1 week Ago By Liam McCormick, Oilers Daily
The Edmonton Oilers' rival Los Angeles Kings seem to be going through some internal problems, as tonight they've scratched a star player for violating team rules. According to a report from Kings insider Zach Dooley, the team will be scratching Kevin Fiala tonight after the forward missed a team meeting. Team meetings are incredibly important in a team sport like hockey, and missing them for any reason is a serious offence.
Best case, it's an issue of preparedness and routine that forced him to be late or no-show. Worst case, he missed the meeting due to personal problems or entirely forgot about it. The most famous scratching for missing a team event has always been Tyler Seguin with the Boston Bruins, scratched for missing a team breakfast.
In Seguin's case, it seems pretty likely that he was out the night before. For a struggling Los Angeles Kings team early this year, it can't be a good sign at all for Fiala to be scratched and miss a game. Fiala is one of their premier scorers, registering 29 goals and 79 points last season.
If the Kings ever have a hope at all to beat the Oilers in the playoffs, they'll be relying on a player like Fiala to perform to his best capabilities. Early this season Fiala has been off to a decent start with 4 goals and 6 points in 9 games, but there's clearly more to be desired from the player. This incident will surely be an embarrassing wake up call for Fiala, and may even light a spark under him.
We'll have to see how he responds next game when the Kings take on the Vegas Golden Knights at home tomorrow night. This article first appeared on Oilers Daily and was syndicated with permission..
