Toffoli’s shorthanded production a topic again

Tyler Toffoli has a history of scoring shorthanded goals, having notched 11 with OHL-Ottawa between 2010 and 2012 and three in 58 games with AHL-Manchester in 2012-13.

He has carried his penchant for providing offense while shorthanded to his play with the Kings this year, having totaled a league-leading five shorthanded goals through 68 games. He has more shorthanded goals than power play goals (three) and is the first King to register at least five shorthanded goals in a single season since Pavol Demitra also recorded five during the 2005-06 season.

“I think we make good plays in our own zone and it all starts from there, and obviously [we got] a couple good bounces – Detroit, Philly,” he said. “You’ve got to get a little luck, but you’ve got to work hard in your own zone. The harder you work, the better the chances you’re going to get some breaks, and you’ve got to bear down.”

Toffoli’s third period shorthanded goal was his first since November 15. More importantly, Los Angeles has found success in keeping the puck out of its own net while killing penalties, having killed off 49 of the last 53 shorthanded situations dating back to David Jones’ second period goal in the team’s 5-3 win over Calgary on February 12. Overall, the Kings rank tied for 14th in the league in penalty killing with a rate of 81.4%.

Darryl Sutter noted that of Toffoli’s shorthanded goals, “most of ‘em are odd-man opportunities, and you score on ‘em,” and he’s right, given that only one of his shorthanded goals – his marker earlier in the third period at Detroit on October 31 – wasn’t scored on a rush.

Following the Kings’ morning skate, Toffoli, who ranks third on the team with 22 goals and leads the club with a plus-21 rating, spoke about his shorthanded work and chemistry with Jeff Carter in penalty killing situations.

Tyler Toffoli, on whether he anticipated being a frequent penalty killer early in his career:
No, I think Carts is so good on draws and just makes things easier for us when we kill because I just get up the ice and put as much pressure as I can on them, and we haven’t been spending a whole lot of time in our zone killing. So that obviously makes things a lot easier when you’re out there.

Toffoli, on knowing when to pursue an offensive opportunity when on the penalty kill:
I think they’re just hockey reads, and first things first, you want to get the puck out and not get scored on. If you get a good bounce, a bounce over a D-man’s stick, you’ve got to try to cheat a little bit, but at the same time Carts is such a good skater. He can get from point-A to point-B and I just look for him and go to the net.