Los Angeles Kings: Something New Is In The Air

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LOS ANGELES — These days, the air smells different in the Los Angeles Kings’ dressing room at Staples Center.

Over the summer, the “Event Level” corridor and most of the dressing rooms at Staples Center were renovated.

Included in the renovations was the Kings dressing room which has a much more clean, modern look to it. The renovations include wood-like paneling, new carpet, a four-speaker stereo system, a mini-theatre where the players and coaches can watch and analyze video, and more.

But the newly-remodeled dressing room is not the only reason the air smells different.

Indeed, what you smell when you walk into the Kings dressing room is not just sweaty jerseys and equipment. These days, something quite new, at least to this crop of Kings, is in the air and the aroma is strong and unmistakable.

That smell is the powerful scent of confidence exuding from the pores of each and every Kings player, something they have had since the first game of the season, despite playing their worst game in recent memory in a 6-3 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on October 3 at Staples Center.

Since that time, the Kings have earned a 10-3-2 record and through games played on November 7, 2009, the Kings find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division, just two points behind the San Jose Sharks. They are also fourth in the Western Conference, four points behind the conference-leading Colorado Avalanche, and they own the fourth-best record in the thirty-team National Hockey League, with the Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Avalanche ahead of them.

Talk about a dramatic improvement from this time last season... the Kings were a measly 7-7-2 after sixteen games in 2008-09 and did not earn their tenth win until game 22 on November 29, a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Although their debacle against Phoenix to open the season and their three-game losing streak on their first road trip back in October (losses to the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets), the Kings have been winning and often doing it in convincing fashion.

Although the Kings have faced the Sharks twice already this season with mixed results (the Kings are 1-0-1 so far this season against the Sharks), November 5 was circled on a lot calendars because the Kings would face their biggest test.

That was the night superstar center Sidney Crosby would lead the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins into town to face the still-considered-to-be upstart Kings.

Going into the game, much of the buzz surrounding the highly-anticipated contest was that it would be a measuring stick game for the Kings, who would get to see if they can finally stack up favorably to the best team in the NHL.

When it was all over, not only did the Kings win, but they passed the test with flying colors in a stunning 5-2 victory. But it was not just that the Kings won the game that earned them high marks.

Indeed, this is a team that went into the game truly believing that they can beat anyone and that feeling is even stronger now.

“There’s a different attitude, a different mindset, a different kind of quiet confidence about this group,” said center Jarret Stoll, who scored the game-winning goal and added an assist. “You add some veteran guys and that help is huge.”

Veteran experience has made an impact this season, with the most important veteran addition to this young Kings team being right wing Ryan Smyth, who has been a major factor in center Anze Kopitar’s explosion into the ranks of the elite centers in the league this season.

“Experience is a big thing is this league,” Stoll explained. “When you have it, you rely on it. You respect the years these guys have put into this league and you listen to them. That’s helped this club.”

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