2017-18 record: 45-29-8 (98 points)
Lost to Vegas in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Anze Kopitar
The Los Angeles Kings were viewed as a dark horse entering the playoffs last season. Once again, a familiar problem surfaced, and the Kings made history alright, by being swept by an expansion team in the opening round. Worse, that problem of not having adequate enough scoring was exposed for all to see, as they averaged less than a goal a game. The Kings hope a returning Ilya Kovalchuk can address some of that offensive deficiency.
A middle of the pack team offensively in the regular season, the Kings actually didn't fare badly when you consider Jeff Carter missed half the season to injury. Adding Kovalchuk should solve some of that problem, though having a healthy Carter and a continued offensive revival from Dustin Brown would also help a team that relied far too heavily on Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Defensively, the Kings were the leaders in goals against, as teams had trouble scoring on them. Even in the sweep, the Kings played competitively, as each game was decided by a goal. Count on the defense to once again be near the top of the league and led by newly extended Doughty. Jonathan Quick shows no signs of slowing down, and in the playoffs, he was the team's best player by a mile. Health permitting, expect the same to happen.
Prediction: 2nd in the Pacific Division
The Kings have the defense to win another championship. However, their offense is what may keep them from pulling another deep run. They will need secondary scoring to show up, Kovalchuk to play well enough to justify his deal, and possibly another MVP-type season from Kopitar to have a shot at the Cup.
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