The Los Angeles Kings have a very good all around hockey team. It has a very strong goaltending tandem - arguably the best in the NHL on any given night. Jonathan Quick has kept the Kings close for most games, and in these playoffs, has literally stood on his head at times making plays which Plastic Man would have had trouble with ... with two bumpy games - the first, an OT loss to the Blues in which he practically handed the game-winning goal to St. Louis with a bad handling play behind his own goal; the second, last night, allowing 4 goals before being pulled for the night. With Bernier as the backup, the Kings are solid between the pipes for a long time to come.
Defensively, the Kings had looked sharp through much of the season, even with the noticeable absence (especially early in the shortened season) of Willie Mitchell and the early struggles of Drew Doughty to find the net. Eventually, Doughty was able to break through, and the defensive core was helped by the addition of Muzzin and Voynov. Scuderi and Doughty have remained solid, and the late season acquisition of Regehr really rounded out the defense. Matt Greene, hurt for much of the regular season is back, but his consistency has been missed during these playoffs.
However, with that said, of late (ie, the playoffs), the defensive core has had difficulty moving the puck out of the defensive zone. Time after time, the Kings get pinned down in their own zone, often with unfortunate consequences, leading to odd man rushes and opposition scoring chances.
Offensively, the Kings appear to have solidly built lines, with scorers on all four lines. However, while the skill level seems high, and shots usually around 25/game, repeated chances on the same shift are sporadic at best. Often, there is a sense of one and done, before the other team rushes back up and then keeps the puck hemmed into the Kings zone for long stretches. Kopitar, Brown, Williams ... Penner, Carter, Richards ... Stoll, Toffoli, Richardson and/or Lewis ... and even Fraser, Clifford, and King. The Kings have the skill, size, and agility to create havoc for opposing defenders ... and yet, scoring more than 1 or 2 goals per game remains a mystery.
Coaching - Darryl Sutter has been a savior, frankly. His expertise as well as his ability to motivate his team at the right times are legendary.
I think the Kings will remain a Stanley Cup contender for years to come. Unfortunately, I think the Blackhawks are a better all around team, with proven scoring and a stingy defense led by an even stingier goaltender. We'll have to wait and see if the Kings can pull out of this nose dive as they did in the St Louis series.
Until next time ...
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