After dropping two games in 48 hours, Kings know they need to up the emotion & desperation in Chicago

“It’s a season where it goes up and down, but when it goes down for a couple games, you’ve got to pull yourself out in a hurry. How do you do that? You’ve got to say, well, it’s the beginning of March, still got lots of games, but we need to win. So, there has to be a higher level of intensity, desperation.”

That was Jim Hiller speaking after last night’s loss in St. Louis.

I wouldn’t expect the Kings to be at their best or their sharpest for 82 games. Entering this trip, they had collected points in seven straight games, five of them victories, three of those wins against playoff teams. Now, they’ve lost three straight, including the first two on the road to begin this trip. There are ups and down and streaks in both directions and that’s happened all season for all 32 teams in the NHL. But at this time of the season, every loss is magnified. The points aren’t worth more but each night feels more important, because instead of looking at moving from 10 points to 12, it’s 70 to 72. Soon it’ll be 80, 90 or 100 and as you get into that range we approach true playoff seeding conversations.

Last night, the Kings played against a desperate team in St. Louis. A team that many have written off as it pertains to the postseason. But that team clearly hasn’t written anything off and they sit now just one point out of the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. While the Kings have more cushion and margin for error as it comes to qualifying, they should have the same level of desperation as it comes to earning home ice advantage or even winning the division. It’s within reach.

The Kings are four points out of second and six out of first, with games in hand and a schedule that is home-heavy. Those games will be played in a building that the Kings have skated to a 19-3-3 record in over the first 25 games of the season. On the flip side, though, has been a 12-16-5 mark away from Los Angeles. The home record is on pace to be among the Top-10 best seasons on home ice over the last 10 years. The road record? No current playoff team has posted a worse points percentage than the Kings. Think home-ice advantage is important? It is undoubtly within reach.

The Kings have 16 of their final 24 games at home. No team in the league has more games remaining at home. Vegas and Edmonton have 11 each, for comparison. With a remaining strength of schedule of .534 by opposing winning percentage, just five teams around the NHL have a lower number there. The Kings also have one game remaining in Vegas and games both at home and on the road versus Edmonton, which means chances for a four-point swing if the Kings can take advantage.

Those are all bigger picture, though, than we’re at right now.

Right now, the Kings need a win tomorrow, on the road, against Chicago. Regardless of their place in the standings, that’s a team that beat them in Los Angeles earlier this season.

Joel Edmundson called it a “must-win game” against the Blackhawks to close the trip. Anze Kopitar spoke about the emotions and intensity needing to be raised heading into that game, noting that it starts with him as the leader of the team to get his team ready to go.

You could just see the visible frustration on Kopitar’s face last night. It’s been a tough stretch for him. He said that the team winning games earlier this month has made things a bit easier. At this point in his career, he has said that he has one singular goal, which is to win again. I don’t think he’s particularly concerned with the points from a personal standpoint, but as he said bluntly after the game, for the Kings to reach their objectives this season, a number of players need to be better than they were in Dallas and St. Louis and he is at the “top of that list.”

I thought Kopitar had a really strong game in St. Louis. One who did meet the intensity of the game. Kopitar was on the ice for 11 scoring chances for, more than any other forward, and his expected goals number led the way for the Kings up front both individually and in an on-ice capacity. I thought he drove play. Still, the frustration for him in not seeing one go in was palpable. He has a dual-role for the Kings. There’s his own play, centering the top line for the bulk of the season, but he’s also the guy who the Kings are looking to as their leader, to help pull them back up. On the latter front, he’s where he always is, with an influence that outweighs anyone else in the organization.

“I thought he had a pretty strong game [in St. Louis] overall, probably one of his better ones in the last little while,” Hiller said. “He’s the leader of our team. We know that and no matter what role or who he’s playing with and all that kind of stuff, he leads the team. If he’s having that kind of a comment after the game, that we have to raise the intensity, he’s the guy, more so than me, who will get that done and get it straight in the dressing room.”

Kopitar has never been the loudest vocal leader but when he steps up and says something, he commands the room in ways that a coach can’t. I recall a time late in the 2022-23 season when the Kings lost in Vegas by a number of goals. I asked Todd McLellan about relying on Kopitar in those situations to not get too down, because of his even-keeled approach, and he laughed a bit, noting how upset the captain was with that specific performance and that he spoke up and said as much. Everyone listened. You see the respect that Kopitar carries around the NHL and that goes twice for those who skate alongside him.

“Everybody’s got to contribute more, me being on the very top of that list,” he said last night. “I’ve got to lead the way and make sure that the team is ready and a lot more engaged than we were [against the Blues].”

For me, when Kopitar is saying something like that in an interview, he’s saying it twice as loudly behind closed doors.

When asked if he’s expecting the team to deliver that type of emotional and desperate response against Chicago, Kopitar answered “we should be”. Day off today to recharge and then “everybody should be ready to go on Monday.” At this point in the schedule, every point is a big point and the Kings need two of them tomorrow evening. Expecting a team that’s ready to go at the United Center.