After managing to squeak out a win in a game where they shouldn’t have against the Buffalo Sabres, the Los Angeles Kings came out with a much better effort against the Boston Bruins, although this time the result wasn’t exactly what they wanted. The Kings picked up a point, falling 2-1 to the Bruins in overtime. It was the seventh consecutive game between these two teams that required overtime.
The Kings got back to that high-paced, energized start that we saw during the preseason and it allowed them to settle into the game quicker, get comfortable, and be the team that puts you on your heels early. Right off the bat, the Kings were able to get into the offensive zone and start cycling the puck. Something that wasn’t even in their vocabulary a couple of nights ago. While it was an extremely tight, defensively sound game with neither team giving up much, LA controlled a majority of the play and had the better of the chances, outshooting the Bruins 34-25.
Penalty Kill Looks Stellar, Power Play Does Not
There have been a couple of ups and downs throughout the first two games of the season but one thing that has remained a consistent positive has been the amount of success the Kings penalty kill has had. Over the first two games, the Kings have killed all 10 penalties they have taken. They killed five in Buffalo and went another 5/5 in Boston. The penalty kill has been one of the biggest reasons why LA has three points.
In both games, the penalty kill had to get to work early and against the Bruins, the Kings killed a massive penalty just before overtime. To no one’s surprise, it’s that same aggressive mentality that kept the Bruins from being able to set up and generate anything. The Kings also started to step up on the blue line, causing the Bruins to get caught offside. Another important thing to mention is that their aggression and constant desire to disrupt the amount of time and space they are giving to their opponents has led to multiple shorthanded opportunities.
“It just shows how committed we are to being aggressive […] I really like the penalty kill right now, you can use your skating, use your legs, and get some offensive opportunities,” said forward Quinton Byfield.
While the penalty kill has been as good as it can be, the power play has been the complete opposite. The Kings had five power plays against the Bruins and 10 in total so far this season, only capitalizing on one of them. Operating at just 10%, it’s nowhere near where it needs to be. It’s understandable to a certain extent why it has struggled early considering Brandt Clarke and Alex Laferriere are still getting accustomed to it on that first unit.
Related: How the Los Angeles Kings Stack Up Against All 7 Pacific Division Opponents
Those growing pains along with what looks to be a struggling Kevin Fiala have caused that first unit a lot of difficulty in terms of being able to generate on the power play. It’s only been two games and it’s obviously nothing to start panicking about just yet. As Clarke and Laferriere continue to get more comfortable, and Fiala eases into the season more and not bobbling as many pucks or forcing plays that aren’t there, the Kings’ first unit is bound to produce with the amount of talent and skill featured on it.
Brutal Overtime Performance
The Kings didn’t even give themselves a chance to win in overtime. Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper made a couple of big saves in the early stages of overtime and the only real opportunity the Kings had was a Byfield breakaway that was stopped by Jeremy Swayman. After a defensively sound and otherwise solid three periods from the Kings, all of that went out the window when overtime came around. Overtime is a game of possession and LA didn’t possess the puck at all. They reacted too quickly, giving pucks away for absolutely no reason. Trevor Moore stripped David Pastrnak of the puck and had the opportunity to skate it up the ice on a 3-on-1 with Byfield and Clarke. Instead, he chipped the puck ahead too far for Clarke to reach and the Bruins were able to go back in on the attack against Moore and Byfield who were gassed. If Moore had a little bit more patience and recognized the odd man rush about to form, Pastrnak’s overtime winner would have never happened.
“Two guys were really tired and that’s what will get you every time in overtime,” said Kings head coach Jim Hiller. “I think we had a chance to execute a little bit better both with the puck and defensively […] just didn’t get it done and the puck ended up on the wrong guy’s stick.”
There was a major improvement in the way the Kings played yesterday against the Bruins and ultimately it allowed them to collect that point. Starting off the game strong and ready to go is key. The Kings are going to need to do that again tomorrow (Oct. 14) against the Ottawa Senators, a fast and highly-talented team.
It’s another early one for us on the west coast. Puck drop is set for 10 a.m. PST.
