The Kings finished up the 82-game regular season on Saturday with an overtime loss to crosstown rivals the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
While it wasn't the finish the fans probably wanted on fan appreciation night, overall the season had plenty of positive things to be proud of.
It had the ups and downs you would expect of an 82-game season. It had the adversity of key injuries and slumps. It also had the emergence of young talent, unexpected performances, and inspiring runs of form.
With another playoff run in the books for the Kings, let's take a look at some of the regular season accolades the Kings achieved over the course of 2013-14
Team
On a team level the Kings were yet again a solid defensive group, and have earned themselves the first William M. Jennings Trophy in franchise history. (If the Bruins give up one goal v. New Jersey, that will decide whether or not the Kings share the trophy or win it outright.) While I'm not super ecstatic about the award, and to be fair it didn't seem like the players even knew either, it's a good accomplishment and it speaks to the strong defensive mentality that the Kings have predicated themselves on for several years now.
The 5-on-5 scoring also took a tremendous leap forward this year compared to prior seasons. In 2011-12, the Kings were middle of the pack with a .98, in 2012-13 they had a 1.09 and reach into the top 10. This year they hit an impressive 1.29 5-on-5 for/against and will likely finish in the top-three. That 1.29 number is the highest 5-on-5 total in over 15 years. (That was as far back as I was able to trace, after that I couldn't find the 5-on-5 numbers.)
The 100 points they earned are fourth highest in franchise history, and the 46 wins achieved ties the franchise record for wins in a single season.
The team also set a new record in average attendance. Last year the team set new highs by averaging 18,179 per game over the course of the season, and this year they surpassed that with an average of 19,018 on the season. That would be over capacity on average, as Staples Center holds 18,118. I'm sure that the outdoor game had something to do with these numbers being the way they are though.
The team set a new high in shutouts on the season with 13 (6 Quick, 4 Jones, 3 Scrivens).
They finished up third in faceoffs, and also led the league in hits.
They also tied the franchise record for longest winning streak in team history with 8.
And if you are into advanced stats, the Kings were the best 5-on-5 corsi teams in hockey this year ahead of the Blackhawks, Bruins, Sharks, and Devils. They also led the league in Fenwick.
Individual
From the standpoint of individual performances there are plenty of noteworthy ones this season. First, here are the awards the team and media handed out to the players.
Most Valuable Player – the Bill Libby Memorial Award presented by McDonalds Anze Kopitar -voted on by the media
Best Newcomer – Mark Bavis Memorial Award Martin Jones -voted on by the media
Outstanding Defenseman Drew Doughty -voted on by the media
Defensive Player of the Year Anze Kopitar -voted on by the media
Most Inspirational Player – Ace Bailey Memorial Award Matt Greene -voted on by Kings players
Unsung Hero Trevor Lewis -voted on by Kings players
Community Service Award Jonathan Quick -selected by the Kings Care Foundation
Most Popular Player Drew Doughty -selected by the Kings Booster Club
Leading Scorer Award Anze Kopitar
As mentioned the goaltenders of Quick, Jones, and Scrivens put up new highs in terms of shutouts. Martin Jones in particular had one of the best starts to an NHL career for a goaltender in league history with an 8-0-0 start on the year. He finished up the season with outstanding numbers, going 12-6-0, with 4 shutouts, a .934 save-percentage, and a 1.81 goals against.
Anze Kopitar is currently embattled in what SHOULD BE a close Selke race with Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews. Kopitar finished up with his fourth 70-point season, which led the team in scoring. His 29 goals, which also led the team, are his highest goal totals since 2009-10 when he had 34. The plus-34 rating is the highest of his career.
The Kings had several strong performances in advance statistics and possession numbers, with Muzzin, Kopitar, Williams, and Toffoli finishing 2-5 in the standings on the year.
Tyler Toffoli, who had a bit of a rough go at times, finished up with 29 points in his 62-game rookie season. (Yes, he had 10 last year but this is his first true rookie season.). The 21-year old had five game winning goals which was tied with Jeff Carter for second on the team.
Jeff Carter finished up the year with 27 goals, his highest total since 2010-2011 with the Flyers.
Carter is included in a group of ridiculously strong faceoff numbers from King centermen on the season as well. Stoll, Kopitar, Richards, Carter were the Kings four primary centermen, and all of them finished above 52-percent. Stoll in particular turned in an impressive 54.7%, which was easily in the top-10 of the league when you factor in number of draws taken versus his percentages.
For all the flak he got throughout the year from fans, Muzzin turned in an outstanding sophomore year. His time on ice went up by nearly a minute and a half this year compared to last, and had 24 points and a plus-eight rating. As mentioned before his possession numbers were the best in the NHL for defenseman.
The goal troubles for fellow defenseman Slava Voynov were well documented, however the 24-year old notched 30-apples on the season. Those numbers were actually inside the top-30 in the NHL (25th) and were ahead of teammate Drew Doughty's totals (27 assists).
Doughty didn't have an extremely productive season in terms of points, but he did have a solid defensive year and many see him as an outside shot at the Norris trophy, or at least in the outside conversation.
Alec Martinez had a torrid end to the season with 15 points in his final 21 games of the year. In his 61 appearances he set career highs in both points and goals in his fourth full-pro year.
The Kings saw three players make NHL debuts this year as well with Andrew Campbell, Linden Vey, and Martin Jones all taking their first steps into the pros.
Dwight King was also a hot and cold player but finished with a 15-15 season with a plus-16 rating and two shorthanded goals. Stellar numbers from a primarily third line player.
Newcomer Marian Gaborik made a strong impact on the team since arriving at the trade deadline from Columbus. He accumulated 16 points in 19 games, and the Kopitar/Gaborik/Williams line combined for what ended up being 19 goals in the final 19 games of the season.
Kopitar had 18 points in that time, Williams 9, and Gaborik 16.
We will keep it on the positive side of things for now and save all the ugly for after the playoffs conclude...in June hopefully. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did some season predictions back in October for the Eastern and Western conferences. Some of those predictions, in hindsight. Ouch. But for the most part it wasn't horrible. Here is what I had versus what happened.
Pacific Division
Predicted
1. Los Angeles Kings (X) 2. San Jose Sharks (X) 3. Anaheim Ducks (X) 4. Edmonton Oilers (X) 5. Vancouver Canucks (X) 6. Phoenix Coyotes 7. Calgary Flames
Actual
1. Anaheim Ducks (X) 2. San Jose Sharks (X) 3. Los Angeles Kings (X) 4. Phoenix Coyotes 5. Vancouver Canucks 6. Calgary Flames 7. Edmonton Oilers
To be fair, I said the top-3 would be an extreme toss up. I was completely wrong on Edmonton, and I mentioned the Canucks could be bumped by Dallas.
Central Division
Predicted
1. Chicago (X) 2. St. Louis (X) 3. Minnesota (X) 4. Dallas 5. Winnipeg 6. Nashville 7. Colorado
Actual
1. Colorado (X) 2. St. Louis (X) 3. Chicago (X) 4. Minnesota (X) 5. Dallas (X) 6. Nashville 7. Winnipeg
Dead wrong on Colorado. They surprised the bejesus out of me. I thought the youth of Colorado would need another year to mature, but they appear to be ready now. Nathan MacKinnon was a monster, and Landeskog, Duchene and company were phenomenal.
Eastern conference....I'm not even going to go there. My picks were pretty far off honestly. Let's just say I had Toronto, Washington, and Ottawa in, and Tampa, Philly, and Columbus out.
West coast bias. I uhhh...don't stay up late to watch those East coast games...is that how it's supposed to work?
Ah well. Better luck next year. I finished third in my fantasy league so back off.
Kings start up later on next week against the Sharks in what should be a doozy of a series.
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