Get The License Plate – Kings v. Sharks 5-21-2013

Let’s call this the way it really was: the Kings were absolutely run over by the Sharks for the first 30 minutes of this game. While the Kings will say they “didn’t start on time” etc., the true fact is they were fully outplayed until the Sharks built a 2-goal lead.

Joe Thornton and Brent Burns, or Mack Truck and his cousin Kenworth, ran thru the gears in all zones, so badly that after the 1st period the predictable comment was “the good news is they are only behind by one goal.” News flash: that is not good news.

The Kings came to life in the 2nd period, at 6:15 left, when Coach Sutter put Dustin Penner with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, re-uniting a line from last year’s Cup-winning run. The move sparked some offense immediately, but I think the change was at least equally due to defensive needs. More on that after the X Ray:

5-21-2013-San Jose Game 4

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Big Game Hunting: What’s My Line – Kings v. Sharks 5-18-2013

Inevitable comparisons to last year’s Playoff run dominate the media coverage of the Defending Champions, and rightly so. Similarities and contrasts range the gamut: personnel, scoring, standings going in, home v. road records, etc. Perhaps no greater contrast, and no greater indicator of just how hard it is to repeat, is presented by the ways in which Coach Sutter is handling his player combinations, meaning forward lines and defense pairs, at even strength and on special teams.

In last year’s run, the forward lines were constant, nearly unchanged, throughout 4 series, 20 games, and the winning of a Stanley Cup. The only changes made for even strength play was to the forward lines, and were related to health: Clifford going out to injury, for example, or Gagne coming in after recuperation. On special teams, an adjustment was made against New Jersey to use straight line combinations, replacing all-star mixings, but in essence the forwards were always the same guys, and skated together in the same groupings, for the entire run.

The Defense pairs also remained the same for the entire run, even including special teams assignments: the same 6 guys dressed every game and played alongside the same partners, every game.

In last night’s game, there were more forward line combinations used than were used the entire 20-game run last year: I counted 23 distinct, intentional iterations used by Coach Sutter. Forget the bingo ball generator, this was more like radiated DNA after the puree cycle on a kitchen blender performing cell division in zero gravity.

The changes began in the 2nd period. Here is how the game was started:

5-18-2013-San Jose Game 3a

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Raffi Torres Wrongly Suspended For A Clean Hit? What You Talkin’ ‘Bout, Wilson?

WhatYouTalkinBoutWilson

Doug Wilson, General Manager and Chief Misinformation Officer of the San Jose Sharks released what he apparently believes to have been a missive, regarding the recent suspension of Raffi Torres. By saying, “suspension” I am not in any way referring to, nor advocating for having Torres hung by the neck. I am referring to his being banned from playing for the remainder of the 2nd round versus the Kings.

Wilson makes a good argument, in that he uses words and makes sentences. If one completely disregards visual physical evidence, vocabulary as defined in all the known dictionaries, logic, and all the Laws of Physics, Wilson nails it.

Here is the text of Wilson’s release:

The Sharks organization fully supports the NHL in its efforts to remove illegal and dangerous hits from the game but we strongly disagree with the NHL’s decision to suspend Raffi Torres.

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Depth Charge; Kings Explode, Sharks Implode – Kings v. Sharks 5-16-2013

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                        #9. – All of the above.

When the Kings are down a center or two at various times, eventually Depth becomes an issue, and it did; for the Sharks. Kopi went under the needle, so Sutter stitched together new forward lines until Kopi could return. Through the full game Sutter created 18 forward line groupings and iced 6 different Power Play configurations. The Sharks scored while Kopitar was gone taking the lead at 3-2 , but their 3rd goal was their last, and the Kings were only half done scoring.

The Player X Ray shows a healthy body of work:

5-16-2013-San Jose Game 2a

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Photographic Proof Why Torres Should Be Suspended: Cuz It’s A Head Shot

Screen Grabs show Stoll’s head irrefutably being the initial, AND ONLY, point of contact. Period. Head moves, and then shoulders and body follow but only after Torres is fully separated.

Screen Grab #1:  Stoll’s head, hip, shoulder and arm positions are established. Torres’ knees are bent.

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Screen Grab #2: Moment of impact. Torres knees are now straightened, Torres having gone from low to high. Stoll’s head, hip, shoulder and arm are as yet unmoved. Continue reading

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Slava Lamp 2: Richards To Voynov, Voynov To Richards – Kings v. Sharks 5-14-2013

The Los Angeles Kings have a new scoring tandem; Mike Richards and Slava Voynov. The two combined for two goals against the San Jose Sharks, and Jonathan Quick earned a shutout, to win Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-final series at Staples Center. Both teams came in with 4-game Playoff win streaks. The Kings made theirs 5 in a row.

Outstanding performances fill this X Ray:

5-14-2013-San Jose Game 1a

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