LA Kings Roster and Statistics
For the Los Angeles Kings, it’s been a rough few years since they won the Stanley Cup twice in three years in 2012 and 2014. The proud franchise has failed to win a playoff series since lifting the Cup in 2014 and is actually just 1-8 in playoff games in that span. Their wild and wacky 2019-20 season isn’t necessarily one for the record books, but it was surely one that won’t be soon forgotten. The Kings missed the playoffs for the second straight season, but Los Angeles showed some improvement and promise for the future. Let’s take a look back at the key players and LA Kings’ stats from the 2019-20 season.
Falling Off the Rollercoaster
It may be a cliche, but a rollercoaster might be the perfect way to describe the season the Kings had in 2019-20. The Kings dug a huge hole for themselves after winning just four of their first 13 games. However, they started to find their groove in November, going 7-5-2 during that month to find some stability and give themselves a fighting chance. But after an up and down December, the year 2020 didn’t seem to agree with L.A. The Kings had just two wins during their first 15 games of the new year.
But the Kings didn’t pack their bags and go home after that rough stretch. Los Angeles suddenly came alive in the middle of February. Up until the NHL suspended its season in March, the Kings won 10 of 13 games, including a seven-game winning streak that led up to March 11, which turned out to be the last day of the regular season.
Unfortunately, the Kings were so far out of the playoff picture by that point that they were not among the 24 teams invited to the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the season resumed. If the season could have played out as normal, Los Angeles may have stayed hot long enough to make a genuine playoff push. Nevertheless, the Kings will bring the momentum of a seven-game winning streak into the 2020-21 season.
Team Leaders
Despite a disappointing record during the 2019-20 season, the Kings had plenty of players separate themselves from the pack. More than anyone on the team, center Anze Kopitar stood out, leading the Kings in both goals, assists, and points during the shortened season. Over 70 games, Kopitar found the back of the net 21 times while also dishing out 41 assists to his teammates. He was easily the team’s MVP this season and his teammates voted him the winner of the Ace Bailey Memorial Award, which goes to the most inspirational player on the Kings. The Slovenian was also one of just six LA players to have a positive plus-minus this season.
Speaking of plus-minus, special mention needs to be made of Matt Roy, who led the team in that category. While Kopitar finished second on the Kings with a plus-minus of 6, Roy blew away the competition with a plus-minus of 16. The rookie defenseman played in all 70 games, tallying four goals and 14 assists. The 25-year-old also developed into a top-flight defenseman who figures to anchor the LA defense for many years to come. After the season, not only was Roy voted by the media as the Defensive Player of the Year for the Kings, but his teammates voted him the winner of the Unsung Hero Award.
On the goaltending side of things, Jonathan Quick deserves special mention, as he led the Kings with 16 wins, albeit in 42 games. Jack Campbell should also receive some recognition for winning eight of his 20 games with the Kings before he was traded to Toronto, giving him a slightly higher win percentage than Quick. Meanwhile, youngster Cal Petersen actually led the Kings in save percentage at .922% compared to Quick at .904% and Campbell at .900%. Petersen also led LA goaltenders in goals against per game with 2.64 while also winning five of his eight games.
Measuring Up
Of course, the story of the Kings’ 2019-20 season comes down to how they measured up against the other teams in the NHL. Unfortunately, this is where the LA Kings stats fell short. The Kings finished 30th out of 31 NHL teams in goals per game, averaging just 2.53. On the bright side, the Kings were a lot better defensively, giving up 2.99 goals per game. Los Angeles was one of 14 NHL teams to allow fewer than three goals per game during the 2019-20 regular season.
Another area where the Kings can take some solace is with regard to penalty minutes. Los Angeles had the fourth-fewest penalty minutes in the NHL this season, meaning they did their best not to hurt themselves by going a man down. Of course, only seven teams drew fewer penalty minutes from their opponents than the Kings, meaning they didn’t force teams to commit enough penalties.
Of course, the only stat that mattered at the end of the season is that the Kings finished the season with 64 points. With 29 wins, 35 losses, and six overtime losses, LA’s most important stat was 64 points, a full 10 points behind the Arizona Coyotes, who were the last team to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference. While the Kings had plenty of promising moments during the 2019-20 season that they can use to build toward next year, they’re going to need a lot more than 64 points to get back to the playoffs next season.