After dropping five straight games and making the Pacific Division standings a lot more interesting than they need to be, the Los Angeles Kings have strung together three consecutive wins since the trade deadline, their latest coming against the New York Islanders by a score of 4-1. Now, with 77 points, only one behind the Edmonton Oilers for second in the Pacific, the Kings have flipped the page and are making strides toward first place in their division.
For two conservative, defensively focused clubs, this game was completely wide open with loads of chances for both teams all game. Islanders vs Kings is the last matchup you would expect to be an entertaining, high-paced, and high-octane offense game, but this one most definitely was.
The Kings picked up the two points, but their performance wasn’t all that pretty for multiple reasons. Turnovers, penalties, and blown coverage were masked by solid goaltending, the penalty kill, and, surprisingly, the offense.
Byfield Is On a Heater
Quinton Byfield has been a bit of a hot topic as of late, and for good reason. The 22-year-old is feeling the strongest and most confident he has all season and, as a result, has goals in four straight games. The Kings’ offense has another layer when Byfield is shooting the puck with confidence, and right now, that’s all he is doing.
It wasn’t like Byfield wasn’t getting his chances or looks earlier on in the season, but it was his inability to hit the net most of the time that kept him from racking up the goals. Throughout this season, different parts of his game have developed and shined at different times, and now it seems as if all of that is coming together, making him the most dangerous and complete he has been in his career.
While production was slow throughout the first few months of the season, Byfield showed his capabilities of being defensively responsible down the middle. His two-way game was noticeable, and he was making a positive impact on both sides of the ice despite not landing on the scoresheet a ton. Since the tail end of January, the production side of his game has really taken off, and it’s something he’s clearly been building on as these games go by. He has 17 points in his last 18 games, six of which are goals. His playmaking and distribution of the puck were the first parts of his offense to take off, and playing alongside Kevin Fiala has made all of this that much easier.
Now, with him not only ripping pucks but hitting the net, Byfield is finding the back of the net consistently. Out of the four goals he has scored in the past four games, three of them have come as a result of his wicked shot, and all of them have come from the left side of the ice. Whether he’s looking short side or far side, watch out if Byfield has space to shoot the puck from anywhere on that left side because right now, he’s automatic.
Kings Kill 8 Penalties
Usually, when you take eight penalties in a game, you don’t end up winning, and if you do end up winning, the odds you kill off all eight are even more rare. I guess the exception to that is when you are up against the Islanders’ power play, which ranks dead last in the NHL, only operating at 11.9 percent.
Taking eight penalties in a game is unacceptable, but killing all eight is remarkable. The Kings stuck to their aggressive structure for the most part, and although officially the Kings went 8/8 on the penalty kill, the Islanders did find the back of the net twice. Fortunately for the Kings, both times the Islanders scored on the power play, they challenged it for goaltender interference and were successful. After killing eight penalties, the Kings jumped up four spots and now have the eighth-best penalty kill percentage in the league at 81.8 percent.
The penalty kill was the key difference maker in this game, and without the Kings’ effort to dig deep, along with a solid performance from Darcy Kuemper from start to finish, they probably wouldn’t have gone home with the two points.
“It’s just unacceptable to have that many penalties, but obviously (we) got to be better in that, and I mean great job killers, and Darcy made (some) huge saves for us so (that) kept us alive,” defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov said.
Kuemper’s Reliability Continues to Be Crucial
Speaking of Kuemper, he never really seems to slow down or give the Kings any reason to believe that he isn’t a consistent number one goaltender who can be the anchor this team needs in a seven-game playoff series. This game could have looked a lot differently if Kuemper hadn’t been dialled in, especially early.
Kuemper finished the night making 33 saves for a .971 save percentage (SV%), the highest SV% he has recorded this season aside from the two shutouts he’s had. It’s been the story of Kuemper bailing out his team when they need it the most that seems to be on repeat this season, and once again, that was the case. The Kings had the early jump in terms of offensive zone pressure and puck possession, which means the Islanders didn’t generate a ton, only registering six shots on goal in the first period. Kuemper didn’t see a lot of action, but what he faced was of quality. Out of those six shots, three were essentially breakaways right down the middle, and the rest were point-blank shots. Kuemper stood his ground and handled all of them, allowing the Kings to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Related: Kings Takeaways: Byfield’s OT Winner vs Blues Snaps 5-Game Losing Streak
The second period was where he really got busy, facing 17 shots. The Kings love to let teams have their massive push in the second period. In almost every game, the opposition dominates the middle frame, and nothing was different last night. As well as Kuemper played, the shot from Islanders forward Anders Lee that beat him was a softie that went through the wickets. Aside from that, he showed why he is the Kings’ number one guy. It’s his calmness and positioning in the crease that allow him to be set and square to the puck for almost every shot. It’s rare you see Kuemper flustered or needing to make an acrobatic, dramatic save, and it’s because of how good he is at reading the play and anticipating where the puck is going to be.
Kuemper’s expected goals against last night was 4.12, and he faced 13 high-danger chances, stopping all 13. Those 13 high danger saves were the second-highest amount he has stopped all season. He could have easily had a shutout, but for him to come out of that game only allowing one goal tells you everything you need to know about how big of a part he played in the Kings picking up the win.
The Kings will look to keep collecting points and make it four straight wins on Thursday (March 13) when they host Alexander Ovechkin and the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals.
