It has been the topic of much debate this season. Is the Kings defense good enough?
From the day the Voynov suspension went into effect, questions have surrounded the LA Kings blueline and what the state of it was. Were the back six of McNabb, Regehr, Doughty, Muzzin, Martinez, and Greene really going to lead the Kings to the promised land yet again?
As the Kings have struggled and more injuries and inconsistencies have piled up, the lense has focused even harder in on the defense. However, when you get right down to it the Kings defensive corps isn't all that bad this season. It isn't so much the defensive play from the defenders, but more or less the defensive support from the forwards that has been punishing the Kings. Defense includes forwards also.
As a whole, the Kings defense is still putting up decent numbers. At 5v5 the team is 10th in goals against at 2.06. Last season they were the best 5v5 team in the league in goals against at 1.62, and in 2011-12 when they won the first cup they were second with 1.84. So yes, the defense has been allowing more goals at 5v5 compared to past cup winning years, but those are still very good numbers. Numbers that a playoff team has.
In terms of driving the play and possessing the puck, the Kings blue line is also doing their part. Three Kings defensemen are coming up in the top 40 in corsi for. Despite the outcry from his ill-timed turnovers, Jake Muzzin still leads the league in possessing the puck amongst defenseman. Drew Doughty comes in at a solid 7th, and the oft criticized Brayden McNabb is in at 21st in the league. That is ahead of the likes of Zdeno Chara, Danny Dekeyser, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Ryan Suter mind you. Not bad. The rest of the Kings fall into the next 40, with Greene at 45, Martinez at 53, and Robyn Regehr bringing up the rear at 71st. In fact, only the New York Islanders have a better set of possession defenseman this year with Leddy, Boychuk, De Haan, Visnovsky, and Hamonic all coming in inside the top 40.
Here is a good chart thanks again to War-on-Ice that represents the rolling 20-game on-ice corsi differential of the Kings defenseman. Doughty and Muzzin break the chart.
The league leader, Jake Muzzin, has had the crosshairs centered over him from fans on many occasions throughout his career as a King. The expectation for the young players on L.A. has seemingly risen to new heights, with fans asking for a lot very soon from young players like McNabb, Shore, Jake Muzzin. You can thank Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar for that I suppose. Kings fans have been spoiled by a plethora of good young players stepping in and contributing at a young age, but that doesn't mean that everyone is going to be capable of that. Let alone play games free of mistakes. You have to admit those mistakes are there, and sometimes they pop up in the worst way:
However, you take the good with the bad and Jake Muzzin is really good. Not only is he the league leader in corsi for percentage, he is 56th out of the 165 eligible defenseman in opposing corsi for. That is an exceptional spread.
If you think it is just because of Drew Doughty also, think again. The two seem to have a symbiosis that benefits Drew Doughty far more than it benefits Muzzin. Over the last two years, Doughty has been a worse possession defenseman without Muzzin than with. The two work off each other incredibly well, and Jake's game clearly allows Doughty to do things with the puck he wouldn't otherwise be able to do or feel comfortable doing with any other player. How do we know this?
Simple WOWY charts provided by Stats.hockeyanalysis.com.
Simple fact, Muzzin has been outstanding yet again this season. His play with and without the puck have been strong despite a few glaring turnovers. His 60 minute rates have been down from last year, but at the same time his points per 60 have hit a new high. All this considering he has seen a huge bump in ice time from this season to last season as well. He is up almost four and a half minutes a night on average from last season.
That is the factor that has really hit the Kings defense hard. With the loss of Voynov, the departure of Willie Mitchell, and the statistical downturn of both Regehr and Martinez, the increased minutes that have been distributed throughout the lineup have been a challenge.
Nonetheless, we are talking about probably the 2nd or 3rd best blue line in the league in terms of driving the play and possessing the puck. Matt Greene continues to be a solid 3rd pairing option, and Brayden McNabb has played very well despite being scratched at times in favor of the powerplay specialist that is Jamie McBain.
The only real weak points you could say the LA Kings have come in the form of Robyn Regehr. Martinez has struggled, however, his usage adjusted number suggest that he hasn't been all that bad.
Consider the following though, only Jamie McBain has earned more protected minutes than Alec Martinez from Darryl Sutter.
Regehr on the other hand...
The Kings defenseman has heard a lot of praise this year for his "Rugged" play, but he has simply not been very good for the team this season where it matters.
Granted, he has been used in extremely defensive positions, taking the most defensive zone starts at 5-on-5 and essentially facing teams second and third lines. Standard minutes for a second pairing. The minutes also haven't been increased very much from this year to last year. In fact, they are nearly identical. His minutes probably would have gone down this season if not for the current roster situation.
Finally, while we all love the offensive contributions of Jamie McBain, his defensive zone play leaves a lot to be desired.
You take the good with the bad with McBain. He isn't going to provide you much in the defensive zone, but since he is scoring and adds a decent point shot on the powerplay you can opt to leave him in the lineup.
This Kings team definitely is different defensively this season. But is it THE major reason they are in the position they are in? Not entirely. It is a reason, but it is minor in the grand scheme of it all. The penalty kill has been notably bad. The goaltending has been substandard on various evenings, and the goalscoring has been hit or miss.
The real reason the defense has looked sketchy at times? Forward. Support.
Let us look at the updated hextally of where teams are scoring against the Kings provided by War-on-ice.com
That center ice area that has the highest shooting percentage against is not always about the defenseman. The Kings have been blasted on the forward coverage this year, and it has led to some really high scoring opportunities and easy goals. Failure to rotate properly, missed and mixed up coverages, and just flat out slow foot-speed have allowed the center of the ice to be a gaping chasm at times.
Let's take a moment and remember that defensive zone breakdowns aren't always about defensemen. Forwards have a job also. The Kings defenseman have been pressed this year but in a whole they have been passable as a team that is in the playoffs. I'll leave you with a few still photos of some Kings even strength breakdowns.
Pretty much this whole sequence
and the notice the failure to rotate by Toffoli which leads to a pretty easy waltz into the slot by Stempniak.
Now ask yourself this: If the Kings had one absolute need that would change their playoff chances what would it be? A defenseman? Or a good defensive centerman?
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