LA Kings Rebound from Early Season Stumble to Win Four Straight
After the San Jose Sharks got their revenge (for last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs embarrassment at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings) in a one-sided 4-0 win on opening night at Staples Center, the Kings traveled to Arizona and blew a 2-0 first period lead en route to an overtime loss in which they gave up the game-winning goal with 14 seconds remaining. Not exactly how the two-time Stanley Cup-winning Kings planned on opening the 2014-15 campaign.
Oct 16, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Jeff Carter (77) scores the winning goal past St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) in the shootout at Staples Center. Kings won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
But as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing with these Kings during the past three seasons, they know how to turn things around pretty quickly. Since losing the first two games of the season, they’ve returned home to win four straight games at Staples.
During their winning streak, the Kings have outscored their opponents 12-3, they’ve killed all 14 power plays they’ve faced, their vaunted defense has been strong, and Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones have been stellar in net. Basically, the Kings have looked like the Kings.
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The streak started last Sunday with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Martin Jones turned aside 29 of 30 shots, ‘that 70s line’ of Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, and Tanner Pearson, combined to score six points, and Drew Doughty assisted on two goals.
Jonathan Quick was back in net for the following three games against Edmonton, St. Louis, and Minnesota, and allowed only two goals in nine periods plus one overtime period against the Blues. The Kings ended up beating the Blues in a shootout, with Quick saving all three of St. Louis’ attempts.
October 19, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32), defenseman Alec Martinez (27), center Jordan Nolan (71) and left wing Tanner Pearson (70) celebrate the 2-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
While Dustin Brown, Justin Williams, Anze Kopitar, and Marian Gaborik have been relatively quiet to start the season, ‘that 70s’ line’ has now accounted for 11 of the Kings’ 14 goals this season. Carter has three goals and three assists, Toffoli has three goals and four assists, and Pearson has five goals and two assists. Perhaps the catchy moniker will actually stick for the long haul with this type of production.
The Kings’ defense has, of course, been anchored by Drew Doughty (averaging about 26 minutes on the ice and +4 plus/minus rating) and Slava Voynov (averaging over 23 minutes on the ice and +1 plus-minus rating).
With the Kings on a roll, and a quiet week ahead with only two games through next Sunday (both at Staples), what looked to be a pretty dire start for the champs has now turned into just another ho hum Kings winning streak. After enduring the Cup run to end all Cup runs last season, the Kings would be more than happy to have a ho hum regular season on the way to another Cup run in 2015.