from Lisa Dillman of the LA Times,

The Kings' last failed title defense ended achingly close to their final goal, falling short in Chicago in a double-overtime rush of blood and sweat.

This quest did not end in the playoffs but in a regular-season defeat in Western Canada, with the coup de grace coming against the Calgary Flames. The Kings became the first reigning Stanley Cup champion to fail to reach the playoffs in the following season since the Carolina Hurricanes in 2007.

In fact, 2009 was the last time the Kings failed to reach the playoffs. They lost in the first round the next two years and then won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, losing to the Blackhawks in the Western Conference final in 2013.

“It obviously stinks right now,” Kings center Anze Kopitar said. “It's definitely tough to swallow. When we came together in September, this is not the way we envisioned it

“It's hard. It's hard to put stuff in words right now.”

continued

from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

During the Kings' remarkable run of two Cup titles in three years — two more than their fans ever expected to see — and a run to the West final in between, they played 64 playoff games and sent a sizable delegation to the Sochi Olympics.

"A ton of hockey really," said defenseman Drew Doughty, who's averaging a Herculean 29 minutes and one second's ice time, two seconds off the league lead.

Doughty said the workload isn't a valid excuse for their downfall but it is a reality. So was their lack of scoring: they rank 20th with 216 goals and none of the teams behind them currently holds a playoff spot. No player had a career year; Jeff Carter was their most consistent forward but Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams endured long slumps. Tyler Toffoli hasn't scored an even-strength goal in 24 games.

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