Waking up with the Kings: March 12

Several abbreviated observations from the Kings’ 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals:

-There is only one thing the Kings and Syrio Forel say to death: ‘Not today.’ At a pivotal crossroads in their season in which back-to-back losses to Washington and St. Louis would’ve necessitated the Lord of Light to revive Jon Snow their season, the Capitals of the Harpy were thwarted as Adrian Kempe’s Drogon-like rescue from Mereen provided a memorable moment in a season that’s going to need a few more of them. (Season 7 premiers on July 16, Insiders.) (There will be no more forced Game of Thrones references this month.) Los Angeles and Jonathan Quick successfully stymied the heavy majority Washington’s chances, but don’t mistake 19 shots on goal for a dearth of high quality opportunities; until the home stretch of Saturday’s game, the Capitals had more scoring chances than shots on goal, and a significant portion of them were of high quality. Whether Alex Ovechkin being left alone in front, Derek Forbort’s poke check on Tom Wilson, or the two posts Washington hit in the second period, L.A. relied on strong play in its own end while also benefiting from an opponent that’s wading through its own five-on-five scoring issues.

-It’s impressive that the Kings were able to win a game against the President’s Trophy favorites by using three players on a defense who were playing their 81st NHL game (Derek Forbort), 48th NHL game (Kevin Gravel) and 10th NHL game (Paul LaDue). Forbort was challenged on Marcus Johansson ‘s power move right through him to set up TJ Oshie’s second period goal, but by and large the defense, led by NHL veterans Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez, held tight against a forceful opponent that has a deep and mobile defense and four capable scoring lines. Martinez made an important play under Evgeny Kuznetzov pressure in setting up Marian Gaborik’s rebound goal, using his skate to kick the puck towards Anze Kopitar, who toe dragged before putting the puck on net. Crediting his “Spanish heritage” in a brief chat after the game, that soccer play was a key moment that allowed the Kings to tie the game and establish their footing as the game progressed.

-Los Angeles by and large received strong performances from its top players, and Anze Kopitar has strung together his second most productive seven-game stretch of the season, but there are still several names who the Kings are going to need to wring production out of if they’re to make the playoffs. Tyler Toffoli was entrusted with preserving a one-goal lead late in the game, but he logged only 11:42 of ice time, his second lowest total of the season. Among the reasons for the depressed rate was that he was assigned only 33 seconds of power play work, and after a season in which he registered nine power play goals, he has only two this season and none since November 10. There are still a number of situations in which Toffoli has succeeded in – he’s still among the many capable and defensively attuned options on one of the league’s top penalty kills, and can play in virtually all game situations – but with the top power play unit sagging late in the season, the arrival of Jarome Iginla and Marian Gaborik’s recent scoring uptick, he’s going to have to earn back some of his minutes on the man advantage.