February saw the Kings climb back into the Western Conference playoff race with a record of 8-2-3. The 19 points tied their season high in a month, set in December (9-4-1 record).
As far as their Player of the Month goes, for the first time all season you can probably make a legitimate argument for three to five different players.
As noted below, Jonathan Quick dominated the votes during the first two months of the season. Then, the forwards took over.
Past Player of the Month results:
October – Jonathan Quick 51%, Justin Williams 21%
November – Jonathan Quick 52%, Justin Williams 22%
December – Dustin Brown 41%, Anze Kopitar 33%
January – Ryan Smyth 46%, Jarret Stoll 29%
With voting now underway for February, the honor could go back to Quick…or several forwards…or maybe even a defenseman for the first time this season.
In alphabetical order, here are the leading candidates for February’s Player of the Month…
Dustin Brown – tied for the second most goals with four, added three assists and was a plus-5 while averaging around 20 minutes per game
Drew Doughty – led all players with six goals, added two assists and had an even plus-minus rating while averaging around 26 minutes per game
Anze Kopitar – tied for the second most goals with four, added nine assists (giving him a team-high 13 points) and was a plus-6 while averaging around 21 minutes per game
Jonathan Quick – until the final game of the month against Detroit his numbers were spectacular, he finished 6-2-1 (with the regulation losses to the Islanders and Red Wings), had one shutout (Philadelphia) and only gave up four power play goals in his nine games (two of those were to Detroit)
Jarret Stoll – had three official goals (and several in the shootout), added two assists and was a minus-3 while averaging around 17 minutes per game…note: while his numbers may not seem strong enough compared to the others on this list, he has to be considered given his late game heroics
Justin Williams – had two goals, added eight assists (his 10 points were second on the team) and was a minus-4 while averaging around 16 minutes per game
Who gets your vote?
Voting ends Friday at 10am PST.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
