It couldn’t have been a worse game for the Los Angeles Kings as they were run out of SAP Center by the San Jose Sharks last night. They played 20 minutes of that game and in turn, were rewarded with a 7-2 blowout loss. Through 22 games played so far this season, last night was by far the worst version of the Kings that we have seen. It was a sloppy, effortless performance from goaltending to the forwards for the majority of the game.
The Kings have now dropped two games to the Sharks, the second-worst team in the Western Conference. For a team that has had an above-average start to the season, sitting third in the Pacific Division, this was not the type of game the Kings should have lost. This should have been an easy two points for the Kings to collect but because they did everything but show up for most of that game, they didn’t take advantage of playing a lesser opponent.
This is the type of loss that results in people being fired or traded. This was a concerning loss for multiple reasons, especially for a team that hasn’t found a level of consistency. The inability to take advantage of an easier stretch of games will hurt this team down the road, now with losses against the Sharks and Buffalo Sabres.
Embarrassing performance from the Kings tonight. They played 20 minutes of that game and the score shows. Losing to the Sharks is one thing but to get blown out by a bottom three team is something else. The Kings are in need of a major wake up call. #GoKingsGo
— Raz Devraj (@razdevraj) November 26, 2024
Awful First and Third
It’s been a while since the Kings came out with back-to-back strong starts and have been able to get to their game early. They had a great start against the Seattle Kraken a few nights prior and what better opportunity to string a couple together than against the Sharks. Unsurprisingly, that did not happen as Sharks forward Nico Sturm opened the scoring on a breakaway less than two minutes into the game.
The Kings’ most noticeable aspect in the first period was their lack of awareness. They couldn’t connect on passes, put pucks into dangerous areas, had seven giveaways, and came out sloppy and disjointed to start the game. Creating offense is something the Kings have struggled with as of late and in that first period they generated nothing.
The third period was the worst 20 minutes of hockey this group has played all season. From the first faceoff, it went from bad to worse to even worse, and it never got better as the Kings had one of the most epic collapses the league has seen this season, giving up five goals in the third period.
About a minute into the third, Macklin Celebrini found the back of the net from far out along the lefthand boards. It’s a goal that shouldn’t have beaten Kings goaltender David Rittich. That was just the start of a ridiculously bad period for the Kings. Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren scored from the point just over a minute later to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead. It was a goal Kings head coach Jim Hiller opted to challenge for goaltender interference but it ended up standing. That led to the Sharks’ third power play of the game. Seconds into that power play for the Sharks, Kings forward Warren Foegele took a tripping call which caused the Kings to be down two players for 1:41. Celebrini cashed in with his second goal of the game, and just like that, 3:43 into the third period the Kings were out of it.
“Yeah, you’ve got to be better, everybody. It’s not just one guy, it’s not one line, it’s not a defense pair, it’s not just the goalie, it’s the whole crew. That’s a game, 2-2 in a visiting team’s building, you got to get out there and be ready for a fight and we were not ready to just grind it and fight it out, clearly,” said Hiller.
It wasn’t even that the Sharks took it to the Kings and played a better game. The Sharks had zero high danger chances in the third period yet somehow found the back of the net five times. Constant penalties, horrible defensive coverage, questionable goaltending, and the fact that they showed zero pushback led to the Kings losing this game in the third period.
“It’s hard, it was happening quick, so before we knew it, we were down three. Yeah, there’s still a lot of hockey left, but the minds are spinning, so it’s not the easiest thing to do, to refocus and get it going,” said captain Anze Kopitar.
Kings Showed Up for the Second & That’s It
If the Kings played the entire game the way they played the second period we would probably be talking about how they ran up the score against the Sharks. It’s full 60-minute efforts this team lacks and it’s starting to catch up to them in the standings. It shouldn’t take much for a team like the Kings to beat the Sharks but this is the NHL and no matter who you play if there isn’t an effort or a purpose shown, any team can be beaten on any night. When we saw a little bit of that effort from the Kings in the second period, good things were happening.
Related: Kings Have Great Opportunity to Climb Standings With Remaining November Schedule
The Kings had 12 total high-danger chances throughout the game and 10 of them came in the second. Out of the 27 total scoring chances they had, 17 of them were in the second. They outshot the Sharks 13-5 and scored two goals to take a 2-1 lead.
This was obviously a game with little to no positives but one thing we saw last night that we hadn’t seen a whole lot of in previous games was the Kings’ ability to generate offense off the rush, and by Kings I mean Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, two of the very few players who showed up and made a positive impact.
Both goals the Kings scored featured a combination of Kopitar and Kempe gaining the zone and generating a chance right away. It was something this group talked about wanting to do before the season started, something they hoped would come easier as they shifted from the 1-3-1. While a lot of their offense hasn’t been generated off the rush, this is something that fits the Kings’ roster. There is lots of speed up and down their lineup and to be able to capitalize on that speed like Kempe did multiple times last night is going to be key when they play teams who are great at getting into shooting lanes once the Kings have set up in the offensive zone. This could be a start to another layer the Kings can add to the ways they can score goals and one they have been looking to add for quite some time.
The Kings need to take a hard look in the mirror because things are about to get much harder. They are about to embark on a very tough stretch of games over the next couple of weeks and it all starts on Wednesday as they host the NHL’s best Winnipeg Jets. A complete 180 of a performance is going to be needed if they even hope to pull out a win against the Jets.
