The Los Angeles Kings had a quiet NHL Trade Deadline but that one trade has made a major impact on the team as they have now won four straight games and moved into second place of the Pacific Division. The way the schedule has set up for the Kings in the final quarter of the regular season gives them a great chance to head into the playoffs with some great momentum.
With that in mind, let's make some bold predictions for the rest of the regular season for the Los Angeles Kings.
Quinton Byfield establishes himself as the Kings best center on the roster
Quinton Byfield is currently in the middle of a five-game goal streak and has been a big reason for the team's recent success. However, the impact he has been making goes beyond just the goals as he is doing a lot of the little things that can make this offense successful. He has been a distributor with 11 assists in February and led the league in that category in February.
The physicality has ramped up and Byfield is making his presence known with 19 hits over the past 10 games. He is winning more faceoffs than he is losing and in turn his time on ice has pushed closer to 20 minutes a game. According to MoneyPuck, Byfield has an goal above expected of 3.1, which leads the team and is a point higher than the next player.
For a number of seasons now, Anze Kopitar has been viewed as the Kings best center and rightfully so. He has had a tremendous career but he hasn't been nearly as productive the second half of this season and it looks like it might be time to pass the torch in a way to Byfield.
There is no question Byfield has to earn that title but he has certainly been playing well enough recently that by the end of the season he should be viewed as the best center.