Moving to 2-1 on a season-long nine consecutive games away from Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings did not benefit from as tight of checking as the score would indicate, but rather outstanding penalty killing and for the first time this season had their bacon saved by a goaltender who stole them a win in an arena housing the defending champions that has been inhospitable for visitors this season. The Penguins, who entered the game having scored six, five, eight, five, four, seven and four goals over their seven-game winning streak, were simply unable to bury the puck and fumbled several hand-offs and one-time attempts during their four unsuccessful power plays. As part of the effective shorthanded performance, which is now up to 13 successful kills in a row, Anze Kopitar beat Sidney Crosby on a weak-side faceoff in Los Angeles’ zone to begin 30 seconds of a five-on-three, denying the pristine looks that could’ve been afforded to several of the league’s most elite offensive performers. When notified prior to the Detroit game that the Kings’ faceoff percentage since Thanksgiving ranked first in the league, Darryl Sutter said that he was not interested in overall net team faceoff numbers and instead preferred more precise data from “nine different dots, nine different situations, three-on-three, four-on-four, four-on-five, five-on-four, lefty-versus-righty, righty-versus-lefty, forehand, backhand.” The Kopitar three-on-five win only incrementally increased Los Angeles’ rate but served as a very important moment in a game in which the Kings did not crack 50% overall.
For the first time this season, a Kings goaltender stole a win. There wasn’t a highlight reel of Peter Budaj sprawling saves, but Budaj was always in position to make the save and denied a bevy of B-type Pittsburgh chances as the home team relied on shot volume, especially in the second period, and the visitors benefited from the home team fumbling some hand-offs and their inability to complete impressive playmaking sequences. The game actually began with a very good pace before Los Angeles got into penalty trouble and emerged with a bend-but-don’t-break performance prior to an even third period. Much of what Pittsburgh did to find success in the playoffs was inherent in their performance Friday night. Their checking was quite good, namely their forecheck, and they turned Los Angeles’ zone exits into a chore. Their speed was inherent in their attack, though the Kings did a good job limiting the league’s deepest center corps opportunities down the middle of the ice. Matt Murray was very good when called upon as he made a big save on a Jeff Carter-to-Tyler Toffoli redirect 20 seconds into the game and rapid fire chances by Drew Doughty and Tyler Toffoli early in the third period.
Darryl Sutter and the Kings have found a glitch in the matrix. It has been said that the NHL is a copycat league, which makes Los Angeles’ 18-3 record in games decided in overtime since the start of the 2015-16 season all the more impressive. They’ve been winning faceoffs, checking well, channeling attempts on net wide, protecting the puck well, not forcing opportunities, not banking on shots from distance, and, as was the case on Friday, taking advantage of some good fortune as Phil Kessel broke his stick on a shot attempt that led to a three-on-one that produced the game-winner. As soon as that rush developed, fans might as well have begun packing up their jackets and scarves and heading for the exits. On top of being able to rely on a world-class trio of Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty, Los Angeles’ second unit of Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson and Alec Martinez has also cashed in on its own opportunities – particularly Pearson and Martinez – in collecting extra points and boosting the team’s record in one-goal games.
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