from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

Team president Luc Robitaille declined to comment on the team’s state. But it’s clear that a promising start to their season has dissolved into a muddled middle. On Dec. 7, after a shutout win at Montreal, the Kings were 16-4-3. Since then, they’re 4-6-5.

“We’re at that point where the line [between] winning and losing is so fine,” coach Todd McLellan told reporters Thursday in Florida. “At the beginning of the year it came easily, now it’s really tough. But everybody, cliches that coaches use and reporters and players, that the adversity will help you later on, well, it’s never any fun when you’re in it, and that’s where the frustration comes from.

“But I like the fact that we are sticking with each other and we’re really digging in, trying to pull ourselves out. If it was going the other way, I’d be concerned.”

The turnaround has to come by efforts from everyone. That includes renewed energy from a fourth line that once was the team’s spark plug, more assertiveness and scoring from $68-million-dollar man Pierre-Luc Dubois, offensive contributions from a defense corps that can and should be supporting the attack, and better decisions from McLellan too.

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