NHL division previews: 2017-18 Pacific Division
3rd in 2017-18 Pacific Division – Los Angeles Kings
The Kings are primed for a bounce-back season in more than one way. They were one of the unluckiest teams in the NHL last season. In fact, according to Rob Vollman in Hockey Abstract 2017 (page 25-26), the only team more unlucky than the Kings was the Colorado Avalanche.
The Kings are a great possession team, have a top 15 goaltender in Jonathan Quick, are good on special teams, have a good top four in their defensive corps and are good enough offensively to sit in the top half of the league.
The forwards are led by Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Tanner Pearson. Pearson earned himself a nice contract in the off-season for his 44 point season last year, so he is there for the long-term. Carter is, as always, expected to be a 60-plus point forward. Kopitar could easily improve on his 52-point season as well.
The case with Kopitar wasn’t talent, but that fact that his QoC (quality of competition) was the highest on the Kings roster and his offensive zone start percentage was floating around 45%. If the latter number can see an uptick, there is every reason to believe that Kopitar can significantly increase that point total.
Outside of those three, there isn’t a ton to look at. They have some good role players in Tyler Toffoli and Mike Cammalleri, but not much else. They will need a bit more from their depth forwards to be a serious Cup contender.
The defensive corps is a totally different story. Drew Doughty is one of the best in the NHL when healthy and Jake Muzzin is a good top four defenseman as well. Who they pair with those two, and who the third pairing is are what is currently up in the air. If they can sort this out, this could be a strong enough corps to ensure they don’t blow leads.
As stated before, Quick is one of the best in the league when healthy. Between 2014-15 to 2016-17 Quick had a save percentage of .9178 (18th in NHL), a .9185 manpower-adjust SV% (18th) and a .850 home plate SV% (22nd). While these numbers don’t point to him being elite in that time period, he is a good enough goalie to win you games. Simple as that. (All goalie numbers from Hockey Abstract 2017, pages 134-143.)
Player to watch in 2017-18: Tanner Pearson. Now 25 years old, Pearson looks to be coming into his own in Los Angeles. His 24 goals were a career high, and he had a second straight season of 20-plus assists. His possession numbers are good, he tends to have over 50% of his zone starts in the offensive zone and he has improved on his point total three seasons running. This makes for a strong case that he could very well break the 50-point mark in 2017-18.