Royals hope slow start only temporary

READING , Pa – Before the season started, the Reading Royals changed affiliates, changed head coaches, and changed over 80 percent of the roster that lost in the second round of the ECHL North Division playoffs.
 
With all of those changes, it’s no wonder that the Royals currently ranked last in the league in points with four. The Royals are 2-4 and have lost by more than one goal in every loss except once. One might think that the Royals goal differential might be out of whack, but you’d wrong.

 
The Royals have allowed 23 goals, but have scored 21. One major telling stat as to why Reading has gotten off to a slow start is the start to every game. In the first five games, the Royals trailed the opposition in 220:39 out of 300 minutes, while having the lead in only 16:56.
 
During that same time span, the Royals were outscored in the first two periods 16-6, 9-3 in the first period alone. However, the Royals might have overcome their early game woes by beating the Idaho Steelheads 6-2. The game was easily the Royals best game since winning their first game of the season against their arch rivals, the Trenton Devils, winning 4-2.
 
Better yet, the Royals got all six goals from six different players. The Royals have gotten goals from 12 different players. That bodes well for Reading of they can keep up that kind of scoring trend. Very few players on the Royals roster have a track record of scoring, so a defense-first approach will continue to be Reading’s mantra the rest of the season.
 
Tyler Doig, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect leads the team in points (8), but has only goal so far this season. Four other players have three goals each.
 
The Royals are 18^th in penalty killing and 9^th on the power play. The Royals do not have a league leader in scoring or goaltending in the top 20.  
 
The Royals have two NHL prospects on the roster: James Reimer, a fourth round pick (99^th overall) in 2006, and Los Angeles Kings prospect Danny Taylor, a seventh round pick (221^st overall) in 2004.
 
Neither goaltender has played stellar but then again neither has the defense in front of him. Taylor has a 3.02 goals against average while Reimer’s is 4.20. Taylor has a .908 save percentage while Reimer’s is 837.
 
The Royals are tied for 12^th in goals scored, but are ninth in goals allowed. Those numbers alone can give any Royals fans hope. While they team might be last in the division, the team overall has very few shortcomings. Defensive breakdowns and a poor penalty killing unit will have to improvein order for the Royals to make some headway in the always tough North Division.
 
So take heart Royals fans, the season is far from being over. Only 6 out of 72 games have been played, and so much hockey has yet to be played. Things could a lot worse for the Royals, but the reality is things are starting to look up. The Royals worst start in team history was in 2004-05 when the team got off to a 0-5 start, and that team made the playoffs.
 
Hey, that doesn’t make the locals smile, they can always think about the Phillies winning the World Series.
 
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at lewis.bleiman@prohockeynews.com