Having won seven of their last eight before last night’s affair, dropping games isn’t something the Los Angeles Kings have done a lot of over the past few weeks. The Kings fell 3-2 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins on the fourth game of their seven-game road trip but even then managed to pick up a point. That’s just how good this team has been as of late. Even when they didn’t look as good as they have in recent games, they were still able to come out positively.
For the most part this last month, it’s either been the Kings dominating and clearly being in control of the game or coming out on the short end of a really tight, hard-fought battle. Ever since that terrible loss to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 25, the Kings haven’t had a bad game. It was another one of those close, back-and-forth games that the Kings couldn’t close out.
“Tight game, kind of like the Jersey game […] I thought up 2-1 with six, seven minutes left obviously it’s frustrating when you don’t come away with two points,” said forward Adrian Kempe.
Top Line Provides The Offense
Whenever the Kings have needed a spark or something to get going offensively, Kempe and Anze Kopitar along with whoever has been on their left wing have answered the bell almost every time. Those two are the most reliable forwards on this team and no matter who is playing alongside them, they find a way to get things done.
With the way the Kopitar line started off this game, you would have thought it was going to be another blowout. Just a fast, crisp start which led to a Kempe goal, 33 seconds in. They got the puck into the offensive zone right from the drop of the puck and scored on their second shot of the game as Kopitar slid a perfect pass out front to a wide-open Kempe at the top of the crease.
The Kings were without forward Trevor Moore again, due to an upper-body injury which resulted in the young and extremely talented Alex Turcotte skating on that top line with Kopitar and Kempe for the second game in a row.
Since his first game of the season, it’s been apparent that Turcotte can play anywhere in the lineup and make a positive impact. He’s been one of the most pleasant surprises for the Kings this season and he continues to impress and excel as each game goes by. His production levels seem to surge when playing with Kopitar and Kempe and there’s no doubt the three of them gel really well, especially when they are working the puck around in the offensive zone.
After scoring in his first game after being reunited with Kopitar and Kempe, Turcotte found the back of the net again for the second game in a row to give the Kings a 2-1 lead halfway through a second period where the Kings needed something to combat the push the Penguins were enforcing.
“It’s great, obviously I’m trying to help him be as comfortable as he can playing alongside us […] he’s been really good and you know trying to get him to be as comfortable as he can on the wing there making plays and all that kind of stuff and he’s been great over the last couple of weeks whether it’s been with us or not with us,” said Kempe.
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It was a play we haven’t really seen Turcotte make as he showed shades of Moore picking up the puck in the neutral zone in stride after it was flipped out and showing off his speed, driving to the net before wiring one high glove side past Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
“That’s a great goal […] he just beat him (Nedeljkovic) on his own in stride, you know it’s a goal scorer’s goal you love to see it from a guy like Turc,” said head coach Jim Hiller.
Kuemper Strong But Loses Goaltending Battle
The numbers for both the Kings’ goaltenders this season haven’t been anything to brag about. As “clutch” as both David Rittich and Darcy Kuemper have been this season and their ability to come up with that big save a lot of the time, the reason the Kings don’t give up many goals or chances is largely due to their defensive structure and how much attention to detail they pay when defending.
Well, against the Penguins the Kings gave up more than they are used to giving up. Allowing 31 shots against and 10 high-danger shots against, Kuemper saw more rubber and more quality opportunities than he’s been used to seeing this season. However, it wasn’t one-sided. The Kings poured about the same amount onto Nedeljkovic. Both goaltenders came to play and came up with crucial saves for their respective teams that kept this a low-scoring matchup.
Focusing on Kuemper, for a goaltender that hasn’t had to face as many shots or grade-A chances on the regular as he did against the Penguins, it was nice to see that even when the Kings can’t have that perfect game defensively, he is there to carry that weight and keep this group in games. Aside from one weird goal, he did exactly that, stopping 28 of 31 shots for a .903 save percentage as well as stopping eight of the 10 high-danger shots he faced.
One thing that has been a common theme with the Kings’ goaltenders this season has been their contributions to keeping the puck out of the net early in games. Kuemper did that again last night stopping five shots during the Penguins’ first power play of the game six minutes in.
Kuemper was tracking pucks, he was positionally sound, and he came up with multiple game-changing stops that allowed the Kings to be able to collect that one point.
“We gave up a little more than we’re used to but Darc got are back, especially in the third period,” said defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
“Darc played one hell of a game back there, kept us in it many times today so all credit to him,” Kempe said. “He was standing on his head a couple times.”
Kings Don’t Like Overtime
As good as the Kings have been, they have yet to win a game in overtime. Heading into last night’s overtime period the Kings were 0-3 in OT, with losses to the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Chicago Blackhawks. The trend continued, now 0-4 in OT, and they remain winless when attempting to secure the extra point.
It feels a little worse when they had the best chance of the period moments earlier but weren’t able to convert. Gavrikov was in all alone on a breakaway but couldn’t manage to hit the net. It wasn’t as if the Kings gave up such a great opportunity against as well. It was a redirection from Rickard Rakell, who was just skating in front of the net, that sealed the deal.
It’s a bit funny that a team that has been so comfortable in closing out one-goal games hasn’t been able to come out on top once in four attempts during the extra five minutes. While winning in OT seems to be a struggle for the Kings, it’s not that big of a deal right now.
The Kings will remain in Pennsylvania for one more game as they head over to Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia Flyers in an attempt to do what they do best: Bounce back and respond after a loss.
