When the Los Angeles Kings hired Todd McLellan they knew they weren’t just getting a great coach. New style, new systems, and a new approach came with the territory.
Coach McLellan seems to be settling in but do the Kings accept those changes?
Although the Los Angeles Kings remain at the bottom of the standings, The Kings are playing drastically different. They have more jump, more speed, the games are closer and the Kings rank in the top 2 of the league in both shots for and shots against. The Kings are putting together a nice string of games where Jonathan Quick looks like his former self.
The Kings are competitive in every game and Coach McLellan seems to have given the Kings’ new perspective. Face-off percentages are also up and reflect a positive in something the Kings were not the best at last year.
Coach McLellan and the Kings both know there is still work to do. However, based on the play last year, this team competes at a totally different level. The forecheck is more aggressive and the team seems hungrier. One of the biggest wins this year was against the New York Islanders, one of the league’s hottest teams.
The Kings’ roster hasn’t had a big turnover but the play is definitely inspiring. Based on work ethic and overall play this team can earn a playoff spot. The teams above them will not be the same in 1-2 months from now so this will be the time the Kings make a push.
In my opinion, Coach McLellan will get this team to the playoffs just based on his getting this team to buy into his beliefs and systems.
Do you think Coach McLellan is responsible for the Kings’ better play of late or is there something else responsible for their recent push?
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