Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

What exactly is this team?

March 18, 2018, 11:04 PM ET [12 Comments]
Adam Kirshenblatt
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As I write this I’m trying to figure out exactly what the Kings are right now.

On paper, this is a team with decent depth both up front and on defense, combined with a Vezina caliber goaltender.

On paper, this should be a team that is fighting with the surprising Vegas Golden Knights for top spot in the division.

Unfortunately for Kings fans, the game isn’t played on paper.

As I mentioned after the trade deadline, this isn’t the same Kings team as we had in October. After Jeff Carter went down at the end of October, if I told Kings fans that before the deadline they would acquire Torrey Mitchell, Tobias Reider, Dion Phaneuf, Nate Thompson, and Carter would be back, you would think that this was a serious contender.

However, even after the reshaping of the depth of the Kings, fans have yet to see consistency one way or the other.

Since the deadline the Kings have taken their game to the level we expect of them when they have beaten the likes of the Golden Knights (twice), Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings. Those first three teams are playoff teams who are fighting for positioning or trying to get themselves at the right level for the playoffs.

However, in between those wins, we’ve seen embarrassing losses to the St. Louis Blues, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, and the New Jersey Devils. The Devils yesterday afternoon was a team in a similar position to the Kings in the Eastern Conference.

They are fighting for their playoff lives and they came to play yesterday. It is inexcusable for the Kings to allow themselves to be shutout in a game like that, especially when it was backup Keith Kinkaid in net for New Jersey.

As for the other three teams that they’ve lost to since the trade deadline, they are teams that are out of the playoffs and will be hard pressed to come back into it. The Blues were in a free fall going into the game against the Kings but somehow snapped out of it just enough to embarrass LA 7-2.

Meanwhile, the last place Coyotes and the old guard in Chicago managed to find their game for the Kings as well.

So is this a case of the Kings playing to the level of their competition?

There’s an old saying that says you aren’t as good as you think you are when you’re winning and you aren’t as bad as you think you are when you’re losing.

However, this Kings team this season has really only had long streaks going in either direction. This stretch of winning one, losing the next is the first time all season where there have been no peaks or valleys.

To state the obvious, everything is going to come down to this next three week stretch. During this time the Kings play the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche twice, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, and bitter rival Anaheim Ducks.

All of these teams are competing with the Kings for those last playoff spots. This means that destiny is under their own control if they take care of business. They also have games against the lowly Edmonton Oilers, and Arizona Coyotes. Those are games the Kings cannot afford to lose points on because I guarantee you at least one of the seven teams competing for the three spots available won’t.
Join the Discussion: » 12 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Adam Kirshenblatt
» Grateful for Doughty
» A look at the 2018 Kings Draft Class
» Kovalchuk chooses the Kings
» Kings trade for a familiar face and Kovalchuk checking out LA
» Nominated Kings and other NHL Awards Picks