Game No.29: Who Crowned These Guys?

 

 

You wanna talk about a team that kind of sucks?

Obviously as a person who kinda-sorta tolerates the Calgary Flames, I’m not in much of a position to talk, but holy crap do I think the Kings are a bad team.

I’m not even going to use the fact that they’re dead last in their division as ammo because they’re four points out of first with games in hand on everyone. But seriously, they’re behind the Ducks in the standings right now. This is not a thing that should be happening. Regardless of games played.

Why, it’s almost as though the team that got 100-plus points last season wasn’t all that good to begin with. First of all, I can’t imagine that anyone on the planet who would think Jon Quick is a decent NHL-level netminder who should be carrying this much water for a team with pretensions of being a Western power. Well, anyone who isn’t Terry Murray and Dean Lombardi and maybe Mr. and Mrs. Quick of the Connecticut Quicks. Woulda thought the stats last year were enough to prove that. Oh but jeez he got 39 wins last year. A franchise record. He also had a save percentage near .900 so maybe, just maybe, he backed into it.

Then the defense. Obviously by the end of his career, Drew Doughty’s closet is going to be so full of Norrises that they fall out like a Marx Brothers movie when he opens it, but other than that? Willie Mitchell and Jack Johnson are alright and Scuderi is a fine No.2-3 guy. But any team giving Davis Drewiske and Peter Harrold actual NHL minutes is one that is going to lean on its top pairing heavily. Clearly, they’re handling the load so far, but how long can they keep that up?

And up front it’s just a nightmare. Apart from Anze Kopitar and Duatin Brown, they might not have one other top-six forward. Alex Ponikarovsky is their top-line left wing most nights. And he’s hurt right now. They have 69 goals in 25 games. Sixty-nine. You almost have to try to be that bad. It’s going to be hilarious when this team.

So please, welcome the Los Angeles Kings. The biggest frauds in the Western Conference.