June 4, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings celebrate their 4-0 win against the New Jersey Devils in game three of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

On the afternoon on Sunday, February 10 in Detroit, Los Angeles tied the game in the final minute against the Red Wings only to let the game literally trickle through their legs in the dying seconds of regulation. Three weeks into the season, the Kings had already lost their fifth game and worst of all, their Conn Smythe-winning goaltender Jonathan Quick was not himself. Having allowed the game-winner in Detroit which he really should have had, it was evident that Quick was having a hard time regaining his form from a year earlier.

Since that afternoon in Motown, however, the Los Angeles Kings started heading in the right direction going 11-3-0 since then, gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with. While players like Kyle Clifford and Jeff Carter helped out in the offensive department early on, they weren’t receiving much support elsewhere. Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell were both sidelined which prompted the skeptics to say that Los Angeles would be giving up goals at will with a depleted defensive unit to go along with their already-subpar goaltending. I remember watching one of hockey shows on TSN in early February and since most TSN shows show related tweets from various fans, I paid extra attention to them – and that’s when I came across one that particularly ticked me off. I’m paraphrasing but in relation to the Kings, one fan wrote that they (the Kings) were who we (the fans) thought they were and suggested that they just got lucky at the right time, referring to the team’s championship run last spring.

While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, that particular comment underlines just how ignorant many fans are who do not live in Los Angeles or the Pacific Time Zone in general. In an age where getting news 24 hours a day, seven days a week isn’t even impressive anymore but simply the norm, to say that fans and experts can’t follow the Kings simply because they start too late is inexcusable. Yet that is still the reason why the Kings get slighted, although it is interesting that they received a plethora of attention early on when they struggled out of the gate. After just a handful of games, there were those fans who said that the Kings needed to right the ship in a hurry given that this was an abbreviated season. Even yours truly was losing patience. While I gave Jonathan Quick the benefit of the doubt due to his off-season back surgery, I wasn’t so lenient with the likes of Mike Richards, Justin Williams, Dustin Penner and even Drew Doughty, all of whom were vastly underachieving for the first few weeks.

But if the Los Angeles Kings really were who everyone thought they were, then perhaps fans and experts alike need to reassess a few things. After all, since the Kings won 11 of their last 14 games, what is the excuse now? I don’t know what kind of rebuttal we should expect but I’d love to hear it nonetheless.

Kyle Clifford hasn’t been scoring as much but Jeff Carter not only leads his team in goals with 16 but is within striking distance of taking over the league-lead in said department. Not only that but Carter has also reignited his chemistry with Mike Richards and the same can be said for the synergy between Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. With four goals on the year, Trevor Lewis has already matched his season total from all of last year, Jordan Nolan has come into his own as an enforcer and Colin Fraser is even proving that he’s much more than the consolation prize some thought he was when he was shipped over from Edmonton in that controversial Ryan Smyth trade nearly two years ago.

While Jonathan Quick still has some room to improve in order to fully return to his playoff form, he has been playing better and the same can be said for his backup Jonathan Bernier and then some. But the biggest concern involving the Kings thus far has been their defense. As I already mentioned, Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell are both injured and while their absences hurt, it’s certainly not making the Kings throw in the towel. In fact, while Drew Doughty has yet to score a goal so far, he has been crucial in setting up plays and even picking up his defensive game a bit. Rob Scuderi continues to be the blue-collar workhorse as is mid-season acquisition Keaton Ellerby. While Slava Voynov continues to play well, rookie Jake Muzzin is turning a lot of heads making fans lose any sense of impatience or desperation they had earlier in regards to awaiting the returns of the aforementioned Greene and Mitchell.

While most teams have already reached their halfway point either over the weekend or last week, the Los Angeles Kings just reached their point following Monday night’s win and despite a few necessary tweaks here and there, they can’t look much better than they are right now – and they have every intention of keeping up their winning ways.

If the Los Angeles Kings really are who everyone thought they were a month ago, then what are they now? While they may look great now, let’s just wait until the second half of the season gets under way. The next month-and-a-half will separate the men from the boys and don’t surprised to see the Kings finding themselves relating to the former.

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

For all I know, Brandon Dubinsky may not have meant to hurt Scuderi but the video does suggest otherwise. It was bad enough that the former Ranger hit him from behind but to drive the veteran defenseman’s head into the glass only makes the situation worse. While Scuderi was able to skate off under his power and return to the game being the warrior he is, he was left with a black eye. Hopefully the ramifications of said hit don’t affect Scuderi’s game but at this point, that has yet to be determined.

Having said that, I do have to give kudos to Mike Richards for stepping up for his fallen teammate by dropping the gloves with Dubinsky and kudos to the officials for handing the Blue Jackets forward a five-minute major a game misconduct. But to end the punishment there just isn’t right. Yes, Dubinsky’s $10,000 lighter but given his salary, that’s peanuts.

How could the NHL be so irresponsible? With an issue as intractable as concussions and on a play where the end result could easily led to a concussion, next to nothing was done. Brandon Dubinsky had the sheer gall to pull a Peter Lorre (Google it) and in return, he gets a menial slap on the wrist. Something surely doesn’t add up here and the league’s chief disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan ought to have a viable explanation for letting Dubinsky off the hook. Being suspended for five games is harsh enough during an 82-game season so just imagine what kind of impact a ban of said length would have on a 48-game season. The NHL had a chance to really make a statement had they give Dubinsky a ban of five games but not even giving him a single game to think about his actions should leave them feeling disgraced.

Perhaps it was because Rob Scuderi was fine that resulted in Brandon Dubinsky not receiving further discipline. If that is the case, then how would the NHL have reacted had Scuderi suffered a concussion? Also, if that is the case, I don’t buy it because not punishing a player simply because the other player was okay is simply unacceptable.

Again, it was great of Mike Richards to step up for his teammate and I hope, if anything, the Kings can build a greater sense of camaraderie because of last night’s incident. So, while there is a potential silver lining, I am still very upset that Brandon Dubinsky got away with what he did especially considering how important Rob Scuderi is to the Los Angeles Kings.

While I’m not suggesting that any bad blood will boil over to the next meeting between the Kings and Jackets, I do find it appropriate to remind Brandon Dubinsky to keep his head up because if he thought he dodged a bullet today, he’ll be in for a rude awakening the next time he shares the ice with the silver-and-black.