3 takeaways from the LA Kings near-collapse vs. the Ducks

For the last time this fall in this preseason, the Los Angeles Kings and head coach Jim Hiller battled the crosstown rival Anaheim Ducks from the Pacific Division at Crypto.com Arena at home. The Kings played at home at the new digs in the locker room at Crypto Arena this afternoon (Oct. 4) against the Ducks for the fourth time this fall in the preseason.

Three combined goals from Phillip Danault and Kevin Fiala stave off the comeback bid from the Ducks for the Los Angeles Kings

The Kings dominated this game almost from the opening salvo in the first period this afternoon in LA. Center Quinton Byfield broke the zero-zero tie on the scoreboard in the middle of the first period with a clean finish in front of the goal on the power play on special teams for the Kings.

Less than 10 minutes later, the Kings doubled the lead on a rebound finish near the post from two-way center Phillip Danault with less than 10 minutes remaining in the opening frame in the first period. Danault stuck with the puck and buried it in the net for the Kings' first 5-on-5 goal at even strength today.

Later in the first period, winger Warren Foegele put home the Kings' second power play goal this game against Anaheim this afternoon. That put the Kings up by a comfortable 3-0 margin on the scoreboard, and the team never looked back for the rest of the game.

The Kings got an insurance tally from Danault for his second goal of the game early in the third period to put the win away on the scoreboard.

Anaheim got back in the game with a couple of quick goals in the middle of the final frame in the third period.

The Kings were unable to kill off a late penalty from the Ducks, which resulted in an Anaheim goal late in the third period in clutch time from Leo Carlsson.

LA survived the comeback bid from Anaheim thanks to a nice overtime goal on an odd-man rush from forward Kevin Fiala that he got past Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal to cap the preseason finale with five wins this fall.

Outside of a couple of injured players, including defenseman Kyle Burroughs, the Kings and Hiller had a full lineup that should look very similar to the opening-night projected roster next week in the upcoming regular season in the preseason finale today against Anaheim.

Here are three takeaways from the Kings' overtime win in the preseason finale at Crypto.com Arena, by a score of 5-4, against the Ducks on Oct. 4.

Quinton Byfield sparks the Kings' offense on the power play

For the first time this preseason, Byfield got the Kings' scoring going on the special teams on the power play on offense. He put home a nice goal from a high-danger area close to the goal on a nice pass from forward Andrei Kuzmenko on the Kings' first power play of the game today in the first period.

Byfield had been knocking on the door for his first goal of the preseason this fall in the past couple of games. He had multiple scoring chances he created, including a high-danger scoring chance on special teams on the power play, in the past week for the Kings.

The hard work finally paid off for Byfield, Kuzmenko, and the Kings to net their first power play goal of the preseason early in the game in the first period today.

Kings' offense dominates the first period

Danault and the Kings were electric scoring the puck in the offensive zone in the game's first period. Danault alone had three scoring chances (including two high-danger scoring chances) that he created in the opening frame this afternoon.

In a quick blink of the eye, the Kings jumped out to a comfortable lead on the scoreboard in the first period on special teams on the power play. Late in the first period, the Kings scored two goals in a span of under five minutes, including one goal on the power play from Foegele on the short side of the goal against Dostal.

Danault was clearly the MVP of the game on both ends of the ice for the Kings. Not only did Danault score two goals for the first time this preseason for the Kings this fall, but he also helped to kill a couple of power plays from the Ducks on the defensive end of the ice.

Kings control the game on both ends of the ice.... almost the entire matchup

Pretty much the entire game was dominated by the Kings on each end of the ice this afternoon against the Ducks in LA.

Kuemper had a pretty quiet game on his end of the ice for the Kings in net, stopping single-digit shots on goal from the Ducks in the game's first two periods this afternoon. The Ducks finally broke through late in the third period with a goal from forward Mikael Granlund late in the game's final frame.

The Ducks continued to chip away at the Kings lead late in the third period in clutch time until Anaheim scored in the game's final two minutes to officially tie things up on the scoreboard and send the game to overtime.

Outside of the late-third-period run by the Ducks on the scoreboard, the Kings played pretty well on both ends of the ice this afternoon. Kuemper was able to get in a good rhythm in the net in the game's first two and a half periods about. That is a big asterisk to put on this game, though.

The Kings need to show up better when it matters late in games in the third period when the games mean more this upcoming regular season next week against the Avs.

This was a huge problem for Hiller and the Kings this past season. The Kings need to tighten up in the third period, especially with these big multi-goal leads at home in the final frame against division foes like the Ducks.