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LeonardSankar

Is A First Round Exit Imminent?

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With the rise of Tatar, Nyquist and Sheahan and now having Zidlicky as a right handed shooting defenseman that can actually score, I really feel we have a better team than the one who almost beat Chicago before that collapse a few years ago. I think if we can ride a winning streak into the playoffs by winning the next 2, we can show we can win these big games. I'm saying if we can get in, I think we can do some damage. I know the past month doesn't show this but I think we can do damage especially if we seed higher. I'd rather play Tampa but I don't think the Rangers are that bad of a match up for us. All the pressure is on that high payroll of all stars. Wouldn't be easy but I'd much rather play them than Montreal or Boston. I don't like the way we match up against these 2 teams. We'll see. Let's just get in. Go Wings!

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If it was easier to beat the Rangers, Tampa, or the Habs than it is to beat the Wings, we'd be where they are right now. Regardless of the "anything can happen" stuff that Holland and Babs regularly push, it's going to be an uphill battle for us.

Sure, upsets happen. But less frequently than the favorite winning does.

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I think its funny that before the season started, everyone was propping the Kings up on the pedestal saying that they were the team to beat this year. Now, if you look at the standings, the Kings have only a 21.6 percent chance to make it in. If they make it in, are they still the favorites even if its by the skin of their ass?

The kings unlike a lot of other teams are built for the playoffs. Even Mcguire said that they can't be used as an example, going far or all the easy to the cup as a lower seed is the exception not the norm.

LA is a big skilled team with elite goaltending, defense and a deep forward group led by Kopitar and Carter. This team can beat others with skill, toughness or a shutdown style..

Edited by frankgrimes

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The kings unlike a lot of other teams are built for the playoffs. Even Mcguire said that they can't be used as an example, going far or all the easy to the cup as a lower seed is the exception not the norm.

LA is a big skilled team with elite goaltending, defense and a deep forward group led by Kopitar and Carter. This team can beat others with skill, toughness or a shutdown style..

Maybe..just maybe... LA and Boston aren't near as good as you think they are...and teams like Winnipeg and Florida are much better than people give them credit for.

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The kings unlike a lot of other teams are built for the playoffs. Even Mcguire said that they can't be used as an example, going far or all the easy to the cup as a lower seed is the exception not the norm.

And I'm guessing a fair amount of people saying the Kings were the team to beat based it on the fact that they won two out of the last three Cups.

I don't know that they would've been the team to beat, but between what happened with Voynov and some injuries, the Kings blueline was pretty decimated this season.

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And I'm guessing a fair amount of people saying the Kings were the team to beat based it on the fact that they won two out of the last three Cups.

I don't know that they would've been the team to beat, but between what happened with Voynov and some injuries, the Kings blueline was pretty decimated this season.

Voynov was a blow that is for sure. What else hurt them was the fall of Mike Richards who has only netted 15 points this season and I believe they sent him down to the minors.

Still, Jake Muzzin has been really good this year for them. He really picked up the slack for the loss of Voynov. Kopitar is having another great season. Carter is a little off pace but still good.

Jon Quick and Martin Jones were a bit better last year than this year.

I think that a lot of people thought that Williams was going to have a better season and that Gaborik was going to be a lot better than he was as well. If that and Voynov was in the lineup, maybe the Kings would be in the middle of the pack this year.

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Kings have played more hockey than any other team plus they've lost their Voynov replacement and are playing in the toughest division too.

I remember reading a great article on someone who took the top 8 teams in each division and examined their records against each other and found that it was pretty much a draw when it comes to the overall record, goals scored, goals against, etc. This was to eliminate the "bad teams" from skewing the results. I agree at first glance it seems that the West is better than the East. It would only appear that way though. The Wings were 17-3-3 against the West back in March at one point.

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Voynov was a blow that is for sure. What else hurt them was the fall of Mike Richards who has only netted 15 points this season and I believe they sent him down to the minors.

Still, Jake Muzzin has been really good this year for them. He really picked up the slack for the loss of Voynov. Kopitar is having another great season. Carter is a little off pace but still good.

Jon Quick and Martin Jones were a bit better last year than this year.

I think that a lot of people thought that Williams was going to have a better season and that Gaborik was going to be a lot better than he was as well. If that and Voynov was in the lineup, maybe the Kings would be in the middle of the pack this year.

Not buying out Richards was a loyal but bad move by Lombardi. He gave him one last chance to get it together and it didn't happen. More than anything I think it was just the merry go round that was their blueline that hurt them most.

Muzzin has definitely been good. But they didn't have the money to re-sign Willie Mitchell in the offseason, so they were already starting in a hole. Then the Voynov thing, which put them in an awful cap position until the league changed their ruling. Then they lost Martinez for a long while. They trade for Sekera then he gets hurt for this last key run. Doughty has been playing a ton of minutes as a result of their thin blueline, which has hampered some of his effectiveness. The team just can't hold a lead to save their life.

They went on a tear in January and have been pretty good since, but in a tough conference they couldn't quite do enough to make up for their bad first few months.

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Not buying out Richards was a loyal but bad move by Lombardi. He gave him one last chance to get it together and it didn't happen. More than anything I think it was just the merry go round that was their blueline that hurt them most.

Muzzin has definitely been good. But they didn't have the money to re-sign Willie Mitchell in the offseason, so they were already starting in a hole. Then the Voynov thing, which put them in an awful cap position until the league changed their ruling. Then they lost Martinez for a long while. They trade for Sekera then he gets hurt for this last key run. Doughty has been playing a ton of minutes as a result of their thin blueline, which has hampered some of his effectiveness. The team just can't hold a lead to save their life.

They went on a tear in January and have been pretty good since, but in a tough conference they couldn't quite do enough to make up for their bad first few months.

Yea, Willie Mitchel wasn't a huge point producer, but he was a heart and soul kind of guy that really brought things together for them. I was surprised they didn't resign him, but now that you mention it, the cap hurt them.

I still don't think that losing Voynov would have made that much of a difference if Richards and Gaborik would have produced like they thought they would.

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Guess what I'm saying is, while I agree with you that hitting is important, the Red Wings can make it work if they can reduce their turnovers, do better with puck possession and match up the grit when playing against hard hitting teams. Either that or use other teams grit to advantage in drawing penalties. Our 2008 cup winning team wasnt a very gritty team keep in mind. We had Aaron Downey but most of our team was finesse based.

Quoting my self as the Montreal game is going on. This is exactly what I mean when I say "match the grit" B. Smith has 5 hits on the night thus far, Helm has 4 and Hank Zetterberg has 3 registered hits. Very impressive. Don't need to be a high hitting team to be successful, only when necessary. Let's hope we win tonight.

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I am a die hard wings fan, have been since the north stars left MN. If howard starts in goal, series will be real short! Just got to be honest, he hasn't done anything else but prove that his inconsistency has gotten worse over the last few years and it's time to get rid of him.

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Kings have played more hockey than any other team plus they've lost their Voynov replacement and are playing in the toughest division too.
Wings lost a ton of stars and kept going. Kings lose one guy and miss the playoffs.
I am a die hard wings fan, have been since the north stars left MN. If howard starts in goal, series will be real short! Just got to be honest, he hasn't done anything else but prove that his inconsistency has gotten worse over the last few years and it's time to get rid of him.
What's Mrazek proven?

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Mrazek has proven nothing. He's shown he can be one hell of a goalie, but he's still prone to bad goals. Overplays, too aggressive, but he's the future with loads of potential.

Howard or Mrazek playing won't make much of a difference right now. Just play and see how far you can go I guess. All that can be done.

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