Kings' Jack Johnson muscles Ilya Kovalchuk off the puck. Kovalchuk was a non-factor in the Kings' 3-1 win in LA tonight. (Getty)

If you paid any attention to the Kings during this past offseason, Ilya Kovalchuk’s name should be very familiar to you by now. Kovalchuk, who was considered the most dymanic player available via free agency during the Summer of 2010, was courted by the Kings, flown to Los Angeles and offered a 13 year, 80 million dollar contract. In the end it turned out he used the Kings as leverage to get more money to remain in New Jersey. The move may have been strictly business (even if one pretentious, self-important East Coast hockey blogger decided to take it upon herself to make it personal by insulting Southern California residents), but it made Kovalchuk public enemy #1 for Kings’ fans. Many of us circled the night of October 30th on our calendars and looked at it as a chance for a little vindication.

Turns out we didn’t have to wait until Saturday night. Our vindication began when the puck dropped on the 2010-2011 NHL season as the Kovalchuk contract, along with some other contract blunders executed by New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello have left the Devils in bad shape. They were unable to roster more than 15 players for a game at one point because of cap issues. Martin Brodeur has been mediocre (or he’s just being exposed without a solid defense in front of him), and team has had little cohesion. Kovalchuk’s “me first” attitude, from an outsider’s perspective anyway, seems to be rotting a once solid organizational fabric from it’s core.

So, the Kings’ mission tonight, was to make sure that they contributed to the Devils’ mounting misery, and maybe, just maybe to let Kovalchuk know he is stuck in New Jersey for the rest of his career with an aging team that looks far past it’s prime.

Both parts of that mission tonight were a resounding success. The Kings’ got on the board early and never looked back. Justin Williams took a drop pass from Jaret Stoll after a well executed breakout, made an adjustment and slipped a no-look shot past Brodeur low stick side. It was a soft goal at best, and the Kings’ would never look back with that lead. Before the first period ended, New Jersey winger Zach parise – and Olympic teammate of Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jon Quick – took a run at Anze Kopitar well away from the puck that went unnoticed and unpunished. If I believed in karma, it’d be fair to say it’s a bitch, as it was Parise who later left the game with a lower body injury.

The second period saw the Kings extend their lead to 2-0 with a power play goal by Michal Handzus, who swatted the rebound of a Jaret Stoll one-timer past Brodeur. The Devils’ got on the board with a bit of luck later in the period on what was undoubtedly a shift Davis Drewiske would like to have back. Drewiske got muscled off the puck twice with an opportunity to clear the puck, then Matt Taormina’s point shot deflected off Drewiske past Quick. Just as fast as New Jersey climbed back in the game though, the Kings’ took them back out. Rob Scuderi shot wide from the point and Stoll pounced on the rebound off the end boards. Brodeur looked to be in position but the puck trickled through him to make it 3-1 Kings.

In the third period, Jon Quick stopped all 20 shots the Devils threw at him. Quick stopped 39 of 40 for the game, and curiously wasn’t named one of the game’s 3 stars. My personal opinion, and most of the fans I spoke with leaving Staples Center – Quick was the game’s first star. He outplayed Brodeur tonight by a wide margin and looked under control doing it.

I have always been of the opinion, having seen Brodeur since his rookie season, that he is a great goalie but nowhere near the all-time great that the hockey media portrays him as. He has spent his entire career until now on a team predicated on air tight defense, where he faced less than 20 shots a game on many nights. That’s not to discredit him, but to put things in proper perspective. I always thought Patrick Roy was better – he carried two average at best Montreal teams to Cups (one at the Kings’ expense), won two more cups in Colorado and is the only player in history – much less goalie, to win the Conn Smythe trophy three times. Roy was at his best when the game was on the line – in the playoffs. Meanwhile Brodeur post-lockout has been a perennial playoff disappointment. Also shouldn’t go without mention that Brodeur wasn’t able to break Roy’s all-time wins record until the no-tie era and is still well behind Roy in all-time playoff wins. In a nutshell, Roy in my opinion was always better. His personality is somewhat polarizing so it’s easy for people to attempt to discredit his on ice achievements because they viewed him as arrogant or abrasive. I always looked at it as he had a winning attitude, and he was good enough to warrant a little cockiness.

Brodeur tonight was average at best. Three seasons or so ago, two of the Kings’ goals probably don’t go in. Watching him play is definitely entertaining – his style is one of a kind in the modern era – but it also looks as if the current skill level of players in the NHL may soon make it obsolete. If I’d walked in off the street and not known who he was, nothing I saw tonight would’ve convinced me I was watching a guy who’d won more games than any other NHL goalie in history.

I’ve digressed a little bit, sorry. The biggest story of the night was the Kings making Kovalchuk a non factor. His time and space was taken away, and without looking at the stat sheet, I only remember seeing him get three shots off, none of them dangerous. The Kings defense, and in particular the Kings’ shutdown line of Ponikarovsky, Handzus and Simmonds were relentless tonight. Even without Doughty in the lineup they managed to make Kovalchuk essentially a zero-sum on the ice.

Kings, at 8-3-0 sit atop the National Hockey League with 16 points. With the team off until Thursday night’s game with Tampa, that will no doubt not be the case next time they take the ice, but it’s ground they’ll soon be able to make up.

Fans, believe it: The Kings are the best team in the National Hockey League right now – and they’re doing it without their star defenseman and without much production from their top line (the second line has been outstanding however). They’re scoring by committee and getting superb goaltending from Quick. The team is far from hitting it’s peak too. If you’re starting to think there could be a parade in downtown LA come June, you’re not alone. Lots of hockey remains to be played though, before we can realistically start planning the parade route.

Kings face the new look Lightning at Staples Thursday night. That #8 guy might just be in the lineup too.

I for one, am grateful the guy wearing #17 for the Kings is Wayne Simmonds of Scarborough, Ontario and not Ilya Kovalchuk of Russia.

GO KINGS!

-JS