from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

I don't think anybody should be surprised to see the NHL's top two powerhouses with middling records as the NHL's second month gets going. For teams like the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks, the regular season just doesn't mean a whole lot.

You won't hear anybody from either team ever admit this, but it's just hard to get up every night during an 82-game season when you know the real hockey awaits in the spring. It's just the truth. So you're going to see stretches like this for the Kings and Blackhawks this year, and each coach is going to use those struggling stretches to find ways to motivate his players.

But these players are human, you can't fool them. Their true hunger comes in the playoffs. Both of these teams have won two Cups apiece over the past half-decade. It's just hard to get excited and pretend to truly care about regular-season division titles. That means a lot more to teams trying to prove they're for real, teams worried about home ice in the playoffs, teams wanting regular-seaon glory. The Kings and Hawks? Sure they want to win every game, but from a mental and physical standpoint, it just wont' be there every night this early in the season.

read on for the rest of the hockey writers at ESPN for Blues/Rangers talk...