Being on the road for as long as the Los Angeles Kings have to start the season is difficult. Not only that, but there are a bunch of new faces trying to fit in, an entirely new system the players are trying to get used to, and multiple injuries with two of them being this team’s best defenseman and starting goaltender. Through all of that, the Kings have managed to pick up six points out of a possible 10.
A different team showed up against the Montreal Canadiens, performance-wise and lineup-wise and by that, I mean line combinations. Kings head coach Jim Hiller juggled up the lines hoping for some sort of spark. Quinton Byfield, who started the season at center, was moved up to the first line on Anze Kopitar’s wing where he played a majority of last season. Alex Turcotte was given a chance in the top nine centering the third line. The defensive pairs were all changed as well.
“What really predicated that was Alex Turcotte’s play, it allowed us to say, you know what it looks like he can get a chance in the three-hole, let’s get Quinton back with his line,” Hiller said. “We talked about it as a staff and we just felt we were lacking a little mojo and long trip, last game on the trip, let’s try and do something and get some more energy into the team.”
It was the first game aside from maybe the Boston Bruins game that the Kings could walk away and say they played a good game. They spent extended periods in the offensive zone multiple times throughout the game and it was really the first time this season that they were able to get a decent cycle going and have multiple lines switch through while keeping the play alive in the Canadiens end. It was a performance that was well-needed to settle everyone down and not have anyone hitting the panic button.
“We felt we were playing really well […] after five or six shifts you get a pretty good sense of if your team is ready to play and are they going and we were going from the drop of the puck,” said Hiller.
Generated Offense From The Point
The Kings scored three goals (the fourth was an empty netter), all of which came from the point. The cycle and offensive zone pressure led to the Kings being able to activate their defensemen and allowed them to get pucks on net. Mikey Anderson unloaded one from downtown after Kopitar won the faceoff, Alex Laferriere redirected a Jordan Spence shot from the blue line, and Andreas Englund gave the Kings a 3-1 lead with his snapper from up top. The Kings have been wanting to be a team that can generate chances off the rush and they had multiple chances, even a few breakaways, but utilizing that area up top near the blue line is where they were able to find success against Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault.
Penalty Kill Rebounded
The penalty kill has been something that has been talked about a lot but that’s because it’s either been extremely good or extremely bad. Yesterday’s game against Montreal was one of those where the penalty kill was extremely good. The Kings are still getting into penalty trouble as they once again gave up five power play opportunities. While it’s a concern that this team is shorthanded that many times every game, what’s important is that they were able to kill all five of them against the Canadiens. Special teams need to be good in order to win games and this one could have gone differently if the penalty kill hadn’t been as structured and committed to their system as it was.
Rittich Did His Job
“Big Save Dave” as the hockey community likes to call Kings backup David Rittich made a few big saves yesterday. The only goal he gave up he should have had. He bit too early and Morgan Barron beat him to the far post on a wraparound. From there on out he shut it down, making more than a few key saves as the Kings tried to keep their one-goal lead for quite some time.
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I’ve said this in the past but in order for Rittich to be the most successful his workload needs to be limited. It’s important for everyone to understand that he isn’t a starting goaltender, so he shouldn’t be expected to perform like one. With Darcy Kuemper out, and for how long we don’t know, it’s going to be crucial for the Kings’ coaching staff to recognize he can’t be overworked and not rely on him to be that number one guy.
The Kings are finally done with the eastern part of their road trip and they will head back home to California to take on the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday for their second last game before their home opener against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 24.
