League season has finally begun and will continue with a 48-game season.
It is improbable that the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings will be able to claim another title, as there has not been a repeat champion since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98.
The Kings have lost five of their first eight games, so it will be difficult, in the shortened season, for them to make it to the playoffs again.
Last season, the Kings proved they were the best team when, against all odds, they beat the first, second and third seeds inthe Western Conference during the playoffs. They are the only team in NHL history to have been the eighth seed in a conference and do that.
This season, the Kings boast a strong defense that prevents goals and an offense that scores when it counts. Jonathan Quick, starting goalie, has also had a slow start in 2013.
Quick blocked 70 out of 72 shots in the 2012 Stanley Cup finals, and was one of the main reasons the Kings were able to win the cup.
Through eight games, Quick has allowed 19 goals to make it into the back of the net, and is one of the main reasons for the Kings’ slow start.
Anze Kopitar, leading scorer, recently came back from a knee injury. He missed the first game, but his presence on the ice could begin to turn the team’s losing season around.
Lindsay Vesling, junior kinesiology major, is a longtime Kings fan and is skeptical about this season.
“They are still acting as if the season hasn’t started,” Vesling said. “If they do not start performing we’re in for a brutal season.”
Vesling refers to the first few games as wake-up calls; she is hopeful they will start winning games. Despite their performance, she will continue supporting them throughout the season.
The shortened season has not started well for the Los Angeles Kings, but they still have maintained their faithful fans.
