December 9, 2010
by Gann Matsuda
LOS ANGELES — After a smoking hot 12-3-0 start followed by a 2-6-0 nose dive, one thing has been a constant for the Los Angeles Kings this season…
…that they have a gaping hole on their top line at left wing, as evidenced by the fact that so many players have played that position this season with varying degrees of success…or failure. Indeed, so many players have played alongside center Anze Kopitar that one could fill an entire roster just with those players.
Forwards Justin Williams (left) and Anze Kopitar (right) have come on strong of late for the Los Angeles Kings.
Photo: David Sheehan
That is an exaggeration, of course, but you get the point. The Kings’ first line was inconsistent, at best, during the team’s hot start. In fact, the first line was supplanted by the Kings’ second line of left wing
Ryan Smyth, center
Jarret Stoll, and right wing
Justin Williams as their top offensive line in terms of production.
During their 2-6-0 skid, the Kings’ problems started in their own end, where they were giving up Grade A scoring chances and goals in bunches. But later in the slide, the problems moved to the other end of the ice as the team stopped scoring.
The solution? Following their 2-0 loss at Anaheim on November 29, head coach Terry Murray made yet another change on his top line, moving Williams up to play the right side with Kopitar while right wing Dustin Brown shifted over to left wing.
In the two games (both wins) the Kings have played since the change, the new first line has combined for four goals and four assists for eight points. Read more of this post
