Dancing in the Reign: Get Off The Slide; Homestand Begs For Success

November is over, I’m blocking it out. Home-ice is often over-hyped, but this upcoming four game stretch at Staples Center couldn’t come at a better time. They don’t just have the comfort of playing in Los Angeles, they have time. Twelve days, four games. What’s going on, Toyota Sports Center? Plenty of opportunities to settle down, watch video, mend the systems in practice. This has almost become too much to handle; Losers in seven of their last eight games holds the Kings at 11th in the Western Conference and living in the Pacific Division‘s basement. I’m done whining about this awful slide, terribly awful. I thought they were going to come home strong against Chicago and beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions in front of a thirsty crowd. I thought they were going to snap out of it and hammer on the Ducks last night in Anaslime. Now’s the time to start fresh, clean the slate, don’t wait for Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky, they can hop on board.

Three of the four opponents coming to LA are teams we need to beat. With a couple of brutal road-trips in sight, the Kings’ must take advantage of a few flimsy opponents at home. Florida, Detroit, Calgary, and Minnesota are coming, the Red Wings are atop the Western Conference, clearly the most threatening opponent. The Kings’ have an opportunity to boost confidence against a few sub-par clubs, and test themselves against a team who has replaced them atop the conference. We’ve got comfort in hearing promising news regarding Willie Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky‘s injuries, but it’s important that improvement is made before they return.

This offense has been surrendering themselves in the neutral zone. There’s no push, no lanes opening, no confidence entering the zone. The defense has been tentative, gaps galore at the blue-line, no early physical presence. These problems aren’t rooted from the abilities of this roster, just bad performances. Don’t try and tell me Matt Greene and Drew Doughty are this bad. Don’t tell me this offense and power-play doesn’t have the capabilities to be a huge threat. A lot of this is mental, just bad decisions with and without the puck. You’ve always got to brace for a bad stretch, unfortunately this one has been drawn out. Please, put the trade talks on hold for a bit, that’s not going to fix the issues that have evolved from this downfall. Maybe for a boost come the playoffs, not now. I wouldn’t mind seeing Terry Murray settle down with the line shuffles and Manchester transactions. It’s difficult to settle down when the lineup constantly changes, let a few things work themselves out. Here’s to a resurgence at home, whaddya say?

*Photo Credit: Life Magazine