Kings: Los Angeles Has Put Themselves in Excellent Position
By Brook Smith
Heading into the holiday break, the LA Kings have set themselves up nicely for a playoff run. Los Angeles fell to San Jose on Saturday night, putting their record at 22-11-4.
Despite losing 2-0 to the rival Sharks, the Kings appear to be in great position for a playoff run. Los Angeles will enter the holiday break with 48 points in the standings. Only Tampa Bay has more points in the standings than that, at 54. The Kings with their 48 points have matched the very surprising Vegas Golden Knights, playing in their first year in professional hockey.
Part of the reason Los Angeles has made it this far has been their superior fire power. It seemed like at one point, everyone on the team was scoring goals at a ridiculous pace. That pace has slowed lately however, part of the reason Los Angeles has lost four games in December. In those four games, the Kings were outscored 15 to 6.
Anze Kopitar has been relatively quiet this month, but is putting together a monster season. He has already scored 17 goals, on pace to beat his career high of 34 set in the 2009-2010 season. He has also been producing assist after assist, as he already has 23. He will more than likely get to his personal record of 52 in a season.
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Jonathan Quick is once again a force in the net, making saves at all the right times. His presence has really revitalized the team as a whole, not just the defense. Quick ranks as one of the best goaltenders in the league, averaging a little under 2.23 goals against him per game. That mark makes him the third best goalie in the entire league.
Drew Doughty also looks to be another guy revitalized this season, as he seems to be all over the ice. As one of the leaders of the team, Doughty has his +/- at 18, good for top five in the league. Doughty has also managed to rack up 26 points already, on pace to match his excellent 2009-2010 campaign. If the Kings want to keep winning, Doughty will certainly have to keep up this performance.
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What’s Next: Los Angeles will be at home after the holiday break, hosting the Golden Knights on Thursday. This will be a fairly pivotal rematch, as the two teams appear to be the likely candidates to lead the Pacific. Las Vegas won in their only other meeting on the year by a scre of 4-2.