LA Kings vs. Wild: Three takeaways in 5-3 loss against Wild
The LA Kings lose the game and key players.
The LA Kings game versus the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night was a battle for second place in the NHL Honda West Division. The Kings began this season with two heartbreaking losses to these very Minnesota Wild but ground out a 2-1 win over their foes from the State of Hockey at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night.
There would be one lineup change from the other night as Andreas Athanasiou is in the NHL COVID protocol, so speedy winger Austin Wagner would take his place. With Jonathan Quick manning their crease, the LA Kings went into the game looking to return the favor from the beginning of the season by sweeping the Wild on their home ice.
AA placed on the NHL's COVID Protocol list #LAKings pic.twitter.com/E6pQPBcB4U
— Rink Royalty (@RinkRoyalty) January 28, 2021
There was an intensity in the air right off the hop, as it only took three seconds for Kurtis MacDermid and Marcus Foligno to drop the gloves. After the scrap, however, it was all Wild for the entire first period, and they went into the intermission with a 3-0 lead.
The LA Kings came out in the second period on a mission. They drew two early power plays and capitalized on the second one when an Anze Kopitar wrist shot banked off Dustin Brown and into the Minnesota net.
Then, during a five-minute major power play, Drew Doughty lit the lamp to bring the Kings within a goal. Despite dominating most of the second period, the Kings would give up a goal with 1:27 left in the frame when Nick Bjugstad banged home a rebound to increase Minnesota’s lead to 4-2.
The Kings played most of the third period with only four defensemen. This is a tough task when defending a lead, but it is even more difficult when trailing. Things got worse when Joel Eriksson Ek scored on a goal that probably should have been stopped.
Iafallo from the high slot nets his second goal of the year. 5-3 Wild. #LAKings pic.twitter.com/P911FOijVj
— Rink Royalty (@RinkRoyalty) January 29, 2021
To the Kings’ credit, they never gave up, though, and got an Alex Iafallo goal about halfway through the period to give the team some hope. That would be it for the scoring, however, and the LA Kings would lose 5-3.
So what are the takeaways from Thursday night’s game?
Takeaway #1: The injury bug has bitten the LA Kings
Going into tonight’s game, the LA Kings knew they would be without speed demon forward Andreas Athanasiou after he was placed in the NHL COVID protocol. Coming out of tonight’s game, it was a lot worse than that.
Right defenseman Matt Roy was on the receiving end of a hit from behind from Kevin Fiala that resulted in Roy crashing face-first into the boards. Fiala was given a five-minute major and rightfully thrown out of the game, but the damage was done.
A dangerous hit on Matt Roy #LAKings pic.twitter.com/byQPODnemV
— Rink Royalty (@RinkRoyalty) January 29, 2021
It took several minutes for Roy to get to his feet, and he was helped off the ice by his teammates. Roy has been solid on the LA blueline once again this season, and if he misses an extended amount of time, it could certainly have dire consequences.
In the third period, another LA Kings right defenseman would have to leave the game, when Sean Walker took a high blast from Wild defenseman Matt Dumba to the face. It was unclear where exactly on his face the puck hit, but it was clear that Walker was profusely bleeding and immediately made his to the Kings’ bench – he would not return to the game either. Like Roy, an extended absence from Walker would be a tough blow to the LA defense.
LA Kings coach Todd McLellan had no official update on either player after the game.
Todd McLellan speaking with the media -- on Roy and Walker: "They're both seeing the doctors and getting evaluated right now. I think they'll be able to travel home with us. I think they're going to be ok, eventually."
— Rink Royalty (@RinkRoyalty) January 29, 2021
Takeaway #2: The LA Kings special teams are special.
Not a lot of people gave this team much of a chance to have a lot of success this season, but here they are so far with 8 points and showing much improvement over last season. A big reason for this is the Kings have been outstanding in the special teams department.
After falling behind 3-0, the Kings scored twice on the power play to get within one goal at that point. Overall they were 2-for-7 Thursday night with the man advantage. Heading into the game, they were at 22.2 percent, sitting in 12th place in the NHL in power-play percentage. Not bad for a team that had been known in previous seasons for having scoring problems.
Third goal for Doughty on the season. PPG here. 3-2 MIN. #LAKings pic.twitter.com/aLgNOH5jwo
— Rink Royalty (@RinkRoyalty) January 29, 2021
For as good as the power-play units have been this season, the penalty killing has been even better. Thursday night, they killed all four of Minnesota’s power plays – marking the third straight game the Kings were perfect on the penalty kill.
Going into Thursday night’s game, the team sat at seventh in the league with an 87.5 percent success rate – that number will now improve. Continued strong special teams play could go a long way in determining if this LA Kings team makes the playoffs this season.
Takeaway #3: The LA Kings veterans still lead the way.
The LA Kings are in the midst of infusing more youth into the lineup, but the veteran players still have a lot to contribute. All season Captain Anze Kopitar has been outstanding, and tonight was no different. Kopitar picked up two more assists to bring his total to 11, which leads the league.
At the pace he’s putting up offensive numbers, Kopitar has to be considered an early candidate for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP.
The Kings’ former captain, Dustin Brown, also had a good night. Brown kicked off the LA scoring with the previously mentioned deflection of an Anze Kopitar shot on the power play. He also contributed the primary assist on Alex Iafallo’s goal in the third period.
Kopitar credited with the PPG. May have gone off Brown. Anyway, 3-1 MIN. #LAKings pic.twitter.com/Gta4jYcfs9
— Rink Royalty (@RinkRoyalty) January 29, 2021
Despite the Wild scoring five goals, Brown was even in the +/- category, and he also chipped in one shot and one hit.
The last veteran that stood out tonight was Drew Doughty. Like Brown, Doughty had both a goal and an assist. With the Kings defense corps being decimated by injuries tonight, he logged a whopping 32:19 of ice time while also getting in 3 shots on goal.
On a side note, thank you to the LA Kings PR department for making him available for the post-game zoom press conference – he’s always a great interview!
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LA Kings Schedule
Going forward, the Kings’ next game is Tuesday night, February 2nd at the Staples Center against the Anaheim Ducks, where they will debut the new Reverse Retro jerseys. Stay tuned for updates on the injury front.