Kovalchuk’s offensive punch isn’t lifting the Kings
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings and Ilya Kovalchuk seemed like an ideal match when they agreed to a three-year, $18.75-million contract over the summer.
Kovalchuk, a high-scoring winger, had accomplished all he could in five seasons in Russia, having won two professional championships, a scoring title, a world championship and an Olympic gold medal. The Kings were statistically the National Hockey League’s best defensive team last season but had a middling offence that lacked scoring depth.
Kovalchuk’s combination of power, finesse and technical skill appealed to the Kings. Their accomplished, veteran nucleus attracted Kovalchuk in his search to return to the NHL after five seasons in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
“We never had a player quite like Kovy,” said winger Dustin Brown, who captained the Kings to Stanley Cups in 2012 and ’14.
Kovalchuk said an Olympic gold medal with Russia was a motivating factor in his return, at age 30, to his home country after scoring more than 400 goals with the Atlanta Thrashers and the Devils from 2001 to ’13.
Soon after winning that gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February, Kovalchuk began thinking about returning to the NHL to pursue a Stanley Cup.
If he were to hoist the Cup, he would join his fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk as the only player to have won a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, a world championship and a Gagarin Cup, which is awarded to the KHL champions.
“He’s a good player and, of course, every good player wants to play in the best league. He wanted to not just play, he wanted to win a Stanley Cup,” said Datsyuk, who competed alongside Kovalchuk in Russia.
But, if the Stanley Cup is the goal, the Kings, at least this season, may not be much help.
Plagued by a dearth of scoring, an ineffective power play, the absence of their trademark defensive doggedness and a seemingly unshakable malaise, Los Angeles (8-14-1) is last in the league standings.
The Kings have scored six fewer goals than any other team. They have won consecutive games only once this season. After defeating Columbus on Nov. 3, John Stevens became the first coach to be fired this season. The Kings promoted Willie Desjardins to head coach.
Kovalchuk has at least been a positive force. His five goals and 14 points are team highs.
Kovalchuk has moved around in the lineup, playing left wing and right wing at even strength, as well as both point positions on the power play. He may have finally found consistent linemates with Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli, both of whom have been energized by the lineup change.
Carter was injured for most of last season, which left centre Anze Kopitar, defenceman Drew Doughty and Brown to carry the offence. But this season has seen Brown miss significant time because of injury and Doughty be inundated with defensive responsibility. Carter and Kopitar stumbled out of the gates.
Kopitar, now in his 13th NHL season, has led the Kings in scoring in 10 of the past 11 campaigns. Last season, his 92 points were a career high, and he was a finalist for the league’s most valuable player award. This season, Kopitar has produced just 10 points.
Desjardins hopes to get more from the team’s peripheral scorers. “The older group, they’ve won. They’re just warriors,” he told reporters. “They come in and play so hard, and they know it. The second group hasn’t got that yet.”
In Kovalchuk, the Kings may have a mentor for those younger players.