Written by Kristen J Shilton at USAToday.com
Before his team took on the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night, Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter was asked to reminisce about past battles, particularly the 2014 Western Conference final the Kings won in overtime of a thrilling Game 7 at United Center.
But Sutter wasn’t interested in looking back that far.
“The history would be they won the Stanley Cup last year and we didn’t make the playoffs,” he said. “For me, that’s the history.”
Sutter isn’t planning to let that repeat itself. After a 5-0 win against the Blackhawks on the road, the Kings maintained sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division and showed they’re ready to reclaim their status as the NHL’s elite.
“(Chicago)’s a great team; they’re the best team in the league, them and Washington,” said Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who became the U.S.-born leader with 41 career shutouts (32 saves). “We’ve played a lot against each other the last couple of years. It’s a game you don’t need to do much video on — you know what you’re going to get.”
The Kings have won the Stanley Cup twice in the past four years. In 2012, they were an eighth seed in the playoffs and ranked 29th in goals scored. In 2014, they entered as a six-seed, 25th in offense.
With 14 games left in their regular season, the Kings are 14th in offense with 2.69 goals per game. That’s without Marian Gaborik, who was put on injured reserve Feb. 13. Kris Versteeg, a skilled winger acquired at the trade deadline, has been a good fit. He had a goal and an assist Monday.
But even at full strength, the Kings aren’t known as an offensive juggernaut.
“You knew when you were playing the Kings, you have to keep your head up for 60 minutes because someone was going to try to take it off for you,” Versteeg said.
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