“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.”
–Thomas Huxley
From L.A. to Long Island to Moose Jaw, there are people all over the hockey world that are dealing with rebuilding projects. There is an interesting aspect to following a team that is internally setting the building blocks for future success. There are points during a campaign that the Sharks or Canadiens will be on auto-pilot simply looking forward to the playoffs and their expected high-seed. But for a team like the Kings, each situation and their consequential reaction will be the focus of the season. Wins and losses are obviously important—but they are important within the scope of something greater than this season. It can simultaneously be frustrating and strangely liberating. While watching a team’s losses pile up faster than Sean Avery can say “sloppy seconds,” we understand that we won’t be competing for the Stanley Cup this season and we accept the defeats easier than someone competing for the crown.
The last week and a half has certainly highlighted the Los Angeles Kings individual journey this season. Starting on Monday, the Kings blew 3 games succession where they held the lead entering the final period. In the middle of that stretch of games, the team held a players only, closed door meeting.
If the Kings are to develop into a contender at the end of this rebuilding process, two of the most important things to come out of this season will be the maturation of the young leaders on the team and the killer instinct to finish off games when they have the lead. From an organizational standpoint, the front office and fans have to be thrilled that Dustin Brown, Matt Greene, and the rest of the young leaders on the team took the initiative to take ownership and try to correct a glaring problem without the influence of the coaching staff. No matter how strong-willed or authoritarian a coach is—the best form of leadership for any squad will be from within. It’s one thing for a boss to tell you that you’re fucking up, but quite a different situation when your co-worker tells you that you’re letting them down. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure.
The situation at hand is the inability to finish off games. When you examine the good teams of the past, they all have the ability to close out games when they have the opportunity to win. When the Red Wings have an opponent down, they finish them. When the Devils took a lead into the third period when they were winning Stanley Cups, they finished the game off and earned the win. Even in games where good teams are having an off night; if they have an opportunity to steal a win sitting in front of them, they take it!
The three losses in a row to the Maple Leafs, Coyotes, and Oilers demonstrated how this season is a work in progress for the young Kings. The first two games (Toronto and Phoenix) showed that the Kings have yet to find that killer instinct to finish off games in the 3rd period. They were not dominant in either game, but they should have been able to gain points in each of the back-to-back games. The Edmonton game later in the week showed that the Kings could respond to a pair of disappointing finishes by opening with a first period disappointment. It was encouraging to watch the young team answer with 4 goals of their own—but the effort to comeback was in vain as the Kings lost in a shootout. They earned 1 point over a three game stretch when they had the lead going into the final period all 3 times. If the Kings are going to fulfill their potential in the years to come, they’ll have to remedy this problem. This season is all about the kids learning.
Saturday night showed that the Kings could finally break through and complete a game until the final horn; a 3-0 shutout against the Blue Jackets was exactly what the doctored ordered. But was the victory more a result of better play on the ice or the result of matching up against an inferior opponent in their own building? The 6-1 embarrassment in Colorado didn’t help the cause.
The cold hard truth is that the Kings early schedule has been extremely home-heavy and against some of the weaker teams in the league. Thus far, the Kings victories have been against teams that are a combined 24 games under .500. Only their first win (against the Ducks who started 0-4) and their victory against the Capitals were against teams OVER .500. What happens when the Kings run into their horrific schedule that begins in February? From Groundhog’s Day until the end of the season, the Kings have 23 road games versus only 11 games at Staples Center. Hopefully they’ll be able to learn to play tougher on the road as they only have 3 wins on the road after 2 months of the season.
The second half of the season should show other areas of growth as well. First year players like Drew Doughty, Oscar Moller, and Wayne Simmonds are going to have to battle through the 82 game season for the first time in their lives. Also, as the games pile up, usually the injuries also increase. It will be interesting to see if the young players work through the adversity of sidelined players or use their absences as an excuse for any potential defeats. Good teams fight through injuries and keep winning; it’s a lesson the youth movement will have to face sooner or later.
Most of all, the Kings will have to develop some sort of consistency within their game. 5 game losing streaks, followed by lengthy unbeaten streaks are not the sign of a team that stays on an even level. Over the last stretch of games, Los Angeles lost 3 tough games, then shut out an opponent, then had their worst showing (effort wise) of the entire season. They’ve been all over the map—but these are the things that should have been expected this year. They key is to work on the flaws. If the coaching staff and the leadership on the team have a successful season, it will manifest itself with the elimination of these huge swings. No one is going to win every game, but if the Kings can limit their losing streaks to 2 games instead of 5, they’ll be able to position themselves as one of the elite teams in the Western Conference very soon.
The young King players are going to go through plenty of situations that they haven’t experienced before. Young players are going to play more games than they ever have. Young captains are going to be confronted with leadership issues they’ve never had to deal with before. Young players are going to be EXPECTED to produce on a regular basis, as opposed to chipping in the occasional goal. Patrick O’Sullivan summed it up best after last weekend:
“The more times we play games and go through different situations it’s going to make our team better. The quicker we are able to figure that out, the quicker we are going to become better. It’s going through that stuff in the game that you learn from.”
Wins and losses are always important, but this season is all about growth. If the team is better in April than they were in October, then the Kings are on the right track. This season poses 82 opportunities to gain the experience and understanding that it will take for the Kings to make the next step. I just hope they learn something this year—because losing sucks.
