Waking up with the Kings: February 6

The Kings peppered Philipp Grubauer with a high volume of low-quality shots, but one of the better opportunities the team was able to generate came just over three minutes in when the Capitals goalie used his left pad to kick aside Tyler Toffoli’s B-plus-type chance. In the other direction, a convergence of Derek Forbort, Alec Martinez and Jeff Carter in the right corner left Lars Eller free in the low slot, and after Brett Connolly was able to slide the puck through a tangle of sticks and bodies, an unmarked Eller beat his former Montreal teammate to open the scoring in a bang-bang play that represented Washington’s early game prowess. With that goal, and a goal some 15 minutes later when Toffoli ventured into no-mans land and uncovered a slot-bound Marcus Johansson, Los Angeles fell behind to a team that has now outscored its opponents 56-23 in first periods this season. Where the heck did the Kings’ lockdown, smothering checking game that was so visible the previous afternoon go? There were drops off in checking and defensive zone coverage, and the Capitals, a team that entered the day averaging 3.3 goals per game, took advantage of the quality opportunities afforded. Pay little attention to the 80-35 shot attempt advantage, which was largely score affected. L.A. did some good things in the offensive zone early – see Toffoli’s chance, Lewis’ post and a deft Kopitar attempted 2-on-1 feed to Dustin Brown that was disrupted by a diving Capital – but the play throughout the other 125 feet or so of the ice surface left plenty to be desired.

What else is there to say about this game? Perhaps it is a reminder, as Darryl Sutter noted, that Los Angeles is “not in that class” of a team that has nine different 10-goal scorers. The Kings generate success with supreme checking, and against a team that now has an eight-game streak of scoring at least five goals at home, they needed one of their tightest performances in checking and coverage, and while they generated quality chances in a first period that featured a good cadence, they ultimately fell behind by two and got away from their game as they played catch up. Interestingly, there was a conversation at dinner on Saturday night that the Kings are rarely a team that lets games get away from them. There was absolutely no sense that L.A. ever had one foot on the plane – see: 38 shots on goal – but cinco a cero es cinco a cero, to borrow (and bastardize) a soccer term. In the east, Washington and Pittsburgh look like the biggest threats (again), and from an early February vantage point, appear set on a second round collision course.