The streak continues. It has been 15 years now since a team has won back-to-back Stanley Cups, but last year the Kings came reasonably close. They made it to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to Chicago in five games. Los Angeles against returns nearly all of its roster from the year before, with only minor changes. Rob Scuderi is gone, he went back to Pittsburgh. The Kings went out and signed Jeff Schultz to rebuild some of the depth there. Dustin Penner left in free agency, returning to the rival Anaheim Ducks. They also traded backup goalie Jonathan Bernier to Toronto for backup goalie Ben Scrivens and forward Matt Frattin. Overall a slow offseason for the Kings, they were content to simply retool and make slight adjustments, and I think that's the right move.
Projected Forward Lines:
Jeff Carter - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
Tyler Toffoli - Mike Richards - Dustin Brown
Matt Frattin - Jarrett Stoll - Dwight King
Daniel Carcillo - Jordan Nolan - Trevor Lewis
Colin Fraser - Kyle Clifford
The Kings found some more consistent scoring last year, and finished 10th in the NHL at 2.73 goals per game. If they play exactly as they did a season ago, I'd say they're well on their way to contending for another Stanley Cup. Justin Williams might be the best player that nobody has heard of, and that's a shame because he's one of the better right wingers in the league. The third line will drive possession, between Stoll's faceoff prowess, King's play along the boards, and Frattin's excellent shot. The fourth line is up in the air between the final five guys listed. I picked Carcillo because the Kings didn't sign him to be a healthy scratch, Nolan because of his size and youth, and Lewis because he's one of the most consistent players that Los Angeles has.
Projected Defensive Pairings:
Robyn Regehr - Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell - Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez - Matt Greene
Jake Muzzin
This is the deepest blueline in the league. This doesn't include Schultz or Keaton Ellerby, who would be regulars on many teams. The Kings have every time of defenseman you could want. Goal scorers in Doughty, Voynov, and Martinez, guys who lay huge hits like Mitchell and Greene, and the consummate two-way man in Regehr. Muzzin is also a young, up and coming player who should make an impact this year. Los Angeles was tied for 7th in goals against last year, and their depth is a major reason why. Based on this depth chart, it would seem that the Kings own the blueprint on how to properly build a defense.
Goaltending:
Jonathan Quick
Ben Scrivens
Quick has been nothing short of brilliant in his NHL career, going 149-100-29 with a 2.32 GAA, .915 save percentage, and 25 shutouts. His numbers dipped a bit last year, but but with a retooled defense in front of him, he can certainly get back to his own standards. He still owns everything in the lower half of the net, so the book on Quick is still "go shelf if you want any chance at scoring."Of course, when you're one of the best goalies in the NHL, you can take that away too. Scrivens becomes the backup and though there will be a bit of a drop-off from what Bernier was performing at, he should be able to handle the job well.
Special Teams:
The Kings were 10th in the NHL on both the power play and penalty kill, ensuring that their special teams were to be feared by opponents. It's almost as if the Kings built their roster around special teams, ensuring that the top six were scorers and the bottom six were energy guys. They were +5 on the opportunity differential, and I suspect Dustin Brown helps a lot in that regard. Put simply, he's the biggest diver in the league. He's also something else that I will not write here, but suffice it to say that I don't like him. Anyway, see below for what I'm talking about. The Kings can simply maintain the status quo on special teams and be strong, or they can make a greater commitment to it and possibly rise in the rankings this year.
X-Factor:
The most key element that could propel the Kings to another Stanley Cup run is finding secondary scoring. They have had stretches of scarce offense over the last few years, and when the going gets tough, the bottom six has to step it up and fill the gaps. As long as the entire top six doesn't disappear for an extended period, the Kings should be fine this year. However, in a tough division with some new opponents, the best players need to be the best players on a nightly basis.
The Kings will make the playoffs if...
... they don't revert back to how they played in the 2011-12 regular season, Scrivens isn't a complete disaster on the nights that he plays, and secondary scoring isn't a problem. The Pacific Division is Murderer's Row this year, so there could be any number of final standing combinations in play here. Of the five that I believe have a strong chance at the playoffs, the Kings feel like a safer bet to me than most. Given their roster stability, we have a fairly good idea of what to expect from them this season. I like the pieces they have in place this year and I think that this team can make another deep playoff run.
The Kings will miss the playoffs if...
... the scoring becomes top-heavy, the wheels fall off, and there is a rash of injuries. Of course, given how good the other top teams in the Pacific are, the Kings could possibly wind up as the odd team out. The Pacific has seen three different division champions in the last three seasons (Sharks, Coyotes, and the Ducks last year), so even though the Kings have a Cup from two years ago they still don't know what it's like to be a top seed entering the playoffs. I think they're plenty good enough to make the second season, but as they say, anything can happen in this league.
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