from the discussion we've had on this already, im of the opinion that this team lacks skill (and confidence)on the PP. That and familiarity. We've seen the team add high to low passing, high slot tips, and generally try what most teams are doing to be successful. Structurally, i dont think they are doing anything wildly outdated. Many teams in the league utilize the long back pass to the guy with speed to enter the zone. The issue, from what i remember seeing is that they seem to struggle moving the puck quickly, and knowing when to shoot vs. when to make the extra pass. And ultimately, the still lack on finish. That's been an issue at 5v5, and i think it is compounded on the PP. They have like three guys seemingly that can shoot the puck right now between Arvidsson, Kempe, and Kaliyev. Durzi has some skill and vision, but his shot has not looked dangerous. They simply do not have elite shooting, and to me, that's the biggest issue with the team right now.
As for the PK, who knows... that's generally been a strong suit for the Kings, and it would follow that they should be pretty solid on PK given how good they are at 5v5 and keeping to the structure. If i had to take a stab, i think it's their lack of size and experience on the blue line, but ive definitely seen some breakdowns from the forwards as well, specifically i can remember several poor reads by Kopitar, which is sort of abnormal. Last season they were nearly 10% higher on PK%, but i think having Edler out, Doughty missing significant time, and just a plethora of young guys on the back end is likely the issue.
As for how the teams differ between the AHL and the NHL, i think you need to realize that the AHL and NHL are completely different beasts. The speed is faster, the skill level is higher, and there simply isnt the same margin for error. Additionally, the Reign would be considered a stacked team. There's a ton of AHL level skill there. The same cannot be said of the Kings. If you look at a guy like Frk, he's completely one dimensional. He has a hard, accurate slap shot. The reason he doesn't play in the NHL is because he doesn't bring anything else to the table. His wrist shot is average at best, he isn't fast. And his play off the puck isn't very good. So, the only way you take advantage of his skill set is to bury him on the 4th line, and feed him passes on the PP. But at the NHL level, those passes need to come fast and accurate, and he needs to one time them to be effective, because there simply isnt as much space at the NHL level. If i think about the shots i remember seeing from him on the PP over the past week or two or however long its been since his last call up, i distinctly remember seeing him stop the puck and then step into the shot. And i distinctly remember seeing his shot get blocked or nearly blocked several times. And teams dont need to respect other Kings shooters as much, so they can effectively remove him on the PP. These are not issues at the AHL level because the competition isnt nearly as strong. At the AHL level, Frk has an eternity to get his shot off. At the NHL level, he does not. And that fact alone makes him significantly less effective.
