Kings Struggles

Well, as expected from such a young team, the Kings have been struggling since their win at Dallas back on March 2nd. They're 3-5 since with wins against Columbus, Dallas again, and the Islanders last night. But despite two of those wins being shutouts, including a dominating 6-0 performance against the Jackets, the Kings haven't played well since the Olympic break.

There's no question the effort has been there for the most part. But they've looked sloppy, slow and tired. They're making mistakes defensively, and it's costing them games. And to make matters worse, the offense has been virtually non-existent in the last five or six games.

One has to wonder if desperation or panic is beginning to set in. There is a difference between the two. From my vantage point, it seems more like panic than desperation, although the panic is a result of desperation. To me, desperation is okay because, as Head Coach Tom Murray noted yesterday, it gets the players adrenaline going and they become more focused. But when there's a reluctance to make plays out of fear of making a mistake, then the panic sets in and they try to do too much.

The Kings are certainly playing with some desperation but when they lose focus for fear of making a mistake, they begin to panic, and this is where I think the Kings are right now.

The Kings have 12 games left, starting with a home-and-home series Monday against Colorado. They're still in great shape to make the playoffs. They've got 87 points after their big win last night, and sit in fifth place in the conference, but they need to keep pushing forward.

They fought through adversity once during the season when they had a two-week lull in December. They rebounded nicely and have been playing solid hockey since, until recently. There's still enough time for the Kings to get some momentum going into the playoffs. A nice, long winning streak would be good right about now.

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I don't know if anyone else has taken notice, but the Phoenix Coyotes are just one point behind San Jose for the division lead, and just two points behind Chicago for the top seed in the West. While San Jose has been reeling of late with a five-game skid, the 'Yotes have been rolling with an impressive eight-game winning streak. Former Kings assistant Dave Tippett has done a fantastic job in his first season as Phoenix's head coach.

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Also, just wanted to welcome back Bob Miller to broadcast booth. Miller missed a couple of weeks while battling a case of the shingles. Radio guy Nick Nickson filled in nicely on television in Miller's absence.

Welcome back, Bob!