The story of the Kings’ season thus far has been of a young team beginning to mature and emerge as a playoff contender after a deliberate rebuilding process spanning several years.  To an extent, that storyline is true.  Of 24 roster players, 13 have no playoff experience.  Six of those 13 are 25 years of age or younger including their starting goaltender, top scorer, captain and number one defenseman.

On the other hand however, the lineup that Dean Lombardi has built over the past four years also boasts four Stanley Cup champions and two players, in Ryan Smyth and Jarret Stoll, who helped the Oilers to game seven of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. 

While Kings fans saw some of the worst the team has to offer in terms of special teams play Saturday night they also witnessed fleeting examples of the toughness that has this team in contention for the first time in nearly a decade. 

LA’s only goal of the game came on the power play after Brown’s face was bloodied in a puck battle with Dallas rookie Jamie Benn.  The goal was scored as a direct result of the relentless net-front presence of Smyth and Michal Handzus.  The ability and willingness of those two, as well as trade deadline addition Fredrik Modin, to work the dirty areas of the rink, in the corners and in front of the opposing net lends itself to a strong playoff performance.

The Kings are likely on their way to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.  Loaded with young talent, accentuated by veteran leadership, the lineup features the requisite amount of skill and grit to -- theoretically -- be a solid playoff performer.  However, there are concerns in the locker room about the Kings' quality of play as the team fights for position amongst the bottom four Western Conference playoff seeds.

 “I think we need urgency from every aspect of this team,” team captain Dustin Brown said, “coaches, players [and] trainers we all need to get that mindset.  Ultimately it lies with the players but … everyone’s involved. We all need to have that mentality, that urgency and we haven’t had it and again that’s unacceptable.”

LA struggled coming out of the Olympic break, but has shown improvement over the four games leading up to Saturday’s lackluster effort against Dallas according to Kings’ defenseman Rob Scuderi.

Scuderi had as tough a night as any King, having made the turnover that lead to Dallas’ opening goal as well as the misfortune of the eventual game winner deflecting off of his skate past Jonathan Quick. 

“When it rains it pours,” Scuderi said.  “The biggest disappointment is that’s a real deflator for the whole team.”

“It’s inexcusable,” Scuderi said of his team’s lack of desperation at this point in the season.  "Every guy in the locker room would agree that they’ve had a hand in it.”

Which raises an interesting question:  Does this team have the mental wherewithal to be a threat in the playoffs?

“We need to take a look in the mirror, as individuals and as a team,” said Brown.  “We can’t be expecting to play like this in a couple of weeks.  Obviously our goal is to make the playoffs but if we play like this we're going to be four and out.”

Kings’ coach Terry Murray chalked Brown’s comments up to the emotion of the moment, repeatedly indicating that “everything is fine” with the team’s urgency and intensity and that their performance Saturday against the Stars was a function of poor execution on special teams. 

The players and coaches may have a difference of opinion, but both have valid points. The Kings’ special teams were “no good” as Murray said, but letting unfortunate bounces and subpar penalty killing affect the rest of their game could have dire consequences in the postseason. 

Murray went on to say that he was not happy with the way the game ended and that he hopes for an emotional response but does not believe that the team’s uninspired play is a chronic condition that will plague the Kings going forward into the playoffs, but as teams like San Jose can attest, only time will tell.

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