Round 1, Game 2: LA Kings @ Van Canucks - April 13, 2012 - Kings lead series 1-0

[ink]

And hell yeah, I wish we still had CoHo, especially with Daniel out. Damn, if he had to be traded, why not do it in the off-season? I feel bad for Zack. He's not ready to contribute, but Cody would have been.

[sacgiants1213]

Well no Daniel again tonight. Man hodgson would look good in the top six right now. I really feel like we put up the white flag when gillis made that trade. We cannot continue to play Raymond in the top six. I think we should just run kassian out with hank and burrows. If he can somehow catch some confidence it would be a big body to create some space. I feel like this team seems disinterested. Is it just me or did this team not really play at the top of its game at all this year? We kind of cruised through the season and everyone thinks they will turn it on in the playoffs. Frankly I'm getting worried.

I'm starting to think that the 'cruising' team we saw in the regular season is the actual team. That light switch thing did apply to big games like the blackhawks, redwings, leafs, bruins. Pretty much all the big games. They clearly brought it for those games, but the team we saw for most of the year is what this team is as opposed to the team we saw against the teams i mentioned.

[sacgiants1213]

Ballard in for Rome. Ebbett in for Bitz.

[THE GIPPER]

That's the irony. The reason this team wins is BECAUSE of AV (and I'm not even a fan of his style of coaching). The team does not have the breakout talent a true Cup contender needs, never has. Of course they'd still fire AV but it won't be his fault the players can't overachieve every playoff series.

Name the talent on the team. Is it Booth, who hardly put up any points this season. Is it Kesler, who fell back to his pre-41 goal season levels? Is it the Sedins, who are elite, but who have been figured out by the rest of the league? One of our best D men is almost 40 years old. Where are the Stamkos, Malkins, Crosbys, Webers, etc on this team? We don't have the breakout players needed to lay the blame at the coach's feet if they don't succeed. He is performing some pretty fine tricks to have this team perform at the level it already is.

I agree with this post 100%. When I look at our team on paper both this year and last year, I dont see a team that has the talent to win back-to-back presidents trophies and make it to game 7 of the cup final.

[carson005]

lets win one for the gipper!

[Pfeifer]

Unless kesler can start playing the way he did last year this team has no identity. I think we are missing another leader on this team and I still think it was just as big a mistake making Sedin captain and not kesler. We also lack some leadership on defense. We have alot of good players but not one guy that really can turn the tide of a game emotionally an rationally. Bieksa could be that guy but I don't think he is calculated enough. If we lose this series or anytime before the WCF we need to trade for a proven star up front that can put this team on his back. I think it's trade luongo if we can. For all the good moves gillis has made there are a couple real stinkers.

[ink]

Unless kesler can start playing the way he did last year this team has no identity. I think we are missing another leader on this team and I still think it was just as big a mistake making Sedin captain and not kesler. We also lack some leadership on defense. We have alot of good players but not one guy that really can turn the tide of a game emotionally an rationally. Bieksa could be that guy but I don't think he is calculated enough. If we lose this series or anytime before the WCF we need to trade for a proven star up front that can put this team on his back. I think it's trade luongo if we can. For all the good moves gillis has made there are a couple real stinkers.

Agree with all of this especially the bolded part. Problem is, Kesler really hasn't played that way for sustained periods and i don't think he can. He's got the heart of a captain, but not the head. If he's going to be a captain he has to lead by example and not chirp and embellish so much. I have a hard time figuring Kesler out. He's a one-man wrecking crew when he's on, yet he's not a dominating player most of the time. He's a centre who needs the ice to operate in but he isn't much of a playmaker. He likes to look for his own shot but he's not a sniper. I don't mean to single him out; it's just that I can't figure him out. tbh I wish he had been moved to the wing for CoHo to centre the second line so we could have had Higgins, CoHo and Kesler all together. They may have played a game or two but with the musical lines AV likes to try out that tryout might have come and gone while I was at the fridge getting a beer -- I think I must have missed it.

And yep, Gillis has done some great work but a few of his trades are looking pretty bad about now. Ah well, that's enough chirping out of me after one playoff loss. I'm going to toe the line again and cheer for the team we have. Go Canucks!

[carson005]

So Kesler snows the goalie in game 1 and it's a penalty, and now Luongo gets snowed but it's all good?

[carson005]

I honestly hate this team.

[sacgiants1213]

It's time to fire Newell Brown. He had a good run last year.

[carson005]

Maybe we can get an actual top 6 forward instead of Mason Raymond or Maxim Lapierre?

[Pfeifer]

This is so deflating.

[sacgiants1213]

Maybe we can get an actual top 6 forward instead of Mason Raymond or Maxim Lapierre?

Raymond is an RFA who'll probably be let go of. Maybe Kassian will magically turn into a 50 point player next year and elevates the game of Booth/Kesler.

[carson005]

Raymond is an RFA who'll probably be let go of. Maybe Kassian will magically turn into a 50 point player next year and elevates the game of Booth/Kesler.

We might be lucky if he ever scores 20 goals

[sacgiants1213]

At least we got rid of the whiner, Hodgson.