I don’t think many people realize just how good the Los Angeles Kings have become. I think their seven-game series loss to Edmonton has blinded people to the reality that the Kings should be considered one of the favorites to emerge from the Western Conference next season.
“Really? LA will the team that represents the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals next season?” I hear you all rightfully cast doubt about Los Angeles. In truth, I didn’t believe in them either, until I saw them in action against Edmonton in the playoffs. They SHOULD have one won that series, not the Oilers.
If Drew Doughty was not injured, we would have seen a Second Round matchup between the Flames vs. Kings, not the one-sided Battle of Alberta we actually ended up watching.
The Oilers were lucky LA had injuries to key players, and that they were inexperienced. If this matchup happened again today, I’d pick LA to win in 6.
The Kings’ Cup-Winning core of Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, and Anze Kopitar all had bounce back seasons last year, which greatly contributed to the Kings first playoff appearance since the 2017/18 Season.
Doughty had 24 Assists and 31 Points in only 39 Games, Kopitar had 19 Goals and 68 Points in 81 Games (his highest point total since the 2017/18 Season), and Jonathan Quick put up 23 Wins, a .910 SV%, 2.59GAA for his highest stats since the 2017/18 Season too.
For a trio that looked like their time together had at last come to its end, they more than proved their worth last season.
As for the Kings past offseason moves, bringing in guys like Philip Danault, Viktor Arvidsson, Andreas Anthanasiou, Olli Maatta, and Alex Elder has brought much needed skill, commitment, dedication, and leadership to the younger members of the Kings roster.
Danault had a career year with LA last season (51pts in 59GMS), Arvidsson had his first 20-goal season since the 2016/17 campaign, and Maatta and Edler contributed to the Kings being Top-10 in Goals Against Per Game (2.83GAA) last year.
The young talent of Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Brendan Lemieux, Gabe Vilardi, Lias Andersson, and Andrian Kempe will all develop around veteran, dedicated professionals who strive to win each and every night.
That especially showed with LA finally making the playoffs.
Acquiring Kevin Fiala in a Sign-And-Trade was a brilliant move as well, as the former Minnesota Wild center will solidify the Kings’ forward production going into next year.
We will have to wait and see what LA does in Free Agency and the NHL Draft, but upper management has already built a successfully, committed, winning culture. All that is needed is the players to perform on the ice and bring the Stanley Cup back to Los Angeles.
Images Source:
