Here’s a look at the Kings’ defensemen…

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DREW DOUGHTY: Check the birth certificate; there’s no way this guy can be only 18 years old. After less than a month in the NHL, he’s already playing a polished, intelligent NHL game, and he’s getting along well with teammates. Pressure hasn’t bothered him at all.

DENIS GAUTHIER: Took major heat for an awful turnover last night, and rightfully so, but he did what marginal NHL defensemen do. They make mistakes. The Kings’ inability to develop defensemen in recent years led Dean Lombardi to reach for veterans such as Gauthier.

MATT GREENE: A nice guy with a quiet intensity, Greene brings a lot to the Kings. Not much offense, but that’s not what they need from Greene. He’s a responsible defender who brings some much-needed toughness, and he’s a guy who won’t be afraid to speak up in the room.

PETER HARROLD: Expectations are important when analyzing Harrold’s game. At one point, there might have been a thought that Harrold could develop into a top-four defenseman, but not anymore. He needs to focus on making simple plays and playing a responsible 15 minutes.

JACK JOHNSON: His grade is a big “incomplete” at this point, of course. Bulked up big time over the summer, especially in the upper body, so that should help in the long run. His partner, Matt Greene, looks good with Kyle Quincey. Where will Johnson go in January?

SEAN O’DONNELL: A last-ditch choice to give the Kings a veteran left-shot defenseman, O’Donnell has made Dean Lombardi look like a genius. O’Donnell simply doesn’t make major mistakes, and his calm demeanor and play have been hugely beneficial to Drew Doughty.

TOM PREISSING: Despite the generous contract he got from Dean Lombardi two summers ago, Preissing isn’t a reliable defender at this point. If he’s limiting his turnovers, he can fill a fifth or sixth defenseman spot, but that’s the extent of it right now.

KYLE QUINCEY: The Kings weren’t the only team to put in a claim for Quincey, and now it’s clear why. In five games with the Kings, he’s plus-5 with three points. Quincey moves the puck well and doesn’t take unnecessary chances. Can he really be this good?

Here’s some thoughts from the Detroit locker room, compiled by the Kings, after Monday’s shootout loss.

RED WINGS HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK:

(Re: game recap): “Going into the third period, we had a tough early goal that got in, but you just got to stay determined and we were able to post a turnover and bury the Kings.”

(Re: Kings): “The staff does a good job here in Los Angeles, you have six forwards that any team would love to have. They have a lot of the pieces here and are going in the right direction.”

(Re: Playing after winning the Stanley Cup): “I’m not sure that we have avoided a slump, I don’t know if there’s anything to what people say after you win. We had the same summer that we had last year, and it’s really a matter of getting your game together and seeing what happens. Hopefully we can stay healthy. We have the leadership, skill level and we play hard.”

RED WINGS CENTER HENRIK ZETTERBERG:

(Re: game recap) “It was a tight game and they had a solid defense. They took advantage of our mistakes, but we played better defense today and didn’t let them shoot as much. But, the teams have been able to shoot a little too much on our goal and today there was not much progress with that. So, hopefully we can stick with it and improve our defense and decrease the shots on goal. Even though we haven’t played our best, we are just getting our wings and we can improve.”

RED WINGS GOALIE CHRIS OSGOOD:

(Re: game recap) “We were confident, and we stay the course no matter what the score is or how we are penalty-wise. We just kill the penalties that we have and continue to play. We’ve been successful most of the time. We been a little lucky lately, and we haven’t been as good as we wanted to be.”

After eight game, and with no practice today, perhaps it’s a good time to look at the Kings and how they’re doing on an individual basis. Here’s a look at the forwards, based on personal observations and conversations with people in the organization. Please feel free to contribute your thoughts…

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DEREK ARMSTRONG: Nothing has really changed here. If you liked Armstrong’s game the last couple years, you still like it. If he frustrated you, he still does. If nothing else, take comfort that he’s no longer being asked to play second- or third-line minutes.

BRIAN BOYLE: The Kings’ 6-foot-6 enigma. A nicer guy won’t be found in the locker room, but is that part of the problem? The Kings want him to be a physical force, but even a year-long stint playing defense didn’t bring out the fierce nature the Kings want him to show.

DUSTIN BROWN: The steady improvement Brown has displayed from his rookie season is impressive. He’s now the team captain and routinely the team leader in both hits and shots on goal. He seems to have elevated his play yet again after looking strong last season.

KYLE CALDER: One gets the sense that Calder knows this might be his last opportunity to make an impact with the Kings. Out of the lineup for four games, he got put on the first line and has done a respectable job so far. Consistency remains an issue for him.

ALEXANDER FROLOV: Seems to have adapted to his “defensive-stopper” role better than anticipated. Frolov has always been strong on the puck but hasn’t always met offensive expectations. In this role, he can be a secondary scorer and play a strong two-way game.

MICHAL HANDZUS: For a stretch early in the season, he might have been the Kings’ best forward. The turnaround from last season has been dramatic, and is attributed to his return to 100-percent health and his familiarity with Terry Murray. Can he keep it up?

RAITIS IVANANS: It’s fair to ask whether his presence is still needed in the lineup. There’s always some value in having a “heavyweight” out there, but the Kings are tougher now on defense. His penalty last night, which led to a 5-on-3 power play, was a killer.

ANZE KOPITAR: It’s clear that opposing teams are focusing on Kopitar. He’s not getting room to make plays, either for himself or teammates, the way he did the last couple years. It’s his responsibility to adjust his game and take advantage of his superior talent.

OSCAR MOLLER: There’s still some internal debate about whether Moller is physically mature enough to play a full season in the NHL right now, but he’s a very intelligent player who already has NHL skills, and he’s already well received in the locker room by veterans.

MATT MOULSON: It’s hard to criticize him too much, given that the decision to put him on the first line was a bit of a head-scratcher to begin with. Moulson might have a place on a NHL roster, but it’s not playing 16 minutes a game next to Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar.

PATRICK O’SULLIVAN: Seems to have accepted his second-line role without complaint, even though he’d probably feel more comfortable playing with Brown and Kopitar. Continues to grow offensively but can’t forget the two-way play that made him a standout last year.

BRAD RICHARDSON: One point and an even rating in five games. Nothing really here to celebrate or critique too roughly. It’s still a bit hard to see why the Kings gave up a second-round pick to get him, but perhaps he will evolve into a strong energy-line player.

WAYNE SIMMONDS: Couldn’t be in a better spot right now, in terms of his age and skill level. Simmonds is getting a chance to establish himself on a line with two solid veteran defenders who can take some pressure off him. Needs to get stronger still, but he’s getting there.

JARRET STOLL: Stoll’s play in the first couples games raised some eyebrows, and not in a good way. He rebounded nicely with a stretch of strong games. The Kings need him to be consistent and be that strong second-line center they desperately lacked last season.

The Kings won’t be on the ice today, but will practice tomorrow in advance of Thursday’s game against Vancouver.

Here’s what Terry Murray is thinking when it comes to shootouts.
“A few years ago you didn’t have a choice. The board of governors put in the new rule that the home team has the choice, thinking that if you score first the opposing team has the pressure on them when it comes down to the last shooter. It’s a philosophy. Obviously it can go both ways. I like to shoot first. We have confidence in our players that we can get out and get the lead and put the pressure on the other team. It didn’t work tonight, but it will in the future.”

Here’s what Patrick O’Sullivan said after last night’s loss…

“We’ve got a young team and playing the defending champs, you’ve got a lot of all-stars over there and I think after the first five or 10 minutes we settled into our game and we saw that we were going to be able to compete with them and, like I said, we gave them a pretty good run. … Obviously we were real close to getting the two (points) and it’s disappointing, but at the same time, that’s a really good team and we’re happy with that one point. They’ve got some pretty good players they can put out there for the shootout. Shootouts are fun when you win and when you lose it kind of stings a little bit, but we’re going to be on our fair-share of the win side this year. Overall, we have to be happy with the game and we can build on it.”

Most of you do a great job posting comments. We thank you for all your support and engaging in intelligent debates. However, several posts were deleted after last night’s game. I understand fans are frusrtated with the loss, but to post death threats or to describe in detail harming yourself or an innocent person (I deleted these before they ever made it on the Web site) is unacceptable, as is attacking other posters. It’s a game, folks. And if the worst thing that happens to you this year is that your team loses a game it should’ve won, then I’d say you’re doing all right. If you don’t comply, you’ll be banned from posting. Simple as that.

“It’s the kind you’d like to have back and do over again for sure,” Terry Murray said. “It’s one of those things that happened in the game. You’re trying to do the right thing on the breakout and find the center iceman, but it was a mistake. Unfortunately, it ended up being a goal that gave them all kinds of life to get back into it.”

But for one ill-advised pass in the defensive zone, the Kings would be celebrating a huge, huge victory right now. Denis Gauthier made a play that he will regret for a long time, and the Kings earned a solid point but lost a chance for a lot more, from a confidence standpoint.

Other thoughts…

— Gauthier’s mistake cost the Kings late, but don’t forget Raitis Ivanans’ awful hook that gave Detroit a 5-on-3 power play and led to the goal that tied the game 2-2.

— How good were Drew Doughty and Kyle Quincey tonight? Quincey probably played his best game as a King, and he’s been pretty good to begin with. Doughty made a couple outstanding defensive plays to prevent scoring chances.

— The Kings were outshot 37-19, almost doubled up. That’s Detroit hockey, and it broke a three-game stretch in which the Kings outshot their opponents.

— Dustin Brown recorded six hits.

— Patrick O’Sullivan played more than 18 minutes but didn’t record a shot on goal.

More quotes and notes to come…

Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the shootout and Dustin Brown and Oscar Moller didn’t.
Kings played the Red Wings tough but a huge turnover near the end of the third period allowed Detroit to tie the game.
What did you guys think?