I agree that 3 games into 82 is too ealry to panic, but it should be a concern to the coach and GM that the Kings played poorly in all 3, and are lucky not to be 0-3.
Several points in the article, comments from the players and coach seemed to indicate they know the problem, and hopefulliy starting tonight will work to correct it, esp the turnovers and poor transitional play.
But that bottom 6 is a concern, and I know Sutter has his favorites but given that some of the prosepcts, Pearson esp, really stood out in camp, there isn't any valid reason that he shouldn't be on the 3rd line. I'm watching NHL Center Ice last night and noting how many teams have new blood out there. The Kings have some very talanted players in Manchester who are top 6 potential , with those instincts that take you to the right decisions, scoring changes and goals. Nolan, King, CLifford andc Lewis are not top 6 players and don't have that IQ/mentality. They won't produce.
Revamp the 3rd line and take some pressure off the top 6.
I did like Justin Williams comment. He's a real leader, and it's not the first time his comments have been dead on . Instead of hiding behind the ever convienent 'we' (We have to work harderk, we have to play better...etc.) He points the finger at himself and uses "I". taking full accountabilty.
That's what a leader does...
“You can search for any excuses you want, but our five-on-five scoring needs to improve (emphasis his),” he seethed, after the loss to the Rangers. “You can’t just rely on a power play. You need to get dirty, and we have not done that yet, to a man, and that certainly starts [with the top line of Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and himself].”
“To a man, we simply were not good enough,” he added. “We got outplayed, out-battled, and our five-on-five scoring is non-existent. [That’s] unacceptable, especially from myself, and my line.”
“You address it by getting yourself dirty, by simplifying your game, being a first-line grinder, putting your work before your skill. That’s what we need to do.”