It’s not difficult to predict that special-teams play will play a big part in this first-round series between the Kings and the San Jose Sharks. In the regular season, the Kings ranked 21st in power-play efficiency and fourth in penalty-kill efficiency, while the Sharks ranked second in power-play efficiency and 24th in penalty-kill efficiency. The [...]
Archive of posts tagged Penalty kill
Strength vs. strength in special-teams battle
The Kings’ recent penalty-kill success will certainly be put to the test tonight. The Kings have not allowed a power-play goal in 10 consecutive games, but tonight they face a San Jose Sharks team that ranks third in the NHL in power-play efficiency and has been even better than that of late. The Sharks have [...]
Penalty-kill unit put to test again
The Kings’ penalty-kill unit has been strong of late, and figures to get another test tonight against Minnesota. Last night, Anaheim — which is a top-five team in power-play efficiency — got only one power play and did not score. Tonight’s opponent, the Wild, rank seventh in power-play efficiency and have totaled six power-play goals [...]
Nothing `special’ about Kings games lately
Kings games: where power-play goals go to die. That could be the motto of late, given that there hasn’t been a power-play goal scored in three consecutive Kings games. They’re 0-for-6 on the power play and 10-for-10 on the penalty kill. I asked Anze Kopitar today which statistic he thought was more significant. Should there [...]
Special teams doomed Kings against Stars
It would be fair to say that a lack of sustained offense was the biggest culprit in the Kings’ loss last night, but they certainly didn’t help themselves by taking five penalties in the game’s first 35 minutes. The Stars’ power play has been hot of late, and while the Kings killed the first three [...]
Penalty-kill strength turns to weakness
Penalty killing had been a primary strength of the Kings throughout this season. Until recently, they had been in the top 10 in the NHL in penalty-kill efficiency for almost the entire season, and from late October until late December, they never ranked lower than sixth. That has changed of late, as the Kings’ penalty-kill [...]
