When the Los Angeles Kings came out swinging to start their season, sitting atop the Western Conference with a red-hot points percentage, it seemed as though they were really going to make a run at it.
They’ve consistently made the playoffs, but haven’t won a playoff round since their last Stanley Cup victory in 2014. Would this be the year?
But after dropping 12 of their last 14 games dating back to the end of December, and getting leapfrogged by the Edmonton Oilers in the standings, the Kings are coming back to Earth.
After blowing a 3-1 lead to the Buffalo Sabres, a team sat firmly in the NHL’s basement, veteran blueliner Drew Doughty had some choice words for his teammates.
“We’ve got guys in this room that are too worried about themselves, worried about their points,” Doughty, the two-time Stanley Cup champ, told reporters after the game. “We had a 3-1 lead tonight, and guys started thinking it was a cookie night. We stopped playing the way we know how to play, had an awful second period and aren’t much better in the third.”
The Kings failed to net a goal in the final 40 minutes of the game, despite peppering rookie goaltender Devon Levi with 40 shots. They allowed four unanswered five-on-five goals to close out the game.
“It’s about the team, not about yourself. Guys on this team, we need to realize that.”
Head coach Todd McClellan also had some choice words about his team’s performance — or lack thereof.
“The stupidity that went into this loss is beyond explainable.”
What can’t be helping the Kings is the lack of production from Pierre-Luc Dubois — their marquee off-season acquisition. The forward who came to Los Angeles from Winnipeg at the expense of Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo has just 10 goals and 20 points through 45 games after scoring at a career-high with the Jets last season.
“We’re trying to get back to having fun out there and play our game, but it’s hard to do that when you’re on a streak like this,” said Doughty. “This has been a struggle for us and the only way we’re going to get out of it is if we get everybody’s 100 per cent effort and everyone playing for the team.”
