Los Angeles Kings Assisted Through Great Play of Tanner Pearson
By Ian Smith
The offensive struggles of the Los Angeles Kings are well documented. Jeff Carter scores a higher percentage of his team’s goals than any other player in the league. The Kings are just 23rd in the NHL in goals per game, but would rank far lower if not for the terrific seasons that guys like Carter and Tanner Pearson are having.
Pearson has 16 goals in 53 games this season. That’s already a career high for him, and there’s 27 games left in the regular season.
Carter and Pearson are the only two players on the Kings with double digit goal totals at this point. That troubling revelation makes it surprising that the Kings are as high in the standings as they currently sit.
Los Angeles is the only team in the league to have fewer than 4 players with double digit goals as of now, and they only have 2.
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They’ve managed to hover around a wildcard berth in the Western Conference thanks largely to stingy defense, gritty physicality, and solid goaltending.
Carter is getting talked about as a potential Hart candidate not only because of his lofty scoring totals, but his significant lack of help from teammates in terms of goal scoring.
Pearson is really the only other forward who has been lighting the lamp on a consistent basis this season. His goals also tend to be of the clutch variety.
4 of his 16 goals this season have been game winners, and 2 of those 4 have come in overtime. Pearson is one of the key reasons why the Kings have been such a fantastic overtime team this season.
Los Angeles leads the NHL with 10 overtime wins, and have only 1 loss in overtime. They’re tied for 2nd fewest overtime losses in the entire league despite having so many overtime opportunities.
Thriving in that 3-on-3 setting could end up being the difference if the Kings end up making the playoffs. Pearson is a big credit for that.
Pearson leads all forwards on the Kings in plus/minus this season with +11 as of now. The solid two-way player also leads Los Angeles in Defensive Point Shares amongst forwards on the roster.
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He’s one of the big reasons why the Kings find themselves in the wildcard spot right now. In the midst of his best season yet, the team will need him to keep it up for their playoff push.