SB Nation - Jonathan Quick

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ Ottawa Senators

Rafal Ladysz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:22:51 -0000

More photos » by Paul Chiasson - AP

6 days ago: Buffalo Sabres' Tim Kennedy, center, celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens with teammates Patrick Kaleta, left, and Tyler Myers during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 in Montreal. The Sabres beat the Canadiens 4-3. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Paul Chiasson)

Browse more photos »

Records, statistics and the standings don't matter, at least not for this match-up. Whether the Ottawa Senators are improving or playing poorly, they seem to have the Buffalo Sabres' number winning every season series in the last four years. Buffalo had a 41-26 shot advantage in the first contest of the season yet fell 5-3 to the Senators showing just how snake bitten they are when it comes to their Division foe.

But the Sabres don't look concerned with the past. Winners of four straight including a hard-fought 4-3 final in Montreal where they've struggled as well, the team believes they can beat anyone, anywhere. That's the mindset Buffalo needs and tonight is their best shot to really take it to the Senators which they undoubtedly would relish.

Five thoughts on each team below.

I dug up some numbers to give you an idea of how dominantly Ottawa has handled Buffalo. Since the lock-out, the Senators are 21-6-4 including this year's first clash. Of those 21 victories, 17 have ended by two or more goals and the Sabres have been outscored 126-88 when you count it all up which I did. Ouch.
Ryan Miller and Brian Elliott are the starting netminders. Patrick Lalime surrendered five goals in the November contest. If anyone can put an end to Buffalo's slump with Ottawa, it's Miller who continues to lead the league in every major category for goaltenders with the exception of wins where he is one shy of the lead held by Martin Brodeur and Jonathan Quick.
Clarke MacArthur banged home the game-winner Monday in Montreal via a five-on-three powerplay. The fourth-year winger passed Thomas Vanek in goals with his tenth by doing so. He put in 17 last season and looks to set a new career-high in the mid-20s.
Out with a torn MCL, Jason Spezza will be on the shelf as long as eight weeks possibly. It's a big break for Buffalo because the former Windsor Spitfire has 47 points in 37 career games with the Sabres. Also out of action for Ottawa is Chris Neil and Shean Donovan.
Three goals in two games including Buffalo's only two shorthanded markers have Patrick Kaleta receiving attention everywhere. Tied for sixth in team scoring with this outburst, the energetic checker has done it in style during and after the goal. A shorthanded goal would surely suck the life out of the Senators.
Spezza may be out but Ottawa still has three major threats up front. Daniel Alfredsson is always a thorn in our side, Mike Fisher is having a superb year and Milan Michalek already has 15 goals. And Alex Kovalev, in terms of work-rate, will be there maybe.
Buffalo's powerplay percentage is down to 21st and their penalty-kill has dropped to eighth which is the result of four of the last five goals they've conceded coming on the man-advantage. New York and Montreal both made two count. Ottawa is 12th on the penalty-kill and 21st when they are a man up so they aren't separated by Buffalo very much.
Against their Division, the Sabres are 4-2-2 as are the Senators strangely enough. Buffalo has won eight of ten and the Senators have lost six of ten.
Elliott is 5-0 lifetime versus Buffalo which shouldn't come as a surprise with their inabilities to close out the Senators. On the flip side, Miller is 8-11 against Ottawa but this will be his first crack at shutting them down this season.
A 15-2-2 record after scoring first is again irrelevant for Buffalo because Ottawa is one of the two squads who have won after allowing the opening goal to the Sabres. Boy have they ever had their way with Lindy Ruff's troops.

This is a must-win situation purely because Buffalo must prove it to the coaches, staff, fans and themselves that they have the ability to defeat Ottawa. With Spezza, Neil and Donovan out and a back-up goaltender standing in their way, this is their most timely opportunity. It's now or never.

Edmonton - Los Angeles post-game: Jon be nimble, Jon be Quick

Bruce McCurdy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:36:09 -0000

More photos » by John Ulan - AP

5 days ago: Los Angeles Kings' Matt Greene, right, sweeps the puck out from behind teammate and goalie Jonathan Quick during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,John Ulan)

Browse more photos »

Haven't we seen this movie before? Oilers battle the Kings to a standoff for 55 minutes and then some big palooka who hasn't scored since before The Flood manages to find twine to decide things in regulation? Screw Hollywood and its corny endings anyway.

The good news is that the Oilers outshot, outchanced and even out-Corsied the Kings, and found a way to come from behind for the fifth consecutive game. The bad news was they started and finished poorly, and weren't even able to carry the tie to the 60-minute mark. Arrgghh, losses like that really hurt, especially in a year where Bettman Points are being given away like unwanted pennies on Halloween.

This was one game that you could put a little bit on goaltending. Jonathan Quick was outstanding in the Kings goal and Jeff Deslauriers wasn't able to match him. He didn't get a lot of help on the first two goals, both odd-man rushes after Denis Grebeshkov and Lubo Visnovsky, respectively, got burned at the exact same spot on the ice (the offensive blueline in the first period, the defensive in the second). The killer third goal came after a long possession in which the Oil couldn't touch the puck let alone clear the zone, but JDD got beat on a 60-footer along the ice, which is supposedly his strength. On a play like that the goalie needs to make himself big, and that didn't happen. Beaten by Sean O'Donnell, for Schremp's sake.

Stats of note after the jump:

EV Corsi by line (listed in order of EV TOI):

Penner +8, Gagner +6, Brule +5
Nilsson +10, Stone +9, Horcoff +6
Cogliano +7, Potulny +7, Moreau +5
Stortini -3, O'Sullivan -5, Jacques -6

Smid +7, Visnovsky +6
Souray +5, Gilbert +5
Staios +6, Grebeshkov +5

Pretty consistent outshooting across the top 3 lines and all 3 defence pairs. The "new fourth line" consisting of Stortini anchored by Horcoff's old linemates POS and JFJ had a tough night, especially O'Sullivan who committed a game-high* 3 giveaways, 2 of which were very bad ones in Oilers end. (* Worst among skaters but tied with JDD and Quick of all people) The trio spent the third period stapled to the bench, on demerit judging by those shots totals. They did create some havoc physically, or at least JFJ and Zorg did. I'm frankly wondering what it is Patrick O'Sullivan brings to this team right now.

* * *

Faceoffs (2 or more)

Stortini 5/6 = 83%
Potulny 7/14 = 50%
Horcoff 5/10 = 50%
Gagner 4/8 = 50%
Penner 2/5 = 40%

Oilers 25/46 = 54%

New faceoff ace? :)

* * *

Cogliano: 4 shots, 7 attempted shots
Potulny: 1-1-2, +1
Jacques: 3 hits, 5 PiM
Deslauriers: 23/26, .885, L
Souray: 1-1-2, +1, 4 shots, 7 attempted shots
Brule: 3 shots, 3 hits
Quinn: 1 profanity-laced post game outburst

* * *

Matt Greene: +1, 2 PiM, 6 hits, 2 blocks, 1 goal line save (see picture)

* * *

Next up: vs. Nashville, Thursday, 19:30 MST

Kings Of The West Pay The Canucks A Visit

Sean Zandberg — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:20:21 -0000

KINGS (21-10-3) at CANUCKS (18-14-0)

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: Sportsnet

THE OPPOSITION: Battle Of California

UPDATE (5:00 PM): Wellwood on being a scratch:

"There are some workhorses in here that somehow are battling every shift, every day, and you notice it in their personalities off the ice, that's for sure," Wellwood said. "That doesn't seem to be my strength.

"That's the challenge for me … I am laid back and when I get frustrated I can pull back instead of, you know, pushing forward.

"Obviously that can get me into trouble sometimes." -The Province.

Ugh. Woody can't compete at a consistent level and needs tough love to force him to do so. Hate to say it, but this will never change, unless, you know, he gets a lobotomy.

UPDATE (1:46 PM): Bieksa on the Kings: "We're looking to keep the score down, we're not looking to run and gun with them and if we key on their top guys we should be successful." - Vancouver Sun

UPDATE (12:47 PM): Tweeted by CTV Sports: Kyle Wellwood says he is playing tonight. Alain Vigneault says Woody is a game-time decision. No love. Nope. No love.

UPDATE (11:02 AM): The Canucks have recalled Aaron Rome today. He finished a 7-games conditioning stint and scored 6 goals and 7 points for the Moose. I like this guy. He should slot in over Mathieu Schneider, IMO.

UPDATE (10:53 AM): Dan's the man! Daniel Sedin has been named the NHL's 2nd star of the week. Kings' Jon Quick was the first star.

Funny piece in the Sun today about how Alain Vigneault can finally tell the Sedin twins apart. When asked how he could he said:

"I wouldn't know." All I know is I can finally tell them apart and I can't figure out how come it took me four years. For me, right now, they don't even look alike."

********************

If somebody would have told me back in late September that the Los Angeles Kings would be perched on top of the Western Conference standings 34 games in I would have asked them what kind of pot they were smoking. But that is what is happening. The Kings are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games played. The last time they lost in regulation was on November 26 against the...Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks also

beat the Kings 2-1 in a shootout on October 29. ~~Roberto Luongo~~ Andrew Raycroft was solid in that game and Mikael Samuelsson scored the tying goal in regulation and the winning goal in the shootout.

Oh, Samuelsson, where have you gone? He had 14 points in his first 16 games as a Canuck, but only 7 points in his last 16 games played.

We were warned that he was inconsistent. Now we are seeing it first-hand.

The Canucks are off to a flying 2-0 start on their long homestand. They stopped the red-hot Wild in their tracks on Saturday, but this will be the first time in 3 games they face a rested team who has not played back-to-back. Jonathan Quick is smokin' right now. As Canucks.com puts it: he is 7-1-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in his last nine starts for the Kings.

The Kings will be without Wayne Simmonds for a while as he suffered a lower body injury against the Stars last game. RudyKelly at Battle of California called Simmonds the Kings best player over the past 2 weeks. This brings joy to my heart. He has 9 goals and 20 points in 33 games this season, nearly matching his total of all last season.

Look down the Kings' scoring leaders though. There are plenty of guys who can put up points.

I wouldn't think that Alain Vigneault would change the lineup, but I, like many of you, am wondering why he is playing Darcy Hordichuk for only 4 or less minutes per game. Why not fill that spot with someone else (and no, not Wellwood)?

COMPARATIVE STATS

GOALS PER GAME AVERAGE: Canucks 4th, Kings 6th

GOALS AGAINST PER GAME : Canucks 9th, Kings 21st

5 ON 5: Canucks 3rd, Kings 16th

POWER PLAY: Canucks 2nd, Kings 11th

PK: Canucks 27th, Kings 28th. WTF??

SHOTS PER GAME: Canucks 12th, Kings 22nd

SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME: Kings 4th, Canucks 10th

FACEOFF WINS %: Canucks 11th, Kings 21st

If you are scoreboard watching tonight: The Red Wings play the Coyotes at home tonight. If the Wings win they bump Dallas out of 8th spot. If they lose in OT and the Canucks win, there will be a 3-way tie for 8th with Dallas having played one less game. I want to see a Wings loss in regulation and a Canucks victory to tie us with Dallas. Piss off Bertuzzi!

Stars Remain Winless Against Kings After Another Shootout Loss

Brandon Worley — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:27:47 -0000

More photos » by Jason Redmond - AP

Browse more photos »

Note: Due to broadcast issues, Defending Big D was unable to see the game tonight in it's entirety. As such, the game recap will be brief.

Remember how strange things always seem to happen against the Kings in Staples Center? Well, that 'curse' struck again Saturday night as the Stars lost yet another game in the shootout. With the Stars playing as good a road game as you could hope for in the second game of a back-to-back and enjoying a 2-1 lead, Anze Kopitar tied the game with seven seconds remaining in the second period. The goal not only evened the score, but negated a solid effort by the Stars through two periods and put the game right back at square zero headed into the third period.

Once again, the Stars would find themselves in overtime. Alex Auld and Jonathan Quick were good in the extra period and, yet again, the Stars went to the shootout. This time, the Matt Niskanen magic didn't work as he failed to score in the third round, while Michal Handzus opened up the fourth round with a nifty backhand goal. The game fell on Mike Ribeiro's shoulders, and it looked as if he had indeed scored when the puck bounced off his skate and past Quick. Yet the officials ruled that when Quick poked the puck away, a save was made and therefore the 'rebound' goal was negated.

[Update by Brandon Bibb at 12:51 am CST] The NHL dedicates an entire section of it's rulebook to penalty shots.

This section pretty much clears up any controversy surrounding whether or not the officials on the ice made the correct ruling:

25.2 Procedure - The Referee shall ask to have announced over the public address system the name of the player designated by him or selected by the team entitled to take the shot (as appropriate). He shall then place the puck on the center face-off spot and the player taking the shot will, on the instruction of the Referee (by blowing his whistle), play the puck from there and shall attempt to score on the goalkeeper. The puck must be kept in motion towards the opponent’s goal line and once it is shot, the play shall be considered complete. No goal can be scored on a rebound of any kind (an exception being the puck off the goal post or crossbar, then the goalkeeper and then directly into the goal), and any time the puck crosses the goal line or comes to a complete stop, the shot shall be considered complete.

Emphasis mine.

Simply put, as soon as Quick made contact with the puck and deflected it backwards, it didn't matter that the puck deflected off Ribeiro's skate and in. The play was over before the puck even got to Ribs' skate.

Whether it's a good rule, OTOH, is certainly up for debate.

[End of update]

It was a tough loss for the Stars, yet you have to be somewhat pleased with the overall effort. The Stars fell victim once more to a late period goal that turned the tide of the game, and the scored just two goals for the 12th time in 19 games; this vaunted offense we've been promised and hoping for has fallen apart over the past month.

The Stars now have three days off before facing Carolina on Wednesday night.

Flames @ Kings Post-Game - Karma's a Bitch

Kent Wilson — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:02:08 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

As sometimes happens, the Flames were the better team last night in just about all facets of the game, but ended up on the losing end of the score. Tough to be mad about it though - Calgary has been the beneficiary of similar fortunes recently so we'll just write this one off as the universe trying to balance itself out.

Calgary won the possession battle, the scoring chance count and the shot count, but a couple of posts and some decent saves by Jonathan Quick kept the Kings out in front. That said, it was hardly a perfect contest from the guys in white and red: Adam Pardy moved up in the absence of Robyn Regehr and got his head beat in. In particular, he was frequently victimized off the rush, including Scott Parse's opening tally. Pardy typically ends up on the positive side of things in terms of chances and possession when he's restricted to the third pairing, but last night he was well under water by both metrics (-11, -5). He also took a penalty to boot. Sorry Adam...you're clearly not ready for that kind of gig.

In addition, the Flames newly formed top line of Iginla, Jokinen and Dawes struggled for the second straight game. Since being formed, the trio is a combined -26 in terms of scoring chance differential, which is a rate reminiscent of the bad ol' October days where Iginla and Jokinen were getting beat up by the opposition nightly. To be fair, they faced some pretty capable bad guys the last two games (Thornton et al, Kopitar et al), but the point of going PvP is to at least try to come out even at the end of the game most nights. If not, then you just have $12M+ worth of offensive forwards chasing the puck around their own zone for an evening.

Which brings me to the ever rotating cast of left wingers for that unit - I've resigned myself to the fact that the Flames organization has collectively decided that Iginla and Jokinen have to play together (apologies to Mike Keenan, whom I blamed this exclusively on last season), but the fact of the matter is, outside of periods where Iginla is shooting lights out, that combination is going to need some help to get the job done; especially if Brent is going to send them out against the Thorntons and Kopitars of the world. The natural choice is Rene Bourque, who is doubtlessly the best LW on the Flames roster. Bourque's audition on the first line was rather inauspicious (loss to PHX), although that unit did manage to outchance their counter-parts on the evening - something that hasn't occured since Bourque was moved to Langkow's line and Dawes was elevated. Granted, the level of competition between the PHX game and the following two contests isn't congruous, but I think it's been shown pretty conclusively that Bourque is a strong ES forward who can play against anyone and move the puck in the right direction.

As such, I find the decision making about this situation curious: in Bourque's absence, the Dawes-Langkow-Moss combination held their own. Bourque returns, makes a brief appearance on the first unit and then is "demoted" in favor of an obviously inferior option (no disrepect to Dawes, whom I like - he's just clearly in over his head). Any talk of "balancing the top 6" here is untenable: not only was the Langkow/Dawes/Moss trio operating at an acceptable clip previously, but the Flames first line sees the toughest match-ups. Iginla and Jokinen should therefore play with the best LW option available - otherwise you're just throwing them in the deep end of the pool and tossing them an anchor. And it's not like Olli Jokinen is the best swimmer anyways.

Deep Thoughts

RudyKelly — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:44:20 -0000

-The guys behind us were driving me pretty Goddamn crazy. It was like I had the fucking Jerky Boyz behind me all night, it was ridiculous. The worst part is that they weren't even Ducks fans; they were Kings fans! Ducks fans are annoying because they're kind of dumb and don't know anything about hockey, but I think Kings fans are honestly worse because they think they know about hockey when they really don't. They guys behind me had apparently played before so they thought they were Bob and Jimmy.

One thing you'll notice is that people who play hockey don't necessarily know anything about hockey, but most people don't call them on it because most people don't play hockey in Southern California. Most people who play hockey are dumb, just like most people in general, and playing hockey and knowing about hockey are different. Here's how you can tell if someone knows about hockey: if they say, "Oh great, more dump 'n chase," then they don't know shit about hockey. Oh, and if they say, "Du-ucks," over and over and over again because they think it's funny to do it in the voice of a mentally challenged person, then they don't know shit about hockey and they've made a powerful new enemy.

-I went to the game because it was my mom's birthday and I'm a terrible son that only gets gifts that somehow benefit me in some way. It was a pretty entertaining game but it was kind of hard to get a read on; the Ducks were dominant when Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan were out there and the Kings were dominant on every other shift. The Kings had to adjust early because Brandon Segal got injured during his first shift and had to leave the game. They adjusted by giving Brad Richardson and Dustin Brown more playing time and the two responded with some of their best games of the year; Richardson especially played very well, showing that he can do good things when he actually has real linemates.

The Kings were better over the course of the game, as the Ducks were only close because Jonathan Quick let in an awful goal to Todd Marchant. (Todd Marchant! That should count as two.) Overall the game was heartening from my perspective: the Kings are kind of at the low point of their season (missing Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi, losing Segal right at the start of the game) and the Ducks are kind of at the high point (winning 6 of their last 7 at home) and the Kings still looked better. I would be happier about beating the Ducks, but beating the Ducks is kind of like nailing Paris Hilton; it's probably fun but who cares if everyone has already done it?

-I went to a fast food Chinese place that's by my work last week and got some food. I was signing my name on the receipt while the guy was wrapping up my order and we finished about the same time. I went to say, "There ya go!" and hand him the receipt, but he said, "There ya go!" as he handed me my food first. I tried to change what I was saying to, "Thanks," but was too committed to my previous sentence and ended up saying, "Tharnks!" I felt like an idiot.

-The Ducks are a pretty hilarious team right now because they're still a team of giant dicks but now they suck so it comes off as just kind of sad and pathetic. It's like they're the high school bully that grew up to be a gas station attendant and the Kings are the lonely, pathetic nerd that grew up to be a fairly successful software engineer with a nice house and a lovely wife that may not be that attractive but is sweet and kind. Last night was the software engineer pulling into the gas station and going for a fill up and then the pump won't work, so he presses the little button to talk to the attendant, but the attendant calls him a fag so the software engineer just drives to another station and gets gas then goes home while the attendant is fired because that was the last fucking time he abused the little button, so then the gas station attendant goes home and gets drunk and posts angrily on a hockey blog under the name, "Spade-in-Victorhell."

But still, the Ducks are in good shape. In 3 years they'll have a core of Getzlaf, Perry, Lupul, Ryan, Hiller, Sbisa, whatever defenseman they sign with Niedermayer's money and whatever defenseman they draft this year. Then they'll lose someone (probably Perry) and they'll have another window as Ryan hits his prime and Getzlaf leaves his. Trading Pronger was a good idea because even with him the Ducks still wouldn't be in a position to win a Cup. It's better to suck and then be great, then tear it down and suck again and then be great. I like what Brian Burke and Bob Murray did with the Ducks and I have a feeling they'll be the 2nd best team in California in just a few short years.

-"Shit, I really gotta go to the bathroom. I gotta stop drinking beer during ga- oh shit, I wore button flies. Fuck! Alright, don't panic, just undo the buttons, but hurry the fuck up. Why the fuck did I buy these, why the fuck do they even make button flys anymore? They don't make TVs with knobs anymore. Jesus, I've already been here for like 30 seconds, do I just go over the top? No, I can't go over the top, I don't like the way the guy next to me is glancing over. Does he know I'm not pissing? Oh God, is he going to stare at my dick? Jesus, c'mon you fucking buttons, come on! Come on! Come- fuck this, I'm using a stall."

-Happy birthday, mom.

Back-To-Back Is Back! Canucks-Kings Preview

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:15:09 -0000

We know who the real kings are.

View full size photo »

Kings (13-9-2, 6th in West) vs Canucks (12-11-0, 11th in West)

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: Canucks PPV

The Enemy: Battle of California

UPDATE (2:13 PM): Rick Rypien has a sore hand because Ben Eager's ugly face hit it last game. If he isn't good to go, Darcy Hordichuk will take his spot tonight.

UPDATE (12:00 AM): Sami Salo's ice-time has been reduced lately, but he's not giving up. You may be surprised at what else he has to say.

***********************

"They played a real slow-the-game," Murray said, "five guys back at their own blue line kind of a game, and took a lot of the emotion and speed out of the game. That was a good strategy by them. It was a good plan."

That is what Kings coach Terry Murray said of the Canucks' play the last time these 2 teams faced eachother in late October, where the Canucks won 2-1 in a shootout. Vancouver shut down the Kings' top line and limited L.A.'s prime scoring opportunities. Andrew Raycroft stopped 30 of 31 shots and was the first star of the game. Mikael Samuelsson scored the tying goal and the winning goal in the shootout.

Once again, the Canucks get to play a team that is playing in a back-to-back scenario, and Vancouver is coming off an extended layoff. This really has to play a role in the outcome of this game. There is no reason for the Canucks not to maintain a strong consistent effort against the Kings. The Kings beat

the Oilers 3-1 last night after a 4-day layoff. Their top line (Kopitar-Williams-Brown) was kept off the scoresheet, but guys like Frolov and Simmonds responded. Anze Kopitar played over 23:00 in that game, second only to Jack Jerkson, I mean Johnson.

I read somewhere that after the Kings lost to Flames on Saturday, the Kings had played 24 games in 50 days, and that was the second-most grueling schedule in the NHL this season behind San Jose. Cry me a river. The Canucks have played 23 games in 52 days. STFU. That being said...

Now that the long layoffs are over the Canucks will play 6 games in the next 10 nights and 14 games in the next 27 nights. They will play back-to-back games 3 times between now and January 2nd. The longest layoff will be a 4-day rest at Xmas time. Perfect! We'll be too busy shoving turkey and salad down our throats and putting up with family to care! Yeah, there is going to be a lot of Canucks hockey from now until the Olympic Break. Ole!

No Ryan Smyth in the Kings' lineup tonight and that is a good thing, as he not only is a smaller, feistier version of Dustin Byfuglyen, he also had 24 points in 23 games in the Kings' top line.The Kings are now 1-2 without him.

A bit more about the Kings:

-they are Alyssa Milano's favorite hockey team. Yeah, she told me that on Twitter, yes I'm bragging. Damn she has bad taste.

-the Kings rank just a bit higher than the Canucks in goals per game.

-they allow more goals per game than we do. (rank 25th...are you listening Wellwood?)

-the Canucks are better than the Kings at even strength.

-Vancouver ranks better than the Kings on the powerplay.

-the Kings and Canucks both suck at killing penalties, with Vancouver holding a slight advantage.

-L.A. averages less shots per game than we do.

-The Kings and Canucks both allow a lot of shots per game on average, both in the bottom 10 in the category with the Kings being worse.

-The Kings lick in the faceoff category, where the Canucks don't.

Keep an eye out for updates at the top of this post as game time draws near. Let's see if Bolduc replaces Wellwood or not. You never know. That noose is getting tight around Woody's neck right now.

Are the Kings going to rest Jon Quick and play Erik Ersberg in a back-to-back scenario? Let's hope so!

See? There is no reason why we can't hand these guys their asses tonight. No excuses at all.

Don't forget to add your score prediction in the comments thread. 1 point for guessing the right score, 1 point for guessing the right team, and 1 point for guessing who scores the game winner. Not as easy as it sounds. After 2 games nobody has a single point yet! Somewhere Nostradamus is rolling in his grave.

Jonathan Quick is Not Very Good Right Now

RudyKelly — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:41:59 -0000

Jonathan Quick cost us the game last night. Well, not really, no one person ever costs a team a game, but he should have stopped at least one of the three goals that went in. Last night was really frustrating because none of the goals were necessarily bad goals to let in, but all were stoppable with solid positioning.

The first goal, he came out to face the shot but lost the puck off the rebound; while he searched for it (and even stepped away from the puck), Mika Pyorala made a quick move to his right and buried the puck. But hey, that happens to everyone. Still, it's not a good idea to start to stand up and move to your right when you don't know where the puck is.

The second goal was a team lapse and Mike Richards did take a hard shot, but Quick still could have gotten it. It's one of those goals where you'd like to see him make the save but you understand why he didn't. Still, a more positionally sound goaltender would have saved it. He dived to the left on the initial cross-ice pass instead of sliding over, then dove back to the right as the puck went behind the net; by the time the puck was passed up to Richards, Quick was so out of control that any shot where he wasn't was pretty much guaranteed to go in. His stick was out of position, he wasn't focused on the puck, he was kind of a mess.

The third goal he was kind of lazy getting back, although you can kind of understand why he didn't get there because who expects the puck to bounce off the endboards like that? And you can point to Sean O'Donnell for not tying up James Van Riemsdyk, but I still think Quick needs to be heading over there as the shot goes by, not waiting until he sees Van Riemsdyk's eyes get big to realize he's in trouble.

And see, that's the problem with Quick right now. The goals he's letting in aren't necessarily bad goals, but they're saves you've seen other goalies make. Goalies who make all the saves they should make are and don't get the ones they're not supposed to are called back-ups in the NHL. He needs to be up more on the balls of his feet, stop diving from side to side, be more controlled and be bigger in the net. (STOP HUNCHING OVER, WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT???) Right now he looks like a roller hockey goaltender, flopping from one post to the other, and I don't know why.

Quick has a .900 SV% so far this season; that's just not good enough. It's easy to say, "Well, it wasn't really his fault because of this, this, and this," but at some point you have to stop making excuses and start believing the numbers. I like Quick and I think he's a good goalie, but if we're going to criticize Jason Labarbera and Mathieu Garon and Dan Cloutier and Erik Ersberg and Cristobal Huet and every goalie the Kings have ever had since Rogie Vachon, it's only fair that we criticize Quick. He needs to pick it up.

Quick, Kings drop Panthers 4-3 in SO

Whale4ever — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:33:05 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

about 1 month ago: Hockey fans urge Florida Panthers' Kenndal McArdle (71) and Los Angeles Kings' Wayne Simmonds (17) during NHL second period hockey action in Sunrise, Fla. Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Browse more photos »

A spirited night (announced attendance: 12,500) at the BankAtlantic Center saw the Florida Panthers - under the eyes of new managing partners Stuart Siegel and Cliff Viner - fall to 4-2 in shootouts as opportunistic Los Angeles made good use of their growing wealth of talent.

The Cats, who led 2-0 at the midway point on markers by Nathan Horton and Cory Stillman, couldn't hold the advantage, allowing the Kings to bang home three goals (2 on the PP) to turn the tables. Florida rookie Victor Oreskovich - playing in his seventh NHL contest - scored his first career goal in the Bigs to pull the Cats into a three-all tie, setting the stage for yet another overtime.

One shot was all either club could muster in the extra frame, so on to the now-familiar shootout, where the Panthers have been surprisingly successful in recent weeks. SOG heading into the skills-competition: 34-29, L.A.

Bottom line on the final result: Jack Johnson, who scored an earlier PP goal to get the Kings rolling in the second period, was the only shooter to find the net, scoring on Tomas Vokoun after a strangely quiet Anze Kopitar (1 assist while leading the NHL in goals) was unable to convert.

Rostislav Olesz (4 shots), Steven Reinprecht (1 assist), and Stillman (1 goal, 1 assist) were all turned away by Jonathan Quick.

Hey...though disappointing, it's one more point.

Next up: Cats travel to Buffalo for a Wednesday meeting with the Sabres. Open Thread goes live at 6pm.

Kings Roofie Hurricanes, 5-2

RudyKelly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

There are 4 faces in this picture and they are all hilarious. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Browse more photos »

-The Kings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes last night, 5-2, on the backs of Alexander Frolov and Randy "The Date Rapist" Jones*. The game was close until the middle of the third but the outcome was never really in doubt; the Kings were pushing the action almost the entire game and simply had more skill than the depleted Hurricanes line-up.

*What the hell kind of sleaze bag is this guy? He has some sort of weird crusty mustache thing going on. He just looks like the type of guy that enjoys taking girls' virginity. I get the feeling he and Justin Williams would not look out of place at the party Jennifer Connelly provided the entertainment for at the end of Requiem for a Dream.

Alexander Frolov had 2 assists on the night, a pretty fake slap shot and pass to Justin Williams that led to Randy "High School Gym Teacher" Jones' goal, and another beautiful assist on Wayne Simmonds' goal to ice the game. Frolov collected the puck behind the Hurricanes net and faked like he was going to take it out wide; when the defenders came to him, he slipped it between them to a wide open Meat Train in front of the net. It was a solid night all around for Frolov and he was congratulated on his play by Terry Murray after the game... wait, no he wasn't. What a surprise.

Randy "Your Girlfriend's Co-Worker who Always Touches Her Back" Jones, meawhile, ended up with 2 points on the night in his Kings debut. Jones filled in for Sean O'Donnell, which makes sense since Sean O'Donnell is old and could probably use a break every now and then. The Kings will still use O'Donnell most of the time because he's their rock on the penalty kill and provides security for the rest of the Kings' defenders, but it's nice to know the Kings have someone like Randy "Guy Who Volunteers to Ref AYSO Games Even Though He Has No Kids" Jones to help out on defense if someone gets hurt.

Erik Ersberg played last night in Jonathan Quick's stead and was... okay, I guess. He allowed 2 goals on 24 shots, but the first goal was pretty bad to let in. I'll let him slide on the 2nd, since it was more of a screw up by the defense than Ersberg that led to the goal. He didn't play well enough to justify playing him over Jonathan Quick, but he played well enough to at least let Quick know that he needs to step it up.

Overall, the Kings won a game they should win. Hooray! Now on to a game I am really stoked for: the Thrashers, tomorrow night. Just think of it: Kopitar v. Kovalchuk (if he plays); Doughty v. Bogosian; Fro v. Maxim; Randy Jones v. her unwillingness to drink anything offered to her. Should be an awesome game.