With Colorado on tap, the Kings will look to rely on a fast improving PK unit

I remember a quote from Todd McLellan early in the 2021-22 season. He spoke about a conversation he had with then assistant coach Trent Yawney about how your penalty kill total takes a long time to bounce back from a four spot.

The Kings had given up four power-play goals to St. Louis in an October game in 2021, similar to how they gave up four power-play goals to Ottawa in an October 2024 game. Though the total is certainly not back to where it could be, or where it was last season, all of a sudden, the Kings have risen back to league average, entering the day ranking 16th in the NHL on the penalty kill this season at 79.4 percent, following a 2-for-2 showing yesterday in Calgary.

Last season, the Kings had a drastic turnaround on the PK, finishing the season at 84.6 percent, the league’s second best clip during the regular season. In the playoffs, though, a passive style allowed a dynamic Edmonton power play to have its way, on route to nine power-play goals against in five games. This summer, the Kings got to work on a new approach with one word in mind – aggressive.

The premise is very simple.

Guys who play both systems with the Kings have said that what they dislike facing the most when playing on the power play is a highly-aggressive system.

“Being on the offensive side of it, you hate when other teams just rush at you, because you don’t have a lot of time,” forward Adrian Kempe said. “There’s going to be times when we do make mistakes, but as long as we can stay aggressive and do it all together, it will work out.”

When executed properly, it forces quick decisions and it forces players to execute multiple passes in success to get the scoring chance they want. That will happen, as Kempe alluded to. We saw it in Vegas during the 6-1 defeat, when the Golden Knights broke the press, if you will. Power plays are typically run by a team’s highest skilled players and those players will make plays. Might as well make it hard on them, though. We saw where the alternative got them in the postseason and the Kings understood that changes were needed.

In recent games, we’re starting to see those aggressive principles shine through on a more regular basis.

Since allowing two PPG’s in the home opener against San Jose, the Kings have allowed just three power-play goals against in total, clicking at 84.9 percent in that time. One came with a 6-1 lead, making no real difference in a big win over Vegas. The second came on the five-minute match penalty assessed to Tanner Jeannot on Thursday, a kill that was essentially three kills in one, while the third came after the Kings scored a shorthanded goal earlier in the shift, which makes it a wash.

Other than that, it’s been pretty smooth.

The San Jose game was the fourth time in the season’s first eight games the Kings had allowed multiple power-play goals on the same night. That kind of variance would not work, but it showed kind of an all or nothing principle. It showed that it worked, but also that there was work to do to find consistency.

Perhaps one big factor in improving the PK? Taking fewer penalties.

Kings penalty killers were taxed early in the season, as the Kings averaged 4.6 minor penalties per game in the first eight games. Since that point, they’re down to 3.1, which is much more manageable.

“I think the most important thing is that we’re taking less penalties, which helps keep those guys fresh,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper said.

When penalties are taken, it comes down to the system. Preseason is a time when new systems are introduced and worked on, but you really don’t know how they’ll fare against full-speed, NHL competition until the regular season. It certainly took a bit of time to get there, but it feels now as if strides have been made and the team is beginning to grasp what the PK is supposed to look like.

“I think you learn when you can and can’t pressure the puck and where you get exposed if you do pressure the puck,” forward Trevor Lewis said. “I think it’s a learning process, but I think everyone’s grasping it. We’re doing a good job right now.”

The notion of pressure points is important, especially so when the Kings are looking to up the aggressiveness in those situations.

Pressure begins before the opposition enters the zone, with the Kings in some situations hopeful to prevent even an attempt at a zone entry. The bigger point, though, is on the zone entries, and ideally disrupting zone entries with possession to either force a turnover or force a dump without speed. In that aforementioned Ottawa game, the Kings got those pressure points all wrong, with the Senators shredding them off the rush. Large in part, they’ve improved in that area. In fact, since that game, the Kings have been the best team in the NHL at denying clean zone entries on the PK at right around 50 percent. They’ve been excellent in that area.

The third pressure point is in-zone, once the power play does get set up. The Kings have displayed more aggression in pressuring the puck in zone as well, forcing plays to be made in order to beat them.

“I think we’re getting comfortable now, finding the pressure points and not letting them have clean entries into the zone,” Lewis added. “We have a lot of guys who can kill penalties, so quick shifts and keep it fresh, just pressuring when we can.”

Part of being aggressive comes with a potential opportunity to go the other way to create offense.

On Saturday against Columbus, the Kings pressured the puck aggressively and it led to a shorthanded goal for Trevor Moore. It was Phillip Danault who pressured the puck along the wall and was primed to work quickly to take advantage of a misplay by Columbus forward Cole Sillinger.

Danault stole and chipped the puck out to Moore, who was reading a potential spinning D-to-D pass anyways, which is a green light to go the other way. Moore collected the puck and used his trademark quick release to pick the far corner, the first shorthanded goal of the season against a goaltender and the second in total. All about pressure points and the Kings feel like they’re starting to find theirs.

“It’s more natural and when one of us go, we all go,” Danault said. “We’re on the same page and goalies are making the good saves at the key times. That’s what’s made us successful so far on the PK.”

The notion of pressuring together is one that has percolated throughout the group of penalty killers.

Perhaps it was players coming into the system at different rates. Perhaps it was just units that took some time to figure it out as a unit. But it does take a unit, executing precisely, without individuals going off script. Something that has certainly gotten better as of late.

“We’ve got to be ready to jump and it requires all four guys to do the exact same movements,” defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov added. “You’ve got to feel the game and read the game and when you jump, you jump hard.”

Last night in Calgary, the Kings had two shorthanded chances and killed them both off. It wasn’t without danger, though and frankly it wasn’t a perfect showing, even if the stat sheet read that it was. A big part of the penalty kill is the goaltender, as Danault mentioned, and Darcy Kuemper made the saves he needed to make when breakdowns did exist. And there were a couple. On some nights, that’s what it takes to execute in penalty-killing situations. A goaltender stopping the puck. Other times, it’s the system that simply executes as it’s intended to.

After a disappointing night overall, a look at the PK is perhaps a bright spot for the Kings to take into Colorado tomorrow evening.

And they’ll certainly need to be at their best against a unit that features Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, all of whom have outstanding career splits versus the Kings. At 33.3 percent, the Avalanche have the NHL’s second-best unit to this point in the season. Kuemper preached the importance of “discipline” against the Avalanche. The best way, after all, to neutralize a good power play is to not take penalties, though that is sometimes easier said than done.

A stern test for the Kings tomorrow evening, as they look to salvage this two-game trip with yet another bounceback win.