Last Night's (in)Action - Kings Edition

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the first game in LA Kings history. Your Los Angeles Kings celebrated by losing 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. Though if you live in LA and are reading this, you’re probably a Detroit fan anyway. Seriously, were there any Kings fans at the game last night?

The Kings loss was its fifth in a row after winning the season opener against the Ducks in London. The lone King goal came during a 5-on-3 man advantage in the second period, and was scored by the lone King player who seems to be doing anything – Michael Cammalleri. Remarkably, Cammalleri leads the NHL with six goals already in the young season. Along with linemates Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, Cammy has provided the few highlights that the Kings have been able to muster thus far.

The loss has fans arguing about what’s worse – the goaltending or the defense. (Let’s throw offense and coaching into the mix and have a real debate!)

Poor 19-year-old goalie Jonathan Bernier has been thrown into the fire. He’s shown promise, but he’s young. After getting shelled Friday night in an 8-6 loss against Boston, coach Marc Crawford did the right thing by starting Bernier on Sunday. It’s not Bernier’s fault, but the kid is in over his head. If the Kings are gonna insist on playing him, it’s only a matter of time before his confidence is crushed, along with his future prospects.

The Kings are officially off to their worst start since going 1-6 to open the 87-88 season. It’s a dubious achievement that they should match after taking on the undefeated Minnesota Wild tomorrow night at Staples.

AP photo of Jonathan Bernier by Jeff Lewis