Fox’s tales: Kings learn to handle adversity. How will Frolov handle being scratched?

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Jim Fox is a former Kings forward and the award-winning color commentator for Kings telecasts on Fox Sports West He played for the Kings from 1980-1990 and ranks eighth on the Kings’ all-time scoring list. You can get more insight from Jim and about the LA Kings at www.lakings.com.

The Kings just finished an up and down six-game road trip. The first two games were solid for the full 60 minutes, with controlled effort throughout ending with efficient third periods. Then the adversity hit and this brought to mind how many times I have heard the saying “maintain an even keel”. As a young player, that was the area that I struggled in more than any other, but as I built up more experience, I learned just how important this concept is and I think the Kings are currently going through this learning curve.

The numbers continue to be more than impressive for the top line of Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams as they continue to provide most of the offense. This was expected when the combination was put together and they have continued to be the leaders in this area, but at some point, the Kings, like any team, will need to get some more offensive support for the top line. If the Kings are to be a playoff team, another line combination will have to step it up.

In the last blog, I touched on the concept of “little things becoming big things” and I think the Kings learned a lot about themselves on the six-game trip. As discussed earlier, many times it’s about limiting mistakes as much as making the big play. There are plenty of critical moments during a game where a big play is needed, but recognizing when to make the simple play might be most important. A team that succeeds in recognizing and then adapting to these situations will more than likely have success. I thought there were two specific examples of this concept during the trip-ending 4-1 win in Dallas.

Wayne Simmonds, the Kings’ second-year winger, has played all of this year on the checking line, but all players still have to try to find a way to provide some offense. In the game against Dallas, he tried to chip in offensively but the opportunities where few and far between. The impressive thing about Simmonds is that he never let the lack of offensive opportunities effect his most important role. All night he worked to get back and play solid defense. Time after time he was the first forward back to help the defense stop the attack and then start the next breakout.

Separately these plays don’t seem like much but when the whole body of work is put together at the end of the game, it means so much to a team winning. He was fittingly rewarded with an empty-net goal to secure the win and the reason he was even on the ice in this critical situation at the end of a game is because he has built up such a high trust value with the coaches and his teammates.

The other example came from Michal Handzus. It happened in the third period against the Stars and it had more to do with his unselfishness than anything else.

As happens during any game, because the Kings could not get all three forwards off the ice on a change at the same time, Handzus found himself on the bench as his wingers started a shift approximately 30 seconds ahead of him. He finally got on the ice just as his wingers were tired and had to make a change. Instead of staying out, he immediately made a change so that the next line combination could all start a shift together.

Was he shortchanged? Yes. Was this a huge moment or turning point? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. But it was an example of a player reading the situation and putting the team ahead of himself. This type of sacrifice is appreciated by all of his teammates.

When any team is struggling, you turn to your leaders to try to get the ship back on course. The team had a brief closed-door meeting after the fifth game of the six game trip in Columbus. Most of the issues discussed dealt with the mental part of the game. How to try to maintain a high emotional level during games where mental mistakes ending up hurting the team. The team responded very well to get the win in the last game of the trip and the leaders did come to the forefront.

Matt Greene, the Kings’ stay at home “grind it out” defenseman had one of his best games of the year. Most team captains--Matt is one of two alternate captains on the Kings--have the added responsibility of keeping the team headed in the right direction. His performance vs. the Stars was an example of leading by example. Matt isn’t the highest skilled player by any means, but he understands his limits and when he keeps things simple, he can be effective. He was physical in penalty killing situations and that is a must for him if he is going to get the ice time he wants to get.

One of the newest catch phrases in the league now-a-days is players “holding each other accountable”. Coaches have the responsibility of setting the style of play and establishing the system each team is going to play. But when it comes to the emotional part of the team dynamic, it’s the players that have to make sure they hold each other responsible for their actions and decisions during a game. This is not only about establishing whose fault it is when mistakes are made--actually, that is the easy part. It is how a team reacts to the mistakes and how it bounces back. That is what the Kings’ relatively young captains are learning on the job. It’s making sure a team doesn’t dwell on the mistake just made, but learns to recover and regain control of a game. It’s making sure there is a positive feeling about how things will be once the mistakes are corrected.

Among many leaders during the Dallas game was Ryan Smyth. Near the end of the first period, Ryan turned the puck over just inside the Dallas blueline and about 25 second later the puck was in the Kings’ net for a 1-0 Stars lead. His turnover did not lead directly to a goal, but it did give possession to Dallas’ top line. For the rest of the game Smyth held himself accountable for is mistake by playing his normal relentless style. He realized his mistake and he made it up to his teammates.

Alexander Frolov did not play during the Dallas game, since he was scratched by Coach Terry Murray. I talked to Murray about his decision the night before the game when he was still uncertain. Frolov had made a critical mistake in the previous game and it turned the momentum and the Kings did not recover.

It is always easy to look to punish a player by sitting him out. Usually the first reaction of fans, broadcasters and many times coaches is to “sit him out”. But Coach Murray had to weigh the “punishment” with the fact that Frolov is one of the team’s highest skilled players. Past history shows that Frolov will probably be in the top three scorers by the end of the year.

Murray discussed the entire situation with Frolov (mistakes made, lack of offensive production or scoring chances, I think the last quality chance I can remember for Frolov came in the third game of the year versus Minnesota at Staples Center) but he felt he could not really “reach” Frolov and decided to pull him from the Dallas game.

It’s all back to the “holding the players accountable”. I get the feeling the Murray would have played Frolov if Frolov would have had a stronger reaction during their meeting. Any reaction! Of course, Alex is a quiet guy and English is not his first language, so he might have an excuse with the language barrier. Having said that, the issue that is now coming to the forefront is, does Frolov have enough emotional connection to his team and his teammates?

This may only be a perception, but so many times perception is reality and this has developed into a very serious matter and there is no doubt in my mind that this situation is the biggest concern for the Kings at this point of the season. Until Alex can prove that he does have the proper amount of emotional connection to the Kings, he will have to battle this for the rest of his career.

I have talked to a lot of people about this and most think it’s a lost cause. I don’t think it has to be that way. From my experience as a player I can tell you that there still may be a positive solution to this. If you believe a guy can help your team, you forgive and move on. If in his next game Alex shows the emotional energy and effort he has shown at times in the past, he can be welcomed back. He will be on a shorter leash, but, he has proved he can be effective and help the team and if he gets back to that level, his teammates will be happy to have him back.

Let’s put a bottom line to this. If the Kings are going to develop into a playoff team, as long as there is doubt about what Frolov is giving to his team from an emotional standpoint, most everything else means nothing. An argument could be made that he is not being utilized correctly on the checking line and there are a lot of different scenarios and issues that are ongoing.

But those are beside the point. As I mentioned earlier, there is even a chance that by the end of the year he will probably be near the top of the Kings scoring list. These things pale in comparison to the “does he care enough” question. Alex will have to answer that himself.

-- Jim Fox