The Kings inability to get a solid offensive output at home is baffling. The team just went on a road trip where they only lost 1 game (which was questionable) at Montreal, and then can't put the puck in the net vs. Calgary and only get 2 vs. Edmonton. The most peculiar thing is the number of 2 man advantages the Kings have had without taking advantage. They had 2 against the Calgary, both which didn't create a goal, and 2 against Edmonton (counting the pulled goalie at the end which sent the game to overtime). For a team fighting for their playoff lives against one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NHL, 2-man advantages have to yield goals. The positive from these two games is that the shots and time in the offensive zone was dominated by the Kings.
The Goalie situation is somewhat confusing too. I love the idea of Quick being the everyday goalie, he is a good player and I think it is one of the main reasons for the Kings play recently. If Quick is going to be the goalie though, something should be done with Bernier and/or Ersberg. I'm near positive Bernier will stick with the team, but I have a hard time believing that the Kings are just holding his spot with Quick, as Quick has been as good as any goalie in the NHL, winning the NHL 1st star of the week last week. I see Ersberg maybe getting dealt to a contender in need of a backup goalie for a low-round pick, similar to LaBarbera, but the goalie situation will be an interesting story to follow.
Kings get the Thrashers tonight, and you can actually pick the Kings tonight on ESPN's beat the streak game, taking the over/under at a combined 5.5 goals for the game. ESPN is finally noticing there is an NHL team that plays in the Staples Center, maybe I need to update the motto of the Blog.
Game Preview to come later! Go Kings!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment