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Weekly Discussion: One Month is in the Books. Here Are Our Thoughts.

Nick, Robert, and Eric try to sum up what the Los Angeles Kings have done so far this season.

Robert's Thoughts

The Kings are 9-6 to start the season. They're 4th in the NHL in possession and 24th in PDO (PDO defined). Jonathan Quick is off to an awful start. Darryl Sutter has both frustrated and delighted with his line up decisions. Sounds familiar. The Kings are nothing if not consistent.

In truth, L.A. has played below their potential to start the year. Yet, there is hope on the horizon. Tyler Toffoli impressed in his season debut, proving that it was probably the wrong move to not have him with the big club to start the year. Especially when you scan the forward corps the Kings started the year with. The injury to Jeff Carter doesn't sound too serious and if they can get him back quickly, a roster that features both him and Toffoli could really add some punch.


Additionally, as bad as Jonathan Quick has been to start the year, he will at some point start getting better. And with it will come wins, rays of sunshine, skipping and miniature horses for all.


Eric's Thoughts

I think I'm generally an optimistic person. I'm not that concerned about Jonathan Quick, or the fact that shots aren't going in, or that we've had to win five games in the shootout.

Well, okay, I'm a little concerned. Probably has to do with the fact that the Kings lost to the Predators, in Jonathan Quick's worst start of the season, right before the four-day break. Anxiety!

Anyway, if you look at the individual performances of the Kings, no one has had a true stinker of a season. Quick has mostly confined his struggles to a few games, the defensemen have largely improved over the course of the year, and the forwards (aside from perhaps Lewis, Stoll, and Fraser) have been effective aside from, you know, scoring goals. As for the next month, and beyond? I'm excited as hell for Tyler Toffoli and Linden Vey, but the current health issues of Jeff Carter, Matt Greene, and Jarret Stoll provide another obstacle. Prediction: the Kings also go 9-6 in their next fifteen games, but move up in the standings.

Nick's Thoughts

The Kings did a lot of things pretty well in October. Their possession game steadily improved and is heading back to the levels we grew accustomed to after the Carter trade. However, small issues that have plagued them on and off since last season started don't seem to have evaporated just yet. Kings' goalscoring has been very quiet, especially given the amount of possession they generate. This reminds me of the start of last season, so hopefully it finishes the same way in that regard and the Kings wind up with the 10th best (or better!) offense in the league.

Quick isn't great yet either. By far my biggest concern right now. He wasn't good last season until the playoffs started. He has been downright bad so far this season. I would give the Kings, as a team, a B- for October. The good thing is that I think their biggest flaws are either self-correcting or easily fixable.

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