The Kings hit the road Thursday for a four-game trip that starts Friday in Raleigh, N.C., lugging some serious baggage after four games to start the season. Here’s the first of three things to watch during an eight-night trek to play the Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators:

The Kings’ scoring depth isn’t what it should be, or could be, or needs to be. You could gloss over it if this wasn’t a concern last season, and the season before, and the season before. It’s a pattern that’s been repeated again and again. The Kings have scored 11 goals in four games, less than three per game. Jeff Carter has scored four times and Dustin Brown twice. No one else has more than one. In fact, only four other players have scored. The best teams all have good scoring depth, the Kings aren’t there just yet.