Loss a microcosm of early season play - former divisional foe understands McLellans push for structure, discipline

Last updated Oct 31, 2022 Edit Source

• News post

• Jon Rosen

The LA Kings’ 6-4 loss to Winnipeg Thursday night in Downtown Los Angeles was a microcosm of the first three weeks of the season: stretches of excellent five-on-five work; poor game management; inconsistent structural adherence and detail; chance-trading; poor goaltending.

• Gabe Vilardi
• Anze Kopitar
• Kevin Fiala

• Todd McLellan

# Todd McLellan

You don’t turn pucks over at the line, you get pucks in deep, you forecheck, you have short shifts. Maybe we will become the run and gun team. I don’t like our chances, but if that’s how we’re going to play and that’s what we’re going to keep trying, we’re probably going to keep getting the same results. How much more evidence do we need that that doesn’t work?

We’re on the power play, and our only thought process on the power play is offense. And there’s time when there’s risk involved in it. But we don’t play risk at all. We just assume everything’s going to work out fine and it comes back the other way. Three times in two power plays. So, you’re in a situation where you have a really good period, you should be up and close to putting a team away early in the game, and they’re right back in it. But you want to run and gun, you don’t understand risk, you don’t play risk, and you’re not responsible for risk, and that’s what happens.

There are things going on with Kopi’s line that I’m not happy with, and I thought that Gabe needed an opportunity there.

What we have right now isn’t working, so we’ll have to address it tomorrow,

Hey, we could use a better coaching staff, we could use forwards that committed, we needed D that moved the puck and we needed goaltending. There wasn’t one area. I told the guys between the second and third we all own a piece of this, so dig yourselves out, and we didn’t do it.

He demands structure, he demands discipline. Through their neutral zone, they’re a good team, they turn pucks over, too. It was more of a special teams battle, it seemed – lots of power plays, PKs. They’re a good team, they’re going to be right there at the end of the year. It’s early on here.

A big challenge integrating Kovalchuk was that he was so improvisational and Kopitar relies on predictable wingers and preferred Iafallo in his spot. Likewise, Fiala has freewheeled some, which doesn’t mesh with his center. That zig-zag near-offside reminded me of 17 next to 11.

— Jon Rosen (@jonnyrosen) October 28, 2022