LA Kings : Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down with JD Stylz
- Updated: November 4, 2015
Halloween (and AMC’s Fear Fest) has come and gone, and sadly my Samurai costume (and killer wig) is now being boxed away, possibly never to see the light of day again. What will see the light of day of course are my thumbs up and thumbs down
opinions of what went down this past week of LA Kings hockey.
Thumbs Up to Tyler Toffoli
The kid is still on a roll (as is his line) as since we last spoke of him, he has scored another 3 goals and 1 assist to total his points at 9 goals, 1 assist and 10 points. As of this writing, “Toff,” is second for the NHL lead for goals behind Dallas’ Jamie Benn. Just as spectacular as his goal production was his only assist so far in the season, where Toffoli and Milan Lucic skated on a 2 on 1 against Winnipeg. Jets Defenseman Tyler Myers forced Toffoli to the outside, but Toffoli still got the pass out to Lucic who was charging the net, and got the puck right on Lucic’s stick for the tip in and game winning goal. The season is still early, and anything can happen, but if Toffoli keeps this up, then Team Canada will have no choice but to consider inviting the young right winger to their World Cup of Hockey National team. An invite that he has admitted in interviews would be a dream come true for him.
Thumbs Up to Jonathan Quick
When Quick is feeling it, there is almost no stopping him. After some poor performances at the beginning of the season, Quick has come back stronger than ever. So much so, that it is almost downright scary! (for all the other teams of course!)
Since shutting out Carolina (and before playing against Chicago), went 3-0, with a goals against average approximately at 1.95 and a Save Percentage of .931. Some of his saves have been out of this world, such as the lights out save against Tyler Myers in the Winnipeg game before the second period ended, as well as the game saving stop of the NHL’s new golden boy Connor McDavid against Edmonton with seconds to go in the game (whether McDavid’s shot crossed the line or not, and photos show that it did, it is still irrelevant. The referee’s and the Toronto’s video replay situation room judges, ruled it inconclusive and a no goal. Therefore the quick (see what I did there?) glove hand reaction from “Quickie” on that McDavid shot was a save that truly saved the game and guaranteed another 2 points for the Kings). Even though Quick and the Kings lost to the Blackhawks on Monday, Quick was still making some spectacular saves off of Patrick Kane and stopped Artemi Panarin on two separate breakaways. Keeping the Kings alive to win a game (or playoff series) or at least help them have the opportunity to win a game is what Jonathan Quick does best.
Thumbs down to Mike Ribeiro boarding Christian Ehrhoff
There is no more dangerous play in hockey, then having someone at full speed, check another player blindly from behind and into the unforgiving boards. Kings’ fans know this well from when it happened to LA Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi in the first
period of game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup final. It was a play that turned the tide of the game and series (for the Kings). This is a play that has haunted the NHL and the sport of hockey for a very long time and last Saturday, we got to see it again. The Kings
played the Nashville Predators, and Kings’ defenseman Christian Ehrhoff had his back turned fully away to his opponents to play the puck but Nashville’s Mike Ribeiro decided to fully finish his check anyways, even though he still had plenty of
time to notice that Ehrhoff was in a vulnerable position and slow down or stop. Ehrhoff was injured on the play and Ribeiro was assessed a 2 minute boarding call. Ehrhoff didn’t play another minute of the game but reports are stating that he will be
okay and will play on the upcoming road trip with the Kings. If the NHL truly does want to make this illegal hit disappear, they are going to have to apply some stern and strict repercussions for players who do that as Ribeiro went undisciplined by
the league. Boarding is not a hockey play, it is a dangerous play that can severely injure someone. Here in Canada, (and possibly in the US as well but I’m not sure at this moment), Hockey Canada has instituted a rule that all team jerseys throughout the youth and junior leagues have a red “Stop” sign sewn into the back of all sweaters, in between the player’s name and number. This has helped cut down on the number of “boarding” plays as the stop sign helps give a quick single to the checker that his opponent is in a vulnerable position. This also helps the players develop the repetitive instinct and muscle memory to not charge a player when you see their stop sign and/or numbers at a young age. The NHL might want to look into this. For now, Ribeiro gets the thumbs down because he is a veteran who had plenty of time to slow down or decide to not finish his check on that play so he wouldn’t purposely hurt Ehrhoff but still decided to do so anyway. Ribeiro was being shamefully reckless.
Thumbs Up to the “Drew Doughty to Jeff Carter” game winning play
3 on 3 overtime hockey doesn’t seem to be for everybody. Jets defenseman/forward/then back to defenseman, Dustin Byfuglein and Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson have publicly stated that they hate it and don’t think it is real hockey. I’m was on the fence about it, well that was until after Saturday’s game where the LA Kings beat the Predators during the 3 on 3 overtime, and in epic fashion. What looked to be a possible game ending, dangerous 3 on 1 attack by the “Preds” was quickly ended by a head’s up and accurate defensive play by the uber (not the car ride service) talented Drew Doughty. Instead of shooting the puck, the Predators made a pass but Doughty blocked the passing lane and deflected the puck out of harm’s way
in the air! This is move that only the instinctual best of best of talents can do. As quick as “Dewy” broke up the play, he got the puck to the rushing Jeff Carter, who was all alone for a breakaway. Carter patiently waited for Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne to make the first move, and once he did, Carter skated to his right and then sniper shot the puck over the sprawling Rinne and into the top left corner of the net for the game winning goal! This whole sequence has to be seen to be believed. Incredible!
Thumbs Down to the lack of “Secondary Scoring”
It’s hard to be critical during a 7 game winning streak but since that ended with the Kings’ loss against the Blackhawks on Monday, it’s time to voice a concern over the Kings scoring, or more like the lack of secondary scoring. Right now, the Lucic, Carter and Toffoli line has taken up the bulk of the Kings’ goals this season but they can’t be expected to carry the load forever. After 10 games, Anze Kopitar only has 4 goals and 0 assists. Yes, 0 assists. This is unheard of. Having linemates that struggle getting goals are causing this glitch for “Kopi.” While Captain Dustin Brown has shown improved play and hustle, he still hasn’t scored a goal, while the struggling Marian Gaborik and floater Tanner Pearson only have 1 each. For the Kings to be successful they are going to need that “top” line to pick up and get some pucks into the net. What concerns me the most though are the bottom 6 forwards and their lack of goal production. You are not going to get many goals from Andy Andreoff, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford and Jordan Nolan. Shore has potential to at least get more than 10, as does Lewis (maybe) and the injured Dwight King but the others, including the energetic grinder “Cliffy” don’t score much at all. Not enough to make a proper difference that is. Andreoff has 1 goal but he doesn’t seem to have much of an offensive upside for NHL play, but that’s just my opinion. This lack of secondary scoring was exposed heavily in the Blackhawks loss after the Kings blew a 2-1 lead. If this continues, expect some more trouble ahead as eventually the Carter line will slow down and go into a slump, as is natural during a long regular season. If the Kopitar line is still not producing, then coach Sutter is going to expect the bottom 6 to provide scoring. Look for Jordan Weal to be inserted into more games. Weal, though only 5’9, is an immense talent with great skating skills and an intelligent (and exciting) offensive mind. Bringing up Michael Mersch from the Ontario Reign wouldn’t hurt either. If anything he would be a boost! Both players have a potentially stronger talented scoring skill set which Lewis, Clifford, Andreoff and Nolan lack. They could make all the difference needed to help the Kings return to the playoffs (or at least help keep the ship afloat before Brown, Gaborik and Pearson finally regain their scoring touch).
Los Angeles Kings MVP for the Week Jonathan Quick
Quick has been like a futuristic T-1000 Terminator machine, I tell ya!
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Okay Kings fans, who got your thumbs up and thumbs down for the week? Who is your MVP? Let us know in the comments below! GO KINGS GO!!!
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!
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