“We’ve got to break it down into the whole and look at it as 3-2, but then obviously the last two, the Pittsburgh one we weren’t real pleased and this game wasn’t a disaster, although we gave up four the in the third to lose. We’re still not where we need to be, quite frankly and I think that’s evident in the amount of goals that we’ve given up.”
That was Todd McLellan, as he asked about evaluating the road trip from an overarching perspective, with a 3-2 record, versus the sour taste the last two games left.
The Kings went to the Midwest and the East Coast for five games in eight days, four of which came against teams that qualified for the playoffs a season ago. The Kings finished that trip with a 3-2-0 record and McLellan’s quote was reflective of how the trip went. The Kings won the first three games, with victories in Minnesota, Detroit and Nashville, which set the stage for a trip that could have been special. Losses in Pittsburgh and Washington to close out the trip ended things on a down note, though 6 of a possible 10 points isn’t a bad trip overall. What would the reaction have been if the results were moved around a bit, maybe with a win from one of the last two games and a loss sprinkled in earlier in the trip? Same result, but perhaps in a bit of a different order, and it’s probably a more favorable reaction.
The last two sentences of the quote are telling nonetheless. Despite the three wins they picked up, the Kings are an unfinished product. As covered in the last one of these, we saw some positive trends emerge during those three wins, things that the Kings did well that we have come to expect from this team, even if they were done during an imperfect overall performance. We saw certain things come out in defeats as well, such as the forecheck in Pittsburgh, especially early, and a stronger defensive effort through 40 minutes in Washington. Both of those games, however, saw defensive issues rear their head, as they have all season.
Regardless of where the team sits record-wise, the need to cut down on the number of goals allowed is glaring. Even if, say, the Kings came from behind last night to win 5-4, the team would still have conceded 23 times on the five-game trip. Regardless of where you lay the blame – and from reading through the comments and tweets, there doesn’t seem to be a single concensus, though certain individuals seem to shoulder more of the brunt than others – the Kings are in need of stronger defensive performances to get to where they need to be. Players and coaches are saying the right things and the focus seems to be towards correcting the problem, but it’s about doing more than listening at this stage. Improvements in that area are a paramount focus heading into the week ahead.
McLellan called the first 40 minutes in Washington a bit of a “dead game” and while he’s accurate there – that was low-event hockey for sure – I didn’t think seeing that type of game wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either. For a team that’s had games go off the rails, both positively and negatively, a 0-0 scoreline wasn’t the worst thing to see after 20 minutes. That first period was the first time all season the Kings have played a 0-0 period at any time. While it was far from perfect, there were positive signs until Washington stormed during the third period.
Even there, it took a few bounces to sink the Kings. The first goal saw a clash of sticks shoot the puck into the slot, where the first man whiffed before Nic Dowd got the Capitals on the board. On the third goal, Blake Lizotte was close to being in a headlock as his helmet was ripped off. 10 seconds later, when he was forced to the bench to avoid a penalty, the very man who got his helmet off scored from the spot on the ice Lizotte would have been covering. The fourth goal, while a situation the Kings could have handled better leading to this point, kicked off of Brandt Clarke and deflected in. Thems the breaks and good teams make you pay for the breaks. Washington certainly did that last night and the Kings wound up on the losing end.
Where it leaves the Kings, at the end of the day, is at 3-4-0 on the season, with three home games upcoming. Heading to Los Angeles this week are the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed by the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s a relatively tough opening slate for the Kings, who have nine of their first 12 games against teams that made the playoffs last season. There’s not an easy game in the NHL and as we saw with Seattle, simply playing a team that missed the playoffs last season isn’t a guaranteed win. Still, for a team that is still finding its way, in an effort to figure out who they are as a group, the schedule does not relent over the next stretch of games.
The team is back on the ice for a practice day tomorrow, their first on-ice practice since October 14, the day they left for Minnesota. Certainly several areas of the game the Kings will aim to focus on as they look towards righting the ship. The situation is far less dire than many have made it out to be, but that’s not to say there aren’t areas that need to be improved, because there certainly are. The right things are being said, but as we know, talk is cheap and the proof will be in the pudding. With a week at home and three tough games while here, there’s no time to waste.
Following up with full practice coverage from El Segundo in the morning, but for today, a much needed recovery day. With an arrival last night in Los Angeles around 2 AM, which is really 5 AM on the internal clocks, a little bit of time away is needed. So, with that, an off day today for me, Insiders, and then we’re back at it tomorrow.
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.