Power Rankings: Kings following NHL's turnaround script

Updated Nov. 3

The good thing about being in Hollywood is that when new script ideas are lacking, there is always the option of recycling an old one. Like say, the story about taking a perennial loser and turning it into a winner, seemingly overnight.

Newcomer Ryan Smyth is a Kings catalyst. (US Presswire)

The hockey version of this movie has played out a couple of times already in the aftermath of the lockout, first with the Pittsburgh Penguins and more recently with the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams took their lumps for a few seasons, drafted high and as a result, put together lineups that grew quickly together before taking the league by storm.

In Los Angeles, the Kings are trying to become the next ones. So far they seem to be on the right path.

Colorado, and to a slightly lesser extent the Phoenix Coyotes, may have laid claim to the NHL's best Cinderella story early in this season. But for a team that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002, the young Kings have been no less impressive. Los Angeles has the third-most points in the Western Conference, tied for fourth in the league and is a top 10 team in overall offense and the power play.

The Kings are getting the kind of goaltending they've been lacking for years from 23-year-old Jonathan Quick, the defense has two budding young stars in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, and leading man Anze Kopitar is the top scorer in the NHL. Meanwhile, the supporting cast that has been methodically put together by GM Dean Lombardi since he took over in 2006 has been improving with every game under the patient coaching of Terry Murray.

Lombardi, who set the foundation in San Jose when he was there with his drafting and development process, has used the same philosophy in Los Angeles, stockpiling young assets and supplementing them with a few key veterans. The most notable has been Ryan Smyth, who came in a trade this summer from the Avs and is arguably the best turnaround player in the league. Smyth is putting up big numbers of his own, but more importantly, he has triggered Kopitar's breakout effort.

"Smitty knows how to play the game and he's rubbed off on Kopi," Kings defenseman Sean O'Donnell said.

And on the rest of the team.

Here are the rankings through Monday night's games:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Sharks · Trends	1
	Dominant second periods (the Sharks are a league-best plus-18) have helped San Jose go nearly four weeks without losing in regulation.
	2	Devils · Trends	3
	The Devils' way of doing things is with defense. New Jersey has allowed just 14 goals in the past nine games, eight of them wins.
	3	Sabres · Trends	6
	Derek Roy has picked things up in November with four goals and two assists in his first six games.
	4	Flyers · Trends	5
	Ray Emery is giving the Flyers a chance to win each time out with only four first-period goals allowed in 16 starts.
	5	Blackhawks · Trends	11
	Four wins in Jonathan Toews' first four games back with the Blackhawks, with the captain and linemate Patrick Kane combining for four goals and four assists in the process.
	6	Flames · Trends	7
	Miikka Kiprusoff has allowed just five goals in his past five starts, four of them wins.
	7	Capitals · Trends	2
	Breathing room in the Southeast helped, but so did the scoring depth as the Caps won four of six without Ovechkin in the lineup.
	8	Penguins · Trends	8
	Malkin is back and Gonchar is getting closer to returning, yet the snake is still biting the Penguins with Alex Goligoski going on the shelf.
	9	Red Wings · Trends	12
	Henrik Zetterberg wins the player of the week nod with nine points in three games.
	10	Kings · Trends	9
	Randy Jones has been a good pickup for the Kings with four points in his four games.
	11	Thrashers · Trends	20
	Ilya Kovalchuk came back with a vengeance for the Thrashers, who are unbeaten in the seven games they've scored first.
	12	Canucks · Trends	10
	They're a .500 team, mainly because they're catching teams that are struggling. Henrik Sedin is doing his bit with nine goals in the past 11 games.
	13	Avalanche · Trends	4
	The good thing for Colorado is that Craig Anderson is used to being on a team that gets outshot almost every game from his days in Florida.
	14	Blue Jackets · Trends	14
	These days, Mathieu Garon is giving the Jackets the kind of goaltending they expected from Steve Mason.
	15	Predators · Trends	23
	Nashville is playing its best hockey of the season and gets a measuring stick with the Sharks and Devils on tap this week.
	16	Lightning · Trends	19
	Vincent Lecavalier is starting to come alive and the Bolts have only one regulation loss in 11 games.
	17	Rangers · Trends	17
	Defenseman Marc Staal leads the Rangers in ice-time with 22:29 per game, but he's minus-6 in the past 11 games and pointless on the power play this season.
	18	Coyotes · Trends	13
	Reality seems to be setting in for the Coyotes, who are only 2-5 in November after a great start.
	19	Islanders · Trends	26
	Might be time to pay more attention to the upstart Isles, who are getting solid goaltending from Dwayne Roloson and have gone 7-2-2 in the past 11 games.
	20	Bruins · Trends	18
	One big difference this season in Boston has been special teams. Last year the B's were top five in both, now they are in the bottom five.
	21	Stars · Trends	15
	The Stars just can't get any momentum going because they've won two in a row only once.
	22	Panthers · Trends	27
	The Panthers are struggling to close things out. Florida has lost four of the six games it has led after two periods.
	23	Senators · Trends	16
	Still struggling with shootouts. The Senators are a league-worst 12-25 lifetime since the skills competition was instituted after the lockout.
	24	Canadiens · Trends	21
	Offense is still a problem for the Habs, who have been shut out twice and have only seven goals in their past five games.
	25	Oilers · Trends	22
	Dustin Penner is still putting up points, it just isn't helping the Oilers, who have won only twice in 11 games.
	26	Ducks · Trends	24
	Coach Randy Carlyle on his plucked Ducks: "We're regressing right now instead of progressing."
	27	Blues · Trends	28
	Has anyone in St. Louis seen Keith Tkachuk lately?
	28	Wild · Trends	29
	Things are looking a little better for the Wild, who have picked up four wins and 10 points in their past 10 games.
	29	Maple Leafs · Trends	25
	Phil Kessel has lived up to the hype so far, just not enough to help the Leafs offense do much without the man advantage. Toronto has scored nearly half of its 45 goals on the PP.
	30	Hurricanes · Trends	30
	Brandon Sutter has been one of the few bright spots, and maybe the only one for Carolina so far. He has four goals and seven points in 10 games since being called up from the minors.