Well, what a big day in hockey. I got a lot to get to since I have been touch and go with the holiday madness lately. Back to business we go though.
First and foremost, happy New Year to all of my readers! I hope you all had a safe and fun holidays and enjoyed a fantastic Winter Classic today.
Shortly after the completion of Toronto's 3-2 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings, Team USA officially announced their roster for the 2014 Sochi games.
Jonathan Quick was amongst the three goalie selections, and Dustin Brown was amongst the forward selections. Honestly, the inclusion of Quick is no surprise considering what a reputation he carries as a big game goaltender. His performances on the big stages in the big games has been unsurpassed over the last several seasons. He will have his work cut out for him to win the starting job, because Ryan Miller is having tremendous season playing on the worst team in the league.
Dustin Brown on the other hand, should be very thankful he made this team Brown carries a lot of experience and a lot of intangibles that lend to the style Team USA is trying to create and has created for several years. He is an intense competitor, a big bodied player, and a difficult player to play against. These seem to be qualities that every forward on Team USA possesses all the way from David Backes to Ryan Callahan to Phil Kessel. This also leads me to the most startling snub from team USA: Bobby Ryan.
For several years we King fans got a glimpses of Bobby Ryan playing in Anaheim, where many thought his talents were being held back a bit. This season in Ottawa he is leading the Senators in goals with 18 and is second on the team in points behind phenom Erik Karlsson. His six powerplay goals are amongst the best in the league, and he is on pace for his best career stats.
However, that apparently wasn't good enough for Brian Burke, David Poile, and Team USA. The following quote from Burke is one that really shocked me when I read it. I had to read it twice to make sure it wasn't what I thought it was:
OUCH. Sheesh. Way to kick a guy when he is down Burke. I'm not sure I agree, but to each their own. Ryan is a pure goal scorer with a power forward edge to him, and the selection of Blake Wheeler over Ryan is puzzling to say the least in my eyes. Add this tweet by Lisa Dillman to the mix, and it definitely is starting to sound like Burke has an axe to grind against his former 2005 first-round selection.
Some other notable additions and omissions include Anaheim Duck defenseman Cam Fowler, who will be participating in his first Olympics. Justin Faulk of the Carolina Hurricanes will also be making his first Olympic appearance. On the snub side in terms of defenders were Dustin Byfuglien and Keith Yandle. While Byfuglien is a tank, you can make sense of his omission due to bigger ice, and perhaps a game that is more suited for a smaller size rink. However, Yandle plays a slick puck-moving, offensive-oriented game that could go toe to toe or surpass that of Faulk and Fowler. I'm always for bringing in young blood to the mix but Yandle remains a pretty puzzling name left out as well. Former King Jack Johnson was also left off the team selection and is another player who would seemingly excel with more space, but again, Poile must feel more confident in Fowler and Faulk moving forward. Kyle Okposo was also left off the team selection.
Aside from that it was pretty status quo in terms of selections. Ben Bishop should have got a nod in my opinion, just to reward him for a tremendous year backstopping Tampa Bay. However, you can live with Howard as your third goaltender.
Here is a look at the entire roster for team USA.
Share your thoughts in the comment section as always!
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It wasn't a question of if, but rather when. When would the Kings finally hit that dreaded mid-season slump? The answer was late December for the 2013-14 season. With the loss to Dallas last night for the second time in a row, the Kings lost their fourth straight.
This one feels a little different than midseason slumps of the past though. Why? Well, partly because of the way the Kings are losing games. It isn't as if they are being outplayed, they are simply making costly mistakes and uncharacteristic errors.
This team has always predicated themselves on discipline and solid penalty killing. However, this year, the former of those two items seems to have gone missing.
The Kings remain one of the most penalized teams in the league, coming in third in total minor penalties overall. They are taking an average of 12 minutes of penalties a night. That's six minors.
How does that compare to years prior?
2012-13 the Kings took an average of 10 minutes of penalties a game, and game in at 13th overall in minor penalties (1st being least, 30th being most). In 2011-12 they took an average of 11 minutes a game, and were 25th in the league. In 2010-11, again around 11 minutes.
The trend in penalty killing has also gone in the opposite direction.
2010-11: 85.5
2011-12: 87.0
2012-13: 83.2
2013-14: 84.5
2012-13 seems to be a blip on the radar considering the Kings were missing Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene for the entirety of the season, two of the team's primary penalty killers. However, this year it seems like they should be better than 84.5%. Let's be real though, 84.5 is still a top 10 penalty killing rate in this league. However, when you couple it with the excessive amount of minors the team has taken this year, not only are you going to allow more goal against just by simple law of averages, you're taking significant time away from your offensive opportunities.
The Kings have struggled of late with discipline and they did so early on in the season as well. If there is one gripe with the Kings moving into the New Year, it has to be the discipline aspect. It also seems to be a lot of repeat offenders.
In fact, if you sorted it by category (RW, LW, C, D), the Kings have one players form each position amongst the leaders in penalty minutes/minors. Jarret Stoll, Drew Doughty, Kyle Clifford, Dustin Brown, and Justin Williams are all within the top 20 in their respective positions in the category of minor penalties. Safe to say if Brown - Stoll - Williams is a line at any point, I will dub them "The Minor Line".
Of the 182 minor penalties attributed to players from the Kings this season, 77 have come from those five aforementioned players. That's a whopping 42-percent of the teams total penalty minutes on a 20-man roster coming from five players. Just think about that. Obviously these are contextual calls and sometimes necessary penalties in the scope of the game, but it is something to pay attention to moving forward. The Kings face off against the Blues tomorrow to hopefully open up the new year with a victory.
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The world juniors have been exciting, as usual, and if you've been following the King prospects you haven't had a lot to watch. Zykov has played a very very minimal amount for team Russia, and has yet to record a point in the tournament. The 2012 fourth-round pick out of University of Michigan, Hudson Fasching, has had a tremendous tournament though.
He has had two goals, two assists, and is a plus-three in four games so far for Team USA. Not bad considering he was considered a "Project player", and was selected in the middle rounds. Some Dean Lombardi mid-round magic at work again here? Certainly looks like this kid has potential.
Speaking of prospects,
take a look at the latest AHL updates from the Manchester Monarchs I wrote up over at Hockey's Future. Let me know what you think!
That seems like a good place to start the new year! À la vôtre!
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