Angeles Analysis – The Right Sequence

Last night’s game certainly would’ve had a different mood to it, had any of a few things gone differently last night. Had Dustin Brown not livened up the bench with an early third-period goal. Had Jonathan Quick not made a fantastic pad save on a breakaway with the Kings down 3-2. Had Viktor Arvidsson not worked his way into a Grade-A scoring area to tie the game late in the third. Had an apparent Columbus overtime winner not (rightfully) been called back for being offside. Had Arvidsson again not gotten himself into that area to win the game in overtime.

A lot of what-ifs, none of which matter much anymore, do they?

You could add, had the Kings not conceded three goals in 46 seconds to that list, from the other side as well, but independent of that, the Kings looked like the Kings in the first half of last night’s game. They forechecked well, they shot in volume and they generated several Grade-A chances, eventually taking a one-goal lead just past the midway mark of the hockey game. Then came that 46-second span, in which Columbus scored three times to flip the game on its head.

That sequence gave flashbacks to Wednesday’s game in Dallas. The Kings led 3-1 in that game, but conceded once midway through the period, before the Stars struck twice more in the final minute of the period, flipping a two-goal advantage to a one-goal deficit. Not the type of history you want to repeat itself.

At that point, the Kings came out for the third period down by a pair of goals, staring down three consecutive defeats. A 7-0 loss against Boston really didn’t worry anyone, because the Kings were playing excellent hockey and a blip was a blip, it happens to everyone. Then came the Dallas game, which became a lesson learned in handling a game that went off the rails a bit. The Kings didn’t have the game management they needed to in certain situations against the Stars and it cost them at least one point to kick off the road trip.

Despite all of that, as the third period began, there still didn’t seem to be any feeling of despair heading into the third period. The Kings overturned two-goal deficits against Vegas and Arizona not long ago. All season long, the Kings have found a way to comeback in games, regardless of situation. Even on nights that haven’t gone their way, Todd McLellan has frequently talked about the character in the room, the comeback mentality. I remember he was asked after the Arizona comeback if he learned anything about his team from consecutive two-goal comebacks, and his honest answer was no he didn’t…..because he already knew it. Felt like the same was already known by Trent Yawney last night as well.

That’s been in this team for years and last night’s win was the latest chapter in a well-told story.

No chance there was a more dangerous player on the ice than Viktor Arvidsson last night. Arvidsson scored the game-opening goal, the game-tying goal and the overtime game-winning goal. He also hit two posts and had five shots on goal in total. Arvidsson’s stat line had him on the ice for 21 shot attempts for at 5-on-5, most amongst all forwards, as well as 12 scoring chances. At even strength tonight, Arvidsson led all skaters with nine individual shot attempts and seven individual scoring chances by himself, one shy of his season-high in the latter.

I thought that Arvidsson was on the puck against Dallas too, but it just didn’t fall for him. Even though he hadn’t scored in his last four games entering yesterday, it always felt like it was coming. Pretty remarkable to think that the Kings acquired him for second and third-round draft picks, isn’t it? Draft capital well spent if you ask me, for a player who is on pace for 30 goals and 64 points over the course of an 82-game season.

The lineup maneuvers the Kings made in advance of last night’s game paid dividends as well. Jaret Anderson-Dolan was extremely noticeable playing on Anze Kopitar’s line, especially in the first period, skating as well as I can remember, while adding composure on the puck and the ability to beat a man with control. In the past, Anderson-Dolan’s energy was always there, but last night, especially in that opening 20 minutes, he had the same energy, but it was channeled into effective offensive play. Could have scored or assisted on a few in that period alone.

The new-look third line, with the addition of Alex Iafallo, outshot their opposition by a 2-1 margin and while the goal they scored wasn’t one for a highlight reel, its importance in the game can’t be understated. Yawney talked about how that goal, coming early in the period, set the stage for the team to eventually come back and win. Certainly a potential building block for that group heading into Buffalo, aka the city that Alex Iafallo built.

The comeback win was especially important through an outside lens, considering a loss would have seen the Kings still in a playoff position by points, but on the outside looking in by points percentage. All moot though, with the win now behind them.

Ahead is a back-to-back against Buffalo and Boston, beginning tomorrow evening in Western New York. The Sabres are a tricky team, entering the game on a two-game winning streak over playoff locks Minnesota and Toronto, which followed a six-game losing streak against the likes of Montreal and Ottawa. Then, we all know first-hand what Boston is capable of. No matter which opponent is on the schedule, every game from here on out is important, every game from here on out matters and every game from here on out presents unique challenges.

If the Kings play the way they did for 59:14 of last night’s game in Columbus, then it’s unique challenges they’re prepared to meet head on.

Insiders, we’ll have practice coverage from Buffalo later on today, with the team set to practice at 9:30 AM Pacific time, as well as an update on LAKI Suite Night (insert eyeball emoji).