Los Angeles Kings season snapshot awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, the award-worthy candidates for the Los Angeles Kings at the pause:

The Los Angeles Kings entered the pause on a seven-game winning streak. Although they are 14 points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, they went 10-2-1 in 13 games from Feb. 12-March 11, playing their best hockey of the season under first-year coach Todd McLellan in those four weeks.

To showcase some of their strong performances this season, here are their top players in various categories:

MVP

Anze Kopitar continues to play in all situations and remains the Kings' top forward. He is averaging 21:02 of ice time per game and leads Los Angeles in almost every offensive category, including goals (21), assists (41), points (62), power-play goals (seven) and power-play points (21). Kopitar also leads the Kings in face-off winning percentage at 55.15 percent (minimum 100 draws) and their forwards with 56 blocked shots.

Rookie

Matt Roy, a seventh-round pick (No. 194) in the 2015 NHL Draft, has established himself this season as a full-time player at the NHL level. The 25-year-old defenseman, who has 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 70 games, leads the Kings in rating (plus-16) and blocked shots (100). He also ranks third on Los Angeles with 132 hits and is averaging 18:07 of ice time per game.

Defenseman

Drew Doughty is showing no signs of slowing down in his 12th NHL season. He leads the Kings in ice time per game (25:49; second in NHL behind Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot's 26:00) and has 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) in 67 games. Doughty leads Kings defensemen with an average of 2:07 of shorthanded ice time per game and ranks second on Los Angeles with 87 blocked shots.

Defensive forward

Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with four shorthanded points (two goals, two assists) and also has 71 hits (eighth), 24 takeaways (sixth), and 17 blocked shots. He is averaging 16:01 of ice time per game.

Comeback player

Jeff Carter scored 13 goals in 76 games for the Kings last season, but the forward has responded with 17 in 60 this season. He leads Los Angeles with seven game-winning goals, and 22 of his 27 points have come at even strength. Carter also has 66 hits and 23 blocked shots, and he has contributed on the penalty kill as well, averaging 1:23 of shorthanded ice time per game.