The Kings stayed stagnant during the trade deadline, relying on returning players to make their mark down the stretch and in the playoffs. They got an actual test against Dallas and failed. Where does this leave the club in the wake of their most recent thrashing?
When their Western Conference rivals made upgrades, some of which were substantial, the Los Angeles Kings remained unchanged at the deadline. Rob Blake maintains that he made every decision throughout the offseason. He added that they became a competitive team after Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded. These days, the squad can only get better when its injured players get back. With Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson, and Mikey Anderson in the lineup, the Kings had a 4-0-0 record.
Although four games is a short sample size, it does show what this club is capable of when healthy. The unbeaten record is encouraging when you look at the clubs that were eliminated. The Kings have had an interesting season, especially given their general state of health. These injuries have prevented much of the roster that was assembled throughout the season from being used together.
The Kings have had poor luck before the last two postseasons, getting critical injuries to key players down the stretch for the most pivotal time of the year.
Kempe was a welcome sight back in silver and black Saturday night. The process was quick, much like the Kevin Fiala injury last year, when he spent little time in a red no-contact jersey and then returned to game action without being fully integrated back into practice.
Kempe spent time in a regular jersey the day of, as did Anderson. Arvidsson was skating independently and was noted by Blake to see his return at Dallas possibly.
Kempe logged 20:51, the most amongst LA forwards. He registered one hit and one shot on goal while being a -1. Postgame, Kempe was extremely candid but said skating is much easier with an upper-body injury and that you don’t shoot as much during a game, unlike at practice. Kempe said all of this while his hand remained ice-wrapped postgame.
Though Kempe is cleared to go, I’m curious to know what percentage he’s really at. Kempe is a pivotal part of the team, last year’s leading scorer, and arguably the best two-way winger on the roster.
He had an excellent short-handed shift where he went wide around the Dallas defender and drove straight to the net for his one shot on goal, but there wasn’t any cycle of off-the-rush shots that we typically see from Kempe.
Skepticism is a complex thought process that bleeds into other game areas. Vladislav Gavrikov, once coming back relatively quickly from his injury against the Islanders, has not looked 100% since. Like Gavrikov, Kempe looks to be fully back to the naked and untrained eye. But it’s the nitty-gritty, small details that are off.
The Dallas game is a one-game sample size for Kempe, who logged the most minutes of the forwards but was different from the shooter he usually is. Undoubtedly, he has become a shot-pass threat under the vigil of Anze Kopitar this year, but he remains the best shooter on the roster. Is that a concern? Only if it continues.
