The LA Kings four-game road trip has come to an end, and not a moment to soon for the team or head coach Todd McLellan. LA managed just one win on the road, and the team was outscored 17-to-7 over the stretch, something McLellan said can't be blamed on the schedule. After another 5-1 loss to the Blackhawks Sunday night, the coach let his team have it, calling on veterans to step up, adding these losses show there are people on the team that shouldn't be playing in the NHL right now.
"The schedule has nothing to do with it because the other teams are playing the exact same amount of games," said McLellan. "So let's clarify that the schedule is not an excuse, certainly for our team."
"This trip was good because it let us know there's some players that probably can't play in the league right now, so maybe we'll have to make some changes. There's some veterans that really have to pick up their play. We'll have to have a chat with them."
In the third period of Sunday night's game, McLellan decided to change up all four lines, something he says was done because "we couldn't keep watching what we were watching." He stated he liked what he saw in the third, but the team needs to find more players that can "play at this level consistently," adding the ones that are playing with the team need to play better.
When asked what he would be showing to his players in the video room between now and the Kings' next game on Wednesday, McLellan listed off pretty much every aspect of the game. "200 foot game. d-zone, o-zone, penalty kill...powerplay hasn't scored, there's some individuals that get a fair amount of ice time that don't have an impact so, that'll be the take away."
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