KINGS AT 21: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

KOLOA, KAUAI — When you sit at a blackjack table, you’re hoping for a 21, the goal to a winning hand. The Los Angeles Kings have hit 21 – from a games played aspect – after Tuesday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The hand they’ve been dealt is far from a winning one, the season’s first quarter contained more intrigue than all of the 56 games of the 2020-21 season.

This year’s model of Los Angeles is far from a completed version as 61 regular-season games remain but there are team and individual characteristics that have developed.

So, what have we learned about the team that will play in the Crypto.com Arena come Christmas Day?

LIFE WENT ON WITHOUT DREW

The record shows the team went 8-6-2 without Drew Doughty in the lineup, not the doom and gloom many expected when he was felled with a sprain knee against Dallas on October 22. As I see it, it’s a mark that could have been obtained with Doughty healthy. That’s not to say that the team wasn’t affected by his departure – his absence on the first unit powerplay was painfully noticeable – but a sign that there is enough talent on this team to win games when losing a core player for a significant stretch.

The kids on the blueline, Mikey Anderson and Tobias Bjornfot, continue towards NHL maturity while Alexander Edler proved to be sturdy while carrying 19 minutes a night at age 35. Sean Durzi was a late entry through the sixteen-game stretch and looks to supplant Kale Clague in the rotation, showing a little more offensive flair while being the only Kings blueliner to score a goal with Doughty.

WHAT IS STREAKY

If you look at the game results, the team holds the form of a developing one, inconsistent in its effort, hills and valleys that appear randomly but Coach Todd McLellan says it’s a matter of perspective and optics.

The Toddfather submits that while you can’t argue the wins and losses aspect of the streakiness of the team, the game-to-game performance has been consistent and supporting the logic is how the team is getting results. They have rarely been out of games – the 7-3 loss in St. Louis when the penalty kill was poor and the 6-2 loss to Toronto on this home stand are the only two outcomes that were decided early. They have stayed in games because they are a more aggressive team on the forecheck and when they are outplayed in stretches, they don’t surrender much on the scoreboard which makes them……

KINGS OF THE ONE-GOAL GAMES

Regardless of the competition, either those at the top of the standings like Washington and Carolina, or those below them like Arizona and Ottawa, this team loves to play one-goal games. Another tip of the hat to the increasing competitiveness perhaps but also a negative due to the inability to knock teams out when they dominate early in games coupled with the failure to build on leads with insurance markers. It has cost them standings points for those who believe they can fit in the top eight in the Western Conference and root cause is one that is not surprising and stands to linger throughout the 82 games.

NOT GOAL ORIENTED

Though they may be No.1 in the hearts of their fans, the Kings are 25th in goals scored per game. Some will point at the Doughty absence on the power play as a major contributor, overall the man advantage was 8-for-56 in the 18 games, a lower than average 14.3 percent rate but considering three of those goals came in the last two matches and they only scored multiple goals (one was meaningless in a four goal loss to the Leafs), it’s reasonable to expect more production with Doughty manning the point.

But simply adding Doughty will not make this team more difficult for the opposition to defend. Better performance by its wingers – both new and old must happen if this team is to play games of consequence by the trade deadline. It would be refreshing to have this organization in the discussion of buying teams down the stretch.

That will only come with Viktor Arvidsson and Dustin Brown hitting the back of the net with consistency. Arvidsson has shown signs of life on the power play in the last two games and while his game has been interrupted by COVID-19 protocol and a non-C-19 illness soon thereafter, his overall performance has validated those who believed he cannot return to his high-scoring Nashville days.

You can’t say Brown isn’t putting in the effort to score, as he’s tied with Alex Iafallo in shots attempted this season. The hope is a player with a career average of 9.3% will elevate from the 4.4 he currently sits. Brown has said little about his season, he’s been shuttled between Anze Kopitar’s line and the ever-evolving third line and hasn’t provided the results expected. Maybe the weight of playing for a contract for the first time in a long while has added pressure to his approach but like Arvidsson, the goals must come sooner than later for team success and to achieve his goal of signing another deal with the team, maybe he game-tying goal that earned the team an unexpected point after trailing by three with 17 minutes left in regulation against the Ducks will shake him out of his funk. The chatter for some fans regarding Carl Grundstrom needing an increasing role to generate offense is curious to me as I see him as a marginal bottom six, non-impact player and not a solution.

The strange thing about the Los Angeles offense is that though it is ranked in the bottom third of the NHL, there is a legitimate chance it will contain three 30-goal scorers at season end. Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Iafallo all have registered eight goals in 21 games, a 31-goal full season pace. The multiple factors muting this offense are 1) getting no goal scoring from the blueline, there should be an uptick from Doughty’s return and possibly Durzi’s skill from the third pairing, but it won’t be a bonanza, 2) a dormant third line now a revolving door of unsuccessful trios. Rasmus Kupari isn’t the play driver necessary to create chances, Trevor Moore’s goal last season’s goal scoring prowess has vanished, Athanasiou’s toolbox missing does hurt and 3) despite being a fixture in the lineup, there are still holes in Arthur Kaliyev’s game (yes, he’s all of 20 years old) to question if he can be a big time top-six NHL winger. He has yet to develop into the scoring threat teams must account for when he steps on the ice.

Side note: Though I’ve chided about #playthekids over the past two seasons, there’s a cautionary tale when you hitch your wagon to future stars. The 2017 LA Draft was once thought to be a major win for the franchise, today its lone NHL performer is Mikey Anderson with Gabe Vilardi trying to find himself in the AHL and Jaret Anderson-Dolan unable to move up the center depth chart even with the injury absence of Quinton Byfield.

IT'S GOOD TO (STILL) BE THE KING

Ain’t no 1 and 1A in the Los Angeles net this season. When all the signs pointed to Jonathan Quick being relegated to the backup role between the pipes (his inferior performance, the Cal Petersen extension), Quick dug deep and found a version closer to the 2018 Jennings winner than the one with the ugly statistics from the past two seasons.

A man of few words and fewer media availabilities, when Quick has spoken to the media he has shown his leadership remains steadfast. With his legacy set from the championship seasons, all he cares about (at least publicly) are wins and losses and called out those who take too much stock in statistics, questioning their knowledge of the game. He went even further to defend the foolishness of Brendan Lemieux (rightfully suspended for five games on Tuesday) a move calculated to take off heat off his embattled teammate after being blasted by Brady Tkachuk’s comments.

“I have my own opinion about what happened, or did not happen... and what I can tell you is that any comments that were made about (Lemieux) ere garbage,” Quick said. “He’s a valuable player who sticks up for his teammates. We all support him and I’d rather have him on my team over that kid any day of the week.”

Quick’s teammate, Cal Petersen, has spit the bit when things were aligned for him to wrest the goaltending crown from his partner. Granted a pricey three-year extension ($5 million per season) during training camp, he is the converse of Brown, failing to live up to expectations after given the security blanket. Referencing back to Quick’s distaste for goaltending statistics, Petersen’s performance belies the 5-3-1 record he’s fashioned through nine games. He has sat the bench in four consecutive games with his last performance against the Carolina Hurricanes, surrendering five goals on 20 shots and more importantly, not making a game-turning save when his team gave him sufficient goal support has placed him in the backseat of the LA goalie shuttle and I’m eager to see how he handles adversity with his near-term future secure.

MORE THAN HE CAN CHEW

The best way to derail a season that shows a player of questionable character can prove to be valuable is to bite your opponent. Enough said about Brendan Lemieux.

THE NEXT QUARTER

The month of December will by a tricky one for Los Angeles in their quest to stay in the Western Conference playoff race. After Thursday reuniting with Darryl Sutter and the Flames, they face seven road games and difficult home games against Dallas, Edmonton and Minnesota prior to the Christmas break. One negative is their home performance, even with a win on Thursday against the Flames, they have given away numerous points (only 6-5-2 at home) and now are forced to capture them on the road though they have held their own so far this season (3-3-2).

Los Angeles is on pace for an 85-point season, a level I saw them at season’s start – improvement, though a few ticks below a playoff qualifier, but a far better watch from an entertainment standpoint.