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1/28 Preview – Back-To-Back in Florida + Net Special Teams, Anderson’s Value, McLellan Quote

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WHO: Los Angeles Kings (28-17-6) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (31-15-1)
WHAT: NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Saturday, January 28 @ 4:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Amalie Arena – Tampa Bay, FL
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: Bally Sports West – AUDIO – iHeart Radio – TWITTER: @DooleyLAK & @LAKings

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Kings will complete a back-to-back set this evening in Tampa Bay, with the penultimate game before the NHL’s All-Star break.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings snapped a ten-game losing streak against Lightning back in October, with a 4-2 victory on home ice. Forward Phillip Danault scored when the teams met earlier this season and has three points (2-1-3) from three games versus Tampa Bay over the last two seasons. Forwards Blake Lizotte and Adrian Kempe also scored in the first meeting this season.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not hold a morning skate today, coming off of the first leg of the back-to-back yesterday evening.

With goaltender Pheonix Copley getting the start yesterday in Florida, consider Jonathan Quick the likely netminder this evening here in Tampa Bay. Quick earned the win back in October and carries with him an all-time mark of 7-5-3 against the Lightning, with a .919 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against average.

Here’s how the Kings lined up yesterday evening against the Panthers –

Veterans Alex Edler and Brendan Lemieux were the scratched players yesterday evening, with Edler replaced by defenseman Tobias Bjornfot coming out of the game in Philadelphia. Edler has sat in half of back-to-back nights at times this season and could check back in here tonight in Tampa Bay. Lemieux hasn’t played since the game in Nashville, but is a viable option up front should the Kings opt for a lineup change at forward. Wouldn’t be surprised to see either play tonight, but we’ll need to wait until warmups to see if and where they’d check in.

LIGHTNING VITALS: Tampa Bay enters tonight’s game with seven victories from their last nine games played. The Lightning are also 19-4-1 at home this season, tied for the second most wins on home ice in the NHL.

Regular starter Andrei Vasilevskiy has gotten the nod in nine of his team’s last ten games and with the All-Star break upcoming, we’ll expect him to get the start again tonight. Vasilevskiy is 7-3-0 all-time versus the Kings, with a .915 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average.

Per Chris Krenn of Tampa Bay’s team website, here’s how the Lightning aligned during yesterday’s practice –

Forward Brayden Point did not practice yesterday, though it was reported as simply a maintenance day and he should play tonight versus the Kings. Former Kings prospect Erik Cernak is set to feature tonight against the team that drafted him. Forward Steven Stamkos (5-7-12) and Nikita Kucherov (4-8-12) have 12 points each versus the Kings over the last 5 seasons.

Notes –
Nothing But Net (Special Teams)

When we talk about special teams, we typically look at the raw numbers. Commonly accepted and valuable. However, when you look at an NHL Team Statistics page, you’ll see that right next to power play and penalty kill statistics is a net power play and penalty kill column, which accounts for shorthanded goals for and against.

We know all about the struggles the Kings had earlier this season on special teams, especially on the penalty kill, so it’s time to give them their due now that it’s been clicking. Since the calendar flipped from 2022 to 2023, the Kings lead the NHL in Net PP + PK, coming in at 124.3%. A 5-for-5 effort on the PK last night, combined with a pair of shorthanded goals, certainly helps to bolster that statistic. Only Carolina (6) has more shorthanded goals this month than the Kings do, with the Kings nearly at 100 percent (97.0) when it comes to net penalty kill.

There was a stretch earlier this season when the Kings allowed a power-play goal in 10 consecutive games. Towards the end of that string, Todd McLellan talked candidly about how he felt the PK unit was improving overall, despite the goals going in far too regularly. He felt it was close. Now, we’re seeing the Kings reep the rewards of that progress. That 10-game stretch, perhaps conveniently, ended on December 31 versus Philadelphia. Since that day, the Kings lead the league in net PK% and rank fourth in regular PK%. The Kings goal differential while shorthanded this month sits at just -1. Two games yet to go, including toinght against the NHL’s second-best power-play unit overall, but still good signs.

Looking at the other side of the coin, the Kings had just two power plays last night and one lasted what felt like 15 seconds due to a tripping minor the other way. Still, both teams rank in the NHL’s Top-5 on the power-play percentage this month. The Kings have scored a power-play goal in each of their last five games versus the Lightning and on the second half of a back-to-back set, special teams will be extremely important. The Kings expended a lot last night to get the win in Florida, so capitalizing on power-play situations will be key, if and when they arise.

Speaking with Todd McLellan this morning, there’s some value in the net statistic versus the main one, but it’s also just part of the equation.

“It’s easier to look at from a penalty kill perspective, because you’re gaining numbers, but our power play has been victimized with some shorthanded goals against as well,” McLellan said this morning. “As a group, I think you have to build that in during the season, it’s going to happen. Rarely does a team not get scored on and rarely does a team not score a shorthanded goal. Overall, we don’t want to be giving up momentum on either of them, but we look more at the big number.”

McLellan also shared that the Kings will evaluate based on time and not opportunities, which makes sense when you look specifically at what was the first LA power play of the evening. The Kings got a PP, but took a penalty less than 30 seconds in. Only one unit was on the ice and barely got setup. That penalty means that the backend only consists of that short PK time, perhaps an easy one to check off, though it was balanced by the major penalty assessed to Alex Turcotte, which led to three minutes as opposed to two. All goes into the evaluation process.

“There’s times where we’ll use time versus opportunities,” he added. “Last night, our power play took a hit, we had a 15-second power play and Durzi took a penalty, so there’s a there’s a situation where the penalty kill gets a reward at the back end, the power play gets dinged on the front end, but it’s more important when you look at it based on time.”

AND(erson)1
It was a big night for little plays from defenseman Mikey Anderson.

The possession stats tell a story and it’s fair. The Kings got caved in as a whole during the second half of last night’s game (18-40 in 5-on-5 shot attempts over the final 40 minutes) and as the top pairing, Anderson and Drew Doughty were a part of that. However, if you look deeper into what happened down the stretch, you’d take notice of an ever-large number of plays from Anderson that helped preserve the two points. A deflected pass through the slot. A cheeky, heads-up play out of the corner to relieve pressure on the penalty kill. A blocked shot late. Anderson has become known for making those types of plays and his Head Coach is taking notice.

“It’s huge. One, he’s willing to do it and two, he’s become such a good player in anticipating where the play is going to go that he’s either got his body in the way or a stick breaking up a pass,” McLellan said of Anderson. “You’re not always getting out of your zone, but you’re relieving some of the instant pressure and making the team go and retrieve a puck again. He’s very good at it.”

Embedding this clip above, which was one of three, full-ice clears that Anderson was responible for creating. Right off the opening faceoff, Anderson won a battle in the left-hand circle to get a full, 200-foot clear immediately. As the PK wound down, Anderson chipped a puck to Blake Lizotte for a full-ice clear along the left-wing boards. Then, there’s this pass from Anderson to Doughty which got a key change with some terrific poise. Great sequence for Anderson, three of many plays made during the third period to help preserve a victory.

“Yeah, Mikey is awesome,” goaltender Pheonix Copley said after the game. “He sacrifices the body and he does the right things, he’s a great defensive defenseman. He’s always just doing the right things out there and it’s good to see.”

McLellan is hopeful to not see the Kings in so many of the situations where things like that are needed. If they are though, expect Anderson’s best to help to nullify them.

Lastly, Insiders, sharing one final quote from McLellan this morning on the task at hand. Not often you park and ride a win, but a little. bitof that in his mind heading into tonight’s game in Tampa Bay.

“With the turnover so quick today, back-to-back games, I think we’ve got to just focus on the task at hand here. A tough one obviously in this building, the way they’re playing right now, special teams are outstanding in their favor. If we put that one behind us and move on, I think we’re better off than dwelling on what went right or what went wrong in the second half or the last period of that game. Our focus, our attention, our energy is going to have to be present not past.”
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Kings and Lightning tonight at 4 PM Pacific, 7 PM Eastern. A big – and exciting – task ahead for the *checks notes* Pacific Division leading LA Kings!

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