EL SEGUNDO Womens Charlie McAvoy Jersey , Calif. (AP) The Los Angeles Kings believe they are still Stanley Cup contenders, even after being swept by the upstart Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. How close they are to that goal might be reflected in how negotiations go with defenseman Drew Doughty this summer.General manager Rob Blake said Friday that working out a contract extension with Doughty is the team’s top priority. The Kings and Doughty can begin holding talks on July 1, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the 2018-19 season.”I always wanted to be an LA King and I want to stay an LA King,” Doughty said.Doughty is one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy presented to the league’s top defenseman after winning it in 2016. He had 10 goals and 50 assists in his most productive NHL season yet, but Doughty believes he can still improve his scoring output.”I wasn’t too happy with my goal totals this year,” Doughty said. ”I think I only maybe scored one or two one-timer goals, which in my career probably half of my goals are one-timer goals, so I was pretty disappointed about that this year. I can definitely improve on that and have an even better season and hopefully set some new career-highs.”The Kings scored just three goals in four games against the Golden Knights. Developing a more reliable offense is the one glaring weakness that needs be addressed, and lifting the Stanley Cup for the third time is a reasonable goal provided it gets solved going into next season.”Everybody is still here that was here in ’14 and almost in ’12 for that matter, too Authentic Louis Domingue Jersey , so we’re not that far off,” center Anze Kopitar said. ”It’s going to take a lot of work, yes, but we’re not far off.”CAREER YEARSKopitar set personal bests with 35 goals and 57 assists while averaging a career-high 22:05 of playing time. His 92 points represented a 40-point improvement over his lackluster 2016-17, leading Kopitar to joke he is ”aging like wine.” Dustin Brown had 61 points to top his previous high of 60 set in 2007-08, his fourth season in the league. Doughty broke free with 60 points after reaching the 50-point plateau once in the previous seven seasons. Doughty’s usual defensive partner, Jake Muzzin, had 42 points. Even depth forward Trevor Lewis got into the act with 26 points and 14 goals in his most productive campaign.FORWARD THINKINGRookie Adrian Kempe was fourth on the team with 16 goals despite not finding the back of the net in the final 29 games of the regular season. Stepping in at center when Jeff Carter missed 55 games following surgery to repair a cut tendon in his ankle, Kempe showed a surprising toughness to go along with his natural quickness. If Kempe can continue to develop, he could decrease the reliance on Kopitar http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-mikhail-sergachev-jersey , who will be 31 when next season starts, and the 33-year-old Carter.”I’m pretty sure he’ll be the first one to tell you he can offer more, and that’s a learning process,” Kopitar said. ”That’s his first full year in the league. Speaking from experience, it takes a little bit of time to figure out your routines and what’s working for you and what’s not.”LOOKING FOR DEPTHShort of dealing in the offseason, the Kings should return essentially the same roster next season. Speedy forward Tobias Rieder is a restricted free agent, and Torrey Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent. The 25-year-old Rieder showed some chemistry with Carter, posting four goals and two assists in 20 games. Defensemen Christian Folin and Kevin Gravel are both unrestricted free agents.HOME IMPROVEMENT NEEDEDThe Kings went 23-15-3 at home, the second-fewest wins by a playoff team. It seemed like they were getting better as the season went on, going 9-4-0 down the stretch Nikita Kucherov Jersey , only to lose both home playoff games and fall to 0-5 at Staples Center in their last two postseasons. Their 118 goals at home in the regular season was tied for 21st in the NHL. The power play contributed 25 percent of that output, underscoring the need for 5-on-5 improvement.COMING ATTRACTIONClearly in need of more contributors on offense, center Gabriel Vilardi could be an option for the Kings next season. Selected No. 11 overall in the 2017 draft, Vilardi has been a force in the OHL playoffs with 11 goals and nine assists in his first 12 postseason games. Vilardi also has the size and 200-foot game that fit a Kings team that still emphasizes defense.— DALLAS — The Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars have both started their respective seasons in interesting fashion.Toronto (2-1-0, 4 points) has gotten both wins in overtime, the latest Sunday night at United Center in a free-wheeling 7-6 defeat of the Chicago Blackhawks.The big star was John Tavares, who delivered his ninth career hat trick and first since signing with the Maple Leafs as a free agent last summer.Article continues below ...“A lot of momentum swings tonight (Sunday),” Tavares said postgame. “We stayed with it, no quit. Whatever adversity we faced today, I thought we responded pretty well.”Toronto has a day off Monday and despite his team getting with the full two points Sunday evening for their first road win Ondrej Palat Jersey , Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock still sees plenty to clean up.“It was probably fun for the fans, a lot of entertainment out there,” Babcock said. “We had a lot of good plays. They were flying, we were standing there watching them at the start. I don’t know if that’s too much respect or what that was, but once we got playing I thought we did a real good job.”This marks Toronto’s only regular-season trip to Dallas and is game two of a four-game road trip that will also take the Maple Leafs to Detroit on Thursday and Washington on Saturday to face the Stanley Cup champion Capitals.Dallas (2-0-0, 4 points) defeated Winnipeg 5-1 at home on Saturday, giving the Stars a plus-7 goal differential (8-1) to start the season after Dallas blanked Arizona 3-0 on Thursday.First-year Stars coach Jim Montgomery is pleased with his team’s performance thus far but remains ever vigilant for complacency creeping into their game.“Well, when the first two games have gone as well as they have, you’ve got to focus on the details and you’ve got to make sure that you’re not getting comfortable, so the players are not getting comfortable Ryan Callahan Jersey ,” Montgomery said after practice Monday.One interesting storyline for this game for Dallas is that it will mark defenseman Connor Carrick’s first game against Toronto, who he played 130 of his 169 career NHL games for, before being traded to the Stars last week.Carrick has three assists in his first two games with Dallas and understandably, feels the change of scenery has been overwhelmingly positive.“It’s been fun. Really trying to accelerate the learning curve at this point, really trying to raise the bar in terms of expectations for myself,” Carrick said Monday. “2-0 is a good start against a strong Winnipeg team and Arizona’s improved. Now we’re playing a team with a lot of hype in Toronto.”Tuesday’s game could also mark the season debut for Stars forward Valeri Nichushkin, out the first two games with a lower-body injury. Nichushkin was the 10th pick in the 2013 draft and played two seasons for Dallas before spending last season in the Russian KHL.“I thought he looked good today (Monday),” Montgomery said of Nichushkin. “There is a good chance he plays tomorrow (Tuesday).”