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Injuries Becoming a Blessing in Disguise? |
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No question that when Jeff Carter was diagnosed with a broken foot everyone got a little nervous. Where is our scoring going to come from? Who is going to play with Richards? What is going to happen to our powerplay?
Then Jonathan Quick goes down injured. Oh no. Who is going to bail us out in games where we don't play well? Who is going to backstop the majority of our games now? How are we going to win without our Conn Smythe winner in net?
In hockey it just seems like these things work themselves out though sometimes. For now anyways, the Kings look as right as they've ever been even though they have three key players missing in Carter, Greene, and Quick.
The latest update on Quick?
So the Kings move forward with Scrivens. On paper it doesn't look like Scrivens would be able to replace Quick am I right? It doesn't look like Toffoli would be able to replace Carter, nor does it look like Martinez would be able to replace the defensive prowess of Greene. Alas, here we are with the team sitting 6th overall, on a four game winning streak, and 7-2-1 over their last ten.
The contribution from the replacement players can't be overlooked, but it seems like the mentality of the Kings has changed overall since having to deal with the loss of personnel. The Kings, while winning prior to the injuries were still struggling to put together 60-minute efforts. Certain aspects of their games that were normally strengths were faltering. Defensive zone breakdowns, poor penalty killing...at times it just didn't look like your typical Kings hockey game. Something happened in my eyes though when the team lost Quick and Carter. It's almost like they banded together and said, "We have to clean this up." Maybe it was simply the idea that Quick wasn't going to be there to bail the team out that got them to focus more on defense. Whatever it was it helped.
As Scrivens said yesterday, shutouts are a team statistic. The Cornell man has three already this season, and he and his Kings are holding a 1.35 goals against average in his six starts this season. The Kings penalty kill is back up in the top half of the league, the goals against are back in the top five, and this team is looking like they haven't missed a step.
Is it mentality? Was it a message sender to the team when Quick was injured? I'm not saying the Kings don't appreciate Quick when he is in net, or that they don't trust Scrivens, but these injuries have brought the team together in a way. Young call-ups in Vey, Pearson, and Toffoli are seizing their opportunities and bringing a young energy to the squad as well. Robyn Regehr even, who seemed to be on his way to a 6/7 defenseman spot has locked it down over the last five games. His contribution and steady play has been a major factor in the Kings' more gritty and nasty defensive zone play lately. He has also had some great shifts on the penalty kill and is channeling his younger self when it comes to hitting.
The team looks more focused than they had earlier in the season, and they are really playing hard for each other. It was an unfortunate thing having Quick and Carter get injured, however it really seems to have sparked a team unity and urgency. You couple that adversity with some guys fighting for jobs and futures...well the results have been very good so far. Remember Scrivens is in a contract year, as are Dwight King and Linden Vey who will be RFA's at the end of this season. There is certainly no lack of motivation in any respects for this team right now. The Western Conference is as tight as can be, and this adversity may have been a shot in the arm to the locker room.
Hopefully when said players return from injury the Kings can continue to have that killer instinct and strong work mentality that has crept into their game in this time of need. No team is just one or two players, and the Kings are proving that. Injuries? Unfortunate, yes, but a blessing in disguise nonetheless.
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- Last night the Kings paid back the Tampa Bay Lightning, who beat them 5-1 earlier in the season, by beating them 5-2 on home ice. The Kings had goals from five different scorers (King, Brown, Kopitar, Williams, Frattin), and it was the fourth time this year the Kings had scored five or more goals. Last season they scored five or more six times.
- With his seventh of the year, and a shorthander no less, Dwight King is on pace for just shy of 30 goals. Let that sink in for a moment.
- Justin Williams recorded his team leading eight goal of the season last night, and with 17 points in 22 games Williams is on pace for his highest point total since 2005-06 with the Hurricanes. That year Williams had 76 points and his Canes won the Stanley Cup.
- Scrivens has allowed four goals in his last four starts, including two shutouts. He has faced 108 shots over those four games.
- In his last ten games Jake Muzzin has averaged a steady 20 minutes a night while skating with a plus-two rating. This is worlds different then the start of the year where he was averaging 14-15 minutes a night and was a minus-three.
- Robyn Regehr has stepped his game up considerably since the injury to Matt Greene. He is a plus-six over his last six games and has ramped up the physicality. He has averaged four hits a game over the last six games, and of his team leading 65 hits 24 came in the last six games. Tunnel of Death.
- Carter and Clifford have continued skating but there is still no time table for return. That is a great sign for both however. Jordan Nolan who was a little banged up after the New Jersey game is also skating but it remains to be seen wether he gets in the lineup next game or not.
- and finally...
Today is an off day for the Kings and they are back in action on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.
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