The Kings Defense Is Still Searching For Consistency

Regardless of where anyone fell on the spectrum of belief that the Kings would be this mediocre after being the second seed in the Pacific Division last season and having the best record at home, we could all agree that their most realistic path to at least making it to the playoffs would be on the defensive side of the ice. 

With the recent blowout loss to the Edmont Oilers, an 8-1 loss on their home floor, the Kings decided to take action and fire head coach Jim Hiller, the team announced on Sunday. 

The biggest question will be whether the defense improves under new interim coach DJ Smith, who will take the job for the remainder of the season, the team announced.  We will soon find out whether the problem was all on Hiller or if some blame lies with the Kings' defensive lapses, unstable goaltending, and inconsistent offense. 

Under Hiller, even though the numbers say he had the Kings 12th in defense, right in the middle of the pack, you wouldn't think that when you actually watch them play on ice. 

The fact of the matter is, the last two games in which they gave up 14 goals combined were the defining factor in Hiller being fired, and now it will be interesting to see where the defense goes and adjusts with Smith promoted as the interim head coach. 

The two losses out of the Olympic break, the Kings gave up more than double the goals they're giving up on average, 14 goals combined in the back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights. That's not a good sign, especially against the two best teams in their division that they're trying to overtake. 

 The one defensive stat that you can look at and be happy as a Kings fan is the goals against average. Los Angeles is giving up 2.91 goals against per game and is ranked in the top 10, so that's good news, but their recent skid coming out of the Olympic break has been the total opposite of that stat.   

Sure, they've had some moments where, in overtime, the defense has shown up, or in late-game situations, they've come back, forced it into overtime, and won the game, but it hasn't been sustainable. 

But, when the captain of your defense is an aging 36-year-old who clearly isn't the same player he once was on defense a few years ago, that's a problem, especially in the playoffs and later on in games when fatigue hits you. 

It's not just the defensive line, though; it's also Darcy Kuemper, who has pretty much been unplayable recently at the goaltender position, and that's very hard to say, given how great he was last season and some parts of this season. 

But that's the truth: mostly because of injuries, he hasn't been the same player since coming back. But it is what it is; he hasn't performed up to expectations, and the backup goaltender, Anton Forsberg, has been the better player overall. Just tonight, the Kings won a shutout over the Calgary Flames with Forsberg in the crease for Los Angeles. 

Sure, they traded for Artemi Panarin, who will certainly help boost their offense, as they're also a very bad offensive team, sitting 29th out of the 32 teams in the NHL, only scoring 2.60 goals per game and 0.48 on power play goals, which is also an issue, given how many talented offensive players Los Angeles has. 

The results on offense also just haven't been consistent, and there's no excuse for that because this is a very talented team from a scoring standpoint.  On paper, when you look at it, from Artemi Panarin, Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala, Alex Laferriere, etc, a lot of these guys are playing very well, but the offense sometimes isn't present when needed to make a spark. 

But the defense, Los Angeles won't go anywhere if they don't improve their defense. It could be making a trade to get help up front because acquiring forwards isn't going to change a thing; it's the defense that remains a problem. 

This team is known for its strong defense. Over the last few years, Los Angeles has been at least a top-5 or top-10 team on defense because of the grit and grind we know the silver and white has. 

At times, it's there, especially when Los Angeles jumps up to big leads and both their defense and offense are clicking, but then in the second and third period specifically, all that crumbles down, and it's either an overtime loss or a regulation loss. 

Individually, while things have not always been perfect, just see the end of the team's loss against the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, both games have been about the defense evaporating, and to some point, the offense. 

Panarin is the only player on the Kings who's in the top 50 of any category on offense. The 34-year-old forward is currently no. 24 in points this season with 60; no other Kings player is in the top 50 in either category on offense. 

It just shows that even though on paper, this roster has some solid forwards and depth, no one is playing at the elite level like Panarin is, who the Kings should be lucky that they acquired. 

It's pretty clear that the biggest issues are a lack of defense, inconsistent offense, and coaching. It seems like every game, fans are calling to fire Jim Hiller, even after wins, just to get in a fresh voice out there on the bench. 

Questionable rotations and guys not getting enough minutes on ice who deserve them, like Taylor Ward, who, since being recalled from the Ontario Reign, has been a solid forward playing in his limited minutes, with two goals, two assists, and four points. 

The team, at this point, is pretty clear about what they are and what they're trying to do: build to win now, rather than rebuild for future draft capital and young players. But the worst situation to be in sports is being a mediocre team that's always in the middle, and that's exactly what the Kings are, good enough to make the playoffs but destined to go home in the first round. 

In a season where it will be Anze Kopitar's last with the silver and white after announcing retirement early in the season, it sucks to see the Kings wasting another season of being a legitimate contender and even a playoff team under Kopitar. 

Whatever decisions are made,  though, need to happen now. Coming out of the Olympic break is a massive sprint to the finish line, where the playoffs are the ultimate goal. Injuries have not allowed the team to get the footing that it would have liked, but the race does not stop, so you can get your bearings.

The Kings don't have time to linger or falter on ideas. If there's a trade out there that can help the team specifically on defense, Los Angeles has to pull the trigger right now. Because if they don’t, they’ll have a very long offseason to consider where they went wrong…again.

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