As the Los Angeles Kings prepare to face the Dallas Stars again, it’s an ideal time to evaluate how the team compares to some of the league’s best.
The Kings recently played the Stars before the Four Nations break in the first half of a back-to-back. They beat the Stars in a shootout 5-4 before losing the following night in another shootout, this time 2-1, to the Anaheim Ducks. Last season, the Stars dominated the Kings in their series, going 3-0-0 and outscoring them 13-3. The Kings could turn the tide this season, playing for a possible season-series sweep and having a slight scoring advantage of 8-6.
Angelenos should be happy if the Kings sweep the Stars, right? Are they making headway against the league’s top franchises? Not quite.
The Stars should be viewed as a model franchise in the National Hockey League, and Jim Nill deserves recognition as one of the top General Managers. Although the team lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2019-20 season, it has rebounded well by transitioning its veteran core to being secondary to its young talent. That youth comes in the form of Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Thomas Harley, and Miro Heiskanen, who have been given significant responsibilities. Heiskanen took on a primary role almost immediately after joining the team.
The Stars are coming off of back-to-back conference finals, coming within two wins of returning to the finals each time, losing to the eventual champions in 2022-23. During this period, the Stars have ranked inside the top five in both scoring and fewest goals allowed in the NHL twice. When Heiskanen returns, the team will likely be well-positioned to make a deep playoff run again.
In contrast, the LA Kings have remained committed to a defense-first strategy, believing that this approach wins championships. While this method served them well during their championship-winning period, it is essential to outscore opponents. Unlike the Stars, who have evolved into perennial contenders, the Kings have stuck to a formula that has failed to produce results in the playoffs for the past three seasons.
Since the 2021-22 season, the Kings have ranked in the top five for fewest goals allowed twice (3rd in 2023-24 and 1st in 2024-25). However, they have not finished in the top five for goal scoring, only achieving a top ten finish in 2022-23 (10th), where they not only produced a historically good season franchise pointwise but also came close to overcoming their…