The Columbus Blue Jacket game gave the Kings an opportunity to enjoy their second four (4) game winning streak of this season. Surely, this could be done with a home crowd, more confidence and a well-executed plan: Shoot early, shoot often, heck.... just shoot!
A funny thing happened on the way to that potential streak which resulted in a loss. For reasons that make no sense to this blogger, Aubin got the start. Perhaps Crawford forgot that Aubin had the chance to take over the net in Pittsburgh, the team that drafted him in 1995. He had his time to put up or shut up in Pittsburgh in six partial years of NHL play including one as the starter, a job he failed to keep.
That unsuccessful starter year there resulted in leaving that organization and being signed as a back-up to Belfour and his infamous wonky back. The latter of course went out and Aubin stepped in and went on a Maple Leaf’s winning streak he rode into Lombardi’s insurance signing with the Kings. Even from his scant tenure with this organization, he had a similar opportunity to strut his stuff after Smyth’s lethal spear took out LaBarbera for several games.
I remember Crawford being quoted as saying how excited Aubin was to have this opportunity. Sure he played on two injured groins, so that was the reason he failed to impress ... repeatedly
sans the Sharks home game where he stopped a barrage of pucks against a team who plays fragile at home.
Crawford starting Aubin counts as strike number one for this loss. Is there anyone other than Crawford who really thinks that LaBarbera and Aubin should play in a tandem as if their talents are equivalent? Don’t get me wrong, LaBarbera has his critics and many aren’t sold on him being the Kings’ #1 stop gap before Bernier is ready. As to a choice between the two, knowing that LaBarbera has shown more and plays better when he plays regularly, Crawford wanted to go the tandem route. Uh, okay.
Aubin said all the right things before the game. He was so excited to continue the winning streak, blah blah blah. Enough said. In the first period, the players had the KISS game to a “T”. The players got their first recorded shot on goal before minute two. That sure bodes well in theory.
The Kings’ game failed to really take off until Nagy drew a penalty against Wescott. The home team got three shots and a Kopitar face-off win to generate pressure. The lack of power play success Thursday had a whole lot to do with the debate of which makes the most difference, the movable force or the immovable object. This time, it resulted in the latter.
One treat to watch was the Jackets’ Nash kill penalties like Giuliano – something I hope other Kings’ follow. This seems simple in principle but impossible on execution for some reason. The players need to not only move their feet so they outwork their opponents, but move their sticks as well. Think of it like the miniature golf course hole where the place for the golf ball is constantly being blocked by a swinging wooden pendulum. Makes it hard to be successful, doesn’t it?
I get that Nash is more known for his offense and rightly so. His penalty killing was equally impressive Thursday. The Kings 4th best NHL power play went silent and Nash had a lot to do with that.
At the end of the first, as is often the case, the Kings were down by a goal. To be honest, despite the chippiness of the home crowd, I felt okay because you could see the team’s new KISS play making a difference. When in doubt, shoot the puck. When in doubt again, shoot the puck again. After the shot, rush to the net and look for garbage goals. Who cares if it is pretty at this point, if ever? The players sure seemed to embrace this principle and it became contagious.
In the first, in an atypical example of physicality, Nagy had three hits (really), another in the second and the best face-off success from his teammates by a mile. (83%) If this rate of success continues, consider letting Nagy take draws for Handzus’ line. The latter player, who I have grown to respect, loses well over half of his face-offs near every game. Thursday was no exception where Handzus ended the night with a 41.7% success rate.
The second period bore no resemblance to the first. The first three shots taken by both teams combined resulted in goals for both teams. Thankfully, the Kings got two of those three goals and the score was tied. Ahhhhh... relief, right, the Kings will just take off. Or not.
Aubin failed to instill any confidence in me before he was mercifully yanked after the third goal against. He left the net as fans cheered to see LaBarbera being put in. In my view, the Kings were playing well and playing their own system up to that point. The Blue Jackets’ press also concluded Aubin was more part of the problem than the solution in their write-up of the game which can be read here:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/bluejackets/stories/2008/01/04/jackets04.ART_ART_01-04-08_C1_A18V869.html?sid=101
Shortly after those three quick goals and a tie, fans and players alike had to wonder if they were really going to be treated to an old-fashioned shoot-out. Rather than a succession of scoring, a succession of hitting resulted. The physical play and the speed of scoring must have spooked Crawford because at that point, he started his infamous line juggling.
All of a sudden instead of these lines:
Brown - Kopitar - O’Sullivan
Nagy - Armstrong - Frolov
Calder - Handzus - Wilsie
Thornton - Giuliano - Ivanans
Calder is moving up to the #1 line. Thornton moved up to the #3 line and Handzus moved up to the second line for Armstrong. Eventually Thornton just sat period with just over FOUR minutes for the entire night. Giuliano and Ivanans got the short shrift too and each had highly imbalanced minutes by a lot compared to their teammates. This team flat out plays better on four lines and a less panicked coach. The one person who seems to forget this point is Crawford himself.
The players responded predictably where they had no shots on goal the last EIGHT minutes of the second.... yikes! Tight coach = tight players. Seriously. In fairness, Blake stepped up his physical play in the second and showed that much demanded blood and guts play the fans want so badly to see on a regular basis from every player. On the power play, Blake planted his backside at the crease/feet of Norrena, and then became subject to repeated uncalled cross-checks from Hainsey. Finally, he responded and despite some after whistle fisticuffs, the referees called no infractions. That seemed only fair since the referees ate their whistle at multiple points during the game.
By the third, the Kings’ players reverted back to the play that earned the three game winning streak. Shots rung from every direction. Crawford reinstated the old lines, Brown continued to hit everything in sight and all seemed right with the world once O’Sullivan scored the sweetest of goals unassisted.
That effort better make the top 10 plays of the week if there is any justice in the world. Think about this. He took the puck from the blue line while chased, to Gretzky’s office and managed to get it in front of the net, the puck then bounced off a cross bar and he batted it home from mid air as if O’Sullivan was more suited to be a baseball player than a hockey player. At some point, some fans need to stop calling his play O’Sullivitis which stands for some fans to mean, a puck hog with no aim. Hopefully that stellar play silences Patrick’s critics for a while.
Unfortunately, this game, no third period or overtime or shoot out heroics could provide a point when Peca got his second of the night on a screened shot LaBarbera had no chance on. Not only did the team lose the game, LaBarbera gets pegged with the loss despite having a save percentage of 93.8% and stopping 15 of 16 shots in relief of Aubin.
The Kings almost tied the score again on two late efforts by Handzus first and Kopitar last. Heck, LaBarbera thought from his vantage point, as I did from mine, how did that puck not go in, TWICE no less, on can’t miss shots, right? Stuart said it best post-game, the Jackets did the little things like tie up the Kings’ sticks so the players got to the right real estate but had no equipment to seal the deal.
To that end, I am comfortable with Thursday’s loss as I refuse to blame the players for this game’s result. It is time for Crawford to take some ownership of these losses. If he really wants to concentrate on the process, and not the big picture, then for the love of everyone’s sanity, stop shortening your bench simply because you are personally panicking, worrying or whatever it is that stops you from believing in your players and changing your game plan.
The fans deserve better than this. The players deserve better from you. Guess what Crawford? You deserve better too. It is great to be willing to do anything to win. The problem is you need to practice what you preach. If you want your players to focus on the small things, the right plays, the smart choices, you have to step up and be willing to do the same.
Never forget this is year 2 of the rebuilding. The big picture here is not one win, it is a winning organization. Take a step back and consider separating the forest from the trees and then perhaps when panic hits, panic will just as surely leave with some faith. This team is already in last place. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Guess Who Came to Dinner?
Make of this what you will, but the Columbus Dispatch reports there were eight (8) scouts from multiple teams taking in Thursday’s Kings - Blue Jackets game from the following teams: Rangers, Canadiens, Stars, Boston, Chicago and Vancouver. Read the speculation here:
http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2008/01/tis_the_season.shtml
Let the discussion and speculating begin!
Carla Muller
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