Rick Stephens

I hear that they're taking a look at Alex Lyon now as a potential savior for them.

Yeah, second and fourth for Marchman.

He's a tough customer.

He's a rugged winger.

And Seattle kind of...

disappearing in the playoff race.

So they took advantage of the opportunity to get rid of a veteran prior to the Christmas trade freeze.

And I think it was the forwards that were getting, well, also the goaltending, but it was the forwards that were getting a lot of attention this week in the Oilers game, which Marty St.

Louis called it their best complete game of the season.

And the defensive effort, particularly by the... Everybody was giving Jake Evans props after the...

the Jake Evans line with Texier and Anderson, um, perhaps after this game, cause it was just, it was just a monster game for that line in, in shutting down the Oilers.

Um, and, and then it got to, you know, what was happening on defense and, and Jakob Dobish in goal for sure.

Um, but it's, it's, it's upfront.

Um, and yeah, you know, um,

how do you play defense in the National Hockey League?

Well, it includes forechecking.

It includes killing plays in the neutral zone and then defensive zone coverage.

But the forwards play can play a role in all of that.

And that should be obvious if you've watched it.

Not necessarily when you think about Phil Deneau that was with the Montreal Canadiens five years ago, but if you've watched him lately with the Kings and the kind of role that he plays, it should be obvious that his offense has dried up and that for him to be effective, he has to play a strong defensive role.