LA Kings: The month of February team report card
Category number four: special teams
Current grade: B+
Previous grade: A
Simply put, excellent special teams play has been a calling card of the LA Kings all season long.
The power play was ranked 11th in the NHL after ten games, and at the end of February, with twenty games played, it is still ranked 11th. Overall, Dustin Brown leads the team with five power-play goals, and Anze Kopitar has a stellar twelve assists with the man advantage. For the season, the Kings power play has a success rate of 25% and continues to help make up for some of the team’s five-on-five deficiencies.
The penalty-killing units continue to incredibly effective as well. However, overall, their success rate dropped to 85.9% from the 86.4% they posted last month – leading to a B+ grade instead of another A (I know it’s nitpicking). Successful teams have successful special teams units, and the Kings appear to be on the right track here. As the team and especially the defense corps continue to gel, the special teams should get even better.
West Division power rankings after Week Seven. dark. Next
As a whole, this LA Kings team has the appearance of a playoff contender. There will be ups and downs, as shown by the extremes of the winning and losing streaks of the month of February, but this team is also very young and will improve with time. More roster turnover will certainly happen as injuries, recalls, and perhaps even a trade are bound to happen. We’ll see how that affects the month of March report cards.