The Los Angeles Kings came into Sunday’s action hoping they could get back on track against one of the teams they are all of a sudden battling within the Western Conference playoff race.
Coming in, they were 2-8-5 in their last 15 games. That is just not good enough for a team as talented as the Kings. They are supposed to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
This slump has dropped them into the Wild Card rather than a division spot. One of the teams they are fighting with for a spot, the St. Louis Blues, hosted the Kings for some Sunday afternoon hockey.
Unfortunately, the Kings fell to the Blues in overtime 4-3. Now, both squads are tied holding Wild Card position with 54 points. This is a good spot for the Blues considering where they’ve been but a horrible spot for the Kings based on their season.
The Los Angeles Kings are in a tough spot after losing a big game on Sunday
Now, being 2-8-6 in their last 16 games, they have to figure out what has been causing them issues. What can they do to right the ship and get back on track?
The Kings have had a lot of noise surrounding the effort of certain players on the team. We know this is a talented group but they need to bring it every single shift if they are going to succeed.
Not a single player in the NHL is good enough to produce while coasting. Even Connor McDavid needs to give it his all to produce the way that he does.
This is not over for the Kings. There are a lot of games left for them to make it right. They have tremendous leaders like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty to lead the way for them but it takes everybody.
Their next game will occur on Wednesday when they take on the Nashville Predators. After that, they will be at the All-Star break they desperately need.
Once that game is over, they won’t play again until February 10th. That game will be against the Edmonton Oilers who are red-hot right now. Beating them will be no easy task. A win like that could spark them to start playing well again. They need it after this horrific stretch.