LA Kings: The month of February team report card

Category number one: offense

Current grade: B

Previous grade: C

Buoyed by a stretch where they scored four or more goals in three of four games, the LA Kings offense showed some improvement over their first ten games of this season. For the entire season, they are still a middle-of-the-pack team in this category, as their 60 goals scored have them at fifteenth overall in the NHL. For the month of February, the Kings scored 35 goals, which equals an average of 2.9 goals scored per game.

To take the next step offensively, the Kings will need to improve their output during five-on-five play. For the season, the team has scored 33 goals in this category, where the league average is 37. To remedy this, the team will need more secondary scoring and more offensive contributions from their defensemen, not named Drew Doughty. Gabe Vilardi seems to have found his groove as of late, and Alex Iafallo quietly had eight points, but perhaps this is why the rumor mill has GM Rob Blake looking for a dynamic left-shot defenseman.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the offense was led by the team’s veteran corps. Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Dustin Brown each had eleven points for the month of February, with the 36-year-old Brown scoring an impressive eight goals. The LA Kings have come to expect excellence from these players, and for the team to continue an upward trajectory, that excellence will need to continue.