Staying out of the penalty box must already become a focus for the LA Kings.
Takeaway #3: Discipline still an issue
The Kings didn’t allow any power play goals in their first two games, though it wasn’t because they didn’t give the Wild any opportunities.
Minnesota had 11 power plays, in fact, over the course of those two games. LA managed to kill them all off, and while the penalty kill playing well is good news, it’s tough to have success when you’re spending that much of the game shorthanded.
The penalty box parade was an issue against once again on Tuesday. Against a team as talented as Colorado, it seemed inevitable that some of these penalties were eventually going to come back to bite LA.
The Kings took four penalties in a span of 7:16 in the second period on Tuesday, and the Avs capitalized for a pair of power-play goals. They’re going to have a tough enough time beating a team like Colorado at even strength. They’re going to need to stop making things even tougher on themselves with all the penalties.