The Current Conundrum Of The Los Angeles Kings

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On Tuesday night, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings played on the road against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. The King’s are one of the elite franchises in the NHL (at least of late). A team that has gloriously won the prestigious and coveted Stanley Cup twice in the last three seasons.

The Sabres are not as elite (as of late), known more for its many deficiencies, lack of depth and consistency of missing the playoffs. By witnessing the game Tuesday night, one would be confused on which team was actually the championship team. Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the conundrum that is the Los Angeles King’s regular season.

Even with a shots on goal advantage by more than half (34 to 16), the Kings found a way to get  shut out to the near the bottom of the league Buffalo Sabres.

All the ingredients of a successful road victory (and to avoid being shut out) were in play Tuesday night. The return of the goalscoring dynamo Marian Gaborik? Check! The reunion of the offensive and popular “That ‘70’s Line” of Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson? Check! The fact The King’s were facing a team that was 11 points out of a wild card playoff spot, on a 2 game losing streak and a goal differential of -38? Check! So what went wrong?