LA Kings: Three questions ahead of Game Two against Avalanche
The LA Kings squared off against a high-powered Colorado Avalanche club on Tuesday night. The Avs came out firing on all cylinders, spending a lot of time in the offensive zone. Enough pressure was applied to tally the first goal of the game. Two more goals were scored via the power play before the LA Kings went to work.
Andreas Athanasiou scored his third goal in as many games, and Adrian Kempe finally got a goal to count after two previous ones were later credited to other players. With these two teams meeting again at STAPLES Center on Thursday night, there shouldn’t be any surprises for Los Angeles in this one.
That said, here are three questions to monitor throughout the game.
1. Can the LA Kings get production from their first line?
The LA Kings have been getting secondary scoring, but the first line has been nearly invisible. Outside of Dustin Brown‘s 300th career goal, the trio of Alex Iafallo, Anze Kopitar, and Brown have combined for one goal and seven points. According to Money Puck, the Kings’ first line has a 47.8 expected-goals-for percentage, but, as noted, they have very little to show for it.
Head coach Todd McLellan made some in-game line changes in the third period on Tuesday in an effort to create more scoring opportunities. Kempe’s goal came while he was playing with Iafallo and Kopitar on the first power play unit. And in Wednesday’s morning skate, the Kings head coach got a look at some different line combinations. Perhaps, he’s looking for more speed from his first line.
“You know, third and fourth lines first and second lines, and whoever’s playing well assumes that role,” McLellan said after practice on Wednesday. “Obviously, you would think Kopi would be one and Lizotte or Gabe two, and then on down the line. But you know, we flipped a couple of players around, and there’s a chance we’ll make a lineup change or two tomorrow, but other than that, it’s just trying to find combinations that will give us the best chance at success.”
Don’t be surprised to see Kempe and Brown swapped, as McLellan appeared to like the combination of Vilardi centering Brown.
“Gabe has the ability to speed or slow the game down a play either way, and he’s got good vision, good hands, makes good plays. Brownie can do some corner work and some net work for him. And I think those two things will complement each other.”
2. Can the LA Kings avoid a slow start?
As previously noted, the Avalanche controlled the pace of play in the early goings of Tuesday’s game. A goal felt inevitable with the LA Kings failing to clear pucks out of their own zone while committing turnovers in high-danger areas. After the first ten minutes of play, the Kings found their footing, putting the puck behind Avalanche defenders — playing their style of game, said Mikey Anderson.
At the start, we were on our heels a bit,” the LA Kings rookie defenseman explained. “They came with a big push — we knew they were going to. Once we started getting pucks behind their D, getting on them, getting on the forecheck, trying to establish more of our system the way we want to play, I think we started having a lot more success, and you know offensively, [we] found some more looks. Defensively, we weren’t scrambling as much. So I think once we kind of got our legs going got our forecheck established, we had some things start to go our way a little bit more.”
The Kings played very well in the second half of the first period and the first half of the second period before the penalty box parade continued.
3. Can the LA Kings finally stay out of the penalty box?
This is the biggest concern on the team right now. The LA Kings have committed 17 penalties on the season — 13 coming in the second period. Prior to Tuesday night’s game, Los Angeles was a perfect 11-for-11 in the penalty kill. The Avalanche ended that streak with two power play goals in the third period, putting the game out of reach, despite the LA Kings’ best effort at a comeback.
The constant shorthanded play has made it challenging for the Kings to get anything going offensively, with the fourth-liners being hit the hardest.
“Yeah, it’s hard, especially when you’re on the fourth line, there’s penalties will kind of obviously ruin the flow, and then there’s TV timeout,” said Trevor Moore. “Then you get back to the top of the lineup, and then maybe another penalty, and then another TV timeout next stop in the lineup. So, you know, it’s just part of the game now. And being a pro, you got to be ready at all times and stay warm and all that kind of stuff.”
The Kings can survive a slow start. Tuesday was proof of that. The first line, regardless of the combination, will eventually produce. But the LA Kings will continue to fall short of where they want to be in their rebuild if they continue to take six penalties a night.