Kings celebrate Ryan Smyth's 2nd period goal in last night's 4-1 win over Nashville. It was Smyth's 1,000th NHL game.
Yeah, I know, it’s a Van Hagar reference. The goal is to be able to use a Queen reference sometime in June, and the way things have gone through 13 games, that would be a plausible prediction to make.
The haters can hate, and those who haven’t been paying attention will look at the NHL’s standing and claim it as some sort of mistake, some sort of farce. Let them. The simple fact of the matter is this: Right here, right now, the Los Angeles Kings are the best team in the National Hockey League. Believe it, Kings’ fans. We’ve been waiting a long time for this. Two weeks from now, the Kings’ may merely be leading the Pacific and holding a #2 or #3 seed in the West, but at the present moment, there is no team better.
So what’s contributing to the Kings success? Maybe the more pertinent question would be “what isn’t?”.
First and foremost has been the defense. I will admit to being a little biased, but I can’t remember seeing a more dominant, suffocating defensive unit in the post-lockout NHL. Opposing offensive juggernauts are kept the permimeter, their scoring chances limited. The backcheck has helped to eliminate opponents’ speed entering the zone. And when they find their chances, they’re left to face yet another formidable challenge: The Kings’ goaltenders.
If you had to name 3 goalies who have been dominant thus far this season, the obvious answers would be Tim Thomas of Boston, Jaro Halak of St. Louis, and the Kings’ Jon Quick. Quick is 8-1 with a 1.62 goals against average and a save percentage of .942 (94.2% for those following at home). He has been first star of the game 5 times in 9 starts this season, including a home shutout of Tampa this past Thursday. When it’s Quick’s night off, the bad guys have to face Jonathan Bernier – considered by many to be the best goalie playing outside the NHL prior to this season. Bernier has recovered nicely from an early case of the jitters and has looked solid. Like I said prior to the season starting, the Kings’ have one of the most formidable goaltending tandems in the entire league right now.
Then there’s the balanced scoring. Heading into this season, most cited the Kings’ primary concern as secondary scoring. Those concerns have been answered – loudly. The Kings’ second line has, not even arguably been their best all season – with Jaret Stoll, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams accounting for 35 points (15G, 20A) thus far. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar on the top line have 6 and 4 goals respectively. The third “shutdown” line has contributed as well with Ponikarovsky, Handzus and Simmonds potting 2,2, and 3 goals respectively. 5 on 5 goal scoring has not been the issue – the Kings have both improved in 5 on 5 goals for AND against. All this without a goal from Drew Doughty or Jack Johnson yet.
While the Kings’ penalty kill has been nothing short of awesome (defense and goaltending will do that – they’re PERFECT at home through 6 games), the power play is still a bit behind the curve. Based on what we saw last season, they will get going sooner than later.
Then there’s the stuff not on paper. This is a TEAM, a tight knit group that cares about one another’s well being. They want to win for one another, they fight for one another, and they look to be enjoying every moment of it. The last two games have been case in point:
Thursday against Tampa, one of their notorious goons, Steve Downie, attempted a charge on Drew Doughty during the last half of the 3rd period (it was retaliation for a clean hit by Doughty a shift earlier). Downie, who had run away from Kyle Clifford 3 times prior in the game is the worst kind of gutless player there is – has a propensity for dives and cheap shots, but isn’t man enough to answer the bell when called on the carpet for it. He is alongside Matt Cooke in this category leaguewide, just a gutless, cheap shot, no talent bitch (of course, the Tampa fans are the only ones who don’t see it that way – no surprise). Thursday night, Willie Mitchell made him answer, rushing to the aid of his star defense partner- fresh off recovery from a concussion. Downie, in predictable fashion, didn’t throw a punch until Mitchell was restrained and then cried a river to the officials when Mitchell returned the favor. The message had been sent: If you f**k with one of us, you f**k with all of us.
Saturday the team wore mullet wigs to the morning skate and in the pre-game warmup to honor teammate Ryan Smyth’s 1,000th NHL game. Perhaps a small gesture, but it shows the tight-knit nature of this team. During the game itself, the Kings looked to be trying to get Smyth a goal on his milestone night early on, and it paid off when Smyth tallied to make it 3-0 Kings in the second period.
We’ve had some pretty good Kings’ teams in the past, but I can’t ever recall a group that played more cohesive than this one does. When Mitchell left the game in the second period, the defensive corps rallied and didn’t miss a beat. Drew Doughty and Davis Drewiske morphed themselves into masters of the shot block. I don’t know if I’ve EVER seen Drewiske play a game like that before – he was carrying the puck up ice like Drew and Jack, shooting the puck and effortlessly breaking up attempted passes. Kid is really coming into his own.
As a result of all of the above and more, the Kings are 6-0 at home. Their last two wins have come against teams that have historically owned the Kings at home. That this is changing shows that these are not your mother’s LA Kings. Not by a long shit. These are the 2010-11 Los Angeles Kings – and right now – the NHL’s best.
It might be early to start planning the Cup parade in downtown LA, but let there be no doubt: This team is for REAL.
GO KINGS!
-JS
Jeremy Smith