How can you even begin to explain the attitude and the mentality of the LA Kings?
It's a quiet, dare I say almost unsatisfied attitude. It's really something to behold honestly.
Up 3-1 in the series against one of the best regular season team in hockey after having blown them out for a game and a half, and here comes Darryl Sutter:
What will it take to beat Chicago in Game 5:"We’ll have to play a hell of a lot better than we did tonight."
Darryl! 5-2! You've outscored the Hawks 8-2 in the last four periods of hockey.
Maybe that's just Sutter though. How about you Justin Williams? How do you feel about the team's progress since the first round?
Well, winning the game doesn’t mean you played a flawless game. There’s a lot of things you can clean up. Winning the game means you just did a lot of things better than they did. So, you know, for us going forward, it’s certainly not even close to perfection. That’s what we strive for.
Oh...okay. Quick?
At the end of the day, our focus is the next game and what we can do to get better and prepare.
Oh come on guys! Be excited!
But no, this is perfect. The Kings approach to the game is honestly something that teams should take notes about. Looking back over all the interviews that the team has done, there is hardly one excited moment, one elated comment. There isn't one PK Subban-Pierre Maguire magical moment to speak of.
Even after coming back from 3-0 down against the Sharks, Sutter had this to say:
The history part doesn’t mean ... that’s no big deal to me at all.
Don't you just love it? They are unflappable, they are calm, they are certainly unsatisfied with anything less than perfection. While it makes for fairly boring interviews (except for the ever popular Sutterisms), stingy answers, and less than enthusiastic post-game media scrums, it is the Kings way of life. Park. And. Ride.
Time and time again, park and ride, park and ride. It's a motto we've heard repeated by Sutter and by Kings players for the better part of two years now since the veteran coach arrived. It is the mentality that won them a cup in 2011-12, it got them to the conference finals in 2012-13, and now it leaves them standing on the doorstep of another finals. How can you argue with success?
40 years ago a book written by a man by the name of Timothy Gallwey was published, it is called "The Inner Game of Tennis"
It's worth a read if you are an athlete or anyone who has ever had a moment overcome by nerves, anxiety, or the feeling that you are your own worst enemy in pressure situations. One day I plan on asking Sutter if he's ever heard of it, because I feel like he has instilled some of the fundamental ideas from that book in the brain of the Kings players.
One game at a time, shift by shift, play by play, don't look forward and don't look back. The Kings have impressively remained in the moment in so many instances already in their playoff run this year, and they continue to do so even though they are one step away from a second finals appearance in three years.
In this day and age of the new NHL, there is so much parity that few teams stand out as superior in terms of personnel. Yes, there is a clear divide at some area of the standings from about 20th on down, but 1-16 is almost identical in what they are capable of. This is where the Kings unexcitable, methodical, and simple approach to the game has made them a horrid opponent to face. The last time I recall the Kings looking nervous in any way shape or form was the 2010-11 first round against the San Jose Sharks. A series in which they lost 4-2, dropping every single game on home ice. They also allowed a staggering 16 goals in those three home games.
Ever since then, it has been nothing but focus in big situations. Even now they look for more. The team wants more, and as Justin Williams pointed out they want nothing short of perfection.
Last night was another fantastic performance by the Kings, who looked 100-percent prepared right out of the gates. The Blackhawks had no answers. None. It was unexpected to me. Even afterwards I was sitting here asking myself, how did nothing change for the Hawks from Game 4? It seemed fairly obvious what the problems were, I even had trouble putting together a post-game that would say anything other than what I pointed out on Sunday. They made lineup changes, but they amounted to nothing.
The Hawks are definitely dealing with a two pronged attack now. The Kings are matching them in terms of on-ice play, but where they are twisting the dagger is mentally. With an opponent so focused and locked in right now, it's up to Joel Quenneville, Jonathan Toews, and all the other locker room leaders for the Blackhawks to match that mental intensity the Kings are bringing. Is it too late? Who knows. I know that the Hawks have been there before, and they've also faced a similar deficit before, no more than a year ago against the Detroit Red Wings. It's certainly not over but the Hawks have done themselves no favors.
Backs against the wall, you normally find out what a team is made of. Wednesday we'll see what the Hawks are made of.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let's take our hats off to the youth movement.
Jake Muzzin
Tyler Toffoli
Tanner Pearson
The three youngest players on the Kings squad, and quite possible the three largest impact players the team has had in the last four games. Jake Muzzin has been a monster on the backend and has quietly been one of the team's best defenseman in the postseason. He is logging over 21 minutes a night, and is currently working on a four point series for the Kings against the Hawks.
Pearson and Toffoli have been talked about ad nauseum to this point, as their line centered by Jeff Carter has been uncontainable. The line is currently holding a ridiculous 8 goals and 18 points in the series between the trio. They have been the X factor for LA. Without a line capable of matching up with them, the youngsters have been able to run wild on the wings of a red hot Jeff Carter.
At ages 21 and 22 it's like those two don't realize just what they are doing and how well they are doing it. Pretty great stuff in both the short term and long term if you are a Kings fan or Dean Lombardi.
Also, speaking of youngsters, the Kings have officially signed Valentin Zykov to a 3-year entry level deal according to Renaud Lavoie of the Montreal Journal.
Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings and the NHL