The Los Angeles Kings (19-16-10) and head coach Jim Hiller were unable to build momentum and string multiple consecutive wins together in the West early this week on Monday night in a tough 3-1 loss on home ice to the Dallas Stars (27-10-9). Hiller and the Kings fell behind on the scoreboard early in the opening frame in the first period on a Dallas goal from forward Wyatt Johnston.
Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings fall to the Dallas Stars after an unfortunate third period bounce
Darcy Kuemper and the Kings did a good job of holding a potent Stars' offense in the top six forward lines core at bey for the rest of the first period and in the middle frame in the second period. The Kings responded with a goal of their own in the final frame in the third period, on a tally in front of the net by center Quinton Byfield.
But the Stars came up under 10 minutes later in the final frame in the third period with what would eventually be the game-winning goal on a weird bounce from Stars' Jason Robertson in clutch time.
It was nice to see that Hiller and the Kings cleaned up many of the mistakes that cost the team defensively late in the game in clutch time in the final frame in the third period. The Stars notched an empty-netter late in the final frame to seal the win over the Kings yesterday.
Here are three takeaways from the Kings' disappointing 3-1 loss on home ice at Crypto Arena on Monday night vs. the Stars.
Quinton Byfield nearly takes the game to overtime for the Kings
I think it's good that Hiller and the Kings have emphasized getting more gritty goals around the net and to get more offensive production on special teams on the power play on the 5-on-4 man advantage. The Kings have gotten more dirty goals around the net in the past few games in the West from Byfield and veteran forward Corey Perry.
Byfield's third period goal in the final frame for the Kings nearly got the team into overtime. He's also scored five goals and eight total points in the last eight games for the Kings in the West. If this production offensively scoring the puck can get Byfield going this regular season for the Kings, that would be a big boost for the team's core forward group up front.
Cleaning up mistakes hasn't translated to more success in the standings in the West
The Stars are one of the best teams in the Western Conference in the standings this regular season. The Kings outplayed the Stars on the ice at even strength at 5-on-5 for most of the game yesterday.
For the first time in a while this regular season in the West, the Kings held a playoff team to no chances on special teams on the power play on the 5-on-4 man advantage yesterday.
There were numerous data points on the stat sheet that showed that the Kings were competitive, if not outright better than, the Stars yesterday. But it still didn't translate to a win and two points in the standings in the West.
"We don’t really talk too much about it as a group, from our coaches, but we have it updated every day in our practice rink and we see the standings every day. We’re very aware of how important these games are coming up. Tonight was really important too and this one felt like we deserved better. "Drew Doughty
Some of the areas the Kings cleaned up would think that the team would be getting the puck in the net and picking up more points and better results in the standings in the Pacific Division this regular season.
Offensive struggles continue on home ice
The way that the Kings are producing and scoring the puck offensively in this past few weeks isn't good enough to keep the Kings in a playoff spot in the West for this upcoming postseason in 2026.
Yesterday, the Kings had five more high and medium-danger scoring chances in the offensive zone than the Stars on home ice (per Natural Stat Trick).
Hiller dodged the questions yesterday trying to pressure him into answering what's been going wrong in the West for the Kings this regular season in this past few weeks.
"I thought we played well. We’ve played well for a while. So, we’ll just keep playing well and expect that it’s going to turn. We played well."Jim HillerI
I understand that Hiller is going to roast the team after the Kings played hard and were competitive on the ice yesterday against the Stars on home ice at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night. But it's still adding to the impatience from the Kings' fan base that Hiller isn't addressing the root issues for the team in the West this regular season in the last couple of months.