theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.

By their own standards, the Los Angeles Kings are in a bit of a dry spell.

Following their second Stanley Cup win in 2014, the Kings missed the postseason, then bowed out to in-state rivals, the San Jose Sharks, in just five games in 2016.

Los Angeles didn't make any big splashes in the offseason, but lost a key piece in Milan Lucic.

Still, with strong organizational depth, the Kings will compete again next season. Here's a look at their projected depth chart:

Forwards

• Purcell, the lone newcomer, is coming off a 43-point season, and should provide some decent secondary scoring.
• Andy Andreoff, Jordan Nolan, and Michael Mersch all spent time with the club last season, and could play their way into full-time positions come October.

Defense

• Gilbert signed a one-year contract in the offseason, and could split time with Matt Greene.

Goalies

NHL Depth Charts

ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBS | DAL
DET | EDM | FLA | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJD | NYI | NYR
PHI | PIT | OTT | STL | SJ
TB | TOR | VAN | WSH | WIN

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The New York Islanders began training camp Thursday without Mikhail Grabovski.

Grabovski had nine goals and 16 assists in 58 games last season, while playing slightly over 14 minutes per game.

The 32-year-old has a history of concussions, and played only 11 games after the All-Star break last campaign.

Grabovski's tenure on Long Island has been a disappointment since he signed in free agency - he's under contract through 2017-18 at $5-million per.

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The Detroit Red Wings will begin the season without right-winger Tomas Jurco.

Jurco underwent surgery in late August and was scheduled to be out four-to-six weeks. He had four goals and two assists in 44 games last season.

Here are more updates from the first day of Red Wings training camp:

• Henrik Zetterberg, recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of the World Cup, will skate on his own and not practice with the team until he's fit.
• Niklas Kronwall, also recovering from a knee injury, will do the same as Zetterberg.
• Teemu Pulkkinen, recovering from shoulder surgery, has not yet been cleared for contact.

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Joffrey Lupul's future in Toronto remains in doubt.

The Maple Leafs opened training camp Thursday with the 32-year-old forward on injured reserve. It's unknown what ailment(s) he's suffering from, and he won't be speaking to the media:

Lupul, who last played Feb. 6, suited up in just 46 games last season due to a sports hernia, scoring only 11 goals and adding three assists.

TSN's Frank Seravalli reported Wednesday that he failed a physical last week.

In April, general manager Lou Lamoriello said he didn't know whether Lupul - under contract for two more years at an annual cap hit of $5.25 million - would be fit to play in 2016-17. It appears Toronto has its answer to that question.

Defenseman Stephane Robidas and forward Nathan Horton join Lupul on the IR, and neither will play for Toronto this season.

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Savage. There's no other way to describe it.

Phil Kessel took to Twitter on Wednesday night after the United States crashed out of the World Cup, and well, the rest is history:

Kessel doesn't tweet often. This was only his third of 2016, and obviously his greatest of all time. And since the archive's so small, we took it for a spin. Here are the rest of Kessel's best tweets:

9. Bozak love

Math is hard, but 8.4 percent of Kessel's 177 tweets are about Tyler Bozak, according to our calculations, including the one above, on the day Bozak signed a five-year, $21-million contract with the Maple Leafs. They're besties for life.

8-5. The 6ix

Don't let anyone ever say that Kessel wasn't committed to Toronto.

4. The postseason

Once upon a time, the Maple Leafs made the playoffs. Hard to believe, but it happened. Kessel notched four goals and two assists in seven games against the Boston Bruins, his former team, but we all know - and will never forget - how that first-round series ended.

3. Phil!

Self-love is important. (Yeah, we know, the tweet was about Phil Mickelson. Whatever.)

2. Farewell

Saying goodbye is never easy. Not even on Twitter, where it can get real dusty:

1. Champion

Kessel's first tweet of 2016, and his first as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins said it all:

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Over the past five seasons, few teams have been on the same level as the Los Angeles Kings.

They haven't claimed a Pacific Division title in their run of dominance, but two Stanley Cup banners atop the Staples Center rafters make that easy to cope with.

Still, after missing the playoffs in 2014-15, and after a first-round exit last season, it looks as though the Kings' throne is quickly becoming a hot seat.

Los Angeles will likely be in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race again this season, but the team isn't without its uncertainties.

Here are three questions as puck drop approaches.

Is the defense enough?

The Kings may own the game's best defender in Drew Doughty, while Jake Muzzin is an elite No. 2, but the rest of their blue line is, to put it lightly, thin.

A lack of defensive depth was Los Angeles' undoing in the postseason, as it was unable to contain four lines of potent offense from the San Jose Sharks, and frankly, the problem still exists.

Stuck near the salary cap ceiling, general manager Dean Lombardi has virtually no flexibility to bring in new bodies, unless he manufactures a trade, which would probably have to include a young forward he doesn't want to give up.

Can Dustin Brown rediscover his game?

Dustin Brown's perplexing fall from grace finally hit rock bottom when he was stripped of his captaincy in the offseason.

Brown donned the "C" in 2008, but it was since handed to Anze Kopitar in the wake of another grim season.

Since he recorded five consecutive seasons of 50-plus points (2008-12), Brown hasn't reached the 30-point plateau. He was relegated to fourth-line duties last season, finishing the campaign with 11 goals and 17 assists.

Perhaps losing his captaincy can relieve some pressure, and the Kings better hope so, as Brown is on their books for five more seasons at a cap hit of $5.875 million.

Can they score?

Last season, Los Angeles ranked 14th league-wide in goals per game (2.72), making the loss of Milan Lucic sting even more.

Again, the lack of financial wiggle room prevented Lombardi from luring most free agents, although the addition of Teddy Purcell could provide valuable secondary scoring.

24-year-old Tyler Toffoli led the Kings with a career-high 31 goals last year, followed by Kopitar and Jeff Carter, who both surpassed 20.

Afterward, their wasn't much production. A full season of Marian Gaborik may help, but the Kings' bottom-six will have to step up for this team to return to its previous level.

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Two games still remain in the World Cup of Hockey's preliminary stage, but three teams have already punched their tickets to the tournament's semifinals.

Sweden, winners of Group B, will face Europe on Sunday afternoon, while Canada, the undefeated winners of Group A, will play either Russia or North America on Saturday night in Toronto.

Simply put, if Russia beats Finland on Thursday, they're in. If not, it's the kids versus Canada.

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Canada has clinched first place in Group A at the World Cup of Hockey thanks to a 4-1 win over Europe.

As a result, the Europeans finish second and will face Group B winner Sweden in the semifinal round.

Canada finished the round robin stage of the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record.

Here's how the win Wednesday went down.

Sidney Crosby opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game on a sneaky wraparound on Jaroslav Halak, and while the European goaltender stood strong amid 15 first period shots from Canada - including a pair of phenomenal saves - he could not stop them all, allowing Jonathan Toews to tip another one into the net later in the frame.

Marian Hossa beat NHL teammate Corey Crawford from a sharp angle on Europe’s sixth shot of the game to draw his team to within one goal. But not to be outdone, Toews responded by firing a wrist shot past Halak on an odd-man rush that was defended by a stickless Roman Josi to restore the two-goal lead.

Canada continued to control the play from that point on, outshooting Europe 46-20 and dominating possession over the course of 60 minutes.

Brad Marchand led all players with seven shots, while Steven Stamkos recorded five and came close to scoring his first goal of the tournament on more than one occasion.

Logan Couture added a fourth goal for Canada in the final minutes to further pad an outcome that was never really in doubt.

CEanada’s semifinal opponent will be determined Thursday, pending the outcome of Finland-Russia. If Finland wins, Canada will play North America, while a Russian victory will set up another chapter in their historic rivalry with the World Cup’s host nation.

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