• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MayorsManor.com

NHL blog, LA Kings hockey news and interviews from The Mayor

  • Radio Replay
  • Prospect Rankings
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / NHL / Ducks / OPINION: Time for the LA Kings to use this lineup

OPINION: Time for the LA Kings to use this lineup

May 12, 2014 By John Hoven

2014 Toffoli Carter NHL MayorsManor
In something that has become a little bit of a joke – call it a weird coincidence, who knows – over the past two seasons, after making suggestions for the Kings line-up, Darryl Sutter has magically used them the next game.

Case in point, when the Kings were trailing in the San Jose series, I posted these wholesale changes on twitter…

If you really want to have a debate, these would be my lines tonight if I was LA coach: 12-11-23, 70-77-73, 74-28-14, and 13-24-22.

— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) April 22, 2014

Much to the surprise of those paying attention, those ended up being the top three lines at morning skate for Game 4 (April 24). The Kings went on to win six straight. Sutter then deviated from that look on Saturday and the Kings dropped their second straight to the Ducks.

Where should he go from here? A return to the line-up used to win the San Jose series could work. However, there is one problem – Jeff Carter. We’ll get to that in a minute.

First, on defense, based on some intel we picked up, this tweet went out Monday morning:

Nothing confirmed yet, but wouldn’t surprise me to see a change on #LAKings blueline tonight for Game 5 at the ponda.

— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) May 12, 2014

At this point, it’s obvious, the Kings needs Carter’s explosiveness at wing. Thus, he has to move out of the middle. They also shouldn’t split up Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli. That means Carter should move to the top line. You can argue putting Jarret Stoll or Mike Richards as the second line center, but I’d go with Richards there because Dustin Brown and Justin Williams with Stoll seems to make more sense. There just isn’t as much chemistry in a 23-10-14 line.

Linden Vey is an option as the 2C, but that’s a big ask for a green rookie late in a series and also causes further confustion among an already garbled bottom-6. You’re better off going with a veteran to balance things out.

As for the fourth line, take your pick. For example, you can play Jordan Nolan over Kyle Clifford. Yet, if that’s what the game comes down to, Sutter is in real trouble.

Up front, here are the line suggestions:

Gaborik – Kopitar – Carter
Pearson – Richards – Toffoli
Brown – Stoll – Williams
King – Fraser – Lewis

UPDATE RE: DEFENSE…

There is still a lot of time left in this game… but, since I have your attention… I will be SHOCKED if @Willie_Mitch33 doesn’t play Wed.

— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) May 13, 2014

By the way, for all the naysayers, yes – there have also been plenty of times over the fast couple of years where suggestions made here never saw the light of day. Let’s be real. Sutter isn’t reading twitter. If he was, this would have been given more consideration at the beginning of the season.

Follow @mayorNHL

Instagram

Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com

Filed Under: Ducks, HockeyBlog, Kings, NHL, Spotlight Story Tagged With: Brown, coach, Ducks, Gaborik, hockey, Kings, Kopitar, Los Angeles, Mayor, MayorsManor, NHL, Playoffs, Sutter, Williams

About John Hoven

John Hoven is a former member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and co-hosts Kings of the Podcast. He's also the founder and editor of MayorsManor.com, which has been named Best Sports Blog in Los Angeles and Hockey Blog of the Year. Click "ABOUT OUR TEAM" below for a full bio.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hever says

    May 12, 2014 at 11:02 am

    Where’s Nolan ? I haven’t seen him get thrown in there?

    • John Hoven says

      May 12, 2014 at 3:07 pm

      Nolan is expected to play tonight in place of Clifford.

      • USHA#17 says

        May 12, 2014 at 6:24 pm

        Could mean more power play time for the Ducks

  2. Ben says

    May 13, 2014 at 9:32 am

    Agree, Carter isn’t nearly as effective taking on the center role. Would loved to have seen Vey in game 4 where Sutter could protect him. Now there are few good options left; do you really want to start a rookie in Game 7? .

    They also have to find better transition defense. Martinez is fast but is a terrible transition defender and doesn’t take enough care with the puck. His athleticism and skating lets him get away with a lot when playing against other teams bottom 6 lines, but not this series. And both he and Voynov have been getting abused in the corners by the Ducks big forwards. The Ducks count on this and have been leaving forwards low assuming they are going to win puck battles and this has created lots of good chances for them.

    I’m assuming Mitchell cant go given he hasn’t skated. If that’s true, I see two choices to shake things up. 1. Dress Vey and see if he can find some space or 2. If Sutter seems himself possibly rolling 3 lines for chunks of the game then Id like to see him roll 7 D and play McNabb. Supposedly he makes good decisions with the puck and has a great shot.

    Either way, I don’t love the idea of having rookies play their first playoff game in Game 7. Except for a few games beating up on some soft competition (Calgary, Edmonton) this spring, the team really hasn’t played consistently well since December. Something has got to change.

    The problem is that all of the options that now seem reaosnable now require playing rookies in a game 7.

  3. Greg Zuercher says

    May 13, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    Love the lines, line 1 is my go to line in NHL 14 and dominates for what its worth (absolutely nothing). Would be fun to watch

Trackbacks

  1. Pre-Game 5: Kings Drew Doughty – ‘It’s gut check time’ says:
    May 12, 2014 at 12:40 pm

    […] line changes for the Kings were posted here earlier […]

  2. Pre-Game 5: Comments from Kings captain Dustin Brown says:
    May 12, 2014 at 12:52 pm

    […] line changes for the Kings were posted here earlier […]

  3. Pre-Game 5: Jarret Stoll – ‘I’m sure they don’t like us, don’t like me’ says:
    May 12, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    […] line changes for the Kings were posted here earlier […]

Primary Sidebar

Kings Of The Podcast

Kings Of The Podcast: Ep. 151 – Trade Deadline Review

Time for a review of the week that was. Kings Of The Podcast hosts John Hoven and Dennis Bernstein look at everything the Kings did surrounding the 2023 Trade Deadline, including trading Jonathan Quick and acquiring three new NHL players over four days. They also touched on some of the information in these articles as […]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Ontario Reign Projected Lineup at Tucson: Turcotte Expected to Return
  • Reign Recap: Ontario Falls To Tucson For 10th Straight Loss
  • Ontario Reign Projected Lineup at Tucson: Avoiding 10 Straight In The Desert
  • Projected Lineups – LA Kings vs. Calgary Flames; Heavy Hockey Incoming
  • Reign Recap: Ontario’s Struggles Continue With 5-2 Loss To Abbotsford
  • Ontario Reign Projected Lineup at Abbotsford Canucks; Plus Brief Update on Turcotte
  • Projected Lineups – LA Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks; Here Comes Spence
  • Ontario Reign Projected Lineup at Abbotsford; First of Weekend Series vs. Canucks
  • Projected Lineups – LA Kings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets; the Semi-Revenge Game
  • NHL RADIO REPLAY: Mayor’s Minutes – Hoven on Spence, Gavrikov, and Kings Future Defense

Tweets by mayorNHL

Footer

Archives

Tags

AHL Blackhawks Brown camp Carter Clifford coach comments Doughty draft Ducks history hockey interview Kings Kopitar lineup Lombardi Los Angeles Manchester Mayor MayorsManor Monarchs Murray NHL Ontario Penner Playoffs Prospect Quick quote Radio Reign Richards roster Sharks Stanley Cup Stoll Sutter Toffoli trade video WCB West Coast Bias Williams

MayorsManor

  • About Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Store

© 2023 MayorsManor.com