The first two games of the Western Conference Finals in these Stanley Cup playoffs have convinced me that all that’s necessary for a great player to turn his game around is for me to criticize him publicly. First it was New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Now it’s Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter.
The Los Angeles Kings followed their Stanley Cup run of 2012 with a stronger regular season in 2013 and a solid playoff run that took them to the Western Conference Finals. Thus far in 2014 though, the Kings have not been able to build on that success and they’re messing around on the playoff bubble as the league prepares to come out of the Olympic break and begin the stretch drive on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at what’s wrong and why Los Angeles is still a threat.