“Well-Served”

I love Jon Rosen’s “Waking Up With the Kings” blogs. They are my favorite feature on The Insider. Unlike his predecessor’s, which were nothing more than an amalgamation of the previous nights’ statistics, Jon provides meaningful stats in context with his own insight and opinion, often recounting pivotal moments of the game that you won’t necessarily see on any highlight reel package. It’s the kind of journalism I have craved about the Kings and it’s previous absence was one of the primary reasons I began devoting free time to writing here.

I also think that Rosen doesn’t make a habit of pulling punches, even though he knows how to be diplomatic in his criticisms.

Kopitar hasn’t scored a goal in 23 games. He has one shot in his last 41 minutes on the ice.

Today, Jon wrote:

This type of Kopitar is preferable to a Kopitar who cheats towards the attacking zone to prop up his offensive numbers (which isn’t really a Kopitar at all), but the Kings’ most skilled and most complete player would be well-served by increasing his shots on goal output.

There is nothing false about this assessment. It is very true. But it taps around like Bojangles.

Kopitar would be more than “well-served” to shoot the puck more often. I submit to the committee of couch coaches and message board GMs that Kopitar’s shooting the puck more is essential to the Kings’ success.

But but but Kopi takes the top match ups, eats tons of minutes, is stellar on defense, racks up the assists and and and other people besides Kopitar need to score to and and but but nothing.

I am getting sick of the insinuation that expecting and/or demanding Kopitar contribute with goals is to also downplay his excellence in other areas of the ice and the crucial role he plays outside of scoring. Sutter has done this. I understand he is protecting his player, but while we do not take anything away from Kopi’s defensive game by indicting his scoring, conversely, praising his defensive game does not diminish the void left by his reluctance to shoot the damn puck.

This pussy-footing around by Sutter, Rosen and others is starting to bother me a great deal. No one wants to slam the guy because he does so much well. Fine. He does. We can appreciate and acknowledge that and still be pissed.

If I spend a shit load of money on a Lamborghini that has a misfiring cylinder, I can only gush about how nice the interior is for so long before feeling ripped off. It’s like the hottest girl you know having a hair trigger gag reflex. It’s a beautifully shot movie without a working soundtrack. A great concert without a joint. The Kings without a Kopitar who drives the net and shoots the puck is a neutered team no matter how you slice it.