from Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider,

Nine games in, it’s not particularly easy to get firm reads beyond the fact that the collective group and a heavy number of individual players obviously haven’t played well.

“I’m not sure you can pick a lot of guys that have played well,” Blake said. “Iafallo’s been a really good player for us. But, yeah, it’s hard to get a read when a lot of guys don’t play well.”

That’s clear! And there’s often a saying in hockey that you shouldn’t trust too much of what you see for the first two or three weeks of the season. But given the team’s tepid emotional resonance in the home losses to the Islanders and Sabres after a 1-3-0 road trip, and how it has bridged a five-game losing streak, is this enough of a sample size from which decisions and changes may be derived?

“I’ve got enough sample size to know that they’re not playing well,” Blake said. “What are we, nine games in? It’s pretty evident that they’re not playing well.”

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