When a team wins, should the coach get the credit for creating a great game plan? In turn, when a team loses, should the coach share equally in the blame?
Recently, when casually talking with a former Kings player, he offered some insight into the coaching situation here in Los Angeles. Like many fans, he was initially concerned by the hiring of Terry Murray. Not that he was a bad coach, but that he might not be the right coach for such a young team - a team still needing a teacher. Marc Crawford was not a teacher, period. On the other hand, he said he was blown away by Terry Murray's ability to break down every aspect of the game into micro bits. Situation analysis at its finest. For those that questioned the hiring of TM, he said it made perfect sense in retrospect.
Three games, three loses.
Three games of giving up at least four goals.
Three games of scoring two goals or less.
The third time hasn't been the charm. This road trip is getting ugly...and fast.
Why the panic some ask. Sure, there is still a lot of hockey left to play. A ton! Yet, you can gain an appreciation for urgency if you break things down Terry Murray style.
With 82 games in the regular season, lets chop it into eight 10-game segments (80 games for the math challenged). Then, we'll use the last two games as "extras" - just for seeding purposes.
Look at the final Western Conference standings from last season and assume a team will need 90 points to make the playoffs. Divide that by 8. That would mean that the Kings need to average just over 11 points for every 10 game segment.
As of this morning the Kings have played 8 games, netting 8 points. Game 9 is tonight. It's an NHL special - a home and home series spread over four days. Somehow, someway, the Kings need to get three points in this series to reach their 11 in 10 games.
Dustin Brown has scored in the last time two Kings games. Let's hope he can score again tonight and maybe that will be the charm. Maybe the top line will get going again. Maybe the shot mentality will return.
It really doesn't matter how they do it or who gets the credit for beating a surging Dallas team. The Kings just need three more points by Friday morning to keep pace in the West. A win in Dallas tonight would go a long way towards helping the cause.
The Kings can do this the easy way or the hard way. History suggests it won't be easy.
One19
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
What a nice game in Dallas. I hope 24 wants to stay in LA because I am sure we will miss him when he is gone. Should 24 go?
ReplyDeleteSo Mr. Mayor, what's your take on the Frolov situation?
ReplyDeleteFrolov is what he is. He's a guy that isn't going to play with much emotion. He's streaky and will disappear for stretches, but carry the team at other times. He's nice for the money he's being paid now, but probably not worth what he'll want in the future. I think Marleau will have his spot next year, so it comes down to where the Kings are at the trading deadline whether he ends the season on the roster or not. In the grand scheme of the Kings, I don't think he has the personality Lombardi wants on his Kings.
ReplyDelete