“Phil had one in Calgary last night, hit him in the hand, Kopi today, those are our star players and they get it. They do get it. They’re not perfect, they’re going to make mistakes. We want them to score, be in the Top 10 in scoring, but they do some of those little things that allow us to win. I think it was Marc Bergevin that told me the other day that there’s statistical hockey and then there’s winning hockey. What’s nice about most of our guys is that they want to play winning hockey, they don’t give a you know what about their stats, they just want to win. It’s in our DNA, so we do a good job of it.”
Insiders, this isn’t a new quote. It was posted in last night’s game recap article. I tweeted out a snippet of it that would fit into 280 characters. But I honestly can’t remember the last time I walked away from a media availability with a quote that resonated than this one here.
This quote is the LA Kings. It’s the identity of this team. As McLellan said, it’s in the DNA.
When you look at how the Kings have found success this season, it’s not been through a 50-goal scorer, or a 100-point getter. It’s been through the team. Now, the team has been led by its star players and its leaders. McLellan’s quote was in reference to a question asked about Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault both blocking shots in the final 30 seconds of regulation, both in key moments in a one-goal game. That’s the team’s top two centers, both of whom are having good offensive seasons, blocking key shots to close out what was a grinding win in Winnipeg. If Drew Doughty was in the lineup, you know he’d be blocking that shot twice over.
Earlier in the day yesterday, before morning skate, Todd McLellan talked about how a guy like Alex Iafallo leads. His process is the right way and now, he’s doing it as a leader, as an example for others. Adrian Kempe’s game has been praised for his goalscoring, sure, but also how he uses his legs to backcheck and prevent opportunities. The duo of Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore refuse to cede an inch of ice with legs that never stop moving, earning their offensive chances with hard work and an irritating to play against style.
That’s your top six and those guys play the game the right way. And, when it’s your stars who are playing “winning hockey” as McLellan put it, the rest of the group will follow. That’s what we’ve seen here this season and that’s what’s made this Kings team so special to follow. They’re not only winning games, but they’re winning games as a group, as a team.
Danault played in the Stanley Cup Final last season. Arvidsson’s been there before as well. Kopitar has obviously won twice. This is a group driven by getting back to that point, determined to get back to that point. It was clear that for a player like Kopitar, over the last few years, while statistically quite good on an individual note, were not what he was playing for. The process has been a long one for those here from the start, but we’re currently living an important of that process right now. Meaningful April games. The Kings have 11 games remaining on the schedule and each of them will be meaningful when it comes to reaching the team’s goal – the postseason.
Now, we’ve still got a ways to go. They’re six points clear of a Pacific Division playoff spot and seven points clear in the wild card, but 11 games remaining for the Kings is the fewest remaining on the schedule for any team at this point. They’ve got 86 points in the bank but 86 points won’t make the playoffs. The current pace is 99 points, but they’ll have to earn the remaining 13 to get there.
It would be hard to say that we learned much about this team on this trip. If you’ve been watching, you already knew. The Kings will work with everything they’ve got until the buzzer sounds. They can check for their opportunities and control the possession of the puck. They’ve got a comeback mentality, with no situation feeling too big for a come from behind effort. Just another four-day stretch in which we walked away impressed once again with this group.
What maybe was new for me though is that, for the first time, it didn’t feel like guys were injured. I know how ridiculous that sounds to say, because the Kings are clearly very injured, leading the NHL in man games lost among defensemen this season. But these past three games felt like the Kings, regardless of what names were on the backs of the jerseys. With so many staples not on this trip, that’s a pretty good feeling to have.
Coming up, the schedule turns accordion. Last week began Edmonton – Calgary and starting tomorrow, it heads back the other way with Calgary – Edmonton, though both of those games will be on home ice. The Kings, ironically enough, sit sandwiched directly in between the two teams, three points shy of the Flames and three points ahead of the Oilers. Two more massive divisional games, though with the caveat of a little bit of rest in between and beyond.
The Kings recently played 16 games in 30 days during the month of March, beginning on the second. They’ll have two days in between the games against Alberta opposition and two more days between the Edmonton game and the first game back on the road, against Minnesota on Sunday. And that’s just two of the five, two-plus day stretches without games the rest of the way. For a team that was the second-busiest group in the league last month, it’s nice looking ahead at a schedule with a little bit more breathing room.
No practice today, Insiders, another opportunity to recharge the batteries following a long night of travel home last night. The Kings will hit the ice again tomorrow for the Insiders, with LAKI Suite Night returning tomorrow evening!
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