The Kings will have to find a good balance of offense/defense/checking from the four lines that they utilize moving forward from this point forward. The depth of the team has really been tested during these playoffs due to the injuries that the team has had to some significant players.
If they do decide to keep Carter at center, I think a wise move would be to reduce Kopitar's ice time from the 20+ minutes he is averaging. Tonight Kopitar had 21:48 of ice time with one shot on goal. Carter at 16:33. Stoll at 14:27, and Fraser at 8:18.
Spread those minutes around, and you'll see a fresher and healthier Kopitar in the late stages of the season. Reduce his ice time by two minutes and increase the ice time for Carter and Richards at center. Having four lines you could trust to have on the ice at all times.
The lineup I'd like to see on offense next season (that is with the current roster intact):
Pearson-Kopitar-Williams
Penner-Carter-Toffoli
Clifford-Richards-Brown
King-Stoll-Lewis
Spares: Nolan, Fraser
Of course the big assumption is whether or not Penner returns, and I could go either way with him. If he takes a severe pay cut and dedicates himself to having his best season yet, sure, bring him back, but only on the Kings' terms, not on his terms. If he wants a similar contract to what he earned this past season, let him shop his services elsewhere.
I know many are ready to push guys like King, Nolan, Clifford and Fraser off the roster, but this was a bit of a seesaw from not just those players but the entire organization. Cold start, then they heated up, then cooled down, then picked it up again before the playoffs, then finally ran out of gas during the playoffs.
We saw what King and Nolan brought to this team when they were called up to the roster in the midway point of the season last year. I think they could get back to that level of play where they were aggressive fore checking wingers who could grind down and wear out defensemen in the corners.
Clifford is a manchild who looks beastly out there at times. It is way too early to throw the towel on him. Fraser is a decent and capable utility guy who would be just fine serving as a spare forward on the roster. He's good to have around the room and he'll never complain about ice time. If somebody on the bottom six gets hurt, he can jump right in to the lineup.
This team won a Cup a year ago and a year later they were one of the four finalists to reach the Cup Finals. I think this team, banged up and all, got further than most of us imagined they would. Mind you, they accomplished this without their best defensive defenseman in Willie Mitchell, without the most physical defender on the blueline in Matt Greene for a good chunk of the season, and with an inexperienced blueline. The Kings didn't have the great fortune of staying healthy throughout the season and playoffs, and we learned just how valuable that can be during a deep playoff run.
I think a couple of upgrades could certainly help this team, but thankfully this team does not have to make significant changes to its roster. The most important pieces are already in place and they will continue to get better, as will the team when we see them healthy and fully intact next season.
Am I ready to throw in the towel yet on this season? No, I still think they can steal one in Chicago and extend this series, but I'm a realist and I'm willing to accept whatever result we see on Saturday. I'm just not throwing the towel in on the team for the future. This team will compete for multiple Stanley Cup for many years to come.
