Waking up with the Kings: January 22

The Kings are having a difficult time generating momentum right now. After their third consecutive regulation loss decided by either one goal or one goal plus an empty-netter, it’s clear that this is an offensively challenged team strained by key absences on its roster, but given some of the opponents that were unable to play in recent losses – Jamie Benn, Victor Hedman, Logan Couture, or in last night’s case, stalwart right-pairing defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic – it’s evident that it is very possible to win games when facing significant personnel challenges. But with the loose thought that perhaps a team might be able to build upon a home-and-home sweep of an important interstate rival, Los Angeles has instead gone 3-5-0 in the eight games since. These 22-win Kings haven’t done enough at this point of the season to be in a Wild Card slot, but to look up and see the 22-win Vancouver Canucks between themselves and a playoff position does perk up the eyes and ears, if they hadn’t been shifted already, as to the current time, place and predicament of the season.

The trajectory of the game took an unfortunate turn for the Kings when Jason Chimera scored early on a non-scoring chance play. Prior to that, Los Angeles had dominated the first two and a half shifts of the game, led by a King-Kopitar-Gaborik trio that had pinned New York back in its own end and generated a quality early Anze Kopitar scoring chance off a redirection. Immediately prior to Chimera’s goal, Nic Dowd had actually won the faceoff back towards his right defenseman, but into an area where it made Tom Gilbert think for a moment while reading the play, allowing Chimera to scoop up the puck and gain momentum when carrying it into the offensive zone. That hesitation was natural for a player who was playing in his first game since December 22, but it’s really a moot point when a winger shoots on a one-on-one from the boards above the left wing hash marks and may have missed the net had Peter Budaj’s mask not gotten in the way. While the goal, which was clearly against the run of play, may have disrupted the momentum of where the game could have been heading, it’s still overshadowed by the fact that the Kings allowed three power play goals – two in five-on-four play, plus an empty-netter – to a team that entered the game 29th in the league on the man advantage and was 0-for-21 in the six games prior to Saturday night.

There has been ample Jake Muzzin appreciation on this column over the years, and much of it has been warranted, given his rise from a player signed to a free agent contract to someone who shook out some inconsistencies in his game to serve as a defensive pillar of the team’s 2014 Stanley Cup run to someone selected to play for Team Canada at the World Cup. But whatever parts of his game had served him so well in prior years haven’t always been there consistently this season, and he was beaten on the game-winner when Anders Lee, a familiar presence in front of the net, was able to establish position between him and the shooter, Nick Leddy. It’s not clear whether his game or approach have been affected by the honor of representing his country on a high international stage, but 46 games into the season, those inconsistencies that had affected him earlier in his career haven’t fully been eradicated. On the other hand, he’s played 204 consecutive games and averages 22 minutes a night, and with the type of opposition he faces, especially on a night in which he was returned along Drew Doughty’s side, there are going to inevitably be some mistakes. Also worth noting: Andy Andreoff, who had played only once the Christmas break, had an impact in his 12-plus minutes of work, taking four shots and starting the play that led to the game-tying goal by getting in on a forecheck and earning himself an assist.