LIMPING HOME AFTER 6 GAMES

LOS ANGELES, CA — For an organization that promised change after three consecutive losing seasons, the Los Angeles Kings start to the 2021-22 season has muted the positive chatter about an improved roster and maturing prospects that would turn the franchise’s fate around.

They figuratively and literally limped home from a four-game roadtrip with a single point with the biggest limps coming from the damaged knees of defensemen Drew Doughty and Sean Walker.

Doughty is one of two irreplaceable players on the roster and to put a positive spin on his injury, it appears the reckless play by Jani Hakanpaa that felled Doughty in the 3-2 overtime loss will not result in a season-ending injury. On Tuesday, GM Rob Blake reported the knee sprain will have him missing for the lineup for an estimated eight weeks. But when this news is one of the positive aspects of the team’s initial half-dozen games, patience is being tested in all corners.

Injuries are always tough, but this one is especially impactful given Doughty’s solid start, one which he promised on the first day of training camp.

The impact of his absence was unsurprisingly immediate as the Los Angeles’ special teams collapsed in the 7-3 Saturday defeat to the St. Louis Blues. Failing to convert on four powerplay attempts and surrendering four goals on seven penalty kills is a reminder that despite the criticism Doughty has received as the team’s losing days replaced the championship ones, he is still an impact player.

In Doughty’s absence, more was going to be asked of Sean Walker and Alexander Edler, but in the sixteenth minute of Monday’s loss, Walker was felled with a torn ACL and MCL (similar to Rasmus Kupari suffered 18 months ago) that had Los Angeles playing another game with five defenseman and although they were plucky and had chances, a rejuvenated Vladimir Tarasenko insured they would return to Staples Center winless in their first roadtrip of the season.

Losing two right side defensemen, one who is among the league leaders in time-on-ice, is a devastating short-term blow for any team. Asking to plug in capable short-term replacements for both Doughty and Walker isn’t a reasonable ask – Austin Strand, the recall made after the Doughty injury put in a reasonable 16:10 on Monday, is a bottom-pair NHL defenseman. The injuries hit in the worst possible place of the roster and spotlights the lack of quality play driving depth on the blueline at the NHL level.

Despite all the praise heaped on its prospect pool, there’s no kid ready to come in a make an impact on the blueline. It’s foolish to criticize an organization for not having a defenseman-in-waiting to replace Doughty, but when there isn’t one for Walker, it’s fair to suggest that instead of waiting on the deal to find the elusive top pair defenseman they’ve lacked for years, maybe it’s time to swap some of the young talent to find a skilled middle pair defenseman. Through six games, Doughty was the only player to register a goal and Matt Roy, Tobias Bjornfot and Mikey Anderson have not registered a point.

The challenge of getting off to a quick start was going to be a difficult one with nine of the first dozen games coming against 2021 playoff teams. By the time we get to mid-November, that body of work will give an indication of how realistic the talk of making the post season was in September. Unless Anze Kopitar can keep pace with Connor McDavid, teams will go all in to stop the top line of him, Dustin Brown and Viktor Arvidsson, and if they are successful in muting the top line – setting aside the blueline crater caused by Doughty and Walker’s absence – the path to winning games offensively must come via some level of contribution from the team’s middle six forwards.

When you talk about patience, this is the area where an extra dose needs to be administered.

Coach Todd McLellan (and no, he shouldn’t be fired six games into the season) is trying to find the right combination of players to keep the pressure on opposing defenses when the Kopitar line comes off the ice. There are only so many combinations you can roll out, still not get results, and not point at the players as the reason the Los Angeles offense still languishes.

After six games, the bottom nine forwards have produced three even strength goals (one of those was Carl Grundstrom with LA down three goals in the third period in the first St. Louis loss) and one powerplay marker. If your defense is going to be shorthanded for months, the offense must start producing or it will be another season where the discussion revolves around how high the Kings will draft and not how high will they finish in the standings.

The better news is 92 percent of the racetrack remains to be run, so massive changes or indictments of The Plan need to be deferred until a larger body of work is accumulated. But in the midst of the hitting the pause button on the assertion that the poor start will lead to a poor season, a nagging question needs answering.

If this team was designed with speed and skill by sacrificing size and strength, why do they continue to be among the worst shooting teams at 5-on-5 play? Per Natural Stat Trick, Los Angeles was 24th in shooting percentage at 5-on-5 (7.61%) play last season and with what is perceived to be a more talented roster the numbers have worsened – 27th in the NHL at 5.99% – again, a small sample size against playoff caliber teams and with chemistry still forming along the forward wall, but if you extract Kopitar and Brown’s shooting percentages, it’s a very ugly story.

For those who want to point at the coach for the shooting woes, the team is fourth overall in shots on goal, which requires a deeper dive into the bottom nine forwards – are they the right combinations, is it the right personnel? If the numbers don’t improve over the next few weeks, do you wave the white flag on some of the talent or continue with the one facet the organization leads the league in – patience.

If things don’t start to trend in a positive direction, get ready to read and hear how well the Ontario Reign is playing.

Shifting back from a 56-game sprint to an 82-game marathon changes the optics on a poor start but make no mistake, the upcoming five game homestand now becomes a pivotal one on the heels of a 1-4-1 beginning. A third match against the Blues stands to be challenging given St. Louis’ recent form, but some consolation could be provided given it’s the conclusion of their season series. The balance of the home stand contains winnable games (Winnipeg, Montreal, Buffalo and New Jersey) and when you find yourself in the basement in the worst division in the NHL like the Kings do, an over .500 homestand, if not a necessity, will put the team in a better frame of mind with it’s first Canadian roadtrip looming.

I’ve used the word ‘patience’ a few times and in the aftermath of the injury news, Los Angeles may come to find that it is a two-way street. With Doughty missing at a minimum of two dozen games, the reality of another non-contending season is looming and entailed with it is the willingness of the fanbase to support another season of games that determine draft order, not playoff seeding. It’s a fair question to ask short of an emergence of Byfield or another prospect this season, what will make the Kings a compelling watch this season? In a climate where without question COVID-19 affects attendance to all live events, the task of keeping a sports team relevant (defined as winning or at a minimum entertaining when losing) takes on heightened importance.

So, with the backdrop of relevancy and entertainment in mind, could I interest you in a currently injured Buffalo center?

MARKET RUMBLINGS

Since the middle of last season, TFP has pumped up its video content and in the suite of offerings David Pagnotta and I do a weekly segment called Market Rumblings.

Rumblings is a look around the league – this week we discuss the Kings, Ducks, and the return of the NHL Global Series to Europe. You can find the condensed version on our Twitter accounts and the full version on TFP’s YouTube channel.

We will also continue to produce weekly segments such as Dirty Data with Aaron Ward and Shane Kelly, the Upper Deck Player Spotlight with Irfaan Gaffar, and the Saturday Lineup with Eddie Lack.

And stay tuned for more daily content coming soon (shh!).