Islanders Gameday: Yay - I mean 'darn' - the Kings are okay
by Dominik on Feb 10, 2009 5:30 AM EST
in New York Islanders Previews
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PrintYou might remember the Los Angeles Kings as a team in perennial rebuilding, and you'd be right. But right now the Kings scare me*. In fact, right now they are what I hope the Islanders will be next year: A young, skilled team whose best assets are finally starting to come together. (Okay, that's asking a lot ... how about two years? Please?)
*assuming the traditional non-lottery stance of, 'Yes, I want my team to win.'
One reason the Western Conference playoff bubble is so ridiculously tight right now (see standings below) is that even the worst teams are starting to finally reap the rewards of several years of struggles. Count the Kings among them.
L.A. Kings (23-21-7, 3 pts. from 8th/W) at New York Islanders (16-31-5, 30th)
7 p.m. EST | Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Veterans' Mem. Coliseum | MSG+
Kings blogs: Battle of California (check Internet-challenged Rudy's Kings blogroll for many more)
All-time record: Islanders lead 41-38-12
The Kings roster features young offensive talent like Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov, a prescient pick for captain in Dustin Brown, plus a not-half-bad return for Pavol Demitra in Patrick O'Sullivan. Oh, and apparently blueliner Drew Doughty is a stud. (Remember this before jumping if the Isles go with Hedman in June. No matter what, at some point the Islanders will need to add a cornerstone back there.)
The final key to the Kings' Turn Toward Respectability campaign came when their goaltending situation settled down with the emergence of Jonathan Quick, staunching years of Cloutier-like disaster (I mean, Barry Brust?!) at the position Roman Cechmanek could not conquer in a year.
The Purple-and-Gold-and-Silver-and-Black-and-Purple-and-WellokaymaybeSilver Again are romping on this road trip, which is supposedly lethal for West Coast teams. Most recently: a victory at The Rock in New Jersey. Granted, the Devils played their part in letting that happen, but somehow a lot of "good" teams have failed to show up to face the Kings this season, and the club of many different royal adornments has made those teams pay. Before that: beating the Capitals at their own game.
The Kings have ample motivation, too: They're not just making "a good showing" for a rebuilding club -- they're in the thick of a downright silly, 10 teams-in-five-points playoff race:
Unless Young Team West takes their visit to Young Team East's Coliseum lightly, tonight the Islanders are just a step in the Kings' late charge toward the playoffs. And the Kings? Well, they could represent a "character-building" test for the Islanders. But I suspect they're just a step in the Road to Tavares.
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Hey Islanders
Do a brother a favor and beat the Kings. Is that too much to ask?
Don’t answer that.
www.stlouisgametime.com
Not answering: Signs point to ‘yes.’
My hope is the Kings are feeling good, did a little extra partying in the city, and come out flat. Can’t blame a gal for hoping.
Lighthouse Hockey: an SB Nation New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
