Remember? The Kings won that opening game in London, behind fresh-from-juniors goalie Jonathan Bernier, and the thought was that they were a young, developing team that might even be in the mix for a playoff spot. The Ducks, suffering from the absences of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne -- missing but not yet officially gone -- figured to have a long, uphill slog in defense of their Stanley Cup.
This is just another way of pointing out that things tend to sort themselves out over an 82-game season.
Bernier, still considered LA's hope of the future, went back to his junior team while the guys who stayed behind struggled to resemble big leaguers at times. The Kings were all but out of the playoff race by Christmas, and they had a revolving door in net, using seven different goalies.
"That's not a good thing," Coach Marc Crawford deadpanned.
Late Start Keeps Selanne Fresh for Playoff Run | Sports | Hockey | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
Late Start Keeps Selanne Fresh for Playoff Run (Press-Enterprise) 
