Kings fed off crowd energy in Game 3, know they need to raise their level again in Game 4

Heading into Game 3, the LA Kings knew they needed a better start than they had in either Game 1 or Game 2. They also expected a strong showing from their fans to provide a high-energy environment for the team to build on. They were hopeful that the two would intersect and it turns out they did exactly that.

“The two starts up in Edmonton definitely weren’t the greatest, so we wanted to come out strong and feed off the crowd a little bit, get the crowd into it,” captain Anze Kopitar said. “I thought the building was loud and obviously we like to see that and we did a pretty good job. Scoring first certainly doesn’t hurt.”

In advance of the game, Todd McLellan spoke about seeing what the crowd did for the hosts in Edmonton and watching other games around the league, seeing how home teams fed off the energy, especially early in games. Playing on the road, naturally the Kings were not able to do that in Games 1 and 2. It was far from the only reason that they struggled out of the gates in those games, but there was still a hope of seeing things change in Game 3. The crowd support was one factor involved and that went for everyone from the longest-tenured player to someone who had never played a home playoff game.

Naturally, Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty are the best to ask for comparison’s sake.

Yesterday was the 42nd career home playoff games for both players. They’ve played opening-round games here and they’ve played games here in the Stanley Cup Finals. For Kopitar, he mentioned the energy twice after the game as something that helped to push the team forward, eventually to a Game 3 victory.

“It was a great energy, the building was loud,” he said. “Coming home, the series being tied 1-1 was a good thing. Of course, you want to win both games but coming home, we knew the crowd was going to be into it and we were hoping and pushing for a better start. We got into it and it was fun.”

Doughty’s experience was different because he’s waited so long to live it again. His last playoff game on home ice was five years ago in 2018.

Doughty spoke in advance of the series about his excitement level in getting back into the postseason and being able to play, after he missed out last season due to injury. Game 1 was special, for sure, but last night was different. To be able to do it at home meant a lot to him and a lot of that came down to the support behind the team.

“I’m super excited to play here in front of our home fans, our fans were buzzing [last night], I had chills going out there at the start of the game,” he said in a post-game interview on Sportsnet. “I haven’t had that feeling in a long time and I live for those feelings. Thank you to the fans, I’m glad we got them a win.”

For someone who had never experienced the feeling, it was pretty outstanding as well.

Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo isn’t necessarily a part of the team’s slow starts, but rather the recipient, relied upon to keep the games close during that time.

He does have playoff experience to his name, but he had only played games in front of empty buildings, in the 2020 bubble. So, last night was his first-ever postseason game in front of a home crowd, following two in enemy territory in Edmonton to begin the series. Certainly a different flavor to his first playoff game in a home jersey with the Kings.

“That crowd was electric,” Korpisalo said. “We just fed off of it and seeing the building erupt on the last goal, it was pretty cool. I had never played playoffs in front of a crowd before, so it’s really good, it’s fun. You’ve got to enjoy that.”

Photo by Nicole Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images

Now, the support was great, but having good support doesn’t just automatically translate to improved performance.

The Kings were not shy about needing to improve their game heading into Game 3, after two subpar starts on the road, which was overcome in Game 1 by the team’s resilience in coming back. Out of the gates, the Kings played with physicality. They won battles. They were cleaner and more effective on the breakout, which led to more intensity and aggression when getting into the offensive zone and turning pucks over. All noticeable and on display in the first period of last night’s game.

“In Game 2, they had a lot of shots in the first period, to not a lot for us,” forward Trevor Moore said this morning. “In [Game 3], we took a penalty early, they got some shots there, but other than that I thought it was a much more even first period. It’s two good teams going at it, tight-checking, but we held our own.”

His linemate, Viktor Arvidsson, said it in fewer words but also acknowledged what’s important coming out of Game 3.

“We came out the way we wanted to, but now we’ve got to do it again tomorrow.”

Game 3 was the most important game of the season……until Game 4.

The Kings are back on home ice tomorrow evening for a Sunday-evening showdown. They took their game up a level in Game 3, but they’ll need to take it up another level yet in Game 4. After Game 1, a Kings victory, Todd McLellan talked about it being a good effort but not a series-winning effort. The Kings built on their Game 1 performance with a level up in Game 3, but they’ll need to continue to improve and up their level heading into Game 4 and beyond.

“We have better hockey in us,” McLellan said. “We’re up in the series, 2-1, but I think there’s still some left in us that hasn’t come out yet. If we’re going to win another game, which will lead to bigger and better things if we can keep it going, we’re going to have to get to another level, it’s as simple as that. I don’t think there’s any benefit in hiding behind it or not admitting it. Throw it out in the open to the players, get them to understand it and challenge them to get there.”

While he noted at the end there’s a notion of challenging the players, they seem to already know that themselves.

Everyone was happy to see the level raised in Game 3, but this team has higher aspirations than just a Game 3 victory. In order to get there, they know they need to continue to elevate their game.

“I think we have another level to get to,” Moore said. “I think we played well last game, but we can still be better, just in all areas. Competing, paying attention to detail and making sure we’re staying out of the box, that’s an important thing. Just bring it up another level, it’s only going to get more competitive.”

Part of the beauty of this team is its recognition that while they’re leading in the series and while they have improved as the games have gone on, the job is not finished. They know they’ve got another level to reach and they’re determined to reach it, rather than resting on the laurels of wins in Games 1 and 3. No guarantee of a result if they hit that level, but finding it tomorrow would certainly give them the best chance of it.

Photo by Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images