Holy Salad Batman


Good grief, it was nice to see the Kings put some pucks in the net.  Aside from their temporary third period skid, the team looked pretty darn good last night.  That being said, St. Louis looked slow and lethargic.  

It was nice to see some pucks find the twine.  Kings fans have seen enough of crummy low percentage shots from bad positions that do nothing but make opposing goalies laugh.  Not this team.  Even in our losses, there seems to be a higher percentage of high quality chances created.  That, combined with the increased skill of our younger players, has given this team some desperately needed scoring punch.  

Now it's time to malign one of my favorite players on the team.  That isn't really fair, as I really can't say much bad about him, just that he seems a bit out of place.  Blake Lizotte brings it every game, and every shift.  I love what he adds to the team, but I can't help but wonder, if the team wouldn't be better off if he were in the bottom six.  At this point, he is, as the Kings second line is a bit behind the third line.  Seeing as how the Kings have plenty of cap space, maybe the opportunity will come about to acquire a real second line center.  That being said, it's tough to replace the fire that drives Lizotte and the disruption he causes for other teams.  It's too bad we don't have any talented centers in our development program (insert sarcastic tone here).  He's really young, but this would be an interesting fit for Byfield.

On another note, we've sent the soup (Campbell) back to the kitchen, but the salad is looking pretty darn good.  Cale (salad) Clague is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams.  He is very responsible, and seems to have great instincts defensively and in transition play.  Alas, enough of the boring stuff already.  This kid can flat out skate and has great hands.  It is obvious that he is being given the green light to pick and choose his moments, and when he does, he is embarrassing some really good hockey players, and contributing to creating serious offensive opportunities.  I'm looking forward to his development throughout the season, as I really believe that as the season goes on, he is going to exploit opportunities more frequently.  

If this team can get a bit more consistent defensively, and I expect that they will as they mature and learn how to play together, making a dent in the playoffs isn't absurd.  As for Mr. Lizotte, despite not being the playmaker that we might expect in the top six, he's definitely helping this team.  Also and finally, I know we could all use a bit more salad.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Is the Most Improved King?

Image
  Sometimes surprises are sweet.  One of the most interesting stories in hockey is the development of the so-called role players of the Los Angeles Kings.  Too bad the Toronto Hockey League Network would never know this, because they can’t see past the blue haze of their favorite sons. Our gain is their loss, and a lot more losses for Kings’ opponents.    Earlier this year, I felt like there was one stand out as The Most Improved player.  Now the water is muddied by the continued, almost astonishing, improvement in play by multiple players. I have to start out with a player that drove me nuts last year, Mikey Anderson.  Game after game last year he made bad pass after bad pass and appeared to be a human turnover.  His play moving backwards in our zone was pretty good, but he really struggled to see the ice and make timely decisions to get the team out of the zone.  Largely that problem was solved over the summer.  Anderson has been ...
Read more

Vilardi Must Help

Image
The bad news is that the Kings need some help.  I know, not exactly an astute observation, especially since we are watching other teams play in round two from our couches.  They need scoring.  The good news is that Gabriel Vilardi appears ready to step in and get it done. Vilardi, the first round draft pick from last year, had been projected as a top four pick.  For one reason or another, he dropped.  He dropped all the way to 11, where the Kings happily snapped him up.  His summer and subsequent fall were plagued by injuries.  Maybe that is what kept teams from picking him up, or maybe it was his supposed lack of skating ability, a denigration that I find hard to give too much credence too.  Either way, neither his injuries, nor his supposed lack of skating could keep him down forever.  In the second half of the season, he was a juggernaught for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. In 32 games, he tallied 22 goals and 36 assists, nea...
Read more

The Potential Is There

The Potential Is There       On Thursday night the Kings faced a Columbus team that is fighting for a playoff spot in the hotly contested Metropolitan division with a scant 17 points separating the top from the bottom.  The Blue Jackets came out firing, and the Kings came out ready for a nap.  For twenty minutes, we watched the good guys in the black jerseys chase the visitors around the defensive zone.  Breakout after breakout was a complete disaster.  I was a bit disheartened as this has been a major problem since the holidays.       Luckily, the fans got to see a different team come out for the second period.  The Kings were flying, denying space and creating turnovers.  Then, a role player, a new to our team role player stepped up.  Thompson unleashed a wicked shot over the pad and rang it off the post.  The Kings were back in the game.  Later, Iafallo and Pearson responded with tip ins.  A grim night...
Read more