Dustin Brown -Anze Kopitar - Trent Hunter
Simon Gagne - Mike Richards - Jarret Stoll
Kyle Clifford - Andrei Loktionov - Justin Williams
Ethan Moreau - Colin Fraser - Kevin Westgarth
I'm not as down on these lines as others are. The biggest problems the Kings were having in the last few games:
1) Kopitar's line was getting beat (-6 in the last 4 games), mainly due to the fact that Jack Johnson and Justin Williams were out there at the same time against tough competition;
2) Andrei Loktionov looked timid playing on the wing, much like he did last season;
3) The third line hasn't been scoring.
Yesterday's mix-up is an attempt to solve all 3 problems: Kopitar gets a defensively solid winger in Brown, Andrei Loktionov gets moved back to wing, and Justin Williams gets moved to the 3rd line to face easier competition and boost scoring. The most glaring flaws in these lines are the absences of Trevor Lewis and Brad Richardson and the placement of Trent Hunter on the top line. The latter is not a big deal at all, since Dustin Penner is going to come back soon and he's obviously taking Hunter's spot on that top line. Besides, it's not like Kopitar & Brown dragged useless pieces of shit around all last season or anything. The former is much more troubling and I have a feeling it's going to be up to Dean Lombardi to take Moreau or Hunter away from Terry Murray so he can't play them. We'll see!
But yeah, it's not so bad. Everything I've wanted for a while now has come to fruition: Loktionov is playing center, Stoll is playing wing, Williams is playing easy competition. Everyone wins! Except for the Kings. They'll probably lose.
***
Hey, you guys should go see The Muppets. It's great.
Prediction: Kings win, 2-1. Goals by Pepe Le Prawn and Fozzie Bear.
...Wait, shit, Martinez and Penner are still out. I don't know who's going to score then.
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