A fairly scathing story about the LA Kings is probably the one that’s deserved today.
Monday’s game against Columbus was a performance that just left so much to be desired, in a moment of incredible opportunity. Following that game up with another loss on Tuesday against Seattle makes it one of the worst 48-hour stretches this team has seen in some time. A pair of home games against teams currently towards the bottom of the NHL, coming off what felt like an opportunity to kick this season into gear, and the Kings lost both games. No points are more valuable in the standings than any other two, but these four just felt a bit more important. That the Kings did not win either game is unacceptable.
Sitting here on Christmas Eve, there are many directions to take for a story. The Kings begin a three-day holiday break, as mandated by the NHL, so there’s no practice today and nothing really to report as it pertains to the Kings. No interviews to be conducted. No transactions or changes to talk about. The team and everyone associated with it has three days here off to spend with family and to celebrate the holidays, as hopefully most of you Insiders do as well. I think time away can be good, to clear the head and appreciate the things in life you sometimes don’t appreciate as much during the long grind of an NHL season. That’s the approach I’m taking, at least.
For myself, it’s a rare opportunity to travel East and see family. My nephew is celebrating his first Christmas tomorrow and I’ll have the opportunity to be there for it. For an LA transplant, those opportunities are not all that regular. Moments like that are ones that I typically understand are usually the sacrificed cost for having a job that I love and a job that has a demanding schedule. The rewards are obvious. Working in the NHL is a dream come true and I never ever take that for granted. But still, I’ve missed a lot of holidays over the years. A lot of special occasions and a lot of meaningful moments. Erin Andrews took a beating on social media for pointing out that part of the job. It’s the part people don’t see and for many, the part they don’t want to hear about or don’t care about. I actually do understand that viewpoint and you won’t hear me complaining, because I’ve signed up for the tradeoff for the 13 years I’ve been fortunate enough to work in professional hockey and it’s a tradeoff I hope to sign up for in many years to come.
As I take the day to distance myself from what we’re watching on the ice, I find myself filled with a lot of warm feelings around the chance to be able to enjoy one of those moments for once. It’s a nice change of feeling, compared to the one I went to sleep with on Monday night. A massive thanks to Jared Shafran to taking on the work post-game last night so I could slip out on a flight yesterday morning. Hopefully his night at the Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale last week was worth it. Watched the game the same way as many of you – on the couch, after my family fell asleep.
And look. I don’t write this to deflect from what’s happening on the ice. It has, simply put, not been acceptable for a team that stated the expectations that it did before the season. A 105-point team that improved around the margins, as stated, has not be close to realized on the ice as we approach the halfway point of the season. Not even close. When the season picks back up in a few days, there will be plenty of time to discuss where the team is at and where the team is headed.
I do write it, though, because it is sometimes therapeutic to talk about life. There are very few opportunities throughout the course of the season where I have the opportunity to use my platform to do that. And I’m taking one of them today. On Christmas Eve, I am reminded of family. In the most dysfunctional way, I feel it even here on the site. It’s a group that is not related at all, but brought together by common interest, common passion. I think that passionate groups make the tough times tougher. But the good times gooder……greater……grander……better……you get the point. Hopefully some of those gooder times to come.
No team coverage expected to come the rest of the day today or tomorrow and we’ll pick things back up on December 26. For today, my hope is that we can all find joy in the things that aren’t related to the rink. I know that I certainly am. Wishing a Merry Christmas Eve today and Christmas Day tomorrow to those who celebrate and a Happy Holidays to those who don’t. Hope everyone has a terrific few days and is able to enjoy the time for what it’s meant for. Back to the Kings as they hit the ice on Saturday.