Over the past month, the Los Angeles Kings have established themselves as one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League right now. The team continues to win games and pick up points. The months of November and December saw them go on a six game win streak, and their defense reached new highs. With everything clicking now for Los Angeles, here questions around the Los Angeles Kings to keep an eye on as the Kings look to continue their success.
Three Questions for the Los Angeles Kings
Can Their Offence Match Their Defence?
The Kings have one of the top defensive corps in the league. Vladislav Gavrikov and Mikey Anderson have led the way for defenseman, combining to make a solid shutdown pairing. The goalie tandem of Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich have been on point for the entire season. Two way centre Anze Kopitar continues to set the example for forwards on how to be responsible on the defensive side of the game. With all these factors combining, the Kings lead the league in goals against per game, allowing only 2.53 on an average night.
Their offence lags a little behind their defence. The Kings are currently around league average in goals scored per game with 3.16. The Kings have no shortage of offensive talent, but will likely look for the offence to be as dependable as their defense. In games against the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles relied on their defence. In the end, the scoring talent of their opponents were able to outdo the defense. Even in 3-1 win against the Islanders, LA would have loved to have converted more chances. They managed to score only 2 goals on Ilya Sorokin, despite dictating the pace of play. If the Kings can get even more production out of their offence, they’ll become even more dangerous.
Can They Stay Healthy?
The Kings seem to have found a true number one goalie in Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper, acquired from the Capitals, is already 8-2-4 this season. He’s been able to either keep Los Angeles in games or outright steal them. Kuemper also has playoff experience, leading the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2022. He’s formed an intimidating goalie duo with David Rittich as they lead the NHL in GAA.
Kuemper is coming back from an injury the previous season. The injury clearly affected his play, as he put up low numbers compared to the rest of his career. Kuemper is healthy now, but he has gone down with injuries twice this season. These included two stints on the injured reserve. Ideally, the Kings will want Kuemper to be their go-to guy for the season. For their continued success, they need him and others to stay healthy.
The emerging Alex Turcotte has dealt with injuries in the past. With the spark he has provided for Los Angeles, they’ll want him to avoid any injuries. Last year, the Kings struggled without Vladislav Gavrikov in the lineup, and their offense is not the same when Kevin Fiala is hurt. Players that have suffered injuries will need to stay healthy for the Kings to keep winning.
Can They Get Even Better?
The last of the Los Angeles Kings questions. Can they be better? The Kings success has been a bit of a surprise, as they lost key pieces in the offseason. Their new additions have been excellent however. Their younger players have also taken a step forward in development. The Kings could be getting even better soon.
The most obvious case of this will be the return of Drew Doughty. Doughty has not played at all this season, after fracturing his ankle in preseason. Doughty has the been the Kings franchise defenceman for what feels like forever. He’s accustomed to playing up to and over 30 minutes of ice time. His return will be a huge boost to the defence, the offence, and the powerplay. Getting back the future Hall of Famer will be a huge boost for an already soaring team. Having Doughty as the quarterback for the powerplay should also be huge. The Kings powerplay unit is ranked 28th in the league, converting only 15.1% of the time. Having the man who has helped anchor in the powerplay for the last 10+ years should help.
Of course, their will also be trades to consider. Last season, General Manager Rob Blake decided not to make any moves during the season. It will be interesting to see what he does this year. Could the Kings look to add more scoring threats for depth at some point? The transactions the Kings make will be intriguing to monitor.
Bottom Line
If the Kings keep finding the magic that they have right now, they’ll be a hard team to beat. If they can give satisfactory answers to these three questions, they should be a contender. After three straight years of frustration, these could be the Kings to finally make a jump forward.
Main Photo: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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