Waking up with the Kings: December 24

Contrary to what had been floated around a little bit, the Kings’ seven-game leg of nine consecutive games away from Staples Center wasn’t going to be a make-or-break stretch of the season unless they did something like win zero or one games. They ended up winning three and taking points in five of seven, and a .571 points percentage is completely acceptable for a team that has tied for the fewest home games played in the conference and has at least one game in hand on the teams directly above and below them in the division. It’s tough for the players to surrender that second point to a team hot on their heels – and there was clear disappointment shown by many win the immediate aftermath of the game – but once L.A. came back from a third period deficit to force overtime, they were kind of playing with house money. Dallas also deserves credit for etching out a strong performance on a night in which they faced personnel challenges and dressed seven defensemen.

A pair of poor line changes cost the Kings twice, with John Klingberg, Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin connecting on a bang-bang-bang three-on-two off a long L.A. change, with Derek Forbort and Devin Setoguchi left to defend the rush. In overtime, Jeff Carter, presented with a developing chance upon entering the offensive zone, wasn’t able to work the puck to a teammate in a more dangerous area, and the Stars took advantage of the Kings’ limited puck management as Jamie Benn created a few yards of space on a three-on-two and issued a perfect saucer pass to a net-crashing Esa Lindell for the game winner. Carter also scored twice and enters the Christmas break tied with David Pastrnak and Patrick Laine for second in the league with 19 goals, so there’s that, too.

Overtime is tough on goaltenders, and Jeff Zatkoff probably deserved a little bit better than the three goals against indicated in the box score. Both he and Peter Budaj combined for a .960 save percentage since the Buffalo game, and a positive trend in net came to define a portion of the most recent five games in which the team rose from 29th in the league to 18th in save percentage.

Happy first night of Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, Insiders. This site will remain relatively quiet until the Ontario-Bakersfield game on the 26th, which I’ll cover from CBBA. Here’s to spending this time with family, friends and those important to you! Let’s talk soon, Insiders.