LA Kings: Three questions ahead of Game Two against Avalanche

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.