You know we're Raiders fans here at Sportsmania, we're also two time Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings fans as well. It's hard to play fantasy hockey because of the 82 game a year schedule, it's also hard to keep up as a fan or writer. I am ashamed to say I haven't seen a game yet this season but will try to change my ways.
You know what will be the best party ever? When the Kings and Raiders both play in Vegas on the same weekend. Can't wait.
New Coach.
A few seasons ago the Kings locked coach Darryl Sutter out of the locker room after a bad loss. Little known fact. He was the coach of the team for both Stanley Cups but apparently there was trouble in paradise as the years wore on. From what we know we liked him. The Sutter brothers grew up on the farm, were down to earth people who worked hard in the NHL. He was also kind of goofy so it was fun to watch him with the press.
He was replaced by John Stevens who was just let go for interim coach Desjardins.
Balance.
For the most part professional hockey players are quite independent. But there is a need for coaching still. Let's frame this balance between player independence and the roll of the coach with the first round elimination of the Kings by the Las Vegas Knights in last year's playoffs.
First, although the Kings were swept it was not a blow out. The Kings were great then and still are despite a rough start to this season (5-8-1). They lost all the games by only one goal. They lost to a finalist. The whole series only had 10 goals. These are all reasons to hold your head high.
But it seemed they were unprepared for the tenacity of Tuch and Carrier. They hit the Kings hard and eventually Drew Doughty took a retaliatory penalty which led to a suspension. Now, Doughty is basically the best defenseman on the planet but he is still relatively young. He had 2 Olympic Gold metals and 2 Stanley Cups by the time he was 25. But the question is, how prepared were the Kings for Tuch and Carrier?
This is where coaching comes in. They are supposed to study other teams and report their observations to the locker room. And yes, this is important information the players must listen to. Even if Stevens didn't have an action plan to deal with Tuch and Carrier awareness is half the battle. Maybe the players themselves can find a solution.
So did the Kings get solid information from Stevens and ignore it? Or did they not get any information? This we don't know.
Solution.
The Kings lost 7 out of 8 games before finally beating the Blue Jackets, then Stevens was removed, and the Kings have since beat the Ducks, which is always good news. Will this momentum keep going with the interim coach? I have a feeling through observation that the Kings players can be a stubborn bunch and can show frustration with decreased performance as a kind of protest. If management brings a new player to the team that they don't approve of they basically shun him and the chemistry on the ice suffers. This is totally unacceptable. Their number one goal on the ice every night must be victory no matter the off ice issues. Furthermore, they do need to let a good coach do his job and listen to the advice he gives after reviewing tapes.
Let's see how they do against the Wild tonight. I will make it a point to finally watch the game and see how they're doing. BTW, I have a good eye for these things. Within the first 10 minutes of last year's series against the Knights I knew Tuch and Carrier were a problem that needed to be solved. Coach, study your opponents and tell the players things they don't already know. Players, listen to your coach. Strategize! Go Kings Go!
