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He did it last year too...
Yes please
But srsly, the Pens are very well coached
He did it last year too...
Wow
Nice
Holy
We suck
Lol Habs
We might as well tank the season
And we haven't played Philly, Boston and NYR yet
Royal evolution: Kings’ Kopitar joins NHL elite
It was flipping gorgeous. Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar(notes) skated the puck up to his own blue line, lobbed it over the heads of a couple St. Louis Blues and put it where only teammate Simon Gagne(notes) could collect it in the offensive zone. Gagne finished the play with a goal, an exclamation point at the end of a 5-0 victory Tuesday night.
But it didn’t illustrate why Kopitar might be the most underrated player in the NHL. This wasn’t the first time he had gone deep like that – he connected with Dustin Brown(notes) similarly last season, like a QB showing off his touch and arm strength – and even East Coasters who don’t stay up late to watch West Coast games should appreciate Kopitar’s offensive skill. Any hockey fan can type his name into the search bar on YouTube. Everyone should.
What YouTube won’t show you, though, is how Kopitar has developed into an elite two-way player. Brown said Kopitar has become just as good defensively as he has been offensively and is approaching the level of the Detroit Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk(notes), a three-time winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward. Kings coach Terry Murray said Kopitar belongs in the same group as Datsyuk; the Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Kesler(notes), last season’s Selke winner; and, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews(notes), last season’s Selke runner-up.
“He plays the game 200 feet,” Murray said. “I think in the last couple of years, he’s bought in totally on the checking part of the game. He’s such an intelligent reader of what’s going on without the puck. He’s the guy that I trust in all key situations – on PK, on 5-on-5 late in games. His game has really evolved.”
The ability was always there. The Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg(notes), another top two-way player, who considers Kopitar one of his personal favorites, said Kopitar showed it in Sweden before he arrived in the NHL. “I don’t think just because he came over here he got worse,” Zetterberg said.
But while Kopitar ranged between 20 to 32 goals and 61 to 77 points in his first three NHL seasons, his plus/minus rating came in at minus-12, minus-15 and minus-17. Murray emphasized defense when he arrived in 2008-09, and Kopitar said he focused on not “swinging and swooping.” He stopped anticipating the breakout and starting participating in it.
“A couple years ago, you’d go into the corner and you’d battle,” Brown said. “But now he comes into the corner, takes the puck, and he’s gone. That’s probably the biggest difference I’ve noticed in his game. It’s probably something from a fan standpoint you probably don’t notice.”
Getting the puck on his stick sooner helps Kopitar transition to offense sooner, allowing him to make plays like those deep lob passes. He was plus-6 in 2009-10, while putting up 34 goals and 81 points in 82 games. He was plus-25 last season, while putting up 25 goals and 73 points in 75 games. He is plus-5 so far this season, with four goals and nine points in five games. He ranks second in the NHL in scoring.
“It’s just a process of learning and just getting it done,” Kopitar said. “I’m proud of what I’ve become so far, but there’s still room for improvement. I’m definitely still driven.”
Now that Kopitar has come so far and the Kings have added Mike Richards(notes) – a two-time 30-goal scorer and one-time Selke runner-up – they are as strong at center as anyone in the West. They can go toe-to-toe with the Wings (Datsyuk and Zetterberg), Canucks (Henrik Sedin(notes) and Kesler), Blackhawks (Toews and Patrick Kane(notes)), San Jose Sharks (Joe Thornton(notes) and Logan Couture(notes)) and Anaheim Ducks (Ryan Getzlaf(notes) and Saku Koivu(notes)). That should make it more difficult to match up against them and, they hope, more difficult to eliminate them from the playoffs.
“We want to go deep,” Kopitar said.
He wasn’t talking about a lob pass.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_yl..._kesler_102011
GJ Wings. Franzen is going to have a great year I think. Franzen could of had the easy hat trick on the open net tonight but passed it off to Filppula. Was pretty cool.
tomorrow should be a good game against Washington.
It'd be nice if the Bruins could come out on the winning side of these close games.
Wow
Darkreign you were right
Jacques Martin is ing clueless
LMAO Lightning
they are up 3-2
yeah...like a dumbass I thought the game was over after 3 minutes.
Holy , we beat the Flyers 5-1 ?
WTF?
The end is near.........
Bruins are next
Last edited by lefty; 10-27-2011 at 01:16 PM.
You ready lefty?
Price WTF
Softest goal ever
Meh
A win is a win
Daaaaaaaaaaamn
Jets are leading the Flyers 9-8
WT fuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick
Bruins are trying to set a record for most one goal losses in a season.
I'd say something positive, but I'd jinx the B's.
I really wish I was in Pittsburgh tonight.
I was at the Habs - NY Rangers game saturday night
I'm gonna post some ty pics later
Last edited by lefty; 11-21-2011 at 02:07 PM.
2nd shift
Goal
Lol
woot! 9 in a row. Now we're at the middle of the standings!....
/premature celebration
What a night. Almost makes me forget about Cutler's thumb.
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