Kings: Not a bird or a plane, just a rare flurry of goals
March, 1, 2012
Mar 1
2:48
PM PT
By Dan Arritt | ESPNLosAngeles.com
EL SEGUNDO—Nothing confirmed as of this posting, but the sightings continue to pour in.
The Kings may have discovered some offense after all.
A pair of 4-0 wins in the last three games has given some hope that a high-scoring team might still emerge this season. In fact, the Kings have scored four or more goals in three of the last five games and four of the last eight.
Now, if the league’s lowest-scoring team can just string together a few of those results, they might just secure a playoff spot for the third consecutive season.
And, who knows, the Kings might even hit that long-overdue hot streak at just the right time.
OK, that might be getting a little ahead of ourselves.
Kings center Mike Richards said after practice Thursday that the offense remains a work in progress, and the team’s focus still needs to be on the defensive end of the ice, where they rank third in the league in goals-against average.
“We know every game we’re going to be in a dogfight, in a 2-1 game, a 1-0 game, in games we’re confident in and comfortable playing,” he said. “Obviously, everyone would love to score every night, but keeping the puck out of the net is first and foremost.”
Still, the Kings would love to develop some consistency on the offensive end. In the 15 games they’ve scored four or more goals this season, they've managed more than two goals the following game just three times.
Coming off a 4-0 win Tuesday in Minnesota and with a couple days of practice heading into Saturday night’s game against the visiting Ducks, the Kings would like nothing more than to keep lighting the lamp.
“When you’ve been around long enough, you realize how important that type of momentum is,” said left wing Dustin Penner, one of several proven scorers on the Kings who is mired in a season-long offensive slump.
The addition of high-scoring forward Jeff Carter in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets last week already seems to be paying dividends, Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.
“He’s had a couple great chances and most of them come from him making the play to get it,” Sutter said. “I don’t think he’s an opportunist guy, he’s more of a force-the-issue guy.”
Carter has yet to register a point in three games, but he’s taking up a lot of attention from opposing defenses, Sutter said, opening up more scoring opportunities for his new teammates. Dustin Brown has been the biggest beneficiary so far, totaling four goals and three assists since Carter arrived, compared to four goals and six assists in the previous 22 games.
“At this point of the season, it’s not good enough to say we had a lot of chances,” Richards said. “Put the pressure on guys like myself and the big players to put the puck in the net. Coming down to the last 18 or 19 games we have, the big guys have to be the big guys and put the puck in the net."
The Kings may have discovered some offense after all.
A pair of 4-0 wins in the last three games has given some hope that a high-scoring team might still emerge this season. In fact, the Kings have scored four or more goals in three of the last five games and four of the last eight.
Now, if the league’s lowest-scoring team can just string together a few of those results, they might just secure a playoff spot for the third consecutive season.
And, who knows, the Kings might even hit that long-overdue hot streak at just the right time.
OK, that might be getting a little ahead of ourselves.
Kings center Mike Richards said after practice Thursday that the offense remains a work in progress, and the team’s focus still needs to be on the defensive end of the ice, where they rank third in the league in goals-against average.
“We know every game we’re going to be in a dogfight, in a 2-1 game, a 1-0 game, in games we’re confident in and comfortable playing,” he said. “Obviously, everyone would love to score every night, but keeping the puck out of the net is first and foremost.”
Still, the Kings would love to develop some consistency on the offensive end. In the 15 games they’ve scored four or more goals this season, they've managed more than two goals the following game just three times.
Coming off a 4-0 win Tuesday in Minnesota and with a couple days of practice heading into Saturday night’s game against the visiting Ducks, the Kings would like nothing more than to keep lighting the lamp.
“When you’ve been around long enough, you realize how important that type of momentum is,” said left wing Dustin Penner, one of several proven scorers on the Kings who is mired in a season-long offensive slump.
The addition of high-scoring forward Jeff Carter in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets last week already seems to be paying dividends, Kings coach Darryl Sutter said.
“He’s had a couple great chances and most of them come from him making the play to get it,” Sutter said. “I don’t think he’s an opportunist guy, he’s more of a force-the-issue guy.”
Carter has yet to register a point in three games, but he’s taking up a lot of attention from opposing defenses, Sutter said, opening up more scoring opportunities for his new teammates. Dustin Brown has been the biggest beneficiary so far, totaling four goals and three assists since Carter arrived, compared to four goals and six assists in the previous 22 games.
“At this point of the season, it’s not good enough to say we had a lot of chances,” Richards said. “Put the pressure on guys like myself and the big players to put the puck in the net. Coming down to the last 18 or 19 games we have, the big guys have to be the big guys and put the puck in the net."
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