Category four: special teams
Current grade: B+
Previous grade: B+
To put it frankly, the special teams have been the bread-and-butter for the LA Kings all season long.
The power play started out red hot in March, scoring in the first five games. After that, it cooled off dramatically, lighting the lamp only twice in the last nine games of the month for an overall conversion rate of 19% for March. Dustin Brown led the way with three goals scored, followed by Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Adrian Kempe with two power-play goals each. For the season, the Kings have a power-play success rate of 22.7%, which is good for 12th overall.
After a shaky first three games in March, the penalty kill unit has been practically air-tight. In the last eleven games of the month, the Kings gave up an incredible one power-play goal. For the month, the penalty kill unit had a success rate of 85%, and overall it is 85.7%, which ties them for third-best in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights.
That’s it for the month of March report card. We’ll see you in a month to see how the LA Kings did for the month of April.