Waking up with the Kings: March 10

Several abbreviated notes from Los Angeles’ 4-2 win over Edmonton on Sunday:

-Offensive zone time. The Los Angeles Kings were the far superior team in puck possession and generating chances for the second consecutive game. The longer a team spends in the offensive zone, the greater the probability that it will score greasy goals such as Jeff Carter’s pass that banked off Philip Larsen’s skate 1:36 into the game. Not only did the Kings do a fine job in generating shot attempts, they were getting shots through at an excellent rate. A good glimpse towards the larger picture between the two teams can be summarized in the percentage of shots that found their way to the net. Of Los Angeles’ 78 total shot attempts, 50 were on goal (64.1%). Of Edmonton’s 56 total shot attempts, 27 were on goal (48.2%). Though the Kings possessed the puck for a much longer period of time, L.A. out-blocked the Oilers 17-14.

-The Kings were very good without the puck in the offensive zone as well. Trevor Lewis was rewarded justly for kickstarting an effective forecheck on the team’s fourth goal. He made a hit on Justin Schultz in the right corner to free up enough time for Jeff Carter to skate below the left hashmarks and get a stick on an Andrew Ference attempted pass. Carter retrieved the puck on the turnover as Lewis quickly found a soft spot in the slot and redirected the centering feed up high past Ben Scrivens. There are several hockey terms that apply here: “moving your feet,” “keeping it simple,” etc.

-Jake Muzzin took a game-high seven shots, did not have any attempts blocked, and invented a new way of pronouncing “Martinez” following the game.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad night for Muzzin.

-Speaking of Martinez, he’s clearly seizing control of the opportunity provided and now has a four-game point streak and goals in three of four games. His ice time totals during the streak don’t exactly compare with The Wolf of Wall Street’s running time, but he’s been very useful in the situations he has earned ice time in, and on Sunday scored the goal that gave the Kings a lead they did not relinquish. Not that BLOCKS equals DEFENSE, but with a game-high four blocked shots last night in 13:16 of ice time, he’s certainly displaying versatility and showing that he’s not afraid to step in front of a shot to help his team out.