Angeles Analysis – Game 1

There’s never really a good way to look at eight goals against. Even if you scored nine, I don’t think anyone would be happy with eight. I’ll have to go watch the Seattle Kraken’s media availability from November 29, 2022 to be certain. As Erik Haula put it after the game, when you score four goals on the road, you feel like you’ll be in a pretty good spot.

Four goals on the road would have won both games played in that building in last year’s playoffs, comfortably. Four goals would’ve been enough to win 30 of the team’s 41 regular-season road contests last year, pushing another seven into overtime.

When the other side of the scoreboard reads eight, though, there’s just no chance.

As the dust settles on Game 1, here’s what I saw.

I saw that it was apparent, early, the things the Kings are trying to do differently. Early in the game, I found myself thinking, man, I haven’t seen the Kings control the game in this building like that in a long time. Maybe ever, at least since I’ve covered the team.

In situations they’d drop back in past years, they forechecked pretty relentlessly. Shift 1, Quinton Byfield hounded the puck carrier from the goal line to the blueline, forcing a turnover before the puck left the zone, leading to a chance for Adrain Kempe. They forced a bunch of turnovers, really, which led to offensive chances, with some odd-man rushes the other way as the cost of doing business. While both of those situations led to good chances, in both directions, neither really made the difference in the game. At 5-on-5, the Kings were the better team for stretches, especially early. Longer stretches than usual in Colorado. Byfield hit the post in the first period and the Kings had three breakaways denied in the first 40 minutes, one each for Trevor Moore, Joel Armia and Alex Turcotte. The movement in the offensive zone was on display, with Brian Dumoulin’s goal a great example of what can happen with rotation and motion.

The last time the Kings had more shot attempts, 5-on-5, than Colorado did at Ball Arena was February 21, 2017. Peter Budaj got the win. Not once since, until last night. Offensively, there have been strides taken and you try and bring those forward with you, because that is what the Kings are trying to do, right? Score more goals. They did that.

And yet, what was also apparent is that there is a lot of work to be done. What was probably most apparent is that the gap between where Los Angeles is at and where a team like Colorado is at, in the NHL’s upper echelon, still exists.

I don’t think there was ever really a question about the latter. Colorado is Stanley Cup or bust. The Kings are a better team than they were last season, in my opinion, and I think that shows up in time, but there is a group of teams at that Stanley Cup stage and there are the teams chasing that group. Last night showed that when you play a team in that stage, the margin for error is substantially less than the mistakes made. When you aren’t clean in those matchups, you get what we saw last night. There’s still that kind of a gap between where those two clubs are at.

The mistakes came in a number of ways, as Peter Laviolette outlined. Other ways he didn’t get to.

The Kings allowed four power-play goals and took six minor penalties. They did not score on five chances on the power play. Despite two shorthanded goals in their favor, it was -2 on special teams. -3 really, if you include Parker Kelly’s goal, which was created off of a Los Angeles power play, though the goal came three seconds after. Special teams was a big focus this summer and in training camp. The power play looked good in the preseason and the penalty kill was at 87.5 percent. We didn’t see either succeed yesterday. One game isn’t a large enough sample size to judge, for better or for worse. If you’re looking for the difference, though, that would have to be it. The Kings were a bottom-five team on both special teams last season and a repeat of that is not a recipe for any form of success. Work to be done.

For a team of Colorado’s caliber, the positive things we’re looking at above as new and different for the Kings are regular occurrences. Part of the DNA. What everyone forgets is that the Avalanche were the NHL’s best defensive team last season and the best penalty-killing team last season. They fly offensively, they dominate chances and they burn you……but they also stifle you the other way. The one area of the game the Avalanche struggled with last season was the power play but I don’t think that was all that relevant yesterday. With MacKinnon, Makar and company, it’s always dangerous. Last night, it was dangerous to the tune of four goals, negated slightly by two shorthanded goals for the Kings. But four goals nonetheless.

MacKinnon scored twice himself. His linemate, Artturi Lehkonen, scored twice as well. Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri each had multi-point games on the second line, while Cale Makar and Devon Toews each had multiple assists. They had chances, sure. But what won them the game is that they capitalized on those chances. Los Angeles got a 6-on-5 goal from Artemi Panarin but that was all the top line had on the scoresheet. Chances? Certainly. Panarin, Byfield and Adrian Kempe were 1, 2 and 3 in shot attempts. But they didn’t match the production. In net, Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside the three breakaways mentioned and was perfect against the seven high-danger chances which hit the net. Regardless of the breakdowns, sometimes you just need that bail-out save and the Kings didn’t get that when they needed it from Darcy Kuemper, the way Colorado did with Blackwood. The Kings cut the score from 1-0 to 1-1, 3-1 to 3-2, 5-2 to 5-3 and 6-3 to 6-4. They allowed the next goal each time and three of the four came within three minutes of the goal they scored. Lots of reasons behind them, but those are just backbreakers.

Colorado got key moments from key players and that was certainly reflected in the score.

And yet. There was still a moment late in the game when you felt the Kings had a glimmer of hope.

With the game at 6-4, two of the most unlikely participants – MacKinnon and Brandt Clarke – dropped the gloves. Before the fight, MacKinnon gave Clarke a pretty vicious slash. After the fight, he threw his helmet towards the boards. Both should have been called minor penalties and neither was. You’d think at least an extra two minutes gets tacked on for one of them. Different rulebook for some, I suppose. Instead of a 6-4 deficit, with a power play opportunity that could bring you to within a goal, with Colorado’s best player in the box, the Kings played 5-on-5 and got scored on 43 seconds later. At that point, the game felt over. Another shortly after and it was for sure over. Would the right call have impacted the final result? The power play had not scored to that point and to make an impact, it would’ve needed one. So, even with that, it’s a longshot. However, despite all that went wrong for the Kings, that’s where the game sat with six minutes and change on the clock in the third period. One missed call away from a real opportunity to get within one.

So, where it leaves us is that there is much work to be done. In terms of closing a gap on a team like Colorado, that’s not going to change by Saturday. It won’t change in a week. Won’t change in a month. Honestly, without some maneuvering, it probably won’t change all year. The Kings have to find the best version of their game and bring it consistently in order to even entertain that conversation. For all that went wrong, though, the Kings were somehow still in that game with seven minutes to play. Too many penalties, allowing power-play goals from the slot, not converting on Grade-A chances. And yet, the game was within reach. And, frankly, it was entertaining along the way.

Laviolette was asked after the game if that was a burn the tape kind of game or a lessons to be taught kind of game. He didn’t entertain the former.

“This will be big for learning, a lot of teaching going on. There are definitely things that we can clean up.”

The teaching begins tomorrow. The Kings will return to the ice with one practice to make some corrections. I’m certain there will be video meetings as well with lots to show. With Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks awaiting them on Saturday, a similar lack of execution on things that Laviolette and the players felt were within their control is certainly capable of another big number against. The Kings have been a prideful defensive team for a number of years. While the emphasis towards offensive production is there, the defensive nature can’t be abandoned either. Scoring four goals is good. Winning the high-danger chances battle in that building is good. Surrendering eight is not.

We got a glimpse of what makes this Kings team different last night in Denver. A bigger one, though, towards the work that still needs to be done. 83 games to go, but right now, it’s one in two-days time. Not a moment to waste.