So, the Kings had a good night. Also, Darryl Sutter experimented with the lines yesterday. A lot. Near the end of the second, Sutter tried the following lines on the final three shifts:
Clifford-Kopitar-King
Brown-Richards-Carter
Gagne-Stoll-Williams
We’ll stay tuned for what Sutter tries on Thursday. In the meantime… LINKS!
- Sutter’s experimenting, but really, he just wants Willie Mitchell back. [NBC Sports]
- Wayne Gretzky thinks we can repeat. Go Great One. [NHL]
- Tyler Toffoli tallied a goal and an assist in the AHL All-Star Game. [Globe and Mail]
- Some fun stats from Quisp. [McSorley’s Stick]
- Jake Muzzin’s been real good so far, real good. [Frozen Royalty]
- Kyle Clifford has been even better. He also had his day with the Cup featured last night; check it out. [LA Kings]
Finally… want to try something fun? Google “los angeles kings” and “hangover.” Even considering that the 2013 season is a short one, five games is still a small sample size, but that hasn’t stopped outlets from speculating about whether the Kings are suffering from… sigh… the Stanley Cup hangover. I guess we’ll indulge, though. So here are some people who thought the Kings might be in some trouble:
- Mark Spector, who thinks that Darryl Sutter will need to buckle down and dole out some tough love… [Sportsnet]
- The Hockey Writers, who hypothesize that the Kings’ relative youth might lend itself to this struggle (but, to be fair, also noted that it might be too early to tell)… [The Hockey Writers]
- Kevin Allen, who states that an invincible team suddenly looks ordinary. [USA Today]/
And here are some people who think the Kings are going to be just fine (and did so before last night):
- Elliott, who says there’s “no evidence” of a hangover and has her case supported by Justin Williams and Dean Lombardi… [LA Times]
- Sean McIndoe (AKA Down Goes Brown), who evaluates many teams and decides the Kings have no reason to panic… [Grantland]
- Chris Rydburg, who expects the Kings to make the playoffs, so relax. [On the Forecheck]