5 Observations for the Los Angeles Kings After the Quarter Mark of the Season

Consistently inconsistent: That's one way to describe the Los Angeles Kings' first 25 games of the 2014-15 NHL season. But what else could we expect from a team that's underperformed so much in regular seasons of late only to go all the way in the playoffs?

The Kings are struggling in certain areas and surging in others. Goal-scoring continues to be a bit of an issue. At one point, That's '70s Line was dominating, then it faded, and on top of that, Marian Gaborik is in and out of the lineup. Meanwhile, goaltending has been rock-solid. Jonathan Quick looks great, and Martin Jones may be as good as any young backup in the league.

All of that said, here are five observations for the Kings' season so far.

Great Goaltending

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An obvious observation is the stellar play of Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones. 

• Quick: 11-5-4, 2.15 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and three shutouts
• Jones: 2-2-1, 1.68 goals-against average, 9.38 save percentage and one shutout

Quick has started in 20 of 25 games and is showing no signs of fatigue. The American netminder has been consistent since struggling in the first game of the season. Since that first game, he's had just three in which he allowed four-plus goals. And of course, some responsibility fell on the team in those games.

Jones has been making the best of his 6'4", 187-pound frame, exercising good positioning and rebound control. He has five shutouts in 23 NHL starts; only Steve Mason (20) and Tony Esposito (22) have reached five faster since expansion in 1967-68. It won't happen this year, but Jones has the potential to be good enough to be traded so he can compete for more ice time.

Inconsistent Offense

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The Kings are trending in the right direction, but for most of the early part of the 2014-15 season, their offense was inconsistent. This includes racking up four and six goals in back-to-back games but then managing just two total in the next two nights. 

The Kings are average in terms of goals scored per game with 2.64. That has them ranked 13th, just 0.02 ahead of their California rivals in Anaheim and San Jose. 

L.A. needs to find some depth and, of course, get Marian Gaborik back and healthy. Tyler Toffoli continues to be a factor nearly every game and is still averaging fewer than 15 minutes per game. He leads the team with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 25 games. Jeff Carter has 18 points, and Tanner Pearson and Drew Doughty have 13 each. 

Carter is seeing more ice time with Anze Kopitar, who finally recorded a couple of assists against the Bruins to end a five-game pointless streak. 

A healthy group of forwards will allow talent to be spread out over two or even three lines and should give the Kings consistent production.

Commitment to Defense

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General manager Dean Lombardi has signed two young defensemen to significant contracts since the start of the season.

Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez will make $1 million and $1.1 million this season, respectively. But they're both taking huge pay increases come 2015-16. 

Muzzin signed a five-year, $20 million contract extension in mid-October, while Martinez just recently agreed to a six-year, $24 million deal, meaning both players will make an average of $4 million per year.

The duo have both missed time due to injury early on but continue to perform as they did in last year's playoff, proving they're worth the longer term deals. Being in their mid-20s, both players should be entering their prime. 

Lombardi seems satisfied with sticking with what he knows on the blue line, rather than acquiring veterans via free agency.

Special Teams

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The power play hasn't been good enough, but the penalty kill has. 

The Kings' power play ranks 21st in the NHL at 15.8 percent. There are 14 teams operating at over 20 percent efficiency. With the Kings' talent on offense—such as Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli, along with an elite defender with an offensive touch in Drew Doughty—it should be better. 

Carter leads the way with three goals on the man advantage, while Kopitar and Jarret Stoll have two. Interestingly, it's Justin Williams who has the most power-play points with five, while Carter and Drew Doughty have four. 

The penalty kill has been successful on 84.2 percent of its attempts, which has it tied for ninth in the league. A little room for improvement perhaps, but overall it's getting the job done.

Slava Voynov Situation Lingers

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Slava Voynov's arrest and indefinite suspension has been the most talked about Kings topic this season. 

The NHL suspended him indefinitely on October 20 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. The Kings were not given cap relief then and were a player short at times, as they couldn't bring one up from Manchester. 

Then, on November 21, the NHL announced L.A. would get cap relief for Voynov's salary.

The latest news came Tuesday when the Kings were fined $100,000 after Voynov participated in an optional skate with the team. The terms of his suspension do not allow him to engage in any team activities, although he can practice at team facilities.

The Kings released the following statement per the team website.

"

This was clearly a mistake on our part and we accept full responsibility. It is incumbent upon us to be more vigilant in managing this situation to ensure that Slava’s allowable training activities always remain separate from the team.

"

And that's the latest on that.

Stats courtesy NHL.com and salary information courtesy CapGeek.com.