night.
With only 2 games remaining against the dangerous Flames and the bitter San Jose Sharks, I will be tensely sitting in front of my TV watching the games with my King’s jersey and hat on. I will watch, support and stress while holding on to the hope that they can still make these playoffs but the whole team will need to step up and show that they truly want this too. It’s now do or die time. They have to show the commitment and the devotion, the hunger and the passion with single every shift on every single play. They will have to fight to the very end. That’s what Calgary and Winnipeg are doing.
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