3 takeaways from the Los Angeles Kings win over the Montreal Canadiens

The Los Angeles Kings finally got back in the win column on Thursday night with a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. This was the first win the Kings have had since the season opener against the Buffalo Sabres.

However, it has been a tough stretch to open the season as they have begun the year on a five-game road trip. This was a big test for them as they were playing the second of a back-to-back and the games against the Senators and Maple Leafs earlier this week was pretty ugly hockey.

The Kings would make some changes and those changes seemed to work as they looked much better in this game. These are three takeaways from the game on Thursday night.

LA Kings make some interesting line choices for this game

The Los Angeles Kings want to turn around their fortunes after a few lackluster performances. Jim Hiller decided one to do that was to make some notable changes across the lines both on offense and defense for this game.

The one that stands out the most is the move of Quentin Byfield from center on the third line to left wing with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. This was where he played last season but it seems a little short-sighted because Byfield is probably best suited at center and looked great in the preseason.

By moving Byfield to the top line, he bumps Alex Laferriere down to the third line and he was paired with Alex Turcotte, who has arguably been one of the best players through the early part of the season for the Kings, and Warren Foegele.

On defense, the Kings had Vladislav Gavrikov with Mikey Anderson while moving Brandt Clarke down with Caleb Jones. Meanwhile, Jordan Spence was back in the lineup after the night off against the Maple Leafs and paired with Andreas Englund.

Across the board, the Kings looked better and it will be interesting to see if this is a permanent move or if Hiller will move some players back, like Byfield.