The Los Angeles Kings have had a terrific few weeks and a successful road trip to date. This past stretch has solidified them as one of the best teams in the NHL. Heading into Nashville to take on the Predators you would think this would be a game where they would have no trouble securing a win. The hottest team in the league vs the team with the worst record in the league. That’s just not how the NHL works. There’s so much parity in this league that any team can win on any given night.
Also, consider the fact that the Kings are playing the sixth game of their seven-game road trip. They have been on the road for about 15 days. Fatigue starts to catch up to teams during the late stages of long road trips, and that was evident on Saturday morning as they fell 3-2 to the Predators. Even then, considering all this, the Kings still managed to pick up a point.
Do you get mad at the fact that they dropped a point against the worst team in the league or do you find comfort that after only playing a perfect 20 minutes of that game they managed to force overtime? You can look at it both ways but I think it’s necessary to point out that while the Predators have the worst record, their personnel doesn’t accurately paint “worst team in the NHL.” That is still a team with a strong group of guys and they showed up.
Fatigue Catching Up to Them
It’s clear that the biggest reason that the Kings lost this game was the fact that they were outskated. It’s not that the effort wasn’t there; it’s reasonable for this group not to have a full tank of gas at this stage in the road trip.
Breakouts, connecting on passes, and communication, all were things the Kings were struggling with throughout the first two periods. They weren’t moving the puck fast enough and the Predators’ forecheck did a great job of being aggressive right away. It was uncharacteristic for the Kings to look as disjointed as they did and it played a big part in their inability to generate a lot of chances during the first 40 minutes.
Moving the puck up the ice was a problem in the second period and it seemed as if they were a step behind. They did not register their first shot of the period until the 11:58 mark and only managed to muster up four shots total in that second period.
“A big thing was breakouts honestly, it’s not just the defense it’s the forwards too, getting to the right spots, getting open for them, and communication […] they were kind of hemming us in for those first two periods with those forechecks,” said forward Quinton Byfield.
Another Massive Third Period
The Kings’ performance in the third period continues to affect the outcome of the game. In back-to-back games, they didn’t play their best in the first two periods but a perfect 20 minutes of “Kings hockey” has been enough for them to either pull out a win or force OT.
Down 2-0 heading into the third, the Kings dug deep and scored two goals to tie the game up. Byfield got them on the board just over nine minutes in. Warren Foegele found Byfield near the slot and he made no mistake. Shortly after it was Alex Laferriere picking up his career-high 13th goal of the season, the classic way the Kings have generated goals this season. Joel Edmundson found a shooting lane from the point and Laferriere was there in front to shovel home the rebound.
The Kings had the most amount of high-danger chances in the third period with three, their Corsi for percentage (CF%) and Fenwick percentage (FF%) were the highest in the third, and their expected goals against were lower than the previous two periods. Both offensively and defensively, the Kings we are used to seeing showed up in the third period.
It just shows that as long as the Kings play their game, they have a good chance of winning almost every night. Their style of play has proven successful, the problem is that it’s taxing on the body and after a long time on the road it’s not a surprise they weren’t able to deliver that type of performance for a full 60 minutes. What’s even more remarkable is that they didn’t need a full 60-minute performance to pick up a point. Now, obviously collecting only one point is never the goal but for a team that didn’t have that same jump for the first 40 minutes, it’s a positive sign that when it comes to crunch time they can and will leave it all on the ice.
“That’s the most important period right there […] it just shows the commitment that we have and the will that we want to win. I think everyone when it comes to the third ups their game and really wants it,” said Byfield.
Related: Kings Shouldn’t Be Too Concerned With Byfield’s Lack of Production
Overtime remains a challenge the Kings can’t seem to conquer now 0-4 on the season.
The road trip is finally coming to a close, a big test awaits this group as the Kings will head over to D.C. to take on the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals. Not only has that fatigue started to kick in being on the road, but they are playing one of the best teams in the league and will be on a back-to-back.
“Well I think it’s going to really test our character because we have played hard, we have been out here for 14 days and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow because I believe in our team,” said head coach Jim Hiller.
