Angeles Analysis – First Homestand

We are off and skating, Insiders!

If you can call two games a homestand then we’ve got one in the books, and for the purpose of getting one of these in here today, we’re going to call it a homestand. Last season, the Kings picked up two points from their first two home games, as they did this season. Both had their pros and cons, and some ways it feels different, while in others it feels the same.

The positives from this season stem from a convincing win on Thursday, and a relatively evenly played game on Saturday. On another night, the Kings walk away with a point, or maybe two, from the game versus the Wild. A season ago, we didn’t have that convincing performance like we saw on Thursday, though the Kings were in perhaps a better position to win both games last season, with a multi-goal lead on consecutive games. Overall, the feeling is more positive this season than last, despite identical point totals.

On the flip side though, you walked away in both instances wishing you had more than just the two points. Last year, the reasoning was obvious. This year, Saturday’s game wasn’t a one-sided loss, but a game the Kings could have won. There were stretches during that game where you expected to see them ahead. Others where you might’ve thought they’d be down by more. But, against a strong opponent, you saw the Kings right in that game, with the chance to make it 2-of-2.

Alas though, it was half the spoils from Opening Weekend.

When we look at how the team performed, the obvious headline was the performances put in by the big guns. Anze Kopitar leads all NHL players in goals (4) and points (7), while Drew Doughty leads all defensemen with six points, and all players regardless of position with five assists. For all the talk of the new additions, and we saw some good things from those players, it was the tried and true leadership core doing their thing in the first two games.

“It started off with Brownie playing hard, he set the tone for us early with some big hits and a big goal and the rest of the team followed him,” Doughty said, after the Vegas game. “Kopi stepped up with a hat trick and I got in there with a goal and a couple of assists. The leadership group, I know we’re getting older or whatever you want to say, but we’re still driven, we want to win again, that’s all we care about. We go out and lead by example, play our butts off and that’s what we’re going to do every night.”

Taking a deeper dive though, it was also about the way we saw the Kings play, not just the end result. The Kings have preached the word aggressive throughout training camp. But, until we actually saw it in action, that’s just a word.

On Thursday night, I think we all saw it in action. The Kings were tenacious on pucks, forcing turnovers both on the forecheck and on the backcheck, using defensemen to create odd-man rush situations, while giving their opponents little time and space on the puck.

Two days later, Minnesota made life difficult on the Kings to do the same things. I didn’t feel that the Kings sat back a ton more but that in a different style of game, it was harder to see the concepts in action. The Wild did a good job of making life more difficult than it was one night one. Thursday was an open-ended, free-flowing contest, whereas Saturday was played in the trenches and along the boards. Two different style games, with the Kings finding more success in the former rather than the latter. As the season progresses, something to keep an eye on will be can the group learn how to win both ways, including those trench-battle type situations.

Back on individuals, the new guys chipped in as well – Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault opened their accounts with the Kings, with Arvidsson tallying a point in both games. Vladimir Tkachev had a pair of assists on opening night, while Alex Edler had a massive defensive play, breaking up a 4-on-1 rush against, and showcased his stability alongside Sean Walker.

“I think it’s important for them to feel comfortable around their teammates and they all want to have an impact right away, they all want to carry that forward,” Todd McLellan said. “To have a good first night with your new team, you can go home, put your head on the pillow and feel good about it. Now, you come back to work tomorrow and the experience that those three guys have should keep us at an even keel and allow us to get back to work tomorrow and get ready for a tough game on Saturday.”

I also felt that Danault specifically had a strong introduction to Kings fans, showcasing many of the little things he does well over the course of the two games. While not an imposingly big player, Danault has “don’t judge a book by his cover” strength on the puck, getting a low center of gravity that makes him hard to knock off. Whether it’s his support of the play in the defensive zone, an active stick in the neutral zone, or his ability to find soft spots on the ice in the offensive end, it was made clear that Danault’s impact will be much greater than the sum of his goals plus assists.

Looking ahead, we’re heading into a little bit on uncharted territory. The Kings head to Nashville and Dallas, two teams they haven’t faced on the road since the 2018-19 season. A season ago, Nashville was a bubble-in playoff team, while Dallas finished as a bubble-out playoff team. The Predators greatly outperformed their expected goals conceded metrics, while Dallas fell short of their expected goals scored figures. Two different scenarios, with both teams probably a bit more towards the mean than what resulted, and a pair of interesting tests away from home.

Something to watch for on the road is how the Kings are able to position their matchups, with the greater array of options at their disposal. With last change at home, the Kings naturally have more control over their matchups. With a pair of high-level, two-way centers at their disposal though, perhaps the onus on getting Kopitar’s matchups perfect is lesser, considering Danault’s presence.

We’re back at it tomorrow, with a morning skate in Nashville prior to a puck drop at 7 PM local time, 5 PM back in California. Giddy Up.