Three-Quarter Overview – 3 Up, 3 Down as Trade Deadline Looms

Today is not technically the three quarters of the season mark, but with the trade deadline coming up right after Game 60, figured I’d drop this in today.

Probably not in the mood for hearing too much of the 3 Up after dropping three straight games on the road and coming home with zero points from three games played. Understandable. While the second quarter of the season was very successful for the Kings, the third quarter was not as much. 7-9-3 was the record in the third of four quarters, with one game to play against St. Louis tomorrow evening bringing that portion of the schedule to a close.

With a quarter of the schedule remaining, the Kings sit at 31-20-8. At the start of the trip, home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs felt very much within reach. There’s a home-heavy schedule, where the Kings have been excellent, and there are some favorable matchups coming their way, even though the Kings have seemingly had more trouble with teams at the bottom of the standings than the top of them. Four straight losses in total have seen the team’s projections dip from right around a franchise-record pace during the regular season to a total that would fall just short of last season’s 99 points.

If you buy into the roller coaster metaphor, quarter three was a downturn. On an actual coaster, that would be the most fun portion of the ride. In reality, though, it’s been one of the least enjoyable stretches of the season, a few big victories aside. The second quarter saw the Kings play their best hockey of the season, with their greatest consistency. We saw a step back in that area for sure, as they had two, separate four-game losing streaks, including the active run they’re on as of this writing.

The conclusion of quarter three comes with the trade deadline fast approaching. While the Kings have certainly been doing their due diligence behind the scenes, we’re now three days away and the roster as of this writing, no moves have been made. Last season, the proper move did not present itself and the Kings stood pat. They lost in the first round against Edmonton as a flawed team, though perhaps one with flaws that couldn’t be corrected at the deadline. This season’s team feels like it has more obvious solutions, though you’ve got to ask yourself how much of an impact does one move make and just exactly what price are you willing to pay to make it? While the Kings invested a first-round pick in 2023, they haven’t taken a true, homerun swing in-season since, what Gaborik? Bishop maybe? Not sure I have the sense of a homerun swing, but for me, without the group as assembled getting back to Q2 form, it won’t much matter. If and when that team comes back, with the proper addition or two, it actually really feels like everyone slots into their proper place and the depth of the group is as good as it’s been since coming out of the rebuild. Time will tell. Actively watching.

3 Up
Home Sweet Home
19-3-3 at home. It’s kind of ridiculous, honestly.

The Kings have only lost three games in regulation at home all season. One of those losses came in quarter three, the dud against Pittsburgh, but the Kings responded well to that game on home ice, winning the next time out against Florida before collecting points in six straight games at home after that point, a streak that remains alive entering tomorrow’s matchup with St. Louis.

The Kings are currently on pace for a winning percentage of over .800 at home, something we’ve only seen seven times in total over the last 10 seasons, after factoring out seasons that weren’t a full 41 games.

I wish I could give you the secret sauce. I’ve asked so many different people about it. There’s the stock answers of feeling comfortable with being at home, the boost of the crowd, controlling the matchups, etc, etc. And there’s a small amount of validity for all of them. But it doesn’t explain 19-3-3 and it especially doesn’t explain it against a road record that has been subpar. More on that below. Whatever it is, I guess keep on doing it.

Not every game has been the same. Not every win has come in the same style, the same flow. Facts are though, after Jim Hiller took over last season, the Kings won 32 of his first 41 games behind the bench at Crypto.com Arena, with just six regulation losses. With 16 of the final 23 games coming on home ice, the Kings will have to try and ride that wave a bit longer. If they can do that, they’ll wind up just fine with regards to their final standing.

Fiala February & Month 2 Q
Alright one of those works better than the other.

For Kevin Fiala, the first half of his season had a lot of ups and downs. Over the last 20 games, though, Fiala has been the most dangerous offensive player on the Kings and he’s done so within the system. He’s done so clicking extremely well with his linemates and he’s done so without taking the types of penalties he’s been prone to in the past.

Over the last 20 games, Fiala has scored 10 goals. During the month of February, his seven goals were tied for the second most in the NHL, as he led the Kings handily in that category. The Kings went 5-2-1 in that month, collecting points in the first seven games consecutively. I’d say Fiala was a big reason as to why, as he helped pull the team out of the worst scoring slump they’d had all season throughout the month of January. Give Fiala his credit here. While there was a lot to talk about with his game early in the season, there haven’t been many holes to poke recently. Says a lot about the work he’s put in to get to this point. We’re seeing the results clearly.

Though perhaps not as loudly as Fiala, Quinton Byfield also had an extremely productive February from a points standpoint. While he did not score a goal, he had 11 assists in eight games, tied for the most in the NHL. He had three, multi-assist nights in total, including a career-high four in the 5-2 win over Vegas. Byfield was a driving force that night against the current division leaders and had a hand in four of the five goals his team scored.

Byfield’s first half was different from Fiala’s in that his game was really strong for about 150 feet of the ice, but the 50 that were missing was in the offensive zone. It’s typically the opposite with younger players. Byfield was adjusting back to center and was as good defensively as we’ve seen him, earning the trust of the coaching staff and playing more difficult matchups when asked. The production just didn’t come along with it.

In the most recent quarter, Byfield racked up the assists and has impacted games. The lack of goals of late is concerning, as it happened last season too, but he seems to click really well with Fiala and the two form a very exciting duo up front. On a team that needs playmakers, Byfield is developing into that role for the Kings. Exciting if he’s able to continue that progress down the stretch.

Winning The Bigger Ones
What was the brightest spot of Quarter 3? For me, it was seeing the Kings win at Carolina. Beat Dallas at home. Beat Vegas at home.

By my count this season, the Kings are 15-11-2 against playoff teams. Not to say that’s a world beater’s winning percentage of .571, but it’s vastly better than in previous seasons. Last season, the Kings went 15-17-7 against teams that made the playoffs. Their biggest wins of late were against teams that are not just playoff teams, but Stanley Cup contenders. While there were some losses that went the other way, there’s been an improvement in that area, matching up better against the stronger teams than in seasons past.

3 Down
Just Can’t Wait To Not Be On The Road Again
So the home record was trending up. The road record is trending down.

At 12-17-5, the Kings have the second-worst away record of any team in the NHL that is currently in a playoff spot. Like the home form, I’m not sure there’s all that much of an explanation for it. The opposite things apply that were listed above. When momentum is there to be had, the crowd is pushing the other way. The Kings get fewer matchups with their centers and defensemen, which is a slight disadvantage. The team had a lot of travel early and there becomes a toll taken. Again, etc, etc.

I can’t deny those things have an impact, but no one’s been able to explain the disparity being as large as it is. The Kings feel they’re prepared to play on the road, as they are at home. The game plan isn’t different just because they’re on the road. It changes night-to-night sometimes, not always, but that’s not home/road dependent. The level of play and the results that come from it are just so, vastly different.

If the Kings do qualify for the playoffs, they’ll have to figure out ways to win on the road. As things are trending, they won’t open at home, so picking up road victories will be a necessity. I don’t have the solution. Just know that it has to be better than it has been.

Power Play Struggles Persist
Death, taxes and the LA Kings power play showing up in this section.

Believe that makes 3-for-3.

The Kings scored six goals on 37 attempts during what I’m defining as Quarter 3. That’s a 16.1 conversaion rate which is slightly higher than the season average, but still well below the league average. If you look at the season-long totals, the Kings are at 15.1 percent and the league median is right around 22 percent. That doesn’t feel like that much, but here’s how it translates to actual goals.

The Kings rank 30th in power-play percentage and 30th in power-play goals. The disparity in goals? The Kings have 21 power-play goals this season and the league median is 37. That’s a 16-goal difference and that’s just league median. Can you imagine how much of a difference even half of that gap could have made in certain moments? The overtime loss against Vancouver was the prime example. The Kings scored to tie the game and were gifted a power play when the Canucks challenged the goal. Got nothing from it. They then earned a 4-on-3 power play in overtime. Didn’t score. That game was there for the taking and the power play cost them the second point. It’s not always that directly, but it’s happened elsewhere on the schedule too.

We’re probably beyond the point of the Kings having a good power play. Perhaps a player acquired at the trade deadline could help. But, unless that player is Cale Makar, there’s probably no transformation to have. Zone entries have really improved as of late, but the production hasn’t followed. I think there’s a simple formula to be found to at least provide some form of offense from that unit, but it’s about seeing it, not saying it. 15 percent just won’t work if the Kings want to make any progress in the postseason.

4 Lines Clicking Together
I suppose this one is more opinion based, but it’s something that’s really become clear of late.

You could take the majority of the forwards on this team and, in one quarter or another, have put them in the 3 Up or 3 Down category. Right now, it’s Fiala and Byfield mentioned, but the line of Warren Foegele, Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore has been quite effective as well. It’s come at a time, though, when Anze Kopitar just scored his second goal of 2025. Alex Turcotte hasn’t scored since he scored twice on January 16. Even Adrian Kempe, who started the quarter strong, only has two goals in his last 13 games played.

For the fourth line, while the Kings don’t need them to be an offensive juggernaut, they do need them to be even. They haven’t been lately. Over the last 10 games, the fourth line has conceded a goal in eight of them. If you factor in penalties taken that led to a power-play goal against, it’s nine out of ten. Can’t be on the wrong side that regularly. Perhaps that line gets a boost over the next week or perhaps they return to what was generally net-zero hockey in the first part of the season. You’d take that. But the dashes can’t continue to rack up.

Throw the defensemen in there as well. The Kings got seven goals from their defensemen over the last 20 games and they didn’t have a standout offensive producer in that stretch. In fact, it was seven goals from seven players. There’s a lot of conversation around Brandt Clarke and while I still believe he will be an impact player for the Kings, he has scored one goal since November and has four points this calendar year. Jordan Spence had seven points to lead the way, but even that’s around a 30-point pace.

I suppose all of that is to say that while a line or two is going, the Kings have a line or two that isn’t. Even when the wins were coming with more regularity, it was rare that the Kings had all three lines going together. At best, it was two out of three. Without a true superstar up front, the Kings need to get production from multiple places. Has to come throughout the lineup, the blueline included.

Probably the number-one determining factor as to if the Kings can get over the playoff hump in my opinion. I think the team will find its way again defensively without much issue. But can they get everyone going at the same time, at the right time of the year? That’s a determining factor for me.

One quarter to go.

Going to be an interesting four days. I’ve read the comments. There are clearly upgrades to be had and it’s been hard to get a pulse on just how aggressively the Kings will pursue them. They have draft capital to play with and prices around the NHL have been high thus far. I’d expect that to continue. The Kings have ample cap space to use next season and to give up a big price, you’d expect a player with term coming back. The Kings could fit just about any player in next season. We’ll get our answer soon enough.