Sleeksays

LA Kings @ Calgary Flames (11-9-1) 6:30 PST, RSW (Regehr Sucks Wang?) Record: 8-8-3 (49 Goals For, 49 Goals Against) Special Teams: 16.7 PP% (19th) , 84.1 PK% (10th) Top Scorer: Anze Kopitar, 15 points Best Forward: Dustin Brown? Best Defenseman: Drew Doughty Biggest Surprise: Drew Doughty/Erik Ersberg Biggest Disappointment: Anze Kopitar (It's only 19 games in, but tomorrow's Lubo Day so I'm doing this now.) All coaches search for a balance between top-line talent and depth with their forward lines. At the beginning of the season, the Kings were running 3 lines that were of relatively equal strength, with Brownitar on the top line, Frolov/Handzus on line 2, and O'Sullivan/Stoll on the 3rd. These lines helped spread out the Kings' talent but probably did so a little too much and the Kings had trouble hanging with the top-level talent on other teams. Then Terry Murray apparently had a stroke and screwed with the lines for about 4 or 5 games, banishing O...

Drew Doughty played 27 minutes tonight. Also: Sean O'Donnell: 0 G, 3 A, +4, 12 PIM Mathieu Schneider: 1 G, 3 A, -11, 14 PIM Also: Kyle Quincey: 11 Games, 2 G, 6 A, Even, 6 PIM Rob Blake: 17 Games, 2 G, 7 A, -2, 24 PIM Well played, Lombardi.

I've hesitated to write this piece so far this season because I keep waiting for the roof to cave in, but Drew Doughty is the greatest 18 year-old defenseman I've ever seen. I mean, I haven't watched Luke Schenn or Luca Sbisa so far this season because I don't care about them but I just can't imagine how they can be better than Drew Doughty. Doughty leads all rookies in ice time (despite only playing 15 minutes one game because of an injury) and he's playing most of those minutes alongside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, who other teams match their best line against. According to Behind the Net, he leads all defensemen on the team in quality of competition. There's only been one time when he looked like a rookie, when Ryan Smyth turned him inside out, but otherwise he's been outstanding. He's not getting a whole lot of time on the penalty kill, but that's more because he needs some time to rest rather than he can't handle it. What impres...