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It hasnt been all that long since teams were patterning themselves after the Los Angeles Kings. The St. Louis Blues were basically a Missouri version of the Kings. The Washington Capitals became the Eastern Conference version.But that was so 2014. Speed is the thing now and the Kings suddenly look a little slow.Well, not to everybody.We have four or five world-class skaters, said Kings GM Dean Lombardi. You think Jeff Carter cant skate? You think Anze Kopitar cant skate? Drew Doughty cant skate? Trevor Lewis is a world-class skater. Were not slow. Were big ... Because were big and physical, thats all people look at.And we hadnt even told him yet that were concerned the Kings are getting old too.Thats the Kings in 2016 in a nutshell. There is still greatness there. Doughty and Kopitar are in the top three in their respective positions in the NHL. Jonathan Quick is on the short list of goalies most would be thrilled to start a Game 7.Theres a championship DNA.But boy, are there questions. Have the players tired of coach Darryl Sutter? Is there enough speed to keep up with the next-generation Calgary Flames, Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers? When did the San Jose Sharks pass them as the better team?This will either be the season that the Kings squeeze another chance at glory out of their Stanley Cup roster or the season it becomes apparent it needs to do a San Jose- and Boston-like rebuild to pump young talent into the roster.There are too many proven winners to take the Kings lightly this season -- but too many real concerns about depth, durability and depreciation to feel great about them.Best new facesIf the Kings are to return to glory, its the old faces who will get them there. Last year, Lombardi made a splash in acquiring Milan Lucic but couldnt make the finances work to keep him around long term. Finances were a big reason that Lombardi couldnt aggressively improve his team from last year. Los Angeles locked up its core, along with many of the depth players from the Stanley Cup teams, and is betting they can keep it going moving forward.Teddy Purcell was a nice depth signing and has shown an ability to play up and down the lineup in his career. Hes probably best suited on a third line but has played with high-end talent like Connor McDavid and Steven Stamkos in the past and is capable of filling a spot in the top six if necessary.Lombardi continued his value shopping by adding depth on defense with the signing of Tom Gilbert. A knee injury shortened Gilberts 2015-16 season, but if he can stay healthy and return to form, the 33-year-old could be a nice addition. At Gilberts age though, those are big ifs.Biggest unknownsWhat made the Kings great in the past is you knew exactly what you were getting. This was a big, heavy team that played a demanding but effective brand of hockey that resulted in them dominating possession for long stretches. They were relentless, and by the third period, they usually wore the opposition down. That also takes a toll on the players.Dustin Browns game has fallen off a cliff. He has now scored just 11 goals in consecutive seasons and its clear his production wont match his contract. Marian Gaborik?isnt healthy -- again. His speed changes the dynamic of the Kings lineup, and its a huge unknown how many games hell play during the course of the season. The Kings lean heavily on Quick, who has settled in as a goalie who can be expected to produce a .917 save percentage each year. For a guy considered one of the best in the world, thats underwhelming.Sure thingsThe Kings have two sure things, and theyre what makes this a team that you can never count out: Doughty and Kopitar. Its such an advantage to have a world-class No. 1 defenseman and No. 1 center on the roster. Good teams have one. Only the lucky few have two and those are the teams usually playing well into the spring.Despite all the questions surrounding the Kings, Sutter can count on getting nearly half a game out of Doughty each night -- and that the Kings will control play during his shifts.And in Kopitar, the Kings have a premier two-way center who stacks up with Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews as the best in the world.When Kopitar is on the ice, the Kings can count on him shutting down the opposing center and thats invaluable.He always focuses on the defensive game, said Canucks center Henrik Sedin. Hes a terrific player. Its a tough matchup for anyone who goes against him.PredictionThese are no longer the powerhouse Kings you could comfortably pencil in as a Western Conference finalist, but as long as Doughty and Kopitar are around, theyre going to be competitive. Third place in the Pacific. Vans Shoes Wholesale Store . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Vans Toy Story Sale http://www.vanssalestore.com/ . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Vans Old Skool Clearance Sale . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Vans Shoes Sale .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Sri Lanka 504 (De Silva 127, Gunaratne 116) and 258 for 9 dec (Karunaratne 88, Kusal Perera 62, Cremer 4-91, Mumba 3-67) beat Zimbabwe 272 (Chari 80, Ervine 64, Herath 5-89) and 233 (Ervine 72, Herath 8-63) by 257 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details It took Sri Lanka a little over 50 minutes to wrap up proceedings on the final day in Harare. Resuming on 180 for 7, Zimbabwe folded for 233 to give Sri Lanka a 257-run win. Rangana Herath, in his first and perhaps last series as Sri Lanka captain - he was standing in for the injured Angelo Mathews - celebrated a 2-0 series win with his seventh ten-wicket haul in Tests. His match figures of 13 for 152 took his series tally to 19 wickets.Craig Ervine, who made a battling half-century on the fourth day, stood between Sri Lanka and an early finish. In the first six overs, he seemed keen on playing according to the merit of the ball. But the frustration of being unable to get runs - Zimbabwe had just one scoring shot in the first 23 minutes - resulted in him gloving an audacious reverse sweep from the rough off Herath to Dhananjaya de Silva at slip.Dhananjaaya, who was initially moving to his right in anticipation of the sweep going a lot squarer, changed directions and dived low to complete an excellent two-handed catch.dddddddddddd Ervine referred the decision, but it was eventually upheld as there was sufficient evidence of the ball brushing the glove before hitting his forearm. Off the first ball of his next over, Herath had Carl Mumba with an arm ball that drifted back in to trap him in front.Christopher Mpofu came out playing shots. A slog sweep over deep midwicket off Herath even had the dressing room in splits as he acknowledged the applause by raising his bat. He swung at everything thereafter, but the party did not last much longer as Heraths slider came back in to beat his forward push and trap him lbw.This was Sri Lankas fifth successive Test win - they swept Australia 3-0 at home prior to this series - to equal their second-longest winning streak in Tests. Their longest is nine, which they achieved in 2000-2001. ' ' '