By Jacob Messing

After claiming the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, the Los Angeles Kings have appeared just once in the playoffs in the past three years, winning a single game. The lack of postseason consistency, coupled with predictably underwhelming regular seasons, invited ridicule for the apparent lack of offseason moves to remedy the problem.

Since the season’s inception, L.A. has done nothing but prove its naysayers wrong, posting a 7-1-1 start and plus-13 goal differential to lead the Pacific Division.

The changes that the Kings did make were admittedly not sexy. The organization retooled the pieces they already had to return to top form — not always the most popular move, but for Los Angeles the tactic has proved mightily effective.

The changes came off the ice: Out went 11-year general manager Dean Lombardi and six-year head coach Darryl Sutter. L.A. legends Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake were promoted to president of hockey operations and GM, respectively.

Blake started his tenure mildly, continuing background changes as he shifted seven-year assistant coach John Stevens to head coach.

“Some of the guys that have been here a couple years have to now push to the core: the Pearsons, the [Tyler] Toffolis, [Jake] Muzzins, [Alec] Martinez in that group,” Blake told Mayor’s Manor shortly after promoting Stevens in April. “And they’ll push the core guys in the [Drew] Doughty and the [Anze] Kopitars to be better, and then we gotta incorporate young players.”

Blake did just that. He brought in a handful of young players to help squeeze a 23-man roster under the high salary cap Lombardi had created, and he continued to develop players who needed to take the next step.

The newly promoted skipper made a point of emphasizing attack. Stevens’ change to an offensively focused system has seen the team come out with a bang at every position, incorporating newcomers and sharpening veterans.

Opened Offense

The Kings have been the NHL’s possession gurus for the past several years, and the new emphasis on offense is leading to early results. The team sits eighth in the league in possession, controlling 53.4 percent of the game, a mark bound to increase as its young forwards grow and get a better grasp of the NHL pace.

After the worst offensive output of his 11-year career (76 GP, 12 G, 40 A, 52 pts.), captain Kopitar has scored six goals and tallied 11 points through the team’s first nine games. The 30-year-old has been a regular 20-goal scorer and 70-point center during his career, and appears ready to return to those numbers.

Former captain Dustin Brown was once bankable for 20-30 goals and 50-60 points. After five straight seasons of sagging numbers, the 32-year-old seems rejuvenated with five goals and 11 points in the early going.

“[Brown is] getting back to his power game,” Stevens told the Los Angeles Times last week. “We’re trying to make that a part of our identity as a hockey team, and he’s leading the charge when it comes to that. He likes being there.”

The top line’s fast start has helped ease the low production of “That ‘70s Line” of Toffoli, Pearson, and Jeff Carter, the last of whom, however, is out indefinitely following surgery to repair a skate cut on his ankle.

Toffoli is due to bounce back to the 31-goal performance he had in 2015-16 while Pearson broke out last season and is hoping to build on it.

Then there’s Adrian Kempe, the Kings’ first round pick in 2014. The 21-year-old has five goals and seven points and has been a surprising force early for L.A.

From Dustin Brown to Anze Kopitar. What a beauty.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/bqGNWGlp9j

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 22, 2017

Own Zone Play

Stevens’ push for offense has allowed defensemen Muzzin and Doughty to join the rush, and the pair of blue liners has already stepped up after disappointing a year ago.

After 40-point seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16, Muzzin posted just 28 points with an uncharacteristic minus-21 rating.

Doughty, the 2016 Norris Trophy winner, has two 50-point campaigns during his career. Last season, he managed just 44 points; the attack-minded offense should help him get back to the 50-point plateau, maybe even 60.

The young defense — Martinez is the oldest of the bunch at 30 — doesn’t appear in over its head so far. Newcomer Christian Folin and rookie Oscar Fantenberg have mixed well with Muzzin and Doughty, and the group has contained opponents with speed and physicality in the defensive zone, quickly moving the puck forward when they regain possession.

In fact, the unit has carried the Kings to first in the league for goals-against per game, allowing an average of just 1.89.

Jonathan Quick, of course, has been a big help. When it comes to the last line of defense, Quick has been lights-out to start the season. He’s sporting a .934 save percentage, 2.15 GAA, and has five wins — including a shutout — in seven starts.

It’s a small sample size, which can lead to broad conclusions and oversimplified dissection, but Stevens’ offense-first system looks like a breath of fresh air, especially when remembering Sutter’s stingy defensive structure and one-word press conferences.

Los Angeles’ next game comes Thursday when they visit Carey Price and the lowly Montreal Canadiens.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.