The 2023-24 season has had its fair share of ups and downs for the Los Angeles Kings. It started with a fiery few months where they sat as one of the favorites to win the Western Conference, to firing their head coach just weeks later. Through the injuries and inconsistency, they have now found a rhythm and are poised to make a deep playoff run if they can continue their play.
Getting Goaltending
In a season where franchise goaltenders Ilya Sorokin, Juuse Saros, and Jake Oettinger have struggled and career backups Anthony Stolarz, Joey Daccord, and Connor Ingram have thrived, the Kings have had a mix of both elite goaltending and blowout losses. The season began with Cam Talbot as the starter, playing at an All-Star caliber for the first few months. Once he started to struggle, David Rittich replaced the injured Phoenix Copley and began his incredible run. The two have become an elite pairing, helping lead the Kings to winning nine of their past 12.
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In the past 12 games, the team has posted one shutout, one goal against five times, and two goals against twice. With both Talbot and Rittich getting starts in this stretch, the goaltending success can be attributed to more than just the netminders. Interim head coach Jim Hiller has stabilized the defense, helping prevent high-danger scoring chances from the front of the net. The Kings have an elite defense, and it makes sense to maximize these defenders’ abilities.
This change is best seen in the team’s most recent win against the New Jersey Devils on March 3. Another team that has struggled with their goaltending, they have had to rely on their offense to get points in the standings. Captain Nico Hischier opened the scoring, with a backhand shot from near the net. An unlucky bounce led to a turnover from Quinton Byfield, and the Devils went up 1-0 just 15 seconds into the game.
From there, the Kings played a dominant 59:45 of hockey, preventing chances from around the net and limiting the Devils to shots from the perimeter and the point. They scored five straight, including a hat trick from Phillip Danault to cap off the big win. A strong performance from the entire lineup showed it is a team effort to keep the puck out of the net, and the Kings are more than capable of doing so.
Powerplay Cruises
A team with the stars to have a dominant powerplay has spent the majority of this season in the middle of the pack in powerplay percentage league-wide. However, five powerplay goals in their past five games have left optimism as the team heads into the final months of the season.
In the past five games, the Kings have faced top teams, such as the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. Nonetheless, the powerplay has shined due to great passing, likely a result of chemistry and confidence. Kevin Fiala’s powerplay goal against the Devils is a prime example of this passing, where a faceoff win gave the unit puck possession.
Drew Doughty fed Fiala as he got near the slot where he passed to the goal line to Anze Kopitar before he returned the puck for a prime scoring chance. Fiala capitalized to give the team a three-goal lead. The three crisp passes in a matter of seconds put the Devils’ penalty kill unit in a blender and should set the precedent of what the Kings need to do to maintain this powerplay success.
The biggest takeaway from this recent stretch is that this team is capable of going as far in the playoffs as they want to. They can beat any team in the league, but they need to play to their abilities. Sticking to their strengths will take this well-rounded group far and could add to the already strong trophy cases for veterans Kopitar and Doughty.
