Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down Kings Edition
- Updated: December 2, 2018
Since I wrote last week’s Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down edition before the first Edmonton game, I actually have two whole wins to include in this week’s edition! How exciting! Let’s start there and then see how things went downhill… This season is not going according to plan.
Thumbs Up: Two wins in a row!
Wow you guys, the Kings managed to string two wins together! In a row! Like they won a game then they also won the next one! Hey I know it sounds lame but with a season such as this, we have to take the joy where we can. The first was a home win, the first since November 6th against the Ducks (I do like beating the Ducks) and in a similar fashion, the 3 goal differential included 2 empty net goals so it looks more convincing than it was, but hey we had 3 more goals than the other team to celebrate! The win against Edmonton was in large part to Dustin Brown (who I’ll get to in the next thumbs up segment), the chemistry he had with his linemate Kopitar, and Peterson. When that line is activated, they’re incredible to watch. Then an overtime win in Vancouver, that line again. Iafallo from Brown and Kopitar got the Kings first goal, then Brown from Martinez and Kopitar with the overtime winner. Peterson was incredible that game too – he kept his shutout for 56:43 of the game. An impressive feat I was hoping his teammates could help him out with? In regulation against a divisional rival? Still. An overtime win is still worth 2 points.
Thumbs Up: Dustin Brown
My man Dustin Brown. I’ve been a staunch supporter of Brown through his rough patches where we almost traded him then had him be the first LA King to hoist the Stanley Cup, where he and Sutter clearly didn’t gel anymore, and through the stripping of his captaincy, which I thought considering the circumstances he handled incredibly well. This week he got a hat trick against Edmonton, a goal and an assist in Vancouver (there were only 2 goals that whole game so…), he scored against Edmonton again on Thursday, and until Calgary had 8 goals in 15 games. In the 3 games he scored 5 times, he had 12 shots on goal. That’s a pretty successful ratio. He’s consistently getting almost 22 minutes a night and he’s made every one count. Sure the Kings still aren’t producing enough, but Brown’s doing his part. He’s also staying out of the penalty box (I’ll get to why that’s so important in a few segments), he has 4 PPGs, an area the Kings continue to struggle with, and he even has a shorthanded goal (again, the Kings PK is… it’s just bad Y’all.) Thank goodness at least one player is worth watching.
Thumbs Down: Shoot. The Damn. Puck already.
In the 4-1 loss to Calgary, I’m honestly shocked the Kings even got 1 goal. They had 14 shots on goal. Total. 7 of which came from the Kopitar line (so, Brown too). HALF of the shots came from ONE LINE. Halfway through the game the team had 5 shots. 4 in the first, 1 in the second. With 5:32 remaining in the second they had 21 shot *attempts.* You don’t score if you don’t SHOOT. They were outshot 37-14, so considering that the last 2 goals were empty nets, Peterson was doing more than twice the work of his opponent. And kind of killing it actually. Goaltending has never really been the Kings problem. Peterson still has some green on him, but he’s shaping up to be quite solid in net. And Quickie is back (yes I’m getting to that too). If you look at the scores this week, adjusted for empty nets, Sunday was really 3-2 in favor of the Kings, Vancouver stays at 2-1 against, Edmonton a 3-2 loss and Calgary becomes a 2-1 game. This low shooting thing is not an isolated incident. So Peterson and Quick (who has yet to actually win a game this season – yeah you read that correctly!) are doing what they can, standing on their heads, using the Jedi force, imitating Cirque du Soleil performers. Calling all forwards – help a goalie out already!
Thumbs Up: Jonathan Quick is back!
Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about this. I honestly have no hope for this season. There are just too many things wrong with it. You get some bright spots from players like Doughty, Brown, Kopitar and yeah Peterson, but let’s face it. This is not the Kings season. (Please note: I am not in the #LoseforHughs camp, that’s a crap-shoot, one player won’t fix all the things wrong with this team, and I prefer to play with dignity.) But keeping that in mind, Quick has already had 2 injuries this season. If he’s not ready to come back, let Peterson get some experience under his belt. I really like what I see most of the time but he’s still green. So what’s the problem with giving him some net time under his belt, growing his game so next season when we have to trade Quick or he gets injured again, we have a guy who can handle it? That being said, Quick is the backbone of the team and has been since 2012 when he won us the Stanley Cup, got the Conn Smythe (deservedly so!), then helped the Kings win the Jennings in 2014 (oh yeah, and another Stanley Cup thanks!) and in 2016 another Jennings. Having our Jedi Knight back feels good. Now let’s go out and get him a win, shall we??
Thumbs Down: Penalty Kill. AGAIN.
Once again, the penalty kill makes my list, because it is *abysmal.* Last week, I researched how good the Kings were at it last season. 85%. Right now Arizona – yes that Arizona – is at the top of the league with 89.47%! Since giving Stevens the boot, the Kings are operating at 64.9% (not including the Flames game.) Because adding in that – 50% – would not help. Seriously. The Kings took 2 penalties, and Gaudreau scored 35 seconds into the second one. They’re still averaging above 72% overall, but that’s still 3rd last in the league and not something worth bragging about. They cannot hope to win games if this continues. It’s the black hole of defense, it’s the black hole of their game, and it will kick their ass. It already is. Ugh, I can’t write about this anymore, I’ve been telling this special teams story for far too long. Just fix the damn thing already.
The Kings have a 4 game home stint coming up this week, starting with Carolina Sunday and ending with Vegas next Saturday. Hopefully, I’ll have some more thumbs up for you after that stretch. (Please, please give me something to applaud! Especially against Vegas.) Until then, keep the faith Kings fans. Not every season can be as great as 2012 or 2014. The Kings time will come again.
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