LA Kings Ready To Retake SoCal

Oct 27, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) watches his team take on the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Ducks 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

To paraphrase Twain, the reports of the LA Kings’ demise have been “greatly exaggerated.”  

After starting the season 0-3, the Kings are on a six game winning streak.

The Kings have gone back to the formula they used in winning two Stanley Cups in three years.

They are playing strong puck possession, incorporating a strong defense, and getting great goal-tending from Jonathan Quick.

While down in Anaheim, the three-time defending Pacific champion Ducks have had a disastrous beginning to their season.

The Ducks are now dead last in the Pacific, starting off 2015-16 with a 1-6-2 record.

The Ducks are last in scoring in the NHL, with only 9 goals so far and have already been shutout five times.

After giving up nine goals in his first two games, it seems Jonathan Quick has found the magic that made him such a strong playoff performer in recent years.

Since those first two games, Quick has averaged less than 2 goals per game and has made some great acrobatic saves to keep the Kings on their winning streak.

Quick’s return to prominence was rewarded last week when he was named the NHL’s “Third Star” for going 2-0 with a .971 save percentage and notching his first shutout of the season.

Quick made the save of the season in a game against the Edmonton Oilers when he stopped super-rookie Connor McDavid on the doorstep of the goal-line and preserving a 3-2 win in the waning seconds of the game.

For the Ducks, they have been able to get good goal-tending from Fredrick Andersen, but he has been snake-bitten by the Ducks anemic offense.

Andersen is 0-4-2, but has been keeping the puck out with a 2.02 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

It’s just his team has not been scoring for him as they have scored 4 times in his seven starts for an anemic 0.57 average.

That’s not going to help any goaltender for sure.

The biggest culprits in the Ducks offense struggles are their stars; as Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf have yet to score a goal.

For those wondering, these were last year’s top three point scorers on the team.

That kind of scoring drought better change or this team may be in for a long season.

While the Kings also struggled offensively initially, a move made by coach Darryl Sutter has sparked the Kings offense.

In their first 3 games of the season the Kings only scored two goals.

This prompted a shuffling of the offensive lines including moving Kings newcomer Milan Lucic from the first line to the second line along with Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli.

Since this move, Tyler Toffoli has gone on a tear scoring a goal in every game but one during the win streak.

This new offensive dynamic was put on full display in last night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, in the third period with the score tied up at one.

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The pair broke out on a breakaway going two-on-one as Toffoli used his speed to get by his defender and then used his brains to pass the puck to Lucic who easily tipped in the puck for the goal past Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec.

The goal put the Kings ahead for good, as Toffoli would add an empty net goal  to seal a 4-1 win.

For the Ducks, it seems nothing they do works, in their game last night the Ducks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in their game against the Dallas Stars — scoring three goals over five minutes of play.

Unfortunately, that was all the scoring the Ducks would do as the Stars chipped away at the lead eventually winning the game 4-3.

The NHL season is  a marathon not a sprint, it’s a great sign that the Kings have been able to overcome their early season struggles.

It’s also been unfortunate that the Ducks have yet to make the adjustments to turn it around.

No one can say right now how the teams seasons will turn out, so we’ll just have to wait and see.