#LAKings Kings ready to wrap up season in Colorado, look forward to breakthroughs (Daily News)
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And then there were two.
Only a pair of games remain in the Kings season, both against the Colorado Avalanche in once-again-snowy Denver this Wednesday and Thursday.
Earlier this season, the Kings were snowed in after a visit to Colorado and had to have a home game against St. Louis rescheduled for Monday, when they lost 2-1 in overtime.
Since a stretch that saw them drop four out of five games and eight out of 11 overall, the Kings have played .500 hockey with a 4-4-1 record in their last nine games. That included back-to-back victories against the Arizona Coyotes, marking just the third time this season that the Kings have strung together two or more wins.
Having been eliminated from playoff contention last week — now the postseason field is set with the Montreal Canadiens clinched berth — the Kings are once again turning their eyes toward the future.
We have work to do. Weve got to sit down and evaluate the players that we have here, Kings Coach Todd McLellan said after Mondays loss. I know theyre not all going to be back, weve got to go out and recruit, find some other players that can help us.
The Kings went from young to younger for two straight seasons, parting ways with half a dozen veterans last year, including four Stanley Cup winners, and then trading another, two-time champion Jeff Carter, at this seasons trade deadline. Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Jack Campbell and Alec Martinez have all made a significant impact on potential contenders, while Kyle Clifford, Derek Forbort and Trevor Lewis are all playoff-bound as well.
Though the Kings have deployed multiple rookies this season, they also have a number of players who have been with the club across what is now a three-year-and-counting rebuild. McLellan said those players would need to step forward and cement their positions, and that the organization needed to strengthen its cast at the top level for the group to better coalesce.
Thatll be a big challenge for us as a team. If we get that breakthrough and we augment the team a little bit with some players, well be okay, McLellan said. If we dont get the push through to the next level from a lot of players, itll take us more time. We need it from them, and theyll be directed that way heading into the summer.
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The Kings final opponent, Colorado, was once a team mired in a rebuild and was even mocked widely after their 2016-17 season. They earned just 48 points and had their worst campaign since the franchise relocated to Colorado from Quebec in 1995. Since then, they have made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, reaching the second round in each of the past two years. This season, they have won five of six meetings with the Kings, including two wins last week, and they are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
General Manager Joe Sakic, who starred for the Avs 1996 and 2001 Cup-winning squads, and Coach Jared Bednar have constructed a winning culture around their explosive top center, Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog have been the Wests answer to the Boston Bruins perfection line, while defenseman Cale Makar and goalie Philipp Grubauer have solidified Colorado defensively. Winger Andre Burakovsky has flourished in Denver, posting his two most productive seasons in 2019-20 and 2021 despite playing only 58 and 51 games respectively.
Kings at Colorado
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday/6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ball Arena (limited in-person attendance)
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West//iHeartRadio
https://www.dailynews.com/2021/05/11...breakthroughs/
Only a pair of games remain in the Kings season, both against the Colorado Avalanche in once-again-snowy Denver this Wednesday and Thursday.
Earlier this season, the Kings were snowed in after a visit to Colorado and had to have a home game against St. Louis rescheduled for Monday, when they lost 2-1 in overtime.
Since a stretch that saw them drop four out of five games and eight out of 11 overall, the Kings have played .500 hockey with a 4-4-1 record in their last nine games. That included back-to-back victories against the Arizona Coyotes, marking just the third time this season that the Kings have strung together two or more wins.
Having been eliminated from playoff contention last week — now the postseason field is set with the Montreal Canadiens clinched berth — the Kings are once again turning their eyes toward the future.
We have work to do. Weve got to sit down and evaluate the players that we have here, Kings Coach Todd McLellan said after Mondays loss. I know theyre not all going to be back, weve got to go out and recruit, find some other players that can help us.
The Kings went from young to younger for two straight seasons, parting ways with half a dozen veterans last year, including four Stanley Cup winners, and then trading another, two-time champion Jeff Carter, at this seasons trade deadline. Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Jack Campbell and Alec Martinez have all made a significant impact on potential contenders, while Kyle Clifford, Derek Forbort and Trevor Lewis are all playoff-bound as well.
Though the Kings have deployed multiple rookies this season, they also have a number of players who have been with the club across what is now a three-year-and-counting rebuild. McLellan said those players would need to step forward and cement their positions, and that the organization needed to strengthen its cast at the top level for the group to better coalesce.
Thatll be a big challenge for us as a team. If we get that breakthrough and we augment the team a little bit with some players, well be okay, McLellan said. If we dont get the push through to the next level from a lot of players, itll take us more time. We need it from them, and theyll be directed that way heading into the summer.
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The Kings final opponent, Colorado, was once a team mired in a rebuild and was even mocked widely after their 2016-17 season. They earned just 48 points and had their worst campaign since the franchise relocated to Colorado from Quebec in 1995. Since then, they have made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, reaching the second round in each of the past two years. This season, they have won five of six meetings with the Kings, including two wins last week, and they are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
General Manager Joe Sakic, who starred for the Avs 1996 and 2001 Cup-winning squads, and Coach Jared Bednar have constructed a winning culture around their explosive top center, Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog have been the Wests answer to the Boston Bruins perfection line, while defenseman Cale Makar and goalie Philipp Grubauer have solidified Colorado defensively. Winger Andre Burakovsky has flourished in Denver, posting his two most productive seasons in 2019-20 and 2021 despite playing only 58 and 51 games respectively.
Kings at Colorado
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday/6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ball Arena (limited in-person attendance)
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West//iHeartRadio
https://www.dailynews.com/2021/05/11...breakthroughs/