4th Line Checklist

by RudyKelly on Nov 21, 2008 12:00 PM PST

-Can't score? Check.

-Can't keep the puck out of their own zone? Check.

-Takes 2 penalties, including one when the opposing team has the puck stationary behind their own net? Check.

That Zeiler-Boyle-Ivanans line is terrible. Can make Derek Armstrong a coach, waive Zeiler and bring up Matt Moulson and Ted Purcell?

***

The Maxi-PAD line was matched up against Ovechkin's line all night, with Dustin Brown pretty much shadowing Ovy all night. Ovechkin was getting frustrated and in the third period took it out on Dustin Brown, blindsiding Brown with a little bit of an elbow in front of the net when the puck was in the corner; unfortunately for Ovy, Brown's skate got up and clipped Ovechkin in the ear. He fell to the ice and rolled around for a little while before he got up and realized he was getting a penalty for interference. Suddenly his ear wasn't bothering him that much anymore. Exactly one minute later, Dustin Brown scored on the power play. Hilarious.

***

Does anyone else feel bad for Alex Frolov? He and Kopitar are the opposite: I keep looking at Kopitar's stats and can't understand how he has as many points as he does, while I keep expecting Frolov to have a lot more points than he actually does. He made a great play to get Jarrett Stoll wide open right in the slot but Stoll rang it off the pipe. If we can ever get Anze and Alex going at the same time, the Kings will be pretty dangerous.

***

It's important not to read too much into last night's game. Yeah, the Kings played well and limited the Caps to only 21 shots, but the Capitals were missing this season's best offensive player, their best offensive defenseman and their best checking forward. Plus, the Caps were worn out from lighting up the Ducks so many times the night before. It was a good win but we need to keep perspective about the whole thing.

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Plus, the Caps were worn out from lighting up the Ducks so many times the night before.

Did you see Ted Leonsis' blog post on this topic?

Note: L.A. hadn’t played since Sunday so they were well rested. We are banged up and we played like we were tired. The fans out in LA didn’t see our best. But L.A. will come to Verizon Center soon enough and the tables will turn on the schedule.

Heh, sounds like fighting words.

by Earl Sleek on Nov 21, 2008 12:29 PM PST reply actions

Yeah, they'll be able to match Ovechkin against another line, you know, one that will actually let him cherry pick without penalty.

by RudyKelly on Nov 21, 2008 12:36 PM PST reply actions

Sounds like the same kinda war of words his heart probably has with his blood pressure.

Although our fourth line was atrocious, I liked the other 3 lines a lot. I thought that was the best game Simmonds had in a while. It seems like he feels more comfortable with trying moves now, and he is using his limited size well. He's going to be awesome when he adds weight. That said, Ivanans needs to stop playing now unless we are playing the Ducks or the Flames. He has been horrible. I really wanna see Clune given an opportunity once he gets some games in for Manchester.

by Nut on Nov 21, 2008 12:40 PM PST reply actions

I agree with the temperance statement, the frolov observation, and the understatedness of the cheap shot to the head by Ovechkin.
But the 4th line wasn't bad and Boyle is adapting really quick. I think Boyle should be playing between Brown and O'Sullivan at some point, pairing Frolov with Kopitar and PlayerX(moller).
Kopitar is starting to look frustrated to me. He's still the best player in a Kings uni, but he seems out of sorts a bit. I've denied that he's not playing like before, but I'm starting to have to admit it. What's up there?
Murray's line combos continue to keep the opposition in the game. He accidentally had my "grind line" out there for 1 minute with Calder-stoll-Simmonds, but broke it up quickly.
Zeiler is untalented but at least he knows that he's supposed to be an agitator. Maybe we'll see if Clune can do it better pretty soon. It looks like we'll never see Richardson again, though.
Finally, Yes, the joy must be tempered. No Semin, No Green, No Frolov, and No starting goalie; the 2nd game in 2 nights and they were still close to pulling even with under 2 minutes to play.
AND, the Caps were undone by the slushee numerous times, especially leading up to O'Sullivan's goal.
It's a joke that the world's best players are falling down losing edges, or going red line to red line trying to control a bouncing and rolling puck.
It's starting to look like RHI out there.

by cristobal on Nov 21, 2008 1:16 PM PST reply actions

Let's be honest; players like Ovechkin, Brown, Kopitar and Backstrom were all trying their best and putting on a show. They had major competition in the building. It was, after all, John Zeiler's season debut.

I'm pretty sure "Zeiler" means "tool" in Portuguese.

by Jargon on Nov 21, 2008 1:56 PM PST reply actions

I told my brother how odd it is that Alex Ovechkin and John Zeiler can have the same skating style and yet one is the 2nd best player in the league and the other is the 2nd worst.

by RudyKelly on Nov 21, 2008 2:05 PM PST reply actions

Rudy - blasphemer!!!!!!

by cristobal on Nov 21, 2008 2:38 PM PST reply actions

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	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
San Jose Fear The Fin	54	31	17	6	68
Los Angeles Jewels From The Crown	57	27	19	11	65
Phoenix Five For Howling	57	27	21	9	63
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(updated 2.15.2012 at 12:50 AM PST)

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