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Amazin69 · 04-20-2025, 11:26 PM

Oh, Lorde! If I've ever seen a jinx (leaping up and down holding a neon sign spelling out "I AM A JINX"), that's it!!

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David Rittich was god-awful in the final two meaningless games of the season, giving up 11 goals in the two outings. This despite the defensemen (Doughty, Edmundson) who had been resting their tired bones for the previous two weeks getting on ice to knock the rust off.

This not only means that we have to really hope that Kuemper stays healthy throughout the playoffs, but that we really need to consider if Rittich is worth spending any of our UFA money on, given that we desperately need to keep Gavrikov, and that Kuzmenko has passed his audition with flying colors. If we just have to go with Pheonix Copley or Eric Portillo as the back-up next season, is that doable?
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Kuzmenko really has fulfilled expectations. He really shone against San Jose (granted that was an 8-1 win because the Sharks don't know how to defend the middle of the ice) and Winnipeg back-to-back. Against the Sharks, there was a play where Kopitar drove towards the left corner and then went around Kuzmenko who not only boxed out his own man (Mario Ferraro) but Kopitar's, as well as any NBA forward ever did. And thus Kopitar had a wide open lane to feed Kempe in the slot (unguarded, because San Jose…) and that was one goal.

And then Kopitar found himself in the left corner again, but he saw that the Sharks were swarming over Kuzy, meaning that the center was open, and Kopitar sent a blind pass through his legs to the open ice and Kuzmenko had gotten free from the boards and could have played it…but he saw that Trevor Moore (coming on to change for Kempe) was even Moore open, so he let it go and Moore put it home. Good awareness.

Later on, Kuzmenko had the puck on the left circle and spotted Vladislav Gavrikov coming down the slot (Macklin Celebrini had blown a tire or something) and backhanded a pass to Gavrikov. Gav hardly knew what to do with the puck close in (his goals come from shots from the point) but he can add one and one, so he figured that with a defender on Kuzy and one on him, there was nobody on the right side, so he did a second blind backhand pass over there, to an unguarded Kempe, who scored. That whole game was poetry in motion. (And yes, only the Sharks, but still.)

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After that, the Kings faced an actual hockey team, and completed their sweep of Winnipeg, 4-1. At one point, Kuzmenko got the puck off the boards in the Kings' zone, fed Kempe, who drove down the left side and left a drop pass for Kuzmenko, who stared down Hellebuyck *hard*…and then shot a zap pass to an open Kopitar on the right side, who wasn't even visible on the camera from behind the goal, for a one-timer and in!

Later, Kuzmenko came in on a 2-on-1 and this time he stared at Kopitar hard enough that Hellebuyck dropped his left leg back a bit to pivot if needed, and that gave Kuzmenko the opportunity to put it away for his own goal.

So the Kings won 4 in a row, turned in a comatose performance against Seattle, and then won 4 more before this last fiasco. So they should be ready to go…but we will see.

04-20-2025, 11:26 PM	#92
Amazin69 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Palmetto Pride! Posts: 3,537 Infractions: 0/2 (2)	Oh, Lorde! If I've ever seen a jinx (leaping up and down holding a neon sign spelling out "I AM A JINX"), that's it!! ****************************** David Rittich was god-awful in the final two meaningless games of the season, giving up 11 goals in the two outings. This despite the defensemen (Doughty, Edmundson) who had been resting their tired bones for the previous two weeks getting on ice to knock the rust off. This not only means that we have to really hope that Kuemper stays healthy throughout the playoffs, but that we really need to consider if Rittich is worth spending any of our UFA money on, given that we desperately need to keep Gavrikov, and that Kuzmenko has passed his audition with flying colors. If we just have to go with Pheonix Copley or Eric Portillo as the back-up next season, is that doable? *************************** Kuzmenko really has fulfilled expectations. He really shone against San Jose (granted that was an 8-1 win because the Sharks don't know how to defend the middle of the ice) and Winnipeg back-to-back. Against the Sharks, there was a play where Kopitar drove towards the left corner and then went around Kuzmenko who not only boxed out his own man (Mario Ferraro) but Kopitar's, as well as any NBA forward ever did. And thus Kopitar had a wide open lane to feed Kempe in the slot (unguarded, because San Jose…) and that was one goal. And then Kopitar found himself in the left corner again, but he saw that the Sharks were swarming over Kuzy, meaning that the center was open, and Kopitar sent a blind pass through his legs to the open ice and Kuzmenko had gotten free from the boards and could have played it…but he saw that Trevor Moore (coming on to change for Kempe) was even Moore open, so he let it go and Moore put it home. Good awareness. Later on, Kuzmenko had the puck on the left circle and spotted Vladislav Gavrikov coming down the slot (Macklin Celebrini had blown a tire or something) and backhanded a pass to Gavrikov. Gav hardly knew what to do with the puck close in (his goals come from shots from the point) but he can add one and one, so he figured that with a defender on Kuzy and one on him, there was nobody on the right side, so he did a second blind backhand pass over there, to an unguarded Kempe, who scored. That whole game was poetry in motion. (And yes, only the Sharks, but still.) *********** After that, the Kings faced an actual hockey team, and completed their sweep of Winnipeg, 4-1. At one point, Kuzmenko got the puck off the boards in the Kings' zone, fed Kempe, who drove down the left side and left a drop pass for Kuzmenko, who stared down Hellebuyck hard…and then shot a zap pass to an open Kopitar on the right side, who wasn't even visible on the camera from behind the goal, for a one-timer and in! Later, Kuzmenko came in on a 2-on-1 and this time he stared at Kopitar hard enough that Hellebuyck dropped his left leg back a bit to pivot if needed, and that gave Kuzmenko the opportunity to put it away for his own goal. So the Kings won 4 in a row, turned in a comatose performance against Seattle, and then won 4 more before this last fiasco. So they should be ready to go…but we will see.