From a teenager DREW DOUGHTY seal Anze Kopitar on Kiss'Roster in 2008, the team won its only two Stanley cuts, posted the first five seasons with the most victories in the history of the franchise and six of the first eight seasons with the most points.
So, does that make the Kings golden era?
“Absolutely”, president of the Kings Luc Robitaille said without hesitation. “Anze Kopitar and Drew were the main players in our franchise. What they bring in the room (to dress), what they bring day by day, the way they pay attention to play have a double -way game.
“The success we have experienced, we give them.”
Age, however, threatens to mitigate the brilliance on this golden era, which adds a feeling of urgency to the push of the playoffs of this season, which is just beginning.
Doughty, 35, has not played since her break up the left ankle in pre-season, marking the second time in four seasons, he lost significant ice time because of the injury. And Kopitar, still very productive at 37, has only one full season on his $ 14 million contract of two years while Trevor Lewis, the only other restraint from the Stanley Cup teams, is 38 years and one of the six kings who will become free agents this summer.
However, Robitaille, a temple of fame and the leader of all time of the franchise in the goals, thinks that the biggest generation of Kings has at least one more championship race before skating at sunset. And he had a chance on Wednesday to see how he measures the best in the NHL, to eliminate a 2-1 victory against the title champion of the Stanley Cup Florida Panthers.
The two goals occurred in the third period, the first of Samuel Helenius, his first in the NHL, and the second of Adrian Kempe, his 24th at the top of the season, with 6 minutes 48 seconds to play in the match.
“Play against a Stanley Cup champion is a big test for your organization,” said Robitaille.
And this is a test that the Kings passed with a furious third -time load in which they took half of the 28 shots with the goal they had in the night.
“This is one of the two or three best games we had all season,” said coach Jim Hiller. “It's a hard game. An eliminatory style match.”
“It was like an eliminatory match,” said striker Kevin Fiala. “We did the job.”
However, there is still a lot of work to do to keep the Kings at the same level of teams like the Panthers, who played in the last two finals of the Stanley Cup.
With Wednesday's victory The Kings (26-14-5, 57 points) are four better points than after 45 games last season, when they were in a collapse of 3-14 which cost coach Todd McLellan his work. And while the Kings are coming off again – the victory Wednesday was only the second in six games and until the explosion of the third period, they had a goal in seven periods – Robitaille said that there was no comparison between the two teams.
The Kings Center Anze Kopitar (11) is one of the aging stars of the franchise trying to do another championship.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
“It doesn't look like last year,” he said. “I like the way we played, even if we haven't won these games. So you always say you continue to do the same thing again and again and play in the right direction (and) you will run.
“Last year, we felt like we were on the heels and try not to lose it. Now we have been on our guard and play in a certain way that is difficult for other teams.”
The team is clearly that of Kopitar – as it should be – and they will undoubtedly play a big role in determining the fate of the Kings. The captain, who has not missed a match, leads the Kings with 31 assists, is second behind Kempe with 43 points and is one of the two attackers on average more than 19 minutes of ice time. He also holds the franchise records for the games played and the assists, ranks second in points and third of the goals.
What he did not do is to be the first to lift the Stanley Cup. Dustin Brown was the captain when the Kings won in 2012 and again two years later, making him the first captain born in the United States to hoist the trophy twice. Given the place of Kopitar in the history of the team, Robitaille said that he also deserved this honor.
“I would like Anze Kopitar to be the first to lift the cup,” he said. “So there is a certain pressure and we would like to do it when he is always a leading player. I think we owe it to our fans and that we owe it to guys like him.”
The Kings are about to improve while it matters most, because Doughty has started to skate again. And while Hiller refused to give a calendar for his return, Doughty will accompany the team during a five game trip that begins on Saturday.
“He will have an immediate impact that will return to the group,” said the coach.
“We are Drew back, it's exactly like doing a big business,” said Robitaille. “You can never replace guys like Kopitar and Doughty. It is impossible. They are very special players. Do you know that the window of winning? As it gets older, it happens. So, I would certainly like to win it with them.
“But to a certain extent, the legacy they leave in this franchise, it will go through them.”
