Sure, you can look at the standings and see if the Los Angeles Kings are doing well.
A more entertaining barometer for a Kings’ hot streak comes when people discuss how people just aren’t discussing Drew Doughty’s greatness enough.
That happened during the Kings’ previous Stanley Cup runs, and it appears to be surfacing again, as Milan Lucic pumped his tires after Los Angeles nullified the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 5-3.
Lucic, on Doughty: "He could easily be a Norris Trophy winner right now if he wasn't playing at 10:30 most nights in the Eastern Time Zone."
— LA Kings Insider (@lakingsinsider) December 5, 2015
Ah yes, it’s been a while since someone Kings-related trotted out the ‘ol East Coast bias routine, right?
(Not that they’re necessarily wrong, mind you ...)
The Kings really are heating up again lately. They’ve now won three games in a row and are currently on a five-game point streak (4-0-1), only losing in a shootout to Tampa Bay on Nov. 25.
There’s no denying the notion that Doughty is one of the catalysts, if not the engine, as he keeps hovering around 30 minutes of ice time each night.
It was really a nice day for the Kings defense in general, too:
Doughty, Ehrhoff and Muzzin scored; according to Elias it is first time at least 3 Kings d-men have scored in the same game since 2007.
— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) December 5, 2015
At one point, the Penguins looked especially pitiful:
3-0...Lucic...just a horrendous performance from the Penguins. Shots now 24-6.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) December 5, 2015
Sidney Crosby did provide this balm in the form of a pretty goal, though:
Pittsburgh saved face at least on the scoreboard, but there’s no doubt which team looked better today. And Doughty’s a huge part of that, no doubt.