We are officially at and/or past the quarter mark of the 2013-14 season with 21 games under the belt of the LA Kings. With the team sitting in seventh in the conference and...seventh in the league (Damn you Western Conference.) with a 14-6-1 record there is a lot to like. When you get down into player performances though there are some things to be desired still. That being said Kopitar and Richards are having tremendous years, Ben Scrivens has been heroic in his role of backup turned starter, and Tyler Toffoli is storming out of the gates. I'll give my grade for the season and a brief rundown.
Centers
Anze Kopitar - B+
Kopitar had a slow start, and promised to shoot more coming out of the gate. He went goalless in his first ten games of the season and still only has just five. With Kopitar it's always the other little things though. He is still the teams leading scorer and one of the best two way centers in the league. His line can be hit and miss but it has been a strong start all things considered.
Mike Richards - A
Heart and soul. Mike Richards had similar early season goal struggles but turned it around. He has made his linemates in Carter, King, and Toffoli, more of a threat with his insane on-ice vision, and he too is one of the best two-way centers in the game right now. On pace for what could be one of his best ever seasons.
Jarret Stoll - C-
The production is down, and the injuries don't help either. The Kings are paying 3.2 mil a season to Stoll, and right now he is on pace for under 20 points. The faceoff numbers have picked up thankully, but his scoring has taken a severe dip in the last two-three seasons.
Colin Fraser - D
I'm a Fraser fan, but I just don't see the overall usefulness in a fourth line center who plays 3-4 minutes a night when the team is entirely healthy. He has had to pick up his icetime since injuries have crept in, but overall I just don't see what he brings to the team as a sustainable commodity anymore. Especially with a guy like Vey knocking at the door.
Linden Vey - B-
Very creative, very responsible, very smart. He still can get dominated on the physical side of things, but he's looked strong in his first few games at the NHL. Small sample size currently, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him returned to Manchester when the roster gets to full health but this is a promising view of him. Sutter seems to trust him as well, using him on the penalty kill and power play right off the bat.
Trevor Lewis - D
As a big Trevor Hustle fan, I'm fairly disappointed. Obviously he still brings the effort and the defensive acumen you need, but no points in 21 games just isn't cutting it. His corsi and fenwick numbers haven't been as strong this season either. You love the attitude and work ethic he brings but at 12-13 minutes a night on the third line you have to get a point or a goal at some point.
Wings
Justin Williams - A
To me he is the Kings' Patrick Sharp. No one really talks about him because of the other stars in Kopitar, Richards, Doughty, or Brown...but he is a major cog in the Kings offense. He is leading the team in goals, usually with dirty and greasy goals. The effort is always there and he plays a full 60 every night. Still to me this remains one of the best moves Lombardi has ever made.
Jeff Carter - B
Typical Carter fashion, hot start then ice cold. Carter has notoriously scored his goals in bunches, and after ripping off four in the first five games he had one over the next nine. It's also unfortunate that he has had an injury setback. This has happened to Carter before though, and as a big piece in the offense you can only hope he gets back to health soon.
Dustin Brown - C+
The points still aren't coming for the captain, but everything else has trended in the right direction from the start of the year to now. His hits and shots were all way down, and it might have just been a matter of getting his legs under him after an offseason knee injury recovery. Like I said, while the points are down it's good to see Brown start taking the body again. The points will come, hopefully.
Dwight King - A
On pace for between 25-30 goals and 40-50 points. How do you not like that? King's consistent style of crashing the crease, cycling, and fishing the pucks out for Richards/Toffoli/Carter has been integral in the second line production. He has also started getting more icetime on the PK as well as the powerplay. With the off year he had last year King has been fantastic to start this season.
Tyler Toffoli - A
Points in every game except for one, 14th in rookie scoring with the best rookie scoring pace, no penalties taken, three game winning goals. He has brought energy and production with him during a time when the Kings needed it most. He has significantly eased the loss of Carter and continues to be a major storyline on the year.
Matt Frattin - D-
Supremely hot and cold, extremely hit or miss. Sometimes he'll take a shift and get in heavy on the forecheck, make some nice plays, and show a lot of energy. Then he is gone for the rest of the game to no consequence. He is obviously trying to adjust to a very different system then he was accustomed to in Toronto, but so far he is being upstaged by the other piece in that trade in Ben Scrivens. Who would have thought that?
Jordan Nolan - B
He reminds me of Simmonds in his rookie season right now. Playing with so much energy and physicality that he's hard not to notice at times. There is a reckless abandon with Nolan that makes him a scary guy to play against. He has some skill too obviously and has ben rewarded with a few points and some increased ice time. All you ask of your 4th line guys is to play smart and be hard to play against. Nolan has been just that so far.
Tanner Pearson - N/A
I feel like I simply haven't seen enough of Pearson to give him a good solid grade. He's been good in his limited time with the Kings but giving him any sort of grade on three games wouldn't be fair. The same could be said for Vey with just six, but he's had a lot of minutes and a lot of responsibility early on.
Daniel Carcillo - C
Carcillo is what he is. He won't dress every game, but when he comes in he can provide a little energy and sandpaper. He hasn't been great, he hasn't been bad. He has been a fourth line grinder with attitude. As advertised.
Kyle Clifford - C-
I'm a little concerned about Kyle Clifford in all honesty. The concussion history is starting to grow a little bit longer, and his play has regressed since the start of these problems. He still has a nasty fire to him but it has been seen a lot less often then in the past. While he was good in last year's shortened season he hasn't quite looked the same to start this year. Now has to deal with another head injury to boot.
Defense
Drew Doughty - B+
I've loved Doughty's game this year. Very strong performances and he's eating a ton of ice time for the team. He still can get exposed defensively a little bit at times but he is and has been the Kings' best defenseman this season. His new partnership with Jake Muzzin also seems to be bringing out some good play in both of the young blueliners.
Robyn Regehr - C-
You look at the numbers with Regehr, a plus-five with two assists, that's fine for a defensive defenseman. However, watching Regehr has been a mixed bag. He has been behind a step on many occasions this year and struggled mightily early on. It actually looked like Regher was on his way to being a 6/7 defenseman before the injury to Matt Greene occurred. That being said his play has picked up in the last five games and we're starting to see a little more physicality out of Regehr which is good. As long as he is hard to play against I have no qualms.
Matt Greene - B-
Green is a no-flash, no-flare, hard-worker. He was off to a strong start but then a mysterious upper-body injury rose up. Hard to say how long Greene will be out, but he was one of the more steady defenseman for the Kings to start the season. Shame to see him go down.
Willie Mitchell - C
I haven't been overly impressed with Mitchell thus far. While he is in good health, which is fantastic to see, there have been a few occasions in which Willie Mitchell made very un-Willie Mitchell like plays. Not being able to clear the zone, turnovers in his own end, losing his markers on the penalty kill...just very uncharacteristic mistakes from the normally steady vet. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out but for the most part Mitchell has been stunningly average this year.
Jake Muzzin - B
He was harshly criticized by Sutter to start the year, and even found himself parked in the pressbox for a period of time, but Muzzin has risen to the occasion. He has ten points in 16 games and has looked very comfortable with Drew Doughty as his new partner. While Muzzin still has to clean up his defensive game a little bit, he has looked worlds better than the start of the year when he nearly lost his job.
Alec Martinez - B
Martinez has been put in a pretty difficult position, jumping in and out of the lineup, but he has done admirable when he has been in. While he doesn't have any offensive numbers, which is surprising since he loves to shoot, his defensive game has been as clean and crisp as you could want. The biggest quality with Martinez that I have always noticed is his steady and responsible play. That still is one of his greatest strengths today. He won't make a flashy game-changing play, but he will make a safe and smart play.
Slava Voynov - B-
I feel like Slava has been a mixed bag so far. His offensive ability is always impressive, but defensively he's been beat badly on more than one occasion this season. Still, you have to like what he brings to the table in terms of powerplay minutes and offensive zone time. He has heated up over the last five games with five points and hopefully he can continue that positive trend.
Goaltenders
Jonathan Quick - C
How do you give Quick anything but a C really? Some games he has stood on his head and come up with world class saves, other games he has looked...well...off. The numbers don't portray the whole story with Quick, who has been victim to undisciplined play and poor defensive coverages a few times this year, but he hasn't stolen as many games as he has in the past. Now he has a groin injury to deal with which could be very difficult for him to overcome with such an active and athletic style. Definitely a mixed season for the Team USA hopeful
Ben Scrivens - A
The Professor has definitely been in. Maybe the story of the season so far, but Scrivens has stepped in when the team has needed him most and come up with some big performances. While it still is a pretty limited sample size, he already has three shutouts, a .955 save percentage, and a 4-1-1 record. One can only hope that Scrivens continues to perform. The Kings need him. He received NHL first star of the week honors after his 3-0-1 trip through New York.
Agree? Don't agree? Let me hear it in the comment section! Or yell at me on twitter. Fight! Fight!
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