Kings set to become NHL royalty

Sam McCaig

• Last Updated: November 02. 2009 3:00PM UAE / November 2. 2009 11:00AM GMT

It seems like the the Los Angeles Kings have always been able to score.

From Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor on the “Triple Crown” line in the 1970s, to the two-headed rookie scoring monster of Luc Robitaille and Jimmy Carson in the late 1980s to, of course, the Wayne Gretzky years in the 1990s, generating goals has never been a concern for the Kings.

Defence? Well, that's another LA story altogether.

In a city where basketball's Lakers and the perpetually contending Dodgers are the favoured teams in the City of Angels, the Kings realised they weren't going to rule the local sporting scene by depending on a defensive style.

It might not make sense in the standings, but for the past decade Los Angeles seemed to prefer to lose 6-5 than to win 2-1. Fans want to be inspired and enthralled, Kings management reasoned, and there's a lot of competition for people's disposable income dollars in Hollywood. Entertain or die, right?

The problem with that logic, of course, is that fans also like to support winning teams, and if you decide to sacrifice the defensive side of the game in exchange for a few extra goals here and there, it usually doesn't result in a successful play-off run.

In fact, it usually doesn't result in a play-off presence at all.

The Kings haven't seen the post-season since 2002, and that culture of losing combined with the team's west coast base to make the Kings almost a forgotten entity locally and within the greater NHL.

The good news is that things are changing.

After years of stockpiling high draft picks and rebuilding through youth, the Kings are poised for prominence.

Led by Anze Kopitar, the NHL's first Slovenian star, along with the pounding presence Dustin Brown and temperamental Alex Frolov, the Kings have a stable of talented young forwards, with a few battle-tested veterans thrown in (summer signings Ryan Smyth and Justin WIlliams).

As usual, scoring doesn't figure to be a problem.

Coach Terry Murray, who took over the helm at the start of last season, instilled a defensive mindset in his first season.

This year he's opened things up offensively while trusting his young team to be responsible in its own end.

So far it's worked, and the wait for the Kings' return to relevance appears to be over.

Like fellow Western Conference residents Colorado and Phoenix, the Kings are on the rise.

But the best news in Los Angeles is on the blueline, where the Kings are the envy of the league.

Future Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty leads the way, and the 19-year-old is joined by the likes of Jack Johnson, Davis Drewiske and Alec Martinez, with top-flight prospects Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert also in he pipeline.

If you haven't heard of these guys, you will.

While the Kings' distaste for defensive play in past years was an Achilles' heel, they weren't getting much help from their goaltending.

Since Kelly Hrudey departed in the mid-1990s, in fact, the Kings' goal has seen a rotation of has-beens and never-weres. Instead of providing big-time saves and stealing victories, Los Angeles' netminders have been a cause for concern.

The current tandem of Jonathan Quick and Erik Ersberg might not be the long-term answer – 2006 first-round draft pick Jonathan Bernier has the inside track on the "franchise goalie" label – but Quick, in particular, at least stepped up when the starting job was virtually thrust upon him last season.

In any case, the 18 Kings skaters in front of Quick and Ersberg are, for the first time in recent memory, capable of overcoming any mistakes that may occasionally crop up in net.

The Kings' success through the first dozen games, which have seen them produce two four-game winning streaks, doesn't mean they'll win their division or even that they're shoo-ins for the playoffs.

But it's the first tangible proof that Los Angeles is back on the right track since Gretzky was in town.

And this time they're doing it the right way, too, with a host of homegrown talent that can play on both sides of the puck.

smccaig@thenational.ae