from Lisa Dillman of NHL.com,

An uneasy fall turned into an unsettled winter, a spring without the Stanley Cup Playoffs and a management and coaching change for the LA Kings.

Their captain, center Anze Kopitar, had never experienced such a prolonged personal struggle on the ice, at any age. It stung when the Kings missed the playoffs for the second time in the past three seasons.

"I had periods, at a time, where it didn't go [right]," said Kopitar, who turned 30 on Aug. 24. "It's not even close to having a full season like that. It's different and you get to know yourself and you see what you've got to do. I definitely learned from it.

"Once you go in the wrong direction, it's really tough to stop it first and then get going again. I don't think my start was all that poor. It wasn't great but it wasn't a complete disaster. After a while the pucks weren't going where I wanted them to go, and you start thinking about it."

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