The start of a season-long seven-game homestand on home ice at Crypto.com Arena for new interim head coach DJ Smith and the Los Angeles Kings (29-26-18) got off to a brutal start this weekend on Saturday night (March 28) vs. the Utah Mammoth (38-30-6). Smith and the Kings fell behind early on the scoreboard in the opening frame in the first period and weren't able to recover late in the game vs. Utah on home ice.
Los Angeles Kings and DJ Smith suffer a bad loss on home ice vs. Utah this weekend by a score of 6-2
By the second intermission after the middle frame in the second period yesterday vs. the Mammoth on home ice at Crypto Arena, the Kings were behind at one point by four goals on the scoreboard after a brutal game in the game's first 40 minutes this weekend.
The Kings were outplayed and looked completely flat on both sides of the ice yesterday in a big game vs. Utah on home ice on Saturday night.
Smith gave his thoughts and reaction to the media yesterday after the flatlining 6-2 loss on the scoreboard on home ice vs. the Mammoth in the West this weekend.
This was not the way that Smith and the Kings needed to come out in a game with a huge opportunity to pick up points in the West in the Pacific Division this regular season this weekend.
Here's a look at everything Smith said to the media postgame following the Kings' embarrassing and lifeless 6-2 loss on home ice at Crypto.com Arena vs. the Mammoth on March 28.
DJ Smith
On how the Kings played yesterday vs. Utah on home ice
"Flat. We just played slow. We just didn’t forecheck, didn’t play to the identity that we’ve played with and that’s fast, physical, above you. That’s a recipe for disaster tonight."
On the Kings coming out flat yesterday vs. Utah in the opening frame in the first period
"We had no legs, right from the get-go. We made it hard on ourselves by playing East/West in the neutral zone, and didn’t play fast at all. And when you play that way, you allow the other team to get above you, and that’s what we do to teams. They were ready right from the get-go. We didn’t start on time tonight, and before you know it, you’re just chipping it and changing, chipping and changing. We just simply weren’t good enough."
On the low energy level and how the Kings came into last night mentally vs. Utah
"You always worry about that, coming back from a trip, that the first one is maybe not as sharp. Our passing wasn’t good. We were not sharp in any facet of the game, maybe other than 10 minutes in the third period, where we played a little bit like ourselves.
For whatever reason, it’s not good enough. Against a team that is fighting for the playoffs, just like us, it’s just not good enough. So, we’ve got three days of practice to be fresh and to get fresh, and then we’ve got to play significantly better here at home than we did tonight."
On making the goalie change in the middle frame in the second period last night on the ice
"You’re solely doing it. We gave up breakaways and clean looks and 2-on-1’s. For Darcy's sake, none of it’s on him; that’s on us, and that’s solely just to rest him and have him ready for the next one. That has nothing to do with him. I think it’d be hard to find, really, when you look at it, who was good? Tonight, it’s not like you had a couple guys that didn’t go; as a whole, we just were not very good tonight. The fortunate part is, there is nine games left.
We’re going to look at the tape, and we’re going to ask ourselves why, in the morning, why we weren’t ready, what didn’t we do, whatever the excuse is, it really doesn’t matter. All I know is, we’ve got two huge games coming up after three days, and we’ve got to be way better than we were tonight."
On the Kings struggles to pick up wins on home ice this past few months at Crypto.com Arena
"I don’t know what it is. Last year, we couldn’t lose here and right now, we don’t lose very much on the road. That’s in your head. I can tell you this, people say it’s luck, there’s bounces, you make your own luck in this world. You do it right long enough, things happen. We didn’t come ready to play good enough today. Whether it’s our building or the road or wherever we played this game, that isn’t good enough. We’ve got three days to figure it out and then we’ve got nine games.
One thing about this team is there’s guys that care in there. It’d be different if there was one or two guys that just didn’t have it. Everyone didn’t have it. Maybe a few guys up front might have had it. When that many guys don’t have it, you’re not blaming it on anyone. You’re going to take it as a group, me included, and we’re going to turn the page and find a way to be better for the next one. It’s got to be a playoff mentality. If you lost Game 1 in triple overtime, you can’t dwell on it, you’ve got to move on, you’ve got to get better, and you have to learn from why we lost the way we lost tonight."