There’s no question that with the exception of the ’93 Cup run, this might be the most exciting time to be a Kings fan in quite a while. Not only are the Kings rolling to a 10-4-2 record, good enough for a solid #4 in the conference, an achievement even more impressive when realizing that 4 of the 5 division rivals in the Pacific are in the top 6 slots of the Western Conference. They’re not beating up on puny teams, they’re playing good, solid hockey, led by NHL leading scorer Anze Kopitar, who has put up 26 points (13G, 13A) in 16 games.
This impressive play continued last night, when the Kings took on the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. And they rocked. After a tight match had the Penguins up 2-1 in the 3rd period, the Kings roared back with four straight goals, and came away with a dominating 5-2 win. The Penguins had been 7-0 away from home, and were (are?) showing all the signs of being a legitimate contender to repeat as Cup Champions. Despite this impressive resume, the Kings, led by two more goals from Kopitar, as well as goals from Stoll, Handzus and Brown managed to rack up another impressive come from behind victory.
I’m planning a post in the next week or so discussing all the ways it’s great to be a Kings fan, but let me close with this thought. Not only are the Kings playing out of their minds right now, but they’re STILL YOUNG. With key players like Doughty, Johnson, Kopitar, Quick, Parse, Simmonds, Drewiske, and even Brown, the Kings are no doubt on an upswing that could see the Kings as major power players for the foreseeable future. Damn, it’s good to be a Kings fan right now!