Even with the NHL’s holiday break in full swing now, that hasn’t stopped teams around the league from putting the final touches on their Christmas wish lists — comprised of all the key things they’d love to receive as the New Year and second half of the season approaches.
In that regard, the Kings are no different than 31 other clubs. Various members of LA’s front office, coaching staff, and players likely have their own lists of hockey-related presents they’re hoping arrive soon. While sitting in a comfortable position among the Pacific Division’s top teams, it’s still expected to be a dogfight for home-ice advantage come Game 83. Here’s what the Kings will need to receive to find success in the second half and beyond.
An uptick in Depth Scoring from Trevor Moore, Phil Danault, and Kevin Fiala
Edmonton has McDavid and Draisaitl, Colorado has MacKinnon and Makar, Vegas has Eichel, Minnesota has Kaprisov, and so on and so on. These are players capable of constantly carrying their respective club’s offense. Each of them are superstars in the league and routinely put the team on their backs when needed. Los Angeles GM Rob Blake has built the Kings a little differently. There’s arguably no real superstar on the team’s roster. Are Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar doing most of the heavy lifting? Absolutely they are. To Kopitar’s credit, he is putting together a career season at age 37. But there’s a reason the Kings are 16th in the league in scoring this year too — they aren’t receiving the same production from their middle six as they have in previous years.
Trevor Moore is coming off a 31-goal season; yet, he’s only found the back of the net six times — and three of them were empty netters. Plus, he’s missed six straight games with an injury.
Phil Danault remains a shutdown centerman that head coach Jim Hiller trusts in all situations. But instead of the usual 50-point pace we have come to expect from Danault, he has just 17 points through 34 games (although he’s played 33, having missed the team’s last game for undisclosed reasons). Diving a bit deeper; what was a 17-goal campaign in 2023-24, has dipped to just three tallies thus far for the Quebec native.
Kevin Fiala is often referred to as an X-factor for the Kings. Most fans know the Swiss-born forward is typically a high-risk, high-reward option. Some nights, Fiala stands out as the most talented and dangerous player on the ice, but others he remains a mystery compiled of baffling penalties and poor decisions. Coming off a 73-point season with 12 power play goals, Fiala’s offensive production has regressed to 18 points, including just four power play tallies thus far in 2024-25.
A Consistent and Dangerous Power Play
One specific area that could conceivably change this Kings team from playoff caliber to serious contender is getting more production from the power play. At 15.9% LA ranks 18th on the man advantage this season. Many of the issues listed above are no question impacting the power play negatively, as the Kings have been incapable of finding secondary scoring most nights.
So, what’s the problem(s)? For much of the year, the PP has been stagnant and kept to the perimeter, limiting their ability to generate good chances on net. Teams have adapted and taken advantage of the Kings lack of right-handed shot threats, as well. Not having forwards who are right-handed (and dangerous) prohibits clean passes and plays made on one side of the ice. Instead, you’ll see lefties such as Kempe or Kopitar have to go to their backhand more than would be comfortable.
In past seasons where the Kings have found success on the man advantage, they have always had a right-hand shot in their arsenal, such as Gabe Vilardi or Viktor Arvidsson (both capable of making plays down low). Hiller has attempted to fill this void with Alex Laferriere or Brandt Clarke, to not much success up to this point.
Will finding a right-handed scorer be a focus heading into the Trade Deadline? It’s easy to say yes. However, with little cap space available, a big move seems unlikely unless Blake is willing to part ways with someone already on the roster. Only time will tell.
A Healthy and Impactful Drew Doughty
Of course, the missing piece to many of the Kings lingering issues could be Drew Doughty. What is already a top defensive team in the league will get much better upon his return, including an addition of a true quarterback for the top power-play unit.
Is there a reason not to split up the Vladislav Gavrikov and Mikey Anderson pair? After all, they have been one of the better pairs in the entire league this season. Anderson has further blossomed into a fine defenseman, proving he is definitely capable of playing with a partner not named Doughty. While it would be somewhat surprising to not see Anderson and Doughty reunited, if Hiller chooses to keep his current pair together (as say, the second pair), several questions start to emerge. One, who plays opposite Doughty on that top pair? How does that affect the ice time for younger players, like Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence?
All things considered, getting Doughty back should be a real boost to the Kings. He’s a team leader who will be fully rested and prepared to play hard and play a lot (30 minutes a night?) marching into the postseason.
Byfield Bounce Back
Many around the league felt that coming into the season, the Kings would only go as far as Quinton Byfield could take them. To the surprise of many (although likely not those in Southern California who watch the Kings on a regular basis) Kopitar is not yet ready to give up the top-line center role for his club. With Kopitar’s continued strong offensive production, it has allowed Byfield to run the third line and further develop as a two-way center. While there’s no doubt the talent and scoring chances have been there for the former second-overall draft pick, where are the numbers to show for it?
With just 15 points this season (and only six goals), the organization continues to show extreme patience with the budding star. It’s time for him to put more pucks in the net, though. He received the big contract last summer, now he has to play up to that money and commitment offered by the front office.
In all fairness, for those who have watched every Kings game this season, it could easily be argued that Byfield could/should have 15-20 goals this season already. The number of grade-A chances he’s already had this season is plain ridiculous. He’s creating offense, no doubt, but everybody continues to wait for the young forward to be a more regular game changer, somebody capable of driving the play when needed.
Playoff Success
On the very top of LA’s Christmas Wish List — perhaps even in a bolded and colorized font — is hopes of finding playoff success in the form of a first-round win. The last three seasons have all ended the same way, at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers. While it’s way too early to plan ahead toward probable first round matchups this season, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the same two clubs go at it for a fourth consecutive time come late April.
Furthermore, there is increasing pressure throughout the organization to put together wins in the postseason. If there was something to keep an eye on as the NHL season continues along and playoff action draws closer, it’s the battle for home ice advantage in round one. The Kings have yet to host Game 1 the last three seasons, and sure would like to have any advantage they can get if they were to go up against a team like Vegas or Edmonton.
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