Holding a 5-2-2 record through their first nine games should indicate the Kings are off to a better start that some may have predicted, especially considering their seven-game season-opening road trip and the absence of Drew Doughty. However, the other side of that coin is the fact LA has seemingly been picking up points against bad teams and struggling with likely playoff contenders. So, what’s really going on with coach Jim Hiller’s club? Let’s review some of the good, bad, and maybe even ugly using our popular 10 Tidbits format.
1. Darcy is Getting it Done
Don’t look now, but Darcy Kuemper has backstopped the Kings to at least one point in each of his starts. He’s 2-0-2 on the season, including a win in his return to the lineup Saturday. When Kuemper defeated the Sabres on opening night, he posted a .970 save percentage. He had a .923 save percentage in wins over Utah and an overtime loss to Boston. His only real stinker in the bunch was against Ottawa, where he faced 41 shots and gave up eight goals. It’s also the game where he was injured himself. Thus, on balance, he’s been getting the job done.
2. What’s Going On Up Front?
A common narrative in some circles has been, ‘LA’s top-6 aren’t contributing.’ A quick check of the stats show that Anze Kopitar leads the team with nine points (3G, 6A) and Adrian Kempe is right behind him with eight points (35, 5A). Of course, the former’s numbers are propped up by a hat trick vs. Buffalo and a three assist night in Ottawa. Perhaps the bigger worry are stats lines for Phil Danault and Trevor Moore. They have a combined five points on the season, including just one goal. In Moore’s case, it’s not for lack of trying. He has the third most shots on goal (23); nothing is going in, though.
3. Center or Wing, That’s the Question
It’s easy to be brief here. There was plenty of talk about Quinton Byfield moving to center over the summer. It was an idea that only took a handful of games before Hiller pulled the reverse Uno card. Sure, placing him back up alongside Kopitar and Kempe was bound to happen at some point — it would be too easy not to go back to something that worked when looking for an offensive spark. How long will this last, though? A timeline hasn’t been made clear just yet. With Alex Turcotte more than holding his own as the 3C, there doesn’t seem to be much of an urgency to change either. With the latter playing some of his best pro hockey, could we possibly see a swap at some point that would land Byfield back at center and Turcotte up at LW1?
4. The Kids Are Alright
Like so much of what we’re looking at in this article, for nearly every concern, there’s an equally positive sign. And here, the youth can provide some optimism offensively. Second-year pro Alex Laferriere is tied for the team lead in goals with four. He’s fourth in shots on goal (21) and the only player above him on that list with fewer minutes played is Warren Foegele (15:34 to 14:41 TOI). Hiller hasn’t been afraid to play Laferriere either. He logged a season-high 17:39 in Vegas last week, which was just a smidge behind his career-high of 17:54 against Vancouver in a game last season. The Chatham, NJ native also is tied for the second-most hits on the team (19).
5. Clarkie’s Corner
Don’t sleep on what 21-year-old Brandt Clarke has brought to the table. Everybody knows about his offensive exploits at other levels of hockey. And he’s doing his thing at the NHL level now, with his seven points (1G, 6A) nearly double of the next highest defenseman on LA — Jordan Spence, Mikey Anderson, and Joel Edmundson are tied with four points each. Clarke is tied with Vladislav Gavrikv for the lead in shots among rearguards (14). He’s also tied with Kevin Fiala’s 12 penalty minutes, which is tops on the team (something they both need to clean up). Perhaps the most impressive stat LA’s top pick from the 2021 NHL Draft can hang his hat on right now comes in an area few would have predicted. He has 18 blocked shots, which is only one fewer than Gavrikov, who leads the Kings.
6. Some Basic Analytics
Relax; go ahead and breathe. This won’t be too scientific or any math that may make your head hurt. However, in chatting with analytics expert Chad DeDominicis about some off the early season numbers from Evolving Hockey’s model, a few interesting points were teased out. For starters, the Kings are second in expected goals against (2.16) per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. That measures their shot quality given up. Conversely, LA is ninth in expected goals for (2.84) per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. That’s a measure of their offensive shot quality. Basically, they’re generating good offense and limiting high quality chances against. The Kings are third in the NHL in expected goal share at 5-on-5 (56.86%). Even with a small sample size, this should be good signs of future success this season.
7. Special Teams Aren’t So Special
There’s a good reason the Kings have spent so much time on special teams during recent practices. Putting it bluntly, they need improvement in this area before they can be considered a serious team in the Pacific Division. Through nine games, they’ve successfully converted 15.6% of their power plays (ranked 22nd in the league) and have only killed 74.4% of shorthanded situations (ranked 25th). Last season, the PK was second best (84.6%) and LA’s power play succeeded 22.6% of the time during the regular season. Hiller and his coaching staff have brought some new looks to things this season, and there has been quite a bit of turnover in roster personnel, so this may take a bit longer to all sort out.
8. Don’t Meet Me at the Dot
Faceoffs have been a struggle early on, with only Kopitar and Danault seemingly able to win a faceoff (those players hold 50% and 52% winning percentages, respectively). As a team, the Kings have only managed to win 46.1% of their 512 faceoffs taken. That ranks at a less-than-acceptable 27th out of 32 teams. Making matters worse, they’re 29th in the league among draws taken in the defensive zone (44.4%). Jarret Stoll, please pick up the white courtesy phone, you’re needed for some post-practice activity with a few guys.
9. It Doesn’t Happen Very Often
Along with faceoffs, another key metric to look at when analyzing the heath of a team is their goal differential (simply calculated as total goals scored minus total goals allowed). This stat has proved to be so important it’s now listed in official NHL standings right alongside wins and losses. Well, Blake Warye, a broadcast statistician for ESPN and TNT — and a must-follow on twitter — passed along an interesting note: the Kings are the eighth team in the modern era (since 1917) to have 12+ points in their first nine games, despite having a negative goal differential (-1). And here’s the kicker, one of the previous seven teams was the 2013-14 Kings. That’s right, the team that went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.
10. Hiller May Have Said it Best
Through it all — and throw everything above out the window — the Kings have only lost two games in regulation. Sure, it’s a small sample size. But, like Hiller said the other night, he’s not going to look for something that isn’t there. Somehow, some way, the Kings are getting it done most nights. It’s similar to when Pheonix Copley was recalled from AHL Ontario a few years ago. Many of his wins weren’t pretty, but all he did was help bank points for the team. Right now, LA is operating at a .667 points percentage (Pts%). Last year, they made the playoffs with a .604 Pts%. So, if they can find a way to just keep things anywhere close to that number until Doughty returns. the second-half of the season could be far more exciting.
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