
Originally Posted by
Mondo Blando
Kopitar and Carter are the only real "skill" forwards. Carter has been fine - far and away the most chances from any Kings top-6 player.
Kopitar is coming off an injury, and looks like he is just a few more games from being back to form.
Brown has been terrible, no effort, no real desire shown, no impact at all.
Richards and Williams are different cases. The effort has been there from both, but their timing and puck handling look like guys who have had 6 months off and were thrown right into game action. Neither is particulary gifted - they get by on decision making and smarts. When they fight the puck, or are a step behind, they don't have that pure skill or speed to still be as effective. Give them a week or so, and they will get right back into the swing of things.
League wide you are seeing the individually gifted players succeed right away, and a bunch of guys like Clifford and Winnik who are seeing results from just being more "ready" than teams full of guys who are slow to catch on. It is going to balance out.