| | It's always been said that great teams handle adversity well. If the Los Angeles Kings are to challenge the NHL elite this season, they need to keep winning through a difficult time without two of their best players. Here is a look at the Kings, as well as two sensational sophomores in Colorado and more fodder for the crease rule.
High pressure: L.A. ... Kings of pain
The Los Angeles Kings were going to get injured. It happens to every team. It just happened quickly to the Kings. With Jozef Stumpel having abdominal surgery and Luc Robitaille out with a broken foot, the Kings are facing adversity for the first time.
Ironically, two weeks ago, first-year coach Andy Murray noted that the team hadn't yet faced adversity and that he hoped his team would respond in a positive fashion. Now, they have lost two players from their top scoring line, with only Zigmund Palffy left. They need to remake a first line and a second line because they will need to take components from the second to reconstruct the first.
It's time for the rest of the players to step up in Stumpel's and Robitaille's absences, and not just Palffy. The Kings, the league's second-highest scoring team, have to generate more offense and tighten their defense. It will be interesting to see how they react.
Low pressure: Crease-rule complaints never die
Patrick Roy wasn't overly thrilled about the goal Theo Fleury scored against him Friday night. Fleury scored on what was almost a football play. He came straight at Roy, skating into the crease with the puck. He piled into Roy and pushed everything -- himself, Roy and the puck over the goal line and was credited with a goal.
Roy didn't rant and rave about the play, which brings up more questions about the new crease rule. He was concerned about what might happen as the season went on -- if players were going to start barrelling into him and other goalies, causing injuries. The Fleury goal was just an example. Even though Roy didn't get hurt, he said he can't afford a suspension or big penalty for slashing players to keep them out of the crease.
The referees need to understand that goalies must be allowed to defend themselves in the crease area. They will take some two-minute penalties, but not harsher penalties that result from whacking a player's ankle, something goalies have been doing for generations. They shouldn't get away with everything. The NHL, however, must realize that goalies are trying to protect their own turf and themselves. There is a very fine line the goalies -- and the NHL -- are walking because there is the possibility that suspensions will occur.
If the goalies are unable to defend themselves, they must get help from their defensemen. If someone even looks like he is intentionally barrelling into the goalie, someone must be willing to drop the gloves and protect his teammate. That might be the only real deterrent. It's unfortunate because that means someone will risk being tossed from the game.
Even before the instigator rule came into effect, players have known they will at least take a penalty for fighting and be out longer. But players must send a message and protect the goalie with the threat of retaliation. Otherwise, there will be too many players with the mentality that they can barrel into the crease -- and the goalies who make their living there.
Low pressure: Sophomore sensations
There's no sophomore jinx in Colorado with Chris Drury and Milan Hejduk. Winning the Calder Trophy simultaneously put Drury in the limelight and under the microscope. Based on statistics, he didn't get off to as quick a start as Hejduk, but Drury is playing consistent hockey. He is showing his versatility, playing both center and wing, killing penalties and seeing power-play time. His ice time should increase even more as a result of the Claude Lemieux trade. He has handled everything extremely well.
Hejduk is showing why Joe Sakic loves playing on the same line with him. He wants to stay with Hejduk for obvious reasons. You don't get to play with superstar players unless you produce, which Hejduk has done. He leads the Avs in scoring (11 goals) and is off to a terrific start. He is incredibly intelligent and knows the game very well at both ends of the ice. He is developing this quiet confidence that is just terrific right now.
Drury and Hejduk are a big part of the success Colorado has had. The team is going through a lot, with some new faces and key injuries, especially on defense. The two sophomores have really helped lead a young team.
Brian Engblom is a hockey analyst for ESPN, and he played 11 seasons in the NHL. | |
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