The Los Angeles Kings’ early season woes began with a 5-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, so it seems appropriate that they climbed back to .500 with a decisive victory against their California rivals last night.
“I think it was big for us to come in and prove ourselves, I guess,” Kings forward Jeff Carter said, per LA Kings Insider. “I don’t know if that’s the right word, but we pretty much had to. They pretty much ran over us in Game 1 and this was a big game for us. It was a big test to come in here.”
The Kings opened the season with a three-game losing streak and has followed it up with three straight victories. However, even in the context of their improved results as of late, this game was an encouraging sign.
It was the first time that their offense really showed much life as Los Angeles had just six goals over its first five games. Before Thursday night, half of their markers had been scored by Tyler Toffoli, but key forwards Jeff Carter and Milan Lucic’s goal scoring droughts are now behind them.
Jhonas Enroth also can hold his head high after making a strong Los Angeles Kings debut. While Jonathan Quick remains the Kings’ undisputed starter, having a backup netminder that the team can feel comfortable utilizing is important over the course of the campaign.
Even still, it’s too early to say where the Kings recently showings will fit in the larger scheme of things. Is the worst already behind them? Should these six games be taken as a whole as an indication that the Kings are in for another roller coaster season that features both stretches of dominance and enough struggles sprinkled in to potentially sour the whole campaign.
We’ll only be able to appreciate the full context in hindsight, but while this was just one early season game, it was an important win.