LA Kings’ Playoff Return Caps Off Auspicious Start to Blake-Stevens Era

In 2010, there was a palpable sense of excitement amongst fans of the Los Angeles Kings, and who could blame them? After an eight-year absence, their beloved team was returning to the playoffs. Yet, despite the club’s vast success since 2010, it’s hard to believe that a similar sense of excitement would be restored — but it has. That is because the Kings have officially clinched a playoff berth, returning to the postseason in 2018.

After winning two Stanley Cups in three years, the Kings were hoping to continue their success and, in the process, add “dynasty” to their vernacular. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.

In the three seasons since capturing their most recent championship, the Kings missed the playoffs twice, the latter of which coming during their otherwise-celebratory 50th anniversary season.

Last year’s playoff miss signaled the end of an era, leading to a bittersweet change.

General manager Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter were relieved of their duties and replaced, in-house, by Rob Blake and John Stevens respectively.

Entering this season, this writer had his doubts.

With all due respect to Blake and Stevens, I thought that perhaps the Kings would be better suited for outside hires. Heck, I even told people that I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kings missed the playoffs again.

As far as the latter statement went, though, it wasn’t mean as a knock against the silver-and-black but rather as a reminder that with a new era comes a newfound sense of patience. After all, with a youth movement this writer has been hoping for now intact, a playoff miss, while disappointing, would have at least meant that better days were nonetheless ahead.

With Adrian Kempe establishing himself as a full-timer in Los Angeles, the Kings brought in the likes of Alex Iafallo, Michael Amadio and, for a while, defenseman Kurtis MacDermid to help solidify said youth movement.

Of course, if the plan was for the Kings to pace themselves this season, it seemed as if the club missed the memo, so to speak.

The Kings exploded out of the gate to start the 2017-18 campaign winning 10 of their first 11 games while earning points in each of those outings. Inevitably, though, with every winning streak comes a stretch of frustration, and the Kings certainly experienced that as the season went on. It also didn’t help matters when the club lost center Jeff Carter for a few months due to injury. Still, the Kings persevered.

While Drew Doughty continued to be, well, Drew Doughty, the Kings received significant boosts in the form of turnarounds by both Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown.

Put in the unenviable situation of having to remain with the club after his captaincy was stripped, few, if any, would have blamed Dustin Brown for mailing it in, if you will, requesting a trade or simply acting like a prima donna. Instead, the former Kings captain took his game to a new level, scoring 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games thus far — matching a career-high in the latter category. Perhaps John Stevens’ coaching style has allowed Brown to be more comfortable but whatever the case may be, fans who once hoped that the expansion Vegas Golden Knights would take Brown off their team’s hands have very good reason to have a change of heart.

Similar things can be said for Anze Kopitar.

While he was never known for underachieving, the new Kings captain had a disappointing 2016-17 campaign with 12 goals and 52 points. While very decent numbers for some, Kopitar putting up said numbers were a cause for concern.

Fresh off signing a 10-year contract in addition to being given the C, perhaps the pressure had become too great for the Slovenian. But, for those who worried about the star forward entering this season, those concerns were quickly put to rest.

Returning to the Anze Kopitar Kings fans know and love, the 30-year-old is celebrating a rebound season that has seen achieve career-highs in goals (35), assists (56) and points (91). Kopitar’s performance has even put his name into consideration for the illustrious Hart Trophy given to the NHL’s most valuable player.

Oh, and let us not forget the play of trusty Jonathan Quick.

To go in hand with a 32-27-3 record this season, Quick has earned five shutouts while posting a 2.34 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage — his highest since 2011-12.

Will Kings fans be content with a return to the playoffs? Not by a long shot. Still, in this their first season of the Blake-Stevens era, fans of the silver-and-black cannot help but feel giddy that their beloved team has built on mistakes from the past three seasons to get better, to get stronger and to leave their faithful leaving STAPLES Center happy knowing that, win or lose, they got their money’s worth.

For extra measure, for those worried about the Kings’ future beyond this spring, it is encouraging to see what Rob Blake has done since taking over as the club’s GM.

As far as goaltending depth, the Kings, who were sparse in said category just one year ago, went out and signed Cal Petersen and Cole Kehler to entry-level deals and even drafted Matt Villalta. Yet, while the latter may not be NHL-ready just yet, he is celebrating great success with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In addition, Blake shed some salary over the past year and, in trading backup Darcy Kuemper, received reliable winger Tobias Rieder who has since been integral to the Kings’ success.

Rome, as the old adage goes, may not have been built in a day, but if this past season has been any indication, the Kings have made tremendous strides off the ice under their new GM.

It’s unclear at this juncture who the Kings will be meeting in the opening round of the playoffs. Some would love a rematch with the despised Sharks while others are favouring a date with the upstart Golden Knights. Heck, some fans are bold enough to wish for a duel with the defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators.

However, the playoff picture breaks down, though, expect the Los Angeles Kings to make a bit of noise entering the postseason, and expect their fans to make even more.

The 2012 philosophy of “Just get in” is relevant again in 2018, but regardless of how these playoffs turn out for the silver-and-black, the bottom line is that the Los Angeles Kings are back.

So, without any further ado, let’s get this party started.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time

Related Posts

• 
  Sweetwater Valley Earns Berth In SoCal’s Final 10
• 
  Little League All-Star Girl To Play For Oregon Ducks
• 
  Star Of 2013 Little League World Series Dead After Freeway Wreck