With young players you always hope the development curve is either up or even. While down years are to be expected, they always come with the idea that next year they will be better moving forward.
At this point, let's all hope that the Kings young corps of puck-movers will be better for the remainder of this season and moving forward.
Amidst all the struggles and ups and downs of a hockey season I think we sometimes forget just how young the Kings puck moving trio of Muzzin, Voynov, and Doughty are. All three of them are just 24 years old, with both Muzzin and Voynov barely eclipsing the 100 game mark in the NHL regular season. Even Alec Martinez is only 26 and just shy of 200 games. Not factoring in the elder statesman in Regehr, Greene, and Mitchell it is one of the youngest groups of defenseman in the NHL outside of maybe Phoenix or Detroit. However, the struggles of lacking offensive contribution from the team have taken a toll on their numbers this season. It has left me wondering if the struggles perhaps start with the young puck-movers or if they are just a victim of it. It of course is probably a combination, but let's take a look at some of the numbers from Voynov, Doughty, and Muzzin this season as compared to previous ones.
In terms of on pace, raw numbers, Only Drew Doughty is having a comparable year to last year in terms of production.
Currently No. 8 is on pace for 40 points, where as last year he was going to hover around 38-40 in a full season. His shooting percentage is even at 5.3% (Blargh), his plus-minus is much higher, and his powerplay point contribution is about the same as last season. These numbers are all, however, a far cry from the 59 points 2009-10 season Doughty had. Ironically, this was the last year in which the Kings had both an offense (9th) and a powerplay (7th) ranked inside the top 10 in the league. One black eye on Doughty's season thus far though is his time renting out the penalty box this year. Muzzin and Doughty make up THE MOST penalized defensive pairing in the league. Doughty currently sits in 5th amongst defenseman in the NHL with 26 minor penalties, and Muzzin sits in 8th with 23. For Doughty, this is way too high of a number as he is one of the Kings best players.
Muzzin is also having a sophomore season that is only slightly off his pace from last year. His ice time has increased almost a solid two minutes from last year and for what it's worth his corsi remains one of the best in the league. While on pace for 28 points and 5 goals in a full 82-game season last year, he is currently on pace for 23 points and 4 goals this year. The numbers aren't a huge contrast, except for one thing which I will mention when I get to Voynov. Muzzin remains a rather polarizing figure to fans, as his solid plays are often overlooked in the same game by miscues and poor plays. He is young however, so it's best to remember that. Muzzin is a talented player still in the early stages of his career.
Voynov is the biggest member of the trio gone MIA this season. After a marvelous 2012-13 where he was on pace for 45 points, the young Russian has seen this total cut nearly in half. He is only on pace for about 28 points this year, with his goal totals going from a projected 9 in 12-13 to 4 this season. His powerplay contributions are about the same, as is his ice time, but his shooting percentage has gone from a 7.6 in 2012-13 to a bafflingly low 3.0% this year. Only two players on the team have lower shooting percentages: Trevor Lewis and Jake Muzzin. Muzzin has seen his shooting percentage drop from a 9.1-percent to a ridiculous 2.5 percent.
By nature defenseman tend to have an extremely low shooting percentage, but Voynov and Muzzin. Both are in the bottom 25 of the league, and of players who have put at least 100 shots on goal both are in the bottom 10 (Muzzin 4th, Voynov 8th).
It isn't just puck movers either. Greene is off his scoring pace from the last healthy season he had, as his Willie Mitchell (WAY off pace I might add). Across the board, contributions from the blueline both even strength and 5-on-5 are down.
Why do I bring this up?
When viewing the Kings struggles for offense you look for answers from various places. While shot quality has been investigated to some degree the season, the isolation of defensive scoring seemed only natural considering how talented the King group is. Now the real question remains; are the defensive numbers being brought down by the offensive struggles or vice versa?
When I look at the shooting percentages of both Voynov and Muzzin being in the lowest of low percentages, and compare that to how the King offense works, it definitely goes hand in hand with the struggles. The Kings make a living in front of the net and along the halfwall. How many times have we seen plays worked from behind the net, out to the point, where one of Muzzin, Doughty, Voynov, or Martinez is waiting to blast a shot. It is key in the powerplay and on 5-on-5. During this recent skid the Kings shooting percentages are almost unbelievably low.
I posted on twitter a fine article by Robert from Jewels from the Crown which includes just how bad it has been. He also brings up some interesting counter arguments to my blog on shot quality and location.Worth a read.
When you think about how the offense sets up, it is very much dependent on those shots from Voynov and Muzzin getting through. When they don't, it's less second and third chances and less tips/deflections. Know what that leads to? Less goals, less offense, more frustration.
be mindful, this is a very small factor in what has been a pretty multi-faceted losing trend for the Kings. It's not just Voynov or Muzzin, or the penalties, or the plain old bad luck. It is a combination of many things. Maybe we see these numbers pick up for players after the Olympics and the Kings can return to the W column. Nevertheless, stretches like these give me no shortage of things to contemplate. Some are right, some are wrong.
Kings have two very difficult games remaining before the Olympic break against Chicago tonight, and Columbus on Thursday. These two games could set the tone for a very interesting roster freeze while players are in Sochi.
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